#34 – Boomer Grandma With A Little Edge

Ryan Doolittle [00:02:27]:
Yes. Yeah. So you have three adult children and seven grandchildren, correct?

Shannon Nelson [00:02:33]:
That’s right.

Ryan Doolittle [00:02:34]:
And so you have a huge online presence with TikTok and beyond. And you do a lot of talking about why millennial parents are frustrated by boomers and vice versa.

Shannon Nelson [00:02:44]:
Yes.

Ryan Doolittle [00:02:45]:
So get into that. For me, it sounds like some personal experience led to that.

Shannon Nelson [00:02:49]:
Oh, well, yeah. So I only started posting 18 months ago, and I did it at the urging of my oldest son, who had done this thing with me that kind of appeared to resonate with some of his followers. So I started posting with no experience whatsoever, very little knowledge of technology. But, you know, because I’m 68, almost 69, lots of life experience, and I’m retired now, so my life consists of golf, golf, golf, my dog, my kids, and my grandkids. They wouldn’t like the order I put that in.

Ryan Doolittle [00:03:25]:
Right.

Shannon Nelson [00:03:26]:
But anyway, so that’s what I post about it. It’s just about my life, which I have a tremendous amount of interaction with all of my grandkids. And it is absolutely way better than being a parent. Have to tell you that.

Ryan Doolittle [00:03:40]:
Okay, I have heard that. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:03:42]:
Yeah. Anyway, so, you know, there. I have developed this gradual and am still developing this awareness of the difference in the ways that we parented our kids and certainly the way my parents parented me and the way the younger people are parenting our grandkids. And so I started posting about it and got some pretty intense responses. Yeah. I would have to say that most people recognize that it was satire and that I was making fun of myself, but also, you know, making fun of my kids, I hope in a good natured way. At least that’s. That was the intention.

Shannon Nelson [00:04:21]:
But I got a lot of pushback from millennial parents. That surprised me, Ryan, because I was completely oblivious to the anger, resentment, and maybe justified that your generation, I’m assuming, has toward my generation for essentially screwing up the world. So. So that. And I want you to know it was not my intention to do that.

Ryan Doolittle [00:04:46]:
But to screw up the world.

Shannon Nelson [00:04:48]:
Yeah, basically. I’m sorry, but. And, you know, but I was completely unaware. And the pushback was Most intense on TikTok to begin with, but. But then also on Instagram, and I actually have a much bigger following on Instagram than I do on TikTok.

Ryan Doolittle [00:05:04]:
Oh, I didn’t realize that. Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:05:06]:
I think it’s because there’s more old people on Instagram than there are on TikTok. But anyway, so that was very interesting to me. And initially, you know, I felt quite my backup. I, you know, I didn’t like it, but I’ve come to understand where it comes from. You know, the Things that I usually talk about in my posts are just the small things that exacerbate this huge underlying issue, which is that we screwed up the world. You know, the differences in the way we parent, which are pretty dramatic, I have to say. The way we move through the world, the way we eat food without really being too concerned about germs, the way we. And I’m sure most people wouldn’t admit this, but the way we are very cavalier about washing our hands and everything we do seems to have the potential to offend the younger generation.

Shannon Nelson [00:05:56]:
So, you know, I guess that has a bit of edge to it, or the way I present it has a bit of edge. And there you go.

Ryan Doolittle [00:06:04]:
Well, yeah, it’s very striking, the differences, but I liked kind of how you talk about it because you talk about you respect your kids and the way they’re parenting. It’s just a lot different. So you. You find yourself biting your tongue. And I think the fact that you bite your tongue sometimes says a lot about how much you care, because you might feel like this is the right way, but I’m not going to say anything.

Shannon Nelson [00:06:28]:
Yeah, well, so I used to bite my tongue a lot less.

Ryan Doolittle [00:06:34]:
But then.

Shannon Nelson [00:06:34]:
I got my head bitten off.

Ryan Doolittle [00:06:36]:
Right, right.

