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Why I love being over 40 in today's world (and you could too?)

Posted by BrettRocketSci 8 years, 5 months ago to Business
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I'm 45 years old (and young, all things considered). For some additional context, I was first introduced to Ayn Rand by my father with "Anthem" when I was in junior high. Then I re-discovered her in college and embraced her ideas passionately, soaking up all of her fiction and non-fiction works that I could get my hands on.
I pursued a rewarding engineering career along with getting married, raising a family, enjoying artistic hobbies, and supporting causes important to me. It wasn't until I turned 40 did I figure out how to combine all of these strengths and interests into focused efforts. Plus, I realized how technology has made so many opportunities available to us today. Those under 40 don't remember what it was like...all the things that could have a major impact needed permission and someone else's authority. Like releasing a music CD, publishing a book, filming and releasing a movie, hosting a radio or TV show, organizing an event, teaching a course, building a complex product, starting a business...
Very few to no barriers in today's world for anyone reading this post! Those of us over 40 have the benefit of both hindsight and foresight, along with our personal experiences and the skills we have accumulated. As long as we are willing to continue learning new tools and methods, why aren't more of us excited about the opportunities available to us today?
This 6-minute video from serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk gave me an inspiring kick in the pants. If you are over 40 I hope you watch it too. Then tell me what you think with a comment below. I want to see more of the fierce, heroic spirit of achievement from people in this online Gulch. Who else still has a fire that needs to burn bright?
https://www.facebook.com/gary/videos/...


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  • Posted by aileenbennett 8 years, 5 months ago
    I'm 46, just finished reading Atlas Shrugged on Friday night. It was my first exposure to Ayn Rand and Objectivism. To most people around me, I probably appear to be fairly successful but I put my own happiness on the back burner (or felt guilt if I didn't) for most of my life. I have not used my talents to their full potential. My job doesn't stretch me. I have been settling in so many ways and been unhappy for it. It didn't take much reading before I started to tell myself, "No more!".

    I don't consider my age any barrier to what I can now achieve with my life. I always wanted to work for myself, to invent/create/discover something of purpose and always knew I had the brains and drive somewhere in me to do it. I have a constant desire to gain knowledge and technology thrills me every day.

    So, single, no dependants and with a considerable amount of life experience in my back pocket I am in a stronger position than ever to be all that I can be. There are no excuses, no one to hold me back.

    Thank you for posting this video. Very timely indeed for me and I have bookmarked it.

    I'm firing on all cylinders. I need to come up with a seriously good idea now! :-)
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      A big welcome from me too Aileen! You're here at an exciting time for yourself, and I'm excited for you too.
      There are lots of others here eager and capable to recommend the next things on Objectivism for you. When it comes time to identify and pursue that seriously good idea, I'd love to give you some recommendations on books or resources for you. Please let me know if you would like those. Regardless, here's to your future success and happiness!
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
      Welcome to the group.I've been 39 for let's see how long has that been?? A lot of the group are published authors and the rest are chronic readers. If you say what now what next ....I'll start you with Amazon Ayn Rand and the rest will follow. Questions? This is the place for real answers.
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      • Posted by aileenbennett 8 years, 5 months ago
        Thank you Michael. I would welcome any reading recommendations. I already have The Fountainhead sitting on my bedside table. Not started it yet. I am still pondering AS.

        Questions? The big one is for me. I need to work out how best to use my abilities to make a fulfilling living. I've asked myself this before (as many do) but I have more clarity in my thinking and determination now.

        I'm learning every day reading the discussions here and picking up lots about US politics and history too (I'm in Scotland).
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        • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
          Aileen, since you seem to be asking here, I'll give two great books I recommed you investigate. First is What Color Is Your Parachute. The other is Go by Markus Buckingham. Both have extensive exercises to help you identify your values, mission, life goals, and making a plan to combine your passions and strengths into a productive purpose. Glad to discuss them and other resources more with you if you are interested.
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          • Posted by aileenbennett 8 years, 5 months ago
            Hi Brett and thank you for the reading suggestions and your support. I'll be checking out Amazon for those titles today. Sounds like just what I am looking for.

