Tuesday, March 8 marks International Women’s Day. So we’re taking the Inkandescent opportunity to shine a spotlight on the truly amazing women who are making strides and changing lives — in business and beyond.
Case in point: This month’s cover story is about award-winning author Dawn Tripp, whose book, “Georgia,” was published Feb. 9. A fictional account about the life of Georgia O’Keeffe, the book is already a Costco favorite and has received other notable nods as well.
As Edith Wharton said: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” So this month, we also bring you 14 articles to ignite your entrepreneurial fire:
2. Discover the fine art of Georgia O’Keeffe at the museum that opened 11 years after her death in Santa Fe, NM.
3. Vegetables are served at only 23 percent of American dinners despite their known nutritional value. Why isn’t their healthfulness alone enough incentive to serve them? Researchers at Cornell University’s Food & Brand Lab explain.
4. Will Hillary win? Richard Semiatin, the academic director of American politics at American University, shares his insights with David Bruce Smith, founder of the Grateful American™ Foundation.
5. Named “one of the best small charities in the Greater Washington, DC, area,” founder Marga Fripp explains how Empowered Women International went from an idea to a nonprofit powerhouse.
6. Have you created a vision board lately? Click here to learn how to use this powerful tool.
7. “I’m tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay,” says Madonna. Click here to find 25 Reasons Why Women Rule the World.
8. Don’t miss our podcast with “Georgia” authorDawn Tripp.
9. How do you know when someone is lying? “A person’s nose may not grow when he tells a lie, but watch closely” and you might be able to tell when someone is about to lie or make an outrageous statement, says researcher Carol Kinsey Goman.
10. Robo-advisers have been gaining marketshare against retail advisers, because they provide a cheap way to invest some money and are fairly easy to interface with. Whom do they appeal to, and what are the pros and cons of using these online tools? Certified Financial Planner Bryan Beatty explains.
11. “One of my favorite parts of coaching people who are looking to discover their joy is seeing the delight in a client’s face when they uncover that aha! moment,” explains Leslie Russell, our newest Inkandescent speaker, who specializes in the alchemy of joy.
12. Why did a woman who graduated with a degree in political science, and who worked for a few years at the Children’s Defense Fund, get into the hardware business? Gina Schaefer gave us the inside scoop on an episode of the Truly Amazing Women TV Show.
13. Are you standing behind a veil? Inspired by philosopher John Rawls and his concept, “A Theory of Justice,” fine artist Judith Peck explains the concept behind the metaphorical veil.
14. Comedian and self-proclaimed wino Laurie Forster offers an information-packed paperback that gives wine lovers tips on everything from how to order wine at dinner to how to bounce back “the morning after” in The Sipping Point.
We leave you with this parting thought from Alice Bailey, a writer of more than two dozen books on theosophical subjects, who was one of the first writers to use the term New Age: “That which is a mystery shall no longer be so, and that which has been veiled will be revealed; that which has been withdrawn will emerge into the light, and all women shall see and together they shall rejoice.”
Here’s to embracing your Inkandescent power. — Hope Katz Gibbs, publisher, Be Inkandescent magazine
Author Dawn Tripp movingly portrays artist Georgia O’Keeffe as a woman striving to live the life she believes in in her new book, “Georgia,” an imagined story of the life of the famous artist.
The book draws readers in from page 1 as she writes:
“I no longer love you as I once did, in the dazzling rush of those early days. Time itself was feverish then, our bodies filled with fire … the metallic scent of the dark room, smells of sweat and linseed oil, a stain of cocoa on the dining room table. It was all smashed together back then — art, sex, life — mixed into the perfect color, every shadow had a substance, shape, and tone … My hands are cool now, the past remade and packed away. Sometimes, though, late at night the air lifts and I feel it — the faint burn of your eyes on my closed lids. Still. That sense of you rushing back in.”
The book goes on to describe the passionately complicated relationship that O’Keeffe had with the recipient of the note above — her manager and husband, famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
This is the fourth book by the author of The Boston Globe best-seller, “Game of Secrets,” who is also the winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for fiction for “The Season of Open Water.”