Shannon Nelson [00:06:37]:
I mean, the younger generation are not reluctant at all to give me a piece of their mind. I love that. I think it’s wonderful. But they’re not so receptive to the. My generation kind of giving a little bit back. But, yeah, you know, part of it has been just a realization that as parents, we. We really weren’t perfect. Just saying.

Shannon Nelson [00:07:00]:
And lots of the things we did and thought were okay aren’t anymore, for good reason. However, there does seem to be a little more extremism when it comes to how we feed our kids, how we schedule activities for kids, how we coddle. Did I say that? How we coddle our kids. So I think somewhere in between how we did it and how my kids are doing it is probably a reasonable place.

Ryan Doolittle [00:07:27]:
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, because the pendulum may have swung too far, and I’m hoping that it swings kind of back to maybe taking the best of both.

Shannon Nelson [00:07:37]:
I hope you’re right, too. I mean, I hear and read alarming things about the rates of anxiety in teenage kids today or in kids in their 20s. And, you know, that’s scary to me because these are the people that are hopefully going to be taking care of me. But, you know, I. I want the best for the younger generations. I do, in my heart and soul. And I think most People in my generation do, you know, where we’re invested in younger people emotionally and sometimes financially, too. So I worry that all the screen time and the sort of helicopter parenting is.

Shannon Nelson [00:08:09]:
Is not adequately preparing our kids for the real world. So.

Ryan Doolittle [00:08:13]:
Yeah, it’s fascinating. I remember. So I’m actually more. Well, I’m gen. What am I? Gen X.

Shannon Nelson [00:08:19]:
Okay. You look good for Gen X. Oh, thank you. You’re taking out of the hose, right?

Ryan Doolittle [00:08:25]:
I was, yeah. And my mom would just say, you know, summer day. I’d say, bye, Mom. I’d get on my bike and I’d come back for dinner and throw my bike on the lawn and go, you know, so I love that. But when I think about letting my little son do that, it makes my stomach clench up.

Shannon Nelson [00:08:43]:
You know, I get it and I understand that.

Ryan Doolittle [00:08:46]:
I don’t know if the world is different or if I’m just different.

Shannon Nelson [00:08:49]:
No, I think the world is for sure a scarier place. You know, there are school shootings and, you know, terrifying times. There’s online nastiness that blows me away. In fact, you know, a year ago when I was posting, I used to use my grandkids in my posts. You know, of course, they’re adorable, and it was fun, but as a family, we sat down a few months ago and decided no more. Just because. Well, first of all, I don’t want them to be even aware of social media, let alone my presence. I don’t want them to be concerned about, at least not yet.

Shannon Nelson [00:09:21]:
The oldest is 10, although he is. But the other thing is, you know, with AI, all kinds of horrific things can happen. So I think the world is a much scarier place than it used to be. For sure.

Ryan Doolittle [00:09:32]:
Yeah. I hadn’t thought about AI with that. That is an extra level of concern. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:09:37]:
Oh, I’ve heard some nightmare stories about what nefarious individuals can do with images that they take off social media of children. With AI, I. You know, I don’t even want to think about it, so.

Ryan Doolittle [00:09:46]:
I know, I know. Okay. Yeah, that. That’s not. Is because I’ve posted my son on social media, too. I mean, I don’t. Yeah, you probably.

Shannon Nelson [00:09:55]:
You probably have a private account though, right?

Ryan Doolittle [00:09:57]:
No.

Shannon Nelson [00:09:58]:
Okay.

Ryan Doolittle [00:09:59]:
Oh, boy. Okay. You’re. You’re helping me with my security concerns here.

Shannon Nelson [00:10:03]:
That just made you more afraid? Well, I. I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe it’s. Maybe it’s too much to. To think that that kind of thing is going to happen. But, you know, part of it is that I just don’t want my kids to be concerned about social media. I don’t want them to.

Ryan Doolittle [00:10:17]:
Right.

Shannon Nelson [00:10:17]:
Like it got to the point last year where my grandson would say, well, how many views did the post about me get? Gang. Gang. And then say, well, the one about me got whatever. So like, you know, no more.

Ryan Doolittle [00:10:26]:
Yeah, that is, it’s like let I have that thought. But I, if I’m screwed up, that’s one thing I don’t want to let my kid worry about that.

