» Interviews

« Previous Entries Next Entries »

Beyond50Radio: An Interview with Daniel Davis

Posted by Guru on September 12th, 2008

Welcome to Boomer411. We hope you will visit again. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.

You have probably seen the user name ‘Beyond50Radio’ next to many articles on the www.Boomer411.com website. Some of you sent in comments that you like the wide array of topics covered by this trustee. (Definition: A “Boomer411 Trustee” is a person selected by Boomer411 board based on his or her expertise in the field;  a trustee selects articles and recommends them to be included in the search engine called, Boomer411, based on their working knowledge with Baby Boomers. So you can be sure that any article you find on Boomer411 is already reviewed and recommended by an expert). We are delighted to present you a closer view of the person behind this user name you often see on Boomer411, Daniel Davis and his amazing work on the ‘Beyond 50 Radio Show’. We thank Daniel Davis and his team for doing such a wonderful job in bringing interesting material to Baby Boomers through his radio program and for sharing their intriguing collection (click this link to access the complete listing of articles tagged by Beyond 50 Radio, to date) of valuable resources with our readers on Boomer411.com.

Boomer411: What is the “Beyond 50 Radio Show” and what makes it so unique?

DD (Daniel Davis): So many people think the name “Beyond 50” refers to age.  It actually means to get beyond half-way thinking toward solutions. At the heart of it, “Beyond 50” is not only an educational program for Baby Boomers (in their 40s – 60s), but also a socially and creatively-responsible one to bridge the generations in an inclusive way.  We like to regard ourselves as an alternative form of media that serves our growing audience with heart and intelligence. 
“Beyond 50” has been on-the-air for close to 5 years, getting our start in local radio stations in Portland, Oregon. We later moved the show online in November of 2007, which turned out to be an excellent move.  By offering the interviews as a podcast (in mp3 format), we’ve been able to syndicate our interviews on 125+ podcast networks and directories (like iTunes that has millions of listeners).  Every week, we have “new ears” from all over the world downloading past interviews from our archives.  It’s amazing to see the numbers of people tuning in double every 2 – 3 months and to interact with them during a broadcast. 

What makes our show a standout is our knack for seeking out and attracting exceptional radio guests who are innovative, cutting edge, top experts in their field, offbeat, and visionary leaders.  We’re constantly getting remarks from people wondering where we find these people because they’re so interesting.

Because of the high quality of our show’s content, we’ve got listeners who are young adults to seniors in age, but mostly those in their midlife who are listening regularly. 

Boomer411: Who were some of your favorite guests you’ve had on-the-air?
DD:
To date, we’ve had over 700 guests on “Beyond 50”.  A common tie between all of them is that they are great educators. We prefer that.

Some of our most remarkable guests include Jeanne Keene, the lady in Homer Spit Alaska who feeds breakfast to hundreds of eagles in her backyard daily; Jacques Gauthier who walked all across Canada, then all across the United States after healing from debilitating all-body pain; TJ Marrs who teaches how to pay off your mortgage through his unique rapid mortgage payoff program in less than 5 years; Dr. Gabriel Cousens who has helped many with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes reverse their condition completely within 30-days; the “Columbo” actor, Peter Falk; Futurist Thomas Frey on the future of money; and so many more. 

Boomer411: Do you find that Boomers are receptive to listening to your show online?
DD:
Absolutely! At first, we were apprehensive about moving “Beyond 50” from terrestrial radio to being totally online. Our assumption was that Boomers are so used to tuning in on their radio dial that they don’t want to change their habits. Not so. We’ve been told by many that they like the convenience of being able to hear our episodes whenever they want because everything is archived online. 

The other surprise was seeing a lot of Boomers with their own podcast show. The number of people doing this will increase as entrepreneurs in midlife use podcasting as a means to market and educate to new and existing customers. It is becoming more mainstream for many tuning in to broadcasts from their computer.

