What is an encore career?

Encore career…an interesting phrase, recently added to the lexicon.  In today’s professional world, one may have a number of careers.  I had several, in fact.  I initially worked as a teacher in the Peace Corps, teaching English to Thai middle school girls and boys.  Then I became a social worker via a two-year stint at the University of Michigan School of Social Work.  I had field placements at the Boys’ Training School in Lansing, Michigan, working with adjudicated delinquent boys.  Then I had a second field placement at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor, working with hospitalized veterans who had severe adjustment challenges.  Then, after graduate school, I was offered a job as Assistant Professor of Social Work at Gallaudet College, the liberal arts college for students who were deaf.  Working with deaf students became my overall career.  Yet, within that general rubric, I had several careers!  I was, sequentially, a social worker, a teacher of interviewing techniques, a manager of social work services in Gallaudet’s Elementary and Secondary school, a manager of all pupil personnel services in that school, an assistant director of the school, a manager of recruiting and marketing for the high school, a manager of recruiting and admissions for the college, and subsequently, a CEO of a school for the deaf in Michigan, and later, in Buffalo, NY.  Whew!  Makes me a bit tired to contemplate that.  Any one of those could have formed a satisfying career in and of itself.  However, for whatever reason, I continued to seek new opportunities.

After I retired, my wife and I “hit the road” in a 35-foot motor home, and visited 44 states!  Still seeking the next phase.  What IS around that next corner?  We found it in Tucson, and settled here.  I got restless again, so at age 65, I began coach training at the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara.  I received my certification as a life coach in December, 2005, and opened my business, Success Plus Coaching, in January, 2006.  I’m still at it, and still seeking.

My encore career will NEVER be complete.  I love being involved, I love making a difference, and I love engagement.  Happily, I am married to a woman who supports my quests and who keeps me grounded!

What is an encore career?  It is anything you make it to be!

Until next time!

David

What was…isn’t: self-defeating beliefs

I was so astounded that I actually made it to 70 that I thought this blog would be a good way to track the journey after reaching that milepost.  Why was I astounded?  Well, I assumed I would die young.  You see, my mother died at age 51 of lung cancer.  In spite of that, I continued smoking, and figured that would take me too.  Of course, I didn’t account for the fact that my mother never smoked, and it was something else that prompted the growth of the cancer in her lungs.  When I reached 51, then 52, then 53 and realized I was still healthy, I began trying in earnest to quit, and finally managed to quit using the patch on January 1, 1993 at age 54.  Although it could come back to bite me, I am through the major period of post-quitting risk and should be ok.

But the self-defeating belief could have killed me!  I could have contracted lung cancer along the way to 54, and not be writing this blog today.  Luckily, I didn’t.  I did survive prostate cancer, and have just had a minor bout with a tiny skin cancer, but am overall a very healthy man at 71.

How many of us have one kind of self-defeating belief or another?  Mine could have cost my life, but didn’t.  Do I have others?  Sure, you bet.  Do you?  I’ll bet you do.  For example, I fight all the time with a belief that I am not a good marketer.  So that belief leads me away from the kind of marketing tasks that could build my business.  I’m working on unwrapping that belief so that I can put it to rest and move on, but it is a challenge.

What are your self-defeating beliefs?  What do you to to unwrap them, expose them to the light of day, and let them go away?

Until next time!

I’m Back!

After my last post (in October, 2009!), I kept postponing my next one.  Then I didn’t even consider posting for months.  I have discovered something very interesting: life after 70 is very much like life before 70!  I am now nearing my 71st birthday (August 23), and find that there isn’t much to say about age at this point in my life.  A friend recently published a book entitled 70 Is The New 40. I don’t think I feel like I did at 40 (in fact, I know I don’t!), but her message is that advancing age doesn’t have to limit us today as it did in years and decades past.

I know many people in their 70s and beyond who are employed full time, loving their work, engaged fully in life, and continuing to contribute significantly to their communities in many ways.  Although not employed full time, my work as a career and life transitions coach keeps me engaged and interested in what others are doing and in assisting them to find their dreams and purposes in life.

It is my intention to begin posting more regularly here, and comments on issues related to engagement in life’s activities after 70 would be welcome.