            It is very exciting and I am glad to have found this forum. Some around me seem to think my recent change in attitude is down to a mid life crisis. I just smile. To me the "crisis" is over and the adventure is just beginning.
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        • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
          Ayn Rand wrote more non fiction than fiction. As for which to go to as a starting point I'll leave that to others more capable of doing a priority order. It's taken me 39 years to gather all her writings and now the collaboration books. I expect when I finish with the books about Ayn Rand I'll be.....39 years old. Anybody like to suggest some order of reading those treasures?
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  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
    I have some strong opinions on this topic: When I was young, I watched my parents 'legislate' themselves into old age, "I can't do that anymore. I am too old."

    The 'that' to which they were referring was something like 'playing tennis' or 'camping'. They were in their 50's at the time - and could definitely have done these things. But they knew that they were supposed to be in a pigeonhole of 'age' and so they conformed to the expected standards...and became old before they needed to be.

    I was late-born, and watched this as I grew up: I resolved not to do this as I got older. Now, I am 62, and I watch the people around me at work. I hear them talk about their parents who are old and can't take care of themselves any more. These people are OLD!...and some of them are younger than I am in years (the rest are about 5 years older).

    I regularly do two martial arts and I am learning how to joust. I camp by myself in the wilderness (OK, OK...I have 300lbs of German Shepherd dogs as excellent company and general deterrent). I would like to go on an archaeological dig in the Eastern Mediterranean (trying to figure out how to do that in combination with work). I have no plans on retiring.

    Stop telling yourself that you are Old. Why? Because it works when you do, and you don't really want that, do you?

    Jan
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      Thanks for this Jan. Very inspiring for the rest of us! Reminds me of one of Nathaniel Branden's famous quotes, "Of all the judgments we make in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves."
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    • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
      Jan, I retired at 59 and immediately took off with a few ideas --
      ham radio, an electric-start harley, etc. -- and now cannot
      imagine how I had enough time to work! . my list of things
      which need quick action is getting long....... and the fun
      is getting stronger every day!!! -- j
      .
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      • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
        You are fortunate, johnpe. I have seen many people retire and fall quickly into senescence. It was very depressing to watch. I fear that I would not do well without work to apply a structure to my life...and since I enjoy my work, there would be no point to retiring.

        Jan
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        • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
          I did a Ben Carson -- compared without intending to do so.
          I too have seen many who faded away like old soldiers,
          rapidly. . it is sad. . after serious reflection, I concluded
          that I wouldn't go that way. . but I have been lucky
          in this life, and have hobbies plus a serious drive for
          independence. . besides having been born in the u.s.,
          I have interests which range far and wide, from music
          to welding. . from poetry to radio. . independence to the
          maximum extent is also helpful. . readiness for whatever happens
          is a drive which we all might share.
          and I envy your work situation -- Go For It and make the news!!! -- j
          .
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          • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
            It is a big decision, and the possible consequences if one is wrong are enormous.

            I think that, at the root, I am aware that I am a Very Lazy Person and that I am saved from degenerate indolence by having to earn a living and by being easily fascinated by so many things. The world is a wonderful place and it has an endless supply of things to learn...but still: would I ever get off the couch and stop reading if I did not have to go to work 5 days a week? I don't absolutely know; I fear that I would not.

            Jan
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            • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
              a good reason to do your kindle reading on a desktop
              like I do -- no laptop or ipad for me!!! -- j
              .
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              • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
                No can do. My computer (which I take home) is a laptop; I am increasingly using the kindle to read. I am doomed!

                Jan
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                • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
                  oops. . did another accidental criticism;;; I just don't want
                  the computer over there on the couch with me!!! -- j
                  .
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                  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
                    No prob. Read it as conversation, not criticism.