By listening online, there’s just more variety, compared to what’s offered in traditional radio on the AM and FM side.  This is similar to the numerous offerings on cable television versus free programming. What’s amazing is that podcasting has only been around since 2004.  Over time, you’ll notice a lot of traditional radio stations moving totally online to grow their listener base.  

Boomer411: What are your thoughts about how Boomers are portrayed by the media?
DD:
We can tell that most of the media are having trouble figuring this group out. There’s no regard for diversity and complexity within the Baby Boomer population. Many in media just lump them together as if they all shared the same age and life experiences. The biggest no-no we find is lumping Boomers with Seniors like that. The media can be quick to offend their audience unknowingly by doing this.  That’s the same as when AARP says that 50 is Senior age. There’s definitely no group agreement on that, no matter how great the senior discounts can be.

Someone in their mid-40s doesn’t necessarily relate nor have the same practical interests with a Boomer in their mid-60’s. There’s definitely a generational gap. Media is slow to recognize emerging trends like those in their 50’s still having children or older Boomers going back to school and starting a business. There’s even a growing number living back home with their parents due to layoffs or from unfortunate circumstances. They are not all looking into retirement anytime soon or have lots of discretionary income as the media and mass marketers want you to believe.

Boomer411: Can you please share your experience of being a trustee on Boomer411?
DD: We like it a lot because we’re able to serve an even larger audience of Boomers.  We’ve never been a part of a combination search engine and bookmarking service before. It took us by surprise when some of our entries on Boomer411 started showing up as high rankings within the first few pages on major search engines like Google. This was within 24-hours to a few days after posting them on the site.
 
Also, we love to share the best of what we know and treat the privilege of being a trustee responsibly because there are thousands of readers every month going to Boomer411 that really want to find reliable and good information. We want them to keep coming back for more.

*Since 2004, Daniel Davis has served as the Radio Host of Beyond 50 Radio: America’s Talk Show for Baby Boomers. To tune in to the educational program, live broadcasts are every Friday, from 12 – 1 p.m. (PT)/3 – 4 p.m. (ET) on http://www.Beyond50Radio.com . They also offer a free e-newsletter from their website to learn more about their interviews.

You can tune in to the show by going to www.Beyond50Radio.com.  And check out our blog as well at www.Beyond50Radio.Blogspot.com.

Permalink » 2 Comments » Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Bookmark Mind Your Thoughts! at del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Bookmark This Post to Stumbleupon

Last week we presented Part 1 of our interview with Mr.Stanley Tomkiel III. Stanley Tomkiel is the author of two books on Social Security, namely Social Security Benefits Handbook and The Social Security Answer Book. Both the books are packed with lots of useful information in simple English.  You can read Part 1 of this interview here. Today we present you the second and concluding part of this interview.

Boomer411: Some of the questions and answers in your book imply that at times people do not claim or under-claim their Social Security Benefits. Is this correct? If yes, can you please elaborate on how and in what cases this happens most often.

ST: I have seen that many people do not claim all the benefits that they are entitled to.  Usually this occurs in the age frame from 62 to 66 because many people believe that you have to be completely retired in order to collect any Social Security benefits, and that’s not the case.  If your earnings in a given month are very low, regardless of the annual income and regardless of whether you have retired, you may be able to get a benefit for that month. 

If you have low annual earnings for a given year you may be able to collect some or even all of your benefits for the year.  Even if you are working above the yearly earnings limit, currently $13,560, it doesn’t mean that you can’t collect any benefits, only that there will be a reduction in benefits payable.  If you are under Full Retirement Age, which is now 66, you lose $1.00 of Social Security benefits for every $2.00 you earn over the limit.  So for example if you earn $25,000.00 this year, that’s $11,440.00 over the limit, so $5,720.00 must be withheld from your Social Security benefits.  But if your benefits are say, $900.00/mo, that comes to $10,800.00 for the year, (as long as you are over 62 for each month).  Only $5,720.00  needs to be withheld, so you can collect the difference, which is $5,080.  Most folks I know could put that money to good use rather than let the government keep it. 

