At 92, Emma Maria Mazzenga just obliterated a world record—and my ideas about what’s possible in later life.

Emma just set a world record in the 200-meter sprint for the W90 Category (women’s 90+ sports age group classification).

She is jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring news! Not only is she competing at 92, but she’s also being studied by scientists who have found that her muscle mitochondria function as well as those of a healthy 20-year-old.

Emma’s story made me wonder if we’re this wrong about physical aging, what else are we missing?

That’s when I found Marc Freedman, a social innovator and author who studies the longevity revolution. As founder of CoGenerate and lecturer at Yale, he’s pioneering ‘encore careers’—meaningful work that harnesses older Americans’ experience for social and personal good.

He seeks to bridge the division between people of different ages, creating intergenerational opportunities.

“We have created a society where people of different ages have relatively little contact… how do we learn to cooperate with someone of a different age if you don’t have any contact with them. We need to hone our skills in working across generations. And then we also need to develop opportunities for older, younger and people in the middle to mix in the context of daily life… We need to rethink the institutions that have been designed for older people, and do it in a way which brings generations together for mutual benefit and for a greater sense of joy.” (PBS News)

As I study the subject of ageing, I see the untapped brilliance surrounding us every day, perhaps hidden behind our age-based blind spots and biases.

Both Emma and Marc reveal the same truth— how we’re underestimating human potential based on outdated assumptions about aging. They show us unlimited new knowledge, life experiences of wise people, empowering hope, and setting new standards for our own potential in later life.

The next person who might change your mind could be the 70-year-old in your neighborhood you’ve never really talked to.

Imagine the dreams we abandon simply because we hit certain birthdays or follow society’s march toward irrelevance and a false notion of retirement.

What if those guidelines are completely wrong?

Time to revisit your goals and dreams and reconsider what’s still possible. Your story isn’t over—it’s just getting to the best part.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

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This is also important – The Sage Renaissance.

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