Lessons for Living

Transcript:

Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University

OPENING SLATE: “Based on the book 30 Lessons for Living Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans By Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University”

00:00:02 Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University I interviewed more than twelve hundred older Americans – whom I refer to as the experts - and asked them: “What are the most important lessons you have learned over the course of your life?”

00:00:14 ANIMATED ART CARD: “ON MONEY AND HAPPINESS”

00:00:15 FEMALE VO TALENT (P. 55 ESTHER BROOKSHIRE, Age 77): My granddaughters say, “it’s important for me to have money.” And I’ve said to them, “Just make sure that what you’re doing to get that money makes you happy.”

00:00:24 Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University VO: No one – not a single person out of a thousand – said that to be happy you should try to work as hard as you can to make money.

00:00:34 ANIMATED ART CARD: “ON REGRET AND THINGS LEFT UNSAID”

00:00:36 MALE VO TALENT (P. 190 Grover Sykes, 89 – QUOTE IS EDITED) She was the right choice. Oh yes. But she got a rare disease. She lasted two weeks. Well, I always regretted – that we didn’t talk more about … everything. I wish I’d told her she was the first and only woman that I really ever wanted to marry. You know? I’ve had a hard time because of it.

00:01:06 Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University VO: people often regret things they’ve said…. However, when it comes to deep, long-lasting regret, these experts pointed instead toward things left unsaid. if you have something to say to someone, do it now before it’s too late.

00:01:21 ANIMATED ART CARD: “ON PARENTING”

00:01:23 FEMALE VO TALENT (p. 91, Betsy Glynn, no age given in book). It’s so important, while your kids are growing up, to be with them and support them … if the house needs fixing up, it’ll wait. It’s more important to devote your time to whatever they’re interested in. Otherwise you’re going to lose them. They’ll become strangers.

00:01:44 Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University VO: What if there was one action you could take that would create loving relationships with your children, and lead to a lifelong bond with them? According to these experts, there is: spend more time with your children.

00:01:58 Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University VO: Talk to the older people in your life – your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, even your neighbors. Listen to what they have to say. The lessons they’ve learned over the course of their lives may just change how you live your life.

00:02:12 ANIMATED ART CARD: “MUTUAL OF OMAHA”