David

Travel

This one will be brief. I’m writing from my daughter’s home in Maryland on my Blackberry so typing is a bit slow and error-prone. We had a wonderful week in Nashville at the Sweet Adeline Convention, where my wife’s chorus had their first oppotunity to sing on the International stage. They didn’t place well, but they sang well and had a good time.

Our internet access has been primarily through the Blackberry while traveling and what a joy it is to just pull out the phone to check email! VeRizon had a deal going we took advantage of, and bought two phones for the price of less than one phone. Of course, Verizon got a two year contract out of it, but we’d do that anyway. So we are pretty pleased.

When we get home, we begin unpacking boxes and continue the process of deciding what goes where, and hanging pictures and all that. Looking forward to getting our new home the way we want it.

One thing I haven’t figured out is how to approve a comment from the Blackberry,so Scott Lewis, you may not see your comment on the site until I get home, but thanks for your thoughts.

Until next time.

David Updegraff for 70 and Beyond

Ooooops…

Time flies…so they say!  As noted in earlier posts, we are moving, and doing most of it ourselves.  This involves some long days of hefting, toting, lifting, stretching, and the like.  It also involves some days of saying, “Holy Cow!  I can’t do it today, so I’m slacking off.”  It also involves a singular focus.  That focus, important though it is, caused me to “forget” that I had a post due on Sunday.  I remembered Monday, and got to the computer Tuesday to write it.  So it goes with memory, focus on significant things, and deadlines.  Happily, this is a self-imposed deadline, so can be postponed if necessary.

Until we get moved and settled, however, my focus will remain on that process and it will be a challenge to get these other tasks done.  Don’t despair; this blog is a priority to me, and the content will get richer and more varied after life settles down.

For now, however, there may be more than one “Ooops” on the way!

David Updegraff

Physicality

Last week I wrote about keeping fit mentally and physically.  This week the physical side was put to the test!  We are in the process of moving from one Tucson location to another, and have many boxes and small things to tote from the old location to the new one, including emptying a storage unit we have rented since we first settled in Tucson.  With my trusty 1993 Chevrolet half-ton shortbox pickup, I thought I’d just heft and tote all day long until it was done.

Wrong!  A still modestly overweight 70-year-old guy with periodic back issues and arthritis here and there can do a lot, but not as much as he thinks he can!  Coupled with 103 degree temps in Tucson today, not as much was accomplished as I had hoped.  Oh, I forgot to mention that we painted the inside of the condo for three days last week, then I spent most of Saturday on my feet at a community festival at which my chorus was performing and had a marketing booth.  That’s a lot of pushing the envelope.

Pacing oneself seems to be an important concept here.  It is difficult to do, when one has been a doer for most of one’s life.  However, it becomes more and more necessary as time goes on.  I remember my father-in-law at around age 75 or so saying “I can still do a day’s work!  It just takes a week to get it done!”  He did like saying that, but it wasn’t true; after his retirement, he most loved working in his garden and did so for hours daily during growing season.  The rest of the year, he found other things to do; sitting around was not in his repertoire.

We are very happy to be moving; we have loved the RV park where we have lived for six years now, but moving to larger quarters will be very satisfying.  By the time I write next week’s blog, we will likely be sleeping there!

Until next week, get physical, but pace yourself!

David Updegraff

Keeping Fit…mentally and physically

My wife and I were talking about last week’s post on ways to energize elders toward using current technology more effectively, and she said something to the effect that “…of course we’re into it; we’re ‘techno-septuagenarians!’”  It doesn’t really relate to this week’s topic, but I just had to share that comment!

One of the key issues elder Americans face is fitness…mental and physical fitness.  I live among elder Americans, and have done so for the past six years.  Most of the people in the 55+ community in which we live are active, involved, energetic people.  They participate in Senior Olympics locally, they play tennis and golf, they engage in artistic pursuits, they read, they argue (boy, do they argue!) and otherwise keep engaged with each other and with life.

Some, however, have nearly shut down.  I was in conversation with a friend a few months ago who said, “I quit learning when I quit working.”  Ouch!  I can’t imagine that guy has a healthy outlook on life.  He has adopted the mantra that retirement from work means retirement from new ideas and new thoughts.  I hope someone changes his mind!  I wasn’t able to!

