Planning Successful Community Engagements

For the past 20 years, Promotions West has been working to engage corporations, government institutions and community-based organisations to understand how to connect with priority populations or as what they use to be called, communities of colour. Today we call it community engagement which can include anything from the development of social marketing or media campaigns, advertising, community outreach, ethnographic research or simply WOM, short for word of mouth connections.

One of the key ingredients in the recipe of working with specific populations is to develop and build trust. Over the years, priority communities have been raped by outsiders entering their communities offering gift cards and sandwiches for an invaluable amount of information on how they could make the community a better place to live and be healthy. In reality, many never returned once information was gathered and used, but not to benefit the audience answering all the questions and sharing great ideas. Why? Well, if you are a person of colour you will understand that this has been the norm for many years. It's called the old bait and switch game. Soon, those needing that information became wiser and started hiring people who looked like someone from the community they were attempting to reach.

What were the results? Same results, no one ever returned or helped to improve anything at all. Today, community members and stake holders are much smarter and aware of the games to rob them of their brilliant ideas. As a result, it's much harder to get into communities, regardless of what you look like or sound like. The secret is to be genuine when you go into any community. If not, you will be seen as a fake. Stakeholders and community members can smell fakes a mile away, trust me. The first few times you visit a community practice active listening to hear and to listen to what community members desire. Community stakeholders will tell you everything you need to create a successful campaign but most people don't listen. I have often shared my philosophy of the way we do business at Promotions West and it's simple. We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. It's important to be able to read non-verbal body language in the room at all times.

At Promotions West we have developed a guide to help organisations reach African Americans or Black populations. We are in the process of updating that guide to include reaching the Latinx communities. The guide is free and can be downloaded from the Promotions West website. We are in the process of developing a checklist to help community-based organisations to have a better understanding of how to drive their own communications campaign without being told what to do by outsiders smiling and offering them funding. From our years of experience working with priority communities all over the country, we have noticed that organisations apply and receive funding to create social marketing or social media campaigns and/or events to their populations. The checklist is being designed to assist agencies to consider specific items before launching a campaign. The checklist is being designed to reaching African American, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Transgender communities.

COVID-19 has been influential in how we all do business now. Across the country, communications with priority communities has failed because those communities always receive information as an afterthought. Many communities feel that it's on purpose. For every single disease, priority communities or people of colour remain at the top of the list. Just to name a few would include breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, asthma, HIV, coronavirus, and infant mortality rate to name a few. COVID-19 is providing us with an opportunity to redesign how we conduct business across the board.

At Promotions West we are in the process of creating public relations and marketing workshops designed to equip organizations with the tools to strategically develop their communications and project plans in reaching priority communities. Remember, ethnic media is an essential partner to engage when reaching out priority audiences.

As our audiences change, engagement can be achieved through social media networks such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snap Chat, TikTok, YouTube, Vimeo and blogging. A good way to organize your social media activities is by using Hootsuite, an all-encompassing app to promote your messages easier. There are a variety of similar apps that can also be used. We facilitate sessions with small to medium-sized organizations about social media and how to get started. Usually Promotions West will create social marketing pages, develop social media templates for key stories and events and develop a timeline with clear dates. After 3 to 6 months, agencies or organizations will feel comfortable taking the lead. It's our goal to educate, demonstrate and provide the tools for agencies to take the leadership role. 

Here are some helpful tips to reaching your audience:

Getting Started:

• After discussion with team members, identify who you are trying to reach and why.
• Define the project.
• List your goals and objectives.
• Brainstorm on creative ways to reach your audience.
• Develop a clear message that you want to deliver to your audience.
• Identify the amount of money that you are able to spend on this project.
• List any ideas on ways to promote the message (WOM-Word of Mouth, Outdoor Advertising, Radio, Television, Print, Outdoor Advertising, promotional items, mall advertising, community events, digital or via community outreach workers).
• Evaluation is key - Consider ways that will tell you that your project or campaign was successful
• Do you just want numbers of people reached so that you can check the box or are you interested in the impact on a community?

