Living a LearningLife

The idea of working beyond traditional retirement age is nothing new to most baby boomers.

What is new is the rapid increase of interest in, and adoption of, "encore careers." Encore careers, as defined by Civic Ventures founder and CEO, Marc Freedman, is "work that combines income and personal meaning with social impact." Civic Ventures is a think tank and program incubator whose goal is to help "society achieve the greatest return on experience."

The 2008 Encore Career Survey, conducted by the MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures, found that between 5.3 to 8.4 million boomers had moved from their traditional career to this new stage of work.

On Saturday, May 16, LearningLife will present the Encore Fest--a day designed to help attendees define their second act, whether that's paid work, volunteer work, or a combination of both.

Setting the stage for the day will be internationally renowned sociologist Phyllis Moen, co-author of The Career Mystique: Cracks in the American Dream with Patricia Roehling. She will talk about how we might live and work in the second half of our lives, especially in light of current economic challenges.

Marc Freedman will be the keynote speaker. Freedman is the author of several acclaimed books on the baby boomer generation, including Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life and Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America.

"Marc Freedman is a pioneering thought leader of the longevity revolution , and we are honored that he will be joining us for the LearningLife Fest," says Andrea Gilats, LearningLife director. "But not only is he an important thinker, he is a person of action. He offers policy recommendations, practical advice and tools, and he's developed some of the first encore career programs, including Experience Corps."

Also at the Fest, a panel of local "action figures"--people who have found greater meaning in their lives through innovative approaches to volunteer work and encore careers--will discuss their unique paths to greater engagement and meaning. The panel will be headed by former St. Paul mayor Jim Scheibel, who also served as vice president of the Corporation for National and Community Service, where he directed both VISTA and Senior Corps.

Audiences will be able to engage in a moderated Q&A with Moen, Freedman, and the panel speakers. The cost is $75, which includes lunch and materials. The event will be held at the Continuing Education and Conference Center on the St. Paul campus. More information and registration is available on the Fest Web site.

As the May 16 date approaches, look for more details and interviews with members of the Encore Fest cast in this newsletter.

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Encore Fest with Marc Freedman. Get inspired to explore your next chapter in this daylong event. (Saturday, May 16, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.)

Great Conversations: Seymour Hersh, Walter Mondale, and Larry Jacobs (Tonight: Tuesday, March 10, 7:30 p.m.)

LIFE: A Journey Through Time photography exhibit (Bell Museum of Natural History, through April 12)

Religious Traditions: The History of Islam (Thursdays, April 23-May 14, 7-9 p.m.)

Split Rock Arts Program: The Photographic Project—A Primer
(three-day intensive workshop: June 28-July 1)

Give us your input on future LearningLife events! Take a quick, 10-question survey and be entered to win two Encore Fest tickets.

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From Andrea Gilats, LearningLife director

Sometime between my high school volleyball days and my gotta-salt-the-sidewalk days, I lost my balance. About two years ago, I realized that I could no longer trust my body to right itself if I slipped or teetered. I now think that I gradually fell out of balance as I got older, and to compensate, I gradually acquired an oversized fear of falling on my backside and breaking my now-brittle bones.

What this taught me is that living at any age is a constant dance of tilting and righting oneself, both inside and out. So I started consciously working to improve both my physical balance and my sense of perspective. I became a student of balance, and if you're ready to read my Five-Lesson, Inner-Outer Balance Plan, I'm ready to share it.

Lesson One. Do lunges. Step your left or right foot - whichever you prefer - forward about two feet. Put your hands on your hips for balance. Then bend your forward knee to a right angle and bend your back knee to lower yourself. Go as low as feels comfortable, and then rise as slowly as feels comfortable. Let your legs, rather than your lower back, do the work. Do ten lunges - five with your right leg forward and five with your left.

Lesson Two. Admit that you're getting too old to be embarrassed if you fall. Stop worrying about losing face or looking silly. I have come to believe that losing face is a passing thing at most. No matter how idiotic I ever thought I looked or acted, the consequences were never serious. A healthy perspective goes a long way toward staying in balance.

Lesson Three. Time your lunges with your breathing. It's much easier to keep your balance if you're not panicking about falling over, and concentrating on inhaling and exhaling, rather than on falling, helps. Conscious breathing puts the physical risk in perspective.

Lesson Four. Even if you're capable of balancing your body, do the lunges anyway so that you don't lose that precious ability. Work yourself up to ten or more lunges on each leg. You'll love the muscle tone you develop in your legs.

Lesson Five. After your daily lunges, take a few minutes to check in with yourself to see if you have any molehills that might be growing, unnoticed, into mountains. When I do this, I usually end up laughing at myself. Perspective rules!

Maintaining inner and outer balance as we age is a dance, maybe even a full-tilt boogie, but for me, it has become a valuable daily habit. The interplay of practicing my physical balance and practicing a balanced life has given me greater self-trust and confidence, both inside and out. I hope you're out on the dance floor, too. I'll look for you!

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Didn’t catch last spring’s LearningLife Fest? Listen online as the Purpose Project’s Richard Leider discusses “Facing the Midlife Challenge,” or to former Star Tribune travel writer Catherine Watson’s presentation, “Living a Renewable Life.” (Links will open to an audio file.)

The U’s “Taking Charge of Your Health” Web siteis a powerhouse of information on complementary and alternative medicine, navigating the health care system, and online health management tools. The site is a collaboration between the U’s Center for Spirituality and Healing and the Life Science Foundation.

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