Is Globetrekking For You?

Overseas travel is a huge topic for retirees.  Everyone's Bucket List, or whatever you call yours, seems to have several places they want to visit.  Forbes.com recently published an article by Judy Martel titled: Globetrekking: the new retirement. The article features our friends and fellow authors, Tim and Lynne Martin.  Their new book, Home Sweet Anywhere, highlights their retirement, and it isn't what you would typically imagine.  They had a dream for adventure.  After selling their home in California, they have been living in a variety of cities around the world.  Their retirement is not for the faint of heart.  They are very flexible, adventurous, and are inspirational for anyone who has a travel bone in their body.  The book is a great read, but a lot more than that.  It is full of insights on how retirees (or anyone with courage) can cast off the lines and head for parts unknown.  Globetrekking has become another way Boomers are breaking the mold.

We were interviewed for the article because as authors of the book, Don't Retire, REWIRE! and as "rewiring experts" to get our views on how people execute on their dreams.  We think that not only do Lynne and Tim know themselves well, but they know their drivers---what motivates them.

We highly recommend you read the article and apply it to the many aspects of your life...not just travel.  Yes, packing it all in and leaving the country on an adventure is extreme, but you have to have some idea what's there when you arrive that will give you driver fulfillment.

If you read the article with an open mind, be prepared to have it stretch your thinking and to be challenged to dare to imagine different things for yourself.  Ask yourself..."Do I envy Lynne and Tim, or do I think their retirement choice is too extreme? Or am I somewhere in the middle."

It takes courage to do what they.  All we can say is BRAVO!!!

When a Vacation is More than a Vacation

Travel can become a big part of any retiree’s life.  Whether you are a current retiree or about to become one, you probably have some travel destination on your TO DO or BUCKET LIST.

Recently we met some retirees who said they weren’t sure where they were going to travel next, because they had already seen most of the places they had longed to see. We were a little surprised because some of these people were only in their late 60’s and early 70’s, and could have a long longevity runway in front of them with no place to go.

We decided to turn the idea of travel on its head and challenged people to REWIRE their thinking and attitude when it came to seeing new places and experiencing new cultures. …and we are happy to report that it worked! People began to use a new set of eyes when they looked at their vacations!  

A retired engineer told us that he was not eager to visit another beautiful cathedral (or ABC to seasoned travelers) but after visiting Chartres Cathedral he decided that he was going to figure out how Chartres Cathedral was built! One day it just hit him that rather than just look at beauty, he would turn the cathedral into a project for himself when he got back home. A fellow traveler suggested that he begin by reading Ken Follett’s book, PILLARS OF THE EARTH, to jumpstart his interest.

Or how about the couple who took an unplanned food tour in Parisand couldn’t believe how much enjoyment they got by learning about a culture through its food. They decided that looking at a city through a “food lens” was going to be their new travel criteria.

Other examples included a woman who visited Vienna, attended an opera against her will, and loved it! Or the person who saw a Santiago Calatrava bridge in Seville, Spain, and said “when I get home I’m going to Google him to learn more! Maybe we’ll visit his other works around the world!” Who knows….maybe there are architectural tours for non-architects? If not…maybe there should be!  There are countless stories of people traveling the world…Asia, South America, Africa…..who discovered new interests   simply by being curious and asking questions.

Travelling and acquiring new experiences and making new memories are powerful ways to be engaged in life. Rewiringhow you look at travel can make your future trips more fulfilling and rewarding in ways you never dreamed.  It will be no surprise that you will also meet new friends along the way who may even become traveling companions.

 

 

Boomers Embrace Technology

Boomers have been Rewiring, figuratively and literally.  Since we wrote Don’t Retire, REWIRE! we have been urging Boomers to embrace technology and improve their lives. This is important for everyone.One of the key reasons our readers cite is that by using technology you get to stay in the workforce longer.  You won’t be classified as “yesterday’s worker.”  You get to stay connected to others on and off the job. You can continue to learn and improve your job skills more conveniently and less expensively, too.

You can have more fun….no, not just playing games online, but by opening up a world of adventure and travel.  You can plan better, more cost effective vacations, which translates to being able to have more of them.  The list of how technology can enhance your life goes on and on, and probably will long after future generations ask, “What was a Baby Boomer?”

Not too long ago,  AD Age Digital quoted Rob Sinclair, Microsoft’s director of Accessibility who stated that Boomers represent 25% of the population, yet purchase 40% of all technology.  So if you go on a job interview and you run into a condescending younger interviewer throw this tidbit out and at least get them thinking that “Gee, maybe I underestimated by parents generation.”

This trend isn’t confined to the U.S. either.  On every global trip we have taken in the last 5 years, we make a point to look to see who is using technology in the countries we visit.  It is not just the under 40 set.  It is just about everybody, particularly those of Boomer age.  Whether they are staying connected to work, sending photos to family, or reading their favorite author on their Ipad, they are using technology to their advantage.