If you are unfamiliar with your audience, it may be helpful to conduct a community assessment or an ethnographic study of the audience that you are interested in reaching.  

You may: 

• Search for the meaning of social and cultural norms and views.
• Find reasons for the use of certain behaviours or practices.
• Examine social trends and instances like divorce, illnesses, etc.
• Examine social interactions and encounters.
• Better understand the roles of families, relationships, and organisations.
• Outline the areas where your audience is living.
• What is the make-up of the various communities? (Ages, Education, Countries people may be from or Regions of the country).
• Acknowledge the similarities and differences.
• Ascertain how your audience get their information or receive news.
• Develop a list community cultural events, fairs or potential community engagement events and plan on participating in those events.
• Include staff and board members in all discussions.

Goals and Objectives:

Before creating an event, you should develop a list of goals and objectives. Responding to the following questions will assist you in focusing on your event:

• What is the purpose of your event or campaign?
• What are the benefits for the community?
• What results or outcomes do you expect or desire?
• Is media coverage needed and why?
• How will the event be evaluated?

Active listening is extremely important to remember when working with communities. Often, we tend to not ask the people that we are trying to reach what they want and what are the best ways to reach them. Then we are disappointed when no one shows up or like the services provided. 

Remember, communities come together around food and family activities and share information with other community members. Don't make the mistake of thinking that communities don't engage with other communities. Everyone connects or intermarry with other groups of people and share information with each other. It will be beneficial in promoting your efforts.

The Promotions West guide will provide you with a number of ideas to be successful in reaching priority communities. Interested in more information about reaching priority communities, please contact us at info@promotionswest.com. Stay tuned, we are working on finalising the communications checklist that will be downloadable at no cost.

 

Working From Home

For over 15 years I have worked from home doing my own business in Public Relations and Marketing and I have never been happier. But there is another side to being at home all day. Most of my friends and colleagues feel that it would be fun to pretend to be working, watching movies, staying in their pajamas  and eating lots of junk food. Over the years we have had many conversations about working from home vs. working in an office each day. Let's face it, there are types that need to be in an office to feel productive, but for me it hampered my productivity.

Now with COVID-19 sweeping the land and making it mandatory for millions of people to stay in place and work from home, it has become quite a challenge. Many of my friends who are on the front lines working as nurses, doctors, hotel staff and those on the front lines tell me how happy they are to be able to leave home to go to work because their partners or spouses are driving them insane, not to mention if children are involved and stuck at home from school. Wouldn't it be great if everyone had that option available?

Since there is no choice at this time, I wanted to share a few helpful tips on preparing to work from home now and always. It you are single or with a partner, it can be less difficult to set up. Having children can force extra planning and organising activities for your children while you are working inside the house.

There are a few important tips to getting started with working from home:

• Setting up a work station in your home. The size of your living area does not matter. If you are sharing space, your work station could be in a corner of your bedroom with your computer and necessary supplies on a small table or desk.

• A computer is needed. It can be a lap top or a desktop computer that is up to date on the latest applications.

• When starting your day, think work. Do the normal things that you would do if you were preparing to go to work. Wake up early, take a shower, get dressed, and focus on the way you look. Chances are many of your meetings each day will be through video conferencing and you want to look as professional as possible.

• Prepare your breakfast as you normally prepare for the day. If you are a coffee or tea drinker, prepare your morning beverage to kick start your morning.

• Develop a work plan the night before so that you can hit the ground running with tasks that need to be done today, such as phone calls that need to be made, reports that need to be written or any other documents. It's also helpful to create a project plan to serve as a roadmap for all the things that you need to do. The plan will provide you with a clear vision of when things are due, what tasks are needed to accomplish them and if you are working with others on a particular project.