And for the year you attain age 66, the annual limit jumps to $36,120, only the earnings in the months before the month you attain age 66 are counted, and the offset goes from 2 to 1 to 3 to1.  This means that a worker making even $100,000 a year could collect some benefits even if not retired.  And beginning with the month you turn 66, your earnings don’t count at all, and you get your benefits even if you’re making a million dollars a year! 

Also there is the monthly test that you can use in one calendar year.  You get to choose which year it will be.  Under this monthly earnings test, even if your annual earnings are too high to prevent the payment of any benefits, nevertheless you can receive a benefit for any month in which your earnings are below the monthly earning’s limit, which is 1/12 of the annual earnings test. If you are laid off for a period, or you take a long vacation, or become ill, or you just don’t feel like working, if your earnings in a given month are below the monthly limit then you can receive a Social Security monthly benefit for such months, no matter how high your annual earnings.

Another case where benefits are lost is in the case of a divorced wife or husband.  If you’re divorced at least two years from a SS covered worker, you can receive a spouse’s benefit even if the worker is still working, as long as he or she is age 62.  This is called “deemed entitlement.”  

Many people don’t realize how to take advantage of these rules.   Sadly, they lose those benefits. 

Boomer411: Approximately, what is the rough amount in dollars that might go unclaimed per year? What is one category of benefits that is usually ignored or the most unclaimed/under-claimed? If someone forgot to claim, can they go back and make a claim for retroactive benefits?

ST: I cannot approximate the amount of dollars that might go unclaimed in a year because I’m not an economist but some numbers will give you an idea of what we are talking about.  There are now 50 million beneficiaries in the United States and the Social Security Administration paid $585 billion in benefits in 2007.  In 2008 that will be closer to $600 billion.  That comes to approximately $50 billion a month; so even a very small percentage of such high numbers is very significant.  About 4 million claims are made each year. 

To put it on a personal level the average Social Security benefit is somewhere around $1,000.00 for a worker and $500.00 and change for a spouse; same for a child.  I’ve seen people lose several months’ worth of benefits because they missed a filing deadline or were unaware that they could have received something.  So, if you don’t know all the rules and don’t make the right moves, you stand to lose thousands and thousands of dollars. 

Unfortunately there are limits on retroactivity of applications, so if you file late, you can lose out.  The retroactive period for an application depends on the type of benefit.  The application of a retired worker under full-retirement age has no retroactivity if it would result in the payment of a reduced benefit.  For a retired worker who is above full-retirement age the retroactivity can be as much as six months.  Same for most survivor benefits.  For disabled workers and their dependents however, there is a 12 month retroactivity period.

One of the most important things a person can do if he or she is approaching social security time is to file a ‘Protective Filing Statement’ with the local SS office.  This can be done by mail.  Such a statement will protect the filing date without having to make the actual application.

Boomer411: In your intro to chapter 1 in the book, it says, ‘The general intent for retirement benefits was originally to provide a replacement for income lost due to age and its attendant restrictions on earning capacity. In recent years, this has been modified to become an age entitlement program’. Can you please elaborate on this?

ST: Sure.  Originally, if a beneficiary was working, his or her benefits were reduced or completely withheld because the program was designed to replace earnings lost due to retirement.  They still call the benefits Retirement Benefits.  Then the law was amended quite some time ago to allow those age 72 or older to keep all their benefits even if they were still working, no matter how much they earned.  In the 80’s this was lowered to age 70, then in 2000 this was lowered again to age 65, which at that time was Full Retirement Age.  FRA is now 66.  So retirement benefits are paid regardless of earnings once the person reaches Full Retirement Age, which doesn’t have anything to do with being retired, only with being age 66.  So instead of replacing earnings lost due to retirement, the SS program pays benefits based on age, so I call it an age entitlement program now.