Shannon Nelson [00:10:35]:
Good, good. I don’t. Yeah. You know, yeah, it’s, it’s not so. I don’t know. You know, I’m. I am enheartened by the fact that when we talk about cell phones now in the family, there’s been a general agreement that none of my grandkids will have a smartphone until they’re 16, which that is very wise. They’ll have flip phones for communication.

Shannon Nelson [00:10:56]:
I’m here, I’m there, whatever. Yeah, but no smartphones. And I think that’s great because the battle in, in my kids houses to keep their children off the screens is a very intense and very difficult to win. It’s relentless. So yeah, so I think that’s a, you know, I think that in a way is bringing it back a little bit to how things used to be, not just giving them, you know, carte blanche with the screens.

Ryan Doolittle [00:11:23]:
Yeah. And you know, it goes both ways because there’s a little drawer underneath where my son’s screen is and he’s been pulling it out and standing in it, which is a no. No. So I’m, you know, I’m telling him no, but then I’m thinking I don’t have the leverage here because I actually want him to be watching right now because I need a break.

Shannon Nelson [00:11:42]:
Of course you do.

Ryan Doolittle [00:11:43]:
Right. So what is my leverage here?

Shannon Nelson [00:11:47]:
Yeah, I babysat my 8 and 10 year old grandkids a week ago for 3 days and there were very strict rules about consumption of, well, just looking at screens. And my 10 year old grandson is a fortnight addict. And there were parameters. They weren’t to have them this and they weren’t to have them that. Well, I can’t even tell you how many hours of fortnight that kid played. But I needed a break. And so, you know, I get it with parents, it’s. I mean, it’s like TV used to be for us, right.

Shannon Nelson [00:12:19]:
You pop the kid down in front of the tv, whether it’s Sesame Street. Well, it’s Sesame street, so it’s gotta be okay, it’s Mr. Rogers so he can watch 35 episodes of Mr. Rogers. It’s all good, right?

Ryan Doolittle [00:12:29]:
Yeah. And the new Mr. Rogers is Daniel Tiger. It’s an animated version based on Mr. Rogers. And so. But it’s so funny you say that, because today my wife walked out wearing a white bathrobe and. And my son said, oh, am I going to get a checkup? Because the doctor in deck and Daniel Tiger.

Ryan Doolittle [00:12:48]:
So, yeah, he’s watching a lot to immediately.

Shannon Nelson [00:12:52]:
No, Fair enough.

Ryan Doolittle [00:12:54]:
Yeah. Yeah. But I do relate to you on. Maybe it’s because I’m Gen X, so I’m in the between the Millennial and Boomer, but I do think the thoughtfulness of the younger generation is great. And. But sometimes they just get a little ahead of themselves with how far that goes. I mean, like you were saying you were packing lunches for your grandkids and it took like 45 minutes. Yes.

Ryan Doolittle [00:13:18]:
And they didn’t. They didn’t even eat most of it.

Shannon Nelson [00:13:20]:
No. And I think it’s. I think it’s like that every day. And.

Ryan Doolittle [00:13:23]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:13:24]:
You know, I know there are regulations at the school. The kids are not allowed to bring anything with peanut butter. And, you know, I heard, oh, yeah, peanut butter because of peanut allergies. It’s deadly. You are never going to be able to send your kid to school with anything with peanut butter in it.

Ryan Doolittle [00:13:37]:
Oh, no.

Shannon Nelson [00:13:38]:
I know.

Ryan Doolittle [00:13:38]:
Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:13:39]:
Oh, yeah. Welcome to the real world, buddy.

Ryan Doolittle [00:13:41]:
Yeah, it’s.

Shannon Nelson [00:13:42]:
It’s. It’s grim, let me tell you.

Ryan Doolittle [00:13:44]:
So that’s one of the main staples of what I get him to eat.

Shannon Nelson [00:13:47]:
And of my diet as well.

Ryan Doolittle [00:13:49]:
Yeah, me too. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:13:51]:
But so, so, yeah, that’s, you know, these bento boxes with their works of art. And I must say I was proud of it. Not so proud when they came full. But. Yeah, you know, that. That’s just sort of one. One example that the amount. Like, here’s the other thing.

