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Returnships for Caregivers Going Back to Work #128 May 20, 2019

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Tami M. Forman is the Executive Director of Path Forward, a non-profit organization that creates mid-career returnship programs to ease the transition back to work for people who have taken a career break for caregiving. Path Forward trains HR teams and hiring managers on how to support these programs successfully and provide support to participants to make the experience successful. Tami is building this organization from the ground up, working with donors, partners, and participants to fulfill the organization's mission. Tami spent a decade as a marketing executive with Return Path. Tami has previously held editorial positions at Simon and Schuster, Houghton Mifflin, iVillage, and News Corporation. Key Takeaways: [1:38] Marc welcomes you to Episode 128 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot this podcast to you; CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [2:08] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people Marc reaches, the more people he can help. [2:27] Next week, Marc will read a new chapter from the third edition of Repurpose Your Career.) Marc has released two chapters to the Repurpose Your Career review team. If you'd like to be part of that team, please go to CareerPivot.com/RYCTeam and you'll receive new chapters as they become available. [2:51] Marc currently plans to release the book in mid-to-late September with both a virtual and a real book tour. He will be in Austin, NYC Metro Area, and D.C. during the months of September and October. Marc would love to meet his readers and listeners. [3:10] Reach out to Marc at Podcasts@CareerPivot.com if you'd be willing to give him some advice on setting up this tour. This includes venues if you're from those areas. Marc would very much appreciate it. [3:27] This week, Marc is interviewing Tami Forman, the executive director of Path Forward. Marc introduces Tami with her bio. [4:27] Marc welcomes Tami to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [4:44] Marc learned about returnships from Dan Corbin who was at Return Path at the same time as Tami. Marc invites Tami to talk about the origin and mission of Path Forward. [5:10] Path Forward is a nonprofit organization on a mission to help people who have taken time out of their career for caregiving to restart those careers. Most of the clients are women, but the programs are open to men and women who have taken chunks of time away from the paid workforce to care for children or elderly parents. [5:43] This concept started within Return Path, a privately-held software company based in New York City, with offices in Colorado, Austin, Texas, Indianapolis, and globally. The head of HR was working to help women in technology and doing unconscious bias training. She ran into resistance hiring women who had taken a career break. [6:43] The VP of HR realized that if she couldn't influence the behavior of managers in her own company, there was a systemic problem. She worked with some people to put together a returnship, meaning a temporary assignment aimed at someone in mid-career. [7:09] The program was phenomenally successfully for the six people in the program and for the managers. Other companies noticed and reached out to VP of HR Cathy Hawley and CEO Matt Blumberg to learn how to run the program in their offices. [7:38] Matt decided to found a nonprofit and try to make a bigger impact by bringing it to many more companies. [7:48] Marc sees men and women taking time off to take care of elderly adult parents. Tami sees a lot of women with the "double whammy," who took a few years off to take care of their children and then their mother or father got sick and needed care. Many women have filled both roles. She has also seen stay-at-home dads. [8:42] Childcare takes longer than elderly parent care, usually, so mothers raising children are out of the workforce longer. The longer the time out of the workforce, the longer it takes to get back into it. People taking a few years off for elder care have less difficulty getting a job. The age range of participants in the program is large. [9:57] Marc has a man in his online community who got laid off, took care of a parent, and now is being asked what he did for 18 months. "Taking care of Mom" is not very well received at the tech startups he is trying to penetrate. [10:17] How is a returnship different from an apprenticeship? The DOL has a specific definition to meet guidelines for a registered apprenticeship, but employers may use it less formally. Tami advises to anyone looking into any "ship" program is to get a strict understanding of what the program offers. [11:16] Tami considers a returnship to differ from an apprenticeship mainly in the amount of training supplied. Tami notes the Microsoft LEAP program which has a training component alongside a work project component as a "classic" apprenticeship. A returnship is about just the work. [12:03] People coming into a returnship have either directly applicable or transferrable experience they can put to work within the context of the returnship. They may need mentoring and would receive new-employee training. They have the basic skills. [12:45] Some of the companies Path Forward works with do have a training component as part of their returnship because they want to expand the types of people they are able to bring into the program. [13:01] Tami says during the interview process is the time to make sure you understand exactly what training and development the program offers and what the expectations are of you. [13:20] Marc notes that tech sector jobs would provide some training because of rapid change in the industry. Tami says that tech companies are having trouble finding people to maintain legacy tech stacks. Younger people don't know how to do it or don't want to. [13:50] Tami has worked with companies that have proprietary software where every engineer would have to be trained to work with it. [14:17] Understanding what the expectations are is very important. Tami is aware of organizations and programs, such as a boot camp or an online course, available to teach specific skills to people returning to the workplace. The training alone would not be enough to get you a job, so the returnship work piece makes the difference. [14:52] Kids don't want to learn COBOL or Fortran. [15:07] Besides tech skills, returnships can work for any company hiring for any professional job. Path Forward has had the most success in partnering with tech companies in Northern California, New York, Denver, and LA. Technology has an acknowledged gender-balance problem alongside a talent problem. [16:08] The gender-balance issue, combined with the overall scarcity of talent, are the factors that lead to the success of returnship programs at tech firms. People out of the workforce are an untapped pool. Other industries may have gender-balance problems but no shortage of talent. They don't feel the same pressure to bring in more people. [17:36] Tami's advice to people looking for opportunities, in general, is to go where "the people aren't." Go where the jobs are plentiful and the people seem to be less so. [17:46] The ideal candidate for a returnship will have a background that matches what the job is. Someone who's making a big career change will not typically be as successful. If you are making a career change, first get a lot of advice from people in the new career. Take a course. Take a consulting position. Accept a lower position. [19:36] If you worked in marketing, do a returnship in marketing. If you worked in engineering, do a returnship in engineering. That's where the 16-week boost, getting you back in the seat, with a manager who can see what you can do, is really successful. [19:55] Tami sees that people who have a certain degree of resentment about the sacrifice that they've made and have ego issues about salary or position have a more difficult time than people who are open and have humility about them. It is better to be excited to be back and accept the opportunity after spending the time with family. [21:04] Marc recalls last week's episode with Andrew Scott on the 100-Year Life and their conversation about mindset in CareerPivot.com/Episode-127. If you don't have the proper mindset you will not be successful. [21:43] Tami shares a case study of Marina, in her mid-40s who made a career pivot from selling CDs by direct marketing at BMG Music. That world has gone away. However, her marketing skills were very transferable to different markets and channels. [22:58] Marina got a returnship in marketing at Return Path and ultimately landed on marketing analytics, where she still works, three years later. She also took the Hubspot digital marketing course to do her own reskilling. There are a lot of vendors in various industries who make free training available to increase their potential talent pool. [24:22] Tami shares Lisa's story who was an engineer at IBM and had last coded using COBOL and Fortran. She had an EE degree, not a CS degree, because that wasn't expected when she was studying. She had taken some software courses. Then she was out of the workforce for 20 years. [25:14] Lisa wanted to get her Master's degree, but her college-age son told her that wasn't how it's done anymore. He recommended she take a couple of classes and go work for someone who would let her learn on the job. She got a returnship at Return Path as an engineer. She is still there and was promoted to a team lead position. [25:52] Besides her technical skills, they recognized her leadership and organizational skills she used as a stay-at-home mom for 20 years. She could inspire a team and get things done. [26:45] Marc spoke a couple of years ago at an Austin Community College coding boot camp. He explained that a lot of the plumbing has changed, but none of the concepts has. You can learn how to replumb things and use new tools. Sometimes you have to spend your own time and your own dollars to get trained. Look online. [27:30] Always be learning. You can work for 20 years in one job and get laid off when your job is not relevant. Constantly be in a mode of learning and staying relevant. [28:47] After the dotcom bust companies slowly stopped spending money on training their employees. It's up to the individual to find their own training and stay up to date. [29:03] Managers making hiring decisions are very risk-averse. The returnship concept gives them permission to take a chance and not get in trouble. Companies working with Path Forward know the executives have sanctioned the program. [29:44] For listeners in cities without Path Forward returnships, think about ways you can do work for someone so they can see what you can do, in a way that lowers the risk for them. That might be freelancing, pro bono work, or volunteering. Build a website for a community group that's doing something interesting. Showcase your real skills. [30:36] Networking is crucial. One way to network is to do work with someone. Another is to take classes with others. Get out from behind the computer and into the world. Find ways to work with people. That's Tami's last advice to listeners. [32:02] To learn more, sign up for the newsletter at PathForward.org/participant for news about every partner they sign. There is a page of other returnships at companies not working with Path Forward at pathforward.org/return-work-programs-around-us. There is also a Facebook page at Facebook.com/PathFWD and Twitter at @PathFWD. [33:21] Marc thanks Tami and hopes you enjoyed this episode. You might call this a movement of creating programs that help people reenter the workforce after a career break. Marc invites you to go back and listen to Episode 80 with Carol Fishman Cohen, the CEO of iRelaunch found at CareerPivot.com/episode-80. [33:59] Marc is working on setting up an interview with one or both of the people Tami mentioned in the interview. You will find links mentioned in this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-128. [34:17] The Career Pivot Community website has become a valuable resource for 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc is recruiting new members for the next cohort. [34:29] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves. Marc will be spreading out new cohorts as the community starts some new projects. [34:51] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction of this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. They are now starting a writers' group. [35:35] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [35:59] Please come back next week, when Marc will read a new chapter from the third edition of Repurpose Your Career. [36:09] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [38:51] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-128. [36:21] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.

