More About Press Releases

Due to the response of the recent press releases at PRWeb, we will be posting a new one every few weeks in the hope of creating some buzz about the book.

Being a marketer for my book is far more difficult than actually writing it. My goal was to get the information about the value of lifelong learning for older adults into the hands of those who can most benefit by it. Doing that, however, is proving difficult.

But, little by little, the word is getting out. You can help by spreading the word to anyone you know who is thinking about or beginning to plan for retirement. They will thank you.

Here is the second press release we sent out.

TOP TEN BENEFITS OF LIFELONG LEARNING

New research from the 1990s – mandated by the United States Congress as the “Decade of the Brain” – shows that brains, even aging brains, continue to grow and thrive as long as they are challenged and stimulated. “One of the best methods for doing so, is through lifelong learning – the continued educational experience of older learners who are involved in non-credit academic study, educational travel, and community service,” says Nancy Merz Nordstrom, M. Ed. and the author of “Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years” (Sentient Publications: ISBN: 1-59181-047-7). For 78 million Baby Boomers keenly interested in a more active and healthy retirement, lifelong learning is proving to be an essential part of their everyday life.

Scientific research from the 1990s now reveals that more than ever before, a challenged, stimulated brain may well be the key to a vibrant later life. As 78 million Baby Boomers prepare to redefine their own retirement, news that staying active and keeping their brains constantly engaged may help stave off mental and physical ailments and diseases has many asking how best to do so. The answer is simple: lifelong or later-life learning.

Lifelong learning is the continued educational experience that utilizes non-credit academic courses, educational travel, and community service and volunteerism to fully engage the brain, heighten physical activity, and maintain healthy social relationships.

Lifelong learning guru Nancy Merz Nordstrom advocates this three-pronged approach as a vital ingredient for the Baby Boomer lifestyle or anyone in their “after-50” years. “When you look at the benefits gained from keeping your mind sharp, it’s incredible. Lifelong learning is like a health club for your brain. And an active mind can stimulate physical activity and keep your spirits high. It’s an all-around fantastic tool for better health.” Scientific experts agree. According to Paul Nussbaum, Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychologist & International Consultant on Aging and Health Promotion, "In Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years," Nancy Merz Nordstrom has correctly championed lifelong learning as a proactive lifestyle for overall personal development and a primary factor for brain health!"

Courtesy of her groundbreaking book, “Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years” published by Sentient Publications (ISBN: 1-59181-047-7) Nordstrom offers the Top Ten Benefits of Lifelong Learning.

10. Lifelong learning helps fully develop natural abilities.
“We all have innate natural abilities,” says Nordstrom. “Some of which might not be readily apparent. Once we’re no longer working full time, we have the opportunity to fully explore and develop these abilities.”

9. Lifelong learning opens the mind.
An integral part of lifelong learning is the free exchange of ideas and viewpoints among older learners. Says Nordstrom, “There’s nothing like listening to or taking part in stimulating discussions to help us see the other side of an issue. That give-and-take opens our minds and brings us to a whole new level of enlightenment.”

8. Lifelong learning creates a curious, hungry mind.
The more older learners discover about history, current events, politics, or the culture of other countries, the more they want to learn. According to Nordstrom, “There’s a big world out there just waiting for our exploration. Our drive and desire to learn fuels itself and we keep going, constantly looking for more to feed our hungry minds.”

7. Lifelong learning increases our wisdom.
“Lifelong learning enables us to put our lives in perspective,” says Nordstrom. “It increases our understanding of the whys and the whats of previous successes and failures, and it helps us understand ourselves better. We more fully develop the wisdom that can come with later life.”

6. Lifelong learning makes the world a better place.
Through the community service aspect of lifelong learning, older learners can give back to their communities and to the world. “We’ve spent 30, 40 or more years interacting with the world,” says Nordstrom. “What we’ve learned during that time can be translated into real value for the betterment of society. Our wisdom, insight – it’s all of tangible benefit to the world around us.”

5. Lifelong learning helps us adapt to change.
Society is in a state of constant flux. Often as we age we might feel like the proverbial “old dog that can’t learn new tricks.” “Not true at all,” says Nordstrom. “Lifelong learning enables us to keep up with society’s changes - especially the technological ones. A learning environment with our peers not only makes it possible to stay abreast of change, it also makes it fun.”

4. Lifelong learning helps us find meaning in our lives.
“Sometimes it’s difficult looking back on our lives,” says Nordstrom. “But lifelong learning gives us the benefit of real perspective and enables us to find true meaning in the hills and valleys of our past.”

