I’m living proof of the famous expression, “Age is a state of mind.” Why else would I title my book Fisch Tales: The Making of a Millennial Baby Boomer?
Sure, I was born during the Baby Boom, but I don’t live in the past. If I did, I might have rested on my laurels in my 50s. Instead, I achieved my greatest business success in my 50s and 60s, and I’m still going strong!
That’s my message here to Millennials, or to any generation, Baby Boomers included: always look ahead, plan for the future, and do not lock yourself into the false narrative that your best days are behind you, or that you have to blossom right now. Nonsense!
In the book, I encourage and celebrate everyone’s potential for future success, summed up by the theme, “The Best Is Yet to Come!”
Longer, Better Futures
For Millennials, and even more so for the generations that follow them, planning for the future means preparing to enjoy longer, more productive lives than past generations could imagine. That’s because dramatic progress in health care, as well as in our lifestyle choices, keep extending our longevity.
A cat is said to have nine lives, and we humans seem headed in that direction, at least figuratively speaking. Think of it as a rebirth of humanity, but only if we manage our lives smartly, so we don’t run out of money or useful energy.
Consider my recently-born nephew Jacob, who will be a spry 81 by the time the 22nd Century rolls around. Based on what we know today, it’s not at all inconceivable that, eight decades from now, someone Jacob’s age can continue to be highly productive at that stage of life.
It’s entirely possible to envision that the Jacobs of the future may not slow down until they are well past 100! At that point, who’s to say they won’t be active in a second, or third, or even fourth career?
Millennials Value Freedom
Thanks to a Millennial Advisory Board that I formed and consult on a regular basis, I know firsthand that Millennials place less importance than Boomers on such values as owning a home, and staying at one job for a long time, and put more value on their happiness and freedom.
There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as they have patience in putting together the “Pieces of the Puzzle” in their lives (That’s another theme of my book). Where some Millennials do go wrong is assuming that they are at peak performance in their 30s or 40s.
Says who? I was just getting started at that ripe young age, so don’t freak out if you’re not king or queen of the world by then! There’s plenty of time to ascend to the throne in one of the future lives you build for yourself. As my book attests, I’m living proof of that.
By the way, cats are known for something besides having nine lives: no matter how precarious a position they may be in at the moment, those remarkably agile creatures always find a way to land on their feet.
What about you?
Originally posted on Forbes.