The Harvard grad explains that “Georgia” has been the toughest topic she has tackled — not only because Georgia O’Keeffe was so complex, but because it took nearly a year for Tripp to find the character’s voice.
Her journey into “Georgia” began in the fall of 2009 when she visited the Whitney Museum of American Art and basked in the 125 paintings in the exhibit, “Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction.”
“I felt overturned as I moved from piece to piece, and began to draw together an entirely new understanding of O’Keeffe and her art,” Tripp explains, noting that it was a century ago —1915 — when O’Keeffe, then 27, began painting abstract art in an era when few artists, much less women, were bold enough to do so.
“As I moved past the paintings, I wanted to know: Who was the woman, the artist, who made these works? Why was she not recognized for her sheer visionary power during her lifetime? And of course, what was her 30-year relationship really like with Alfred Stieglitz, the man who ‘discovered’ her?”
For more than a year, Tripp dove into the psyche of the woman who is celebrated as a central figure in 20th century art: “I read five or six biographies about her, and filled notebooks with thoughts and ideas because I still write longhand. I looked at O’Keeffe’s art, Stieglitz’ photographs of her, and the work of other artists in their circle. Then I started taking my own photographs every day because I was trying to see the world the way a visual artist might see the world.”
Still, the voice of O’Keeffe wasn’t speaking to her — until one Sunday afternoon in April 2010.
“It was an oddly warm spring day in Massachusetts, so I took my sons down to the river to play. They had their jeans rolled up and they were kicking around in the water and I was lying in the sun, when I suddenly ‘heard’ the first words for the novel: ‘I no longer love you as I once did in the dazzling rush of those early days.’ I remember that moment so clearly. I suddenly sat up feeling O’Keeffe’s voice inside of me. I looked around and the whole world was different. I started the book the following day.”
A sensuous 316-page work of historical fiction is the result.
“Fiction is a curious tool to get at a different side of the truth,” Tripp insists. “It’s what novelist Vladimir Nabokov called ‘the shimmering go-between.’ That’s the space that I wanted to write into, the space between what took place in O’Keeffe’s life — and what could have.”
American women face a complex challenge when it comes to securing retirement income that will last a lifetime.
The reason often has to do with life spans increasing and women outliving the men in their lives.
As I explained in my article earlier this year about the tragic fact that so many women 65+ are living in poverty, being proactive about your retirement income planning is vital.
For a 65-year-old couple, there is a 47 percent chance that one of them will live to age 90, and that is up 2 percent from last year.
But longevity is only a portion of the story when it comes to achieving retirement security.
Women make up 57 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries age 62 and older and 68 percent of all beneficiaries age 85 and older.
According to the US Census, in 2012 only 45 percent of women age 65 or older were married, compared to 75 percent of men.
Although women have made progress in the area of earning power, they still have a ways to go before reducing the existing retirement gap with men. In addition to women’s lower earning, 67 percent of women spend a portion of their adult lives as unpaid caregivers.
Social Security Basics
Considering that a large percentage of women rely on Social Security as a main source of retirement income, making an informed decision about when to claim Social Security benefits must be carefully considered. Let’s first look at some basics of Social Security that will help you better understand your benefits.
Regardless of your gender, if you have 40 quarters of wages that were subject to Social Security payroll taxes you are eligible to receive Social Security benefits.
Your benefits are calculated based on the average of the 35 highest years of earnings.
If you work fewer than 35 years, your income for the missing years is counted as 0, which can bring your average down significantly.
The year you were born will determine when you reach FRA and are eligible to receive 100 percent of your Social Security benefits.
Become familiar with a couple of acronyms: Full Retirement Age (FRA) and Primary Insurance Amount (PIA).
Keep in mind that you do not need to reach FRA to begin receiving your benefits. You may begin taking reduced Social Security benefits when you reach age 62 rather than waiting until FRA.
However, claiming your benefits when you turn 62 can be a permanent, costly decision.
You may instead opt to postpone taking your Social Security benefits until age 70, which increases your benefits by approximately 32 percent depending on your FRA.
