WOW! If you can’t fight city hall, how can you possibly go against one of the premier newspapers of the country?

I’ve got an idea: ignore them!

Articles like this, although well researched and fact-verified, cannot take into account an individual’s drive and focus, how many hours a day they spend on their job search, how they conduct their job search, who is in their network, how competitive career opportunities are in their area, how they present themselves in person, etc., etc., etc.

Everyone has issues they feel hold them back: too old with too much experience, too young with too little experience, don’t have a college degree, have a Ph.D. and perceived as over qualified, etc., etc., etc.

But if you’re going to be successful as a jobseeker or as an entrepreneur, you need to exude an aura of confidence, enthusiasm, and energy. Employers, clients, and customers want to work with a “can-do” type of person who is knowledgeable about what they do and upbeat about opportunities.

So if you’re a woman in midlife and experiencing a career crisis or you’re ready to move on and find meaning and personal reward in your work, I invite you to check out the teleseminar I’ll be conducting with my friend and colleague, Christine Laureano.

TRANSITION TO SUCCESS: MIDLIFE TOOLS TO CAREER AND LIFE EMPOWERMENT

October 5th and 7th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

We’ll be giving you the tools to:

• Overcome fears of creating new connections and direct your focus and energy where you can move forward with confidence.
• Learn the surefire techniques to uncover your unique skills and be seen by the people that are hiring!
• Create your success action plan to ensure you’ll achieve your goals and dreams.
• And much, much more
• You are wise and a valuable resource! Embrace the knowledge, inner strength, and passion of the powerful age you are!

I confess I’m still at a loss as to understanding the workings of the male mind, so we’ll be coming at things from a female perspective. I got these thoughts in an email from one of my dear friends and just had to pass it along. This was just too doggone good to keep to myself!

A Real Man

A real man is a woman’s best friend. He will never stand her up and never let her down. He will reassure her when she feels insecure and comfort her after a bad day.

He will inspire her to do things she never though she could do: to live without fear and forget regret. He will enable her to express her deepest emotions and give in to her most intimate desires He will make sure she always feels as though she’s the most beautiful woman in the room and will enable her to be the most confident, sexy, seductive, and invincible.

No wait… sorry… I’m thinking of wine.

Never mind!

Cheers and have a super weekend!

We, however, tend to do things differently. After years of nurturing and giving to others, midlife is a time when we chose to focus on our own goals and dreams and begin to express ourselves in new and creative ways. At long last, we’re choosing to “do unto ourselves as we’ve been doing unto others.” The author of this quote is Gloria Steinem and her good friend and longtime editor at MS. magazine, Suzanne Braun Levine, and I discussed this very idea in the first installment of our ongoing monthly radio series.

So much has been said about happiness recently. Yet Suzanne believes this particular word does not cover the depth and complexity of the transformation we experience at midlife. Perhaps a more all-encompassing term would be “fulfillment.” And a large part of feeling fulfilled for women is sharing our lives with our female friends. In truth, as we’re doing unto ourselves, we’re hardwired to want to share our journey with those closest to us. As Suzanne puts it: “A circle of trust is a must.”

I invite you to take a brief 15 minutes from your day to listen to this enlightening conversation. You’ll come away feeling both informed and inspired. As always, Suzanne shares her special insight into the changes and challenges today’s women face as we continue to revolutionize the spirit and style of aging.

Nevertheless, we eagerly turned on the tube (back when TVs actually had tubes) and flipped the dial (back when TVs actually had dials) to watch our favorite shows in grainy, blurry, black and white.

Although some shows were focused on adults and grown-up interests, almost all were kid friendly and many were aimed just at us. We had our early favorites: Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, and the blockbuster show no one would ever miss, The Mickey Mouse Club. Who can forget waiting with excited anticipation for “Anything Can Happen Day” or the latest adventures taking place at the Triple R Ranch with Spin and Marty?

The family sitcom shows were just as great. The kids would generally experience a problem at school, or with a friend, or endure some type of crisis of conscience. But, just when the dramatic tension reached its zenith, Mom or Dad would step in and impart a valuable life lesson—resolving the situation over a plate of cookies and a glass of milk.