Boomer411: Can you tell us about the hardest question that you were asked in your role as an SSA claims representative? And how you approached/answered it?

ST: Oh yes.  It has nothing to do with rules or forms or required documents.  The hardest question has always been: “How can I live on that?” when I would tell a retiree how much his benefit was going to be.  Sadly, the Social Security program has been oversold to many people over the years as if it would provide for a comfortable retirement income.  It was never intended to do so, being intended only to be about 1/3 of a retirement income, with another 1/3 from private pensions, and 1/3 from personal savings.  I felt as if I had hit the poor retiree in the head with a two-by-four!  Sadly, I had no answer.  The answer should have been asked long before retirement age.

Boomer411: Why should a Baby Boomer read your books? What other information can be found in the books?

ST:  Well, I have two books out, The Social Security Answer Book and The Social Security Benefits Handbook.  In the Answer Book, I compile hundreds of questions from real people, and give specific answers.  I have organized the questions by topic, so for example, if a reader wants to look at questions about Survivor Benefits, or Wife’s Benefits, they are grouped together.  I think that sometimes people don’t even know how to formulate a question because they are unfamiliar with basic concepts and terms.  So the Answer book helps not only by giving answers in straightforward words, but also to help people know how to ask questions by seeing what others have asked. 

The Social Security Benefits Handbook is more like a reference source rather than a read-through type of book.  It contains a statement of the rules and procedure of SS in layman’s language, so people unfamiliar with technical terms should be able to find out specific information.  It covers not only the applications rules and procedures, and how benefits are calculated, but also so-called “post-entitlement” issues, such as what to do if you are overpaid and the government wants money back, what you must report to SS, what happens if a check is missing or not received, and so forth. 

Folks getting close to age 62 should be familiar especially with the application process and the earnings limits rules so they can make sure they don’t miss out on receiving all the benefits coming to them.

And of course, readers can e-mail me questions which I will post on my blog along with my answers.

 

This concludes our interview with Mr.Stanley Tomkiel III. To learn more about Mr.Stanley and his works or to submit your own social security question to him, please visit the following links.
www.Tomkiel.com
www.SocialSecurityBenefitsHandbook.com
www.SimpleSocialSecurity.blogspot.com

Permalink » Leave a Comment » Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Bookmark Mind Your Thoughts! at del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Bookmark This Post to Stumbleupon

Today in our series on interviews, we present you our interview with Mr.Stanley Tomkiel III. Stanley Tomkiel is the author of two books on Social Security, namely Social Security Benefits Handbook and The Social Security Answer Book. Both the books are packed with lots of useful information in simple English.  This is the type of information that every retiree should be aware of, but sadly there are a lot of misconceptions still prevalent among many. So we wanted to showcase Mr.Stanley’s work for our readers and hopefully it will help some people. So without further ado, we present you our interview with Mr.Stanley Tomkiel…

Boomer411: Mr.Stanley, can you please tell our readers about yourself? And what motivated you to write the book ‘The Social Security Answerbook’?

ST: I’m a lawyer in New York City.  I was born and raised in Westchester and educated in Catholic schools all the way through College.  I went to law school at Western New England College School of Law in Springfield, Massachusetts.  I’m married with two grown children and I’m the proud grandfather of two grandchildren. 

After college I worked for the Social Security Administration as a claims representative in field offices in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.  My job was to interview people applying for SS benefits, gather the necessary information and documents then to make decisions by applying the SS regulations. 

Stanley Tomkiel III
I realized how many people had misconceptions about Social Security, and also that there was a lot of erroneous information being spread in the media.  It seemed most people were confused by the SS rules. After I left the Social Security Administration, I went into private law practice. And again I encountered the same situation: confusion and misunderstanding, misconceptions and bad information.

