Everyone wants long term success. But it is elusive for most.

Long term success is dependent on knowing where you are now and where you are headed. Then closing the gap. Frequently. Continuously.  Whether it’s your business, your career or your life at home., it’s easy to get off track, lose touch or get buried under. Without a true sense of where you are in the moment, it is impossible to realize your dreams or be a leader in your field.

Re-calibrate your profound knowledge

The only way we can take 100% responsibility for sustaining our success is to keep re-calibrating-in every aspect of our lives and organizations.

Key to successful recalibration is to acquire what my dear departed mentor, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, coined as Profound Knowledge. This umbrella phrase emphasizes understanding change and how to measure it, being aware of emerging trends and shifts, and learning how to apply this knowledge to leading and sustaining long term success.

Bottom line: If we don’t acquire Profound Knowledge we cannot know how to prepare for and leverage coming change, thus how to sustain our success long term.

Understanding change means understanding shifts in our personal world as well as tracking trends that capsize us, overtake us, or cause us to flounder.

Learning the Hard Way

Unfortunately one of my Gen X male clients learned this the hard way. A rising star in his field and recently married, he was planning far a great future for his kids, tons of time for fun and all the trappings of success. As if out of the blue, the rug got pulled out from under him. His “Happy Homemaker” wife fled, saying I’m out of here!

Somewhere along the way there was a breakdown or perhaps many small fissures below the surface. Had they been recalibrating an checking in with each other, communicating the truth of what was so for each of them…perhaps they could have saved their marriage…or at least ended it with love, grace, and forgiveness.

Even in the most secure relationships, unexpected change happens to ruffle our plans. A recently returned to work mother of teenage kids reported that her new career is now going gangbusters and she no longer worries about the empty-nest . But, the new ripple in her life is that her once very successful husband, in his late 40’s, now faces an unknown future. Surprised by the shifts in his industry, “suddenly” he and his business partner are facing the probability of closing their doors. What once appeared to be the sure path to their dreams, is no crumbling beneath them.

Change is inevitable. If you can learn what Profound Knowledge is and apply it you can avoid these same pitfalls and NOT LEARN THE HARD WAY!

What steps are you going to take to future cast your long term success?

Midlife crisis. It is a term bandied about, which can conjure images of sports car purchases, new gym memberships, flirtations/affairs/divorces, botox and bikinis. Midlife is, for many, a time of transition, including whether or how to retire. It can be a time of more questions than answers, a time in which you feel less steady as you review and revise who and what you find most meaningful, valuable, and worthwhile. Some changes are desired and welcome, while others feel forced or unavoidable.

I believe, as I share in my upcoming book, The Ageless Way, that  “Those of us who are entering, in the midst of or, like me, leaving our rich middle years, are well poised to use such times of transition as opportunities to tap more deeply into our reservoir of innate soulful greatness – what I refer to as our Signature Greatness DNA. As history has shown, change makers and world shakers always deepen their culture and leave a legacy for future generations by confronting the difficulties of such times with invention, insight, and transcendent understanding.”

It is at these times that many people choose, whether out of desire or necessity, to begin a second (or third, or fourth…) career, which is often referred to as an encore career. There are different reasons people choose to pursue an encore career, such as: financial security; personal fulfillment and meaning; the desire to give back to the local/national/global community; flexibility; work/life balance; learning new skills and utilizing those that have been acquired over decades; sustaining social connections; pursuing a long-held dream…

Regardless of the reason(s) for selecting an encore career, those in their middle and later years have garnered personal and professional experience and wisdom which they can offer to employers and clients. In addition, Boomers and Matures (members of “The Silent Generation”) grew up in eras which inspired active, organized involvement in response to diverse current events, such as WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the fights for civil and women’s rights. As a result, these workers are often valued for their efficiency, sense of responsibility, loyalty, hopeful attitude and strong work ethic.

The trend toward an increasingly older and diverse workforce creates multiple opportunities for building successful intergenerational office environments. Encore career professionals offer a variety of abilities and knowledge to enhance the capabilities of the younger generations and benefit, in return, from their colleagues’ perspectives and talents with new work aspects like technology. Such mutually supportive business cultures ensure a more solid future for everyone, from those engaged in encore careers to the generations yet to come.

