Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest author, international keynote speaker, and expert on successful aging and modern retirement lifestyle. Adriane Berg.

Adriane is the founder of Generation Bold Consulting to reach the boomer, mature, and caregiver markets. She acts as Director of The Kitalys Institute for a healthy lifespan and the Metabesity Initiative, an annual conference on the delay and prevention of age-related diseases.

She has authored 13 books that have been translated into many languages, including The Retirement Income Explosion; Have More. Spend Less. Live Better (2020), How Not to Go Broke at 102: Finding Everlasting Wealth, Wiley, and The Totally Awesome Money Book for Kids and Their Family, The Totally Awesome Business Book for Kids and Their Family.

Adriane is also the recipient of many awards including an Emmy for her T.V. work, Best Radio Show Mature Market Winner, Women in Business Salon Award, Women of Influence New Jersey, several National Librarian's Awards, a 5-year Facilitator Acknowledgment for her work with children at Good Grief, and the appointment to the United States Treasury Greater New York Committee for Savings Awareness.

She is an innovator in the field of longevity and law, having helped found the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and introducing the concepts of longevity planning and longevity law to the financial and legal professions. 

Adriane graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Kappa Delta Pi from Brooklyn College and was an Editor of the Law Review, N.Y.U. School of Law, where she achieved her J.D. degree.

She currently hosts the podcast: Generation Bold: The Fountain of Truth about Aging.

Norm: Good day, Adriane, and thanks for participating in our interview. What do you think to be your greatest success (or successes) so far in your various careers? 

Adriane: Norm, I think my greatest success is that I have been able to reinvent myself so many times. My first career was as an attorney, thinking I would follow in my father's footsteps. But, although I enjoyed law school and the critical thinking it taught me, I did not enjoy the practice of law. It's taken a lot of resiliency and humbling to retool for a variety of different lifestyles and work atmospheres, but it is also kept me engaged in life and learning.

Norm: Norm: What has been your greatest challenge (professionally) that you've overcome in getting to where you're at today?

Adriane: Unfortunately, the challenges are Sexism and Agism. My first job out of law school was with a major Wall Street firm. At the firm dinner, they selected a male-only club. The few women lawyers had to keep their coats in the bathroom because women's coats were not accepted at the club. There was one token female partner, and it was made noticeably clear that women would continue to be only associates. 

This very day, I attended a Zoom meeting with the Pass It on Network with folks from many countries to discuss ageism in the workplace. Although the AARP estimates that older workers contribute $8.3 trillion to the longevity economy, age discrimination is rampant. I am immensely proud to be working on the Learning and Earning project, a multi-country initiative to take ageism out of the workplace. It's a struggle.

Norm: What inspires you, and as you get older, how do you keep going? 

Adriane: What inspires me is making change and impact. When I was younger, I needed to make sure my children were well cared for, and my husband and I had the material things we wanted to enjoy as a couple. But now, I need much less in the world of things. I get inspired much more by the potential for legacy…to leave the world a better place through impactful work. I don't need much more to keep going. My mother was a whirlwind of productivity all her life, and she taught me resilience and the value of simply getting things done.

Norm: As a follow-up, do you have any tips for more energy and mood for aging?

Adriane: I have a lot of tips for higher energy and a better mood as we age. I am the Director of The Kitalys Institute. I work with gero-scientists, many of whom are biohackers. That means they eat and sleep and exercise in specific ways to stay healthier longer. I put my hints and tips in my newsletter Aging for Beginners and in my podcasts Generation Bold Radio.com. I also have a FREE weekly newsletter that has at least three hints and tips on SUCCESSFUL AGING AND fun! 

On a personal level, my number one health habit is long-distance walking. I belong to FreeWalkers.org and can walk 30 miles in one day. It's important to note that when I was younger, I was a cardiac cripple. When I first started walking, I could hardly walk even 1 mile. That means I have become stronger and healthier between the ages of 61 and 71.

Norm: Many people have the skills and drive to write a book, but failure to market and sell the book the right way is probably what keeps a lot of people from finding success. Can you give us 2-3 strategies that have been effective for you in promoting your books? 