So in 1984 I published the first edition of the Social Security Benefits Handbook.  The Handbook has been updated throughout the years and it is now published by Sphinx Publishing, a division of Sourcebooks.  The publisher suggested that I also write The Social Security Answer Book because I receive so many questions from people.  The Social Security answer book is a compilation of typical questions that I have received over the years.  I have organized the questions and answers into topical chapters.  I tried to distill down these questions to the most common and important ones, so my answers will have the most practical and widespread relevance.   Because Social Security information changes, even from year to year, I put up a website to keep the information in my books up-to-date.  This is the Social Security Benefits Handbook Online Edition at www.SocialSecurityBenefitsHandbook.com.

Boomer411: Please tell our readers about your blog, ‘Simple Social Security’ and how it might be useful to Baby Boomers?

ST: I receive questions about SS from people all over the country, so I post these questions with my answers on my blog, Simple Social Security at SimpleSocialSecurity.blogspot.com

Boomer411: Tell us about your law practice?

ST: First let me say that although I am a Boomer, I have no plans on retiring!  I practice personal injury law as a partner in Tomkiel & Tomkiel with offices in Manhattan and Yonkers, NY.  I began practicing law with my father in 1979, and now my son is a lawyer and my partner, the third generation.   I used to handle Social Security cases myself, but because I am so busy with personal injury cases, I now make referrals for people who need lawyers for their Social Security claims. 

Boomer411: In your opinion, do people in their 30’s and 40’s have any hope of taking advantage of the Social Security benefits in its current form when they retire? Also, what can a person in this age group do to better prepare themselves for a good retirement?

ST: I am as sure as someone can be about the future, that people now in their 30’s and 40’s will receive Social Security benefits, but I would be very surprised if the system is the same as it exists now.  Since it was founded in 1937 Social Security has seen many, many changes.  Most of these changes in the first decades expanded the program and increased benefits that are payable.  In the last few decades, that direction has changed, with one important exception (the elimination of the “retirement test”). 

The most recent significant change is the gradual   increase in full retirement age from age 65 to age 67 (it is currently age 66).  I expect that in the future that will rise even higher because current monthly benefits are paid from current workers’ payroll taxes.  The Baby Boom generation was not exactly prolific, so the number of workers as a ratio to the number of beneficiaries is declining and will continue to decline.  It is now about 3.3 to 1, i.e., about three workers pay the taxes that fund the benefits of one worker.  And as people live longer, with fewer young people paying taxes, that ratio is expected to drop to 2.1 to 1 by 2034.

So I would say that in the future, unless people immediately start having very large families it will be absolutely necessary to cut back the amount of benefits being paid from the system.  And there may be a switch at some point to a private Social Security account system perhaps integrated with the government-run programs. 

The best thing that young people should do about retirement planning  is to realize that the government’s role in providing their retirement income is going to decrease significantly, so they must be prepared to rely on their own resources. 

And that means to save and invest, whether it be in stocks, bonds, real estate, or babies!  Hey, if you have five or six children who can help fund your retirement, that’s a lot cheaper than the expected 2.1 ratio.  Now maybe we need a tax credit for people who support their parents in their old age, instead of having the government take the workers’ money in taxes and then giving it to their parents in benefits.  Why not cut out the middleman?  Just a thought.

 

This concludes Part 1 of the interview. Stay tuned for the second part of this interview in which Mr.Stanley shares valuable information on situations when people usually leave money on the table and how one can make sure to get all the money he or she is entitled to from uncle Sam and more.

Permalink » 1 Comment » Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Bookmark Mind Your Thoughts! at del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Bookmark This Post to Stumbleupon

Canadian Pension Plan

Posted by Guru on July 21st, 2008

For those living in Canada, Jonathan Chevreau of the Wealthy Boomer column in Financial Post has a very interesting, informative interview about Canadian Pension Plan and its possible future direction, in his latest interview with Malcolm Hamilton in Part 4 of the interview. Malcolm Hamilton is a retirement consultant at Mercer Canada. You can view the interview by clicking here. Thanks to my dear friend Alex for sending this link.

