How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

If you’re very lucky, you’ll grow so old that morticians will follow you around with a measuring tape to save time. You’ll need a fire marshal on hand for your birthday cakes. When someone mentions they’ve spoken to you, people will gasp and exclaim, “Is he/she still alive?” That’s old.

Wait a minute? Lucky to grow old? That’s what we said. But you protest: “Doesn’t everybody want to stay younger longer?” Of course they do, but it’s not possible. No matter what you do on the outside, you’re going to become older on the inside. The only alternative to growing old is getting dead. And while we’ve never been dead, we can safely say being old and alive is a heck of a lot more fun.

Aging is not optional. That means if you want to enjoy your life, there’s only one thing you can do: don’t get old. Grow old. Growing old means that as you age, you grow. You learn. You discover new passions, new wisdom, new things that excite you. You learn from your mistakes and make new ones instead. You create new relationships even as you keep cherished old ones. You take care of your body, exercise, eat right, take risks, learn to play an instrument—you live. You grow and change and improve with the decades.

Getting old means you fossilize, watching the years pass you by, complaining but never acting, regretting but never reaching out. Getting old means you’re dead years before your body gives out. Who wants that?

The philosophy of How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life is not to apologize for old age or try to avoid it, but to show you that it can be an incredible time of freedom and discovery and learning and purpose—if you approach it in the right frame of mind. Old age is a privilege. How are you using it? Are you attacking life head-on, going after new challenges, using your time and money for some cause close to your heart? Are you defying expectations and horrifying your grandchildren by learning to surf, hiking the Appalachian Trail, or starting a business? Are you growing old or just getting old?

Many of the technologies, medications, nutritional and fitness discoveries, entrepreneurial opportunities, and social networks people need to make their later years incredible already exist. What’s lagging behind are people’s mind-sets. Many of us have not embraced the idea that we can be more vital and alive at seventy than we were at forty. We’re stuck in obsolete ideas about old age, ideas that whisper in our ears that our only options are to sit in a rocker, complain about new music, forget about sex, learn shuffleboard, and pray we don’t outlive our retirement savings.

Nonsense. Today, we’re living so much longer and more productively that age sixty has truly become the new age forty—the prime of life when our careers are in full swing, our minds are at their most creative, and of eathers. Wur passions burn their hottest. If you had what you thought was your prime of life when you were in your 30s or 40s, count yourself lucky. You get to have a Second Prime, a time in your 60s, 70s, or even 80s when you can use your wisdom, experience, and financial resources to start fresh, create something marvelous, discover a new purpose for your life, and revitalize and replenish your body.

We’re going to open your eyes to the latest findings in genetics, finance, psychology, fitness, and more. We’ll share stories from “Senior Achievers” and, in doing so, reveal the secrets for keeping your body, mind, and soul vibrant and full of purpose and energy . . . for experiencing a true Second Prime that makes your first prime look like a dress rehearsal.

We’ve even created an online community, www.SecondPrime.com, for Baby Boomers with a life-affirming attitude and anybody else who wants to live long and live brilliantly. Once you’ve finished this book, visit and meet other people just like you.

You know you’re getting older . . .

• When your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you’re barefoot.

• When your doctor doesn’t give you x-rays anymore but just holds you up to the light.

• When a sexy babe catches your fancy and your pacemaker opens the garage door nearest you.

• When you remember when the Dead Sea was only sick.

• When your wife says, “Let’s go upstairs and make love,” and you answer, “Pick one!”

• When going braless pulls all the wrinkles out of your face.

• When you don’t care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don’t have to go along.

• When you and your teeth don’t sleep together.

We’re going to start by shaking up the conventional wisdom and ruffling a few feathers. We’re not advocating that Social Security and its fellow programs be eliminated; they have helped many older Americans lead better lives. But there are two aspects of government entitlements that we cannot support: debt and dependency.