Full show notes at the publisher

How Are You Planning for Your 100-Year Life? #127 May 13, 2019

Show notes

Andrew Scott is a Professor of Economics at the London Business School. His research, writing, and talks focus on the macro trends that shape the global environment, from technology, longevity, globalization, through to interest rates and exchange rates. His work on longevity emphasizes the positive impact of a longevity dividend. It isn't just that there are more old people but that how we are aging is changing. Andrew's 2016 book, The 100-Year Life, on this theme, became an award-winning global bestseller translated into 15 languages. He has been an advisor to a range of corporates and governments on a broad range of economic issues and an award-winning public speaker, combining, insight, clarity, humor, and a motivation to action for anyone who hears him. Key Takeaways: [1:31] Marc welcomes you to Episode 127 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings you this podcast; CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [2:02] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people Marc reaches, the more people he can help. [2:22 Next week, Marc will interview Tami Forman, who is the executive director of Path Forward, a non-profit organization that creates mid-career returnship programs. (If that interview is delayed, Marc will read a chapter from the next edition of Repurpose Your Career.) [2:58] This week, Marc is speaking with Andrew Scott, co-author of The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity. Marc introduces Andrew with his bio. [4:09] Marc welcomes Andrew to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [4:27] Marc reached out to Andrew after reading his article "Is 75 the New 65? How the Definition of Aging Is Changing," on NextAvenue.org. Having interviewed authors Ashton Applewhite, Patti Temple Rocks, and Chris Farrell about ageism, Marc wanted to segue with Andrew into talking more about aging. [4:58] Andrew says we have made a mess about age. Aging brings to mind 'end of life.' Chronologically, everyone's aging at exactly the same rate — one year, every year. [5:30] As a macroeconomist, Andrew looks at trends that shape the world. He noticed that, on average, we are living longer and healthier lives. Governments are worried about workers aging out of the workforce, causing problems for Social Security and pensions. [6:12] Andrew wonders how does the good news that we are living longer and healthier turn into the bad news that we will be a burden on society? There are two things happening. First, as the birth rate declines and people live for longer, the average citizen is older. Everyone focuses on that. [6:36] The exciting thing is that, on average, we are aging differently. In essence, we are younger for longer. A 78-year-old in the U.S. or the UK today has the same mortality rate as a 65-year-old from 40 years ago. We are in better health, but because we look just at chronological age, we don't notice that. We need to look at biological age. [7:33] Marc turns 63 next month. Marc lives a very different life at 63 than his father lived at 63. Marc's father had been forced to retire at 60. He lived for 15 more years, but it figuratively killed him. Marc will not let his life pass on. [8:12] Chronological age tells how many years since you were born. Mortality risk tells how many years until you die. The average American has never been older but we are also younger because our mortality rate is lower. We have a lot more years to go. [9:05] In the Twentieth Century, we created a life based on a 70-year life expectancy — a three-stage life of education, work, and retirement. That creates a sociological sense of age — what you should be doing at a certain age. That's where corporate ageism comes from. [9:38] The average age of the Rolling Stones is seven or eight years older than the average age of the U.S. Supreme Court. We need to change our sociological norms. Andrew points to CareerPivot.com and NextAvenue.org as examples of experimenting with new rules for longer lives. [10:10] The New Yorker, in 1937, first publicly used the word, 'teenager.' It was a new concept. In the 1950s, it became established. Previously, one was considered an adult by around age 14. [10:54] For most of human history, people were not aware of the day or year they were born. They were "fit and healthy," or "a grandfather," or "a mother." They didn't know their chronological age. They had a more "real" sense of age. [11:26] Starting in the Nineteenth Century, governments started keeping accurate birth records. In the Twentieth Century, birthday celebrations and birthday parties began. The song, "Happy Birthday To You", became popular in the '30s. Once governments began tracking people by age, they started separating them by age, for school and work. [12:04] The greatest example of this age separation is retirement at age 65 when you are "old." Because we are living longer, considering 65 to be old doesn't work anymore. People age differently. There is a great diversity in how healthy and active people are over age 65. [12:43] Marc talks about 80-year-olds in the Ajijic Hiking Group, who easily beat him in hiking. These 80-year-olds look at life differently than Marc would have thought they do. It is a mindset. Many are retirees. Marc isn't retiring, at least for the next 15 years. He just moved his business down to Ajijic. [13:41] The Twentieth-Century three-stage life worked for a 70-year lifespan. But we learned in the Twentieth Century that age is malleable. You can influence how you age and how long you will live. Diet, exercise, community, and relationships all make a difference. Having engagement and a sense of purpose helps you age better. [14:30] How do we create this new, longer life, when the three-stage life has us retiring at age 65? How are you engaging in the world and what is your sense of purpose? We are in a social experiment. We need to find how to use time in productive ways. [16:19] Anthropologists call an ambiguous threshold of transition a liminality. Teenage years are a liminality. The years around retirement are a new liminality. [17:04] In Andrew's book, Jane graduates from college, marries Jorge, and they take turns reinventing themselves every 15 years. This is foreign to how Marc was raised, to have a 40-year career leading to retirement. [18:14] In a longer life, it is important to keep your options open. Reinvention comes by your choice or from circumstances given to you, like being laid off. Reinvention is one of the challenges of a longer life. Andrew tells 40-year-olds that they have more working years ahead of them than they have behind them. That shocks them. [19:22] In Arizona, on January 1, 1960, Del Webb, opened the first Sun City with five model homes and a strip mall. 10,000 cars drove in the first day. In those days, people of retirement age could expect to live 10 or 15 years. Today, in a married couple of 65, one of the spouses has a good chance of living to 100. What are they going to do? [20:20] The UK Pension was introduced in 1908. Since then, life expectancy has increased by 36 years. Andrew says it is crazy that the three-stage life has not been changed much in that time. We're biologically aging better. Most of these extra years of life come in the second half of middle age. [21:03] For about the last hundred years, roughly every decade, life expectancy has increased by two or three years. That's like adding six to eight hours to every day. With more time, we would structure our day differently. We have longer lives and we can structure them differently. The average age of first marriages has gone from 20 to 30. [22:14] The number of people working after age 70 has tripled in the United States over the last 20 years. A person in their 20s needs to think about working into their early 80s. There is time for experimentation and finding what you like and are good at. In your 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, you're going to need to think more about investing. [24:07] Almost half of Marc's online community is over 60; one-third are over 65. One of the common themes is they all want the freedom to keep on working, on their terms. Andrew notes that GenX and Millennials want flexible, meaningful, purposeful, autonomous work; so do workers over 60. We all want that. [25:09] At every age, preparing for your future self is important. That's the key mindset perspective. "How do I make sure that I'm fit, healthy, engaged, and have my community and sense of purpose?" In a longer life, you need to be more forward-looking. [25:58] At 78, you have 13 more years of life than at 65, with the health that a 65-year-old of 40 years ago had. You are younger than your age. There are new options and new possibilities at every age. We work it out as we go along. [27:20] Marc recalls discussing with Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, that the older we get, the younger we feel, and the longer we want to live. Our view of old age keeps on moving further and further out. [27:42] Andrew notes the paradox of aging: younger people see the challenges of aging and think it sounds terrible but happiness often increases as people grow older. Andrew shares his explanation. [28:52] As people get very old and sense that they may be approaching their final decade, they do want to focus on the things that matter the most to them. For most, that will be in their 80s and 90s. [29:33] Marc contrasts the treatment of ages in the U.S. and in Mexico. There are so many multi-generational homes in Mexico, and it is very healthy. Inter-generational mixing is good. Our U.S. obsession with age led to labeling the generations, separating them further from each other. The generations don't mix. [31:43] People are people. Labeling comes about due to a lack of inter-generational mixing. Inter-generational mixing will become more crucial as we all live longer. It is a great way of spreading knowledge and insight. It will help the young be more forward-looking and the old to be more youthful and innovative. [33:02] Marc recalls his presentation in March on the five generations in the workplace. Many of the audience had never networked with Millennials. One had volunteered in the Beto O'Rourke Senate campaign, where he learned a lot. [33:43] Andrew has a website, 100yearlife.com, that includes a free diagnostic to look at your finances, skills, knowledge, physical and mental health, and your relationships, as well as your ability to undergo change. A three-stage life did not encourage many transitions. The transitions were: college to work and work to retirement. [34:20] More than 20K people have taken the diagnostic. There was no real pattern by age. People are the same, whatever age they are. Only one pattern emerged. Men in their 50s had quite narrow (similar) social circles. To transition well, open yourself up to new people and new ideas and find new circumstances. [36:03] Put yourself into challenging and different situations where you are not as well-known. That's how you grow, learn, and transition. [36:20] Contact Andrew and buy his book through 100yearlife.com or see his ongoing work on his personal website, AndrewScott.global. Also, reach Andrew on Twitter at @ProfAndrewScott or LinkedIn at Andrew Scott. Andrew shares resources with people around the world experimenting and learning from each other on how to live well longer. [37:02] Marc thanks Andrew and hopes you enjoyed this episode. Marc thoroughly enjoyed speaking with Andrew. What are you going to do with all those extra years? Marc has a plan; do you? [37:21] The Career Pivot Community website has become a valuable resource for more than 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc is recruiting new members for the next cohort. [37:35] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves. [37:50] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction of this endeavor. Right now they are forming writing groups. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. [38:21] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [38:39] Please come back next week, when Marc will speak with Tami Forman, the executive director of Path Forward. [38:46] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [38:51] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-127. [38:59] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.

Full show notes at the publisher

Got Hope? Current and Future Job Prospects for 50-Plus Workers with Kathy Lansford #126 May 06, 2019

Show notes

After several years of different career paths, Kathy unexpectedly fell into something she loves to do — helping people find jobs. Kathy is an award-winning trainer, skilled in the design and presentation of seminars and workshops that have helped thousands of job seekers secure excellent career opportunities. She is the creator and facilitator of Launch Pad Job Club, Austin's largest nonprofit networking and support group for job seekers, through which members are informed, motivated, and entertained through the job search process. Key Takeaways: [1:44] Marc welcomes you to Episode 126 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. CareerPivot.com brings you this podcast; it is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [2:12] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues, to help more people. Thank you for helping expand the reach of this podcast! [2:37] Marc is recording this introduction on April 30. There were over 8,000 downloads of the Repurpose Your Career podcast in April. That is triple the number of downloads from April 2018. Thank you! [2:54] Next week, Marc will interview Andrew Scott, co-author of The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity. What will you do with all that extra time? [3:08] This week, Marc is speaking with Kathy Lansford, the founder of Launch Pad Job Club, the first and one of the largest job clubs in Texas, founded in 2001. They are discussing current and future job prospects for 50+ workers. [3:27] Marc shares Kathy's bio and welcomes her to Repurpose Your Career. [4:32] Kathy was a job search skills trainer for many years at the Workforce Solutions office. After a break, she went to Austin Community College at the tail end of an AARP grant to help people over 50 find jobs. After the grant ended, ACC took over the project, expanding the services to the general ACC population, as well. [5:29] Marc met Kathy in 2006 after leaving his teaching job, when he got involved in Launch Pad Job Club. Later that year, Marc joined the board. Kathy is an expert on job search for people over 50. Marc introduces the topic of today's episode: "Got Hope? Current and Future Job Prospects for 50+ Workers." [6:17] Kathy describes negative job trends for those over 50. Ageism is rampant, especially in a youth-oriented city like Austin, where Kathy lives. The skill sets of older workers are not wanted. Age discrimination is illegal but age questions are often asked. [9:03] Kathy attends a group where people share their frustration at having their age used against them in the job search process before they can present their skills. [9:37] Ten years ago, the Supreme Court made a decision that makes it harder to prove age discrimination than for other forms of discrimination. [10:15] In the dotcom crash in 2001, in Austin, the first big layoff was at Dell. The laid-off workers had to sign waivers they would not sue for being laid off to get a severance package. [13:27] If a company lays off evenly across all age groups, and then hires back only younger workers, that is the basis of a lawsuit. [13:40] Recently a discrimination suit was settled against Facebook for only showing job postings to young people. Facebook ads allow a variety of targeting. Sellers can provide an email list and ask Facebook to find people who "look like these people." [15:29] A Bloomberg podcast recently stated that for some platforms, like Facebook, a $3 billion fine is inconsequential. They will keep doing what they do. [15:59] Application tracking systems can screen for years of experience to target age ranges. The older job seeker never knows that their resume is never seen. [16:54] "Conversant in digital speak" and "digital native" are codes for "young." [17:41] Kathy points out areas of hope. Lots of big companies are finding that they have gone too far to the young end of the spectrum. Kathy heard from her son in the semiconductor industry that young people don't want to spend the time to be trained in processes. They quit after 12 to 18 months and move on to the next gig. [20:31] AARP is an advocate for older workers. Kathy talks about their five-year grant, open to anyone over 50 and their one-year WESI grant open to women over 50. Women over 50 make up the largest-growing poverty group in the country. The AARP Austin five-year grant was successful in getting a lot of people to work. [22:49] People over 50 stay unemployed longer. Kathy cites a statistic that job seekers 55 to 64 are out of work 34 weeks, on average. Job hunters 20 to 24 are out of work 15 weeks, on average. [23:46] Marc had Carol Fishman Cohen on the podcast from iRelaunch some months ago. Kathy talks about the iRelaunch program, aimed largely at caregivers re-joining the technological workforce. GM has had several of these initiatives in conjunction with the American Society of Women Engineers and they hired many of the participants. [25:32] Because the economy is so strong, with such low unemployment, companies are looking for talent anywhere; they are even willing to look in the "gray-haired world." [25:57] Kathy remembers a program from years ago with Eli Lilly and another pharmaceutical firm who created a pool of their retirees to call in for specific big projects at a good salary on a temporary basis. [27:05] Companies with a strong diversity program are adding older workers to their diversity list. [27:55] Marc will have Tami Forman of Path Forward on the Repurpose Your Career podcast in about a month to talk about helping companies create re-entry programs for professionals. [28:29] Kathy mentions the Candice Bergen of the Murphy Brown show coming back as a relaunched career. Isabella Rosellini was long the face of Lancôme until they no longer needed her services due to age. In her 60s, they hired her again to represent older women who want to be beautiful. [29:40] One of Kathy's clients' ex-husband has a Ph.D. in optical engineering. After working in startups for years, he taught high school math and physics for 15 years. At age 66, he has just started up with defense contractor BAE Systems who appreciates his expertise and experience. [30:47] People have to be tenacious to get a good job in tech. One of Kathy's clients with a Masters' degree used Jobscan for LinkedIn. Jobscan scores your resume by the keywords in a job posting. They suggest having a keyword score of at least 80% before submitting a resume. The premium version of Jobscan also scans your LinkedIn profile. [33:17] Kathy's client made the changes to his LinkedIn profile suggested by Jobscan. He had the premium version of LinkedIn so he could track traffic. Very quickly, the traffic to his profile increased by 300%. A recruiter who visited his profile helped him get a senior-level position with the city of Austin. He is close to 60 and in a wheelchair. [34:21] Public sector jobs tend not to discriminate by age. They look at your skills, background, and what you have to offer. [34:49] Kathy shares a case study of a woman unemployed for a year. Kathy helped her with the state application and mock interview through the Back to Work 50+ program. [35:47] Kathy's client was turned down for different state positions until she networked with two friends who were at NXP (formerly Freescale and Motorola). Her friends got her connected there. She ended up with a $63K career job at NXP. [37:23] Tenacity is incredibly important. Older people tend to be tenacious. Pro Publica had an article that half of us over 50 will be forced into retirement, not by choice. [38:49] Austin now has some of the lowest mobility rates in the last 50 years. People don't want to move. People are willing to work for less to stay. Some people are tethered by conditions; where they want to live, base salary, or base position wanted. [40:48] Consider taking a step down the career ladder, or changing industries. Could you get a job if you loosened your requirements? Kathy shares case studies of people who expanded the scope of their search. Be open-minded and flexible. [43:53] Marc gives a case study of a woman who drove for Lyft and got multiple contract gigs from passengers. Getting out and meeting people got her out of her funk. [44:55] Volunteering is another way to feel fulfilled by sharing skills you have that others need and value. Sometimes a non-profit will hire people from among their volunteers who are mission-driven. [46:07] Marc tells of his image consultant, Jean, who has launched a Fulfillment by Amazon business for a pierced earring back for women with sagging earlobes. She sources them in China and sells them on Amazon. [47:04] There are all types of things you can do to make money these days. [47:15] Kathy's closing thoughts: everybody who wants to go to work, goes to work, whether at a job with benefits or a gig. The only people who don't get a job are people who quit looking and quit believing in themselves. Reach out. Surround yourself with people who are energetic, positive, supportive, and excited. Help each other succeed! [48:23] Marc thanks Kathy and hopes you enjoyed this episode. Marc has known Kathy for over a decade. Her dedication to helping older workers find jobs is remarkable. Marc wants you to remember the word 'tenacity.' [48:47] The Career Pivot Community website has become a valuable resource for more than 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc is recruiting new members for the next cohort. [48:59] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves. [49:14] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction of this endeavor. Right now they are forming a writers' guild. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. [49:43] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [50:09] Please come back next week, when Marc will speak with Andrew Scott, co-author of The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, on what you are going to do with all that extra time in your life. [50:21] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [50:25] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-126. [50:34] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.