No question that there were plenty of social inequities back then and TV reflected these in the lack of people of color on the screen. Families came only in one way: a wise (but sometimes goofy) dad, the ever-nurturing mom who happily dusted the house in her shirtwaist and pearls, and two or three well-adjusted kids.

However, as trite and role restrictive as these shows often were, they did try to provide us boomers kids with some positive messages about how to live productive and happy lives. I realize I’m sounding old, but looking at the reality fare out there today, what kinds of messages are children getting now? I wonder what Father Knows Best or Donna Reed might say about The Bad Girls Club or Jersey Shore?

Considering the “reality” being displayed in reality shows of today, I’ve just developed a hankering for a plate of cookies, a glass of milk, and some words of wisdom from Mom and Dad.

Employers are gearing up after the summer slowdown, putting new projects into place, and hiring. They need employees to fill positions and carry out their plans—so don’t let this important time pass you by!

I know the news is bad and especially discouraging for older applicants. However, you need to realize that the statistics the articles quote do not take into account how YOU are conducting your search: how many hours a day you devote to looking for work, how you’re going about your search, how qualified you are, and who is in your network.

Please take best advantage of this special time of year and arm yourself with the latest and most effective ways to make your mark. I’m happy to say that I’ve recently revised my book, Land the Job You Love: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50 and added even more helpful tips and tools to get you on the path to your next position.

This truly is your time to shine, so get prepared, learn the best ways to navigate today’s competitive market, and let them know all the wonderful skills and attributes a jobseeker with maturity can bring. You just need to learn the ways to present yourself as the WINNER you are. Please take the brief 15 minutes and listen to this interview where I share tips and techniques to put you on the fast track to success!

Yet, now that we’re past fifty, friendship and a sense of community with likeminded women holds even greater meaning. Aging can bring with it a shrinking world: we may no longer be working and feel the loss of day-to-day communication; we might live on the opposite side of the country from our dearest family members and mourn the physical closeness we yearn for; and we may lack the social resources that once gave our lives richness and depth.

Viola! Enter The Transition Network. This nationwide organization was founded to fill the void that many of us feel as we move beyond our initial careers and seek to find fulfillment elsewhere. Their Mission is to provide “a community for women over 50, who join forces as they navigate the transition from one career to another—or whatever is next.”

And, true to the boomer trailblazing spirit, The Transition Network defines itself as a “movement”—a national movement of engaged and energetic women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who together will:

• DISCOVER new perspectives and opportunities
• IMPACT their lives and their communities
• ADVOCATE with a collective and powerful voice

Talk about a feisty spirit! I’ve recently become a member of TTN and look forward to interacting with women my own age who understand the issues and concerns I’m facing at this time in my life. And, making things even more exciting, I just had the pleasure of interviewing the inspiring speaker and “encore career role model,” Betsy Werley, who also happens to be the Executive Director of The Transition Network.

I invite you to spend the brief fifteen minutes to listen to what Betsy has to say. You’ll come away from the experience with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence in all you can accomplish during this rich and fertile time in your life.

Also, be certain to check out the website for The Transition Network. With a few new friends on your side, a bit of information and support, and the inherent power found within a group of menopausal women on a mission, you’ll be feeling feisty for sure!

Special Event: I’m joining forces with the National Association of Baby Boomer Women to present a special Teleseminar, How to Land the Job You Love on Thursday, Aug. 12th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. If you or a boomer friend are looking for work, please sign up and attend. There is absolutely no charge and we’ll be covering the critical tools and techniques that will jumpstart your search and help you maximize your opportunities in today’s competitive market. The last 10 minutes will be open for Q & A–so think of the special answers you need to know and plan on attending. Sign up here!

But there’s a fresh (um, actually mature) role model on the scene and she’s showing us an even greater lesson: 80 is now the new eighty. Maybe it’s her dimples or perhaps it’s the ever-present twinkle in her eye, but Betty White has become the pin-up girl for the Wrinkled Revolution. And, speaking of fresh, this gal has got some mouth on her! Did you catch her Saturday Night Live appearance?

Although her life has not always been easy (she lost her beloved husband, Alan Ludden, back in 1981 and never remarried), Betty White is showing us the art of aging without losing the spark and sparkle of youth. Her mind remains cuttingly clever and she’s not afraid of delivering a bawdy retort when interviewers give her any opening to inject that famous sense of humor. This lady is still taking risks, still making waves, and still enjoying life to the fullest. In fact, in just a couple of years, Betty will be showing us how to be a cheeky old broad at ninety!

