The 100 Years Club Installment #142: HOT STUFF #15 “The Final Chapter”

That title sounds pretty ominous.

(Clickbait, anyone?)

I’m not going anywhere. I estimate that I have at least 30 years left to play and work. This is just the final chapter of my “Hot Summer” series.

Next week, I get a little more serious and business-focused . The September theme is “Back to School,” and I’ll be launching my new online workshop series.

Let’s talk a little about work, since it’s Labor Day weekend.

Some of us have leveraged the last few weeks to clear our heads and prepare for the final sprint of 2025. I hope you didn’t fall prey to “the slump.”

Even a pumpkin spice latte doesn’t cheer this AI-generated woman!

A social media marketer gave me a bunch of pithy posts to commemorate the holiday. None of them sounded like me because they were all written by people who had spent fewer than 10 years in the workforce.

• I’ve been there since 1977 (48 years, to be exact. It’s 55 years if you count my earlier gigs as a telemarketer, cashier, Congressional intern, and college research assistant).
• I left the big brand corporate world and started my own business in 2003 (22 years ago).
• I started using social media in 2005 (20 years ago).
• I launched my personal brand in February 2025 (my latest venture). That’s why I’m being encouraged to post my “day in the life” adventures, which seems narcissistic and weird, but as in all my other jobs, I’ve learned to go with the flow.  I draw the line at mindless selfie videos that are all about ME but don’t help others live their lives better.

Over the years, I’ve worked through bad boss behavior, major lung surgery, broken bones, two challenging pregnancies, babysitter woes, parenting responsibilities, the deaths of both parents and my brother, aa terrorist attack, a recession, a hysterectomy, a couple of cancer scares, divorce, a pandemic, and all kinds of “force of nature” sh*t like hurricanes, blizzards, and commuter transportation glitches.

You may be exhausted just reading that and contemplating a work break yourself.

But I grew up in a whole different era when we were just trained to put on our big girl pants (or pantyhose) and get back to work.

I’m not saying it was better. I’m just saying it was WAY different.

And I’m finding myself at 69-1/2 still discovering who I really want to be and what I want to do in my career.

Retirement is simply not part of my vocabulary. I love what I do now and would likely go brain dead if all I did was post selfies and play pickleball.

I’m now investing in teaching myself various types of AI, which will free up enough time for me to explore the world and have fun (while still working).

Here are my words of work wisdom for all generations. 

1. If you’re less than 48 years post-graduation and you hate what you do, make a change.
2. If you can’t make a change because of financial or other reasons, find stuff to do outside of work that brings you joy while you’re mapping out your escape or life-change plan.
3. If you’re winding down your career and aren’t sure what to do next, get help from others. (I’m launching a workshop series in September. Hint, hint. Subscribe here and you’ll get a special deal.)
4. If you’re 100% retired and feeling bored or lonely, consider picking up a hobby, traveling, or socializing with interesting people of all ages.
5. No matter what stage of life you’re at, remember that you’ll spend as many as 100K hours of your life working. You’d better find a way to like it!

Second-guessing career decisions is easy to do, but avoid the temptation. Pick up a copy of The Power of Regret and ruminate on how much you’ve learned in however many of those 100K hours you’ve put in so far.

Although I still don’t believe that “influencer” is a sustainable long-term career, I went ahead and produced a Labor Day video (below) anyway. I hope you like it. I dislike shooting selfie videos almost as much as I disliked telemarketing, but you can’t always love every aspect of your work!

Be sure to subscribe here to find out when my workshops launch. After all, summer is over and those big boy and girl pants await. These fun “classes” can help you get your sh*t together in work and life at any stage.

P.S. I am not including my usual facts and stats this week. I’ve been doing it since this blog launched, and I need a break! So does ChatGPT!

Hope you had a great summer and have a relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Don’t work TOO hard!