Full show notes at the publisher

Paul Tasner Became an Entrepreneur at Age 66 #125 Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

Paul Tasner, Co-founder and CEO of PulpWorks, Inc., and more recently, Co-founder of Sort, has 40 years of operations experience. He has held leadership positions in ventures ranging from startup to Fortune 100. For the last decade, his focus has been on sustainability.

Seven years ago, Paul took a leap of faith while his peers were contemplating retirement. He embraced the challenge of disrupting the traditional packaging industry. Appalled by the amount of plastic pollution on our planet, and no longer content to accept the dangers of plastic packaging materials, he founded PulpWorks and set out to create a safe, eco-friendly packaging for consumer products. PulpWorks uses paper and agricultural waste to mold compostable packaging and therefore diminish the waste deposited in our landfills, waterways, and oceans. In 2016, PulpWorks was awarded a patent for their Karta-pack™, a compostable replacement for the toxic plastic blister pack. PulpWorks and Paul have been recipients of more than 20 awards and the subject of more than 70 stories in the media. Paul was selected as the TED Resident in 2017. His TED Talk on sustainability, entrepreneurism, and ageism has been seen by more than two million viewers and translated into 28 languages.

In 2018, Paul, with colleagues in San Francisco and Mexico City, founded Sort, a company using artificial intelligence, IOT, and computer-vision technology to solve the contamination challenges facing the recycling industry.

Key Takeaways:

[1:14] Marc welcomes you to Episode 125 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings this podcast to you. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge.

[1:45] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people Marc reaches, the more people he can help.

[2:06] This week is Episode 125. Marc has been doing the Repurpose Your Career podcast for two-and-a-half years. The podcast should exceed 8,000 downloads this month! Five episodes have had 1,700 downloads or more in the last year.

[2:26] Marc has been blown away at the success of this podcast! The audience is one of the smallest demographics — Baby Boomers — that listens to podcasts. Marc says, Thank you!

[2:31] Next week Marc will speak with Kathy Lansford. Marc has known Kathy as the founder of Launch Pad Job Club, which is one of the first and one of the largest job clubs in Texas, founded in 2001. They are calling the discussion, "Got Hope? Current and Future Job Prospects for 50+ Workers."

[2:59] This week, Marc is interviewing Paul Tasner. Marc shares Paul's bio.

[5:47] Marc welcomes Paul Tasner to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Paul feels that in real life he is not the person one envisions after reading his bio. He will let the audience judge.

[6:52] Marc found Paul through his TED Talk, which Marc found very inspiring to those of us in the second half of life.

[7:28] The first half of Paul's life was devoted to engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain, including packaging and logistics, always as an employee. He had what appeared to be good jobs. Sadly, they didn't remain good jobs. Entrepreneurism, however, has remained great for Paul.

[10:38] Paul asks people if they've considered entrepreneurism, and they say it's risky. Paul says they're at greater risk in their corporate job than Paul is as an entrepreneur.

[11:37] At age 64, Paul was fired. His company had done poorly and had a series of layoffs to meet budgetary restraints. The CEO who had hired Paul was replaced. The new CEO was someone Paul had known before and Paul was sorry to see him again.

[14:22] Paul was leaving the building on a Friday afternoon and was called into a meeting. The meeting was his exit interview. He and two others were let go. Paul met his wife and another couple at a restaurant, where he informed them he was just fired.

[16:06] On some level, the firing wasn't a surprise to Paul. It was overdue and just the push that he needed. He never looked back. It was a blessing in disguise.

[17:10] Paul had flirted with entrepreneurism all his life but just hadn't taken the plunge.

[17:52] In the 1990s Paul had consulted with some success and had gotten a permanent position from it. So he tried it again, only because he needed an income. He did it without any real passion and he felt that was not OK for his last career chapter.

[20:05] A former colleague of Paul's had started his own business in Asia, creating packaging out of molded pulp fiber made from waste material. He asked if Paul wanted to be his North American sales manager. At first, Paul wasn't interested.

[21:24] After thinking about the offer, Paul realized he really liked what his former colleague was doing. Paul came up with a counter-offer to start his own company in the States and outsource the manufacturing to his former colleague. They agreed.

[22:17] Paul's former colleague's business and Paul's business both changed, and they no longer work with each other. Today, Paul has several other manufacturing partners that manufacture packaging for consumer goods for Paul's company. Most packaging is high-end, using sugarcane fibers that create a sleek-looking package, almost white.

[23:33] Most of PulpWorks's clients fall into the premium end of consumer products, such as electronics, cosmetics, and premium food items. PulpWorks is a small company and can't compete with mass-producing products for huge organizations. Their production runs are short. Paul feels it is a fairly nice niche.

[24:40] Most of the packaging PulpWorks makes is designed to replace similar packaging made from plastic. We encounter unnecessary plastic packaging every day.

[26:06] Plastic disposal is in a crisis. Paul explains how we shot ourselves in the foot with China. Some waste management companies have no option but to put recyclables into landfills. They don't have a market for it anymore.

[27:51] PulpWorks has always had two full-time employees: Paul and his Co-founder. Everyone else is a contractor, a temp, or a consultant. There are about half-a-dozen people according to the situation. They use lawyers, accountants, designers, coordinators. There is a deep pool in the gig economy and Paul has a large network.

[29:04] Paul and his Co-founder tried to raise money for the business but never did. They boot-strapped it all There were valid reasons people did not invest in PulpWorks and some reasons Paul thought were less valid, such as his age! Paul says the success rate of older entrepreneurs is 70%; far better than the rate of young entrepreneurs.

[30:35] Older entrepreneurs are a very successful group and getting more successful every day because the Baby Boomer Generation is growing in ranks and will outnumber the youngest generation that is in the workforce.

[31:18] Employers are going to have a problem if they simply set their sites on hiring twenty-somethings. They're going to run out of talent. There just aren't enough twenty-somethings to fill the roles.[31:38] Success among older folks continues to rise. The 70% success rate of older entrepreneurs is a good number to bet on.

[31:53] PulpWorks is at cruising speed. They have their infrastructure completely developed and in place. Most of their efforts are focused on securing more business. They get a lot of inquiries online. They come up very high in SEO. They are intent on growing their revenues. They have no plans to sell the business.

[33:06] Paul is 73. If he feels pretty much the same as he does today five years from now, he will still be doing this or something like this. He loves what he is doing and gets up early to check his email every day. He keeps in pretty good shape by walking a lot.

He likes his boss a lot! He's a good guy.

[34:49] You can reach Paul at PulpWorksInc.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Info@PulpWorksInc.com goes to Paul's inbox, eventually.

[35:34] When Marc saw Paul's TED Talk, he told himself, he needed to get Paul on the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Marc calls Paul a real inspiration. Marc and Paul agree they both want to work as long as they love what they're doing.

[36:00] Paul talks about Sort, the new business he has started with a couple of partners. Unlike PulpWorks, it can't be bootstrapped. They need to raise money in order to launch it. There are capital requirements in order for it to be successful. It's a tech venture. They are in Northern California, where tech is king, so they hope to find the capital.

[37:03] Marc thanks Paul and hopes you enjoyed this episode. Paul is a great guy. Marc recommends that you watch Paul's TED Talk.

[37:22] The Career Pivot Community website has become a valuable resource for 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc is recruiting new members for the next cohort.

[37:33] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves.

[37:48] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction of this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more.

[38:11] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter.

[38:30] Please come back next week, when Marc will speak with Kathy Lansford on current and future job prospects for the 50+ workers.

[38:39] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[38:44] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-125.

[38:52] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app. And, if you're listening anywhere else, please let Marc know!

Patti Temple Rocks Addresses Workplace Ageism #124 Apr 22, 2019

Show notes

Over four decades, Patti Temple Rocks has held senior leadership positions in three distinct communication sectors: PR, advertising, and corporate/client side. She is an inspirational leader, innovative thinker, problem-solver, growth driver, brand steward, and an agent of change. Patti is passionate about fighting age discrimination and helping people understand how it harms individuals, businesses, and society, as a whole. You can learn more about this issue at Imnotdone.rocks.

Listen in for ways you can have this conversation where you work and where you live.

Key Takeaways:

[1:09] Marc welcomes you to Episode 124 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge.

[1:41] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues.

[2:02] Next week will be Episode 125. Marc has categorized the episodes. Look for them on CareerPivot.com/podcast. Scroll past the player to find Show Notes by Category, including interviews, audiobook chapters, series, and more.

[3:23] Let Marc know what you think about how they are organized. Feel free to email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com

[3:38] Next week, Marc will interview Paul Tasner. Marc found Paul through his TED Talk where he told his story of being laid off at the age of 64 and becoming an entrepreneur and formed Pulpworks.

[4:01] This week, Marc interviews Patti Temple Rocks, the author of a great book on Ageism.

[5:46] Marc welcomes Patti to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Patti reveals some of her personal passions: traveling and experiencing local cultures.

[6:28] Patti explains the inspiration to write her book. Her boss and mentor, the first women to reach the C-suite at this large corporation, was pushed to the sideline. Patti asked the CEO why, and he said she was "just tired." Patti knew that wasn't true, and she started noticing age discrimination from that point on.

[8:45] Patti's wanted to make sure that didn't happen to her, and to prepare for the day when the workplace decided it was time for her to go do something else.