So here’s to the woman who’s provided us countless laughs and many great moments for more than half a century: may her star continue to shine as she shows us the way to the Feisty Side of 100. If anyone can make her centenarian years sexy and fun, it’s gotta be Betty!

I had the great pleasure of connecting with just such women earlier this week: Tomatoes in the Trenches. They’re a bicoastal group who’ve joined forces to present a “lively gabfest for smart women over 40” on Blog Talk Radio. Each Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and 10:00 a.m. Pacific, they interview fascinating women—from celebrities like Shelly Fabares to experts on film, food, design, and more.

The East Coast contingent is composed of three lively ladies from New York who grew weary of being overlooked by marketers choosing to lavish their attention on the size zero, barely post-pubescent set. Being trailblazing baby boomers and unwilling to be sidelined, they’d had enough of the invisibility factor. So these midlife tomatoes decided to create their own newsletter where they provide the real skinny on the best of everything in NYC. And they have standards! Whatever they promote has to pass muster at the “Three Tomato” review panel.

The West Coast is represented by an amazing group of women I’ve written about several times on Feisty Side of Fifty. In the Trenches Productions was launched by four actresses who’d had enough of the ageist, sexist attitude of Hollywood. So, like their East Coast counterparts, they decided to take the bull by the horns and do something about the “ignored audience” on their own. Using the hormonal chutzpah menopause gifts us, they went about creating the first entertainment network for women over 40 on the web. Their productions are geared right at our interests, our issues, and us, and you’ll find humor and insight in each and every one of their fabulous films.

I was both fortunate and honored to be interviewed by Tomatoes in the Trenches about the best methods for landing a job when you’re fifty and over. It’s tough out there these days, but if you know the latest and most effective techniques to successfully compete in today’s job market, you’re halfway there. And there are huge benefits to being an older applicant—you just need to learn the tips and tools for turning your age into an advantage. So please give their show a listen and check out what you can do to distinguish yourself from the crowd of jobseekers and move your search forward quickly and on target.

And most especially, as baby boomer women who are all tomatoes in the trenches, let’s look out for one another and call a halt to the invisibility factor once and for all!

We boomers are indeed fortunate because, as Suzanne writes, for our mothers and grandmothers, the “change of life” meant their lives stopped changing. As their nests emptied so did much of their focus and purpose. Without careers and with limited options and outlets, many of them became ladies who lunch, played tennis or bridge, or waited anxiously to become grandmothers. Maintaining home and hearth remained their primary responsibility and, with fewer mouths to feed, their job description became marginalized.

Ours, however, is a different generation. The women’s movement, the trailblazing spirit of the baby boomers, and the current economic realities have combined to keep us actively engaged in life way past our half-century birthdays. Traditional retirement is a thing of the past as the “forever-young” mindset of the boomers drives us to continue to contribute, interact, and break social barriers.

With our passion and energy still intact, the popular phrase for women our age has become “fifty is the new thirty.” But Suzanne buckles at that one! As she wrote: “That is not it at all. I have discovered that most women in Second Adulthood are very happy being where they are—they don’t want to go back to any of their earlier stages or decades… The assumption is that youth—or at least younger—is the ideal state and that given a choice, no woman in her right mind would relinquish it. I have found the opposite to be true.”

I, too, have found the opposite to be true and I bet you have as well. The years of fifty and beyond present us with many gifts: a newly found freedom to speak our minds and renounce much of our reflexive need to please; a greater sense of strength, mastery, and the ability to roll with the punches; and the drive towards authenticity and becoming the magnificently ripe and wise women we know ourselves to be.

Fifty also brings with it life lessons. Suzanne has highlighted ten of them in her book Fifty is the New Fifty and I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her about all ten. Please take the brief fifteen minutes to listen to the final broadcast in our series and then check back to listen to each and every one. The lessons are powerful and profound and will guide you well through this amazing time in your life. In fact, you too, will likely start taking umbrage when someone smugly states, “fifty is the new thirty.”

No—it’s not! It’s far from that. Fifty is the brand new, remarkably fertile, ripe, robust, and exceedingly feisty FIFTY!