Hi Ho Hi Ho

I recently ran across a story in, don’t laugh now, AARP Magazine. I read it for the articles. Oh sure, there are babes in there, if blue hair is your cup of tea. This particular piece was entitled “Presto Change-o” and was described like this : It’s no easy trick to switch careers at 50 plus, but more and more workers are taking the leap and starting over at jobs they love. One of the story’s protagonists was a 56 year old owner of a public relations firm who chucked it all and became an $8 an hour chef who said he’s hoping for a raise after his first evaluation. He went on to say that his only regret was that he didn’t make the change years earlier. He traded his huge paycheck for a dose of happiness in his life.
His story is just one of literally thousands in today’s world where we are living longer with more vitality and more things at our fingertips that we actually want to do.
There are many reasons that people in their 50’s are making what seems to be a drastic step in their lives. Many people are choosing to “drop out” of corporate America and pursue life long dreams, but many, and I speak from experience, are forced into the position.
As I have related my story to people over the past years and a half, I have been flabbergasted to learn that there are many more of “me” out there than I could possibly have imagined. We have a common thread. We have dedicated ourselves to companies and wound up drawing the short straw. We end up either too old or making too much money or, quite frankly, both. Once we get past the initial “pity party”, many of us are finding that the reinvention of ourselves is actually very stimulating and will probably insure that we live longer, if for no other reason than our blood is flowing again.
I was a music radio disc jockey for 40 years with the last 24 years spent in one job, for one company. I always wondered what I would, or could do if and when it all came to an end. And the answer became crystal clear. I had always wanted to do news and commentary and now I’ve been given an opportunity to fulfill that dream while reinventing myself and it’s very exciting. I want to go to work every morning and I come home with a smile on my face every day. A couple of feelings that I had forgotten existed while I was immersed in the tedium of what to some seemed like a very romantic job. It wasn’t. It got old. Thanks to this new career, I won’t.
We in the baby boom generation helped to change the world in the 60’s and 70’s and now that we have reached an age that was once considered over the hill, we are making it crystal clear that we will not go gently. Nor will we go miserably. We are setting the stage for generations to come. We are stepping up to the plate and heading into areas we love. It’s proof positive that if you are doing something you truly love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

THAT’S HOW I FEEL………………………….WHAT CAN I TELL YA’