Note: There is no advantage to waiting beyond age 70.
Navigating Your Way Through the System
How women claim their Social Security benefits greatly impacts their retirement income for the rest of their lives.
In the case studies outlined below, all figures are in today’s dollars and before tax; the actual benefits would be adjusted for inflation and would possibly be subject to income tax. Also, many of the benefits rules are complex, and it would be in your best interest to contact the Social Security Administration with any questions. Also keep in mind that these examples are hypothetical. Your results may be more or less than those shown.
Whether you are single, married, divorced, or widowed, you can develop an income strategy. Scroll down for more details.
Are You Single?
For some individuals, claiming your benefits at age 62 might be a necessity, or you may want to retire as early as age 62.
The gains from waiting to take your benefits can be significant; the longer you delay the higher your benefits may be.
Regardless of your situation, keep in mind that Social Security is there for you to use and you have paid for it.
Case study: Colleen’s FRA is 66. If she begins taking benefits at age 62, she’ll receive $1,500 a month. If she waits until age 66 (her FRA) to collect, she will receive 33 percent more, or $2,000 a month. If she waits until age 70, her benefits will increase another 32 percent to $2,640 a month. If she were to live to age 89, her lifetime benefits would be about $47,000, or 13 percent greater, because she had waited until age 70 to collect benefits.
Are You Divorced?
You may be eligible to claim Social Security benefits on your ex-spouse’s work records and he on yours.
You may claim survivor benefits on your ex-spouse as long as your marriage lasted 10 years or longer and you have not remarried.
There are actually several options to consider. Below is one option.
Case study: Kelly and her ex-spouse, John, are both 66 years old. They are both eligible for their own retirement benefits of $2,000 a month at age 66 (their FRA). Because their marriage lasted more than 10 years, Kelly is also eligible for $1,000 in spousal benefits, which is less than her own. She can claim her benefits today and collect $2,000 a month for the rest of her life. Alternatively, she can elect to collect $1,000 of spousal benefits only for the first four years and delay her own benefits to age 70. By then, her benefits would have grown to $2,640 per month, a 32 percent increase. If she lives to age 89, under the second example, her lifetime benefits will be $64,000 higher, which is almost a 15 percent increase. John can also do the same thing — elect to collect his spousal benefits at age 66 and then switch to his own benefits at age 70.
Are You Widowed?
If you have survived your husband, you may be eligible to collect his Social Security payments as a survivor benefit.
Also, if you are a surviving spouse, Social Security automatically defaults to the higher amount — your own or your survivor benefits.
Case study: Ann is 62 years old and is eligible to get $1,500 in benefits at her FRA of 66. Her husband, John, started taking monthly benefits of $1,500 at age 62 but died this year at age 66. If Ann claims benefits now, before her FRA, she would receive a survivor benefit of $1,215 because it is higher than her own benefits. Alternatively, Ann can elect to receive survivor benefits up to age 70, and then switch to her own benefits. By then her own benefits would have increased to $1,980 a month, a 76 percent increase in monthly benefits. Ann would earn more than $115,000 in extra payments if she lived to age 88, boosting her lifetime benefits by about 40 percent.
Are You Married?
Case study: Aaron and Elaine are both about to turn 62. Aaron is eligible to receive $2,000 a month from Social Security when he reaches his FRA of 66. He believes he has average longevity for a man his age, which means he could live to age 85. Elaine will get $1,000 a month at her FRA of 66, and, based on her health and family history, anticipates living to an above-average age of 94. The couple was planning to retire at 62, when he would get $1,500 a month and she $750 from Social Security.
Because they’re claiming early, their monthly benefits are 25 percent lower than they would be at their FRA. Aaron also realizes taking payments at age 62 would reduce his wife’s benefits during the nine years that they expect her to outlive him.
If Aaron waits until he’s 66 to collect benefits, he’ll get $2,000 a month. If he delays his claim until age 70, his benefits — and his wife’s survivor benefits — will increase another 32 percent, to $2,640 a month.