Shannon Nelson [00:14:06]:
The amount of stuff kids have today. I know, you know, when it comes to Christmas time or birthdays, well, the old farts like me haven’t got a clue what to get the kids because they’ve already got everything.

Ryan Doolittle [00:14:15]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:14:16]:
And it’s all mostly junk, you know, they. Anyway, so, you know, just that instant access via Amazon or whatever it is to whatever they need right away. That’s also something that’s problematic to me. But I think in general, I know my kids are certainly much more thoughtful about parenting than I ever was. You know, I didn’t read a parenting manual. I had a baby brother who was 10 years younger than me. I watched my mom parent him. That’s where I picked up all my fabulous kids.

Shannon Nelson [00:14:44]:
I also had an older brother, but, you know, I. We just didn’t worry that much about it.

Ryan Doolittle [00:14:48]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:14:48]:
And. And today’s parents are worried about it, and rightly so. I mean, it’s. It’s probably the most important thing we’re going to do.

Ryan Doolittle [00:14:56]:
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Like the hand sanitizer. I mean, like, again, it’s a little overboard, but probably a good idea to wash your hands after you come inside, but not, like, every five minutes, you know?

Shannon Nelson [00:15:07]:
Yes, yes.

Ryan Doolittle [00:15:08]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:15:09]:
And the hydration. Oh, my God. How did I get through a day?

Ryan Doolittle [00:15:13]:
I don’t remember drinking water as a kid.

Shannon Nelson [00:15:16]:
I don’t remember drinking water either. And here’s the other thing. I think I might have been thirsty four times in my entire, like, exactly. They have. They have to have water bottles with them every minute of the day. It doesn’t matter if they’re going to the park for 20 minutes. They got to have water bottles and a snack. Like, there’s this just constant hydrate, hydrate, hydrate thing that I think is probably more than they need.

Ryan Doolittle [00:15:37]:
I remember playing high school sports and needing water was seen as weakness, you know?

Shannon Nelson [00:15:42]:
Oh, dear. That’s really sad. Maybe Eugen Xers really did have it harder than we did.

Ryan Doolittle [00:15:49]:
I don’t know about that. And also, I think probably every generation thinks the previous generation ruined the world for them, so. So don’t feel too bad about that.

Shannon Nelson [00:15:58]:
Well, I mean, I do, and I don’t. I am very aware of how difficult it is for millennials these days to afford a house.

Ryan Doolittle [00:16:07]:
Well, that’s legit.

Shannon Nelson [00:16:08]:
Yeah, that is legit. Global warming is legit. There’s all kinds of things that they are struggling. And then people like me, I was born frugal. We see millennials going to the beauty parlor and having their nails done and paying for lattes and all this kind of stuff. Well, what I’ve learned is that those are the things they can afford.

Ryan Doolittle [00:16:30]:
Right?

Shannon Nelson [00:16:31]:
The small luxuries, because they can’t afford the big ones.

Ryan Doolittle [00:16:34]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:16:35]:
So I guess I understand. I had a friend of mine tell me the other day, she was babysitting her granddaughter, who was, I think, 8, and she thought she’d give her a real treat and take her for a manicure. And when she told her granddaughter she was doing that, her granddaughter said, oh, I’ve had tons of manicures.

Ryan Doolittle [00:16:50]:
Oh, no, no.

Shannon Nelson [00:16:53]:
I never had one till I was 45.

Ryan Doolittle [00:16:55]:
Right, right. Yeah, I see. The latte thing’s a big One where I think people see that as a waste and I think there is something to that. But I don’t think stopping the purchase of a latte is going to help you afford a house per se.

Shannon Nelson [00:17:10]:
Nor do I. And I know there’s a lot of sensitive people, insensitive people in my generation who look at those kinds of things. Things and judge the younger people when, you know, it’s, it’s not really relevant. So.

Ryan Doolittle [00:17:22]:
Right. It could, I think it could matter on the margins, but probably not enough for down payment, you know.