Adriane: Book promotion has changed enormously since I wrote my first book in 1980. I'm going to limit myself to what I think works today. First, don't just write a book. Package your book with a website that has continuing ongoing information that makes a difference. Second, skillfully use social media and become an influencer… people are more likely to want to associate with you and buy your book for ongoing connections to your Facebook or other groups. 

Finally, don't be stingy. Give your book out to anyone who can influence others to buy. Send free downloads as often as you can. Create a mailing list by offering several chapters of the book. Maybe because I have written so many books, I see the value more in the relationships created between reader and author than in the book itself.

Norm: Has a reader ever told you something about your books that surprised you? 

Adriane: The most beautiful and surprising thing that ever happened was that I heard from a grandmother who longed to take her grandchild to Disneyland, and she didn't have the money. After reading my book, she invested the way I told her. She quickly made $5000 and took her family to Orlando. When I received this letter, I was not a grandma myself, yet. I didn't realize how important it was in her life.

Nevertheless, I was overcome and cried. Years later, my son, who is a little boy at the time, became the Chief of Staff to the CEO and President of the Disney Company. When the announcement was made last month, I thought of that woman and honestly cried for joy for the beauty of family.

Norm: Where do you get your information or ideas for your books, podcasts, and articles? 

Adriane: Like most authors and broadcasters for me, there is simply no shortage of ideas. People ask what the number one ingredient to happy aging is for me. That is so easy. It is curiosity. I'm always taking classes, googling obscure information, talking to random people I meet, and traveling as much as I can. My ideas come from what makes me curious in life. And I am so blessed that I can reach out to experts almost anywhere in the world because of new technology.

Norm: Why and how did you become interested in the art of aging gracefully? What does it mean to age gracefully? 

Adriane: My interest in aging came because I expected to die early in life. I had the genetics of a fruit fly. Most of my family, including my father, died incredibly young and were gone by the time I was 11 years old. I was brought up by a single Mom and my Aunt Rose. Rose did not lived past 62 and was the oldest person in my family at that time. When I reached 55, I was personally surprised and began to look at the potential of a long future and create habits that could make it possible to achieve longevity.

My interest is not quite in aging gracefully. It is in contributory aging. That means making a difference in the world regardless of your age. It is not focused on retirement or old age. Making a difference starts in kindergarten and should never stop. But because of ageism, there are barriers to contributing. One of my favorite sayings is: "The world is not expecting anything of you. Make it sorry." Sometimes you must be a little in-your-face in expressing anger about ageism. In that regard, I would not call myself graceful.

Norm: Is there a secret to aging gracefully? If so, please explain.

Adriane: My secret is money and life purpose! They go hand in hand. I just took on the Directorship of the Kitalys Institute and its Metabesity2020 Conference. It is dedicated to preventing and delaying the onset of extensive chronic diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and increasing healthy longevity. It is probably the most significant career move I ever made. But to do so, I needed to support myself in other ways. 

In the need Income Explosion I guide readers through in my book. That is why I say health, life purpose, excellent aging and money cannot be separated. Frankly, The Retirement Income Explosion: Have More. Spend Less. Live Better is my help for those retiring on too little. Some things can be done even at the last minute, but it takes know-how. 

Norm: Is there a high price that people pay for retiring earlier than they expect? If so, what is it? 

Adriane: Forced retirement because of loss of job, ageism, illness, or Coronavirus is damaging and needs to be handled as a personal challenge and an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Credible studies show that lack of life purpose, cut from social ties, and loneliness can take a minimum of 2 ½ years off your life. But I know from the experience of my father dying and me getting fired a time or two (yes, I did), the consequences are quite different if you have MONEY! That's why I devote myself in my latest book to showing readers how to have cash flow no matter what happens in your world or world around you.

Norm: Is making big decisions as we get older risky?

Adriane: Not at all. One of my favorite areas of study is the aging brain. As the Director of the Kitalys Institute, I work with scientists who have a good view of what happens neurologically as we age. One of the happy discoveries is an area called crystallized intelligence. This is the part of the brain that helps us make decisions. It strengthens with age because we have more neurological paths created from more years of experience. Cognitive games have shown that older adults are better at making judgments and particularly judgments based on incomplete information. For example, none of us, at any age, can predict the future. So, decisions are generally always made with some predictions in mind. The older adult usually makes more accurate assumptions, and their decisions are less risky.

