It’s Time To Side With Us Who Don’t Have Time On Our Side

I was struggling. Plain and simple. Not in business. Not in financial security, or even in health and fitness. Hardly. I was struggling with retirement. And I was quite surprised to learn, primarily from many articles published in the /https://thepeacefulretiree.com/, that legions of other geezers, dinosaurs, seniors, codgers, old-timers, fossils, and trilobites were, and had, struggled, too. 

My battles were slightly different. Transitioning into retirement, after nearly five decades of working 70 hour weekly shifts as a business owner, wasn’t surprising in its difficulties and improbabilities. To a large extent, I expected the trauma, although I was blindsided at the extent of the troubles I encountered throughout the transition process, which lasted about four years. More fittingly, I struggled with two primary considerations all lodged under the umbrella of retirement, that were bugging the shit out of me. 

The first was sort of groundbreaking in a way that surprised me that no one, and I mean not a single person on this planet, had researched, documented, or ever written about. My beloved advertising and marketing industry was, and continues to be, the primary culprit in shaping our views of retirement in much the same way Russia, China, Iran, Azerbaijan, and plenty of other state-run media countries shape narratives and perceptions, and consequently, the dialogue about world affairs. Don’t believe me? I’ve written about it extensively in my new book Coming of Age in Retirement: An Advertising Executive’s Story of Revelation and Enlightenment. From representing seniors as feeble and technological nincompoops to using spokespersons who are 50-years old to talk to buyers who are 80-years old, and intentionally showing the elderly with gray hair, wrinkles, and age spots, advertising agencies, at least for the last 35 years, have done more to cover-up ageism in their pursuit of capitalism than any other SIC Code, and it’s sickening. 

And that’s just for openers. Ad agencies are putting 40-year olds out to pasture faster than you can say King Ranch. In fact, the average age of employees at holding companies like Omnicom and Saatchi weigh-in at a skosh over 25, and they brag about that. So what we have are juniors writing copy about seniors and I prove it; mercilessly. Ad agencies are a time-bomb for those of us who are running out of time, which, in their view, are 40-year olds. Age discrimination lawsuits against agencies are piling-up faster than pancakes at a Veteran’s Day breakfast. And perhaps worst of all, only five percent of advertising’s total spend is directed to the senior demographic even though we control more than 70 percent of the assets in this country. 

I’m glad I’m no longer part of the partisanship. 

The second consideration that I struggled with was myself, which assumes I’m actually a consideration. I was lost without the workload, without the load of welcomed shit I was carrying, and without the routine I was routinely accustomed to; for decades. In my retirement, I was spinning everywhere which was leading me to nowhere. I was on the Hedonic Treadmill, also known as Hedonic Adaptation Theory, also known as the Hamster Wheel Syndrome. I managed to jump-off, not by sticking my landing, but off the wheel with a not so dainty thump; an exit, nonetheless. I started reading a little Buddhism, paying closer attention to my studies of Aristotle, and finding my daily mojo in my dojo where I harnessed what I was thankful for (my type of meditation and mindfulness), why I needed to lighten the load, and most of all, getting so deep into the Buddha’s Sutras with my favorite being, “There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.” 

That clicked with me. 

And from the clickage came my new book. I’m told it will hit the streets, or the path of happiness, this September. It’s already been called “A Masterpiece,” “Hall-of-Fame Worthy,” “An Outstanding Book,” “Elegant and Scholarly,” and the beat goes on. Yes, I vowed very publicly that I’d never write another book again; one bestseller was enough. And then I discovered my path of happiness was the writing I was doing, not so much in the 30-second format I had practiced for decades, but something more revelatory and more enlightening. In part, it was, and is, my study called the Encounters of Retirement that replaces the 50-year old study called the Six Phases of Retirement that, unlike us pensioners, has seen better research and theoretical days. 

I’ve been told my research regarding the Encounters of Retirement is revolutionary for any person in retirement, transitioning into it, or taking a peak at it because it’s an inevitable part of our future. I can’t wait for you to read the Encounters in my new book. Even though I’m jinxing the shit out of it, I think my bestseller streak will continue. But for now, we need to play the waiting game.

 Look for it in a few months. I think Coming of Age in Retirement: An Advertising Executive’s Story of Revelation and Enlightenment will be a goldmine for 60 million of us golden agers. I’ve included the concept cover spread because the labyrinth was my idea (it’s the proper metaphor for my path), and the color pink was my idea, too (it’s hot right now and it’s also one of my favorite colors), plus Pink has a great voice and an incredible vocal range, even though I’m a generation older. And, of course, the great Messi wears pink on and off the pitch. Nevertheless, I think Pink and Messi would be on my side if they knew my side.