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  • Peter, 54 years old

    Having read ‘The 100-Year Life’, I wonder if I was adopting its prescriptions ahead of time.  I have definitely not experienced a 3-stage life!
    So far, I have had 5 careers.  That encompasses about a dozen jobs and employers.  In between these I had numerous career breaks, both voluntary and involuntary, ranging from ‘travelling’ in the 1980s to full-time education (ages 25-28 and 41-42) and even overseas voluntary work aged 46-47.  The catalyst for these breaks has varied from redundancies (3 so far) to a desire to expand my options, experiences and networks.
    I am now a self employed business consultant, which offers the sort of variety and challenges that no employer was ever able to provide.  It’s also one of the lowest paid jobs I have ever had, because I don’t yet have enough clients or experience to earn a steady income.  I don’t care!  It was at the age of 44, while in an unpleasant, but high paying role, that I vowed only ever to pursue interesting and enjoyable work, regardless of the pay involved.  Sanity outranks income.
    Due to my own financial circumstances, which are not strong, I decided at the age of 50 to continue working as long as I can.
    Retirement is not attractive, partly because I want to stay active and involved.  Fortunately, I remain fit and healthy.  If I am able to earn a good income again in the future, I will ‘bank’ as much as possible for retirement or ill-health.
    Strategically, I am now planning to retrain myself for the next wave of business and technology changes (i.e. artificial intelligence) in order to usurp the current cohort of 25-40 year olds who are tied to existing technologies.
    I run a business book club which is now reading ‘The 100-Year Life’, so I’m looking forward to discussing these meaty topics with other members very soon.
    Best wishes to everyone who has got this far (both literally and metaphorically).

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    The Book

    In The 100-Year Life – Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, published June 2nd 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing, Lynda Gratton and Andrew J Scott outline the challenges and intelligent choices that all of us, of any age, need to make in order to turn greater life expectancy into a gift and not a curse. This is not an issue for when we are old but an urgent and imminent one.Extremely well received by critics and readers alike, the book has received extensive coverage around the world.

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