Consider the financial projections for the Social Security trust fund. According to the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, negative cash flow into the trust fund is expected to increase rapidly after 2010, when many of the 76.9 million Baby Boomers will start retiring. After that, the shortfall will accelerate as the number of retirees collecting benefits gradually overwhelms the number of workers paying into the system. The government projects that by 2017, tax income will fall short of payouts, and by 2041 the fund will only be able to finance 74 percent of benefits. By that time, the trust fund will be gone.¹

Medicare is in even worse shape, especially as Boomers get older and sicker and their healthcare costs rise. By 2079, the cost of Medicare benefits is projected to reach a staggering 14 percent of gross domestic product. That means 14 percent of every dollar produced in the United States would be going toward paying Medicare hospital and drug benefits! Medicare assets would drop below payouts by 2014 while the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which pays hospital benefits, will be exhausted by 2020.²

Social Security and Medicare could put America into even more debt while fostering dependency among seniors. Fixing them is a political issue, so what we’re suggesting instead is this: exchange these entitlements for the Ten Empowerments, gifts you give yourself by making smart, courageous choices. You’re entitled to all ten, but only if you develop the right mind-set and make smart, brave choices about your future.

If you embrace the Ten Empowerments, you will find that you can make more money after “retirement,” be healthier and more active, and be independent. You’ll get what you earn, find greater purpose and passion in what you do, make new social contacts and meet amazing human beings, do real good in the world, and keep your mind sharper and more powerful. You won’t need the monthly checks from Social Security, you’ll be healthier, so your medical bills won’t be as high, and you can use your financial resources to buy health coverage that’s exactly what you want. There are many options out there if you know where to look.

Society is filled with outdated ideas about people over sixty-five: they’re frail, they’re losing their marbles, they’re cranky, they’re out of touch, they have no interest in sex. Those ideas are part of the “conventional wisdom” about growing old, and if you listen to them, they will rob you of your power to create the life you want.

Instead, why not adopt some “unconventional wisdom” of your own? This is the first step to making the rest of your life the best of your life: convincing yourself that you can create the life you want rather than being bound by archaic ideas. You can and you will, once you empower yourself with statements like these:

• I will never retire but, instead, work at something that gets me excited to get out of bed in the morning.

• I will prevent disease and improve my health by improving what I put in my body.

Say these things, then write them down. If you write down your intentions, you are ten times more likely to achieve them than if you just talk about them.

Research has shown that longevity has more to do with the lifestyle choices you make than with your genes. Your DNA gives you a basic framework to work with, a predisposition for or against conditions such as high cholesterol, cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, but what you build on that frame is a matter of choice—the lifestyle you choose to lead. You are not the slave of your DNA; you have the power to decide whether you are healthy enough to hike ten miles at age seventy-five or obese, hypertensive, and dependent on prescription medication.

The diseases that kill millions of Americans every year are diseases of lifestyle—coronary artery disease, cancer, high blood pressure. Sure, there are inherited factors involved, but what you eat every day and how much you exercise have a lot more to do with your developing these killer diseases than who your grandfather was. If you’re eating five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day and working out at the gym five times a week, you could still develop diabetes or heart disease, but your genetic programming will have to work a lot harder to make that happen. It’s more likely that you’ll defy your genes and keep your blood pressure low, build a healthy heart, have strong, flexible joints and muscles, and as a result, live longer.

You know you’re getting older . . .

• When your back goes out, but you stay home.

• When you wake up looking like your driver’s license picture.

• When it takes two tries to get up from the couch.

• When your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio.

• When happy hour is a nap.

• When you step off a curb and look down one more time to make sure that the street is still there.

• When your idea of weight lifting is standing up.

• When it takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.

• When your memory is shorter and your complaining is longer.

• When the pharmacist has become your new best friend.

Gerontologists expect members of the Baby Boom generation to live routinely into their mid- to late 80s and beyond. But that’s not a birthright; it simply means that due to medicine, science, and knowledge about nutrition, you have that potential. Whether or not you tap it is up to you. How? By eating fresh, antioxidant-rich foods. Exercising and moving your body. Finding ways to let go of stress. Challenging your mind. Meeting new people. Finding a spiritual community. Maintaining a great sex life with your spouse. And by taking pure joy in the true pleasures of life, from a piece of gourmet chocolate to your first time holding your new grandchild.

Studies have shown that once you get past your mid-80s without succumbing to the diseases of age, you’ve got a good shot at living a century. Are you living a lifestyle that gives your body and mind the best chance of aging well? You can take charge of your mental, physical, and emotional health and maximize your odds of celebrating your one hundredth birthday, or you can let it all ride on the genetic roulette wheel. It’s up to you.

