Karen’s Story
Greatness through Transformation
It all started when my mom phoned to tell me that she had driven into a tollbooth. Head on. When I asked her why, she told me the voices on the radio had told her to do so. That very moment defined a stark new reality. I could no longer deny that my mom’s Alzheimers was full blown.
She was only 59! There was no retrieving her. After 36 years as a mother and housewife, she had just started to work. She never got to find her voice. Her life was never fully lived.
My mom, younger than my age now, never had a voice! She never got to blow her horn.
There was no way I was going to end up that way. I wasn’t going to be invisible, useless, or go quietly into the dark of night.
I made up my mind in that moment that if I had only limited time, I wanted to know what was required for me to be an older woman with a voice, how to live my life with meaning—how to be an older woman of passion, purpose, and possibility.
Nothing was going to prevent me from using my voice and blowing my horn for the rest of my years.
Transitions—however devastating—always invite us to unleash our Greatness.
Find out more about unleashing your Greatness!
Every decade we live is a new transition. We begin examining what really matters and spark stronger connections with others and with our Soul’s purpose. Transitions refine us, making us look closely at ourselves, our relationships, and our place in the world.
True Greatness is forged through change. We are called to align our passion, vision, and intention with action that leads to measurable, profitable breakthrough results.
As a Professional Futurist, Gerontologist, and ICF Master Certified Coach, I believe the world is enriched when each of us answers the call to Greatness. As an Everyday FuturistSM, I use scientific, strategic and intuitive forecasting skills and tools to help you capitalize on tomorrow’s trends today to achieve personal, professional and global transformation at every age.
Misson
My mission is to make the future work by preparing you for an unfamiliar, always changing disruptive future. I do this by stretching your imagination, heart and mind, while deepening your connection to your Soul, so that you can make reliable sense of the past, the present and the emerging future. The new perspectives you develop and integrate will enable you to avoid being blind-sided, or having your voice coopted, and to co-create a more deeply satisfying future filled with promise and possibility… at any age, stage or cycle. Be forewarned, this is deeply challenging work. If you are up for such a transformative challenge, you may want me to work with you.
Through my writing, speaking, and coaching, I use scientific, strategic, and intuitive forecasting skills and tools (i.e., from strategic foresight and futuring) to help you capitalize on tomorrow’s trends today to achieve personal, professional, business, and global transformation, to create money-making futures that matter.
I specialize in serving those who are 50+, especially women Boomerpreneurs, and visionary leaders making a difference and committed to the Triple Bottomline. To this end, I consult, coach and train service professionals, entrepreneurs, product innovators and marketers seeking to, or already serving this market.
Redefining Aging
I left corporate America at the peak of a career revered by our culture. I had become a visionary change agent and expert in the graying of America and its impact on the future, but my exploration of what this meant for me personally was just beginning.
I returned to graduate school in my early forties to become a Transformational Gerontologist specializing in creative living and conscious aging across the lifespan. I garnered a post-graduate certification in adult development and aging and began my search for the meaning of conscious aging and the emergence of the visionary as we moved into the new millennium.
Pushing this epochal societal shift in perspective and values is the emergence of what I call the “New ’60s.” Those of us who grew up not trusting anyone over thirty held our values of changing the world, making a difference, seeking out truth, and transformation as sacrosanct. Look where we are now—clearly over thirty! This convergence of a worldwide population aging at this time in history kicks off an exciting, revealing adventure of self-assessment, reinvention, and renewal that leads us to self-actualization and fulfillment so we can Create Money-Making Futures that Matter.
This “new age” didn’t suddenly arrive on the scene. Birthed out of the 1960s peace movement, it spawned the second women’s movement of the ’70s, then opened the way for the women’s spirituality movement to sweep in—and now the next wave, the sustainability movement, beckons.
Clearly over the last four decades, we have earned more money, changed the face of the workplace, filled the pipelines into academia, planned the number of children we have, and have more control over our lives.
That’s the good news.