[9:10] Patti found a lot of writings about creating a second career when you are not perceived as valuable in your first career. Patti wasn't ready to go do something else. She still had a lot to offer and give. Patti realized there were others who felt the same.

[9:55] Patti's book focuses on a message for businesses: You've got to change because there is this huge population of us who are reaching the stereotypical retirement age and we're not going to want to go.

[10:37] Marc has noticed code words for ageism. One term used in his workplace was he "doesn't have the energy." Patti says "digital native" can exclude Boomers.

[11:07] Chris Farrell in Unretirement: How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life, says that companies are going to need Boomers. Without companies changing their behaviors, there will still be ageism.

[11:29] When Marc interviewed Ashton Applewhite she had said that Boomers need to change behaviors. Patti saw there was room for her book.

[11:51] In Patti's opinion, there were a lot of people willing to make assumptions without having conversations about what is in the best interest of the company and the employee. Talking about age is considered taboo. Talking about salary is forbidden. More transparency in business will uncover inequities.

[13:16] People assume that when an employee reaches a certain age, they don't want to travel or move, or they are not worth training. These untruths continue due to lack of conversation.

[13:40] Ageism exists because we don't talk about it. Patti remembers a time when there were no diversity and inclusion officers or strategies. Today, we are talking about racism and sexism in corporations and in society. Age does not have that protection.

[15:31] We need to start noticing when workers in their 50s and 60s are being ushered out of organizations. Ask the question, "What's going on in my organization?" We can make a change. Marc tells of a case of disguised ageism from his corporate history.

[16:30] Patti gives an example of ageism from her own career. Our view of retirement changes as we approach the expected retirement age.

[19:34] Marc will interview Andrew Scott in May. Andrew and his wife, Lynda Gratton, wrote The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity. Young adults are probably not going to retire until they're 85. They just haven't figured that out, yet.

[20:29] Marc talks about Del Webb, who opened the first Sun City on January 1, 1960, with five model homes and a strip mall. 10,000 cars came through the first day. A lot of the people smoked. They were in their 60s and weren't going to live for more than 10 years. Today a married couple of age 65 have a good chance that one will live to 100.

[21:53] Patti talks about how Herman Miller has addressed ageism. They realized that if everybody who was eligible for retirement took it at the time of their eligibility, they would have serious labor shortage and knowledge-transfer problems.

[22:47] Herman Miller also noticed that most people were retiring without giving much notice. Those people were also not really prepared for retirement. Herman Miller created a program of flex retirement that encouraged employees to work with their managers to plan for retirement in steps, as much as five years ahead of time.

[24:13] There almost always was a solution that was in the best interests both of the company and the employee. A major benefit for Herman Miller was in being able to plan for orderly successions with the person whose job is being filled making some contributions to the discussions. This program was a win-win.

[25:08] Companies need to realize that it's in their best interests, from a labor standpoint, to keep their employees around longer. If we Boomers can get people talking about ageism, and treating it as a taboo subject, solutions will arise from that conversation.

[26:13] Patti interviewed many people who had experienced ageism. One obvious conclusion is that older workers are not around because of their higher salaries. It's up to all of us to continue to prove our value, no matter what our age, so that we earn our salary. In cost-cutting times, that may mean reduced hours or a lower-paying job.

[27:51] 100% of the people Patti interviewed said that if their boss had offered the option to change roles and reduce compensation, they would surely have considered it and more than likely would have taken it. Most people aren't in a position to completely retire in their 50s or early 60s, if for no other reason than the high cost of health insurance.

[28:30] Nobody should take a pay cut for doing the exact same job but companies can find a way to reorganize someone's job to use their strengths at a lower salary.

[28:51] Marc is living in Mexico because of the high cost of health insurance in the U.S. Marc also notes that he never was offered at any job the option to do something different for less money.

[29:20] One of the common themes in Marc's online community is that everybody wants the freedom of when they want to work, what they want to work on, and how hard they want to work. It's not as much about the pay.

[29:43] Patti has seen through her career that everybody wants flexibility and freedom. It is especially important toward the end of a career. CVS offered a package to pharmacists and store managers to spend winters in Florida. This solved a training and staffing problem and worked out well for older workers. Flexibility is huge.

[32:11] Patti's hope is that, as a result of this conversation in society, we will all have more choices about our own end of careers.

[33:46] Patti has the idea that the vast majority of people who don't get employee reviews when they're supposed to are over 40. It's sort of decided for us at that age that we care less about career development. Patti says, let's take control of the end of our careers, not just the beginning of our careers.

[34:28] Marc doesn't ever want to retire. He wants to work less at something he loves, on his terms.

[34:46] Patti's book, I'm Not Done: It's Time to Talk About Ageism in the Workplace, is available on Amazon. Patti's website is Imnotdone.rocks and you can reach out to her there. Patti's focus in her writings is to continue to raise awareness for this topic. People always thank her for bringing this up. Patti is not done talking about it!

[35:41] Marc thanks Patti and hopes you enjoyed this episode. Ageism is not going away anytime soon. Marc recommends Patti's book. Let him know what you think of it.

[36:00] The Career Pivot Community website has become a valuable resource for 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc is currently recruiting new members for the next cohort.

[36:11] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves.

[36:27] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction of this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more.

[36:52] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter.

[37:14] Please come back next week, when Marc will interview Paul Tasner, owner of Pulpworks.

[37:20] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[37:25] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-124.

[37:32] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.

Learn to Embrace Creative Destruction #123 Apr 15, 2019

Show notes

Creative destruction occurs when a disruptive industry supplants a legacy industry, causing the loss of some jobs and the creation of others. Marc explains the need to get ahead of the disruptions in your industry, using examples from industrial giants who quickly became insignificant or who vanished as a result of unexpected market or social movements. Marc shares current technological changes and views of more drastic changes soon to come. Listen in for a sample of the helpful advice in the new edition of Repurpose Your Career. Key Takeaways: [1:14] Marc welcomes you to Episode 123 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [1:44] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people they reach, the more people they can help.[2:06] Next week, Marc will be interviewing Patti Temple Rocks, author of I'm Not Done: It's Time to Talk About Ageism in the Workplace, a great book on ageism. Marc thinks you will like this great interview. [2:20] If you are a regular listener to this show, you probably noticed that Marc has stopped talking about the next edition of his book, Repurpose Your Career. Susan Lahey and Marc are back on track and a draft of the third edition just got sent to the copy editor. [2:35] Marc's plan is to release the third edition of the book in September of this year. [2:41] This week, Marc will read the pre-release chapter, "Learn to Embrace Creative Destruction." He plans to release this chapter in PDF form to the review team within a week. [2:54] If you are interested in being on the release team and get early access to chapters in the new edition, go to careerpivot.com/rycteam. Marc hopes you enjoy this episode.[3:12] The pre-release chapter of "Learn to Embrace Creative Destruction." In his book, Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder, writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains the problem of turkeys. A butcher feeds a turkey for 1,000 days. Every day that that turkey's life remains constant confirms the surety of his current existence. [3:40] "This is the way it goes. This is the way it has always gone. This is the way it always will go." All of the data confirms that butchers love turkeys. The turkey can rest confident in this idea because he has 999 days of benevolent treatment to back it up. [4:01] Then, a few days before Thanksgiving, everything in his worldview is upturned. This is what Taleb calls a 'black swan event.' All of the evidence proves it can't happen, until it does. [4:16] The truth is that this is the normal course of things in human existence. A sudden rain shower hits the picnic. A car accident ruins travel plans. A financial windfall or unexpected romance changes your trajectory. Death comes unexpectedly. This is how life is. [4:36] In the world of work, the force behind these changes is often the power of creative destruction. One thing is destroyed and another is created. The turkey's life is over. Dinner is served. [4:52] If the change is in our favor, we think it's a good change. If the change is not in our favor, we think it's a bad change. Regardless of how we feel about it, though, it's going to happen. We need not be taken by surprise, like the turkey. [5:10] I was listening to a rebroadcast of a Freakonomics Radio podcast called "How Safe Is Your Job?" The hosts were talking about pianos. In 1905, they said, 400,000 pianos were made in America. If you wanted music in your house, you learned to play the piano. [5:31] The phonograph had been created 30 years before, in 1877 but phonograph sales didn't take off until 1915. A decade later, the radio became popular. Then, eventually, the tape player, the eight-track, the CD player, and streaming and… [5:49] Today only about 30,000 pianos are made each year, about eight percent of the number made in 1905. [5:58] Each new iteration of musical enjoyment was a form of creative destruction. Each caused people in the previous industry to lose jobs or pivot. [6:09] In 1975, an employee of the Kodak company created a digital camera. But instead of developing it, Kodak concluded it was a non-starter because they didn't think people wanted to look at their pictures on their TVs. So the company continued on focusing on chemical film until it became clear that they had bet on the wrong horse. [6:31] In 2001, Kodak had the second-most-popular digital camera on the market but lost $60 on every sale. A decade later, Kodak declared bankruptcy. [6:47] In these cases, creative destruction took 20, 30, or 40 years to bring down one giant and birth another. Now, that pace is accelerating. [6:58] Amazon.com was founded in 1994 and, initially, just sold books. They were credited with the demise of several brick-and-mortar bookselling chains. Over the next 11 years, Amazon moved into retailing pretty much everything and by 2015, it passed Walmart to be the most valuable retailer in the world, by market capitalization. [7:24] It took them and their online retail competitors only a few years to bring down what had been a staple of the world economy, the brick-and-mortar store. [7:36] In 2018, Amazon started buying surviving brick-and-mortar retailers, including Whole Foods, presumably to collect data on people who still shop there and further strengthen their market presence. [7:50] Now, Amazon is opening brick-and-mortar stores around the country, including convenience and book stores. They're remaking retail, Amazon-style. [8:00] The iPhone was created only 11 years ago, in 2007, but at that time, I used my phone for talking to people. [8:10] Today, this is what I use my phone for: the weather report from the Weather Channel app; manage my social media with LinkedIn and Twitter. I removed the Facebook app after the last presidential elections. [8:23] I take and view pictures, edit files in Google Drive or Dropbox, communicate with clients over Skype, check scores on the ESPN app, find my keys, using the Tile app, listen to podcasts and audiobooks (as I no longer listen to the radio), find the new coffee shop via Google Maps or Apple Maps, … [8:45] … enter the YMCA by swiping the barcode in the YMCA app, manage multiple credit cards and bank accounts, show the police officer my proof of insurance via the State Farm app, check airline schedules to see if my son's flight home is on time, … [9:04] … search Google to answer the question my wife just asked me, and watch House Hunters International on HGTV via the Sling TV app. Oh, and a lot of people use them to listen to music. [9:17] Because of the technology we have now, everything is being reimagined, reconfigured, reinvented, at a pace our parents never could have conceived of. One way to say it is the world is being 'SMACed.' [9:38] S = Social media: LinkedIn Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat. Today, people go to social media for everything. It's the U.S. Mail, the telephone, the photo album, the gossip chain, the opinion column, the news, the entertainment, education, and job board, all rolled in one. [10:02] It's also one place employers go to find you and find out whether you are the kind of candidate they want. [10:10] M = Mobile. Roughly 60% of adults get their news on a mobile device. According to the research by the Pew Research Foundation, mobile apps track our behavior and our preferences as well as give us a means to pay for things. People use mobile devices to shop, to bank, and to date. [10:32] If your career isn't mobile-friendly, you will be left in the dust. [10:39] A = Analytics. More data has been collected in the last few years than was collected in the previous century. A lot of it is coming voluntarily from our activities via social media and mobile. [10:55] How we shop, where we shop, what we pay with, where we go online, and even how long it takes to get somewhere are some of the things that inform this data. Do you remember the movie, Minority Report, where Tom Cruise walks through the mall and hyper-customized ads display everywhere? [11:15] Analytics will affect how you are hired. [11:19] C = Cloud. Cloud is changing everything in the technology world. Most of the major technology hardware vendors are seeing portions of their business collapse because data isn't being stored on their hardware. It's being stored in the Cloud. [11:39] A classic example is IBM, who missed the shift and is seeing massive changes in their business. Their hardware business is collapsing. Cloud computing is sometimes referred to as SaaS or Software as a Service. [11:55] With SaaS, you don't have to buy a disc. You don't have to save data on your computer. You don't have to have a photo album or a filing cabinet. You can keep everything in the Cloud. [12:10] Also, you can get services in the Cloud, rather than hiring someone to do them, like bookkeeping, record keeping, customer relationship management, and marketing. [12:19] You can book travel on the Cloud, make appointments in the Cloud, even hold conversations in the Cloud. SMAC is a representation of what we've long called the Robot Invasion. Articles have said for decades that robots are going to take our jobs. And SMAC is robots doing just that. [12:40] Some people assume the jobs robots can do are severely limited. I'm here to say, "Nope." [12:48] Surprising jobs a robot can do: journalism. [12:52] An article in Wired called, "What News-Writing Bots Mean to the Future of Journalism," leads with "When Republican Steve King beat back Democratic challenger Kim Weaver in the race for Iowa's 4th District seat in November, the Washington Post snapped into action, covering both the win and the wider electoral trend." [13:15] "'Republicans retain the control of the House and lost only a handful of seats from their commanding majority,' the article read, 'a stunning reversal of fortune after many GOP leaders feared double-digit losses.'" [13:30] "The dispatch came with the clarity and verve for which Post reporters are known, with one key difference: It was generated by Heliograf, a bot that made its debut on the Post's website last year and marked the most sophisticated use of artificial intelligence in journalism to date." [13:52] Any type of writing that is based on data can be replaced with automation and robots. In fact, artificial intelligence is working to take over creative writing, too. Another piece, in the Observer, is called "Will Robots That Can Write Steal Your Creative Job?" [14:12] The author writes, "So, could the machines eventually begin to analyze popular fiction and start to come up with all new narratives that fit our tastes? Indeed, to ever more narrow tastes? We have already seen greater individuation in fiction as the e-book market has made shelf space infinite." [14:36] "Before e-books took off, novels about werewolves were already a healthy little Fantasy and Science Fiction sub-genre. Since e-books, though, billionaire werewolf romance novels are now a thing." [14:52] Automation robots will have an incredible impact on medical professions. If a doctor wants an EKG, he can record it on your smartphone app. All of your medical data will be digitized, including X-ray images, CT Scans, and MRIs. [15:12] The Economist produced a special report called "Automation and Anxiety," which discussed the impact on medicine of deep learning. A product from Enlitic can outperform doctors in reading diagnostic images. [15:27] It's not just the images are sent to places like India or China to be evaluated by doctors who are paid less but automation and robots are actually doing the work that doctors have always done. [15:40] Jobs are being eliminated in retail at an alarming rate. Retail giants like Sears have shed legacy brands such as Craftsman and Lands End in an effort to survive. Many specialty chains are failing, like Tailored Brands (TLRD), owner of stores like Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank. [16:05] Amazon is opening up stores like Amazon Go, where people can do their whole shopping trip without interacting with a single person. As the "Fight for Fifteen" movement works to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, one of the unintended consequences will be the deployment of automation and robots. [16:25] I'm already seeing fast food chains rolling out mobile apps and kiosks where you can order your food and never have to speak to a person. [16:35] I'm seeing lots of requests for career middle managers in the retail segment looking for assistance in getting out of the industry. A 2018 study by PWC predicts that nearly 40% of jobs in the U.S. may be vulnerable to replacement by robots in the next 15 years. [16:54] Hopefully, I've demonstrated to you that professions that one would have thought would be immune to automation and robots are at risk. Similarly, if the industry where you are working is at risk, you must be on the lookout. [17:10] If you think you are safe from automation and robots sabotaging your career, you must be smoking something! And yes, you are inhaling. [17:22] It is devastating to realize that the career you built — the skills you've honed, the seniority you've acquired — have all been wiped out because someone built a robot that can do what you do faster and cheaper if not better. [17:38] For many people, these changes have hit like an earthquake or hurricane. They are living in a career disaster area. They will recover but they're not moving back into the old house. [17:52] Sally was 65 and was a consummate marketing professional. She had worked in a variety of different industries over the span of her career. At different times in her career, she worked freelance and she worked for some major agencies. [18:06] Like many of her peers, she took a hit in the great recession. Then her spouse passed away suddenly and Sally decided to move across the country to be closer to her children. [18:16] Now, she's trying to re-establish herself in a new city where the culture and job market are very young and vibrant. Sally is taking courses in social media and digital marketing but the skills required to be productive marketing professional have made tectonic shifts in the direction of technology. [18:37] In the 1990s, when I was working in a marketing and sales support function in IBM marketing or in the executive briefing center, we produced presentations and marketing collateral; web content that supported the sale of IBM hardware and software. That world no longer exists. [18:56] The world that does exist today, as I launch the Career Pivot Online Community, requires a completely new set of skills. I'm learning about Facebook marketing, Google Adwords, re-marketing, re-targeting, pixeling strategies, ad networks, and other digital marketing approaches. [19:14] When I made the decision to leave the world of technology marketing, more than 15 years ago, I left a place that looks nothing like it does today. Can Sally shift into this new technological marketing world that's populated with a very young workforce, at the age of 65? It's possible but not probable. [19:37] Larry is also 65. He is an engineer who has worked for some of the top companies that designed and manufactured leading computer hardware through his career. He was a program and project manager for huge multinational,…

