I used to visit my grandmother in Wolverhampton, England when I was a little kid. Her favourite spot in her “wee” house was knitting with a blanket on her lap, in front of the fireplace, on an old rocking chair. She was in her late 60s at the time.

As many will know, Mick Jagger is the lead singer of the band The Rolling Stones. On May 11th, The Rolling Stones began a 16-city North American Tour in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mick Jagger is 80 years old.

The contrast in images between my grandmother in her rocker, and Mick Jagger still “rock’n” on stage in front of thousands, fascinates me.

I recently read that over one million Canadians work past their 65th birthday. And, the fact is that many of these people are working for reasons associated with financial and food insecurity.

For parents, the reality is that there is a good chance that your children will live beyond the age of 80. (Another reality is that they will not likely be highly successful rock stars.) They will most likely need to work more years than you or I, in order to support their longer life span. And, housing prices will continue to go up. Contract work (rather than full-time employment) is on the rise. Fewer pension plans are being offered. And, with a lengthier career span, your children will likely change jobs multiple times.

So what’s my point?

With the likelihood that your kids will live a longer life than previous generations, it is more important than ever that they work to be self-reliant and build a meaningful, purposeful and, ultimately, happy life.

And, in order to achieve this, in my mind, there are three keys things they should do: work hard; find work that follows their interests and/or skills and talents; and commit to life-long learning.

Oh, one more thing that I would tell kids to prioritize: find some friends, or “bandmates,” with whom you share common interests. That will help ensure that you keep rock’n well into your later years. After all, “time is on your side.”