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Are
you a Late Bloomer?
by Jerry W.
Bird
The
following excerpt from our daily newspaper, the Vancouver
Sun is from an item by Rafe Mair, one of Canada's most
popular open line radio broadcasters, and a former
politician. Being almost a carbon copy of my own career
and life history, I hope it may serve as an inspiration
and /or a "wake up pill" for many of our readers around
the world. For example, when was the last time you made
an effort to learn a new skill? Something challenging and
adventurous, like skin diving in Belize, rafting in the
Fraser Canyon or the rapids canyons of Ethiopia with my
friend Maurizio Melloni, or canoeing on a crocodile
infested
river in tropical Africa. To some people, learing to
operate a computer is a daunting challenge - but leads to
a whole new world of discovery. How long has it been
since you strapped on a pair of skis, or took the bicycle
out for a spin. Have you ridden a horse lately, or tossed
a football?
My 91 year old friend Elyse White
of Harlem, New York is a prime example of someone who
never misses a beat. She and I danced to our favorite,
fast-moving Fats Domino tunes at Accra's Golden Tulip
Hotel in Ghana. It was long after many of the gang (40-60
year olds) had turned in for the night. A few months
later in Orlando, Florida, I watched her become an
official Ashante Queen in full regalia, with the same
pomp and ceremony as performed at Kumasi during a typical
festival. Elyse 'lives and loves to travel' and hasn't
missed a single Africa Travel Association Annual Congress
since the event began in 1976. Cape Town will be her
tweny-sixth. She's still learning new skills and looking
for new and different challenges - which we talk about
frequently by e-mail. Her sign off name is 'Mama Safari,'
which is a statement in itself.
Yes, there's so much to enjoy in
life's journey, so one must be sure to seize the moment,
for as the wise ones say, "learning is a lifelong
experience." E-mail:
africa@dowco.com
If
you hear about a case of age discrimination
in travel or employment, e-mail:
airhwy@dowco.com
Society
for the Advancement of Travel
for the Handicapped and
Mature,
Excerpt from Rafe Mair's column
....
"There's no doubt that my life can be easily divided into
two parts; the first 40 years
or so,, the years the locusts ate, and from then until
now a frenetic drive to catch up.
Why did this all happen?
I think it was because when I turned
40, or thereabouts, I felt that I had wasted my life. I
had played too much golf (by far), drunk too much whisky
and played too much cards (ditto), and chased too many
women (ditto again). I looked back and saw a barren
stretch with tiny little occasional oases of
accomplishment and was scared that I'd blown
it.
Why am I telling you all this?
First, because I think any reader has the right to know
something about the author. Second, because I sense there
may be others out there who think that because they
haven't accomplished what they wanted by certain age they
are doomed to miss the boat.
I have not really accomplished all
that much. But I have, in the past 25 years, attained
more of my potential than before. And that surely is what
it's all about. Not very many of us will go right to the
top, but we can do better - and if one is a late bloomer,
it might help to know that you
can do better even with a self imposed slow
start."
Mr. Mair can be heard
weekday mornings on Canada's WIC network,
originating from Radio Station CKNW 980 AM.
How to
beat "Ageism" and get a
job
(Even if
You are Slightly Over the Hill)
The Baby Boomers are aging, but at
the same time they are not willing to go off to pasture
the way earlier generations chose to. Today's 40, 50, 60
year olds want to remain
productive. If you are concerned about how welcome you
will be in the workplace as you add another candle on
your cake this year, consider
these ideas for staying in the employment game.
1.Shave years off your
looks - get an evaluation from a salon and dress shop
about your make up, hair and clothing. Or if you are a
male, get an evaluation from a
barbershop and a men's clothing store. You may be putting
out signals that are not necessary and may shave
years off yourself by looking as up
to date as possible.
2.Downplay dates on your
resume - go for a functional resume that highlights
more of your accomplishments than your dates of hire:
Yana Parker has some great suggestions for functional
resumes on her Web site (www.damngood.com) and in her
books.
3.Continue to learn new
skills - show your willingness to stay up to date by
taking further training. If you are currently taking more
classes, you will demonstrate
your ability to be a life long learner.
4.Look for work through your
contacts - Richard Bolles reminds us of the value of
this in this interview with Fast Company:
www.fastcompany.com . You'll be apt
to get a better reception if you meet potential employers
through a referral network.
5. Be seen as an expert in your
field - If you can be visible by writing or speaking,
do so. The more you rise to the top of your field,
the greater the chances that
your age will become a non-issue. Look at management
gurus such as Peter Drucker who is still going strong
in old age. No one questions
his age or his ability to do his work.
6.Stay physically fit -
there is a distinction between biological age and
chronological age. If you line up people who were born in
the same year, you will see
people who have aged gracefully and those who have not.
Chances are those who look older are people who
have not exercised
continuously nor have been careful about their diets.
7.Transfer expertise from
another field - if you have developed a reputation in
one field such as marketing, look for other fields who
can profit from your
knowledge. What start up organizations would give their
eyeteeth to have someone with your seasoned abilities on
their team?
8.Seek professions where a
bit of gray is revered rather than reviled - consultants
are generally drawn from the ranks of "seasoned"
people whereas computer programmers
are often expected to be young and malleable. If you are
changing careers especially, be aware that
some fields are friendlier to older people.
9. Get to know younger blood
- sometimes people become outmoded because they
choose to spend their time solely with people from
their own age cohort. This
behavior can be very limiting. The wider the range of
people with whom you spend time, the more receptive you
will be to new ideas.