Occasionally, we get reader comments on how disgusting it is that technology has separated us from others.  This is so far from the truth as to be ridiculous.  Our personal experience alone, shows that by using FaceBook, Linkedin, Reddit, and other social media sites, we have been so much more connected to a much larger group of friends and family.  It is so fantastic to find out what is going on in the lives of people we care about but don’t always see.  You can’t do this when you aren’t connected!

If you are getting overwhelmed by technology and want a break, simply turn off your phone, Kindle, computer, IPhone, IPad mini or whatever you use for a few hours.  Staying connected is a choice.  Choose to be connected, but manage your time so that the connections pay off for you.  How lucky we are to have the world at our fingertips.

Get Involved and Learn!

It's almost fall.  Labor Day signaled the last day of summer vacations.  School has begun and the yellow buses are packing the roads once again. But learning isn't just for kids.  One of the secrets we have discovered from people we have interviewed over the years is that learning is ageless, fun, and engaging.  Whether you are 50 or 90, continuing to learn improves vitality and increases energy.  Learning is a form of REWIRING.  It doesn't matter what you call it.  Continuous or life long learning mean the same thing.  The important point is that you do it.

 

One of America's wisest sons, Benjamin Franklin, was voracious in his desire to learn, to explore, to travel, and acquire new perspective.  He never stopped doing it and was the richer for it.  After a long life, he reflected on what and how he learned.  He said:

"Tell me and I forget.  Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."  These are words to live by.

We all learn differently. We do so by listening to others in a lecture, by visiting historical sites and talking and listening to guides, by doing hands on volunteering. The internet has opened vast amounts of knowledge for all of us to know.  If you have never watched a TED Talks, you are missing something very special.  Try it. We know you will like it.  You can also secure DVDs at your local library on just about anything.

One form we recommend above all the others, is putting yourself together with other seekers.  You will benefit from the collective questions, knowledge, and enthusiasm that groups provide.  Community colleges, museums, and traveling with others on a themed tour or vacation are just a few of the activities that can lead to knowledge, new friendships, and broadening your perspective.

Geography shouldn’t be a barrier.  You can learn locally, go to another state, or travel to another country, or never leave home. After all you can learn in a group on an interactive webcast.  You can learn regardless of your budget.  Now there are learning venues for everyone.

So as Ben said: Get Involved and Learn!

 

Do Your Heavy Lifting Travel Early

I just came back from 10 magical days in Peru. Visiting Machu Picchu was the initial objective for the trip but seeing Peru’s many other treasures made the whole trip an even greater experience. Too often people omit visiting country capitals; they view them as being only big cities, but Lima, the only capital of a South American country located on water, was a highlight and a culinary surprise. The food in Lima was delicious, especially if you like fish and ceveche, and a great drink called a Pisco Sour! Cuzco, one of the highest cities in the western hemisphere, and the capital of the Incas was beautiful and the magnificent historical site, Machu Picchu was beyond words; everything that I had imagined, and more.

Machu Picchu, home of the Incans, is the crown jewel of Peru. It is also one of the great wonders of the world and a UNESCO site. I learned so much about history, the rise and fall of the Incan empire, and what archeologists and scientist are doing to preserve such a unique site. I also discovered that many people had visiting Machu Picchu on their “bucket list.” Many people told me that they had wanted to visit Machu Picchu for years and now that they were there they were wishing they had done it years earlier! The oldest person I met hiking the ruins was a 77 year old woman who although loving the experience said she wished she had done it 20 years earlier…when she was fitter and definitely more agile. Simply put, many of us have dreams of what we will do when we rewire, or retire, and our recommendation is “to do your heavy lifting sooner rather than later.” We aren’t saying that this 77 year old woman did not have a great experience because she did, but not everyone wants to, or can be climbing rocks, or steep stone stairs in an oxygen-diminished place (it’s located at 7700 feet above sea level) when they are older. (and only you can define older—we’re not here to pass age judgment!)

Rick Miners, my husband and co-author of DON’T RETIRE, REWIRE! and I have always advocated doing the heavy lifting first when it comes to travel. In other words, do the more strenuous travel when you are in good shape. People often tell us that they have visiting Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China, the sand dunes of Namibia or Ayers Rock on their bucket lists. These can be wonderful adventures, but not necessarily for the weak of heart or knee. Our rewiring® advice? Get them on your travel schedules as early as possible. Of course you’ll see people aged 70 or 75 at these extraordinary sites but most admit wondering what the experience would be like if they were younger and in better health. Sometimes you can put off going on a trip and then have it become too physically intimidating or medically impossible to go.

I’m not working for Peru tourism however… the Sacred Valley, religious temples, mummies, remnants of the Spanish conquistadors, Lake Titicaca, great crafts, lovely people, even golf courses, not to mention Machu Picchu are reasons to put Peru on your bucket list. What makes it additionally interesting is that the Incans had no written language and no way to do the architectural feats they accomplished.

So check out what you have on your own bucket list (and we hope you have one!) and start to prioritize what trips and adventures you should undertake sooner rather than later!

Do your heavy lifting first! We’re not doom and gloom people, just realists!