Disclaimer: While I get quite a few offers to review books on this site, I seldom do: a) because I'm not interested in the topic. b) I really have no reviewing skills other than saying what I like and don't like. I was recently offered 2 books to review published by Penguin. The reason I accepted is that they both concentrate on boomers and therefore interest me. I still have not improved my issue of b)
I will review the second book," Leslie Beck's Longevity Diet" in a future post.
Michael Adams is the 64 year old President of the Environics group of research and communications consulting companies. While he has offices in both the U.S. and Canada, "Stayin' Alive (How Canadian baby boomers will work, play, and find meaning in the second half of their adult lives)" has a marked slant towards Canadian boomers although I believe that many of his findings will also apply to U.S. boomers. Since Adams has a research background, there are a lot of statistics quoted to prove his points, sometimes too often. As such, there are occasionally some results discussed that I find hard to accept but most of the time, I either agreed or had an "AHA" moment.
Stayin' Alive groups boomers into 1 of 4 different categories or tribes as he calls them. Whenever I see this approach, I attempt to classify myself into 1 of them. The problem was that I felt I had traits and characteristics in 3 of the 4 and while I guess I was able to classify myself as a member of 1 of them more than the others, I never really felt comfortable that I fit totally in any one of them. So I'd like Mr. Adams to consider a fifth group. Since he gave names to the 4 groups- Disengaged Darwinists, Anxious Communitarions, Connected Enthusiasts and Autonomous Rebels, I'd like to suggest to Mr. Adams that he calls the fifth group-Savvy Boomers. Well, what did you expect me to suggest?
Each of the groups is constantly compared as to how they view issues such as family, health, politics, other generations such as X and Y, religion, immigration, technology, and of course retirement. Since each tribe has a different outlook on life, the most important take-away is that you can't throw boomers into 1 pot (other than the traditional born between '46 and '64 demographic.) I've always maintained this and as such, the author has summed up much better than I have ever been able to as to why Social Media websites aimed specifically at the boomer demographic will never establish a "Facebook for boomers" type of traction.
I recommend this as an "interesting read" for all boomers and a "must read" for retail marketers, politicians, insurance and financial companies, technology companies, H.R. managers, retirement community developers, travel agents, and other generations (well, only if you want to understand what really makes your parents and grandparents tick.) My favourite line from the book:
"This paragraph has been authored by a sixty-three-year-old male who thinks he has the body of a forty-year-old, the mind of a twenty-year old, the spirit of a child, and life expectancy close to infinity."
King has never been shy about producing big fat stories and I usually enjoy them but jeez Stephen, cut us boomers a break. It's tough lugging one of these monsters around and even tougher holding them up at eye level for more than a couple of minutes. I dozed off reading it the other night and when it dropped, it hurt! I wonder if the emergency room clerk has a code for injuries sustained after dropping a book on your nads? I was too embarrassed to find out.
Meanwhile I'll just make certain to read Dome on a table top rather than over a part of my body.
It reminded me that just a few days earlier my wife told me she had requested her financial advisor to sell some stock in her Retirement plan that had actually increased over the last few months. When she said she wanted it placed in a term deposit the advisor was reluctant and said "Well only if you'll promise me that you'll re-invest it in the market shortly." Are you kidding me? She actually said that? Who's the customer here? But it makes sense when you realize that these people make their commissions off the churn. So in this case, it was what the financial advisor was telling us that was disturbing. I truly believe the byline above is something we all need to know and the authors do a good job of detailing their concerns and giving advice on what to look for to protect your nest egg.
The book deals with a lot of financial issues such as how to ask the right questions of your financial advisor and more importantly, how to find a financial advisor you can trust. It also deals with other issues pertinent to retirement such as planning for declining health, housing, traveling, working beyond retirement etc.
While the book is more suited for Canadians because all the tax considerations and financial investment vehicles are Canadian oriented, anyone who is looking at the entire retirement picture and especially dealing with a financial advisor will find value in the book.