• There are a number of excellent free project management tools that can be used to help you organise your day, week or month. A few of the ones that I have utilised include: Trello, Asana, Monday and Teamwork, but there are many good ones available.

• Make sure you schedule work breaks and lunch breaks to so that you will have time to regroup or re-energize from your work day. Exercising or meditating is also a good way to take care of yourself. It's important that you have a nutritious lunch each day.

• Being organised is key. At the end of your day or before you start working is a good time to review your calendar and upcoming tasks, rating their importance on a scale of 1 to 5. Try to keep good notes of what things will need followup.

• And finally, try to have fun and laugh as much as possible.

You may want to avoid a few naughty habits such as:

• Staying in your pajamas all day and not taking a shower or brushing your teeth. Your online presence will be noticed by others.  
  

• Watching television instead of working.

• Waiting until the last minute to review documents that will be discussed online with your colleagues.

Developing a Communications Plan

With a very serious face, a colleague walked up to me after a community event and asked me how to do a communications plan. I am sure that the look on my face was that of surprise. For over 20 years, I have been working in the area of public relations and marketing doing tons of communication plans, but I truly had to think about it. Interestingly enough, when you do things over and over again you have to stop and think how to explain the process to someone who hasn't done it before. I suggested reading a book or going online but that was not a very satisfying response and they kept holding on to my arm. Like the saying, it's like riding a bike, you never forget, unless you have never been on a bike before. That's my drive today for writing a post on developing a communications plan. It also got me thinking of other ideas to help companies and organisations in their campaign or project planning.

A communications plan is a document that details what you are trying to achieve, who is your priority audiences to reach, how you will reach them and how you plan on disseminating your message. It's important to have a clear communications plan for your business or project. The plan serves as a strategic road map that shows where you are going and how you will get there. It's key to include team members and community stakeholders in the process. Active listening is essential when planning campaigns or projects. 

The following is a list of steps that should be included when preparing your communications plan:

Mission Statement

• Tell about the mission of the agency or organisation

Organisational Information

• This is an opportunity to share information about the organisation and talk about the work that is being done, what you want to do in the future, and share some of your accomplishments in the work that you are doing. 

Who do you serve:

• An opportunity to talk about the audiences that your agency or organisation is serving. It may also be helpful to share why you serve them.

Priority Audiences:

• Provide information about the audiences that you want to reach with your campaign or project. Many organisations are funded to reach, for example, the Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, Latino, Elderly, Female, Male, Youth, LGBTQ or Transgender community. It's extremely important to be familiar with the communities you are planning to reach. 

Goals & Objectives

• After conducting a series of team meetings, develop a clear list of goals and objectives to be successful with your campaign or community engagement efforts.

Strategy:

• What are the necessary steps to reaching your goals and objectives. When working with organisations I often encourage team members make a list of all the steps needed to reach the goals of the communications plan. Many items on the list could be combined after much discussion and review.

Key Messages:

• This section is necessary for a great campaign. It's important to create key messages that the community can relate to and take action. It truly helps if trust has been created over time with communities that you want to reach with your campaign. 
  

• It's key to involve stakeholders, community members and your team in an open and honest discussion about the key messages without judgement. Your audience(s) will always tell you what is needed, how to create and position messages and the best places to project those messages to get their attention.

• The biggest mistake made by corporations and organisations is not being willing to include the people they hope to reach in their marketing efforts. Community forums or conducting paid focus groups with your priority audiences is a great way to have authentic discussions and receive honest feedback on key messages.

Communication Methods:

• In your plan, list the type of communication methods that will be utilised to promote your social marketing, media campaign or community engagement event. Most people today use all types of social media networks to promote campaigns. There are also other avenues that can be used like outdoor advertising, bus and subway promotions, bus
  
  shelters, inside bus ads, advertising with with Uber or Lyft cars, etc. There is also point of sales or POS advertising with community or neighbourhood businesses. Once again, knowing your community well provides lots of information that will help to shape your communications plan and the actual promotion.