Shannon Nelson [00:17:27]:
Yeah, but probably not. Yeah, well, that’s when we step in, you know, that’s when cards step in.

Ryan Doolittle [00:17:33]:
Oh, really? I didn’t know that I can call you when I’m ready for a down payment.

Shannon Nelson [00:17:36]:
Well, you know, you need to call your own. Oh, I mean, you’re cute and you’re nice, but.

Ryan Doolittle [00:17:42]:
But they. What if they don’t answer? Do.

Shannon Nelson [00:17:44]:
Yeah, that. Well. And I think often enough. You know, one of the things that I’ve been thinking about lately a lot is this whole issue of going non contact with your parents and how many people are doing that now. I see it, I see it on social media all the time. Younger people who are just fed up with their, with their parents who are like my age and basically just cut them off. That’s it. I, you know, we’re done.

Shannon Nelson [00:18:05]:
No, really? Absolutely.

Ryan Doolittle [00:18:06]:
Wow.

Shannon Nelson [00:18:07]:
Yes.

Ryan Doolittle [00:18:07]:
Are these, you know, especially bad, for lack of a better word, paranormal?

Shannon Nelson [00:18:11]:
Probably, probably some are, but, but it’s also my perception because I see a lot of criticism of people in my generation. My perception is that, that the younger group is a pretty unforgiving bunch and, you know, and they’re not going to put up with any more crap if they feel like they’ve, you know, reached their quota.

Ryan Doolittle [00:18:31]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:18:31]:
And so in my world, I mean it was, there was no option. You know, you, you were basically glued to your parents until they died and, and that was a good thing. But you know, I understand that in some situations, you know, the parents are horrendous and so maybe it’s warranted, but this whole idea of no contact seems like it can kind of get out of hand. Right.

Ryan Doolittle [00:18:51]:
Like I think so. I think boundaries are good, but not again, not overdoing it. My wife is really good at. Or she, she wasn’t when we met and she’s become really good at setting boundaries and then if the person oversteps that she doesn’t work, you know, she doesn’t feel guilty about. And I think that’s kind of the key Is. Here’s. Here’s what’s okay with me. And if you go beyond that, that’s not okay with me, you know?

Shannon Nelson [00:19:18]:
Yeah, I had to look that up about a year ago, along with a whole bunch of other languages, boundaries, triggers, projecting, gaslighting. This is all new language for me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:19:30]:
Yes, yes. Did you, when you read that, did you think, oh, I’ve been gaslit, I just didn’t know it?

Shannon Nelson [00:19:35]:
Absolutely, yes. It’s that repressed memory syndrome. Right, right. I didn’t have a word for it, so I. I didn’t know.

Ryan Doolittle [00:19:43]:
Yeah, yeah. Well, now, on. On social media, you really get into this using humor, which I think is such a great method for it. You do. So you. I saw one where you were doing two different characters. You. In this one, you were the boomer and the Gen X and.

Shannon Nelson [00:20:02]:
All right.

Ryan Doolittle [00:20:03]:
Calling the person to ask questions, and it was really good. What’s that?

Shannon Nelson [00:20:08]:
That was the Boomer help line.

Ryan Doolittle [00:20:09]:
Yeah, the Boomer help line. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:20:11]:
Nobody wants any Boomer help, I can tell. No, no, but the.

Ryan Doolittle [00:20:15]:
The boomer wasn’t concerned about that. They were still going to give the help either way. Right?

Shannon Nelson [00:20:20]:
Yeah, yeah, I do. You know, the generational thing is interesting to me. I mean, obviously, there are no hard lines. Right. There’s lots of overlap. And even, you know, especially you guys who are Gen X’s, who, you know, nobody even realized you existed until, I don’t know, last year or something. Right, right. I didn’t know you existed.

Shannon Nelson [00:20:39]:
And then when somebody told me, I went, oh, I think my little brother’s a Gen X. And I called him an out. He had no idea. So. Okay. Yeah, he didn’t even.

Ryan Doolittle [00:20:46]:
We got skipped over a bit. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:20:48]:
Yeah, a little bit. But, you know, anyway, the generational thing is interesting to me. Although, as I say, there are no hard lines to define. Fine. One generation after another, I often meet old souls who remind me of people in my generation who.