                    Jan, not renown for being thin skinned
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                    • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
                      my siamesed computers had a problem last night, and
                      my brother-in-law worked on them today ... tried to answer
                      you from the white one, but it's still in its infancy. . the
                      blue computer must continue for awhile.

                      I love to read so much that it's a problem, yes, so I have a
                      thing about this corner of the kitchen ... desktop. . weakness
                      and strength in one. . and now, we're working on Jed O'Dea book 4
                      with great chagrin....... . very interesting!!! -- j
                      .
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                      • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
                        "...with great chagrin..."???

                        Interesting indeed.

                        Jan
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                        • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
                          we're going back and forth about style things which give rise
                          to tugging and convincing and subduing of my role of gee-whiz editor
                          to his role as author. . it's fun and interesting!!! -- j

                          p.s. the blue and white computers are both online, now!!!
                          .
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                          • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
                            We are in the first steps of starting an Indie movie, and going through some of the same process on the script.

                            Jan
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                            • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
                              Indy? . Raiders of the Lost Art? . wonderful !!!

                              oh. . yes. . Indie. . Schuyler House or creative anachronism?

                              movies are wonderful;;; we have hundreds here, and there
                              never is enough time to enjoy them. . we need to stop time
                              and declare a movie hiatus!!! -- j
                              .
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                              • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 5 months ago
                                I need to get back to reading more new stuff - I am currently re-reading a series I liked.

                                As I have recently learned, "Indie" apparently means 'an Independent movie' - one that is not filmed or distributed via the big studios. Wm has written a terrific script about a nuclear threat at the Port of LA, and we are going to try to film it. I am learning a lot more about the Film Industry than I ever really intended to, but it is fun.

                                The movie is basically about free will.

                                Jan
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                                • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
                                  yum! . I want one! . could it be connected with Kaila Hallings'
                                  post which is in the "hot list" today? . and from my nuclear
                                  background, I could contribute as an expert witness.
                                  if it were about a "suitcase bomb" instead of a dirty bomb,
                                  there might be more suspense. . while there is a lot which is
                                  classified, the unclassified stuff is good.

                                  and have you read the other 2 Jed O'Dea books? -- j
                                  .
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                                  • jlc replied 8 years, 5 months ago
  • Posted by $ Abaco 8 years, 5 months ago
    Interesting video. I got half way through it. I'm late 40s. I've always been an engineer, and plan to phase out of engineering over the next several years or so as, in my opinion, America's need for engineers continues to falter. But, about 7 years ago I went back to school to study another profession. Within a year, a firm where I had been a client hired me. I continued with the schooling. I'm not actually allowed to say exactly what I'm doing. But, I work that 4pm to midnight block doing it, and I'm really enjoying it. My 20-something clients are my favorite because they want to learn (and basic financial stuff, no matter what you're told, isn't taught in school unless you REALLY seek it out). I do have a problem with the general public in my age group that flies in the face of what the guy in the video is saying. In general, they are intellectually lazy...not all of us, but a majority.

