Life
It’s a Megatrend
Paul Long · Follow
Published in · 4 min read · Mar 10, 2023
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Yes. You can start over in life when you’re 60.
A lot of people are doing just that. It’s a megatrend.
BTW, it’s not just at 60.
It can be at 40. Or 70. Or 35. Or 50.
You get my point.
Whenever the time is right for you.
Especially when you get “older”.
Reimagining yourself and your life and what to do with the potential of decades of healthy life ahead?
Hmmmm.
You can go from being an apprentice in life to a pro.
Join the club.
Think about it
As Encore.org’s CEO Marc Freedman observes,
“Isn’t there something to be said for racking up decades of know-how and lessons, from failures as well as triumphs?
“Shouldn’t we aspire to build on that wisdom and understanding?
“After years of studying social innovators in the second half of life — individuals who have done their greatest work after 50 — I’m convinced the most powerful pattern that emerges from their stories can be described as reintegration, not reinvention.
“These successful late-blooming entrepreneurs weave together accumulated knowledge with creativity, while balancing continuity with change, in crafting a new idea that’s almost always deeply rooted in earlier chapters and activities.”
Think about that. I mean REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT.
It makes so much sense and I am living it right now.
There is a new reality of living longer and healthier and using your olderhood as the time to realize the best in you for the best for your life.
It’s literally an opportunity of a lifetime.
Right our eyes people who are older are fully engaged in an age revolution.
Some do it because they had to (finances).
Some do it because they want to (self-awareness).
Some would do it but haven’t realized a new way of thinking (lack of awareness).
I posted a shorter version of this thinking on LinkedIn, and it blew up.
Why? Because so many people who are “older” get it or are open to “getting it”.
People commented on the post with a passion.
From Susanna:
“I really didn’t think …when I was younger… that I would have to re-evaluate my lifetime and time again. I just thought that I would just go along and take what life has to offer, with no thought that I would be able to influence it…for the better…. in any way at all.
“So glad, that I learned that I can and am practicing it every day.
“And I’ve joined the ‘megatrend’… Yay!”
From Clemens:
“I’m 64 and pivoting again”.
Clemens and I are case studies
I am pivoting my life to create Paul Long v.4.
Kid > journalist > marketing content creator > influencer.
I, like so many others, view this older phase of life as an opportunity.
An opportunity to make it my turn.
A gift to open and play with.
Now I know enough. Now I am beyond some of the default thinking I had growing up.
Now I have put the kids through college and fulfilled other obligations.
The last thing I want to do is step aside, retire, or withdraw.
I want to be even more relevant, purposeful, and aspirational.
I know I can accomplish more, and be more successful than at any prior time in my life.
From Laura:
“As we get older, and tune into who we are and what we love doing, more and more, why wouldn’t one want to pursue that — to stay engaged, inspired, and challenged!”
Gut check time
From Scott:
“It all starts with a growth mindset — believing you are capable of learning new things and growing. Age doesn’t matter.”
Realize we have old or untrue self-limiting beliefs about ourselves and the world.
When we identify them, that opens the door to getting rid of them. Then we can move toward what we truly want and how we truly want to be.
Then realize you have the time, and the time is right.
Not just the potential for a longer life (although scientists say the first 150-year-old human is alive today), but a longer health span.
Meaning a long healthy, active, and independent life.
If you’re 50, your healthy life MAY ONLY BE HALF OVER.
What are you going to do with all of those years?
Oh yeah. How are you going to afford all of those years?
Finances drive many people to stumble upon this new reality of aging.
The rate of startups by older entrepreneurs and their rate of success is stunning.
People are working later in life, often with modified schedules and roles.
Or they’re pivoting to something entirely different which the modern age and technology enable.
Don’t act your age
From Kim:
“Absolutely! If you didn’t know your age, would you?”
I sometimes wonder if people get “old” because they assume they’re supposed to.
The only time I relate to my current chronological age is when I look in the mirror.
This opens me up to possibilities.
I am going through a huge transformational change in my life.
A new way forward which is New Way Forward.
I am incredibly excited, purposeful, hopeful, passionate, healthy, and focused.
What a great phase of life this turns out to be.
Thank you, Gary Foster, who writes on Medium and inspired me to write this from a recent newsletter of his.
Looking for a New Way Forward in your life? You can get my free “Launch Yourself Get Started Guide” by going to www.NewWayFWD.com.