All too often, seniors seclude themselves in retirement communities where the only people they come into contact with are in the same age group and share the same race, social status, economic background, and political beliefs. That’s a recipe for stagnation. If variety is the spice of life and you’ve spent the first sixty years of yours around all kinds of people of all ages, why on earth would you want to spend the rest of your life around people who are just like you?

If you want to empower yourself, use your knowledge, memory, and passion for life to reach out to people of all ages and from all backgrounds and forge new relationships. You can do it at a church, through volunteer work, or simply in your neighborhood. You can even do it if you live in a retirement enclave where everybody’s over the fifty-five-year-old hill and picking up speed. Just get yourself out there, stick out your hand, and introduce yourself.

Why is this important? When we have social networks and a wider circle of friends, we live longer and more richly. People who don’t share your political beliefs, who come from a different culture, or who are half your age are inherently interesting; they view the world differently. You learn from them as they learn from you. Seek out people who are nothing like your friends, put yourself into situations where you’ll come into contact with artists, activists, entrepreneurs, missionaries, and college students. Develop the art of conversation. Become a great listener. It’s a wonderful skill.

Do not retire. We’re going to say that a lot. Retirement is like taking a classic car, one that’s been running for forty years, and garaging it. Eventually, that finely-tuned engine is going to gum up with old oil, the battery will give out, and the car is as good as dead.

The key is to make the transition from working because you have to into working because you want to. Decades of gold watch retirement ceremonies have brainwashed us into believing that reaching sixty-five means sitting in a rocking chair. And that’s more than wrong—it’s tragic. Human beings are builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. We need challenge, a reason to get up in the morning. Simply shutting up shop at retirement and spending the rest of your days playing golf is a recipe for dying early. There is no reason why in your 60s, 70s, or even 80s, you cannot take the knowledge you’ve gained through decades of working and find something new to do, whether it’s getting a job, starting your own business, or volunteering.

There’s a good reason for doing this too: it will give you the freedom not to need Social Security. One of the saddest things we hear people say in our travels is, “I hope I don’t outlive my money.” That is terrible. If you’re healthy and have all your marbles, you should be hoping for every minute of life you can savor because it’s all you’re getting. But many seniors assume that after they leave their corporate job, they won’t be working for the rest of their lives. With today’s longevity, the woman who retires at sixty-five has a great chance of living to ninety. But does she have enough money to make it to ninety? The prospect of running out of money is terrifying.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Instead of dreading the idea of “going back to work after I retire,” why not say to yourself, “After I quit working for someone else, I’m going to take a year off to travel and then go to work doing something I really love.” As the saying goes, if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Increasing numbers of Americans over age fifty are going back to work, some because they must, but more because they want to work. They want a reason to hop out of bed and be excited about the day and a way to earn supplemental income. If they have some retirement savings and very little debt, they can find the perfect occupation. They are becoming teachers’ aides and retail clerks, volunteers at nonprofit organizations and precinct walkers for political candidates. Many are starting their own businesses.

We are going to talk a great deal about senior entrepreneurship. We think it’s a fantastic idea. When you have forty years of experience in a field and a network of contacts, why not start a business? That’s exactly what millions of seniors are doing. Thanks to the Internet, many are doing it at home, which means no commute, the ability to care for a spouse with health problems, and the freedom to control your time. If you think entrepreneurially as you near “retirement” age, and if you make enjoyment your top criterion for a new occupation, you will keep your spirits high, your mind vigorous, your skills sharp, and your body younger . . . and you’ll probably make enough money that you won’t need to worry about what Social Security is able to pay out.

It’s never too late to start exercising, adopt healthy habits, and reap the benefits. Studies have shown that people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s who start a regular exercise program for the first time in their lives gain just as great a benefit as younger people: increased muscle mass, greater strength and flexibility, improved endurance, weight loss, enhanced energy and appetite, and even a more agile mind.

