at IdeaFunding in Tucson
Bob Morrison asked if I would come and speak — it was months away so it was easy to say yes. During the intervening months I would occasionally flip the calendar and see this pending trip to Tucson and each time I would enjoy indulging in the quandary:
What would I talk about?
Even as recently as last month when El Tour de Tucson brought me back for the epic 29th year of this Century ride; I knew I’d soon be returning but that’s where my anticipation lingered — I wasn’t procrastinating, but enjoying some premonition that as the time approached the speaker in me would arrive.
Last month I sat on a panel in Los Angeles; the topic was “Getting the Word Out”. Easy for me. The audience: bike advocates. Since I’ve seldom addressed the cycling world I did prepare in advance and worked well into the late night hours to refine my thinking, to deliver a crisp message. And out of this weekend in Little Tokyo came a new template which as the run up to Tucson couldn’t be avoided any longer, found new life in a new talk: “Staying Relevant in Retirement”.
from "Staying Relevant in Retirement"
As I often do, the first half of any talk is used to engage the audience, to share a few laughs, to knock them off balance for what will come next. I get invited to these events because of theFrankPetersShow which has consumed the past 6 years. I’m approaching 360 interviews and although I lament how few listeners I hear back from, it’s these conferences that get me in touch with my audience. “Your famous,” the greeting as I pick up my name tag is quite enthusiastic. I’ve learned to take it in stride.
I start counting — How many visits to Tucson over the past 5 years?
Whatever the trip count, I know many of the Desert Angels. Bob Morrison roped me in when he was first organizing the SW Regional Angel Summit; it’s brought me back each Spring since. Curtis Gunn’s a long time listener, now DA President for two years; we recently pal’d around in Puerto Rico. We’ve biked Tucson Ciclavia together and El Tour separately. Curtis arranged an introduction to Richard DeBernardis, the man behind one of the oldest and most successful fund-raising bike rides in the country. Sharing Richard’s life story on my cycling blog was a giant step to attracting more listeners in that universe.
Desert Angel President Curtis Gunn and Tucson VC Harry George share the stage
All these thoughts: the travel, the bike riding, my new found interest on leaving the world in a microscopically better state than when I found it are the themes that throb through this current phase of life. It would be easy to share this sentiment and find common ground with this equally gray-haired group, who I suspect are similarly motivated to leave some long term impact for the greater good.
So “Staying Relevant in Retirement” seemed a suitable title for this Tucson talk. I would be invited to sit on two panel discussions at this IdeaFunding event, then be dinner speaker, too. This opportunity to contribute, to share a few pertinent ideas — as I awake the day after I realize, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, I am staying relevant in retirement just by being here.
