Episode Description:
A remarkable development during the 20th century was an impressive extension of the average life course. In America, the average life expectancy gained 30 years, from 47 to 77. That's a 30-year life bonus. Average life expectancy here is nearly 80 and rising. The fastest-growing cohort is centenarians - from 3,000 in 1965 to over 90,000 in the early 21st century. We have experienced a longevity revolution and many of us will live into our 90s and reach 100 or beyond. In addition, in the 21st century the old paradigm of aging has been changing and a newer view of aging has emerged, which is radically different from the old paradigm.
What might a huge increase in longevity mean to you? What can you do with all the added years ahead? How will this change the legacies you will live and leave? In navigating life after 50, a major question is: how can you create the life you want? This leads to a question about our emerging identity: who do you want to become?
Dr. Sadler has learned from the people he has studied and discovered they are shaping a new identity by developing a life portfolio that answers another question: what do I want to put in my future? (and what leave out?) Dr. Sadler has been helping students in his Osher Life-Long Learning Institute (OLLI) classes work with each other in shaping their distinctive life portfolios. Seeing how they are growing and renewing their lives has been a very inspiring experience for him. It's a challenge for all of us to think intentionally about the years ahead and create our own life portfolios.
In this episode, you will discover:
About Bill Sadler:
Since receiving his doctorate from Harvard, Bill Sadler has been teaching sociology, business, and interdisciplinary courses for fifty years in colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. For the past 26 years, he has been at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where he is Professor of Sociology and Business, and for 10 years at the University of Southern Maine.
In addition to teaching, he has held administrative posts in four institutions, serving three times as a Department Chair, College Dean, and Chief Academic Officer. He has also been a consultant in higher education and in the business world for leadership and organizational development. In addition to his professional career, he has served on various boards, such as: Spiritual Alliance for Earth, The Center for Third Age Leadership and North Oakland Village.
As an author, he has published dozens of articles and six books, the last three focusing on the third age, based on his ongoing longitudinal research. Those books are Third Age: Six Principles of Growth and Renewal after 40, Changing Course: Navigating Life after 50 (with James Krefft), and Why Retire? Career Strategies for Third Age Nurses (with Fay Bower). He has been a key speaker at local, national, and international conferences on Positive Aging.
He and his wife Sallie have raised five children, have six grandchildren, and live in Oakland CA, and Bristol, ME.
Get in touch with Bill Sadler:
Buy Bill's Book: https://revolutionizeretirement.com/sadler
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