Full show notes at the publisher

Encore Episode with Freelance Writer and Author Susan Lahey #122 Apr 08, 2019

Show notes

Susan is Marc's co-author for the Repurpose Your Career books. Susan Lahey is a freelance writer who is driven to taking on new challenges, whether they're writing about the nature of meaning, the scary adventure of changing your career, or truly death-defying acts like jumping out of airplanes and parenting. Marc was her first real Austin client. Listen in for an update, where Susan discusses her upcoming move to Portugal. Key Takeaways: [1:09] Marc welcomes you to Episode 122 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [1:40] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues.[1:58] Regular listeners probably have noticed Marc has stopped talking about the next edition of the Repurpose Your Career book. Between last week's episode about the Miller's trip back to Austin and starting the resident visa process and this week's episode, it is evident that the Millers have gotten busy but are getting back on track. [2:23] Marc's current plan is to release the third edition of the book in September of this year (2019). He will continue to release preview chapters starting in a couple of weeks. [2:35] Next week, Marc will read one of the pre-release chapters of the next edition. Stay tuned! [2:42] This week, Marc will share an Encore Episode of Episode 54, where he interviewed Susan Lahey, who is the co-author on the Repurpose Your Career books. Marc shares Susan's bio. [3:33] Marc is excited to present this episode. Susan is a freelance writer and a lot of the listeners want to become freelance writers.[3:55] Susan is always tempted to stay home with her adult children and watch Netflix, paint, and hide out from everyone. So she makes herself go do stuff, instead. She just got a tattoo that says "Life is Short" to remind herself to push past whatever fears and barriers she has. [5:12] Susan was a newspaper reporter for the beginning of her career, at the Kansas City Star, from age 17 through college and as her first job out of school. After several years she got a job as an associate editor of a business lifestyle magazine in KC. She left there to raise a family, freelancing from home. [5:57] At age 42, Susan was divorced. She took the children and moved to an off-the-grid house in New Mexico, taking what work she could get. The Taos News wanted her as a freelancer but didn't move on it. [6:58] She started working as a community liaison for an EPA technical assistance group for a Superfund project. That was tough since she did not speak Spanish and was new to the community. She also did substitute teaching. She was broke. [7:29] Susan and her children volunteered at a food pantry for the food. Finally, she got on as a freelancer with the Taos News, for maybe $100 an article. [8:19] Taos was challenging in being far behind the times. Susan was out of touch with the times as a freelancer. She wanted to give her children a better opportunity. [9:41] After a trip to Europe they were motivated to change their lives. Austin had "a similar vibe" to Taos, a University, and a lot of intellectual capital. Susan rented an apartment and drove the family to Austin to start over. She sold the house in Taos for "five dollars." [11:02] At first in Austin, she wrote eHow articles but that was unsatisfying for her. Susan met Marc and attended networking events. She met Jenny Magic. Susan learned how to market herself online with blogs and web content and how to network. Susan used EMDR psychotherapy to help her overcome the fear and stress of networking. [15:38] Creatives are typically introverted so selling themselves as "a creative" is really hard for them. Confidence is essential for approaching clients. [17:31] Marc was Susan's first major client. Then she got some blogs. Through a contact recommended by Marc, she started writing articles for a tech news startup, Silicon Hills News, and finally got paid reasonably. Susan has covered SXSW for the last six years and she went to Thailand and Norway to see their technologies. [19:41] Susan got an article in Wired and is hoping to write more for them. She had also written a profile for bootstrap guru Bijoy Goswami, who works people through the psychological risks and fears of starting your own business. [20:14] Bijoy introduced Susan to his best friend, Danny Gutknecht, and Susan worked with him on one book and other writings. They will write more. Most of her work is with Danny. When Susan has 'bandwidth,' she looks for freelance work online (at GlassDoor and MediaBistro) and she networks. [21:20] Susan mentors and one woman she mentored hooked her up with a gig of writing for Zendesk. She still does journalism. [21:45] Susan was an old-school journalism person. Her idea of journalism came from All the President's Men. Her sister was a journalist. She never imagined journalism wouldn't be there for her. Most of her friends who were journalists are out of jobs. Journalism is dying. Journalism can't find a business model that works today. [22:41] Susan never imagined she would be a tech writer or a business writer, and she is so glad she pursued both of those because that's the direction the world is going. She never thought she would get to travel the world for tech writing. [23:31] When Susan was asked to find her 'why' she had never thought about it. She realized that she loved writing about people who were doing scary, brave things. She uses Marc as an example. When he started his business, it was scary new for him, but also, scary new for the job pivoters he is helping. Her children encouraged her career. [24:46] For the most part, Susan's career pivot has turned out amazingly. She's definitely not rich, but she's supporting herself, doing what she loves. It fuels her as well as paying her. Ninety-nine percent of what Susan writes fits that category. [25:11] Marc is proud of Susan. In spite of her hard times, she has survived. Her three great children have gone to college on full scholarships, and are doing well. Her oldest is teaching English in Tangier, as Susan continues to enjoy her career. [25:54] People tell Susan she's brave but they have no idea how hard she has to work to be brave. She's sometimes afraid but she just makes herself do things. She recommends people examine why they act a certain way or go in a certain direction. They need to examine their self-limiting ideas. People need to steer their own ship. [27:24] Susan hopes to move to Morocco in the next year or so. Marc mentions his plans to move to Ajijic, Mexico. Marc thanks Susan for telling her story. [29:04] Marc welcomes Susan back after the interview for an update on her career since this episode was recorded. [29:16] Susan is now planning to move to Portugal. She just got back from there. She was planning to move to Morocco, originally, but her son cautioned her that as long as she doesn't understand Arabic, she would not be safe in the street culture. [29:45] She started looking at other options, such as Portugal, that have a visa for self-employed people who make a moderate living. The Netherlands has a similar visa. Susan settled on Portugal because the Netherlands is cold and expensive and Portugal is warm and cheap. [30:10] Everyone Susan mentioned it to told her Portugal is so beautiful she wouldn't believe it. She wanted to apply for the visa before visiting but she needed an actual lease on an apartment and a tax number before that was possible. Rather than hire someone to do that, she went herself, to set things up. That was a really good idea. [30:57] When Susan's youngest graduated from college she felt free to do what she has always wanted to do — move to Europe. Until she moves, she and her son have moved in with her daughter. They all get along really well. [31:56] Susan's youngest son will go to Portugal with her on a visit, to check it out. He might also move to Portugal. Susan's daughter just went with her on her recent trip, and she loves it! [32:28] Because Susan is single the prospect of being an empty-nester was terrifying to her. For the last twenty-something years her purpose had been to raise her three children. Now she has to find out what is important for her. She doesn't want to fill time taking spin classes or doing Soduko. She has always wanted to travel. [33:27] She decided she needed to find a place where she could live and see the world more inexpensively. It's hard and expensive to get around the world from the U.S. [33:54] Susan has talked to several of her clients and told them her plans. Since she works remotely with most people, anyway, no one was concerned. Susan has never met some of her clients in person. While she might work with some Portuguese companies, it is simpler to just keep working with her U.S. clients. [34:37] Susan has "sort of" figured out the technology she needs. She got an apartment, and a SIM card, so she now has a Portuguese phone number. She almost made an illegal and costly mistake with an apartment contract. [35:15] She ended up hiring an advisor or consultant who took her to the local tax office for a tax number, to the bank for a bank account, and recommended a fantastic real estate agent, who hustles. The agent took Susan to several different apartments. [36:38] Susan was considering two apartments. Both the owners backed out because Susan was not from Portugal and didn't have a co-signer. Her agent found her another apartment but Susan is waiting for the contract. Every contract is drawn up by a lawyer; they don't have boilerplate contracts for apartments. Each contract is bilingual. [37:37] On Facebook, Susan was looking at a group for the area. Fabiola, Susan's real estate agent, who will live in the same neighborhood, had put a post on the group talking about what internet provider she would use. Susan believes she will go with the same provider. [37:53] If nothing else, Susan will go to a café for the internet. [38:00] Marc is very proud of Susan for having made this leap. Marc comments that in Mexico, 'mañana' does not mean tomorrow; it means not today. [38:14] Susan thanks Marc for all the help getting ready to go. She finds Portugal to be very chill and relaxed. Someone there told her she should move there. Susan felt she could really do this. She loves Portugal. It's stunningly beautiful, the food is very good, and everything is affordable. People are insanely nice. It's going to be great! [39:18] Marc thanks Susan for giving us an update on her experiences. Susan appreciates how supportive Marc has been while she has been preparing to go. Marc says he talked Susan off the ledge before she went. [39:42] Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode. Susan has done a lot of research on her move. Marc was afraid she would move to Portugal without ever visiting there. [39:55] In Episode 119, Marc interviewed Queen Michele, who moved to the North Shore of Lake Chapala without having ever visited. Queen did a ton of research and even walked around the town using Google Maps' Street View feature. [40:13] Marc "talked Susan off the ledge" before she went, and she's doing quite well. [40:20] The CareerPivot.com/Community website has become a valuable resource for more than 50 members in the Beta phase of this project. They have crossed the 50-member threshold! Marc is recruiting new members for the next cohort in a few weeks. [40:33] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves. [40:48] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction of this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. [41:12] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [41:33] Please come back next week, when Marc will read a chapter from the next edition of Repurpose Your Career. [41:39] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [41:43] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-122. [41:56] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.