The not so good news is that we have lost our true feminine essence, our visionary voice, in the process. Instead of transforming the world we live in, it has transformed us. Now amidst the most virulent backlash since the 1940s, we must come to center and reclaim the best of our mother’s kitchen table wisdom. Combined with our savvy know-how, this innate wisdom will empower us to preserve “choice” and to forge new inroads for our daughters and granddaughters to come and for the men in our lives.
Join others at the table in the FREE forum Broad Minded Big Talk Radio.
The future happens here.
People, Planet, Profits: The Greatness Challenge of Our Times
Our challenge is to recognize that we only grow more powerful with each passing year, that we can make more of a difference, not less, as we age. We express our higher purpose (or “soul speak”) through deliberate use of our gifts in service to others. That is the highest expression of Greatness, and hidden within each of us is a creative and soulful visionary leader ready for change. When equipped with the tools to be truly Great, we can all become Everyday Futurists.
Long ago I realized I could make the greatest possible difference by leveraging myself as a guide for thought leaders, from individual visionaries to corporate CEOs. I have spent three decades coaching, educating, and training high-achieving and accomplished women and men to reach their full potential by reinventing themselves and transforming their organizations with an eye on individual and collective good.
Together we co-create positive futures and strive to meet the “Greatness Challenge” of the era by focusing on the triple bottom line:
- People
- Planet
- Profits
My clients are those who want not only success but true fulfillment—to better their lives, reinvent their world, and reclaim their future.
Most People Would Say You Are a Success . . .
A Great Coach Can Make You Greater
- Truly live your Greatness—every day.
- Bring your life into balance.
- Revitalize your leadership.
- Energize those around you.
- Successfully navigate change and embrace transitions.
- Make the changes in yourself that will change your world.
Each individual flame can light the way toward personal Greatness, but when we spark the fires of others and join together, we can illuminate the world. Together we can seize new opportunities and build brighter futures.
Whether leaving offices to build new businesses, trading in briefcases for diaper bags, exchanging laundry for corporate ladders or a long-time job for unemployment lines, we are on the move. Even in challenging times—perhaps especially in challenging times—we are igniting our potential for Greatness and making a difference.
One of the keys to Karen’s success in helping me make progress has been her willingness to be honest and direct about my shortcomings and failures. Because I know that she is on my side, this directness is valuable because she tells you critical things that you might not otherwise hear, or find out about when it is too late. For me in particular, and for other budding academics or professionals, she has an important eye on finding ways to make money from what we do, which is, of course, another valuable aspect to her coaching skills.
~ Dr. Max Little,
MIT Media Lab &
Visiting Senior Research Associate,
Oxford Co
Start changing tomorrow . . . today.
Discover What’s Next: Creating Money-Making Futures that Matter
My clients have achieved a level of professional and personal mastery, but they are asking new questions, looking for deeper answers and new choices. All are contemplating what’s next.
Some come to me seeking a match to light their fires again or to hone their edge on the flames. Many seek me out as their private Oracle and their expert confidante on call. Others come to take their work and life to the next level—going from good to Great—so they can create a future that matters, redefine retirement, and leave a legacy of vision and meaning for generations to come.
Find out What’s Next for you!
Greatness Inside Out: From Inner Transformation To Measurable Results
Every day, I witness the energy and powerful achievements of clients who embrace their potential for greatness and reject the role society wants to impose on them. They are not invisible. They are not powerless. They embrace their Greatness at every age and stage.
I offer a unique female perspective on human potential, conscious aging, and Greatness and the practical strategies for acting on your potential to transform yourself and the world. It is my intent to model a new Greatness, emerging out of a holistic view of the world that emphasizes connectedness, collaboration, inner knowing and ancestral wisdom…and most of all, truth-telling. From your soul’s truth comes the power to be truly Great.
Working with Karen Sands is like entering a magical kingdom. The kingdom under the power suit, under the intellect, under the mind games. As I am approaching the second half of my life, I am more and more interested in self-improvement and introspection. This was a chance to reflect quietly but with an expert leading me through. The Greatness of Midlife workshop is an absolute must!