10.Embrace computer skills
- let's face it - computers are here to stay. The more
you know your way around them, the better. If you
don't know all that you need
to, demonstrate your willingness to learn more computer
skills.
May be reproduced or
transmitted if done so in its entirety, including this
copyright line: Copyright © 1999, by WorkLife
Solutions, Inc., all rights
reserved
Africa
and the Plus 50s Market
by Jerry W. Bird
During my media career, I've written features for seniors
newspapers and a national maturity magazine. The reward
came via the mailbox, from individuals and couples all
over the USA and Canada who sought travel advice. Some
provided anecdotes from their own life's journey. Living
for six years in Point Roberts, Wa, a laid back border
community 3 hours north of Seattle, my mailbox was often
overflowing with cards and letters. This volume usually
quadrupled after I had written an article about rail
travel.
Proof Positive: There's no
better example of the "ageless attitude" than
Elyse
White, an ATA (Africa
Travel Association) member from Harlem. We call her "Mama
Safari" and have had the pleasure of being her house
guest on several occasions. At age 90, Elyse became as a
Queen of the Ashanti in Ghana. She has attended every ATA
Congress for the past 25 years.
While in Orlando Florida for the American Travel Market,
I took in several seminars hosted by SATH, the Society
for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped (and
Mature). I was proud to share the moment with this
organization which has done so much to advance the
awareness of their members special needs. We will be
participating in a major Congress with the SATH
membership at the ATA 26th Congress in South
Africa this
May.
Grey Boomers love to
travel: Every few minutes a member of the coveted
baby boomer generation turns 50, which means that today's
folks over-60 will soon be the most influential of all
age groups. Nowhere is this more evident than in the
world of travel and tourism. The Seniors (age 55+) we
target are upscale, educated, active, financially secure,
and open to new ideas about travel and travel
destinations. That's exciting news for Africa. North
America's Seniors represent one of the most powerful
market segments for travel marketers. As a group, they
have awesome buying power, plenty of free time and more
disposable income. Many own their own homes and most love
to travel, which opens the door to the latest phenomena
-- the home exchange program which we applaud. Seniors
give consistently to charities and have many hobbies and
interests. Many are becoming computer-savvy, which is
borne out by the mail we receive on this website. Keep it
up!
Our report on the Seniors Market
for Africa Travel Magazine and its partner publications
will appear on this web site in installments starting
immediately.
Freed from the responsibilities of
full-time jobs and child-raising seniors are among the
world's most frequent travelers and their numbers are
growing rapidly. To benefit from this "agequake" tourism
destinations need to better understand the thinking of
older persons and design products that meet their special
needs.
WTO Quality of Tourism
Studies
When surveyed about what they want to spend money on in
their retirement years, seniors put travel at the top of
their list- far ahead of any other consumer expenditure.
This propensity to travel and demographic trends that
show the world's over 60 population climbing from 593
million in 1999 to more than 2 billion by 2050 will
further stimulate the already booming senior tourism
sector.
The great potential of senior
tourism is not yet clearly seen by tourism policy
makers," said WTO Chief of Quality of Tourism Development
Henryk Handszuh.
Young Thinking
Although it may sound obvious,
tourism marketers need to understand that senior
travelers do not think of themselves as old. According to
Austrian expert Rudolph Zinell of Focus Management
Consulting, seniors tend to think they look 8 years
younger than they are and report they feel about 14 years
younger than their actual age.
In fact, people are unveiling to
consider themselves as seniors until after their 70th
birthday. This is why companies should try to avoid the
'Senior" label, using instead more neutral labels such as
"50 plus" or 'Best Agers'
Austrian researchers also report a
value shift by seniors, away from family, work and
sacrifice towards enjoyment, self-realization and fun.
For seniors, travel is reward for a life full of working
and sacrifice.
Benefits of
Travel
Travel helps to mitigate many of
the negative aspects of ageing, according to speaker
Graham Dann of the University of Luton in the United
Kingdom.
"The loss of freedom, declining
status, discrimination and social exclusion, can all be
alleviated by the ego-enhancing properties of tourism,"
said Professor Dann. "Holidays for seniors can provide a
more caring and protective setting and greater
opportunities for companionship, friendship and
self-discovery"
This is part of the thinking
behind social tourism schemes for seniors operating in
several European countries. In addition, social tourism
keeps hotels and resorts busy in the off-season and helps
maintain year-round employment in the tourism
industry.
Spain's social tourism program
IMSERSO, for example, organizes some 400,000 trips a year
for seniors, while INATEL has some 45,000 seniors taking
part in its week-long vacation program.
France's Cheques Vacances program,
which was founded 21 years ago, provides holidays for
80,000 low income people including seniors.
Conclusions
Agreeing that senior tourism can
enhance the quality of life for participants and
strengthen the tourism sector especially in the low
season, participants, representing 20 nations, issued a
declaration called the Lisbon Letter on Senior Tourism.
It urges policy makers to implement special senior fares
for air, sea and land transport, especially on a regional
basis such as within the European Union. It recommends
that tourism programs that ensure-among other thinks -
better safety, health services, access, nutritious food,
interaction with local communities, cultural visits,
outdoor activities, structured social activities, an
adequate pace for physical exercise, as well as fair and
clear information.
Senior Travel International
travelers over 60
Germany 20%
UK 16%
France 30%
Italy 13%
Spain 15%
USA 27%
Canada 28%
Japan 27%
