Ageism is pervasive. Just take a look at the ageist messages on many birthday cards. And you won't see many anti-ageist ones. In preparing for her second act, our guest has created an age-positive alternative at Age-Friendly Vibes. Listen to her story.

Jan Golden joins us from Denver.

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Bio

Jan Golden is winding down her career as a web developer and iPhone trainer, and ramping up her dream job; creating a stationery business. During COVID, inspired by a greeting card contest for Changing the Narrative, she used my graphic design skills, tech skills, and creativity to create a line of age-friendly greeting cards. The result? She learned I absolutely love designing and making cards! The best part is seeing the reaction to the age-positive sentiments she put out there in the world. Knowing that she may have a small part in celebrating, instead of dreading, a birthday is heart-warming.

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For More on Jan Golden

Age-Friendly Vibes

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Podcast Episodes You May Like

Ageism Unmasked – Dr. Tracey Gendron

Breaking the Age Code – Dr. Becca Levy

Make a Career Change with Purpose Top of Mind – Chris Farrell

How Seniors Are Saving the World With Activism – Thelma Reese

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Wise Quotes

On Ageism

"Ageist messages are harmful because when they get stuck in our head, we start to make excuses for not doing things in life because we think we're too old. So we start to [create]  a self-fulfilled prophecy. We stop trying new things. We try stop being as physically active, we become more isolated. And there's recent studies that show that your mindset about aging can impact your lifespan by up to seven and a half years. So it's some of those types of new research that's that has always made sense to me. That makes me really want to stand up and say, let's just stop and think about some of these ageist messages that we're seeing every day."

On Taking a Stand Against Ageism

"On your birthday, age is kind of the elephant in the room, right? But it doesn't need to be a message of, of decline, depression and dementia. it can be one of celebration. There's definitely things that our body physically goes through and changes as we age. We have to adapt. But they're not all negative and they don't need to be perceived as negative. It's the anti-aging industry and our culture that makes that youth obsession so prevalent. But I feel like as the older adult population is healthier, living longer, and we're standing up for it. We're not taking it anymore. So that's why I think my messages resonate pretty deeply with a lot of people."

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About Your Host 

Joe Casey is an executive coach who also helps people design their next life after their primary career. He created his own next chapter after a twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Market...