Weekly 5-Outtakes March 16

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Weekly 5-Outtakes March 16

Process hacks that assist in focus and concentration
Having a 90-Day Adventure card that I can carry in my pocket of wallet provides a visual reminder of the most important thing I need to accomplish in a given day. The sense of accomplishment at the end of the day is reinforced by three senses, physically checking it off after reading it, sub-verbalizing it as complete and seeing the check mark of completion. It contributes to peace of mind.

TedEx Talk that taught me
What obituaries can teach us about living.

Book I am reading
Kiss That Frog! by Brian Tracy – Repeatedly, as we develop ourselves, we need to renew our belief in ourselves at each new level. Brian reminds us of proven methods we all can use to help turn negatives into positives.

One thing I am grateful for
I am excited for the adventures that start my day and allow it to close with the feeling that I have done my best.

Health process I am enjoying
Do not take a sauna without medical advice. For me, nothing beats a sauna for stress release and meditation time. I have not been able to ignore wanting to record the great ideas that come to me while relaxing, so I voice record and transcribe later.

Podcast – Artisan’s Emporium

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In this episode, James talks to three pretired entrepreneurs from the rural town of Roxboro, in Person County, NC. Listen in on their very educational and inspiring discussion on matters such as:

  • What inspired them to start their own business after leaving the workforce?
  • What gave them confidence?
  • What role models did they have?
  • What obstacles did they encounter?
  • What unexpected things happened?
  • What have been some of the benefits
  • What values do they want to be remembered for?
  • and more….

Artisan’s Emporium Owners: Kathie Rattican, Carol White, and Saundra Shoe.

That brings us to the end of this podcast. We will keep you posted on the next podcast from Person County, NC as we continue to meet and learn from more baby boomers who have changed directions to follow passions.

Thanks for listening. If you find this series helpful, share with others who may benefit.

This Podcast was brought to you by the 90-Day Adventure© cards. Watch my video on the benefits of writing down your most important thing (MIT) to do each day, and then having it as a constant reminder in your pocket. Make the next ninety days the most productive adventure you have ever had. The 90-Day Adventure© cards also make great gifts and the perfect reminder to add to school lunches.

Until next time, this is James Wm. Frank, making the rest the best!

What did you learn from the interview? What questions would you like to have answered in the next podcast? Leave you comments below.

Pretirement – Is it Real?

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Baby boomers take pretirement by storm. Is it real?

Since 2011 10,000 baby boomers have turned sixty-five every day. This has caused the landscape of our social fabric to change dramatically. It is becoming increasingly clear that boomers do not want to act their age. They may not know exactly what they do want, but what they don’t want, is to be called “old” or “senior”, or even “retired”. Terms like, “reinventing” “second act” are being heralded as descriptions of the activities that baby boomers use to spend their time.

Pretirement seems like a better term to describe this period between when adults stop contributing to their retirement plans through deductions and yet have not started to draw down on their savings on a regular basis. This is a new state of adult life that marks the transition from a profitable occupation to a profitable avocation.

Many economists and financial planners see pretirement as a conflict that must be surmounted.  Pretirement to them means:

  • The act of planning for early retirement and
  • Planning to avoid probate
  • Planning for long-term care
  • Making sure your money lasts as long as you do

Ok, then what? Let’s face it, financial planning should not take more than a few hours out of each year to stay up to date.

Others are looking more at the social implications of the pretirement years and how a new mosaic of priorities and time management emerge. In all of these, rethinking is a common requirement.

Pretirees are really saying, hell no, this is not another time in my life that I am must drudge through to get to retirement. I don’t want to surmount this. I want to actively enjoy this.

They see pretirement as a period when the kids are, mostly, on their own – man is the only animal that lets the young back in the nest. They have done the twelve-hour work day when you include transit time and dealing with kid’s activities. For too long, they have sacrificed for others. It is finally their time. Once the kids are out of the house, they are ready to enjoy life again. it’s like when the last family dog or cat goes to animal heaven and you decide, I have picked up enough poop and changed enough kitty litter for one life.  Many boomers just don’t want to be home by a certain time anymore to look after pets. They want to enjoy their new-found freedoms.

Pretirement is the time to move past the reflection of what have I accomplished, and on to where can I make the biggest difference with my talents, and expand my horizons of creative life and lifestyle.

The sheer number of baby boomer pretirees transitioning into the next state of existence has led to an entirely new financial economy with tremendous entrepreneurial requirements, the “longevity economy”.  Many of this newly defined cohort are actively looking to expand their contribution to society as well as exploit their wisdom to work for themselves. Pretirement is a time for a second career for many of those leaving the workforce, with one-third of new businesses being started by those over the age of fifty, per the research by the Kaufman Foundation.

