As we enter 2019, on the mind of many baby boomers are memories of the past.
Why?
Perhaps it's because boomers are aging. Or, perhaps they are increasingly reflecting more on the days that are past because their curious younger family members have been asking questions about the past lives of their boomer relations.
Whatever the case may be, these memories are, for many baby boomers, very rich in nature.
If a group of baby boomers gathered in the town square and reflected on their life experiences thus far, what would they talk about?
Perhaps there would be discussions about sitting in their living rooms as children watching television. Would their family look like the Cleavers, of "Leave it to Beaver"? Would those born between 1946 and 1964 be sharing their sports-related memories?
Would they be talking about legendary quarterbacks, like Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr?
Or, would the conversation turn to the college days of boomers?
Would discussions center on the Vietnam War? Or, would it turn to the music of the time?
Those between the ages of 54 and 72 will debate the merits of the music of their generation with people of any other generation. They will argue that the music associated with the boomer generation was something very special. Yes, something wholly memorable.
This does not solely apply to The Beatles, although that is the first group coming to mind for many. When boomers rave about their generation’s music, it could include everything from other music of the "British Invasion" to the sounds of The Grateful Dead.
After all, these were the songs lighting up dorm rooms of baby boomers all across America.
So often boomers are defined by the music experiences of Woodstock (Aug. 15 – 18, 1969) or the Monterey Pop Festival (June 16 – 18, 1967) but as popular as those music experiences were, they were actually only a subset of the total music experience of the baby boomer generation!
As the conversation continues among this hypothetical group of boomers in the town square, they might enumerate what they experienced when looking for and finding their first jobs out of college. Those were such different times — in many cases predating even the days of word-processing and voicemail.
But as baby boomers grew into their corporate life phase, they began their march with technology. Many boomers actually made their career growth path in tech companies, and of course, some of the great baby boomer businesspersons like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs defined a generation.
While in the workforce, most baby boomers experienced the Reagan revolution ushering in the Clinton economy; they also witnessed the Great Recession of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama eras.
Some baby boomers are now back again for an encore career under the Trump administration — for many of these baby boomers still want to make their mark in the workplace, maybe creating more new memories.
So baby boomers, as you experience the holidays this year, and welcome 2019, take a moment to reflect on the rich days from the life and times of other baby boomers.
Our generation possesses a rich history.
Maybe, just maybe, a young relative will even ask you about your younger days. I bet you'll have a lot to tell them!
Rick Bava founded and was CEO of the Bava Group, which became the premier communications consulting firm serving the Fortune 500 community. Bava became known for his popular blog columns "Rick Bava on the Baby Boomer Generation." He is the author of "In Search of the Baby Boomer Generation." For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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