By developing a physician-approved exercise regimen and eating healthy foods every day, you can get back a great deal of the vitality and physical freedom that many seniors assume are gone forever. Later in this book, you’ll meet athletes in their 60s, 70s, and 80s—men and women who have been competing for years at an elite level. They’re fit, lean, and agile—all the qualities that seniors are supposed to have left behind. How does such fitness happen? By you making a commitment. Turning back the clock to have strength, flexibility, energy, and speed in your old age is a matter of doing three things as part of your everyday lifestyle:

1. Exercising aerobically (running, walking, cycling) and anaerobically (weight lifting), and stretching. Aerobic exercise develops your endurance and improves your cardiovascular health, while anaerobic exercise builds muscle, improves your strength, and helps you keep off the weight you lose.

2. Eating generous amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish, whole grains, and raw nuts. All these foods contain the vitamins, minerals, essential oils, and phytonutrients you need to prevent disease and keep body and mind vital.

3. Getting enough rest. Americans are notoriously poor at getting enough sleep; our culture discourages it. But then we quit working a regular job and don’t have to get up every morning to commute, and we still don’t get enough sleep! It doesn’t make sense. Your body really does need eight hours of sleep a night. Rest helps you recover from exercise, improves your energy and concentration, and boosts your immune system.

Remember, smart exercise and eating are the only things you can do for your body that have no negative side effects! All you’ll do is improve the health of your heart and cardiovascular system, stave off cancer, lose weight, reduce or eliminate joint pain, become more mobile and flexible, feel more energetic, look better, and live happier.

Art Linkletter here. This section is written from my perspective because as a ninety-four-year-old man who’s also Chairman of the John Douglas French Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease, I can say that there is nothing more important than keeping your brain active and challenged. The brain is just like a muscle; if you don’t work it, it will atrophy, and you’ll lose function.

But what’s more important is that you have the power to slow or even prevent loss of mental abilities simply by working your brain like you would work your bicep. If you work your mind every day and live a life where you’re constantly learning new things, science and human experience show that you’ll keep your mind sharper longer.

You know you’re getting older . . .

• When it takes twice as long to look half as good.

• When the twinkle in your eye is only the reflection of the sun on your bifocals.

• When you look for your glasses for half an hour, and then find that they were on your head all the time.

• When you get two invitations to go out on the same night, and you pick the one that gets you home the earliest.

• When you give up all your bad habits and you still don’t feel good.

• When you sit in a rocking chair and can’t get it going.

• When you confuse having a clear conscience with having a bad memory.

• When your hip sets off an airport metal detector.

You must always be thinking, solving problems, engaging other people, challenging your brain to work and struggle. Do games and crossword puzzles. Take on volunteer work in an area you know nothing about. Dedicate a summer to reading a dozen new books, or learn a new language. You cannot spend too much time giving your brain a good, hard workout. Our brains are our minds, and our minds are who we are.

Attitude is just as important. Avoid “catastrophizers,” people who feel victimized by life, who always see the cup as half empty: those grouchy, grumpy old people you see rocking on their porch and complaining about the world. They’re letting their minds rot because of a negative attitude. If you have a positive, life-affirming attitude, you’re going to do all the things that keep you alert, sharp, and “in the game” of life: communicating, pursuing an area of curiosity, staying connected with your family, community, church, or political party. The more you do, the more you’ll find that your mind is a tool you can use to shape any future you have in mind.

Another of the unfortunate stereotypes of old age is that elders are powerless. Right. Who runs nations and companies? Men and women over fifty. Who possesses most of the money? Older Americans. Who has all the contacts, the business savvy, and the experience to make change happen? Seniors. You have tremendous power to change the world; you’ve just been brainwashed into thinking it belongs to someone else.

If you see something that you feel needs to be changed, whether it’s a new law or a boarded-up building that would be a perfect community center, you have the power to make it happen. There are many community, state, and national activist groups dedicated to mobilizing people to effect change. Organizations like Volunteer Match (www.volunteermatch.org) exist to connect people who are passionate about making a difference with opportunities to do so. There are as many ways to create positive change as there are problems that need fixing.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to get involved, give your money to a cause you care about. You do not have to sit idly by while younger people make decisions that affect your future. You have power to change policies, support or oppose political candidates, and even advance legislation. Never doubt your own ability to shake the halls of power. All you need to do it is the willingness to act.