In this interview Malcolm discusses briefly the history of the Canadian Retirement Benefit system and the direction they have taken. He also compares it with the American Retirement System or the Social Security system in terms of the respective direction for the two systems.

It is an interesting and informative interview for anyone interested in the retirement system of either of the countries or for those wondering about their future options for retirement in Canada.

One important thing to keep in mind is that any government retirement benefits system is only designed to supplement your retirement income, never as a sole source of retirement income. Also, it is really upto you to take responsibility, interest in your own retirement savings and start contributing early, often and as much as you can to build your nest egg. This is the only way to be really sure that you will have a good retirement. Or one also has a second choice, and that is to hope things will work out and if they don’t, then simply blame it on the government or someone else. Please note that, in spite of your blaming someone else, you will still be the sufferer and not the other person, organization or government being blamed. So for you to not suffer, there is really only one choice and that is the first choice of taking responsibility to make sure you have enough saved and invested.

Check out the Wealthy Boomer column and other financial sites to educate yourself on how to take care of your retirement.

All the best in your efforts.

Permalink » Leave a Comment » Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Bookmark Mind Your Thoughts! at del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Bookmark This Post to Stumbleupon

Interview with Jacky Hood

Posted by Guru on June 25th, 2008

In our series on interviews with authors, today we present you our interview with Jacky Hood. Jacky is an author, enterpreneur and an avid biker. Jacky has written a book about expanded careers and working as a means to stay fit and healthy into old age and thus to stay young. Let’s hear more from Jacky…

Boomer411:  Jacky, can you please tell our readers about yourself? What excites you about this book ‘Happy About Working To Stay Young: Expanded Careers for Boomers and Seniors’? or what motivated you to write it?  

Jacky: My career is in high technology. I have worked as an engineer and manager and now I am a management consultant and college instructor. There was a big slump in high tech from 2001-2005. People in their 40s, 50s and 60s kept saying “I’ll never again find a job. I’m too old.” This angered and amused me because I knew of many people gainfully employed and making career advancements decades older than these people. So I collected success stories, created a workshop called “Third Stage of Your Career”, and then built the book from the workshop.

Boomer411: Please tell us about your blog and your other works and interests, including biking

Jacky Hood  Jacky: My blog touches on technology, art, politics, careers, and sports. I’ve always enjoyed individual sports and fitness activities: running, ballet, jazz dancing, Swedish gymnastics, squash, bicycling and hiking. I bicycled across North America and hiked extensively in the Alps when I lived in Europe. Now I hike in the hills near San Francisco as well as the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. Someday I will hike in the Himalayas.

Boomer411: Why should someone closer to retirement consider working past retirement? Having waited so long for this moment, now when it is almost within reach, why should the Boomers give it all up, ditch the benefits of free time and consider working in retirement and possibly increase or continue their stress?

 

 

Jacky: There are four primary reasons to work for pay:

  • health,
  • wealth,
  • making a difference and
  • the impending worldwide shortage of skilled workers

Men who retire at 50 do not live as long as those who retire at 60. Working people have plenty of time to travel, be with their grandchildren, and enjoy their hobbies. Doing these things 100 hours/week would be like eating dessert all the time. Stress is healthy; people with no responsibilities lose their sense of self-worth and become depressed.

Boomer411: Are there any cases in which retirement from working or a job would make sense or be recommended over continuing to work?

Jacky: Of course! One can be productive and healthy without a paid job. It just takes more planning and self-discipline and a financial situation that permits it. Some non-profits treat volunteers like employees and allow them to do meaningful work, not just menial tasks. They have performance reviews and promotions. Other non-paid people pour their lives into their gardens or other creative hobbies. Unfortunately far too many retired people simply watch television.