Full show notes at the publisher

The Millers Go Back to Austin and Start the Resident Visa Process #121 Apr 01, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Marc covers the events of the Millers' trip back to Austin where they stayed with an old friend, Marc's presentation to an association of his Multi-generational Workplace Workshop, getting rid of old stuff, connecting with old friends, and stocking up for the trip back to Ajijic. Marc covers the steps to getting resident visas, crossing the border, and meeting with their attorney in Mexico to get their paperwork processed.Listen in to this fascinating episode for insight into becoming an expat with U.S. ties. Key Takeaways: [1:12] Marc welcomes you to Episode 121 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [1:41] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people Marc can reach, the more he can help. [2:02] Next week, Marc will share an Encore Episode where he interviews Susan Lahey, who is the co-author on the Repurpose Your Career books. He is trying to get Susan to speak to us about her move to Portugal. That's where Susan is, as Marc records this episode. [2:26] This week, Marc will be discussing their trip back to Austin, his experiences in Austin, their return trip and the start of the Resident Visa process, first in the Consulate of Mexico in Laredo, and then back in Ajijic. Marc hopes you enjoy this episode. [2:44] Marc had a variety of reasons to return to Austin at this time. In the first week in March, Marc was speaking at the Texas Hospital Insurance Exchange, an association. The speaking gig was booked long in advance of the Millers' move to Ajijic. Marc also needed to get the car inspected and the registration renewed. [3:28] The Millers also were still emptying their storage room, which was costing almost $80 a month. On this trip they gave a king-sized bed to a friend. [3:52] They had planned to start the visa process at the Consulate of Mexico in Austin in December but they had run out of time. So, they are stopping at the Consulate of Mexico in Laredo, on the way back to Ajijic from this trip. [4:16] On this trip, Mrs. Miller got to visit her parents while Marc did the income taxes. [4:32] The Millers left Ajijic on February 29 and drove to Matehuala the first day. It was a nice six-and-a-half-hour drive on toll roads and a few small roads. They stayed at the Las Palmas Midway Inn, where expats stay as they travel. It is an old pet-friendly motor inn. They stayed in a more renovated room that was quite nice, for $61 for the night. [5:19] They left about 7:30 a.m., expecting a seven-hour trip to Laredo. It turned into a 12-hour day. Road construction added an hour. A security checkpoint backed up traffic for miles as they looked at every truck. There are 10 trucks for every car on the road. [5:59] Next, there was a power line draped over the highway. The power company, CFE, fixed it after an hour-and-a-half. Marc is happy they were near the front of the line. [6:40] They arrived at Laredo at about 4:30 p.m. and processed through the banjercito for the temporary import permit for their car. Their $400 was refunded to their credit card (in spite of the Millers' having changed card numbers because of a compromised card). Then it took an hour-and-a-half to cross the Laredo International Bridge Number 1. [7:31] The Millers got to the hotel in Laredo at about 7 p.m. They were pretty exhausted. It was a very, very long day with lots of sitting in traffic. It's something you have to get used to. If not for the delays, they could have made the trip in one 12-hour drive from Ajijic to Laredo. But delays are expected. [8:04] The Millers checked into the La Quinta at the Laredo airport, which they like better than the one near the border. They had a nice dinner and the next morning headed off for Nacogdoches in East Texas. Mrs. Miller visited her parents there. Stephen F. Austin State University is the primary employer, besides the lumber industry. [8:41] Friday and Saturday, Marc hung around the hotel and did his income taxes. Being near the main road, what Marc first noticed was the massive amount of noise. Marc was no longer used to road noise and constant mechanical environmental noise. [9:57] Marc read in the Guadalajara Reporter that Mexicans don't understand about Americans why we control the temperature year-round in our cars. That is not the practice in Mexico. [10:25] Sunday morning, the Millers headed for Austin. They stayed with an old family friend, Donna, in the neighborhood where they had lived for 28 years. She let them use an extra bedroom, where they stayed for about two weeks. [10:57] The old neighborhood was where the Millers had lived, in a house built in 1959 or 1960, until they moved to a condo near downtown in 2010. Marc noticed immediately the amount of gentrification that had occurred in the neighborhood.[11:22] The Millers walked two miles to Upper Crust Bakery and saw that 20 to 30% of the homes had been demolished and replaced with "McMansions" or were drastically added onto. In 1978, when Marc moved to Austin, it was the cheapest housing market in the country. Now, it is one of the most expensive. The change has been dramatic. [12:04] The second thing Marc noticed was everytime he wanted to do much of anything, he had to get in the car and drive. There was a Fresh Plus a mile-and-a-half away. Marc walked one day to Top Notch, a 1950s hamburger place, which was in a movie. It blew Marc away that everything is designed around the car, not around people. [12:47] He remembered that from his bicycling days. He used to lust after Downtown Portland, which was designed around people, not around cars. But this is Texas. Even the old neighborhoods, cars are necessary.[13:08] In Ajijic, in the last three months they have used the car three times. Twice, it was to get a 40-lb. package of kitty litter they didn't want to carry on the bus. It was a mind-shift not to need the car. Austin's public transportation is problematic. Most of the people who used it have left the area from gentrification. [14:05] 130 people move to Austin every day and the school system has lost enrollment six years in a row, primarily because people with children can no longer afford to live in Austin, so they are moving East, out of town. [14:26] Marc doesn't like what his town was turning into. It was also during the week of SXSW, which consumes the central city, with 40-50,000 people visiting. SXSW is now mostly "hipster' visitors. Locals stay away from SXSW. [15:03] Marc recently saw photos posted on Facebook of Austin downtown in 2010 and 2017 and it has changed — which is one reason why it has gotten so expensive, and one reason why it has driven the Millers out. [15:25] Marc drove up to Lakeway and gave the Multi-Generational Workplace talk that he shared on this podcast in Episode 111 and Episode 112. This event was a presentation for hospital administrators in rural counties. [15:46] That left the rest of the visit for the Millers to get their stuff done. They got the car registered and inspected and bought Mrs. Miller's food supplements, which filled the car. They also got their bicycles serviced and ready to go — except for the pedals on Mrs. Miller's bike, left in storage, so Marc ordered new pedals from Amazon.com.mx! [16:26] The Millers filled the rest of their time reconnecting with as many people as they could. They got rid of stuff from storage and started re-packing the car. Marc shared pictures of the packed car on Facebook. They ended up with about 13 milk carton crates filled with supplements and clothes. [17:08] They left some stuff behind to pick up in October and end their rental of their storage room. [17:21] The Millers drove back to Laredo on Sunday evening and had appointments at the Laredo Mexican Consulate Monday morning to apply for Mexican resident visas. They needed two passport pictures for each of them, filled out applications, 12 months worth of bank statements or investment statements to show adequate assets. [18:01] You must show that you've had over $100K in assets over the last 12 months or $2,400 a month in pension income or Social Security for a permanent visa. For a temporary visa, you must show $20K in assets or $1,200 a month in pension income. The Millers both qualified. [18:34] Mrs. Miller applied for a permanent resident visa and Marc applied for a temporary resident visa. The car is in Marc's name, and you cannot bring a car into Mexico on a permanent resident visa. [18:56] Their appointments were for 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. Mrs. Miller got in about 9:40. Marc got in about 10:30. They were out by 11:15. They were at the Mexican Consulate a couple of blocks from the border. It was fairly easy. [19:20] The Millers chose to do it in Laredo, instead of at the Mexican Consulate in Austin, is that in Laredo they do lots and lots of these visa applications and they are not very "picky." [19:38] The Millers have a neighbor, John, in Ajijic, who had applied through the Consulate of Mexico in Dallas. He had to return to the consulate six times. The Laredo consulate runs like clockwork. They get people in and out. It's a very, very busy place. [19:59] The next morning, the car packed to the gills, the Millers crossed the bridge to Mexico at about 7:00 a.m. Marc drove into the "nothing to declare line." They looked at the car and looked very quickly in back, saw a bunch of milk crates and the bicycles and they said, "Go." [20:30] However, if they had seen the supplements in the milk crates, or the cat food on the top of the car, they would have charged duty on these items. Marc had an inventory of the food supplements, so they were prepared, if asked. [20:49] The Millers next drove to the immigration office where they processed their passports. Interestingly, Marc unknowingly dropped his passport in the parking lot. He didn't have it when he went into the office, so he ran out. A young Mexican gentleman picked it up and handed it to him. Marc wiped the sweat off his brow and thanked him. [21:23] Passport in hand, Marc went into the immigration office and processed through. Once they have processed their visas, they have 30 days to complete, so Immigration approved them for 30 days. They also got their Temporary Import Permit for the car for 30 days. They crossed the border and drove to Matehuala. [21:59] They could not get a reservation at their regular hotel. The Las Palmas Midway Inn was full! Instead, they found the Hotel Casa Real Matehuala. The reviews on Hotels.com were mediocre. They checked in around 3:00 p.m. It was not a "dump." It was old and worn, but clean. They each had one frayed towel, no washcloths. [22:44] There were two beds and two bathrooms! It was right across the street from Walmart, so they did a little shopping there. Then they ate dinner at their favorite restaurant in town, at the Las Palmas. [23:05] Then people started streaming into their hotel. Marc says they looked to be people traveling for work, in industrial service trucks. Marc says their hotel absolutely filled to the gills by midnight. It was noisy, but clean. It was $50 for the night. [23:45] The next morning, the Millers did not rush to get out. They got to Ajijic about 3:00 p.m. It was a fairly easy drive and they ran into no problems. There's only one short section of about 10 miles that's not on toll roads. Each day, the Millers spent about $35 to $40 in tolls. [24:11] When the Millers got home, Marc immediately contacted their lawyer for an appointment. The lawyer told them the sooner the better. They needed 15K Pesos, or about $700. The bank was closed when they needed the money, so Marc pulled money from the credit union and from the bank through ATMs and got enough. [24:56] On Friday, the Millers went to the law office, processed and filled out all the forms, and learned they needed pictures made, both front view and side view. They did that on Saturday. The pictures had to be from a studio and they were 150 Pesos for each set. That came to 300 Pesos or about $15 for both of them to get pictures. [25:27] The attorney was able to send all the paperwork to the immigration office and had their passports back to them by 3:00 p.m. The immigration office should get back with them in about two weeks when they will go and get fingerprinted. [25:58] One of the things Marc noticed in returning to Ajijic was that he did not like living in Austin anymore. He did not like the noise. He did not like having to drive everywhere. The mass transit is not acceptable to him. He does not like the packaged food. Marc and his wife are eating all fresh food in Ajijic, and he is down to 170 pounds at 6'4". [26:48] It was a very stark contrast, being back in Austin, and it was not the city that he remembered. [26:55] Marc hopes this gives you a good feel for the process. By the time this episode is published, the Millers should be very close to having their resident visas. Please read Marc's fascinating blog post of March 25 on banking abroad to understand the issues of accessing your money in another country. [27:25] Marc hopes you enjoyed that episode. The Millers have spent nine of the last 12 months in Mexico. Their current plan calls for them to return to Austin by car in October. Marc will likely fly to New Jersey for a high school reunion, and possibly some audience meetups. Marc has a huge following in the NY Metropolitan area.[27:52] In 2020 the Millers will likely return to the U.S., sell the car, and either go carless or purchase a Mexican-plated car. Marc's attitudes about money, environment, and the culture he desires have changed a lot, in the last 12 months. [28:09] Listen to Marc's interview with Queen Michele in Episode 119 to hear her similar story of how she has been transformed from leaving the U.S. and moving to the North Shore of Lake Chapala. [28:23] Marc thanks you for listening to this episode. [28:26] The CareerPivot.com/Community website has become a valuable resource for more than 50 members in the Beta phase of this project. They have crossed the 50-member threshold! Marc will be recruiting new members for the next cohort in a few weeks. [28:41] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves. [28:55] This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. [29:12] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [29:34] Please come back next week, when Susan Lahey, the co-author of the Repurpose Your Career books tells her story of going from a journalist to a freelance writer. This is an encore episode with an update on her move to Portugal. [29:48] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [29:52] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-121. [30:00] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.

