As a baby boomer, I am now part of an emerging demographic: the longevity revolution. According to Harvey Mackay, author of the bestseller book Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, we are an underrated generation.
Research says that media and marketing advertising has traditionally been targeted to 18-34 year olds. Now baby boomers rule in terms of size and they often have accumulated more wealth and some have more time. What kind of business opportunities could exist for this bulging group?
This Great Recession has been hard on the youth. Just read this commencement speech that will never be given. I can tell you as the mother of three sons in their 20s, it is a tough job market out there. While they are employed, two of them would like different jobs and have been doing all of the right things to make something happen and it is a big challenge. The New York Times reminds us on Sundays about how young people with great degrees, top notch GPAs, from some of the best colleges and universities are taking unpaid internships after graduation!
Ken Dychtwald is reported to be a visionary about lifestyle, marketing, health care and workforce implications of the 50 plus generation. According to Dychtwald, 70 percent of all the wealth in North America and Europe is controlled by people over 50. The growth is coming from people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. And the highest amount of entrepreneurism in the last 10 years in America has happened among 55 to 65 year olds. His conclusion is that some people work for money, but what people really want is freedom.
"I'm going to do what I want to do, how I want to do it, on my own schedule. What people want to be respected for is their wisdom, for their power, for their influence, for their experience."
Basically, people want to become Sages. And I want to help people to do this.
If this interests you, please continue to read my blog and add your comments. I need to learn from your life experience.
What are you doing to find purpose? Meaningful work (and work does not have to be for money)?
As Richard Leider says, "What gets you up in the morning?"
I would like to know.
Jann,
I am a latecomer to the Boomer party. Born in late ’59, many studies didn’t include me in this statistical group until recently. I also have two kids in their 20′s, both with two jobs to support their mortgage and student loans. While they enjoy their primary jobs, they wish they had more time to devote to starting a family, contributing to their communities in rewarding ways, and advancing their professional development. Their situations give me pause as I look to what the future holds for their and my generations.
If I were from my parents generation, I would be nearing retirement. Because modern healthcare allows it and today’s economy demands it, I will likely spend another 15 years in the workplace. I am fully aware the next generation is looking up the professional ladder and wondering how they will ever make it to the next rung with the crowd ahead of them unable or unwilling to climb off at the top.
I enjoy my work, and enjoy the purpose meaningful work gives my life. But I wonder, with a third of my professional life still ahead of me, how will I continue to grow and contribute to my family, my community, and my profession? I believe this is a common question boomers are asking themselves these days, and perhaps that’s what is leading to the prevalence of entrepreneurial activity in this demographic. It offers a foothold in the climb off the ladder.
Thanks for your question. We should regularly ponder why we get up in the morning. The answers keep us on our path to purpose and fulfillment in life. For me, today, the answer is “to see what’s next.” Exploration is exciting.
I appreciate the comments and sharing of life experiences. Purpose is powerful and without it people can get lonely, lost, and off track professiOnally and personally. When we find our purpose—and it can change over time with different phases of life—we are lucky. That is why I like leider’s question as a reminder so that I don’t sleep walk through life.