Boomer411: With so many options and choices around, how should one approach in deciding what they should do in their second half of their lives? What factors should one consider in deciding on their new career?

Jacky: If a person loves his or her job and opportunities exist in that field, there is no reason to change careers. That doesn’t mean becoming stale; there are always new projects, new clients, new markets, and new challenges. If a Boomer wants to do something different, a very important question is “Where do you want to live?” Geography makes a huge difference in the quality and cost of living and geography dictates job and career opportunities. Nurses, teachers, and computer programmers are needed everywhere. However, there are no farmers in Manhattan and no five-star chefs in small prairie towns. Also, a person should consider growth fields like medical care, rather than declining industries like travel agencies that have been replaced by the Internet.

Boomer411: How can employers help/change their job offers, benefits to attract and retain this additional and valuable pool of employees?

Jacky: Employers simply need to reach out to Boomers and Seniors just as they reach out to minorities and women. They need to recruit at the colleges and universities that attract older adults. At the college where I teach, the average age is 40. There are as many 60 year olds as 20 year olds. Across the country, there are private and public outplacement firms full of Boomers and Seniors in transition or seeking new opportunities. The western world has been borrowing from the developing countries but those countries are also facing declining populations of people under 40. Employers need to discover a nation within a nation: 100 million Boomers and Seniors who are energetic, educated, skilled and experienced.

Boomer411: One of the claims in your book is “The first two weeks on the job set the pattern. Demonstrate that you can leave at 4pm and still make a strong contribution. Junior workers put in 80 hours one week then need 80 hours the following week to correct mistakes”.

If someone near retirement age has been an average performer until now and is having trouble adjusting to the new technology, changed work environment, how does he or she go about navigating this dynamic business landscape and then differentiate himself or herself to be more valuable?

Jacky: The new technologies such as Web 2.0 and multi-function mobile devices improve productivity. It makes no more sense to eschew them than to ignore telephones and photocopiers. The changed work environment including global remote teams, telecommuting, and flexible work structures are exactly what the anti-establishment beatniks and hippies were promoting 40-50 years ago. We invented this egalitarian environment; why should we long for a return to rigid hierarchies and slow-paced bureaucracies? It’s ironic that the sex-drugs, rock&roll generation that wore long hair and beards is complaining about shaved heads and bare midriffs! Nobody expects a middle-aged person to wear eyebrow rings and tattoos, but your ideas will be considered stale if you are still wearing clothing and hairstyles that are 20 years out of date.

Boomer411: What resources would you recommend to someone looking to change their career?

Jacky: I recommend reading about Johnny Appleseed. He planted apple trees that are still growing 300 years later. Be sure that your next career move allows you to make a lasting contribution, one that will survive beyond your lifetime. Build a product or a company, write a book, make a movie, or mentor a new generation. To focus yourself on making this type of lasting contribution, build a physical or electronic career portfolio. These are no longer just for artists. Here is a book and some web sites that will get you started:
The Career Portfolio Book by Beverly J. Irby and Genevieve Brown
http://www.bcjobs.ca/re/career-centre/career-tools/career-planning/career-portfolios
http://www.smu.edu/career/portfolio.htm
http://careerservices.uvic.ca/tutorials/career-portfolio.html
http://www.visualcv.com/
http://www.quintcareers.com/job_search_portfolio.html

Boomer411: To find out more about Jacky Hood and her ventures and interests, use the links below and learn more.
http://www.bigtent.info
http://www.bigtent.info/blog1
http://www.chalkinstitute.org
http://www.fielddaysolutions.com
http://www.tapapm.org

You can find out more information on Jacky’s book from the publisher and also order, here

You can read reviews of the book here/order from Amazon.com

This concludes our interview with Jacky Hood. Please do stay tuned as we bring you more such interviews.

 

Permalink » 2 Comments » Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Digg Mind Your Thoughts! at Digg.com Bookmark Mind Your Thoughts! at del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Bookmark This Post to Stumbleupon