One Hundred Years of Solitude
In their book The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, authors Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott point out the recent significant increase in human longevity and they suggest that the change in life expectancy should also adjust how we approach preparing for—and living—our lives. They contend that because many of us have the possibility of living into our 100’s, we (especially rising generations) should reconsider the conventional wisdom surrounding education, preparing for our careers, working, and planning for and taking retirement.
As a man-of-a-certain-age (55), this book inspired me, frustrated me, and raised a concern.
The inspiration came from my takeaways for my kids and the young adult leaders that I disciple. Gratton and Scott suggest that to flourish in a multistage life, people should pursue lifelong learning, embrace greater flexibility in their careers, and approach retirement from a different angle than has been generally accepted for generations.
This is all great news for someone in their teens, twenties, and thirties. Instead of a linear model of life development that’s been the norm for years (ie: graduate high school, go to university, get an entry level job, work your way up, save for a home and retirement, etc.,), a 100-year life calls for more flexibility, greater creativity, and an increased importance placed on “the intangibles” like peers, reputation, and balanced living.
Even with our old models of a 70-to-80-year-lifespan, I’ve long been an advocate for young adults traveling, taking gap years, serving on mission, and exploring the world with curiosity and wonder, making friends, and having experiences in places they never would have had they stuck with a linear plan. In many ways the suggestions in this book are supporting what I’ve been encouraging young people to do, anyways (so, perhaps I will gift this book to parents who still see the world through a 70-year lens).
Beyond life-planning takeaways for those I work with, this book provides some great resources for my NPO project, which is a a small book on intergenerational leadership partnerships in our church.
The 100-Year Life gives significant weight to relationships for a rising generation’s success: Both professional relationships (the “posse” of close collaborators that increases professional social capital[1]), as well as friendships that can provide “regenerative community.”[2] While one might assume that those relationships are limited to age-group peers, I would argue that cross-generational support is a ‘secret sauce’ that can help open doors for an accelerated trajectory of influence and authority.
Another important observation I want to mention was the need for a person to invest, as early as possible, in a good reputation that will pay social and occupational dividends later.[3] For younger leaders who might someday shepherd the church, cultivating a healthy reputation with both their peers and older leaders will pay off in the future.
My frustration with the book is really an annoyance with myself. I did travel, explore, and build a diverse relationship network when I was younger, and I have adapted my career and learning path to take advantage of many opportunities, However, I feel like in some ways taking full advantage of the advice given in this book is a ship that has sailed for me. Had I read this book when I was in my 20’s I think I might have felt more freedom to take Robert Frosts’s “road less traveled.” Since reading this book I’ve told more than one person “I wish this would have been written in the 80s.”
However, the fact that I am earning a doctorate at 55, and embrace multiple streams of service to my church, community, and denomination gives me some hope that my future is still full of wonder and opportunity. That even as I intend to stay in my primary role until my early 70s, that ‘retirement’ beyond that point can be full of meaningful Kingdom contributions for as long as I live and have the capacity to serve others.
Finally, a cautionary connection. In the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a man starts an insular utopian city that 7 generations of his family populate. In the end (after 100 years), both the city, and family, are destroyed. As humans increase our lifespans to and past 100, it’s tempting to think that we have so much more time to build something more meaningful, but Scripture teaches us that to have a heart of wisdom we must number our days rightly (Psalm 90:12). This isn’t just challenging us to count our years numerically and plan accordingly, but to also consider how every moment of our allotted time can align with God’s purposes in our world.
Because no matter how many years we have where we can build a bigger life, in the end anything we construct that isn’t eternal will burn to the ground anyways.
[1] Lynda Gratton & Andrew J. Scott. The 100-Year Life. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2017, 100.
[2] Gratton & Scott. The 100-Year Life. 109.
[3] Gratton & Scott. The 100-Year Life. 101.
About the Author
Tim Clark
I'm on a lifelong journey of discovering the person God has created me to be and aligning that with the purpose God has created me for. I've been pressing hard after Jesus for 40 years, and I currently serve Him as the lead pastor of vision and voice at The Church On The Way in Los Angeles. I live with my wife and 3 kids in Burbank California.14 responses to “One Hundred Years of Solitude”
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Thank you pastor Tim for your post. Here is my reflection summarized in a handful of words: It made me consider how we often chase the idea of more time, believing it will allow us to build something lasting. But if our focus isn’t on the eternal, does it really matter how many years we have?
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Great observation, Mat. You encapsualted my post well. So important to make the most of our lives, but much of making the most of our lives here is recognizing how our here lives align with eternity.
I’d like, subscribe, and share anythign from you, my friend!
Hi Tim,
I enjoyed your post.
You wrote, “However, I feel like in some ways taking full advantage of the advice given in this book is a ship that has sailed for me. Had I read this book when I was in my 20’s I think I might have felt more freedom to take Robert Frosts’ “road less traveled.”
At 65 I want to give you a note of encouragement. From my post Epilogue…..
We were warned about leaving food out and leaving food out with small children. The quiet Slovak hills were loaded with bears who wandered into the campsite looking for snacks (little kids included). Apparently, old men with coffee cups (although I discovered bears love the smell of coffee) are less tasty.
