GETTING INTO REWIRING MODE

When I was younger, and I do believe that that is a relative term, we used to say "get into gear!" I'm sure that there were many different interpretations, but to me it meant get ready to take action...whether it was going to a Big 10 football game, to a party, to take an exam...it didn't matter, it was about getting your head into a new place. So I was surprised when I unexpectedly used that expression last week in a speech to a roomful of men, aged 65 to 98.

These men were realizing that their longevity was giving them the time to pursue more dreams. As one man said, "I'm still waking up every day, so why should I stop trying new things?" Obviously I love that attitude and view it as one of the ingredients for successful aging.

My comment about "getting into gear" brought forth many questions from them about how to get into gear to rewire.

Now let me say that yes, there is a complete rewiring process and exercises in our book, DON'T RETIRE, REWIRE! but I came up with more ideas that I have listed below:

1.) Write down up to five words that someone who loves you or who you value would use to describe you. Don't edit the list, either mentally or physically, absorb it. Are you outgoing, spunky, brilliant, clever, kind? whatever...if someone put it down, they perceive you that way.

2.)Think about how you do or don't demonstrate those characteristics in your life today. You could be demonstrating those characteristics through your paid work, volunteer work, or in your leisure time. It could be through cooking, organizing events, singing in a choir?

3.) Write down your dream vision of how you wish the world was.

4.) Write down the dream vision for your life.

5.) Try to craft a sentence of how you could incorporate who you are with what you wish the world was like.

6.) Now imagine that this is a beginning for your rewiring plan.

There is nothing easy about change, but there are tools that can help you on your rewiring journey, regardless of your age! We all need to take our dreams and put action behind them. Once you do that, you have a greater shot of making your dream, a reality!

DON'T GET STUCK IN THE CAREER PIPELINE!

It's Fall and I'm back on the road talking to individuals across the United States about how and why they should constantly be rewiring their lives at work and at play. In addition to my normal Boomers and beyond group, I now meet 30 and 40 year olds who are curious about why and how they could rewire and set themselves up for a better future.

With four generations in the workplace, and the pipelines of promotion getting clogged with boomer bodies, it isn't surprising that everyone is looking for new ideas and ways to manuveur in the workplace. We have discovered that the rewiring process we created for DON'T RETIRE, REWIRE! is in reality a non-age specific life enhancement tool. I know that this is a mouthful, but that is exactly what rewiring is all about! Life enhancement regardless of age !

If you are feeling stuck in your work role for whatever reason don't abandon hope.

After you have done an attitude check on yourself, consider the following:

1.) to look for new things to do at work that would further advance your career

2.) to identify those drivers, personal motivators, that make you tick at work

3.) to find new avenues to fulfill those drivers on the job

4.) to not feel that adding new tasks would zap energy, but rather increase your energy

5.) to decide that this is the time to learn a new skill or two that you have been postponing

5.) to accept that a lateral move can positively impact your career

6.) to remember that up is NOT the only way

7.) to believe that the grass is NOT always greener on the other side

8.) to believe that Boomers will retire from their jobs one day and rewire into their next acts

9.) to position your self well for when Boomers leave and the pipeline reopens

10.) to always demonstrate a positive attitude so you stand out as a real team player

The above won't guarantee success, but using these ideas definitely set you apart from the pack!

JAY LENO REWIRES HIMSELF and NBC!

I became a Jay Leno fan years ago. I was bummed to see him moved aside for Conan but since I do work in the mature worker category I understood what was happening. At 59 I knew that Jay was not ready to stop working...and why should he? If you love what you do, why stop? To me it is very apparent that to Jay "work is fun!" Some of you might be shocked when you read this ...work and fun in the same sentence, you ask? Isn't that an oxymoron? For some yes, but NOT FOR EVERYONE! and definitely not for Jay Leno!

I won't surmise what Jay's drivers are, although we do identify 85 drivers, or motivators in DON'T RETIRE, REWIRE! for why we all work beyond a paycheck. If Ihad to guess I would say that he has a high need for accomplishments, to stay creative and to be competitive.

And to do that he had to take a risk and so did NBC, hence the birth of The Jay Leno Show! Rewiring is about moving energy into new and different areas, which is what they both did, and now we literally need to stay tuned to watch how Jay's rewirement goes. There are always critics and supporters and remember rewirings do not happen over night.

Let's be honest---the future is about risk. Will it be worse to take a risk, or to not take one? That is the question that many boomers will have to ask themselves. You need to know yourself: are you risk oriented, risk averse or somewhere in between?

