I woke up one morning and this PR guy was 60 years-old. Life is sort of like that old Porsche I had long ago that roared from zero to 60 in no time flat. The senior years sneak up on us.
However, my alimony and child support payments had not disappeared at this yellow leaf threshold, a time depicted in gauzy magazines as smiling gramps bouncing a grandchild on his knee. The mortgage still came due every month.
I still had to suit up in my rusty armor each morning and go out and joust with very smart youngsters half my age. In the 21st Century, failure is not an option for we who have stacked responsibilities on ourselves like a chocolate layer cake.
With a six-year-old in the house, my first view of retirement would come, barring surprises, somewhere in the year 2022. My situation, though, was one of choice and actually fairly common, regardless of profession.
Lives are more complicated than a few decades back. We live longer. The divorce rate in most countries is about 50 per cent, and second families are consistent with this statistic.
Also, for me, retirement has never been a goal. It is what other people do who have worked for governments all their lives, or who landed a position with a giant company - spent 30 years there -and were put out to Sun City pasture at 62 or 65. I simply did not, and don't, aspire to retire.
Recently I was asked by a public relations professor at Elon University in North Carolina to outline my 10 rules for coping professionally when younger PR pros might think I have lost a step or two. Though not in any particular order, and certainly not inclusive, I offer my thoughts:
1. Differentiate the mature brand: Think of yourself as a brand, a mature brand, and then differentiate yourself according to the talents and experiences you have gained over the years. Play to your strengths, whether it be media training, crisis training and management or some other aspect of our business. Also remember, so long as you are a little entrepreneurial, your talents probably work equally well outside a big organization.
2. Broaden your horizon: In other words, go outside your comfort zone. Venture into an aspect of our business that might surprise the younger professional, such as becoming better acquainted with the digital world and digital communications. Spend a few moments with MTV and learn what "you've been punk'ed" means. In other words, don't let anyone brand you an old fogy.
3. Be a risk taker: Great ideas generally carry risk. Be an idea person and expect that risk is part and partial of the potential success that might come your way. Think in terms of the game, however, and acknowledge to yourself that even the great Ronaldo has an occasional off day on the pitch.
4. Avoid the war story syndrome: Everyone likes hearing stories, but repeated references to how it was done in the "good old days" is tiresome and rarely relevant in today's 24-hour news-all-the-time cycle. Be careful to make sure your storied example is specific to a PR problem of the present.
5. Keeping up appearances: Billionaire investor Warren Buffet could wear a beanie and still get respect. The famous Wyoming lawyer, Gerry Spence, could wear buckskins - and he does - and not appear silly. Most of us in the mature stage of our careers probably have not reached that point. Super stardom has eluded us. Hence, dress as a professional.
6. There are always options: When a career problem does arise, and I can think of at least three life-defining situations in my own journey, remember that there are an amazing number of options available to live to fight another day. In other words, don't panic at the first professional ill-wind.
7. Don't retreat - charge: A career path is not that much different from charting a successful war (or political) campaign. When inevitable adversity does come your way - and perhaps when others are retreating - charge. My company grew during an economic crisis. A personal job dilemma at an international PR company found me the following year leading my own company.
8. The portfolio life: Keep adding to your portfolio of talents by becoming knowledgeable about areas that really interest you. If you like public speaking, for example, find platforms to demonstrate and improve. I took up oil painting when I was 50, and have held several exhibitions where paintings have sold. However, I get better use out of them by presenting them as birthday presents to clients and friends.
9. Be nice. It is amazing how far you can go in your career merely because your clients, your co-workers and your friends think of you as a pretty good guy, not manipulative but genuinely caring. We all hear about the SOB who clawed his way to the top. There are many more executives who became Fortune 500 CEOs because they are talented - and treat people with respect.
In my view No. 10 trumps all other suggestions on this list. It has more to do with a philosophy than a tactic for success. It comes from a George Elliott quotation: "It's never too late to be who you might have been."
In other words, don't be late for life.
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