• There are many ways to promote your campaign that most people are aware of today. For example, there is radio, television, earned media, sponsorships, cable networks, print media, billboards, mall advertising, press releases, cultural events, media interviews, banner/display ads, and most importantly through word of mouth (WOM).

• Conducting an ethnographic study is also an excellent way to learn about a population that you don't know very well. The information that returns from such a study will provide the corporation or organisation with a tremendous amount of information to tell where people go for fun, what makes them happy, about their values and also if they will be interested in what you may be promoting. It can also give one a better perception of who the audience is and what's important to them and their families.

• Tools - If you are developing promotional items, try to discover what gifts or collateral will catch the attention of your priority communities. Try not to waste money on useless items that get tossed in the trash. Promotional items should be the latest model of materials that can be used and appreciated.

Roll Out of Campaign:

• This section will highlight how the campaign will be rolled out to the priority communities. What will you do that is different to get media attention and the attention of your audience? Ask yourself, what will make my campaign different from others?

Budget

• Sometimes people call this part the necessary evil that can slow the process down. Most organisations feel there just isn't enough money to do all the wonderful things that they want to do. Try not to dwell on that fact, but use the funds that you have and do the best you can do to create a positive campaign. With many clients I have created quarterly sections within a plan that may alleviate stress and allow you to create priorities.

Evaluation:

• The purpose of evaluation is to identify effectiveness of the event, staff, and community partners. It also provides:
  
• Assessment of how well your objectives matched the needs of your priority audience
• Determination of whether or not you achieved your objectives and goals
• Documentation that the objectives were achieved
• Discovery of the challenges, barriers and best practices for the future
• Detection of what worked well, what didn't work well and why it didn't work
• Lessons learned to improve future events or projects

If you start with these items, you will be well on your way to starting your communications plan. Have a question, feel free to send us a note at Promotions West at info@promotionswest.com.

Mikael Wagner is the Principal & Communications Director with Promotions West

San Francisco • Washington, DC • Melbourne, Australia

Crisis Communications

When is the right time to plan for a crisis? Probably before it's staring you in the face.

So often in my marketing classes students were told, "Failing to Plan is a Plan to Fail." I can remember rolling my eyes every time the professor drove this crisis management vehicle into our heads.

Most organizations or agencies often don't believe that they need a crisis plan until having a strategic discussion of all the things that could happen. Organizations or celebrities at one time or another may be faced with a crisis of some degree. When a crisis strikes, communications is critical to protecting the organizations reputation, brand and ability to fulfill its mission.

A great way to get started with your clients or with your board members is to conduct an activity that is often used called "What Could Go Wrong?" The activity is a great opportunity to share ideas of real disasters and sometimes not so real ones that could affect an organization's brand. All disasters can be placed on post it notes and placed on a board for all to review. Once reviewed and discussed, members can decide which concerns are potential disasters and ways to handle it.

Regardless of the crisis, there are a few steps that should be developed in a crisis communications plan and followed. Those steps include:

• Identifying your crisis communications team

• Develop a 24/7 call down list of all members of the team

• Conduct a crisis assessment

• Identify audiences (stakeholders, media, etc.)Develop partnerships / relationships

• Identify and train key spokespersons 

• Develop your crisis management messages or talking points

Once the plan has been written and approved, there is a 9-step Crisis Cycle that may be helpful: 

• Conduct a crisis assessment

• Verify the situation
  

• Conduct notification

• Activate the crisis plan

• Organize assignments

• Prepare information and obtain approvals

• Release information to media, public and partners through arranged channels

• Obtain feedback and conduct crisis evaluation

• Conduct public education

• Monitor events

The most important communications advice during a crisis is to be honest at all times and provide the media with constant updates, even if there is no information available. Otherwise the media may assume that you are hiding something.