When we choose to rewire we need to face the reality that a lot of it has to do with risk AND reward. So I'm advocating that regardless of the economy or challenges that we are facing, that each of us takes the time to assess our drivers and to analyze our own risk factor. And while we're doing that let's see how Jay rewires. His rewiring is on TV...five nights a week...in front of the world. Ours isn't, so take a small step toward rewiring yourself. For most of us our rewiring will not be covered by the media!

CREATE YOUR OWN FUN TO DO LIST!

Plans change. You can either become upset or see the change as an opportunity. That's what we did when a friend's business plans forced our weekend plans with them to be cancelled. My first thought was, "ok, what's something on our list that we have wanted to do but haven't done yet, for whatever reason?"

First, let me say that there is something inherently important built into that question, and it is.."do you have a fun to do list?" If not , why not? I want to turn the traditional thinking about to-do lists on its head! I interviewed several people who all told me that they view to-do lists as drudgery, as work to be done, as have - to do's vs. want-to do's!

Wait a minute...maybe this is the time to create a fun to do list of things that will give you fun, enjoyment, or just plain good times! It's time to rewire our thinking about fun and to sit down and identify with whom and where we have our best fun times. During these times of economic challenge knowing what makes you tick at work AND at play is critical!

I went to my fun to do list and thought --could this be the weekend to explore yoga in more detail, (and to include my husband in the process) and attend a wonderful concert or two at the Tanglewood Music Center in the Berkshires. I got on line and checked out the KRIPALU Yoga Center catalogue and discoverd that they were offering a weekend of YOGA, MINDFULNESS and MUSIC at Tanglewood! I thought how perfect...combining yoga and Yo-Yo Ma! for me it doesn't get much better than that!

You may hate yoga. The truth is , it doesn't matter what your event or activity is. My challenge to you is that you don't just fill time with whatever. Starting today take the time to get to know yourself better. It all begins with you identifying where you get your fun...and with whom you are having the good times. And if you are not having enough fun, begin to make it a priority.

AND remember fun does NOT have to come with a big price ticket!

IDEAS FOR FINDING A NON-PROFIT CAREER

Many people have been dreaming about pursuing a career in the non-profit world. They imagined rewiring into an encore career that would be truly "meaningful." Then the economy collapsed and they "tabled" their dreams! Dreams may need to be altered or slowed down but they don't have to be discarded!

Life has always been complex and there are few absolutley perfect times to make a career move. We believe that this is a good time to start doing your due diligence on your dream: start exploring your self and some actual encore career opportunities.

Michael Watson, Senior Vice President of the Girl Scouts, and a former corporate executive who rewired into the nonprofit world, and I believe so strongly in this topic and in your future that we wrote an article for encore.org entitled: "Finding A Nonprofit Career During Tough Times."

Our goal in writing the article was to be both practical and inspirational and offer tips to jump start your thinking and acting.

Don't be put off by the economy. The challenge for all of us is to figure out what The New Normal will be like; your New Normal could include an encore career, and it might be right around the corner so start exploring!

STAYING MOTIVATED TAKES EFFORT

I was recently with a group of friends who asked if every now and then I could do a blog offering a few motivational tips. I agreed but also reminded them about a great line from Ecclesiastes that I have paraphrased here--"there is really nothing new under the sun..." People keep waiting, wishing and hoping for that silver bullet... but there is no silver bullet and Wishin' and Hopin' is a song by Dusty Springfield, not a way to live your life! What would be new and different is if everyone chose to try something new!" so here are a few VERY obvious ideas!

NEW INSIGHTS FROM OLD MATERIAL

I had lunch lunch yesterday with a retired 82 year old friend who happens to be a psychiatrist. We covered a lot of topics and I wasn't surprised to hear him say how stress was at the highest level he had ever seen. In fact he told me that old clients were calling him just to "check in."

I often say that the work I do is rather like therapy but without the couch so to that point today's blog is a list of practical things we can all think about in these evolving times.
People will often ask me "what can we do to get through this?"

I know that the "this" they refer to runs the gamut from work, family, financial, to emotional challenges, based on their circumstances so here is a list of thoughts and ideas that I have been compiling. MOST OF THESE IDEAS ARE NOT NEW! What makes them new for you-- is is you use them!


So as the world is looking to create The New Normal so should you be! So here goes...
1. If you will change, everything will change for you.

2. Spend time and money to do things that count.

3. Don’t spend too much time or money on things that don’t count.

4. Instead of getting through the day, think of what you get from the day.

5. There is no such thing as "perfect."


6. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Practice makes permanent.


7. Get yourself on some type of an activity or fitness plan.

8. Clean up your neglect--of your body, your spirit, your skills.

9. Spend money on the inside of your head if you need it.

10.Get out of your own way.
Short sentences can carry a lot of "punch."