3. Lifelong learning keeps us involved as active contributors to society.
No longer content to sit in a rocker on the porch wiling away the hours, today’s retirees and Baby Boomers about to retire want and demand more from their later years. “We’re out and about,” says Nordstrom. “We’re taking part in educational programs, traveling all over the world, and offering our expertise to society through meaningful community involvement. We’re not a strain on society; we’re an incredible asset.”

2. Lifelong learning helps us make new friends and establish valuable relationships.
No one enjoys loneliness. And through lifelong learning, older adults are meeting new people, forging friendships and relationships with others, and enjoying an active social life. “Lifelong learning is a brilliant way to keep in touch with people, meet new friends, and enjoy life surrounded by the company of folks who are truly embracing the excitement of our later years.”

1. Lifelong learning leads to an enriching life of self-fulfillment.
According to one lifelong learner from New York, “We base everything on the belief that our capacity to learn and grow does not decrease as our years increase.” Concludes Nordstrom, “Through academic learning, educational adventure travel and our renewed sense of volunteerism, we expand our awareness, embrace self-fulfillment, and truly create an exciting multi-dimensional life. It doesn’t get any better than that!”

Nancy Merz Nordstrom (Email: learninglater@comcast.net) is a frequent consultant to news organizations and outlets eager to discuss the redefinition of retirement for the Baby Boomer generation. She blogs at numerous websites and is one of lifelong learning's preeminent experts.

ONE DAY UNIVERSITY
Don’t forget… You can test the waters of lifelong learning and save 15% at the same time! Spend a day listening to award winning professors from Harvard, Yale, Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, The University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and other top tier schools, who come together to offer you an elite, live classroom learning experience.

Check out www.onedayuniversity.com to learn more, and see if there’s a one-day university near you. If so, when you register, thanks to your reading of this blog, you will get a 15% discount on the cost of the program. Just type in the word “LIFELONG” as your coupon code when you register at the website, or use it when calling 800-811-8821 to register. It’s that simple!

For more information on “Learning Later, Living Greater” visit www.learninglater.com

You can purchase “Learning Later, Living Greater” at www.amazon.com

Till Next Time...

PRWeb.com

Recently, we posted a press release on PRweb.com and thanks to that posting, the sales rank at Amazon.com for “Learning Later, Living Greater” took a steep upward climb…Yea!

Here is a copy of the press release:

New Baby Boomer Book Seeks to Redefine Retirement Through Lifelong Learning

Learning Later, Living Greater" by Nancy M. Nordstrom, M. Ed. helps 78 million Baby Boomers redefine their retirement experience using lifelong learning, educational travel, and community service. "Learning Later, Living Greater" (ISBN: 1591810477) from Sentient Publications has been hailed as a "must-read" by the Midwest Book Review and retirement experts alike for its mass consumer appeal and volume of information. Nancy M. Nordstrom (Email: learninglater@comcast.net) is a frequent consultant to news organizations and outlets eager to discuss the redefinition of retirement for the Baby Boomer generation. She blogs at numerous websites and is one of lifelong learning's preeminent experts.

For the coming wave of 78 million Baby Boomers standing on the brink of the biggest change yet, the future is filled with uncertainty about how to maintain an active and involved lifestyle for the next 20 to 30 years. Lifelong learning may be the key that opens the door to that next life phase.

Lifelong learning is a new kind of health club for the mind, body and spirit. It keeps older adults alert, active, and connected to their communities and is critical for making the most of the “after-50” years. The findings are presented in a new book, Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years, by Nancy Merz Nordstrom, M.Ed. and Jon F. Merz, recently released by Sentient Publications.

Nordstrom, who directs the Elderhostel Institute Network, North America’s largest educational network for older adults, says, “People who engage in structured lifelong learning activities are vibrant, interested in life, and active in their communities. They love to learn for the sheer joy of learning something new.”

Thanks to a vast array of opportunities available in the lifelong learning world today, older adults now have the chance to make their later years far more exciting than they ever dreamed possible. The book shows how incorporating lifelong learning into this next life phase will mean minds will be more stimulated, bodies more active, and spirits more fulfilled.
A healthy Mind/Body/Spirit connection is critical to getting the most out of life at any age. As people age, however, this connection becomes even more important. Lifelong learning, as older adults are discovering, can help strengthen that connection.