You can read more about it and buy it on their web site or you can predict the winning score of the SuperBowl game this weekend in the comments of this post and I'll send a free copy to the person who comes closest. By the way, for you non-U.S football fans, the teams playing are Pittsburgh and Arizona. My prediction is Arizona 24 -Pittsburgh 23. Maybe we'll use the proceeds from the stock to bet that. I doubt Messrs. MacKenzie or Hawkins would agree with that type of investment, not to mention the real owner of the proceeds.
I'm not much of a believer in self-help books but Ari Brouillette's life was saved by the Secret. Find out how by reading his review on Amazon which I have re-posted here.
Customer Review
3,776 of 3,821 people found the following review helpful:
Please allow me to share with you how "The Secret" changed my life and
in a very real and substantive way allowed me to overcome a severe
crisis in my personal life. It is well known that the premise of "The
Secret" is the science of attracting the things in life that you desire
and need and in removing from your life those things that you don't
want. Before finding this book, I knew nothing of these principles, the
process of positive visualization, and had actually engaged in reckless
behaviors to the point of endangering my own life and wellbeing. 
The Secret saved my life!,
At age 36, I found myself in a medium security prison serving
3-5 years for destruction of government property and public
intoxication. This was stiff punishment for drunkenly defecating in a
mailbox but as the judge pointed out, this was my third conviction for
the exact same crime. I obviously had an alcohol problem and a deep and
intense disrespect for the postal system, but even more importantly I
was ignoring the very fabric of our metaphysical reality and inviting
destructive influences into my life.
My fourth day in prison was the first day that I was allowed in
general population and while in the recreation yard I was approached by
a prisoner named Marcus who calmly informed me that as a new prisoner I
had been purchased by him for three packs of Winston cigarettes and 8
ounces of Pruno (prison wine). Marcus elaborated further that I could
expect to be raped by him on a daily basis and that I had pretty eyes.
Needless to say, I was deeply shocked that my life had sunk to
this level. Although I've never been homophobic I was discovering that
I was very rape phobic and dismayed by my overall personal street value
of roughly $15. I returned to my cell and sat very quietly, searching
myself for answers on how I could improve my life and distance myself
from harmful outside influences. At that point, in what I consider to
be a miraculous moment, my cell mate Jim Norton informed me that he
knew about the Marcus situation and that he had something that could
solve my problems. He handed me a copy of "The Secret". Normally I
wouldn't have turned to a self help book to resolve such a severe and
immediate threat but I literally didn't have any other available
alternatives. I immediately opened the book and began to read.
The first few chapters deal with the essence of something called
the "Law of Attraction" in which a primal universal force is available
to us and can be harnessed for the betterment of our lives. The
theoretical nature of the first few chapters wasn't exactly putting me
at peace. In fact, I had never meditated and had great difficulty with
closing out the chaotic noises of the prison and visualizing the
positive changes that I so dearly needed. It was when I reached Chapter
6 "The Secret to Relationships" that I realized how this book could
help me distance myself from Marcus and his negative intentions.
Starting with chapter six there was a cavity carved into the book and
in that cavity was a prison shiv. This particular shiv was a toothbrush
with a handle that had been repeatedly melted and ground into a razor
sharp point.
The next day in the exercise yard I carried "The Secret" with me
and when Marcus approached me I opened the book and stabbed him in the
neck. The next eight weeks in solitary confinement provided ample time
to practice positive visualization and the 16 hours per day of absolute
darkness made visualization about the only thing that I actually could
do. I'm not sure that everybody's life will be changed in such a
dramatic way by this book but I'm very thankful to have found it and
will continue to recommend it heartily.
In celebration of her latest release, BOOMER BABES: TRUE TALES OF LOVE AND LUST IN THE LATER YEARS, Maria Grazia Swan is having a contest!
I haven't read this book but I think it could be of interest to boomers, both male and female.
Win an autographed copy of
BOOMER BABES: TRUE TALES OF LOVE AND LUST IN THE LATER YEARS, just by
commenting on this blog post .
The lucky winner, chosen randomly will be announced at the end of the day on Monday July 14.
Read more about the book and Maria below.
Be sure to visit her website.
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