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Posts Tagged ‘active aging’

The Pig in the Python

For decades, the people born right after World War II have been tagged as “Baby Boomers”.  The U.S. Census states that a Baby Boomer is “someone born during the demographic birth boom between 1946 and 1964″.

This demographic includes nearly 80 million members with hefty purchasing potential.

A lot of people, especially marketers, believe this classification to be a uniform one; nevertheless doing that is really an error.  Traditionally the cluster has been said to be made up of malcontents, as evidenced by the era of the sixties (e.g., free love, peace-niks and war protesters), but lots of members are really quite mainstream in their sentiments and lifestyles.

People born within this timeframe are diverse: many (but not all) are now parents; some are grandparents and/or “empty-nesters;”  others are never married, taking care of an aged parent, separated, gay, or belong to non-nuclear or alternate lifestyle families.  Some are still full-time employed, some already retired, others are giving significant consideration to quitting work.

Transformers Change All That They Touch

There is, however, one particular that has tagged this generation – they are change agents.  Because of the size of this group, and relative wealth, they’ve had a renewing effect upon living conditions and culture in the U.  S.  spanning the previous six decades.  In fact, writer Doug Owram labeled Boomers “a shockwave,” and author Landon Jones has referred to Boomers as “the pig in the python”.

This cohort has revolutionized nearly everything as they have moved thru their teen years, early adulthood, their roles, the economy, etc.  – and there isn’t any reason to think that they have ended their transformative actions on our world.

I am expecting that the latest area to be changed by this generational cohort is retirement.

I recall that as a child, I thought anybody aged fifty, or more, was “old” but today, demographers consider fifty to be the beginning of Early Middle Age, and propose that Old Age doesn’t start until after seventy five.  Currently, Americans at age 50 can expect to live another 35 years, and thus, be “retired” for 20 years or longer – so what are they going to do with all that leisure time?

In the past, the time of retirement was sometimes relatively fleeting and characterized by poor energy, little money, and few choices; however, for this collection of just about 80 million US people, those inhibitions no longer apply.  In their 30′s, they bragged about “never growing old,” and now, it’s their responsibility to support that claim.

So, just what are they intending to do with an additional twenty or thirty years of active aging?  Modern diet and health care have greatly extended that period of time when individuals remain healthy and strong (as an example, my mom is in her 90s, resides alone, and still  drives her own automobile).

How Retirement Is Being Altered

Are the so-called “Boomers” going to be willing to drag out the rocking chair, nap on their deck, and let the world pass them by?  I think not!

In general, individuals of this generation are on the path to self-actualization (as Maslow employed the term):

• A lot of them have tons of things they need to accomplish yet in their lives.
• Considering they will have 20-30 years of time to fill, they will have an interest in a wide variety of leisure activities (e.g, travel, golfing, at-home entertainment).
• As a effect of all this time, they also wish to stay fit enough to like that time – so they’ll be extremely curious about products and services that can help them stay fit and strong.
• A lot of them will actually “reinvent” their jobs – beginning that career or occupation they have always fantasized about, but had to put off due to family or other duties.
• Lots of them will begin their own businesses, and the internet provides them with many possibilities they’ve never had before.
• Training, learning and things that may provide them with time freedom will be important for this group of financially comfortable americans.

How will you split that time across work and play?  Are there goals that you have put off for years but need to realize throughout your “retirement”?

If you’re among those people desiring to launch your own , think about starting an affiliate or other web business – but be aware that the issue with most online programs is that their training is limited.  Unfortunately, you will need more training than they typically offer.  One very good starting point for acquiring the knowledge that you’ll need is to join the Online Success for Beginners course.