After the end of the Second World War, peace was restored to
the world. People everywhere started to
rebuild their lives. Everything returned
to normal and this caused a sudden increase in many common everyday
activities. One such activity was
marrying and having babies. Thus there
arose a sudden increase in the number of babies born in those post-war years. The generation of children born eventually
came to be known as the 'Baby Boomers'.
There is some disagreement as to the exact beginning and end
dates of the baby boom, but the range most commonly accepted is as starting in
1946 and ending in 1964. The first baby boomer
in the is
Kathleen Casey-Kirschling who was born one second after midnight on 1 st
January 1946 in ,
This generation of adults had the unique experience
of growing up in a world being pieced back together after the ravages of
war. What was it like for them?
The baby boomers grew up into a brand new world. In many ways it was a world re-built from
scratch from the remnants of what the war left behind. New buildings and infrastructure were built. It was a world characterized by new
inventions such as the television, new forms of music like rock and roll and
new breakthrough achievements such as space exploration.
Socially, it was a time of great upheaval also. The assassinations of President John Kennedy,
his brother Senator Robert and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. stunned
the nation of America. The Vietnam war and the hippie subculture
were defining marks of the baby boomer generation especially for America.
Boomers have had to contend with some issues their parents
never had to deal with. For the first
time, people's life expectancy increased dramatically due to the cessation of
war and advancement of science. This,
coupled with the growing tendency to have children later in life led to boomers
having to care for two generations of family members at the same time. The early life of baby boomers was not easy.
The Present
Today, baby boomers have become a generation of leaders in
many ways. A large number of the rich
and famous of today are boomers. In 2004,
baby boomers held 80% of the wealth in the UK.
Bill Gates, Orprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, Steven
Spielberg are but a few in a long list of prominent boomers who have impacted
the world.
After much sweat and toil boomers today have matured and
lead the world in many fields. Nevertheless,
there are many who have not made it successfully by far. No matter what your definition of success may
be, there are many boomers who eke out a living working a 9 to 5 job, day in
day out until they retire and after that, have to depend on retirement benefits
to survive. Is there a better future for
such boomers?
It is naïve to think that the future will be easy. Ever since 9/11, the world has become a very
uncertain place and in many ways, even a fearful place to live in. Added to that, crude oil prices continue to
soar almost unabatedly, stock markets around the world are increasingly
volatile, healthcare costs continue to rise as real estate sales plummet and
the world's major economies stand at the brink of recession. Billionaire George Soros predicted
the world would experience the worst financial crisis since the end of Word War
II.
If you are still in your twenties, you stand a better chance
of weathering the storm largely because time and energy are on your side. But for boomers in their late forties to early
sixties who are still struggling financially, the future is daunting to say the
least. However it is not too late.
Despite the precarious conditions we live in today, there
also exists an unprecedented abundant reservoir of resources available. Never before has so much opportunity existed,
neither has it been faster to communicate with masses of people. Today it is easier to obtain knowledge and
information than ever before. Knowledge
is power. With the increasing
globalization of the world comes new ways of doing business and earning an
income.
The internet is a primary means of communication and
business that baby boomers can utilize to their benefit. Using internet technology, anyone can have an
online business to supplement income. If
you are a boomer, this is your golden opportunity to have your own income
generating business even if you have never been a business person before. I know this from personal experience, having
started an internet business for myself in my forties. My internet business will provide a means of
recurring income for my family well after my retirement.
So, all is not lost for us boomers. I believe it is time for the boomer
generation to rise up once again to seize the opportunities at hand to make a
better life for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. This time it is not a struggle to rebuild
life out of war but to reinvent ourselves in an ever-changing world. Will you be a re-inventor of yourself? Time and energy are no longer your allies but
wisdom and experience are.
Clarence Chan is a minister and internet marketer. His passion is to help people, especially Baby Boomers, achieve financial independence and prepare for their future.
Financially challenged? Get a FREE podcast series you can either listen to or read entitled, 'The Almost Magical Recipe for Making Money Online' from http://www.beyourownonlineboss.com
Disclaimer: All information on this site is
provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice
provided to you by any health care or other professional or
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