Audacity and Tenacity Power Retirement Olympians.

By Erica and Karen

We loved this comment to one of our reels: Sixty-five and ready to rise! Words to live by!

We also enjoyed French President Macron’s response regarding the hurdles to be overcome at the Paris Olympics:

Macron revealed behind-the-scenes moments of desperation on the first day when the French railways were hit by an unprecedented attack and rain poured down on the opening ceremony. Some people were desperate and saying it will be a nightmare,” he said. But in a moment of inspiration for him, he said, the performers carried on with even more energy because of the rain. ”And this is exactly the message: With audacity and tenacity, nothing will stop us,” Macron said. “We will make it.”

Also words to live by.

When our generation of women was entering the workforce, we needed all of these characteristics. We were more like 25 when we became ready to rise, but same idea. And thinking we might jump into fields dominated by men, hold on tenaciously for decades, no matter the hurdles, change everything, and emerge triumphant after long careers, was nothing if not audacious. We, too, when we faced obstacles, carried on with even more energy.

We’ve had. a lot of practice rising with audacity and tenacity, which is good because the struggle never really stops. Now, we’re in it again. Who knew that retirement was set in stone after it was built more than a century ago, to accommodate men who lived only a couple of years after retiring from an entirely different working world?

What do we want to change?

• First, why on earth in 2024 should 65 be considered an age at which we must leave the front and decamp to rocking chairs for thirty years? To quote Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, our anchor idea for the right retirement age—65 years old—originates from the time of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire might have remained in charge had its inhabitants enjoyed the healthy longevity we do.

• Second, more women than ever are in the retiree age population—at age 65, 125 women for every man, at age 85, 178 women for every man. Women are different from men. Women live longer. At the same time, many women are not as financially comfortable as men the same age. These facts alone suggest the obsolete structure of retirement needs to change. They also suggest that the people who should lead change are women. Had the women of the Ottoman Empire been in charge, who knows what might have happened? (We do not mean to suggest Ottoman women had no power. Just not enough.)

• Third, the world is different. There are untold ways to stay connected, to exercise influence, to pass along expertise, to engage with the wider universe. We no longer have to take a horse and buggy to communicate with someone—including someone half a planet distant. Even at the ripe old ages that occur after 65, we are fully functional. And most of us know many things that people younger than 65 would love to know.

So, we will rise with audacity and tenacity to challenge the status quo again. We will create a retirement that is animated by our vision of the next decades—not strive to fit ourselves into an antiquated structure that is no longer relevant.

Nothing can stop us now. The Ottoman Empire is over.