20 May
Uncategorized, WWB Book Wise Club

Are We Ready to Live to 100? The WWB Spring Book Wise Pick is the Newly Released ‘Longevity Nation’

Every movement needs a manifesto and Michael Clinton (read his interesting bio here) has presented a very inspiring one for us via his newly released book ‘Longevity Nation’.  As a Longevity Health Coach, I was thrilled to discover a book that presented a 30,000 foot view of the longevity movement, while also digging into the many facets of aging well and the people who are re-imagining the second half of their lives. Be prepared to enter the ‘Longevity Era’ where the possibilities of aging well to 100 is possible! The million dollar question is how we will do it? All of us would like to live longer, but we all can agree we would like to be as vibrant and healthy as possible as we go through the ages! Michael presents wonderful inspiration and presents a new narrative and framework for aging, but he is also very grounded and explores very important questions like:

How does living longer affect the daily facet’s of one’s life?
How will living longer lives affect our countries and our businesses?
Are our healthcare systems, social support structures, and city infrastructures capable of caring for an older population?

Aging well and living longer needs a community and culture that will support you in a positive inclusive way. Longevity Nation gives us great examples of societies already on the ‘Longevity Train’ and helping its older citizens to thrive and flourish. Inspiration comes from many cultures and Michael is taking BIG notes. As should we! I won’t give away the leading countries because you need to read this book! Here is to living with purpose, vitality, and vision at 50, 60, 70, 80,90 and yes 100 years old! Read on and learn why Michael’s longevity manifesto matters so much to you and your 5 year old grand-son.

 

Laura Connolly, CHC, Founder of World Wise Beauty

 

 

Coach Lauroly Q-   Welcome Michael! I am so excited to feature your new book ‘Longevity Nation’.  A couple of books come to mind that became social movements and platforms for major societal changes. One of them is ‘The Cultural Creatives’ which stoked many movements like environmentalism and the LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) movement. The other is ‘Free Agent Nation’ which platformed the rise of the independent worker just as technology was changing how we work.  Your book ‘Longevity Nation’ is capturing just how important the longevity movement is and will be. Can you share a little more about the RE-Imagineers highlighted in your book who also have a psychographic profile? Healthy Lifestyle is a big umbrella and so is Longevity. There are so many areas to focus on. Your book walks us through a lot but for this short blog let’s zero in on what is driving this mammoth movement right now.

Michael Clinton: Thanks Laura! It is the recognition that if you are a healthy 50-year-old today, you may live another 40 or more years. At 60, it is 30 or more years. As a result, the entire second half of life cycle is going through dramatic change. In so many ways, it represents a new start date in your life. That might mean a new career, back to school to relearn and relaunch, become an entrepreneur or start a new relationship, or run their first marathon. The “Re-Imagineers” are the role models of this movement. In real time, they represent what 50, 60. 70 or older can look like in this new social movement. Their psychographic profile is that they are ambitious, positive and motivated to new things in the second half of life. Another analogy might be how women rewrote the script during the beginning of the women’s movement. Those role models paved the way for today’s young women who look at the world around them and realize they can choose many different careers, professions and lifestyles.

Coach Lauroly Q- Love your last analogy! Having a magazine media background myself I appreciated your chapter on Media in the Age of New Longevity. Just as your book is released, I have been reading articles everywhere about the rise of GEN X in beauty but also in the longevity space too. Beauty, Health and Wellness converge and naturally longevity is now the MAIN focus. I think the positive part of the living in a digital world is consumers have a voice and begin to push the needle harder for representation beyond marketers narrow focus. Tell us more! What has changed and what can we get excited about?

Michael Clinton: While there is always a focus on the next generation (remember when the Millenials were the big focus?), many marketers, brands, advertisers are missing the big story. With 35 percent of the population at 50 or older (and the first millennials turning 50 in 4 years), there is an enormous opportunity to tap into the new mindset of the 50+ year old consumer, who is very different than previous generations.

For starters, they are no longer brand loyal. They try new brands and they especially reject brands that represent them in old-fashioned ways (cue in the couple walking into the sunset!).  Our research shows that those over 50 are also highly active on social media (including TikTok). There is also a vibrant influencer group over 50 in fashion, beauty and more who are hijacking the story. If brands aren’t age inclusive and pro-age, they will risk losing this consumer

Coach Lauroly- Michael, you have brilliantly highlighted the different legs of the Longevity movement and another important chapter is’ redefining the longevity era’. There is a powerful line in your book “Age segregation isn’t healthy for anyone”. Why are community and culture so important to longevity? You highlighted Singapore and countries like Finland. I would like to say through my years of focusing on wellness culture it is the countries that have a ‘value’ system in place who excel in health and happiness. Aging has to be reframed and valued differently than it has been in our country.  Hope is on the way…right?

Michael Clinton: It’s true but we have a long way to go! However, the sheer number of people in the 50+ cohort will force the conversation and the ultimate value of their role in society. Think about this. 100 years ago, there were 7.8 million people 65 or older in the U.S. Today there are 62 million, growing to 80 million in the next decade. This group will have the power of voice to change the cultural conversation. We can learn a lot from Asian cultures on how this can happen.

Coach Lauroly Q- There is a powerful driver in the longevity movement and that is found in the chapter “The Intersection of Medicine, Health and Technology’. Longevity Medicine has been rapidly growing for the last 10 years. I think the focus on bio-individuality and the use of personalized medicine is literally a life saver and a life extension! How is AI accelerating personalized medicine? One example is fine for this short blog, because Longevity Nation highlights the many advancements!

Michael Clinton: In an interview that I did for Men’s Health magazine, I learned from Dr. Rafid Fadul that we are at the precipice of treating prostate cancer, one of the big male issues with precision medicine approaches. With trillion of AI datapoints, doctors will be able to create specific treatments for our individual biology. It is a massive evolution of medicine enhanced by AI.  Imagine this across the disease spectrum and we will see enormous progress, helping to manifest what will become the normalization of the 100-year life.

Coach Lauroly Closing- Thank you so much for joining me, Michael!  I am grateful for your passion for aging well and living longer, and for your commitment to sharing your knowledge and wisdom. My readers should know you are also the author of ROAR into the second half of your life. I missed that one and will definitely be reading it as well! Longevity Nation is a wonderful tour de force on how the accelerating longevity movement is meaningful to every aspect of our personal lives and society. Well done! I think this book would be an excellent Father’s Day gift. Give the gift of inspiration!

Michael Clinton Closing: Thank you for the invitation to share some thoughts Laura. With the advances in medicine, technology and the awareness of lifestyle approaches, we have huge upside in our personal longevity path. Many studies have shown that today’s five-year-old has a 50 percent chance to live to 100. Are we prepared for the 100-year life?  Are we getting our children ready for the 100-year life? It’s a big agenda item for governments, businesses, nonprofits and individuals.