There is even a movement afoot to support those choosing or hiring for encore careers. Encore.org’s mission is “building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world.” It seeks to engage the vitality, wisdom and talents of those in the third and fourth stages of life while emphasizing social purpose. Seeing an aging society as a solution to, rather than creator of, problems, Encore.org connects generations in diverse ways, including hosting an annual conference and offering The Purpose Prize for people over 60 who integrate their passion and experience for the betterment of society. Created in 2005, the prize aims to “showcase the value of experience and disprove notions that innovation is the sole province of the young. It’s for those with the passion to make change and the experience to know how to do it.”

I mentioned the term encore career in a blog posted earlier this week, “Second Time Around” , in which I wrote about Barbara Beskind who is now in her third year of work as an inventor, a lifelong dream she achieved just shy of her ninth decade. Additionally, I have met/worked with diverse women and men who have chosen (are choosing) to embark on an encore career. One 51-year-old woman hot shot media executive left her job to pursue what she always wanted to do as a teenager — she went back to school to become a social worker. Another high flying 62-year-old woman left an intense demanding sales executive post to return to the beloved art career of her youth. A 63-year-old retired teacher became a published author. In her January 16, 2015 New York Times article, Older Job Seekers Find Ways to Avoid Age Bias, Kerry Hannon shares the story of a 66-year-old man who was laid off from a high-powered position. After undergoing the unease of transition, questioning his purpose and averting age discrimination encountered in interviews, he ultimately ended up teaching part-time, making money, and feeling valued. And I am one among many who have found fulfillment in an encore career by creating their own business.

Encore.org and the AARP  are just two of the organizations offering programs, resources and information for those embarking on an encore career. In the short term, this transition may require additional investment of education and retraining (including working with a certified professional career coaching and strategy-creation coach). The rewards, however, can be infinite. Following your passion while giving to others can be stimulating, enlivening and offer adventures which demonstrate that, despite pleasurable memories, the best is still yet to come.

When musicians are called by an audience to perform an encore, a demand for more, it is surely a sign of success. Whether you choose an encore career out of need or want, in honoring and utilizing your skills and knowledge you are the one whose success is to be celebrated. Bravo!!

What’s your encore career story?  Please share your experience below.

We expect retirement to bring various freedoms, like the financial freedom to do everything you had to put aside raising children and working all those years. But, do our expectations always paint a clear picture of reality?

Depending on your freedom of time and financial planning, retiring can be an enjoyable and fulfilling time of your life, but for many people it is filled with financial uncertainty along with feeling purposeless and lost.

What are the Pros to Retiring?

As mentioned above, retiring can be a wonderful time in your life. You need to make sure that you plan for years in advance. Neglecting your long-term financial status could leave you in a tough spot when it comes time to retire.

If you’re married, this can be a great opportunity to grow with your spouse. Being able to reconnect with your spouse and invest in your relationship in a way that was not always possible when you were busy working.

Retirement can also be a time to develop a sense of purpose. You can invest time in things you had long wanted to. Whether that is taking up a new hobby, writing that book you always wanted to write, or learning a new skill. For many people retiring can be a new chapter in life to learn and explore yourself.

What are the Cons of Retiring?

For some, retirement can be filled with grief and lack of purpose. Many adults feel retirement marks the beginning of old age and redundancy. This can lead to feelings of stagnation and depression.

You are susceptible to loss of drive and motivation for productivity. This lack of productivity can lead to boredom or restlessness. People who are used to having a fast-paced job and lifestyle can feel frustrated at the slow pace of retirement, making it difficult to relax.

Dealing with a Lack of Purpose During Retirement

It can be tough to navigate life once retirement comes around. You may start feeling uneasy and don’t know what to do with yourself. There are many options that can help people figure out what to do with their retirement.

This could mean joining a painting class or going to a book club. It is important to stay active and to engage your brain by doing things that require you to be creative and problem solve.

Some options for staying active could include tennis, yoga, swimming, or daily walks. If you’re prone to restlessness and need to relax, meditation is an excellent option that also engaging your brain.

