The Latest Version with Betsy Bush

So what is happiness? Do we need to be happy? What's the relationship between happiness and a meaningful life? Len Mitchell is a professor of philosophy at Pace University in New York, where he teaches a popular undergraduate course on the Philosophy of Happiness. Len came to this field later in life, retiring from Time Warner after a 22- year career as a tax attorney. 

Topics include:

• Taking advantage of a buy-out from his company at the age of 50 and embarking on a six year quest to get a Ph.D. in philosophy
• The challenges of studying the subject when he had no undergraduate background in it
• How college courses can add value to your life as an older student
• The importance of finding a mentor—and becoming a mentor for someone else
• The philosophy of happiness:  Eudaimonia, of human flourishing
• Religion vs philosophy as guides to happiness
• Happiness as a sense of life purpose
• The importance of embracing new experiences.

Dr. E. Len Mitchell is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies.  He holds a baccalaureate degree from Auburn University (1973), a Juris Doctorate degree from Cumberland School of Law (Samford University, 1976), law masters degrees (LL.M.s) i from New York University (1978, 1989), and a Ph.D. from City University of New York Graduate Center (2007). After taking an early retirement from Time Warner, he studied philosophy from 2001 to 2007, culminating in his Ph.D. in Philosophy.  He has taught at Pace University in New York since 2008.

Resources:

These are the books that Prof Mitchell uses in his course on the philosophy of happiness:

Happiness: A History by Darrin McMahon, 2006

Aristotle's Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life, 2019

The Power of Meaning:  Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness, Emily Esfahani Smith, 2017.

Man's Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl, 1959

Bonnie Marcus has some truth that working women need to hear: gendered age-ism is real and it starts early. Bonnie talks about her research based on hundreds of surveys that reveal the many ways women are affected by this type of bias and how they can take action to better affect their longevity in the workplace.

Bonnie Marcus is an award-winning entrepreneur, Forbes contributing writer and executive coach. She has a great podcast, Bad-ass women at any age. Her new book is Not Done Yet: How women over 50 regain their confidence and claim their workplace power. Her article, Gendered Ageism Affects Women’s Job Security And Financial Viability, appeared in Forbes.com on September 21, 2021.

Topics include:

• The large percentage of women who have experienced gendered agism, based on her original research
• What gendered ageism look like
• The need for women to work longer for financial security vs being pushed out of a job at a relatively young age
• Assumptions made about older workers that aren’t true
• The assumptions we make about ourselves that work against us.
• How advertising may be failing to reach older women (and their tremendous purchasing power) because of assumptions made by young ad execs
• Addressing the topic of age and gender stereotypes among colleagues
• The importance of documentation
• Keeping yourself up-skilled and front and center in the workplace
• Honest discussions about women’s health and well being

Resources:

Bonnie Marcus's Forbes.com article on Gendered Ageism

Not Done Yet: How Women over 50 can regain confidence and reclaim workplace power by Bonnie Marcus

The Politics of Promotion: How High Achieving Women Can Get Ahead and Stay Ahead by Bonnie Marcus

https://bonniemarcusleadership.com/

Badass Women at Any Age podcast

At age 50, Rev. Bill Weisenbach made a major life pivot when he left his post as Vice President of New York Seminary to become the sole pastor of a small church in an historic Hudson Valley town. Looking back after almost 30 years, Bill reflects on the shift from teaching and administration to serving on the front lines of his field as a parish minister, and how his mantra, “Hold your truth lightly”, serves him well in these times.

Topics include:

• How a volunteer substitute gig gave him the courage to seek out a new path;
• The value of a professional peer group when working alone
• Sticking to self-imposed schedules as key to success and growth
• The importance of family and spousal buy-in to major life changes
• Being happy with a major life change, even when it means a pay cut
• And much more

The Rev. Dr. William Weisenbach is a Presbyterian Minister. He served as Senior Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Katonah, NY, from which he retired in 2012. Before serving in Katonah, Dr. Weisenbach pastored the Presbyterian Church in Cold Spring, NY. Before entering parish ministry he served for twenty-four years on the faculty of New York Theological Seminary as Academic Vice President and Professor of Practical Theology. Dr. Weisenbach holds a Doctor of Ministry and a Doctor of Divinity degree. During his career at the seminary, the largest inter-racial school of its kind in the nation, Dr. Weisenbach taught hundreds of gifted students, including those at Sing Sing prison.

Resources:

Michael Green (wikipedia page)

New York Theological Seminary

When beauty executive Caroline Fabrigas was suddenly widowed with two small children, she found herself at a crossroads: to go the safe route with her corporate job or become an entrepreneur, carrying on the young company her late husband had started. Now she is at the forefront of the emerging field of scent marketing and scent branding.

Caroline Fabrigas is CEO of Scent Marketing, Inc. a company that creates proprietary scents for hotel chains and retail stores as an integral part of their branding, as well as Scentfluence Aroma Design Studio, a retail store in Scarsdale, New York.