Ryan Doolittle [00:20:59]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:21:00]:
You know, I was going to say they just seem to get it, but that sounds like we get it, which I’m pretty sure, you know, younger generations figure we don’t. But. So, yeah, I. I like to have a little bit of fun at the expense of generations. And I, you know, it seems to me the more edgy the fun is, the more traction I get on social media.

Ryan Doolittle [00:21:19]:
Yeah, for sure.

Shannon Nelson [00:21:20]:
And occasionally, you know, I’ll do something like, for example, I did a video last year about how the difference in the way millennials make lunches for their kids and the way we did it, and I Thought it was a pretty innocuous thing. Right. I showed a peanut butter and jam sandwich in a baggie with an apple, and that was it. Well, I mean, first of all, the video went viral, and I got so much negative feedback about how we were useless parents wouldn’t even pack lunches. I mean, it just went on and on and on. And it was right around that time that I realized, okay, well, there’s a bit of a difference here. And then I thought, well, there’s also a treasure trove, right?

Ryan Doolittle [00:21:53]:
Exactly.

Shannon Nelson [00:21:54]:
Yeah, there’s lots out there. Like sleep trainers. You guys have sleep trainers for babies?

Ryan Doolittle [00:22:03]:
I didn’t, but I know of it. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:22:06]:
Yeah, we had a sleep chamber, too. We used to just pinch the fat on their inner thighs, and if there was enough fat to pinch, then we just let them cry. Isn’t that awful? That.

Ryan Doolittle [00:22:14]:
That was a really. That was the test, yes. Because that means they’re getting enough nutrition.

Shannon Nelson [00:22:20]:
Absolutely.

Ryan Doolittle [00:22:21]:
Wow. Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:22:22]:
Well, we, you know, the emotional concerns were, you know, so it. So one thing that’s interesting to me is the younger generations are very much into self analysis or therapy or, you know, they’re very in touch with their emotions. In my generation, it was like, get over it. Don’t worry about. Yeah, it’s over. What. You know, deal with it kind of thing. So.

Shannon Nelson [00:22:42]:
So that whole. All of that language and that whole way of being is kind of foreign to me. I’m starting to pick up some of the lingo. But, yeah, yeah.

Ryan Doolittle [00:22:51]:
And. And I. I think the just get over it thing, there is some merit to it. I mean, there’s. There’s. I see memes nowadays. One that speaks to that is, you know, someone younger is. Is going on and on about, like, their trauma or something.

Ryan Doolittle [00:23:04]:
And then the other person says, sir, this is a Wendy’s. You know, you’re in the drive through. I don’t need to know all that.

Shannon Nelson [00:23:10]:
That’s very good. I saw. I saw somebody. Somebody posted a couple days ago, and it was a young kid after the first week of college, and he was crying and he was like, nobody told me how hard it was gonna be. Right. So it’s not like I’m the only one who has a sense of humor about who I am. Like, it was really funny.

Ryan Doolittle [00:23:27]:
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Well, so tell me, you. You did say you consider yourself retired. So what does that look like for you?

Shannon Nelson [00:23:35]:
So I. I’m a. I’m one of these very busy retired people. I’ve always been really active. I play golf a lot.

Ryan Doolittle [00:23:42]:
Like, you were a Pro golfer, right?

Shannon Nelson [00:23:44]:
No, but thank you for thinking it was possible.

Ryan Doolittle [00:23:46]:
Okay. I thought you were okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:23:48]:
No, I golf in my 30s and. What? You know, wasn’t able to play that much because I was working, but then when I retired, started playing with passion. So I. I play a lot of golf. I. You know, I. I used to play five or six days a week, but it was starting to feel a little creaky in the hips. And, yeah, I’m carving it down to four or five times a week, but it’s okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:24:08]:
It’s a fantastic source of socialization, believe it or not. Exercise, because I walk the course of challenge. I mean, it’s a. I know people think it’s crazy, but it’s a. It’s a wonderful game. So I play golf. I have a dog. I walk her a couple times a day.