Retirement is an adjustment, but if viewed with the right attitude it can be a great chapter in your life. You may even find yourself being more productive than when you were working full time.

A Guest Post by Alexis Schaffer

Alexis Schaffer is a former ballet instructor and aspiring nurse. In her free time she teaches yoga and writes for various online publications. She’s also the proud dog mom of a beagle named Dobby.

Perhaps we should drop the label “senior” or redefine it. Clearly this term has helped to embed ageist stereotypes into our societal psyche. It used to be, as David Wolfe, author of the pioneering books Serving the Ageless Market (1990) and Ageless Marketing (2003), wrote,

“Senior is not an inherently negative term…Being a senior used to connote a superior standing in every context but aging.”

Sure, many don’t mind enjoying the “senior” discounts. And for those who do retire—fully or partially—the advantages of having more free time, fewer demands, and less stress overall are additional perks.

But of course we don’t have to wait until we retire to create this kind of lifestyle. We don’t have to retire at all.

In fact, many characteristics of the stereotypical senior citizen don’t really have much to do with age at all. Or at least they don’t have to be related to age, even if we as a society have somewhat arbitrarily decided they

One of the most important tasks we have together, all generations, is to change the story we tell one another and ourselves about aging.

These characteristics can include retirement, volunteer work, adapting our lifestyle to physical changes, having more control over our time and environment. All of these are choices we might make at any age.

So if we strip away other people’s definitions of what it means to age, what it means to be over 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100…where does that leave us? How do we define ourselves as protagonists in our own aging story?

We all have different comfort levels with various terms. Some shy away from “elderly” but don’t mind being seen as an “Elder.” Some don’t mind being called “older” but feel uncomfortable being called simply “old.” Yet another person might get fed up with euphemisms and actually demand to be called “old,” dammit!

I’ve always relished the term “Crone,” the idea of taking back its original meaning of wise old woman. Some, including those who have chosen not to have children, prefer to be seen as grandmother. In ancient times, the Crone was valued and revered as a wise and prophetic goddess in her own right. Traced back to pre-history, societies that are thought to have been the first “partnerships” between women and men lasted for about 20,000 years. Then as Riane Eisler describes in her underground classic, The Chalice and the Blade (1988), these early societies “veered off on ‘a bloody 5,000-year detour’ of male domination.” Along with these partnership societies, the Crone and all images of the positive feminine were devalued, leaving only the Divine Feminine (e.g., Mother Mary) as the preferred universal Mother image to survive intact into our modern day.

Fortunately, today’s twenty-first century women are resuscitating the whole panoply of feminine archetypal goddesses, like those we have buried way below our consciousness carrying the powerful energy of the Black Madonna, the flip side of Mother Mary (e.g., Mary Magdalene, Sophia, Kali Ma, Kuan Yin, and more), so that we can reclaim our fullness by embodying the whole range of our womanhood.

I’ll tell you a secret. Every time I write—for my blog, for a workshop or keynote, for a book or article—I have to stop yet again and consider this issue: What do we call ourselves? Elders? Do I avoid the word “old” or use it unabashedly? Do I refer to us as aging or stick to euphemisms or numbers, like post-50? Maybe the over-sixties? But what about including 40-plus? Boomers…and older? Matures? How do we distinguish between the early and late Boomers, who are as different as the Brat Pack is from the Beatles? At what point do generational labels lose their usefulness?

Amazon #1 Best Seller Author of 11 books including The Ageless Way, Gray is the New Green, Visionaries Have Wrinkles, The Greatness Challenge and more.

Your Next Chapter

Life is supposed to be full of milestones. Things like graduation, getting married, buying a house, a new job or the birth of a child. Every self-help book that I have read recently, asks the question- what is your next move? The audiobooks that I listen to are challenging me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. This type of action will propel me to the next level of my career, lifestyle or whatever the new thing that I aspire to.

Do I want to sell my house and move to Dubai? Do I want to spend a week in the woods with nothing but a tent, ax and a camp stove? Heck no. I don’t think these drastic changes in my lifestyle will push me up the preverbal ladder of life.