~ Elsie Maio,
President Maio Company,
Branding Strategists / Global Consultants
Creator of Soul Brand
Join Me in the Age of Greatness
You may have read about me (in books like Super Memory: The Revolution) or participated in one of my many workshops. Perhaps you’ve stumbled upon me serendipitously or were referred by a colleague or a trusted advisor.
However you found me, I’m glad you did. Welcome to the Age of Greatness—I would be honored to guide you toward a Creating a Money-Making Future that Matters.
My books include Ageless, Mastering Midlife Reinvention, Crossing the Canyon, Visionaries Have Wrinkles, and The Greatness Challenge. I also publish the Future Works® Gazette, a monthly eletter for seekers, movers and shakers—like you!
My qualifications include a decades-long pioneering career:
- Professional Futurist
- Author
- Professional Public Speaker
- ICF Master Certified Coach
- TED Fellow Coach
- Boomer & Midlife Expert for Audacious Visionary Entrepreneurs and Executives
- Master Educator & Trainer
- Career Counselor
- Strategist & Change Agent
- President & Founder of Future Works Institute, Ltd., Sands & Associates, LLC,
and AgelessFutures.com - Certified Gerontologist
From Prophet To Profit
Almost 40 years ago, I was one of a growing number of women becoming leaders, breaking through the glass ceiling and multiple barriers to our advancement and equality.
A decade later, I accurately forecasted the coming impact of the “Graying of America” on our future workforce, global competitiveness, and ultimately on our personal and professional lives.
In the ’80s I led, educated, and trained thousands at AXA/Equitable Financial Services. I became a well-regarded futurist in the study of emerging trends and led the call for private retirement planning for high net-worth clients and firms.
My methods as an “intrapreneur” and change agent brought meaning and collaboration as well as profit to the people I worked with and led.
I started the Future Works Institute precisely to have a greater impact on the future of individuals who could themselves have a greater impact on the world.
Concurrent with my bottom-line responsibilities, I served as Executive Coach & Mentor to my “new breed” cohorts, down-line managers and company-wide fast trackers.
Today, I’m highly regarded for my multidisciplinary and diverse approaches to changing the lives of individuals, the culture of organizations they lead, and the communities they live in.
Once at the forefront of women breaking through the glass ceiling, I am now dedicated to breaking through the silver ceiling. We can reclaim our position as visionaries for a world that needs people exactly like us to lead the way into the new Age of Greatness.
Reclaim your future!
Leading the Transformation Movement
I’ve contributed to the White House Task Force on Innovative Learning and the Hudson Institute’s Workforce 2000, 2020 Task Force and served as a reporter for the White House Conference on Aging–all by invitation. I’ve been named to Connecticut’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women’s Advisory Council and have trained members of the American Management Association, including CEOs.
As an Adjunct Professor at Hunter College’s Brookdale Center on Aging, I was the first to teach an adult gerontology course (Conscious Aging 101). I’m closely aligned and active with forward-thinking organizations:
- World Future Society
- American Society on Aging
- Association of Professional Futurists
- Awakening the Dreamer Symposium
- International Coach Federation
- Retirement Income Industry Association
Pioneering the New ’60s
As the world is poised yet again on the brink of a new era, we stand tall as truth-tellers journeying back from the future with clarity about what matters next and the practical tools to create meaningful, measurable results in our lives and in the lives of others. As a proven expert in unleashing greatness and catalyzing transformation, I can assure you of one thing: We are the visionary leaders and game changers we’ve been waiting for all this time.
Answer your own call to greatness and change your world—today!
To discover more about my approaches and my style,
please listen to these audio clips from my free teleseminar ROCK ON!™
I also invite you to join the conversation on my FREE open-mic, Conversations That MatterSM, so you can learn more about how I catalyze change in those ready to make a greater difference and enjoy increased profits.
Listen to my interview on Rich Dad Radio with Kim Kyosaki.Click Here to learn how Boomerpreneurs could revitalize employment.