A study conducted for AARP by Roper Starch Worldwide, Inc. in 1999 bears this out. It showed that over 90% of surveyed adults age 50 and older do plan to continue learning as they age. When asked why, participants said they wanted to keep up with what’s going on in the world. They also wanted to continue their personal/spiritual growth, and have fun by learning something new.
Learning Later, Living Greater focuses on three ways people can get involved in lifelong learning. They can take non-credit classes on a wide variety of topics at local lifelong learning programs. Older adults can also learn and explore the world through educational travel programs or they can choose to give back to their community by using their skills and experiences to help enrich the lives of others through meaningful civic service. “Lifelong learning is really all about ways to keep the mind, body and spirit stimulated, challenged and fully engaged in the “After-50” years,” Nordstrom says. Recent studies seem to indicate this is true. During the 1990s, the congressionally-mandated Decade of the Brain, research at Harvard, Duke and Johns Hopkins Universities, among many others, showed that keeping brains, even aging brains, challenged and stimulated helps retain mental alertness. In short, the brain’s physical anatomy actually responds to enriching mental activities. In the words of Dr. Paul Nussbaum, Director of the Aging Research and Education Center in Pittsburgh, PA, “…every time your heart beats, 25% of that blood goes right to the brain. But while exercise is critical, it may be education that is more important. In the 21st century, education and information may become for the brain what exercise is for the heart.”
Nordstrom concurs. “Just like the human heart, the brain needs to be nurtured,” she says. “So lifelong learning can easily be considered a health club for the brain.”

There are other benefits to be derived from lifelong learning as well. The Mind/Body connection is an important one. The belief that one’s thoughts and actions can influence health is not a new concept. Recent neuroscience and behavioral studies indicate that the mental, physical and emotional habits of older adults play a significant role in cognitive functioning and a sense of general well-being. Significant evidence suggests that coordinating the interaction between the mind and the body can produce amazing results, according to the book.

“Lifelong learning plays a major role in this coordination because it helps balance both the mind and body,” says Nordstrom. “Balance leads to feeling better, and feeling better leads to more activity. It’s a wonderful circle of enhanced wellness that helps create a well-balanced later life.”

Engaging in lifelong learning also promotes the social interaction that is often lacking after leaving a full-time job. “People join lifelong learning programs as much for the social aspects as for the learning,” she says. Outdoor programs, field trips, luncheons, parties, and travel far and near, give older adults the opportunity to make new friends, engage in stimulating give-and-take discussion, and share in life’s ups and downs with like-minded people.

Learning Later, Living Greater is filled with first person accounts, interviews with experts in the field, and quotes from lifelong learners like the one from David, a New Yorker, who says, “We have a fantastic program for personal discovery. We base everything on the belief that our capacity to learn and grow does not decrease as our years increase. In fact, through learning and the adventures we embark on, we actually embrace self-fulfillment.”
The book goes on to say that making lifelong learning part of one’s later years also fosters a sense of personal empowerment, increases self-esteem, and continues growth and intellectual stimulation, leading to a more enriched lifestyle.

Learning Later, Living Greater is all about introducing adults over or nearing age 50 to the ideas and benefits of lifelong learning. It challenges them to become involved in meaningful new avenues of productivity: learning in the classroom, or through educational travel, volunteerism, civic action, and more. It shows adults how to stay mentally and spiritually young. Learning Later, Living Greater is a guidebook for transforming the after-work years into a richly satisfying period of personal growth and social involvement.

WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE TO SAY…

Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. Founder and CEO of Age WaveAuthor of Age Wave, Age Power, The Power Years and Workforce Crisis
"Learning Later, Living Greater is a terrific resource for navigating the uncharted waters of revolutionary retirement trends and lifestyles. Nancy Merz Nordstrom has written a compelling and user-friendly guide to lifelong learning and, in many ways, a complete redefinition of the after-50 years. Every Baby Boomer should grab a copy of this optimistic and helpful book."

Marc Freedman, President & Founder of Civic Ventures
“Unlike most other books on life after 50, Learning Later, Living Greater connects the dots between lifelong learning, community service, health, and happiness. It promises to be a great help to all those who believe that they can make their greatest contributions in the second half of life.”

Paul Nussbaum, Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychologist & International Consultant on Aging and Health Promotion
"In Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years," Nancy Merz Nordstrom has correctly championed lifelong learning as a proactive lifestyle for overall personal development and a primary factor for brain health!"

Robert Otterbourg, Author Retire & Thrive. Kiplinger Books
”Becoming a student at age 50 plus is an exhilarating experience. "Learning Later, Living Greater" shows the nearly unlimited opportunities for those who want to broaden their retirement lifestyle.”

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