Here are some of the worse crises of 2018 and 2019:

• Boeing 737 Max Crisis

• Pharma's Opioid Problem

• Gun Violence & the Politicization of the Market Place

• H&M Coolest Monkey in the Jungle Campaign
  

• Uber's Racism and Sexual Scandal

• San Francisco Laguna Honda Hospital's abuse to the Elderly

• Melanie Trump's Border Visit

• Facebook Data Scandal

• Donald Trump creates a new scandal daily filled with lies, racism & corruption

Can you think of an organization or celebrity who displayed a great crisis plan? Can you think of those who demonstrated terrible  plans? What crisis stands out in your mind today? 

For more information or assistance with your crisis management plan, contact us at Promotions West.

Working With a Narcissist

During the past year, I worked in a government facility in San Francisco that taught me a lot about the negative behaviors of staff, managers and directors. Once moving into the observation period, it became easier for me to recognize the various levels of manipulation of a true narcissist. Whether you are working with a narcissist or engaged in a relationship with one, the results will always be the same. Their goal is to have complete control of a situation while making everyone as unhappy and miserable as possible.

We’ve all tossed around the word "narcissist" to describe a self-absorbed person, especially when it comes to relationships of all kinds—romantic, familial, workplace, even friendships. Maybe it’s an ex who constantly put his or her own needs and desires above yours, or maybe it’s a boss who continually cuts you off in meetings and takes credit for your accomplishments.

But what does a true narcissist (someone with narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD actually look like? Research suggests that anywhere between 1 and 6 percent of the population may have this personality disorder, and about 50 to 75 percent of those are men. However, the women can be just as narcissistic, especially in the workplace.

Narcissistic

What are the true signs of a narcissist? There are 5 traits that you may have observed in your co-workers or your partner. They include:

Narcissist have an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

• Narcissists want to be recognized as being superior without the necessary achievements that go along with being superior.

• Narcissists will often overestimate their abilities while simultaneously devaluing the contributions of others. Narcissists will often act surprised when they don't get the praise they feel they deserve. They consider themselves smarter and more clever than others.

• If a Narcissist is not achieving success, they will find a way to blame other people or society, but never blame themselves. Many of them spend most of their time creating ways to cause disruptions in meetings or just in general.

Narcissist believe they are special and unique

• It's okay to think that you are special, a true narcissist believe that they are better than everyone else. They insist on creating their own group of people, many very much like them or those that can be controlled by their misinformation, lies  and untrue rumors about others.

• Despite the fact that narcissist often act boastful and overconfident, their self-esteem can actually be pretty fragile. They have a tendency to be preoccupied with what people think of them and feel pretty shocked when people don’t treat them like royalty. This can be particularly true in relationships. 

• Most narcissists will love you as long as you’re idolizing them and making them #1. They seem lovely and wonderful and shower you with attention and expensive gifts until you assert yourself. Then you might see a mean streak you didn’t see before. And it’s scary and often violent.

• Narcissist have a strong sense of entitlement and require lots of admiration.

• Expectations of being recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it. Nor will they do the work to become superior. They feel it's deserved.

• They make up stories about their greatness. Usually, it's all bull, although they believe it. Most are preoccupied with fantasies of power, success, beauty and consider themselves the perfect mate or colleague although they are far from the truth.

• Monopolize conversations and strive to look down on others. They consider most people inferior to themselves.

• Known for taking advantage of others to get what they want, but it's never enough once they bully someone into giving it to them.

• Narcissist are known to expect special treatment because they consider themselves the best. They enjoy bullying and taking advantage of others.

• They choose to never recognize the feelings of others.

• A true narcissist will always behave in an arrogant or outrageous manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious. Often they will attack others for the fun of it. It shows how insecure they really are and how they are unable to compete with others.

• Many often insist on having the best office space or chair and often find fault with others and broadcast it to everyone.

People with narcissistic personality disorder find difficulty handling anything they perceive to be criticism, even if it's constructive and they will usually:

• Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special treatment.

• React often with rage or contempt and try to destroy other co-workers or their partners to make themselves appear superior or better than everyone.

