Don't trust anyone Over 30...Except our first 30 podcast guests!
Carl Landau | May 25, 2021
I'm not quite sure why I paused to reach out when we produced our 30th episode of I Used to be Somebody. The facts are that just a small percent of new podcasts actually hit 30 episodes. But I guess it's just that I'm having so much fun, our guests so inspire me, (and hopefully you!) and I'm happy to celebrate them! I'm happy to celebrate anything after the year we all just had.
Each week we get pretty attached to each guest. You really get a pretty good sense of who they are, what they've accomplished and what unretirement looks like for them. So I contacted our previous podcast guests and here's some of updates about what they're doing right now....
If you've accomplished something really cool, please let me know and we can share in future newsletters: podcast@pickleballmediahq.com
#1 Joe Pulizzi
"Well, as you know, I can't stay in retirement. New book launching May 25th Content Inc. and just launched the new media business for content entrepreneurs, The Tilt."
#2 Moira McGarvey Black
"My fourth book, a romantic comedy, came out this past February — Love On The Line — and I have a new thriller out on May 28 called A Text Before Dying, which is book #5."
#7 Jim Roddy
"I’ve launched a Walk-On Method Workshop that has generated tons of positive feedback from attendees of all ages – executives to staff to students about to enter the professional world. I was also named one of the world’s Top 100 Retail Influencers and named a Leading CannaTech Influencer."
#10 Debb McColloch
"I continue to serve on my various Boards: Neighborhood Gardens Trust had a very successful fundraising campaign called Dig Deeper; Community Ventures completed an affordable housing development and won a Blue Ribbon Award. I also learned a cool new quilting technique called Jelly Roll!"
#11 Mark Shaiken
"I have finished my next book, a bankruptcy law mystery called: “Fresh Start” which should be out the last part of June. I have started my next book, another bankruptcy law mystery called “Automatic Stay.” So, keeping busy in my new life!"
#14 Richard Haiduck
"New adventures include relocating to Pacific Grove, and also launching the audiobook version of Shifting Gears; 50 Baby Boomers Share Their Meaningful Journeys in Retirement."
#18 Val Haller
"Hooray! Live music is coming back and I can't wait to get in front of those stages again; I'm getting tickets to make up for a year's worth of sitting at home. And I'm excited to announce that we're bringing back our Winnetka Music Festival (N. Shore of Chicago) on Sept 11."
#20 Mike Drak
"Since last talking to you I have created a speaking tour, which we are quite excited about and I also hired a triathlon coach to make sure I make the starting line at Ironman Cozumel Nov/2022. I never thought I would pay someone to yell at me - I must be losing it."
#21 Ed Casey
"I'm very excited to share with you that a lifelong dream was fulfilled since we spoke and my short film, "The Trial and the Tribulations of Sally" was a finalist in the Best Director Film Festival in the UK. Then, we won a Special Jury Award for Editing for "Sally" in the Europe Film Festival - both in April. "
#24 Caroline Ceniza-Levine
"I am currently on a 4-week road trip – from Jax, FL up to Columbus, OH and then west to NM and CO before heading back to Jax. I’m leading workshops for audiences in Asia and the US and coaching clients as far as the UAE, all while enjoying places I have never been -- proof positive that the digital nomad life is viable at any age."
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Val Haller Interview: Bringing Music to the People!
Diana Landau | February 16, 2021
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This week's episode is an interview with Val Haller, Music Fan-Genius. After raising a family, Val launched her music business at age 50 in Chicago. Now 63, Val has authored a weekly music post for NYT called "Music Match" where she pairs classic artists with new artists. She is also a music festival producer (Winnetka Music Festival, year 4, 15,000 attendance), has her own podcast “Band in the Basement”, plus she’s created programs at Wrigley Field and the Botanical Gardens, and has been featured in Oprah magazine.
If you are reading this, you must check out her site, Valslist.com. Val realized all the way back in 2003 when the music world began to go digital, that people of the Boomer generation were still focused on careers and raising their families and had little time to learn about the exploding music universe. Val recognized there was a need and capitalized on it. She wants to help older people to be exposed to and appreciate new music.
On her website, you will find curated playlists that combine the groups we know and recognize from our generation, but paired with brand new bands, plus a little bio about them. I don’t know about you, but this blogger wanted to learn more about new music and did not know where to start. With Val’s playlists, you are way ahead of the game. You expand your music horizon, keep up with the times and (possibly) impress your kids with your incredibly cool playlists.
Val was entrepreneurial at a young age. Growing up, her family’s conversation around the dinner table was not typical. Her father was an entrepreneurial engineer so the questions were not, “How was your day?” but instead, “What would you invent? What would you change to make the world a better place?”
In college, she started a side business offering hair cuts to students. It grew it into a successful little side business, earning thousands. Ironically, Val gave a bad haircut to one particular student—who is now her husband and business partner.
Now, running a successful business takes up most of her time. On becoming an entrepreneur and working with your spouse, she offers these tips:
1) Define which rooms of the house you can talk business in.
2) Let each person be heard.
3) Stay in your own lane. It’s hard to do when you are both “Type A” people working hard together on something--but it works.
Bonus tip: Val goes full throttle in the high-energy music business, and is a fan of power napping. (This blogger is too.) Commit to 20-30 minutes each afternoon and you will feel refreshed and ready to keep going.
"I tell music agents, bands, producers that we're not your sexy audience, but we're your lucrative audience. We are important!" Val’s mission has been to make the world a better place, one creative playlist at a time. We think she’s killing it!.png)
Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” weekly blog.