Full show notes at the publisher

Boomer Reinvention Revisited, with John Tarnoff #120 Mar 25, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Marc catches up with return guest John Tarnoff, author of the book, Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50. John lives in Los Angeles, California and is a recovering movie studio executive. John spent about 35 years in the entertainment business, starting out in the 1970s as a literary agent and then a producer and studio production executive for companies like MGM, Orion Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment, Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures (now Sony), and a few others. He produced films for about 15 years before hearing the siren song of technology in the early 90s, when multimedia was springing up. John produced a handful of CD-ROM games, which were new and fun at the time. John went into business with a partner who had an idea for a new technology marrying artificial intelligence with behavioral animation to create interactive, conversational online animated characters. The conversations would occur by text through the keyboard. They had the system working over dial-up internet and got a huge deal with Sprint for a customer service character for their website. That was in 2001, as the tech startup bubble burst. John's company fell into the hole, along with everybody else. Their Sprint deal went South and their investors pulled out. His partner told him, "I guess the future's gone out of style." At midlife, John was at a crossroads.Listen in to this fascinating episode to hear how John aligned with his future by reinventing himself as an educator and trainer. Key Takeaways: [1:17] Marc welcomes you to Episode 120 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings this podcast to you. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [1:48] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people Marc can reach, the more he can help. [2:08] Next week, Marc will be discussing the Millers' next steps in becoming expats in Mexico, regarding banking and their initiation to the resident visa process in Mexico. [2:21] This week, Marc interviews John Tarnoff, author of Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50. Marc interviewed John in Episode 19 but wanted to do an update with him. [2:33] John introduces himself to the listeners, at Marc's invitation. [6:11] After the tech bubble burst and John's company failed, he was 49 years old, had no idea what he was going to do next, and was not interested in going back to the same Hollywood jobs where he had started. [6:30] John didn't think anyone was going to hire him into those same jobs. So, he "bet the farm" on a reinvention. He remortgaged his house for the last time to build himself enough runway to figure out his future. [6:49] John went back to school to earn a counseling psychology degree because he wanted to learn more about himself, what made him tick, and how to interact better with others. He supposed that in the process he would figure out something to do. [7:15] That was a dark time for John. In one of his classes, he learned of someone getting a dream job with ideal conditions and he thought, "Great. Miracles are for other people. They're not for me." [8:00] John did not foresee that nine months later he would be working for Dreamworks Animation at two-and-a-half times his former executive salary, doing work that was really aligned with where he wanted to go. [8:48] Dreamworks was transitioning from a traditional animation studio to a computer-generated animation studio. John knew the CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, from his Hollywood years. He was clearly a visionary. He had put the company together with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen after being fired from Disney in 1994. [9:30] Dreamworks had become very successful with Shrek. People John knew there encouraged him to join them. There were no open jobs, so he started networking. That taught him that when you come into a group of people, bringing your most heartfelt, authentic, inquisitive, and service-oriented "game," you start getting into conversations. [10:15] If the alignment is there between yourself and their thoughts and needs, then there is the beginning of an opportunity. That's what happened for John. [10:33] This was a company that was very innovative, at the intersection of creativity and technology, and it was in line with the work John had been doing in his startup. They saw that and in June of 2003, John was in Jeffrey's office making a deal to work there. It was his best Hollywood job. He stayed through 2009. [11:14] That job completely set John up for the work he is doing today. [11:18] When John had worked earlier in Hollywood, he had looked forward to a time when he could educate and help people. He is an "organization freak" and he likes to see how things get laid out, and how people's minds work. Whenever he had an opportunity to tell a class of students about the work he was doing, he jumped to do it. [12:05] That defined his role at Dreamworks. When he interviewed, he wanted to know what they were doing about future generations, for training and development. They hadn't given that much thought. It was not a core driver for them. [12:29] After John had been at Dreamworks for about a year, they began to realize that their human capital needed some "recharge" and that they had to expand their thinking about where they were getting their talent. Their talent was not coming from the traditional sources. [12:48] Many of the specialists and department heads determined they needed to "grow their own." They turned to John and, based on his interest in education, asked him to build a program. That's what he did, with a school outreach program and an internal virtual university. [13:16] This changed his role from a production troubleshooter to being totally embedded in the outreach program. They started with seven schools in 2004. By the end of 2009, they had over 40 schools in the network. It was quite a culture change. [13:51] In the wake of the recession, Dreamworks was seeing the need to batten down the hatches, and they started focusing on monetizing their existing IP and pulling back from their school outreach. John parted ways with Dreamworks. It was amicable and they kept inviting him to their parties! To this day, he and Jeffrey are on good terms. [14:58] The Dreamworks job was a phenomenally positive experience, and it helped John make this transition full-time into education and training. The following year, John started a position at Carnegie Mellon University. John says, timing is everything, but you have to set yourself up to be a target when the timing is right. [15:28] In 2010, Carnegie Mellon had set up a very innovative program in Los Angeles with cross-disciplinary initiatives for kind of an MBA for how the entertainment business works. Entertainment is a very unique business. The program is for people on the business side of film, TV, video games, and music. [16:33] They were looking for someone to round out their Los Angeles management team. They wanted someone with industry background who could balance the more academically-oriented full-time program director. John partnered with that person and they grew the program quite successfully over the last nine years. [17:11] It has been a great anchor position for John while he has gone on to do "a bunch of other stuff" in a portfolio career. [17:32] John considers a portfolio career to be very relevant to people in their late career stages, in their 50s and older, who are trying to figure out how they will keep working and what they are going to do. It's not going to look like the first 20 or 30 years of their career. [18:01] John is 67. He will keep working as long as he wants to and as long as he needs to. Most Boomers are skating a very interesting line between longevity and bank account. When the retirement pension system was first set up in the 1860s it was set at 65 as an age by which most factory workers were either dead or not many years from it. [19:11] As longevity has grown over the last 100 years, pensions have grown increasingly difficult for corporations. All guaranteed defined benefit programs are affected by extended lifespans of the participants. We are in a real retirement crisis. [19:44] If you are 65 today, you have at least a 25% chance of living to 90. Every year you live longer than 65 increases your chances of living to 90 or beyond. The average retirement age is 62. If you live until 90, one-third of your life will be spent "in retirement." Must of us don't want to spend 30 years queuing up for sundown specials. [20:33] The Boomer Generation wants to stay more engaged. That doesn't mean working nine to five. We are going to continue to stay engaged in the work that we love to do. What we want to do might be different from what we did in our 30s and 40s. [20:56] We are going to need to keep earning money because the average retirement account if you have one, is about $100K. That's not going to last you 20 or 30 years. A lot of people are downsizing intelligently and looking at ways to stretch their dollars. [21:43] We need to think about ways to supplement the income we already have from Social Security and our savings because there are going to be unpredictable things that happen. Healthcare is a big item, as well as family issues and logistical questions. We have to be better prepared, financially, for this extended period of life and engagement. [22:14] John's portfolio after Dreamworks includes his consulting work at the intersection of education, technology, and entertainment. For the first few years, he was consulting with industry companies, trade associations, and schools around the future of talent search, curriculum, and skills.[22:59] In 2012, John was asked to present a TEDx talk and the topic was Transformation. As he had been reading up on all the issues the Boomer Generation had had, coming out of the recession, around retirement, savings, and getting jobs, he asked, if we're living longer and nobody wants to hire us, what are we going to do? [23:53] John realized, we're going to have to take responsibility, somehow, for this. If we do, then what does that look like? That's when he came up with the idea of five career reinvention steps. That became his TEDx talk. After that, people kept asking John what he was going to do with that — does he coach? John said, sure, of course, he coaches! [24:24] So John started working with people around some of these questions and to implement the five steps to reinvention. [24:37] The five steps are: 1) Reframe your idea about who you are and what you can do, 2) Listen and understand how the world has changed, 3) Reconcile the past; don't bring your sad baggage into meetings, 4) Express these new ideas about what you could do, and 5) Network. Understand who can do what, and what you can do for them. [26:16] Most importantly, you've got to always be giving in your networking activities. Build the relationships necessary to put you in front of the people who can benefit from what you have to offer. You don't build a network by sending out resumes, because no one is going to read them. [26:37] Marc says one of the key pieces is that you are never going to do this alone. Marc's own business coach taught him to understand the things that he needs to leave behind. A lot of things you've done in your career, you don't want to do anymore, regardless of how good you were at it. [27:21] John sees a lot of clients that have difficulty giving up the social cohort they've gathered after working 20 years with the same people and then being let go from the job. People find it hard to let go of that job. Even if they were downsized, they want to go back. It's very important to be able to reconcile the past to envision your future. [28:30] Marc had encouraged John to finish his book. So John has a book, he's coaching, and he works at Carnegie Mellon. What else does John want to be doing in five years?[28:50] John wants to continue on his current path. His coaching has evolved from one-on-one to small groups, to larger groups, and now, with UCLA Anderson School of Management, coaching groups of 20 alumni online, on Zoom, who are going through career transitions. John is coaching them as a group with his five-step process. [29:33] Some of them are returning to work after an absence. Some have been let go. Some are contemplating making a move. There are all sorts of interesting permutations along the idea of transitions. [29:49] John seems to be following an arc of reaching more and more people with this methodology. This year, he is working on putting this all into an online course, which will go through five steps, 23 strategies, and six key skills, and give people the opportunity to pursue a self-guided course with some group mastermind interaction with John. [30:41] Marc talks about his group membership site and makes some observations about the cost of one-on-one coaching. The people he really wanted to work with couldn't afford it. The group model allows for greater flexibility. Marc can do it from Mexico. [31:19] One of the common themes of folks in Marc's online community is that everybody wants freedom. They want to work when they want to work, how hard they want to work and choose what they want to work on. Their ideas about that have changed over their careers. [31:51] John says Boomers are becoming more like the Millennials. Marc says to listen to your feelings and see what you are telling yourself about what you want to do. Most of us acted in roles and got paid to play those roles. If we did them long enough, we started believing we were those roles. [32:29] When Marc hit his 50s, it became exhausting for him to stay in character. [32:42] John will probably still be in California in five years. He has an urban homestead with his love. They have a coop with 20 chickens, vegetables, and a great spot of land under the mountains. It's a gorgeous day, there. He doesn't see moving before his early 70s. [33:43] John hopes to continue working with Carnegie Mellon. It's a great time for kids to be entering the entertainment industry. He likes to work with Boomers, too. He says it's a great opportunity to be working on both ends of the career spectrum, young people starting their career and older people taking what may be their final career steps. [34:42] Marc talks about a panel he sat on in October 2017, including a man from New Zealand — where college graduates usually move away from the island — whose job was to help companies retain their older workers. The man commented to Marc, "If you want to work into your 70s, you need to plan that in your 50s." [35:17] Your work between your 50s and your 70s will probably not be a full-time job, and it will probably be a collection of things or a portfolio. That's the key piece. Marc has several members of the online community who have their heads wrapped around the fact that they're not doing just one thing. [35:45] They may work harder than they used to, doing stuff they enjoy. They are not necessarily working for a single employer on a set schedule. [36:08] John suggests for listeners first to read his book, Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50. That will give them a clear idea of whether they are aligned with John's thinking.[36:40] You can reach John through his website, JohnTarnoff.…