• Have great problems dealing with stress and adapting to change.

• Demonstrate significant interpersonal problems and easily feel slighted or looked over.

• Be unable to control their emotions and bad behaviours.

• More often than not, portray moodiness

A narcissist always remind me of a piranha, you can feed them and stroke their ego, but sooner or later they will seek to bite you for no apparent reason except to feel better about themselves. This can be surprisingly true in relationships. Narcissists will love you as long as you idolize them only. They will appear to be lovely individuals and often shower their mates with lots of loving attention until the partner assert themselves. Then it's full on war and a rather nasty, mean streak they may surprise the average person. It can also be rather frightening for most people.  

Unfortunately, most managers or directors without a strong back bone will give the narcissist anything they want in order to avoid any confrontation. Trust me, it never works and all the great staff leaves the organization.

And finally, the best ways to deal with a true Narcissist:

• Simply Don't. If you are in a relationship, run as fast as you can. On the job, simply don't play and stand your ground.

• Really don't. In a relationship you can Kiss Up or Shut Up. On the job, if you are their boss or colleague, hold them accountable. If the Narcissist is your boss, look for another job immediately.

• Know what you want upfront and collect. Narcissist are not about fairness. They only think of themselves.

• Ask them, what would people think? Narcissist never feel guilt, only shame. Try working that angle. Remember they also lie a lot, okay, most of the time.

• Finally, get out as soon as possible. You won't regret that decision.

After working in Public Health for 2 years I got to view and study narcissists on a daily basis and documented the number of qualified staff that walked away from an organization due to the lack of accountability.

Mikael Wagner is the Principal and Communications Director of Promotions West, a public relations and marketing firm based in San Francisco with offices in Washington, DC and Melbourne, Australia. For assistance with your 

Workplace Stress

Over the years I have worked as a consultant, freelancer and actually in corporations and government offices and learned that stress lives everywhere, but it how we handle those situations. Some of my best positions doing work that I loved lived among toxic waste. Great workers usually stay as long as they can because they love the work but eventually they must leave in order to survive physically. Incompetent or inadequate workers never seem to leave but love stirring the pot filled with harassment, bullying, viciousness and lies. I have always had a saying that those who stir the pot should be forced to lick the spoon.

Believe it or not sometimes there is good stress. During these times it's normal and can be helpful. For example, when you need help from a co-worker or team member to complete a project or you have to present in front of a group of people.

You may feel butterflies jumping around in your stomach and your hands are shaking, but once you get going all is great. These type of stressors are short lived, and our body's way of helping us to get through what may have been a challenging situation.

However, dealing with negative stress can have a strong impact on one's health. Regardless how much you may love your work, the negativity can force you out of an organization. There are many causes of stress that may have negative vibes that include:

• Sexual harassment
• Bullying or harassment by other staff members
• Weak or ineffective leadership
• Being micromanaged
• Dealing with negative or toxic team members
• Being overworked while others are doing nothing
• Attending too many unproductive meetings
• Racism, Sexism, Ageism and Discrimination
• Reactions as a result of fear and egos from others

There are also physical symptoms that can have an impact such as:

• Tension or muscle pain
• Headache
• Problems sleeping
• Lack of Appetite or Digestive issues
• Overeating
• High blood pressure
• Floaters in the eyes

Emotional symptoms may also include:

• Depression or Sadness
• Anxiety
• Lack of motivation
• Feeling you can’t get things done
• Moodiness
• Irritability

If you love your work and want to stay on the job it's important to try a few techniques that do not include punching someone in the face, although in all honesty, I have been close to doing just that to many who actually deserve it. It took me some time to understand that it's not worth spending time in jail over an idiot. Instead, if you want to stay on your job and search for contentment, you may try the following tips:Be assertive. It will surprise those who are use to bullying. Assert your feelings, opinions and beliefs.

