The Second Curve of Life – Arthur C. Brooks

How are you approaching the second half of life? There are inevitable declines to deal with. But there are gifts that emerge that, if you're attuned to them, can create greater meaning, renewed purpose, and happiness as you retire. Arthur Brooks, Harvard Professor and happiness columnist in The Atlantic, joins us to discuss his new book From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. Are you ready for The Second Curve? Arthur Brooks joins us from Massachusetts. __________________________ Bio Arthur C. Brooks is the Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard faculty in July of 2019, he served for ten years as president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world’s leading think tanks. He is also a columnist for The Atlantic, host of the podcast “How to Build a Happy Life with Arthur Brooks,” and subject of the 2019 documentary film “The Pursuit.”Arthur has written 12 books, including the national bestsellers “Love Your Enemies” and “The Conservative Heart.” His most recent book is “From Strength to Strength,” available on February 15, 2022. __________________________ For More on Arthur Brooks Order From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life Website: arthurbrooks.com Twitter: @arthurbrooks __________________________ Episodes You May Like Everyday Vitality – Dr. Samantha Boardman Successful Aging – Daniel Levitin Retire Happy – Dr. Catherine Sanderson Are You Ready for The New Long Life? – Andrew Scott ____________________________ Mentioned in This Episode HOW TO WANT LESS: The secret to satisfaction has nothing to do with achievement, money, or stuff. (The Atlantic) Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think: Here's How to Make the Most of It. (The Atlantic) Falling Upward by Richard Rohr _____________________________ Wise Quotes On The First & Second Curves "I noticed that analysis and innovation get harder as we get older and and I started looking into why that was. And there's a whole body of research that shows that there's something called fluid intelligence. Fluid intelligence is what makes you good at what you're good at. So you were a Wall Street (HR) guy and and what made you good at your job was that you were able to answer other people's questions and solve other people's problems faster than anybody else. That's what makes you really good in the knowledge business and the ideas business. And that gets easier, and better, through your 20s and and into your 30s. And then in your late 30s, according to the research, that fluid intelligence, the ability to do that actually starts to decline, and is really in free fall in your 40s. That's why certain things for people who are in perfectly good health and have high levels of skill, find their job getting harder and just more challenging than it used to be. That's why lawyers find that in their 40s they're not as sharp as they were in their 30s and surgeons find the same thing - whether they're willing to admit it or not. But here's the good news. Actually the research shows that's not your only intelligence. The first intelligence curve goes up and comes back down - but there's another intelligence curve behind it called the crystallized intelligence curve, which makes it much easier for you not to answer somebody else's questions, but to ask the right questions.