2025 February 11 Aging: the cure can be you

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Hi, this is Jim Cranston from 7EveryMinute and 7EveryMinute.com, the podcast and website about reimagining your life. Thanks for joining me today to talk about the positive aspects of aging. So, let's get started! If you like what you hear today, please leave a like, subscribe, tell your friends, or send me a message.

Tonight, I want to talk about a few age-related topics. Over the past couple of weeks, there have been a number of interesting stories vying for attention, so I decided to mention three of them tonight. The common thread among them is that they all represent a shift in how people—and society as a whole—are thinking about aging, retirement, and what retirement even means.

We talk a lot here about retirement and all the aspects of it, but as I’m sure you’re aware, the general perception of aging and the older population hasn’t really changed much. If anything, it certainly hasn’t improved over the past few years and, in some ways, may have even gotten worse. But what I find interesting about these stories is that they offer a different perspective—one that’s starting to get attention in both the mainstream medical press and the financial world. It’s refreshing to see this shift beginning to take hold, and while I’ve touched on some of these topics before, this is a slightly different take on them.

The first story was about a growing debate in the scientific and medical communities over whether aging should be considered a disease. As the article pointed out—and I completely agree—there are many risks to thinking about aging in that way. For starters, the word disease carries inherently negative connotations. It suggests something harmful, something that needs to be fixed. But aging actually has many benefits.

Beyond the negative connotations, if aging is labeled as a disease, then logically, there ought to be a cure. That mindset opens the door for an entire anti-aging industry focused on "curing" aging as if it were something to be eradicated. But the big question is, what exactly does it mean to age? What kind of aging are we referring to?

As we age, different aspects of ourselves age at very different rates. So, what exactly are you trying to cure? And is it really a cure, or is it more of a preventative approach? Plus, as we’ve discussed before—especially in reference to Dr. Becca Levy—she has a really uplifting viewpoint on aging. There are already many simple, preventative ways to stave off the effects of aging, and most of them involve things like physical and mental activity, socializing, and eating a basically balanced and healthy diet.

None of these are magical solutions. But one thing that’s often talked about is the massive health costs associated with ageism. The numbers are just staggering. One study Dr. Levy worked on estimated that the total healthcare costs due to ageism are about $63 billion every single year.

These costs come from both the psychological effects of ageism and the incorrect decisions made in healthcare and other areas due to age-related assumptions. The good news is that this discussion is finally starting to happen, especially within the scientific community, which, as we know, can sometimes be a little set in its ways. But now, advocates are stepping up, pointing out the harm caused by these outdated assumptions, and highlighting the opportunities that are right in front of us.

That brings me to the next article. It’s about the newly approved AirPods hearing aids. And here’s the really short version: they work okay for some people, but they’re pretty ineffective for many others. They don’t stay in your ears nearly as well as traditional hearing aids do, and if you want to wear them all the time, you’ll need to buy a couple of pairs because the battery life is pretty short.

So, there you go—I just saved you a bunch of money! No need to rush out and buy one or two pairs. But, in all seriousness, they’re probably worth trying for some people, depending on their needs.

But honestly, dedicated hearing aids have a lot of application-specific features that have been fine-tuned over time. I can remember one of my uncles wearing hearing aids back in the 60s, so they've been working on this technology for quite a while.

Dedicated hearing aids come with features like relatively long battery life and loop pickups for assisted hearing. There’s a little symbol that looks like an ear. If you see that symbol, it means there’s a loop in the floor. Basically, you turn your hearing aid on to listen for it, and instead of waiting for the sound to travel through the room, picking up echoes and distortions before being amplified, the system sends the sound directly from the source into your hearing aid. No distortion, no interference.

You’ll see this setup in places like museums, some ballparks, theaters—anywhere that really wants to make sure people with hearing aids get the best possible sound quality. It’s a huge deal for those who rely on hearing aids.

But as interesting as that is, there's another new Bluetooth standard coming out. Actually, it's already out, and I believe three hearing aid manufacturers are supporting it—though I could be wrong, that might be slightly outdated information. It’s called AuraCast. Bluetooth AuraCast—think of it as kind of like radio over Bluetooth. With a regular radio, you don’t have to pair your device with the radio station. You just tune in to the right frequency, and suddenly you’re listening to W-whatever or K-whatever. That’s the basic concept behind AuraCast.

The big advantage over traditional hearing loops is that AuraCast is much easier to install in a facility and much easier to integrate into a hearing aid. So, we’re seeing some major technological advances right now that still give hearing aids an important place in the overall spectrum of hearing solutions.

And actually, another neat thing about most hearing aids—probably at this point, the majority of them—is that, besides all their other specialized features, they can also connect to your phone. So, it’s not like using AirPods suddenly gives you some groundbreaking new ability. Hearing aids already do that.

That’s why I’d caution you not to get too caught up in the hype. The AirPod-style versions might work well for some people, but they aren’t actual hearing aids. It’s still really important to speak with a hearing or medical professional and explore all your options. Some of the new hearing aids on the market have some pretty incredible features.

And just to reiterate, I have no financial stake in this—I don’t gain anything from talking about it. But I do have firsthand experience working on improving hearing accessibility at my church. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve been involved in making sure people with hearing impairments can hear better during services. That’s why I’m personally excited about AuraCast. Instead of installing an entire loop system, you can just put up one or two transmitter boxes for the whole congregation, and boom—you’re online and good to go.So, some exciting things are just around the corner.

The next and final story is about an investor named Katerina Stropaniadi. She came to the U.S. from Greece as an entrepreneur, built a successful business, and, after a while, decided she wanted to start investing in other startups.

