An 88-year-old Guy Is My Version of "American Idol"

If you want to meet a guy with an inspiring life and attitude, meet James Flaherty.

 'Jim’ who’s 88, gets my weekly newsletter which happened to land in his email while he was sitting in the airport in Cabo San Lucas. He wrote me back while waiting for a plane back home to N.Y. and told me he'd just spent a week at the 'Modern Elder Academy'. 

 Sounded interesting so I wrote him back I wanted him to come on my show and report on what went on there.

 I had featured Jim Flaherty on my show earlier in the year after chancing upon a book he wrote that I spotted on an old wooden table in an old wooden General Store in Amenia, N.Y.

 I was sparked that day by the cover of “Dear Old Friends” but what really cracked me up and made me buy the book, is that while quickly scanning it I read he had started writing it in his 40s and finally finished it in his 80s. My kinda procrastinator!

 Jim has a big fun brain. Before becoming a writer, he worked in advertising, and his life, he says, was just like to the TV series "Mad Men”. Jim also built and ran a successful country inn and conference center called Troutbeck in Amenia NY for 30 years. It’s spectacular in case you’re ever headed in that direction.

 Why is Jim my ‘America idol’? Because at 88 he’s vibrant and positive, with no regrets and a belief that every day is a miracle. And because he wrote to me while I was sitting home pathetically with a heating pad on my lower back, while his spunky 88 year old self flew his butt to Baja, Mexico to attend a curious midlife wisdom school. I seriously need to learn from whatever he's doing. 

Jim's second book out now, "Embrace Your Age," is getting attention for its empowering message too, especially the importance of waking up with ‘purpose’. Jim wakes up every day doing some deep breathing exercises and thinking of ways to help others.

 So what was Jim’s ‘Modern Elder Academy Experience’ all about? He describes it as a place for navigating transitions and cultivating purpose in midlife and beyond. The age range of attendees at the Academy varied he said, with most being in their 60s and some in their 50s and 70s. Jim says midlife crises can occur between ages 40 and 70 and pointed out being 88, that he was the oldest person there that week. The highlight he said, was the comradery and the sense of community and connection formed there. He felt he left with having formed a whole new group of friends.

 Jim says, it's a place for navigating transitions and cultivating purpose in midlife and beyond. By the way, Forbes did a story on the Modern Elder Academy a few years ago and called it ‘The Cool School For Midlifers’. I read that it's the world’s first midlife wisdom school where you can unlock old hopes and discover new dreams in person beachside in Baja or in the creative corridor Santa Fe, or online from home in your pajamas. Sounds cool to me.

 Ya gotta love Jim Flaherty's energy and spirit. As for his future at 88? Well, he may teach a workshop at the Modern Elder Academy, but he’s also looking for an agent to sell his TV series, screenplay, and two novels. 

 Oh, and he wants me to come visit him back up in Amenia and take a swim in his indoor swimming pool. LOL .OK fine, fine, Jim, whatever youre doing I want to do  too. 

 Enjoy this podcast of our live radio conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. It’s truly an uplifting and motivational discussion on aging gracefully, finding purpose, and staying active and engaged in life's later years. It's about the cool way to get old.