Shannon Nelson [00:24:23]:
She’s like my bff. And now I have. Now I have this little sideline, this little social media sideline, which I’m just going to say, provides me with endless sources of entertainment. Also, it’s been a fantastic learning experience for me. I am, you know, technologically stunted like most people in my generation, so it probably takes me three times as long to figure out how to do things, but I am doing it, and it’s really very fun and a little bit addictive.

Ryan Doolittle [00:24:51]:
Oh, yeah, I find that, too. I feel it. You know, I’m feeling a little down right now. Let me see how many likes I got on that one.

Shannon Nelson [00:24:59]:
Isn’t that awful?

Ryan Doolittle [00:25:00]:
Yeah. Yeah. I know it’s happening, and I still do it, you know.

Shannon Nelson [00:25:05]:
I know, me too. But, you know, when I saw something somebody posted a while back that I really related to, and that is that, you know, I’ve had lots of posts go viral, and that’s a real hit. But I’ve had posts that I’ve really liked that’ll get like 50,000 views, which is on the lower end for me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:25:21]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:25:22]:
But I’ve decided that everything that I put out there is a small part of my big story. And so, you know, I don’t sweat that anymore because it’s. It’s one small part of my whole big story, which is everything together. And, you know, while it’s fun to have a post go viral, it’s. It’s also fun to just connect with people that already are following you and that, you know, just that you relate to and that relate to you. That feels good to me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:25:49]:
Sure. And it is weird. Sometimes the ones that you swear by that are gonna be the best get the least Views.

Shannon Nelson [00:25:56]:
That’s always the case for me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:25:58]:
I don’t get it either. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:26:00]:
So I posted this thing a couple days ago. I was in Costco and I picked out this thing that I thought was really cute. And all I said was that I could hear my daughter’s groan of disgust because, you know, she thinks that because it had a pattern on it and whatnot. And I posted it and it’s got like almost 2 million views on Facebook. It took me three minutes to put it together. It was just no big deal at all. And I wasn’t gonn. Because I thought, oh, this is ridiculous, you know, and then there’ll be something that I think is brilliant and so funny and then every seasonal laugh and it’ll just like, exactly like.

Ryan Doolittle [00:26:31]:
Yeah, you work hard on it, you get it just right. And then nothing. It’s like, exactly. What was that for? Yeah, but I try to look at it like the victory was posting it. You know, I got something out of it. It’s hard to look at it that way, but I try.

Shannon Nelson [00:26:45]:
I definitely look at it that way now. I mean, I get a huge amount of entertainment out of making videos. It’s still, it’s still sort of novel to me. I like, I like telling stories and there are so many different ways to tell stories. I love the music part of it. I love the dialogue. My, you know, photography is pretty rudimentary. I don’t have anybody help me with it.

Shannon Nelson [00:27:05]:
I’ve just got stands, I do that kind of thing. But it’s, you know, it’s, it’s very fun. And I, I realized that, you know, there’s so much more that I could learn. But I’ve got this limited sort of all person’s brain that even if I do learn it, it’s probably going to be gone in two days anyway.

Ryan Doolittle [00:27:21]:
You have to relearn it.

Shannon Nelson [00:27:24]:
So. So there’s that. But I think it’s, I think it’s good brain activity. Even though it’s.

Ryan Doolittle [00:27:29]:
Oh, definitely. You know, it’s like going to the brain gym kind of, you know. Yeah. And I think people in the boomer generation are too hard on themselves about their knowledge for technology because my, my mom will ask me something and apologize for asking, but she’s actually ahead of where most people her age are. So I always tell her, you’re doing great. Don’t feel so bad about this.

Shannon Nelson [00:27:54]:
Well, I think we’re very insecure and for lots of good reason. I mean, it amazes me. I’ll be looking at my phone. I was just Visiting my oldest son a couple of days ago and I’m looking at my phone trying to figure out how to do something and of course there’s a prompt in the lower right hand corner that I haven’t even noticed because I’m looking up top and I don’t, I mean it’s not intuitive for me at all.

Ryan Doolittle [00:28:14]:
Right, right.