Full show notes at the publisher

Considerations for Moving Abroad, with Queen Michele #119 Mar 18, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Marc interviews Queen Michele, author of the book, Considerations: A Guide For Moving Abroad. Queen was raised in Detroit, Michigan. In the first half of life, Queen became a schoolteacher, teaching second grade in a Catholic school. She then taught into the Detroit Public School System and was in administration for a while. She married and had two children. In 2002, she was an administrator for a startup charter school. She had started with the school but they did not renew her contract. She had been divorced for a couple of years. She moved to Las Vegas when it was booming. She went to teach there and also have some sunshine in her life. She lived in Vegas raising her children for 11 years. When her daughter was a freshman at the University of Reno and Queen was 50, she had a paradigm shift. Listen to this remarkable episode. Key Takeaways: [1:03] Marc welcomes you to Episode 119 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge. [1:34] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people Marc can reach, the more he can help. [1:54] Next week, Marc will be interviewing John Tarnoff, author of Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50. Marc interviewed John in Episode 19 but wanted to do an update with him. [2:08] This week Marc has a very special interview with Queen Michele. Queen is a former schoolteacher and administrator who chucked it all in her mid-fifties to move to the North Shore of Lake Chapala and has now written a book called Considerations: A Guide For Moving Abroad. [2:30] Marc introduces Queen and welcomes her to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Queen shares her biography, from Detroit to Las Vegas and more. At age 50, when Queen's children were in college, her cousin in Atlanta asked her to come down. [5:17] Queen moved to Atlanta and taught there for a couple of years. After 27 years in education, she was burnt out. She retired with a reduced pension at age 52. She started fun jobs to supplement her pension. She drove for Uber, she rented her home for Airbnb. She was a secret shopper and a merchandiser. [6:50] Queen took a remote job with a software company critiquing curriculum lessons and uploading them to the cloud. Her favorite gig was as a shuttle driver for a transportation company that serviced the railroad, taking engineers and conductors to and from their train in the railyard. [7:19] It got to the point when she realized she would always have to work to supplement her pension, and it might not always be fun. [7:58] That's when Queen ran across an article in International Living on the 10 best places to retire. Queen read the article and started researching those 10 best places. One resonated very strongly with her: the Lake Chapala area in Jalisco, Mexico. [8:28] The area had three attractions for Queen: the Spring-like climate, considered the "third-most perfect weather in the world", the cost of living compared to her pension, and the vibrant expat community. In her research, Queen came across The Lake Chapala Society that appeared to be laying out the red carpet for expats. [10:00] Queen began her research. She first joined Facebook groups affiliated with the area. She was attracted to the Ajijic Hiking group and Everything Lake Chapala. Then there was a foodies group and a group on where you can find dependable drivers, a Moving to Mexico group and a Moving to Mexico By Yourself group. [10:38] There were so many different Facebook groups. She started joining the groups and following the questions, which were the same kinds of questions Queen was asking. Questions about visas, healthcare, and transportation. When questions were answered, Queen would take those leads and research the questions, herself. [11:09] She asked Google "How do I get a visa to move to Mexico?". She asked what are the types of visas. From that research, she developed a binder separated in categories of transportation, visa, healthcare, rentals. The research became all-consuming for Queen. [11:35] Through that, the decision was made, "I'm moving to Mexico." Queen had never been to Mexico, except for a four-day cruise to a tourist area in Ensenada. So the research was really important to her.[12:08] She planned to do a Focus on Mexico visit for a few days to learn more about the area and answer her questions. She considered teaching English as a second language with a TESOL license. A program would allow her to live with a host family and take a four-week course to begin teaching. [13:40] As Queen continued to research different aspects of the Focus on Mexico and TESOL programs, she was finding enough information on her own that she wouldn't need a paid program to get set up. She found that didn't want to teach, anymore. [14:09] That decision led Queen to come to Mexico, trusting that what she had researched and planned for would fall in place for her. She researched, prepared, and planned for a year. Besides the research, Queen had to plan for the downsizing of her current life. She learned it would be too much trouble for her to bring a car to Mexico. [15:23] Queen took the year to downsize, sell her car, and close her accounts with other preparations for moving. The car would be too expensive to nationalize in Mexico, so she sold it before she moved. [16:10] Marc emphasizes that when you move to Mexico, get rid of all your stuff. Queen found it very freeing to downsize her possessions. She sold her car to her neighbors two weeks before she moved. [16:42] Queen learned through the Facebook groups what it was that she would need in Mexico that she couldn't purchase there. Queen traveled to Mexico with just two pieces of luggage, three medium boxes, and three storage bins in different sizes. Whatever wasn't packed, Queen let go. [17:25] Queen stepped foot on Mexican soil at the Guadalajara Airport on December 1, 2017. She had already housing arranged online — a cozy one bed, one bath condo in a small town right off Lake Chapala, San Antonio Tlayacapan, between Ajijic and Chapala. It is on the paved road that runs around the lake. Short bus rides are 7 pesos ($.35). [19:57] A lot of people come without cars so they walk or use the bus or taxi. [20:21] Queen started visualizing her new life in Mexico months before she arrived. She had activities she wanted to do, including hiking, volunteering at the dog rescue and at the theater. She wanted to spend time writing. She had her first day planned out from the time she landed to her dinner, at Adelita's. She had seen the menu on Facebook. [22:18] Things aligned for Queen as she set her intentions and had visualizations, down to every event unfolding almost perfectly. She did have some hiccups, but they worked out. At the airport, Manuel, a man she had contacted on Facebook months earlier about transportation, was waiting to give Queen a ride instead of letting her take a cab. [24:05] Manuel drove Queen into San Antonio where her landlord met her with a key, showed her to the apartment, accepted the rent, gave her a hug, and left. Queen unpacked a few things and headed off to dinner. Queen knew exactly where Adelita's was. She had spent hours on Google Street View going up and down the streets. [24:53] Queen knew from Google Street View how to walk to Adelita's, and so she did. She cannot describe the feeling she had, having arrived and walked to dinner as she had planned out. She did fall once on the cobblestones on the way! [25:37] Queen bounced back up, dusted herself off and continued to Adelita's, sat at the bar and ordered what she had intended on ordering, and met her first expat friend. They were both from Atlanta! [26:11] The area is almost like a college town. Nobody knows anybody, but everybody is so helpful. Queen says she has met more friends in San Antonio than she did in her Atlanta neighborhood. She arrived December 1st; February 5th was her 55th birthday. She had a birthday party on the rooftop of a bar with 30 of her closest friends. [27:25] Queen had connected with the Ajijic Hiking Club, which is very well organized on a shoestring budget. She started hiking two weeks after arriving. She knew where and when to show up. Queen describes the trouble she had keeping up with people 15 years older than she was. This was her first hike but she was inspired by it. [28:40] On the hikes, Queen met fascinating people from all over the world. It's a great organizations. Half of her birthday party friends were from the hiking group. Others were people she had met at restaurants and bus stops. One of her hiking friends had suggested she take Yoga, so she did. [29:23] Queen feels like part of the community. She says you will find the most friendly, helpful people with smiles on their faces. Queen began waking up from the first day with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Besides hiking and Yoga, she started writing. [29:49] Queen says her book was birthed during the very first year of arriving. After getting so much help from websites, she became a person answering questions on those sites for others. Through those questions and answers, Considerations was born. [30:38] The book has 10 chapters, each chapter being a consideration, based on Queen's experience. She doesn't tell anyone how to do it. She tells what she did and what worked for her as a single, middle-aged, African-American female. The number of African-Americans Marc has met in the area, he can count on one or two hands. [31:13] The book was easy for Queen to write. It explains the things she did, on her own, to move. She suggests considering visas, downsizing, healthcare, finances. [31:55] Queen receives $1,100 each month and that is her only income. Her rent is $500. With good budgeting, she lives a very comfortable life on the remaining $600 a month. She buys from the open market and lives like a local. [33:15] Marc says, if you want to live like an American, you can. You will pay for it. He is helping a couple with Tangerine Travel. One had food allergies and Celiac problems. When she got to Mexico, it all disappeared. Marc saw an article that blamed Roundup for autoimmune food problems. Mexican local farmers do not use Roundup. [34:11] Queen mentions that she lost 40 pounds and has kept it off since her lifestyle changed. Living like a local has made a difference. Queen buys vegetables, fruits, shrimp, chicken, salad vegetables. She makes shrimp salads, grilled chicken salads, shrimp pasta, chicken pasta. She makes small meals that last quite a bit. [35:31] Queen shops at the Market in Ajijic. Marc goes to the Market in Chapala. Marc shares a story about buying a pineapple from a walkup abarrotes (grocer's shop) just down the street, for his morning smoothie. What cost him $1.50 might have cost $8.00 at Whole Foods. [37:17] Queen didn't expect all the self-discovery that came from moving to Mexico. It took her to higher states of consciousness than she ever thought she would have. She is blissful and happy. The spiritual aspect of personal growth is available in various platforms. Queen is involved in some amazing communities that help her grow. [38:40] Queen has learned a lot of Spanish words. She is working on stringing them into a conversation. She knows she needs practice. [39:11] Marc is using Rocket Spanish and will become an affiliate. He is picking up conversational phrases. He talks about chatting with a haircutter in Spanish. Marc talks about the Ajijic Art Walk. Three quarters of the artists were gringos, who picked up their art after arriving. Half of them learned from YouTube lessons. Others took classes. [41:14] Queen talks about the many musicians, artists, poets, and writers who have come to Lake Chapala in this next phase of their lives and are rediscovering the arts. Queen attributes it to the energy and the vibration that resonates with the spirit. You catch that frequency and you ride it. [41:53] Queen looks forward to writing articles and short stories about her journey as it relates to higher states of consciousness that she is experiencing in San Antonio. That's what she is learning and that's what she would like to write about. [42:32] Marc thanks Ashton for being on the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [42:38] Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode. Marc suspects Queen will find something in the next year that will fulfill her and bring in some money! [42:52] The CareerPivot.com/Community website has become a valuable resource for almost 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc is currently recruiting new members for the next cohort. [43:06] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you'll receive information about the community as it evolves. [43:20] Those in the initial cohorts will get to set the direction for this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it's a community where you can seek help. Go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. [43:43] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you heard Marc on this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [44:04] Please come back next week, when Marc will have a great discussion with John Tarnoff. [44:10] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [44:15] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-119. [44:24] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.

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