I recently finished a fascinating book “The 100-year life”. The central point of the book is that the human lifespan is increasing considerably, and most of us (at least the majority reading this post) can expect to live close to 100 years. I took away several perspectives on how to make the most of the gift of a long life. The important ones are:
1. Tangible assets will be built over longer periods: For both financial reasons (larger savings are needed to fund additional years of life) and for intellectual vitality (which is linked to happiness), many of us will work into at least our 70s.
2. Intangible assets need greater focus: “Assets” have tended to mean financial assets in our vocabulary. Equally if not more important for sustaining a longer life are “intangible” assets – knowledge, reputation, health & balanced living, quality relationships (family and friends), and networks.
3. Career trajectories will vary vastly: My parent’s three-stage life of study-work-retire is obsolete. People will live multi-stage lives balancing recreation and re-creation, experiment greatly during their career, take sabbaticals, and possibly build portfolio careers that provide diverse income streams.
Society is only slowly waking up to the opportunities and challenges that a longer life provides. Those of us who take up leadership roles in corporations and government have an important role in shaping society with a higher life expectancy.
If you knew you were to live to 100 years, what would you do differently?
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