    Reading Atlas Shrugged was a huge inspiration to me. One of my favorite quotes: “The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.” I like to add, "Stay the F out of my way."
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  • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 5 months ago
    I was inspired by the various writings of Ayn Rand. It helped me realize that I could achieve my goals no matter what my obstacles. But I was a piker compared to my son. As an example, he established two thriving businesses with an investment of $200. The first was an exposition business, putting on local comic book conventions, and record collector conventions which morphed into a mail order firm. Eight years later, he created a publishing firm that published comic books, graphic novels and magazines with an initial investment of a mere $200. Of course, the factors that made the difference were hard work and determination. The story of his business life can be summed up as No Barriers which is the title of the graphic bio of his life, due out late next year.
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  • Posted by D_E_Liberty 8 years, 5 months ago
    I whole heartedly agree with the premise of your piece and no I don't think our best days are behind us.
    ironically, that always seems to be the prevailing mood of the country in EVERY decade, WWI! WWII, the Depression, the recession, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, housing market. and with each age, everyone feared for the "up and coming generation" - flappers, tiny boppers, flower children, the me gen, gen x, gen next etc. pessimism, has always been a black thread that runs through the fabric of American Society.
    Yet we have managed not only survive but to thrive. As our friend Stossel continually points out, we have more personal wealth, more freedom ( of the kind this author references) and more leisure time.
    And if you ask most economists, they are not half as pessimistic about the economy as is the average citizen. So their is a lot of RATIONAL support for optimism.
    HOWEVER, the idea of eternal prosperity is not a guarantee. Strong political and economic systems have, and are failing ( see Greece and the EU). The miracle of American capitalism is not the prosperity it has delivered over the last century, but rather the fact that it has done so under the incredible drag, and hobbling of a growing statist, even socialistic government - starting with FDR up to the un-apologetic socialist that is running for the Democratic nomination, not to mention Bernie Sanders ( wink ).
    But there is a limit to the power of our economic engine, as Rand started pointing out half a century ago. Being from Iowa, I can't help but think of it like a tractor pull. For those that aren't familiar, tractor owners compete to see how far they can pull a sled, the weight of which steadily increases by every foot traveled until it is so heavy the tractor stalls. and it always does. the sled ALWAYS eventually wins.
    My fear is that our tractor IS losing ground to the statist sled - by the burden the government is heaping on the it WHILE it is ALSO pulling on the choke, pedaling the brake and syphoning out its fuel.
    They don't seem to notice the warning lights on the dash, or even the other tractors up ahead that are already in the ditch. Rather than yank the wheel back to the crown of the road, they seem insistent on following other statist states straight into the ditch.
    Given this fact, we don't have the luxury of wringging our hands, our fretting about the future in the same grand tradition of previous generations... The future is now... We need to act positively and aggressively to yank the wheel away from the suicide socialists. I know we are small in number, but that is all the more for each of us to do everything we can to get our hands on the wheel and pull with all our might. Even if we change the course of the nation's tractor and its engine only one degree, we buy ourselves years if not decades of economic survival.
    And the more hands people see pulling in the RIGHT direction, the more people will be willing to join in, and maybe, just maybe, keep us on the road, while we reduce the load on our liberty, our pocket books and the pursuit of happiness... Ala Ayn.
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    • Posted by Bethesda-gal 8 years, 5 months ago
      Hi D E. I think a small but important point you don't mention is that, imo, the reason the leftists don't see the "others tractors up ahead that are already in the ditch" is that they ascribe a different - and imo inaccurate - view as to WHY the tractors are in the ditch. We here believe / know it is due to excessive govt taxation and regulation. THEY believe it is due to too little !! THAT is the crucial and fundamental problem. The lack of ability of 'our' side to break through the lies and propaganda that their side has so effectively promulgated for decades. Yes, they indisputably have the mass media in their pocket. But we should be smart enough to figure out how to overcome that. I think this is why Trump is doing so phenomenally well -- he has a big enough pulpit to break through the lying media and take his anti-big- government message straight to the people and folks are eating it up.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      Thanks for this historical summary, D_E_. Very much on target! Nice analogy too.
      However, I've lost patience or security to rely on our national tractor changing its course in time for me and my family. We need to prepare and act for ourselves as individuals, and organize as communities who share similar values. Thus I am happy and determined to be an active participant in our online gulch. :-)
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  • Posted by wiggys 8 years, 5 months ago
    BrettRocketSci,
    I think it is wonderful that you have taken to reading Ayn Rand in depth but I do not believe you fully comprehend what she has been saying. For all of your life there has been development of many conveniences and other wonderful products, however the country has been heading down the road of what appears to be socialism when in fact it is facism and altruism. Because this is the direction of the country the level of development is in decline.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      Hi wiggys. What have I said that makes you believe I think otherwise? I do believe our country is heading into fascism. Or collectivism and irrationality of various mixtures...but I also believe we are living in a time and place where those of us who want to "pull a John Galt" and create our own version of a personal, private Gulch (or freedom in an unfree world, as Harry Browne wrote about) are able to do that in a much easier and greater way than ever before.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 5 months ago
    I'm 40. We all remember the old quote that the press is only free to those who own one. I'm 40. Who would have thought in my life time that saying would become obsolete?
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      Good point. Thanks for the memories! What's fascinatig to me is that there are a lot of attitudes and mindsets that went along with these quotes. Those mindsets are harder to become obsolete, but their time has come.
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
      The military still calls maintenance time for vehicles motor stables. It was McArthur that killed all the horses. They tried in my time to say 'down for second, third, or fourth echelon maintenance Dead Line persisted. Come to think of it Dead Reckoning is really Deduced Reckoning which makes sense but then if you don't do it correctly so does the misnomer. Most people with some education think the Cape of Good Hope is a big deal when doubling Cape Agulahas some fifty or some miles further south is the real goal. most don't know the difference between a clip and a magazine including top name fiction writers. Most think decimate means wiped out completely when it's only ten per cent dead. The War In The Gulf only applied to the Navy. The crowning touch in ignorance how many celebrated the millenium changeover one ...year....early.....? And you want to convince these people to change their ignorant minds about balanced budgets with a surplus? No a snow balls chance in hell.
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      • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
        Thanks for all of the examples of sloppy thinking and language Michael. I was going to give more but it's a time suck. Better for us to focus on being rational and virtuous ourselves.
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        • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
          I'm retired I get to do all the things I wanted to do back when I had to listen to illiterates bollox up the place. But never fear I'm just finishing up a side road into undiscovered elements of the universe. Enough to bring the total to 184 in the periodic tables for sure and more postulated. I would have thought more.
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          • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
            Well, I hope we'll get to see or hear more about this!! I'm a little skeptical, naturally, but let's get your original thinking and research out into the world so we can all benefit from it, including you.
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            • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
              It all came from a passage in a book....so I looked it up. The old saying "May you live in interesting times." I'm finding this new world we live in with access to information beyond anyone's wildest most fictional dreams just a few decades ago - maybe two no more than three has made any enquiry capable of returning an answer. If the answers are head of my skill nothing to stop me from going to http://science.com and raising my skills to the needed levels. Certainly not the workaday world which of necessity chewed up time in locust fashion stands in the way as before. I find myself looking at a star, or a rock or a plant or an insect or considering the chemistry of preparing a meal and then Google tell me..... That is the wonder of living to be over 40.