What if there is no next chapter? What if there is no ladder of life to climb? What if you are living and breathing your next chapter at this very minute?

Stop living for the future. Stop buying into the nonsense that you need to have three years experience before you can apply for that job that you are more than qualified for. Stop telling yourself that you will finish your degree when your children are in school. Stop thinking that you can’t possibility sing in the choir because you haven’t practiced enough.

You are writing your life story in the here and now.
Your next chapter is here and now. Your next chapter is what you do and the decisions you make every day. Waiting for something big may not make you take those small daily steps that are part of your everyday story. Everyday stories add up to a full chapter. Full chapters add up to a very interesting and engaging book.

Enjoy your story in the here and now.

Your Next Chapter is Now

About the Author

Jan has been working in senior living for over 22 years. She has learned throughout her career that everyone needs encouragement. Everyone has a story and it is never too late to make a fresh start. Her blog janwieder.com is full of encouraging stories.

In a blog post once by Seth Godwin, he makes an excellent point about why we sometimes don’t get very far in our endeavors, even when we are taking action every day. Often out of fear, our actions are either too small, too easy, to get us anywhere, or, out of our impatience, they are too big and doomed to fail. The secret, he contends, is to set difficult, but achievable goals.

This is an excellent point that we should all take to heart, but I’d like to take it a step further. Even difficult achievable goals won’t take us where we want to go, if we don’t have a clear idea of where we’re going in the first place. Without a big picture view, a vision, that ties together every action we take, we could end up at the wrong destination, the place where achievement and success ring hollow because we still feel unfulfilled. Worse, perhaps, is that our steps could lead us in many different directions, without reaching any destination, feeling scattered and overwhelmed, thinking, I’m working so hard. Why

aren’t I getting anywhere?

One of the first steps you need to take is to redefine what success means to you. (I talk about this in more depth in my post “Sustainable Success.”) Without a clear idea of how you personally define success—not how you used to define it, and certainly not how others define it—you won’t be able to map out the steps to get there, and you won’t be able to measure your progress along the way.

But even more important is a step many people leave out, even those with a big picture view, a vision, and difficult but achievable goals to get them there. It’s incredibly critical to periodically stop and reassess. Ask yourself these reflective questions with ruthless honestly. Are the actions you’re taking still moving you toward your vision, or have you veered off course? What have you learned along the way? Do you need to fine-tune your plan or even your vision? What creative insights can you gain from your mistakes or from results that didn’t turn out the way you thought they would, or even expected results that didn’t feel the way you thought they would?

This is a crucial step, but it’s also a fine line to walk. It’s easy to turn reassessment into second guessing, not based on continuous improvement, but based on insecurity and fear. You need to be brutally honest with yourself about your reasons for wanting to make changes to your game plan, as well as your reasons for not wanting to change. It helps to feed your intuition with facts, so that they work in partnership. Continuous improvement requires continuous lifelong learning, about who you are, what gifts you bring to the table, what knowledge and skills you need to acquire, and what the world around you needs and how your actions and vision intersect with those needs.

Staying in tune with the flow of everything around you, and adapting constantly to that flow, is the difference between having a vision and being a visionary.

What big picture view ties together all your actions? Do you have periodic reassessment built into your game plan?

Amazon #1 Best Seller Author of 11 books including The Ageless Way, Gray is the New Green, Visionaries Have Wrinkles, The Greatness Challenge and more.

“Old, not obsolete”

Who said retirement means you should stop being active? Who said it should be boring? And who said it means less money and a depleting social life? Because whoever said it was dead wrong. Once you retire, all that keeps you away from remaining an active, working and socially involved individual is your own mentality.

The idea that after retirement kicks in your social life, as well as your income, will plunge dramatically is probably one of the biggest misconceptions we still hang on to. You may not realize it, but there are plenty of options for you to maintain an active lifestyle and generate quite a decent income, even after retirement.

Here are some interesting options you might want to take into consideration:

1. Babysitter

From full grown adults to babies, this job fits right in. Especially for women who are retired, becoming a babysitter is like second nature. Not only will you bring your life’s worth of experience, but you will also find yourself reliving those motherly moments from when you had your own kids to take care of.