The advantages that the current pretirees, the baby boomers, bring to the table to start a business career after leaving an employment career are multi-faceted Including confidence, experience, wisdom, financial security, basic business acumen, clear goals, and the ability to work with others, just to name a few.

One thing is for certain. The pretirement baby boomers are itching for new input on many intellectual fronts. They are staying curious and looking for answers to problems they see in the world. They want information and they want to learn. They see their next 20-30 years as a great adventure and they want to participate to the fullest.

If you are in that cohort of baby boomers who are creating a new beginning, we want to know what has driven you to begin again? What has inspired you? Where, and how, have you gotten new skills that you needed to create your new raison d’etre? Not only do others need to hear your story, others will be inspired by your challenges and successes. Remember, leave the woodpile higher than the way you found it.

Weekly 5-Outtakes Feb 17

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Audio program I am listening to:

Self Discipline by Brian Tracy Spaced repetition of knowledge input is one of the most important habits that will catapult you to your goals faster than anything you could do. Gentlemen, this is a football, stated Vince Lombardi at the beginning of every training season for the Green Bay Packers. It is the basics that slip us up every time. You will know when you have integrated a new habit when you find yourself repeating the learned phrases on your own. Like taking a shower, repeated lessons are vital to daily results.

Thoughts I Am Pondering

Here is my next book title Force of Purpose (www.forceofpurpose.com). When the mind’s eye vision is so strong, the facts don’t matter. Overcoming hours of aloneness and accepting when enough is good enough are a welcome normal.

Exploring New Questions Reveal the Same Old Answers

Keep asking the 5-Whys. Questions are always the answers. What do you value? Why? What are your motives? Like a small child striving for a deeper answer, asking why, five time in a row, will expose core beliefs and opportunities to excel.

Boomer To Zoomer Flip Article Getting Attention

Boomerang kids causing baby boomer parents to stress about retirement, survey suggests

The kids leave and then come back. It is said; “Man is the only animal that lets them back in the nest.” More than 40% of new businesses are being started by those over fifty years old. And they want to learn the skills to success quickly. Their reasons abound.

What I am reading.

Boomer Reinvention, How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50.

And today, a question for you to ponder.

What is on your Minimal-List? What are some of the things you would have to have at the least, being a baby boomer going forward? Is travel a must for you? Is living close to the grandchildren of upmost importance? What are your “No matter what” items that take precedence over time and money?

Weekly 5-Outtakes Jan 24

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Weekly 5-Outtakes Jan 24

Self-Reminders
Build the foundation strong and deep. Often folks get this far into the new year and lose confidence. Life gets in the way and disruptions happen. This is when I remind myself that those enormous 100 story skyscrapers start with months of excavating and construction to strengthen the foundation before anything is seen above ground. Goals need foundations. What is the next MIT (Most Important Thing) that you need to do to move ahead? Remember, minutes of preparation, save hours of implementation.

Book I am reading
Fifty-five, Unemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Retirement Life – Elizabeth (Lizzy) White
This too will pass. We have all heard that remark from some well-meaning friend at some point in our lives when disappointment and even severe loss has lifted its ugly head. Everything happens for a reason is another phrase meant to console us in times of trouble. The truth is that our lives are filled with problems that need to be solved. Occasionally, our daily problems are interrupted by periods of catastrophe. The point being that we all are in a crisis, just heading out of a crisis, or just about to head into a crisis. The question is how are we going to think our way out of the situation in which we find ourselves. Elizabeth White forces us to look at our responses and suggests better methods with which to recover our belief in ourselves and the world. An excellent read!

Affirmation I am repeating.                                                                                        Personal responsibility is the cornerstone of creating change in our lives. Once we accept that what we think and how we think are under our control, we have the profound realization that “I am powerful beyond measure.”

The Three Biggest Alternative Facts About Baby Boomers – Exposed
Once you stop steady employment, you can never get a decent job.
Owning my own business is out of the question at my age.
My contribution is not as valuable now as it was in the past.

What I’m researching
What’s the story on Telomeres? Biologist Elizabeth Blackburn and psychologist Elissa Epel detail ways average Joes and Janes can protect their telomeres — and possibly live longer and feel better.

Weekly 5-Outtakes

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Weekly 5-Outtakes

So, Hello Again,

Here are your Weekly 5-Outtakes from Boomer to Zoomer. These are ideas that caught my attention from the past week. Personal effective achievement is built on those areas to which we give attention.

Healthy Thinking – As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass. Strength training is essential to maintaining bones strong and aid in stabilizing balance. Falls that result in bone fractures can lead to long periods of inactivity and declining well-being. You have seen many baby boomers already showing that hunched back posture that restricts breathing and circulation. As important as cardio exercise and weight training are, stretching muscles several times a day are absolutely essential to staying limber and improving circulation while reducing joint pain. Start your day with back and shoulder stretches. Be aware of lowering your shoulders when you find them up around your ears. I invested in a shoulder harness to help build muscle memory. It feels really, good to wear it even for a couple of hours while sitting and walking around and I find my posture has improved substantially.