The quiet of the Kalacno forest surrounding our soccer field (substitute for a baseball field) was quiet, calming and I felt at peace with the world. Soon 200 children and staff would emerge in organized laughter and chaos, but this moment was mine.
Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead, by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder | Mar 18, 2016, speaks to my return to Eastern Europe this summer. Chaotic baseball and soccer drills, games, and bad camp food were knocking on my mental and spiritual door. The following I week I would be in Ukraine, then Hungary (the place of 26 years of missions’ work).
I was happy.
I also rediscovered my joy and perhaps my next stage of life’s GOD purpose – GoodSports Director for Ukraine and straight out of left field, GoodSports Kenya.
Apparently, at 65, God is not finished with me yet.
Let the games begin!
Russ,
RARE Leadership has been a HUGE part of my rediscovering myself in my mid 50’s. I use it in my NPO project to suggest training younger leaders as following those principles would help them be much heathier in the long run. But it’s not too late for old guys like you and me..thanks for the encouragement.
It’s that tension: 100 years to build a life that in the end will become ashes.
It’s the hope: that in those 100 years (or however many years we are gifted) we can leave the mark of love on those we leave behind.
I too, wish I’d read this when I was much, much younger. My husband and I keep saying we’ll travel in a few years…once the kids move out, once his business makes money, once… and we look forward to that travel together but what happens if life has other plans?
I love the tension and the hope you mention. Wow. Seriously, how profound.
And my wife and I are in the same boat. We have been blessed to do much but there are things we haven’t gotten to yet because of….life. “Later” we say, but what if there isn’t a later?
I think part of it is living in the moment but not for the moment.
I too felt many of things you have described as I was reading this book.
I was inspired.
I was challenged.
I could feel the dissonance and angst.
What I did was I kept a mental image of “Paul” – an elderly gentleman, former pastor, that lives in our city. If this guy is in his last stage, than it’s a vibrant one! He is thoughtful, funny, a sharp dresser, and a mentor to many.
I remember about 8 years ago I was sitting across the room from him at Starbucks. He was meeting with a younger pastor, his legs were crossed, and I saw some really flashy SOCKS he was wearing. Under my breath I said to myself – “I want to be like him when I grow up.”
Another Paul comes to mind even as I type…The Apostle Paul. The way he mentored, pastored, preached, and taught into his latter years is inspiring.
I want to adopt his motto (“what’s a motto with you?”) from 2 Timothy 4:6,7…
Paul told Timothy…”For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
That’s the spirit of the 100-year life!
John, I just answered Kalli with this sentence that I’m sure i didn’t make up, but wouldn’t be able to tell you who said it:
Key to life is learning to live in the moment but not for the moment.
What am I living for? What you said… the older I get the more I undersatnd pouring my life out as a drink offering, and lookign to help those coming behind me get a leg up into thier future.
This is a great post, Tim that has driven me to several thoughts. You said more eloquently than I could the tension that we face between planning wisely and not focusing too much on this temporary life we have here on Earth.
You also talked about “intergenerational leadership partnerships” which caught my eye and made me recall an aspect of my church upbringing for which I am so thankful. I have mentioned in various places that there were wide swaths of my childhood where I was the only child attending my church. Which meant I hung out with A LOT of old people in worship, volunteering and Bible study. To this day, I am so thankful for the experience of having those people with so much experience and time pour all their care and interest into my teenage person. In an uncertain world, what a great gift to have that kind of stability. Not to mention, that in this “cloud of witnesses,” I was always encouraged to fully participate- never did I feel discounted because of my age or lack of experience.
It sounds like you have taken that idea and turned it into a leadership model, which makes me smile to think about.
I’m working on turning it into a leadership model… we’ll see how I do 🙂
I love your lived experience with this. And it’s special. Not many kids anymore get that reality of intergenerational interest in church. I think that is key to healthy leadership transition.
Hey, my brother. I love how you brought out to invest as early as possible in a good reputation because it will pay social and occupational dividends. Actually, I have never thought that way but it is huge and something I will pass on to my kids and young people I invest in. We tend to believe we have a good reputation for glorifying Christ, which is excellent, but as you wrote, this can be broadened to think about the future. I also like how you cautioned us not to waste time if we believe we have many years to go. And as you know, we don’t know when our time is up. Thanks for the encouragement!
You bet, Todd. I hadn’t consdiered that either until I read this book. The investment in a good reputation paying massive dividends in the future is somethig I’ve discovered personally (both the good and bad) but this book brought it together for me.
Hi Pastor Tim!
Thank you for your inspiring post!
Your post also made me think about what I should prepare for if God grants me a 100-year life. I agree with your thought: “However, the fact that I am earning a doctorate at 55, and embrace multiple streams of service to my church, community, and denomination gives me some hope that my future is still full of wonder and opportunity.” My question is, how do you prepare yourself and the pastors across generations under your leadership so that the long life God grants will truly impact others?
Dinka, thanks for the question.
I think part of the anwser is to not see ministry as a job that has a start and end. While sometimes we will do jobs in ministry that are limited, the idea of serving Jesus is a lifetime until we see him face to face. If I consider it that way, I’m not preparing for an assignment as much as I am for an adventure.