Love of the Week

It happens all the time. An academic study “discovers” something everyone already knows, like that people with dogs are happier, a real stunner, or, to reference my all-time favorite scholarly paper, that drivers start moving more slowly when they know someone is waiting for their parking space. (I am not making this up.)

And now this from a new report in the journal Geriatrics: People can age backward – again, not making this up – if they have a purpose in life.

This is very good news! But also, to someone like me, whose professional life is devoted to the study and manifestation of purpose, so staggeringly obvious I may need to lie down.

OK, fine. Hyperbole. Still here. Because in all seriousness, this is an important study in that it gives academic cred to a phenomenon that affects, well, everyone, or at least everyone lucky enough to get old. In short, it confirms that you get older more slowly, and can even reverse the signs of aging, if your life has meaning, direction, and momentum.

Good Lord, all roads lead to Becoming You, don’t they? If you listen to my podcast, you know I say that line as a joke all the time – but this time, I’m not being particularly ha-ha. I’m being heartfelt.

What a joy, truly, it is to be doing work that matters like this, work that helps people find their way in this crazy, upside down world, no matter how old they are. Some people think Becoming You is for students and mid-life pivoters. But our Intensives are filled with people who are about to retire or are well into it. I love seeing them in the room, raring to design their “third half,” as I’ve heard this period of life called. As a person who found her own purpose at 60, I can relate. (By the way, the next Intensive is coming soon, in May.)

I end almost every semester of Becoming You with a quote from Emily Dickenson: “We grow not older with the years, but newer every day.” I’ve always known these words to be true – I’ve seen it with my own eyes too many times to count – but now there is proof.

Purpose is an ageless pursuit, rendering us forever young at heart.

Hate of the Week

“College Graduates Are Facing the Grimmest Job Market in Years.” I saw this New York Times headline when I was out looking for new office space for Becoming You Labs, which keeps growing. That’s exciting. This news story is not.

It’s also not surprising.

You can debate the reasons: AI, geopolitical instability, interest rates. All are suspected culprits. But if you are looking for a job, or love someone who is, it doesn’t really matter. Searching for work in a contracting marketplace is exhausting and oh-so-draining.

Did I mention that all roads lead to Becoming You? Look, I am not trying to be funny here. There is a dangerous thing that happens when work gets scarce. Jobseekers doubledown on getting tactical. They start hitting that “Easy Apply” button like they're at a Vegas slot machine.

I get it. But spamming the universe with resumes before getting existential about what you should be doing is a fool’s errand. Employers, now newly picky, are looking for the people who think their job is their purpose in life.

Which means: You have to know your purpose in life to make that case to anyone.

That takes time, the last thing you think you have when you are looking for work. But it is time well spent, I promise you. Just as it’s never too late to find your purpose – see above – it is never too early either.

Hmm of the Week

I have been going to the same dentist for a long time, first because he’s great, and second because I have a knack for cavities. He keeps telling me it’s the gummy bears, and I keep forgetting to hear him.

Today, once again in the chair in his office, I said, “Howie, you may have the only job that AI can’t touch!” To which he spent the next hour explaining to me all the ways AI was, in fact, revolutionizing dentistry to the point that, eventually, I may even be able to fill my own cavities.

I couldn’t say much in response – I was in “Ahhhh” mode – but Howie’s expansive lecture was fascinating, and also a serious reminder that, well — all roads lead to Becoming You.

Because perhaps the only thing that will never change in this world is gummy bears and my love for them. Howie, see you soon.

And see you too, with love,

What's coming?

→ 92NY Secrets of Leadership Series with Suzy Welch tickets here

→ May 2026 Three-Day Becoming You Intensive here

Be Not Afraid (Part III): “Who Am I Without the Life I Had?”

Fear of change is powerful. But the deepest fear of all may be this: the fear of stepping into a life that is fully our own. In the final episode of this three-part series, we're revisiting one of my favorite stories — one that longtime listeners will remember well — about a solitary swan named Suzy. This episode concludes the Be Not Afraid series with a simple but challenging question: Are you waiting for life to change… or are you ready to begin again?

Tune in Here!