At some point, she came across an MIT study—I forgot the exact year, but it was a few years back—that looked at the ages of successful entrepreneurs. And unlike what we see in the movies, the average age wasn’t some 22-year-old coding in a garage—it was actually almost 42 years old.

Then she learned about Morris Chang. If you’re in the semiconductor industry, you’ll recognize his name—he founded TSMC, the multibillion-dollar chip manufacturing company in Taiwan. And guess what? He was in his fifties when he started it.

That research led Katerina to focus on investing in entrepreneurs over 50—people who bring not just fresh ideas but also decades of experience and industry connections. Older entrepreneurs often have more to lose—whether it’s an established career, a steady paycheck, or tangible assets like a home—so they tend to be more careful with money and more realistic in their approach.

That said, while they might be slightly more conservative when it comes to risk-taking, they also have the experience to recognize where the real opportunities are. So, the expected returns on their ventures tend to be about the same as younger entrepreneurs, but with lower risk.

That’s the classic win-win situation for investors. Once again, Katerina is capitalizing on what much of society sees as a weakness—but in reality, it's a strength. The only reason some people dismiss it is that they don’t fully understand the potential.

And actually—there was one more story I was going to skip, but you know what? It’s kind of a cute one, so let’s talk about it.

There’s a couple who retired together, and they’ve been writing a monthly column for The Wall Street Journal in the personal section. They share insights on what to expect in retirement—the ups, the downs, the surprises, and the things they thought they’d feel but didn’t... or the things they didn’t expect to feel but did. It’s an interesting read. Their names are Karen Kreider Yoder and Stephen Kreider Yoder.

Now, I’ve talked about them before, but what makes them especially unique is that they’ve spent most of their lives traveling by tandem bicycle. They’ve toured the U.S., traveled overseas, and just generally spent a lot of time biking, camping, and meeting people along the way. And even now, in retirement, they’re still riding—getting to places that are tough to reach by car. 

But this time, they decided to rent a camper. At first, their reaction was something like, “A camper? I can’t believe we’re in a camper!”—a bit of resistance to the idea.

They took it to San Francisco and pulled up at a beach, arriving late, just as it was getting dark. Normally, if they were on their bikes, they’d be thinking, “Now we have to set up our tent in the dark. It’s going to be a hassle—we still need to cook and do everything else.”

But in the camper, they just pulled up, turned it off, switched on the lights, turned on the stove, put on some music, and had dinner. And Karen admitted, “You know... this is actually kind of nice. I could get used to this.” Stephen, on the other hand, was less convinced. “No, no, I still want to go biking.” I think that might be a future argument between them.

But Karen made an interesting point in the article. She said that when they bike, the journey itself is the adventure—but by the time they get there, they’re exhausted. After biking all day, all they really want to do is eat, relax for a bit, and rest.

With the camper, it was different. The trip there was fine, but once they arrived, that’s when the adventure really began. They had enough energy to go hiking—something they normally wouldn’t have done after a long day of biking. They had more time to meet people and explore the area.

And that, I think, is what retirement offers: the chance to see and experience the world differently. Not necessarily better or worse—just different. It gives you a new perspective. And sometimes, slowing down a little isn’t such a bad thing.

It gives you a different perspective. It makes you think more carefully about the choices you’ve made—and the ramifications of those choices. Sometimes, that leads to small changes. Other times, it leads to big ones.

Much like the couple revisiting places they’d been before and realizing, “Wow, we’ve never actually walked this trail.” They had been so focused on one aspect of the experience that they completely missed another.

And that’s true throughout retirement. There are countless ways to enjoy life, countless ways to move through it. If you stay open-minded and try new things, you’ll find that it’s not about losing out on an experience—it’s about discovering a new way to experience it.

So, that’s it for the evening—a quick look at how attitudes are shifting for the better. There are still so many opportunities out there. The biggest takeaway? Never doubt yourself based on what others say. Have confidence in your own abilities. Capitalize on your strengths instead of focusing on perceived weaknesses. And don’t be afraid to try something new.

New opportunities are always coming our way. Our natural tendency is to be cautious, and as we age—whether we’re approaching retirement or already there—we often view change as a negative. But sometimes, that negativity comes from looking at things through a younger lens.

Like the couple finally walking the hills around the beach and thinking, “Wow, what a gorgeous view.” They had never been able to see it that way before.

It was right there the whole time—they had just been so focused on a different aspect of the experience. So, driving there instead of biking wasn’t a negative thing. It was just different. And that difference opened up new opportunities for them. That’s true for all of us throughout retirement.

So, your homework tonight is to think: Which way is easier for you to view aging—as a disease or as a natural process? A process in which we have a lot of input through our own actions, shaping how it unfolds. I’ll admit I’m a bit biased here—but I think you’ll find that viewing it as a process we influence is not only more comfortable but also much more empowering.

Before we go, I want to remind you about UKR7.com, which links to organizations supporting the people of Ukraine. Hopefully, that situation will resolve equitably before too long, but for now, they still need help.

I also encourage you to check out World Central Kitchen at WCK.org. They do incredible work in disaster areas, providing food and basic needs to people immediately after crises.

Of course, if you prefer to give locally, that’s just as valuable. And if you’re not in a position to donate right now, remember—there are so many ways to make the world a little better. Just smiling at someone, saying good morning, or offering a small act of kindness can brighten someone’s day. Those little moments add up, changing the world in powerful ways over time.

As I always say, One of the best ways to care for yourself is to care for others. When you look beyond yourself, your entire perspective shifts.  

Thank you for stopping by. If you found something interesting or useful, please share it with others. Subscribe and hit that like button, and if there’s something you’d like to hear, drop me a comment. Have a great week. Live the life you dream of, because that’s the path to true contentment. Love and encouragement to everyone. See you next week on 7EveryMinute and 7EveryMinute.com.