Topics included:

• How her early career experiences prepared her to be an entrepreneur
• Her visionary late husband who saw scent as a branding tool
• The power of scent to create mood and memory
• How she recovered from the loss of her husband at a young age
• Moving from a corporate job to taking over an entrepreneurial business
• Her newest venture, Scentfluence Aroma Design Studio, for homes
• How volunteering has been an important part of her life and career
• Listening to advice, but doing your own research.

Resources:

Scentfluence Aroma Design Studio

Scent Marketing, Inc.

Tree House, a program of the Bereavement Center of Westchester

Young Presidents Organization

Fashion Group International

An ugly divorce became a life pivoting point for Susan Pava, but she has emerged as a more centered and driven person. She talks about the lessons she learned, the practices that have helped her find peace and purpose, and her advice for anyone currently in an unhealthy relationship that's considering divorce.

Topics included:

• The immense benefits of journaling for healing
• The importance of financial security
• How to prioritize your children in the midst of divorce
• And much more!

A business trip detour to poet Emily Dickinson’s home planted a midlife pivot idea for Marta McDowell. She transitioned from a career in insurance to horticulture, and now she’s the author of five books, focusing on writers and their gardens. She talks about how she prepared for her exit from the corporate world by taking classes at the New York Botanical Garden, her first steps toward becoming an author, and a surprise moment in the media spotlight.

Topics included:

• Credentialing for a new career through evening and weekend classes
• Finding the niche that speaks to you
• Establishing credibility as an author
• Success comes in finding similarities between your own life track and the subject you write about
• A moment in the media spotlight
• The value of online learning for both students and the institution
• Exploring new paths, and feeling free to course correct

Marta McDowell teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and consults for private clients and public gardens. Marta's new book, Unearthing The Secret Garden: The Plants and Places that Inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett, will be published in September 2021. She is the author of Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, New York Times-bestselling All the Presidents' Gardens, and Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life.

Resources:

New York Botanical Garden

Unearthing the Secret Garden

Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life

All the Presidents' Gardens

Returning to a local university campus could be a great way to pivot to your next act. A collaborative of universities is sharing model programs that bring later in life students back to school, where they can explore new opportunities as part of intergenerational classes and special programs.

Kater Schaefers, Ph.D., is Executive Director of University of Minnesota Advanced Careers Initiative, Life Course Center.

Topics included:

• The outdated model of “leisure retirement” and how a return to campus can help
• The emergence of this new life stage referred to as Encore Adulthood
• What do traditional students and encore adults have in common; and the advantages encore adults have that younger students don’t
• The coming demographic shift that has colleges worried
• The special intergenerational relationships that college programs can foster
• The emergence of intergenerational sharing of talents as well as living spaces
• Learn to use technology, and the importance to job seekers of being on LinkedIn

Resources:

Stanford Social Innovation Review article by Phyllis Moen and Kate Schaefers

The Nexel Collaborative

U of Minn Advanced Careers Initiative

Michael Clinton wants to be sure you’re in control of your life as you head into your 50’s, 60’s and beyond. Redefine yourself before others do it for you; own who you are, reassess your relationships. We are all living longer, not just getting older, and it’s up to us how we want to live those years.

Michael Clinton’s new book is ROAR into the Second Half of Your Life (before it’s too late) from Beyond Words Publishing.

Topics included:

• The ROAR acronym R: re-imagine yourself before others do it for you, O is own who you are, A is the action plan. And R is re-assess your relationships
• Avoiding the regret many people have at the end of life
• The examples of people did 180-degree pivots at 45+ to more fulfilling lives
• Michael’s own life journey as a first gen student
• How education can help mid-lifers pivot, and available financial aid
• The concept of Life Layering, and how Michael has used it to become an accomplished photographer
• The challenge to use time lost to digital devices to better enhance our lives
• The imperative of knowing your health numbers
• Person appropriate vs age appropriate
• Pushing back against cultural expectations about age

Michael Clinton is the former president and publishing director of Hearst Magazines, and now serves as special media advisor to the Hearst Corporation’s CEO. He is also an author and photographer.

Resources: ROAR In to the Second Half of Your Life

Welcome to The Latest Version! A podcast about change, growth, and reinvention.

Join your host Betsy Bush as she speaks with the founder and CEO of the Afya Foundation, Danielle Butin. They discuss Danielle's efforts to bring medical supplies to healthcare providers around the world, how a trip to Tanzania lead to the founding of her foundation, and her advice for anyone looking to start a new venture.

Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe to The Latest Version wherever you listen to podcasts and follow the show on Instagram @TheLatestVersionPodcast.

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Welcome to The Latest Version! A podcast about change, growth, and reinvention.

Join your host Betsy Bush as she speaks with Christina McMurray, the author of Live Laugh Fly. They discuss the hardship of losing her son through cancer, how she channeled her grief into writing a book, and the ways she still stays connected to her son. Christina McMurray's book, Live, Laugh, Fly: A Family's Journey Through Childhood Cancer, Unimaginable Grief, and the Realization that Love Never Dies is available from Amazon.

Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe to The Latest Version wherever you listen to podcasts and follow the show on Instagram @TheLatestVersionPodcast.

What's your latest version?