If you plan to make a living with audio or video, record yourself, watch, and listen.  Listen closely.  Do you speak clearly?  Is your voice something people will want to listen to?  Do you look good on camera?  Do you know how to use lighting?  These may seem like simple things to think about but, remember, you are hoping people will want to listen to you and will share your video or audio with their friends.  Keep it interesting and pleasing to the eyes and ears of potential followers. 

There is no magic bullet or surefire way to make an immediate financial killing on Social Media. There are a couple of different outlets for establishing a Social Media based business and, as we have learned with Riff on Jobs, growth and income are truly a crap shoot. Nonetheless, as you try to figure out how to do this yourself, you will find a wealth of videos and training courses that promise to teach you how.

Before social media, most of us could successfully separate our work and private lives. Now, anyone can find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok or other sites we frequent. When job hunting, we are sagely advised to “clean up” our social media presence. Prospective employers pay outside services to scan social media of potential hires. The upshot is that we don’t want anything wild or crazy on our social media pages.

As our population ages, loneliness has become a pervasive, yet often unseen issue, particularly for older adults. While it affects individuals of all genders, research suggests a serious reality: older men tend to experience higher levels of loneliness than their female counterparts. So, why are older men seemingly more susceptible to loneliness?

If you’re still working at a “job” at 50 years of age (that is, not self employed), good for you!  Chances are the benefits are good including insurance, retirement, and paid vacations, not to mention your steady paycheck.  The honeymoon may be over, per se, but the perks may be enough to keep you excited about getting out of bed in the morning and tackling your day. 

When I was about 10, my family took a trip to San Francisco to see the “hippies” in Haight Ashbury.   I was exposed to “flower power,” and things that were great were called “groovy,” “bitchin” and “cool.”  Bell bottoms were all the rage; they left for a while and came back again recently.  I should have kept all the clothes I owned as a chunky 12-year-old because they would likely fit me today.  In my 60s, I could have been a fashionista/social media influencer.  What a thought!

I always used to think that retirement was for old people – too old to work 40+ hours a week or, perhaps, too tired. You’ve paid your dues. You did the 9:00 to 5:00 routine and you’ve earned your extended vacation. You can retire, take walks, read all the books you never had time to read while you were working, babysit the grandkids, and travel, travel, and travel some more.

Are you in a toxic job?  How do you tell what a toxic job is? Let’s discuss.

Toxic jobs are the ones where something is not quite right for you or downright stressful. Toxic jobs can affect your mental health by increasing your stress, reducing your self-esteem, supporting imposter syndrome, and even leading to post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD.

Let’s face it, as we get older, we likely have less energy and the things we used to do with ease sometimes become a little or even a lot more difficult. Tasks that were a piece of cake when we were in our 20s, 30s, and 40s might take a bit more effort after 50 and even more effort after 60.

The sad truth is that we don’t always have hindsight as we enter into the decision-making process and it’s critical to know yourself and to read the tea leaves (aka, red flags) about companies that offer you jobs. This way, you should never feel bad about the offers you turn down. Here are some stories about some of my experiences that you may relate to.

So, you’ve made one of your New Year’s Resolutions to find a new job.  Fortunately for you, January is one of the strongest months in the year for job postings and hiring.  Companies are finalizing budgets and hoping to hit the ground running; it's a great moment for you to put your best foot forward. But how do you navigate the increased competition and make the most of this job-search goldmine? Here are some recommendations to get you started.

Now that I don’t have a steady paycheck, every single hour I spend is precious. My time needs to be either producing income or providing other personal rewards. It’s great when I get both of those at the same time; a twofer.