The bottom line for this couple: Waiting until age 70 will not only increase Aaron’s future cumulative benefits by 5 percent, it will have a dramatic impact on his wife’s benefits. Elaine’s lifetime Social Security benefits would rise by about $68,000, or 27 percent. Even if it turns out Elaine dies at age 88, her lifetime benefits will still increase 12 percent and, together, they would collect approximately $39,000 more in Social Security benefits than if they had claimed at 62. In order to do this, Aaron would either keep working or use savings to cover retirement expenses until he receives Social Security.
I have spent a good part of my life convincing people that a blank sheet of paper is the greatest opportunity in the world, and not frightening at all.”
– Marty Skler, executive vp, Walt Disney Imagineering
Don’t wait for someone else to lead you to your right life; that privilege—and responsibility—is yours alone.”
– Martha Beck
You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
– Winston Churchill
The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”
– William James
Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.”
– Thomas Carlyle
How do you stay resilient? It’s about momentum. Like riding a bicycle. If you stop you fall over. So I keep pedaling.”
– Diane Lane
With ordinary talents and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.”
– Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
That which grows fast withers as rapidly; that which grows slowly endures.”
– J.G. Holland, novelist
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
– Eckhart Tolle
Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.”
– Gandi
Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.”
– Benjamin Disraeli
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”
– Basil King
Letting go of expectations is a ticket to peace. It allows us to ride over every crisis—small or large—like a beach ball on water.”
– Martha Beck
Speaking more than one language is no longer just an asset in today’s job market; it is a requirement.”
– Tom Adams, CEO, Rosetta Stone
Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.”
– Corita Kent
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
– Charles Darwin
Do you have the desire to create something new; the strength of conviction to believe your creation will be successful, and the reservoir of energy necessary to thrust it into the marketplace?”
– Steven Schussler
There are children playing in the street who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they have modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago.”
– J. Robert Oppenheimer
Most people never pick up the phone and call. Most people never ask, and that’s what separates the people who do things from the people who just dream about them.”
– Steve Jobs
Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth. Tame the dragon and the gift is yours.”
– Noela Evans
There is little success where there is little laughter.”
– Andrew Carnegie
If you do not tell the truth about yourself , you cannot tell it about other people.”
– Virginia Woolf
You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.”
– Indira Ghandi
A people who mean to be their Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
– James Madison
You don’t love someone because of their looks or their clothes or their car. You love them because they sing a song only your heart can understand.”
– L.J. Smith
I always maintained that the greatest obstacle in life isn’t danger, it’s boredom. The battle against it is responsible for most of the events in the world — good or ill.”
– Dr. Evelyn Vogel, Dexter
The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. The greatest failure is to not try.”
– Debbi Fields, Mrs. Fields Cookies
But all the while I was alone, the past was close behind, I seen a lot of women, but she never escaped my mind, and I just grew, tangled up in blue.”
– Bob Dylan
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”
– Dalai Lama
There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.”
– Christopher Morley
Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
– Groucho Marx
An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it.“
– Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries
No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it”
– Andrew Carnegie
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche
The only dream worth having is to live while you’re alive and die only when you’re dead.”
– Arundhati Roy
Traveling is one way of lengthening life, at least in appearance.”
– Benjamin Franklin
You may ask me for anything you like except time.”
– Napoleon
Some things are destined to be—it just takes us a couple of tries
to get there.”
– J.R. Ward, Lover Mine
As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.”
– Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
When I was younger I thought success was being a star, driving nice cars, having groupies. But today I think the most important thing is to live your life with integrity.
– Ellen DeGeneres
The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.”
– Henry Miller
Do one thing every day that scares you.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
They who give have all things. They who withhold have nothing.”
– Hindu Proverb
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Entrepreneurs willingly assume responsibility for the success or failure of a venture and are answerable for all its facets.”
– Victor Kiam
You’ve got to be willing to crash and burn. If you’re afraid of failing, you won’t get very far.”
– Steve Jobs
I can’t go back to yesterday—because I was a different person then.”
– Lewis Carroll
Anything not worth doing well is not worth doing.”
– Warren Buffett
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