              The second wonder is passing on the information before I take it with me ...rendered useless by the inevitable. Last year my new families youngest received laptops. This year kindles. We discuss any and all subjects. I taught them research and the rudiments of thinking and reasoning.

              I wondered what life over 40 would be like and who they would teach. At what levels with what technologies long after i had passed my immortality to the future through them. That is the second wonder of life over 40. It is enough. Just a third thought. We do it through two languages using something called translate this page when my Spanish skills suffer.

              I learn they learn the English. Translate this......Define that. Three miracles in one lifetime. I'm not really 39. But I never tell them that. They think I don't know that they know. i heard them ask their mother what would they do after... I was gone? "Just as he taught you to do."

              Just when I thought all I had done for the world was pull triggers. I found I had made a difference. So now we are discussing the morality or immorality of violence in a very violent world.

              Last year a volley ball and a soccer ball. this year a punching and kicking bag. How to throw a straight punch and watch the opponents shoulders and show no fear in your own eyes. Mostly When Not To Throw the punch.
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      • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 5 months ago
        I don't understand all you say, but it reminds me of times when I think, "Oh no. Kids today are irresponsible. The world's going to the devil!!" It's really not though. People always have felt that way sometimes, going back into ancient times. People thought we grungy slackers were just taking for granted all the reforms the baby boomers got us. And now we're 40, sometimes thinking the same way. We watched and participated as the WWW become such a killer app for the Internet that kids today call it "the Internet" and are glued to their phones in a way we could never have foreseen.