• Let negative people know without hesitation that you don't have time for bullshit and that you are about business and getting the job done. Simply walk away.

• Manage your time so that you are not available for distractions.

• Accept the things that you can't control. Escalate those tough issues or problems up to someone with a higher pay grade who can solve the issue faster.

• Learn and practice relaxation techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, or emotional intelligence.

• Get plenty of sleep.

• Exercise or walk when you can and eat well balanced meals.

• Spend time with people that bring you joy.

• And most importantly, laughter is good for the soul.

If you love your work, do give it a try. If the negativity is too much and it's making you sick, it may be time to consider moving to a different place where your skills will be appreciated and rewarded.

Mikael Wagner is a Communications Project Manager with Promotions West. Share your tips on reducing stress at mikael.wagner@gmail.com or visit Promotions West

Reimagined Life

As a young man full of life and energy in 1990, I was forced to give up my dreams and ambitions, because of a new disease that swept the country. At that time, physicians told me that as a gay man my chances of surviving were slim to none and to start making plans and peace with family members. As I looked around, not wanting the fun and parties that I had drawn me to San Francisco to end, I feared that the rumors were true. One by one, two by two, and then 20 by 20, I started to lose my best friends, colleagues, lovers and those that we called “Gay Moms. Being young and rather naïve, I was at a loss and turned to my mother. Normally, she was the last person in the world that I would turn to for help, but she actually surprised me. She explained to me that we now had a lot in common with each other. Then, the light bulb started to glow brighter with her next words. In the sweetest voice, she said, “All of your friends are dying and so are mine. So, let’s figure out this together and how we will survive.” At that time, my mom was the age I am today and full of life and encouragement for me.

Thirty years later, I am still here using the skills that I learned from so many wonderful people to help others to survive. Life has taught me that aging does not mean getting old and feeling depressed. Aging means using all of your insightful experience that has been acquired along the way and transforming your life into a magical experience to reach new goals or to expand your life. Reimagining life is making what could be into what is.

The most challenging part of aging for me is living in the present and embracing the moment. It’s not easy. I often drift off and think about all the stuff I should have done yesterday or how am I going to take care of something that seems urgent tomorrow, instead of listening and enjoying what is happening today. There are still days when I feel sad and miss my friends who have moved or transitioned so many years ago. I try to place myself into the old man box, but my happy spirit just will not allow me to do it. With the inclusion of younger friends and colleagues in my life, the one thing they have taught me to do is to be present, not in the past and not in the future. Believe me, it works.

Now when I pass a mirror and look at the person looking back at me, I am flattered instead of thinking, ugh, who is that old man trying to flirt with me. Today, I look into the mirror and smile, thinking about all the good times that old man has had and all the adventures that lie ahead for him. Remember the movie, Catch Me If You Can? That is how I feel today.

As a boomer, I am working as hard as I ever did 30 years ago, but the difference is what I share with others. One of my gifts to those who are 50+ or actually any age is helping them to re-imagine life and ways to get unstuck and remember to have fun while creating a new life. It’s enjoyable to accept people where they are in life and assist them in pushing past the boundaries to revisit their dreams. Dreams can include a great vacation, starting a dream business, getting healthy and being physically fit, dating again, taking a class or just doing something that you have always wanted to do but were always told that you were never good enough to do.

I never thought I would say it, but getting older has helped me to spread my wings, expand my mind, and push beyond the barriers that I created to protect or imprison myself. I am wise enough to know that all sorts of negativity exist in society against those in the LGBT community, against communities of color and against older people in the workforce, but I refuse to be put down because of any of those negative thoughts. The best part about being present and in the moment is to never stop pushing until your goal has been reached.

After living through some amazing times, isn’t it time to expand our horizon and celebrate life with vigor and pride? To quote the late Maya Angelou, my goal is “To be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”

Mikael Wagner, a strategic communications project manager, is principal and managing director of Promotions West, a public relations and marketing firm based in San Francisco.