Fabulous 50s Forward

February is Black History Month in the U.S.  On the one hand, it’s regrettable that we need to designate a month to draw attention to the history and life of a significant part of our population.  Our history as a country is very diverse and has many components and this diversity is not reflected well in the history taught in our schools. History should reflect those strands of the story always…but it doesn’t.  We should be aware of all of the components all of the time…but we aren’t. 

Black History Month is a time for people of all ethnic backgrounds to take advantage of special events, displays and productions to expand our knowledge and understanding. It’s also a time to read some related articles and books and view visual arts.

In 1926, African-American historian Carter Woodson promoted “Negro History Week” which was observed in the second week of February. The idea spread year by year until 1975 when it was expanded to “Black History Month.”

Each year a specific theme is designated. Here are themes for several recent years:

It’s official! I’ve reached my “Medicare Birthday”!  This is significant to me because I’ve spent most of the past 10 years without health care coverage.  

I chose to spend this milestone birthday with my adorable grandchildren who are 3 and 5 years old.  We had a wonderful day! They came home with me after Thanksgiving dinner yesterday for a sleepover, and today we went to IHOP for a special breakfast, to the Nashville Zoo, and then home to make my birthday cake together and have dinner.  

It was at least 65 degrees and sunny – a glorious end-of-November day for the zoo.  We made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, which was a new experience for them.  Neither one liked the result and didn’t eat any, but they loved the process of making it. Seeing them enthusiastically and with so much love sing “Happy Birthday” to me (at least 3 times during the day) brought me such joy!

I also enjoyed receiving birthday greetings and wishes on Facebook from nearly 60 people – from personal friends in Minneapolis, S California, Nashville, Las Vegas, Canada, Florida, and the Netherlands and online friends from a variety of locations. I so appreciate the way the internet allows us to maintain contact with people across the miles who might have faded into our past as life moves us around!

It’s been a great day!!

Here’s an interesting article!  Boomer Consumers are a factor in the economy.  Please share your comments!!

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/finance/2011/July/Not-Old-Yet-Boomers-Take-Marketplace-by-Storm/

In one month I will celebrate my 65th birthday. 

I’ve begun reflecting on what turning 65 means to me.  It’s certainly a milestone for being able to say, “I celebrate and am grateful that I’m alive, healthy, energetic and happy.” It’s a time to reflect on some of the highlights of my life and how I’ve navigated the more difficult parts of my life.  It’s being eligible for Medicare coverage, after several years of mostly not having health care coverage since I had low income and jobs that didn’t provide it. Approaching my 65th birthday is also a time to look at what I want the coming part of my life to be. As the years pass so quickly, it’s a good time to set some things in motion to move me toward what’s really important to be and do in the coming years. I’ll continue to reflect and some of that will find its way into my business and personal plans.  

If you are approaching or have reached this milestone, I’d love to hear your reflections!!

One of the delightful things about accomplishing a goal such as publishing an ebook is that it opens the door to other creative efforts.  

Based on my ebook, Fabulous Fifties Forward, I put together a Manifesto for the Years After Age 50. I chose to call it a manifesto after rediscovering the definition and realizing it really fit!  

Manifesto:  a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives or motives

As we declare our intentions and repeat them, we bring them into our day to day reality.  

You can see the video here: Manifesto for the Years After Age 50

Here’s an interesting blog entry published at www.aarp.org:  

This is prime time — so use it well

by: Jacquelyn Mitchard | from: AARP Bulletin | August 12, 2011

“….What time there is, is prime time.

 So use it well.

Don’t forget, the proof is all around you, that you really can do your greatest work, and your greatest good, after age 50. Picasso did. William Styron and Ann Tyler did. Benjamin Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence. George Bernard Shaw wrote Heartbreak House, his masterpiece. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote the score of The Sound of Music. Jennifer Grey won on Dancing With the Stars.”  Check out this article and share your thoughts back here!!

http://www.aarp.org/personal-growth/life-long-learning/info-08-2011/over-50-things-to-try-once.html

Technorati Tags: baby boomers, Over age 50, reinvent your life, reinventing your life, things to do after age 50

Gratitude is one of most powerful forces in the world.  As we are on our beyond-50 journey, it can be transformative.  Even if you are a practicioner of gratitude, you may find a useful thought or two below: 

The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness has been in the mainstream for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from surgery.

But while we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it still can be difficult to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives. And for gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. And that can take some time.

That’s why practicing gratitude makes so much sense. When we practice giving thanks for all we have, instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing.

Remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more a matter of where we put our focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and gives us hope.

There are many things to be grateful for: colorful autumn leaves, legs that work, friends who listen and really hear, chocolate, fresh eggs, warm jackets, tomatoes, the ability to read, roses, our health, butterflies. What’s on your list?

Some Ways to Practice Gratitude

•  Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way.

•  Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures.

•  Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine.

•  Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.

•  When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You may be amazed by how much better you feel.

•  Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.

As you practice, an inner shift begins to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work.

Author’s content used under license, © 2011 Claire Communications

Today I’m sharing a bit of my own Fabulous Fifties Forward journey.  Truth be told, it’s been a slow and circuitous path, with some significant detours along the way. The core idea of developing and gathering information to help us have wonderful years beyond our 50th birthdays was born a decade ago.  I had great ideas and a vision of what my business would be. And life got in the way, as did my own limitations and blocks to success.  I continued to learn and dream and take tiny baby steps toward the vision that would not go away.

Finally, earlier this year, I published my first ebook which focused on retirement years.  As you can see in the right column of this blog, Keys to Transforming Your Retirement is still available at the introductory rate. It was a thrill to actually get to this point.  Keys… is now available both as a Kindle ebook at Amazon.com and a Nook ebook at BarnesandNoble.com.  Very exciting!

After that milestone, I’ve backed up and written an ebook that provides a process to enhance all of our years after age 50 and dovetails with the Keys… process.  

 With Fabulous Fifties Forward – Make Your Years After Age 50 Remarkable! you will take the time to go through the process of looking at what you bring to this portion of your life. You will think about what you want the next years to be like. At the end you will have a clear picture to move forward with. You’ll have the beginning of a blueprint for your life in the coming years.

 Here are the steps you will be guided through:

• Look at the expectations and beliefs you have of the years past 50, based on your experiences
• Reflect on where you are in your life at this point and what you may want to change
• Come to peace with some parts of your past that are not serving you
• Look at your past accomplishments and strengths and how they can be the foundation of your future
• Decide what past dreams you wish to pursue and dream new dreams

Click here for more information:  Fabulous Fifties Forward – Make Your Years After Age 50 Remarkable! 

Technorati Tags: baby boomers, Fabulous Fifties Forward, life after 50, over 50, reinvent your life

Here’s a photo essay of some people who were late bloomers.  Very interesting selection!!

http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/11/15/successes-that-were-late-bloomers.html

Technorati Tags: baby boomers, late bloomers, reinvent your life