All of the reading I have done in recent years about the aging process indicates several things:

1.  The more one keeps one’s mind active, the longer one is likely to have an active mind and life.  Reading, learning new things (like new computer programs!), studying, working crosswords, Sudoku, keeping up with current events, and the like will help one keep fit mentally.

2.  The more one keeps moving physically, the longer one will have the physical strength and agility to stave off decline.  It doesn’t take a whole lot…it is estimated that about 30 minutes a day of walking will make a huge difference in one’s continued health and wellness.

3.  Maintaining a healthy weight will lead to a healthy life.

These are not rocket science.  They are common sense principles.  Too many of us ignore them, and other guidelines we learn from the medical community. 

I am working on taking my own advice!  I am on a weight loss program which has resulted in a 23 pound weight loss over the past 3 1/2 months, a reduction in my BMI (Body Mass Index) from 31.5 (which is in the obese category) to 28 (in the overweight category).  It has also resulted in more energy, less exhaustion, and a brighter outlook on life.

We are in the process of moving to a condo from our RV park, and once we get moved, I will join a health club near the condo and begin a new exercise program to continue my own quest for a long and healthy life.

Keeping fit…it is one’s own responsibility to take that seriously and do something about it.  At this point in my life, I wish I had taken this advice much earlier.  I didn’t.  However, I am doing so now, and am grateful that I still am able to do so.

Until next week, keep fit, keep thinking, and keep a positive mental attitude!

Change

We live in an era in which societal change happens so rapidly we can hardly claim to keep up with it.  It is especially challenging for those of us who remember a time before electric typewriters!  I have taken it on myself to remain current with as much contemporary technology as I can.  I began using a computer at work in 1980, and got my first home computer, an Apple iic, in around 1984 or so.  I have embraced the computer, cell phones, text messaging, digital cameras, PDAs, social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn and other forms of technology (I still struggle with Twitter, to be honest).  Many of my peers have also taken up the challenge to learn how to navigate the waters of contemporary society.

Some, however, have not.  Either through lack of interest, lack of money, or lack of motivation to change themselves, they remain fixed in previous decades.  Unfortunately, they are missing out on so much! 

How can we motivate elders to move forward into the fresh new world in which we are living?  How can we show that their lives can be made richer by these experiences?  I think that for some elders, the changes are so rapid that they feel that they can’t keep up, so why should they try.  I have heard many of my peers say “I got along without that stuff throughout a successful life; why change now?” 

On the other hand, many elders who have lost their spouses are now seeking companionship through online dating.  I have several friends and acquaintances who are now remarried to new sweethearts found online.  Isn’t that great?  The opportunity to re-establish a loving bond make possible through online dating services! 

Clearly, technological advances have created connections that were never considered possible before.  This blog can be read instantly by a person anywhere in the world who has access to a computer.  My Facebook page contains “friends” in South America, Australia, Sweden, Great Britain, Austria.  Most of these are friends I have never met and am not likely to meet, but we share interests in coaching, or in barbershop harmony. 

My parents, who were very advanced thinkers and doers in their times, would be astounded by these advances.  One brief story: I served in the Peace Corps in Thailand from 1963-1965.  I taught English in two small towns away from Bangkok where communications were limited.  My mother became ill with cancer while I was there.  After her surgery, she asked my Dad to arrange a phone call with me.  He contacted Peace Corps Washington and learned that the only way to effect a phone call between Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Bangkok was via radio-telephone.  I would have to come to the main Post Office in Bangkok from my village in the North of Thailand, and be there at the pre-arranged time for our three minute call.

It was an unsatisfactory call in view of the fact that both of us kept forgetting we had to “push to talk” and then listen without interrupting while the other person talked.  It was the last time I heard her voice, however, so it was a precious time from that perspective.  She died not long after that call from her cancer.

Today, it is highly likely that Peace Corps Volunteers have cell or satellite phones to call home periodically!  They have Internet, Skype, text messaging, and other magical communication devices with which to maintain contact.