        I resolve not to think the world's going to worms on account of the next generation, although I understand the temptation.
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 8 years, 5 months ago
    He's right, You're right. We have the wisdom, the skills that are not taught in today's world and the ethics to boot. I'm not about to wind down for any one.
    I have done things since my 40's [much more than a few years ago] I never imagined I could do, have or enjoy. Yea, I took a hit in 09, but I'm back and even wrote a book while I was regaining upon my losses. That blows my mind.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      Great for you! Congrats! For me, it feels like I had to percolate and synthesize a lot about myself and reality before I knew how to focus and unleash it in productive, innovative manners. I wrote a book too last year. Got a link for yours that you can plug here?
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      • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 8 years, 5 months ago
        How to be a rocket scientist...sounds cool, it's on my list now. Congrats to you too man.
        Mine is at authorhouse or any of the other sites. The Fight for Conscious Human Life.
        It's taken a couple of years but I've sold 90,000 so far and got a bigger publisher for the next.
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        • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
          Holy celebrity author, Batman, that is awesome! I'm truly in awe and admiration. I will look up yours too.
          Seriously now, promoting the achievements and successes of people within our community and online Gulch here has some very valuable and effective purposes. Hopefully you agree without me spelling out all of the reasons. So I encourage you to make a dedicated post about your book. If you've already done that, can you add a link in this thread? Thanks again, and in advance of that!
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  • Posted by $ jdg 8 years, 5 months ago
    You must be kidding. Taxation, regulation, and cronyism are all worse than they've ever been in (at least US) history.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      I won't argue with you on those points. But I humbly suggest that if that's the focus of your mind and energy, you will let it consume you. Do you want to go down with the ship or take charge of your own destiny and succeed in spite of all the insanity and corruption? It is possible.
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      • Posted by $ jdg 8 years, 5 months ago
        The video seems to be nothing but Gary V. endlessly repeating that there's plenty of opportunity out there -- without giving any evidence of his thesis at all. "I've repeated my mantra 137 times! And dropped in 20 celebrities names! So it must be true!"

        I really hope he's right and I'm wrong. But I'm not going to be convinced by the techniques that are used to sell religions.
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        • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
          Thanks for sharing your reaction jdg. I've been trying to form a response that explains the importance of attitude and perspective without falling into a primacy of consciousness premise. :-) That would make for a fantastic essay or book, the more I think of it.
          In this case, I'm convinced that you'll be able to find evidence for whichever conclusion you choose. Therein lies the power of free will and conscious focus.
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  • Posted by helmsman5 8 years, 5 months ago
    Thanks Brett for a stimulating and inspirational link. Blessed with good health, I'm running rings around my 40-something peers though more than twenty years older. If this gig goes south I will enthusiastically hang my shingle out. :)
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
      At 39 I was five years away from front line infantry retirement. At 39 and...mmmmmm five years short of retirement i was working deck gang on freighters and tankers. Now at 39 I've retired for almost as many years as I am old. The secret no candles on the cake and especially do not light them. Candelitis has long been suspected of caused old age. Even my family doctor said so. His grand or great grand kids sneaked some on the cake when he was celebrating his 39th birthday as was his habit. Sure enough a number of years later he died.
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      • Posted by helmsman5 8 years, 5 months ago
        Hi Michael, love your posts, and maritime perspective. Will have to take your candelitis caution seriously. I didn't say so, but my better half says I cannot retire..
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  • Posted by Flootus5 8 years, 5 months ago
    I like the guy's sentiment. And agree with it. But within the 6 minutes of cheerleading, it was pretty short on details. However, the one detail that he kept emphasizing - instagram - is worth looking into.

    One of the comments on the site mentioned that wait a minute, it is not all rainbows and butterflies out there. I can attest to that.

    Got laid off at 58/1/2 after 30+ years of working in the gold mining industry for the majors. Myself and a couple of others got together and said, perfect, now let's put all of these skills and all of this experience to work for us for once. A year and half later, we have an excellent project and are about to raise capital to do some drilling and test some of the best exploratory targets I have seen in my career. What a different road it has been. Absolutely fulfilling.

