Table of Contents

1. New Tag line
2. Where is the joy?
3. New Books of Note
4. One Web Day

Time to Live on Purpose

We asked. You responded. Thanks to the creative people who submitted over 100 possible new tag lines for 2young2retire. We learned a lot about how we are perceived by you, and what – if anything – we might do differently in the future. We ultimately came up with Time to Live on Purpose as the best expression of how we see ourselves evolving. A number of your entries came close or broke new ground for us. So, honorable mention (and a copy of Too Young to Retire: 101 Ways to Start the Rest of Your Life) to these people. Send an email with your snail mail address to claim your prize: marika@2young2retire.com

Fulfilling Your Purpose in Life -- James E. Bright
Purpose and Meaning for the Next Phase of Your Life – Toby Gerhardt
We're going to be young longer than our parents were old. -- Britt Blaser

Where is the joy?

Not long ago, we were working with a business coach on updating 2young2retire.com, the design and layout, but more importantly, our message. After we described our audience for him and our approach thus far, he posed this question: “Where is the pain?” So we thought about it and we experimented with the copy. After all, we reasoned, this is an approach that seems to work in our problem/solution world. How else would we sell a lot of stuff: cosmetics, financial advice, government policy, newspapers (if it bleeds, it leads), pharmaceuticals, weight-loss products, even (forgive us) self-help books, if not to fix something? Hey, attitude is in. Cynicism is chic. Kvetching is almost convivial. How would we get through the evening without a dose of Comedy Central?

But lately, we've begun to wonder if focusing on the pain/problem/what's wrong is really good for us, and whether it is just a habit we may not be as stuck with as it seems. Fact is, there is growing interest these days in what is right, rather than in what is wrong. Appreciative Inquiry, an organizational process that grew from a paper published by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva at Case Western Reserve University in 19871 , is making a positive impact in the workplace. Turns out that the qualities that make people happy – optimism, gratitude, generosity – also make us more successful at whatever we do. (Positive thinking guru, Norman Vincent Peale knew that, and so did Dale Carnegie.) Happy people make better, more productive employees and employers. And it is becoming evident that the principles of AI are equally effective in our more intimate relationships, with spouse or partner, children, even pets. We should not be surprised that all creatures respond better to appreciation than criticism.

Transitions are challenging at every age, but perhaps no more so than when we are leaving the safe harbor of work we've done for decades, and heading who knows where. We experience confusion, self-doubt, perhaps even a sense of loss and pain. Most psychologists agree that we need to mourn, to vent, to get it out of our systems. Then, it's time to move on. Time to ask new, better questions that could open up whole new worlds of possibility: What lights me up? What makes me happy? Where is the joy?

If the notion of discovering your happiness quotient leaves you cold, here's a handy tool invented by the father of positive psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman. The Authentic Happiness Inventory Questionnaire is available at no charge. Just register to use it. http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/register.aspx). You may be pleasantly surprised at what you discover about yourself.

1 Appreciative Inquiry into Organizational Life, http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/intro/vision.cfm

The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry, Sue Annis Hammond, Thin Book Publishing Company, 1998.

Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin P. Seligman, Ph.d, Vintage, 2006

See also, the Good News Network International, celebrating its 10^th anniversary, subscribe here: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/.

BOOK SITE

New books of note, include the following:

Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship Between Adult Children and Parents, Jane Isay (Doubleday/Flying Dolphin Press 2007) The title says it all, whether your children are just getting started in life or have families of their own. As a grandmother, I'm finding Isay's advice on communicating with daughters-in-laws particularly useful (and wish I'd had it earlier). If you enjoy stories that illustrate themes, this book is packed with them.

Ultralongevity: the Seven-Step Program for a Younger, Healthier You (Little Brown 2007) by Mark Liponis, M.D., medical director of the Canyon Ranch Health Resorts, is Canyon Ranch for the rest of us. We were particularly interested in this book because we visited the beautiful Canyon Ranch in Tucson in 2006, pitching a 2y2r workshop. If $2,810/person for a four-day, all inclusive stay is not in your budget right now, you can still get advice about healthier living that this world-renowned spa is famous for, plus some delicious recipes.

OK, you reinventors out there, Thinking About Tomorrow: Reinventing Yourself at Midlife (Warner Wellness, 2007), by Susan Crandell, is another one for your reading list or book club. This lively, well-written book by a former staffer on MORE magazine has some smart tips and profiles that are fun to read. One of her best suggestions: unplug the TV for a month and discover what you can do with all that time. Read an excerpt here: http://www.susancrandell.com/Excerpt.html

POTPOURRI

• Tomorrow, September 22, is One Web Day. A day every year when we celebrate the Web and what it means to us. Modeled after Earth Day, it is the brainchild of Susan Crawford, legal scholar and professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Why are we celebrating? That's easy. Without the Web, 2young2retire wouldn't exist! Here's another reason: the Web (aka Internet) helped Howard research the kind of hip he wanted and led him to the best surgeon around. He liked it so much, he did it twice! For more information on how you can participate: http://www.onewebday.org/?page_id=2 For Susan Crawford's blog: http://scrawford.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2005/9/22/1249929.html

• Congratulations to Purpose Prize Fellow, Rick Koca (2young2retire's 2006 nominee) for his segment on the PBS NEWSHOUR special, September 18. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec07/kids_09-18.html

• Retire Later, Retire Happier, advises Marc Freedman, ceo and founder of Civic Ventures in an interview with Money Magazine's Donna Rosato. http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/04/pf/freedman.moneymag/index.htm

• Mama Mia! There they go again, Abba, that is. Even if you're not a fan, this short program forwarded to us by our woman in Barcelona, 2y2r Certified Facilitator, Jean Gilhead, is worth your time. http://www.greatdanepro.com/Chiquitita/index.htm

• Hey, who are you calling “senior!” SeniorJobBank.com is now Workforce50.com. http://www.workforce50.com/content/Press_Release_09-07-07_Workforce50.cfm Says publisher, Gene Burnard, "These days, few people in their 50s, 60s or even 70s relate to the label 'senior'. We heard from them loud and clear that our former name cast them as stereotypical old folks ready to retire mentally and physically. Wow, is that far from reality!"

• Boomer Job Fair. Yes, employers trolling for experienced workers 50+. About time, and we'lre betting this is just the tip of the iceberg. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0920jobfair0920.html

• There are all kinds of reasons we are hooked on genealogy these days: plumbing medical mysteries, investigating possible links to family fortunes, or just curiosity about who to thank for that schnoz, to name a few. Genealogy mavens probably know this, but if you're just getting started on your own family tree, the Mormon Church has one of the best databases of family records and there is no charge for the service. http://www.ancestorhunt.com/mormon_church_records.htm
  Depending on your interpretation of 'family,' you might enjoy digging back for more ancient origins. For $99, you can get a DNA kit and really get deep. Http://www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic.

• Search the web with Good Search and support your favorite charity. http://www.goodsearch.com/ Or adopt two of our favorites as yours: http://www.heifer.org and http://www.seva.org

  Stay well, make it new, make it better.