Hacks I am using – If you get as tired as I do of finding the last product search I did showing up on my social media pages, try using the Incognito function on the Chrome browser. You can switch between an Incognito window and any regular Chrome browsing windows you have open. Product searches from an Incognito window remain confidential.

How I Avert Scarcity Impulses – Scarcity and limiting abundance are techniques used in marketing to coerce you to take action before time runs out or supply disappears. Research shows that we all are drawn to take action before the opportunity is gone forever, or so we think. One of the greatest reminders that I learned from Brian Tracy years ago, is that “There is always another bus!” I have used it with urgent sales people ever since and it stops them in their tracks. Whenever you find yourself wrought with anxiety to decide, right now, remind yourself; there is always another bus. You will feel better and more in control of your decisions.

How I Absorb Books – I read several hours every day and go through 2-3 books per week, plus hundreds of research-articles. I use the OPIR method for getting the most accelerated learning to absorb books quickly. Overview, Preview, In-view, & Review.

Overview – Quickly read the covers, table of contents and bibliography to check for relevance.

Preview – Go through chapter headings and quickly and take in key points, especially those of interest at-the-moment. If nothing interests you, get rid of the book. You will never remember any of It anyway.

In-view – Delve into greater depth. Turn each page and read paragraph beginnings to get the gist, especially on topics of interest at the time. Highlight key passages as you read. Make the book yours!

Review – Take a short time to go page by page where you have highlighted and written notes. You now have excellent comprehension and can quickly grasp the key points of interest to you in the future.

Affirmation I Am Repeating – Stop smoldering and start igniting your life! Shoulda, coulda, woulda, someday, are not in the vocabulary of the effective achiever. Drive comes from the love of the game. If you love what you do, your passion will exude. Remember, in the back of your mind, you know the clock is ticking and running out. Regret only the things you have never tried.

If you enjoy your Weekly 5-Outtakes, share with a friend.

Do you succumb or do you surmount?

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Some call it Resilience. Others call it Grit. It’s a quality inside that leads to what Mr. Kratz, my trumpet teacher when I was 11 years old called, Stick-to-itiveness. What I call “Dogged persistence born out of obligation and stubbornness”.

My father was an abusive disciplinarian. He was nearly sixty years old when I was born and often seemed like a grandfather figure rather than a father. He was born in 1889. Yup, my father was born 128 years ago. Child rearing was a different concept then. By the time my siblings and I came along, the child rearing method of the day was that parents must break the will of the child at an early age in order to control their behavior. Creative, endeavors were seen as aberrant behavior and stifled. Children were to be seen and not heard. Consequently, I could either become resentful and give up my power to an external locus of control or secretively harbor and protect my self-esteem through adaptive measures. Fortunately, for me, that little person inside of me chose, yes chose, to maintain the locus of control internally. For what reason did I choose to rise above the abuse and flourish and my three siblings choose to feel defeated in life and give their power up to an external ghost?

The answer to that question bates the answer to the question of, why are some people seemingly more successful than others? Why do certain people have greater personal effectiveness while others feel life is controlled by luck and circumstance rather than by the laws of cause and effect, action and reaction and sowing and reaping?

Norman Garmezy addressed these concepts and questions and started what became known as resilience theory. Emmy Werner also concluded that the same traumatic environmental factors resulted in opposing behavioral outcomes within the same cohort. Angela Duckworth has shown that Grit can be learned and strengthened.

This means, to me, that baby boomers have the distinct, verifiable opportunity to consciously change directions and strengthen their internal locus of control to take control of their own power to make decisions by controlling how and what they think. The question I ask is, can business startup success be predicted in the baby boomer cohort that sees retirement as an opportunity for new beginnings?

Henry Ford said; if you think you can’t or you think you can, you’re right. Your commitment to change is up to you. Brian Tracy says that a person feels a level of self-esteem to the degree to which they feel in control of their outside world. Your outside world is a manifestation of your internal expectation and design. Make a decision today to get clarity on what you want your outside world to look like. Get clarity on your motives. Write them down. Connect your motives to your goals. It really is as simple as fill-in-the-blanks and connect the dots. Your motivation will come from your fascination and love of the game.

Announcing Boomer to Zoomer Virtual Suite

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Welcome to the opening of the Boomer to Zoomer virtual studio. We will present podcast and webcast interviews, along with modules to inspire and inform, with thought leaders from around the world. Discussions will cover topics that matter to baby boomers who are developing new careers and creating adventures with renascent passion.
If you have a new-direction-in-life story that needs to be told, I want to hear about it.