Norm: What is the main reason people get into unnecessary debt? 

Adriane: I'm glad you use the word unnecessary. Most people go into unnecessary debt because they use credit cards without regard to consequences. Small things add up, and income gets spent before it is earned. As you get older, unfortunately, we may go into necessary debt for healthcare. After the age of 65, personal bankruptcies are usually "medical bankruptcies." We have an excellent system in this country but is still not adequate for all the costs in healthcare that we are assuming today. 

 The Retirement Income Explosion: Have More. Spend Less. Live Better has many chapters on how to cut down care costs before illness through prevention, after illness, to get all the government entitlements you deserve and even after demise, so your family receives all they deserve. I may not have loved the law, but I wasn't an elder law attorney for 35 years for nothing. By the way, I was a co-founder of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, so we started the idea that people did not have to go bankrupt to get care.

Norm: We are now living in unprecedented times with the Covid-19 virus. As you have authored several books on personal finances, what would be the best advice you can give to people who are facing terrible financial situations due to loss of jobs, stock market devaluations, debt, loss of income, etc.?

Adriane: For older adults, financial loss because of market crashes or corrections is not new. Many people lost as much as 60% of their hard-earned retirement assets in 2008. But for others, who have never suffered under these circumstances, it is exceedingly difficult to see blue skies ahead. When my father died very suddenly, as I mentioned earlier, he left our family with nothing. We had to scramble. It was so bad that at the beginning my mother would sell her blood so that we had some money to eat. I have learned how to survive under fire.

Here's what I would tell people who are in dire circumstances, something which I utterly understand. First, take care of your psyche and your own body. This is free. Get out there and walk and run. Quiet yourself and meditate. 

Then take a pencil and paper and write down every way that you could be valuable to somebody else. Every single way. Bring that value to your job, to a new job, to an extra job, to someone else's business, and money will start to connect. 

Tell the truth to creditors, bankers, and family. Right now, I have a tenant who cannot pay his rent because of COVID. He told me the truth, and we are working things out. My husband recently got a note from a tour guide in Mexico he met only for one day years ago. He was an excellent tour guide, and now he is down on his luck because of COVID. He wants to start a printing business. He had kept every contact that he ever made and sent us an email with his plight. My husband was so moved that he sent him a computer and an order for invitations for my 72nd birthday. You never know who can help you. Ask for help.

Norm: Do you worry about humans? 

Adriane: That's one of the most interesting questions ever asked. I thought about it a lot before answering. In the long run, I don't worry about humanity. I sit on the communications committee of the United Nations NGO on Aging and look at how we are trying to deal with age inequality. I'm meeting with folks dealing with environmental issues, economic issues, racial issues more honestly and in newer ways than ever before. I believe that things seem worse because we recognize problems that used to be hidden. 

There's an old saying; You can't make an omelet if you don't break eggs. We may be in the egg breaking stage right now, so it looks like a Humpty Dumpty situation. My scientists tell me about a process called "perturbation." It's a process by which diamonds are made under the highest and most painful pressure. But what emerges is the most durable substance on earth. I think that's what we're going through now.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and your many books and activities?

Adriane: That's easy. My website Adriane Berg.com has all the detailed information about my speaking, podcasts, blogs, and books. You can sign up for my free newsletter on the CONTACT page and ask to meet about speaking or consulting. My podcasts can be heard at GenerationBoldRadio.com. For my book, visit Retirement Income Explosion.com or Amazon. Finally, the geroscience conference is detailed at www.Metabesity2020.com. 

Norm: What is next for Adriane Berg?

Adriane: It's so beautiful at 72 to be asked, "What's next." Funny thing, there is a next. A big one. The Kitalys Institute is forming an online village community to bring together all the disciplines that deal with health lifespan and accessible public health. It's a massive project with potential for inclusion all over the world. I have been asked to speak in Amsterdam in September but discovered that I could not enter the country because of COVID restrictions. Fortunately, last month, I got my certification as a virtual speaker and will present by Zoom. My son said to me that he is impressed that I reinvent myself for each situation that comes up. So, I can assuredly say that what's next for me is whatever is required of me to make a difference.

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all your future endeavors