EXPECTED the UNEXPECTED

When I hear the comment, "Oh well I've just come to expect the unexpected," or "nothing surprises me any more," they are usually uttered with a heavy sigh and from a more negative standpoint. Many people think that when you expect the unexpected that you are assuming something bad will happen. Being a "realistic optimist," (an attitude that I think we all should be adopting right now) I expect good things to happen to myself and others. And am thrilled and excited when an unexpected cool thing occurs! Which was what happened last week when our book DON'T RETIRE, REWIRE! and our idea of rewiring was a focal point of Jane Brody's column in The New York Times.

I believe that we need to work hard, work smart, and live by the Golden Rule and sometimes with doing everything else right, we also get lucky! It is challenging times at the ranch and Jane's words rewired some of my thinking! I was in Battle Creek last week doing an AARP program, entitled WORK @ 50...Getting Rewired for Your Next Act. The audience of 250 people were eager for new ideas and insights so Jane's comments and my AARP audience has caused me to do the unexpected....I am going to start offering more HOW TO FIND WORK Tips and ideas in my blog and on my website.

So when something unexpectedly wonderful happens to you, think of how you can use it to make something unexpectedly positive happen for someone else!

Looking For Meaning and Purpose In All the Right Places

I tell people NOT to eavesdrop on other people's dreams, because what one person considers heaven, you might consider hell. I give myself the right to eavesdrop. I view it as part of my on-going research. I see myself as a "social voyeur" so if you have that title then eavesdropping goes with the territory.

Recently a lot of folks have been telling me they need to rewire because they need to find new meaning and purpose in their life. They have gone stale at work and at play even in their relationships. When I ask how they define "meaning and purpose" I usually get a blank stare or quizzical look----"meaning and purpose" are great words but I believe it it up to each of us to define those words for ourselves.

Many Boomers say they want to do new work in their next act...to have a retirement career, or as my friend and author, Marc Freedman , calls it...to have Encore Career. If you are one of those people looking for new work that touches both your life and society then get ready to do some personal due diligence by reading the latest survey from MetLife and Civic Ventures on the topic.