This is a great way to boost your income and remain mentally and emotionally active.

2. Family Caregiver

As shown by the N.C.A (National Council of Aging), 80% of seniors receive assistance in their own private homes. If you have a family member, spouse or family friend that needs help at home, you may be able to get paid to help them.

On this note, being a family caregiver actually sounds profitable. And you will have peace of mind knowing you are the one doing the caregiving.

3. Online Freelancer

If you are more of a creative type, this could be a jackpot for you. There are plenty of opportunities to find a well-paid job online, as long as you develop proper skills and have time, patience and commitment. But the payment will be worth it.

Add to that the fact that you get to work from the comfort of your home, and you can see why a lot of retirees have become so attracted to this idea over the last few years.

4. Why not write a book?

There are a lot of writers who have started their careers in their mid-40s or even later. Writing a book is easier than you might think, especially since publishing it is nowhere near as difficult as it was in the past.

Nowadays, Amazon Kindle Publishing is your best friend, as it allows you to remain in full control of the publishing process. This is a great way to earn passive income every month and the more books you write, the more the income will increase.

5. Go creative on YouTube

Not all people are skilled at writing, and developing those skills can take a lot of time and effort. But how about the entertainment side? All you need is a little bit of creativity, 2 ounces of charisma and you can hit it big on YouTube.

Generating enough income to make a living out of YouTube is by no means easy, that’s for sure. But it sure isn’t impossible. All you need is a good idea to start with and everything can snowball pretty fast.

6. Movie extra

The only downside is that the payment is decent, but just decent. The benefits? You get to appear in major Hollywood blockbusters while travelling to some of the most exotic locations across the globe.

If you are a more social and active person that dislikes sedentarism, then this is your go-to dream job.

This is, by no means, an exhaustive list. You know what suits you best depending on what type of person you are, which means there are unlimited options available for you as long as you know where to look.

Life Starts After Retirement

If you think retirement is not going to be fun, think again. As a matter of fact, this is where the fun begins. This is where you will become truly free and start working on fulfilling your dreams, travelling the world, and experimenting with different occupations without being tied to one place or one particular job.

Just let your mind run wild and start living.

By Baruch Leifer

However, from the vibrating heart of our dissipating structures comes the promise of our true greatness: a greatness of awareness and action that will change the world. From the midst of the evolving Great Transition, we leave the Great Recession and the uplifting Obama era behind us as we enter an unknown, unchartered new cycle of populism and extreme radicalism ripping our valued democratic tenets to shreds and putting each of us on the line.  This Great Shift demands that we each unlock our potential for greatness which lives in each of us, and we are being called to make a difference. That is the premise of The Greatness Challenge, in which I offer a template for embracing and embodying our unique Signature Greatness DNA^SM to unleash our personal and collective greatness.

The Greatness Challenge is a manifesto for the growing wave of us who want to add value in all we do and who are being called to personal and collective evolution—from dentists to doctors, executives to engineers, artists to teachers and visionary leaders and futurists who are looking to redesign their lives so that every moment counts . . . for those of you who seek work that not only fills your bank accounts but your “values” bank as you yearn to do well doing good . . . for leaders who seek a pathway to visionary leadership, so the impact you have is of the greatest benefit for all.

To be one of the first to hear about The Greatness Challenge when it releases join us in the Secret Facebook Group here.

“I want to make every moment count.”

“Life is short.”

“It’s got to matter or why bother?”

One of my clients exclaimed during one of our recent sessions, “Oh my G-d, I just got it… I have less time before me with my wife than we have behind us. We have got to change how we are doing things!”

By the Year 2025, there will be more than 1 billion people age 60 or older. Three quarters of them will be in developing countries. And many of them right here in the United States. By the year 2020, 76 % of Americans will be 50 years or older.  With age comes many challenges but also a heightened appreciation for life and a greater thirst for meaning in work and relationships.

Psychologists Jung, Erickson and Neugarten left us developmental models to track our growth as we move through our life course. Anyone 38 or older is in what Erikson described as the “last two seasons of life.” Since most of, much of our citizenry in developed countries is over 35, this is important in understanding our times and what moves us to action.

