- The New Imperative – Being Evergreen
For the first time, the young and middle-aged have a better than even chance of becoming very old. But we fear getting old and outliving our health, wealth, skills, friendships, and purpose. Whatever your age, it’s crucial to take action now to maximize the chances of aging well and remaining evergreen.
- Invest in your Future, realizing that isn’t only about money
It is hard to know how much money you need for your future as you don’t know what your needs will be or how long you will live. However, investing in your own human capital – your skills and ability to work if needed – can empower you to deal with that uncertainty. Remember, a longer life isn’t just about supplements, money, or working for longer. It’s an opportunity to extend the time we spend developing as adults and navigating towards what we want to do and who we really are.
- Don’t Underestimate the capacity of older people or your later years
With global life expectancy now over 70, the first longevity revolution is coming to an end such that the young can now expect to become the old. That ushers in a second longevity revolution focused on changing how we age. You face a longer future than your parents and so need to act differently from them. For most of human history, life has been short and only a minority has become old. We haven’t created the institutions and norms to support healthier, engaged, longer lives. As a result, we underestimate the capacity of older people and fail to invest in our own later years. That didn’t matter. It does now. The Longevity Imperative outlines how society, government, social norms, and our own behaviors need to adjust to the new realities of longer lives.