    And then the Department of the Interior and the US Forest Service drops the sage grouse bombshell in May - now finalized two weeks ago with a ROD and a cfr published land segregation - and are taking our project with a mineral withdrawal.

    Now, I'm 60 and have to turn around and start all over. Thanks, government.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      I'm almost at a loss for words...I recall you telling us about this injustice on another thread. I hope you find the confidence, determination, and experience to move forward from this and succeed with your next venture in a bigger, better way.
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      • Posted by Flootus5 8 years, 5 months ago
        Thanks very much for remembering this topic on another post.

        We have discussed amongst ourselves that maybe, just maybe our project could have been better off, if we just acknowledge the reality that we live in a corrupt banana republic now, and why not just bypass all this and buy the corrupt officials off? Good grief, we spent enough money in "compliance".

        Well, it appears we live in a special version of a banana republic - because of who we have been and that that had to be shut down.

        But, we will persevere. My good friend and partner, I remember, 25 years ago used to have a t-shirt for his drilling employees that depicted a frog beginning to be swallowed by a crane - only the frog had the crane by the throat with his two front "hands".

        The caption was "Never Give Up"! I like to remind him of those days.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 8 years, 5 months ago
    I have quite a few years beyond 40, so rather than complain, I believe the best thing I can do is try to help those coming along not repeat the mistakes earlier generations have made. What's becoming more difficult for the younger folk is allocating time to ponder, with everything happening so much faster, but if anything is more needed, it's giving yourself time to think about consequences of what you're about to do.

    My father always told me to make the big mistakes early, when it's cheaper and easier to fix them, and that still applies. It's tempting to try to imagine or simulate a concept and then charge into production, but prototypes done early can still show you what you didn't think about.

    3D printing is a lot bigger deal than many have yet recognized, and it makes the creation of prototypes much easier. I'm amazed when I see a prosthetic hand that's been printed, usable at a cost one hundredth that of prior technology.

    Crowdfunding is a wonderful tool, avoiding the turmoil of begging for money from people who are just in the game for profit. While there's been some effort to try to open up the conventional investment opportunities to less affluent, there's still the opportunity to rip off the innocent. Crowdfunding taps into motivations that are more emotional and intellectual, from an audience that better appreciates what you offer, and isn't looking for a payoff.

    Information security technology is lagging, and keeping your intellectual property safe can be difficult. I will pass along advice from my many years with top secret, compartmented systems, and that is that an "air gap" remains the best form of information security. Develop your ideas on a system without Internet connections, and selectively transfer news or other information via another computer, using flash drive or CD/DVD for information you wish to be communicated to outsiders. Any incoming data has to be thoroughly checked out before delivering it to the closed system. Cloud storage is tempting, but should be used only for information you don't care so much if it's leaked. Personal information should be treated the same way as classified.

    That's what I have to offer to the upcoming generations. Unless we do something stupid to destroy our civilization, an exciting future lies ahead.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 5 months ago
      Thanks for your perpsective and encouragement, Dr. Zarkov! And your practical infosec advice!! Makes me realize I need to get me a computer without an internet connection...
      If you are looking for other more innovative ways to give advice and lessons to upcoming generations, we should talk more. Let me know if you would be interested and I'll be honored to talk with you more.
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  • Posted by SamAnderson 8 years, 5 months ago
    "Those of us over 40 have the benefit of both hindsight and foresight, along with our personal experiences and the skills we have accumulated. As long as we are willing to continue learning new tools and methods, why aren't more of us excited about the opportunities available to us today?" This is so true, but often times we are bound by the "golden handcuffs" of getting by "doing what we're been pretty good at doing", rather than finding a new paradigm for taking our experience and expertise to new markets, in new delivery and sales modes. Thanks for the link, Brett, it is encouraging for all of us. I am working on this myself, and hope to be an example of re-engineering my skills to a new and mobile workplace/sales platform.
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