When we talk to seniors, three-quarters of them have a secret desire to play piano,write poetry, paint, or something else wonderfully creative, but when we mention it they usually say, “Oh, but that’s stupid. I would not be any good at it.”

That’s missing the point. The point at trying something creative is not to be good at it; creativity is its own reward. We think 90 percent of human beings have creative energy inside them. People are creators by nature, but most become sidetracked by the demands of making a living and raising a family. A lucky few get to make a living writing, singing, sculpting, or acting, but most of the rest of us carry that secret longing to be creative around inside us for the rest of our days.

If you have that longing, don’t keep it a secret. If you’re no longer working on someone else’s schedule, why not try the creative field you’ve been watching with envy for forty years? It doesn’t matter if you haven’t picked up a guitar since high school or only painted the siding on your house. The aim is not to produce great art but to let loose your creative spirit and the power of your ideas.

You can create nightly in front of an audience or alone in an art studio. It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re serving that longing. There are many ways to express the creative side you’ve suppressed all these years. Be original in finding a creative outlet. What’s to stop you from starting your own jazz combo or writing group? There are many sources of energy that you can tap to energize your old age and make your post-work years thrilling. Nurturing your creative side is one of the best.

Raise your right hand and repeat after us: “I will not be an old crank.” You know the people we’re talking about, the crotchety seniors who live in the past and complain about the present. Nothing is good enough, everybody is dishonest or stupid, and the hurts of decades before are more important than the people in their lives today.

We feel pity for seniors who live this way because they are missing out on life. They are wallowing in the pain and misfortune of yesterday because it’s easier than facing the challenges of life now. Such souls are on the expressway to the grave; there’s nothing like resentment and regret to make you neglect your body and mind.

You’re not that kind of person. You have the ability to make peace with what’s gone before, savor each moment you live in now, and look forward to a bright future.That’s not to say that it’s not important to look back; you never want to lose wonderful memories or stories, which is why we’re big believers in writing journals. But as you look back, apply the lessons of your past to what you’re doing today and tomorrow. Approach today with relish and joy. Stop and live in the moment.

Americans are not very good at the moment. But when you’re older and you have more control of your time, enjoy the freedom you have to stop, really stop, and enjoy the moment you’re in. You don’t have to wait until you’re walking across the Golden Gate Bridge; you can do it at any time. Chances are, no matter where you are or what you’re doing, there’s something extraordinary happening: a baby chattering, flowers waving in the wind, music playing, a classic car passing on the street.

Most of all, look ahead. If you’re fifty-five today, you have a good chance of living into your 90s. What are you going to do with all that time? What will be your purpose? If you have the freedom that comes with controlling your time, your future is a blank slate where you can create anything. Dream big. Sail around the world. Start a company. Write the novel that’s inside you. Run for congress.

Empowerment #10: You can create a life filled with new experiences, inspiration, and great achievements.

There’s another bit of conventional wisdom that says as you grow older, you become more conservative. Hogwash. When you’re seventy, have the money you’ll need to live until you’re a hundred, and have no boss to answer to, what have you got to lose by taking a risk or two? Risk makes great things possible. What’s to stop you from trying skydiving for the first time, investing in a start-up company that you believe in, or getting on stage to do stand-up comedy?

Old age is not the time to sit back in your comfort zone. It’s when you should rip big, dripping chunks out of life and let the juice run down your chin. It’s the time when, as long as you’re in solid financial shape, you should embrace the uncertain. Uncertainty makes you grow, keeps your mind young, and electrifies your spirit.Mastering a new skill or getting through a new experience—even if it makes you uncomfortable—is one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world. It becomes addictive. That’s the ultimate independence. You become unstoppable.

The Ten Empowerments are your alternative safety net. But unlike entitlements, which are out of your control, the Ten Empowerments are completely in your control. You can choose to be fit and healthy, creative and passionate, vital and active. If you do, you will have the choice to depend on those entitlements or to reject them. The key is choice.Get old or grow old? The choice is yours. It’s always been yours. By building your future on the Ten Empowerments, you’ll be helping us create the new alternatives to Social Security and Medicare:

The names alone imply self-reliance and independence, and that’s what they’re about. We’re about to start a revolution. Come along for the ride.