Research confirms that accomplished and affluent Americans and Europeans in the post-9/11 and -3/11 era have become more intent on adding value, seeking meaning and significance in their lives and work. Wisdom comes with greater reflection.

Each of us is age-appropriately seeking “significance.” The highest rung on psychologist’s Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is “Self-Actualization.” With our basic needs met, we yearn to reach for more…for transcendence.

Most of our leaders, at the helm of our most powerful corporations and governments are in midlife, in one of these last two seasons. Here lies a monumentally rich possibility: We in these last two seasons can fuel the movement towards meaning, significance as well as both midlife and later life greatness.

We need a new paradigm as well as tools for midlife course correction. Baby Boomers always drive change. Now they drive a shift to lives filled with significance.

With $10 Trillion in assets being passed down to Boomers and 50- plusers, they will hold financial control of the new paradigm. What a wonderful opportunity for the savvy leader and organization to leverage this knowledge! By championing greatness, Vanguard Leaders will trigger transformation and innovation the likes of which we have never seen… and desperately need.

Fostering greatness in our schools, at home and in the workplace, is what will empower us to stay ahead of the curve, to retain our lead as innovator and model democracy.

Our gray hair could be the start of a whole new revolution. What a fantastic opportunity for those at the helm.

Where will you start?

Amazon #1 Best Seller Author of 11 books including The Ageless Way, Gray is the New Green, Visionaries Have Wrinkles, The Greatness Challenge and more.

Women tend to have the blessing and the curse of being invisible, especially as we approach 50 and beyond. The negative side of being invisible is the world no longer seems to notice or care about us or what we have to say—if they ever did in the first place. We seem to lose our voice because no one is listening. Sometimes, we don’t even use our voice because we don’t believe we’ll be heard, so why bother? Being invisible contributes to the vexing problem of low self-esteem, robbing women of the confidence they need to stand up and make a difference.

But there is a positive side to being invisible, a power to being able to work behind the scenes. One that we can utilize and bend to our will and doing our bidding.  We have the the profound opportunity to influence others to make earth-shattering changes without anyone even realizing we are doing so.

But we know.

Business expert and researcher Jim Collins studied 1,435 top companies and found that only 11 companies managed sustained growth. At the helm of each company was a leader with a clear vision paired with humility, working quietly behind the scenes to shape the organization. This is but one example of the power of invisibility—if we learn to understand, embrace, and leverage it.

This concept is not new. In fact, it’s ancient, found, among other places, in Taoist wisdom. As Lao Tzu wrote of the invisible power of a leader:

“When actions are performed
Without unnecessary speech,
People say “We did it!”

David Straker describes this principle further: “In Tao, a leader is sage and invisible. With touch so light, sensitivity so sharply honed, the leader seems to do nothing special, yet somehow they achieve their goals.” The wisdom is ancient but not prevalent in our patriarchal military-industrial society, in which only visible leaders are valued, and therefore the ego constantly disrupts the natural flow.

The masculine aspect is dominant, in some women as well as in men, making invisibility undesirable and all but impossible.

But women have the opportunity to harness their dominant feminine aspect, to go with the flow, making changes and collaborating with others in ways that go unnoticed by a society so focused on the visible, on the ego. When we fly under the radar of the good old boys’ network, we can make significant, sustainable changes without anyone standing in our way. This is why women must step forward today and act on their power to make a difference—through their votes, their purchases, their leadership, their vision, and yes, their success. Striving for meaningful, sustainable, and profitable success is necessary if we are to have the resources and power to lead significant change.

The challenge is to balance the invisible and the visible, to know when we need to work behind the scenes and when we need to speak up and be heard. We need to learn how to marry our invisible power with our visible, visionary leadership. We need to lead the way toward women being a powerful presence for change without losing the invisibility required to effect that change.

I suggest we start by recognizing the power of invisibility in the first place, and understanding that to be invisible doesn’t mean to be inadequate or without value or voice—just the opposite.

In what ways can you use your invisibility to maneuver and effect change?

Amazon #1 Best Seller Author of 11 books including The Ageless Way, Gray is the New Green, Visionaries Have Wrinkles, The Greatness Challenge and more.