“The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have.”
~Leonard Nimoy
Welcome to our series: Interconnected! In this series, we want to help you meet your fellow 50plus Matters™ peers. Each one of us holds a unique story and we can all learn from one another. The more we know about each other, the more we learn about ourselves. We love hearing your stories and we think they are an important tool in helping us defy the misconceptions that define our generation. Without further ado,
Meet Bob P!
What do you want us to know about you? I am an individual, and one who has travelled to at least 25 countries, made about 500 flights for work and play and have jogged or run somewhere around 25,000 km since the age of 35. All added up, the formula is ‘small steps’ x ‘many years’ = ‘big data’. This phrase plays on our modern 21st century tech language. It’s just been a way of living here in Edmonton.
What challenges do you face being 50+?
You realize that health and energy levels are your personal number one project, without them, quality of life is significantly, if not even suddenly or too quickly, altered. At first, it’s frustrating to have to dedicate more time to health and wellness. Moreover, the healthier I am, the more energy there is to give to my booming family! And grandchildren, who I ‘love to bits’, take a lot of energy to enjoy. I know I need to make time for getting regular checkups, fixing even the smallest issue. So, life stays busy; there is no such thing as slowing down in this world. It’s all about your energy resource. Life is simply more fun with more energy.
What are you doing to keep active?
I play Canada’s game, hockey, and balance it with yoga. I enjoy dancing, cycling with friends through our short summers, and a lot of walking all year, even all winter. I’m also active with my children and grandchildren: your DNA intuitively relates you to your grandchildren. What’s just as nice is that your grandchildren are the happiest people in your life, and their love for you is unlimited. So, they keep you happy and your life is inherently meaningful
How should companies approach the 50+ market?
Hire a complete team. Use algorithms that bias 50+ instead of those same algorithms that, by default, bias “who knows whom or what?”
Do you have a Bucket List? What’s next to be scratched off?
I’m in a different space than many peers where bucket holidays are on many lists. I made sure to do these ones: the Inca Trail (Peru) and the West Coast Trail (BC), Berg Lake (AB), etc., while able to do them safely and fully. Now I don’t mind dropping into a place like Madrid and hanging around their coffee shops and so many available culture stops! I loved their Opera House Teatro Royal and heard La Traviata, an ultimate experience in culture. So, returning to familiar places and enriching the experiences is a nice thought. That’s why Spanish learning is on my bucket list, there are 22 Spanish-speaking countries!
Why did you join the 50plus Matters™ panel?
Boomers and younger, we have always influenced our own future from the 70’s and 80’s onward. We are used to it. Moreover, life gets better when we have influenced our environment. Our population is growing and this growth isn’t going to stop for quite a while. Any marketer finding success now can literally, I think, bank on its future. That’s why I signed on to 50+Matters. Any way to speak to the other side of the ‘fence’ can help bring the right solution to the right need or problem. How long did it take seat belts, quitting smoking, to become popular? Well constant common sense talk over time against existing cultural thinking, eventually prevails, as for using seat belts and quitting smoking.
Do you think this group can make a difference?
Yes, of course. Like above “Boomers and younger, we have always influenced our own future from the 70’s and 80’s onward. We are used to it, expect it. But today our money is the voice, and we know how, nor have the luxury, to waste it.
To read the full interview, click HERE.
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