I believe that one of the challenges we face is to bring elders into the matrix of social networking to a far greater extent than has happened to date.  Ideas on how we can do this?  The comment pages are awaiting your thoughts!

Until next week!

David Updegraff

Milestones

This week I am writing about “milestones.”  Another important milestone is approaching in my life with my beloved, and it prompted me to explore the topic a bit.  The actual definition of “milestone” is very different from the manner in which I use it.  A milestone is a marker on a road or highway designating that a mile has been traveled.  It comes from the Romans, noted for building roads and marking their distances.  The Latin word milliarium means milestone. 

Is contemporary usage so different?  A milestone, in common verbiage, is an important marker in time rather than distance…a marker which designates something important to the individual. 

Our new milestone has to do with real estate.  As many of you know, Susan and I sold our home in 2001 and moved into an RV.  Actually, we lived in a non-mobile RV…a park model…for half the year, and traveled in a motor home for half the year.  Then we discovered Tucson, sold the motor home, and have lived full time in the park model since July, 2004. 

It is a bit cramped!  Park models are 400 square feet, and we have an additional 160 in an Arizona room, used for our office space.  We found a condo development we fell in love with, found a condo with two bedrooms, two baths, and 1400 square feet that we could manage financially, and will close on September 15.  Then painting, carpeting, some new furniture and window treatments.  Hopefully, we’ll move by around the end of September, then get the park model ready for sale.

Although we have lived full time in Tucson for five years now, moving into Central Tucson into a condo has the sense for me that we have made the final commitment that this is home now.  Living in the RV Resort, beautiful and well taken care of as it is, has always felt a bit temporary. 

The fascinating thing about this is that we both feel like kids again with a new toy!  We talk about it all the time, compare ideas about paint colors, place furniture hither and yon, and generally just have a ball thinking about our new home and neighborhood: a couple of block walk from the Rincon Market, a long-time neighborhood market with great stuff.  A short drive to many nice restaurants, a couple more supermarkets (Whole Foods and Safeway), movies, shopping, and a city park.  Great sidewalks and areas for evening or morning walks.  The University a few blocks West of us, with all the excitement that brings. 

In some ways, this is the kind of city living we have lost in our society, with our suburbs and exurbs, with the automobile carrying us everywhere.  We feel like we are getting back to a lifestyle that will be very satisfying, healthy, and engaging. 

Another milestone traversed, to be sure!  See you next week.

A Day Late…

What an auspicious beginning: set an intention to post every Sunday and on week two, post on Monday!  Here’s what happened, in the words of the inimitable Monk: Susan and I were out much of Sunday on a variety of activities:  Sunday morning my quartet sang at three church services; then Susan and I went out looking at Southwestern style furniture; then my quartet sang at an ice cream social, then we went out for Chinese at one of our favorite Tucson Chinese restaurants with our friend Sylvia.  When we arrived home around 8:00 pm, the a/c was off and it was 93 in our home.  Yikes!  We love Tucson…with air conditioning!  So after nothing worked, we decided to go stay at our vacation club resort for the night, Worldmark at Rancho Vistoso, and try to get it fixed the next day. 

I could have sat at my computer and tried to write this, but I would have been very crabby and decided that, although my intentions were good, reality bit me, and I’d do it after the a/c was repaired.

So we had a cooler night’s sleep than we would have otherwise, and got home around noon Monday to find that, mirabile dictu, the a/c had fixed itself overnight and the house was cool!  How do such things happen?  I don’t know, but I’ll take a spontaneous repair over a technician’s bill any day.

What would be the thought about this experience which might have some broad applicability?  Might it be that there is no point to beat oneself up over a missed, self-imposed deadline?  Might it be that “things happen” and one just has to roll with it?  I saw no point in sitting in my unairconditioned study attempting to write something creative while my beloved wife was fuming in the next room over the heat, and while I was fuming at my desk over being hot and unhappy.  Better to just blow the deadline and pick up the next day (or at least after the a/c was fixed).

Having the flexibility to do what we did is another benefit of being at this stage in life.  Just the two of us to worry about, packing up a few things and going elsewhere for the night, not having to get up and get to work the next morning…all good! 

The “shock” of turning 70 is dampening a bit.  After all, it was just another day!

See you next week!