Shannon Nelson [00:28:15]:
I, I asked my daughter in law, she goes, well, gang, it’s right here. You know, she’s just got it like that.

Ryan Doolittle [00:28:19]:
And I’m like, yeah, that’s humbling. I have that experience too.

Shannon Nelson [00:28:24]:
It is. And you know, there’s, I’m sure there’s lots of things I do that I take a long route and that I could do and, and I have, you know, I follow this woman who’s very good on social media. Her name is Helen Police. She has a site called the Mothership and she’s brilliant, she’s a wonderful teacher and she’s got all these tutorials on her site, which is fantastic.

Ryan Doolittle [00:28:42]:
Oh yeah, yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:28:43]:
But I’m beginner mode, man. And I’m still in beginner mode and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be in beginner Mode until I’m 85.

Ryan Doolittle [00:28:48]:
It seems to be working for you.

Shannon Nelson [00:28:50]:
Yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s good enough. Yeah, it’s good enough.

Ryan Doolittle [00:28:54]:
So I went to film school, so I, a long time ago, but so I have that inside of me. Oh, I need to light this and do that or that. But I’ve noticed sometimes the more rudimentary it is, the almost the better it does. I think the younger generation is not concerned with aesthetics in that way.

Shannon Nelson [00:29:11]:
They want like real authenticity. They want it real.

Ryan Doolittle [00:29:15]:
Right, yeah, exactly.

Shannon Nelson [00:29:16]:
I’ve noticed that too. I mean, I had to learn about lighting, but only in the sense that you want the light coming to you. I ended up having to buy a mic because I can hear audio, very sensitive that way, and I could hear other people sounding. So I ended up spending 30 bucks on a mic.

Ryan Doolittle [00:29:32]:
A little lavalier or something or what do you.

Shannon Nelson [00:29:34]:
Yeah, it’s a really groovy little thing. I don’t have it here, but it’s, it’s, it’s wired, but you can also get them wireless and it, you know, it’s about, it’s about that big and it makes a huge difference if there’s lots of speaking in your video. So I’m, you know, and I’m, and I’ve learned things by watching other people’s. I consume a lot of social media now. Because I learned from other people’s things. Like, I learned that. That a change, a shift in scene between every. Everything you say adds interest.

Shannon Nelson [00:30:00]:
Um, I. I’ve learned that if you’re doing something inane while you’re talking, like whether you’re carving a cantaloupe or whatever that is compelling to people just watching a carve a cantaloupe, even if you’re talking about, you know, homelessness, like. Right.

Ryan Doolittle [00:30:13]:
Action movement.

Shannon Nelson [00:30:15]:
Yeah. And I’m. So. I continue to learn, you know, if I see something that I like online, I take it apart and think to myself, how can I do that? How can I do that? I steal stuff all the time. I steal ideas like a mad woman.

Ryan Doolittle [00:30:27]:
Well, I. You know, you could say steal or you could say learn, you know?

Shannon Nelson [00:30:31]:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I don’t take. I. I don’t take the actual content, but I take presentation.

Ryan Doolittle [00:30:36]:
Right, right. Yeah. I think a lot of people do. You know, we’re all looking to someone better to see, you know, for guidance.

Shannon Nelson [00:30:43]:
Yeah. You know, I. I have to say, speaking to authenticity, I really enjoy something that looks real. That. That’s not perfect. That’s not. That isn’t rehearsed. And I never rehearse anything.

Shannon Nelson [00:30:54]:
I’m always off the cuff. And if I. And if I don’t like the take, then I do it again. You know, I don’t. I don’t like hearing anything rehearsed and I know. And I don’t like putting anything rehearsed out there.

Ryan Doolittle [00:31:05]:
So if it sounds too rehearsed, I move on. Yeah, I just. This isn’t speaking to me. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:31:11]:
I’ve got the attention span of a nat, man. I can tell in the first three seconds it’s like, yeah, no, no, no, same here. And then I imagine people doing that with my videos. You know, everybody talks about this big hook. You gotta have this big hook at the beginning of a video. Well, I guess you do, because I’m lost eas, you know, easily early. But I. I’m not sure I figured out how to.

Shannon Nelson [00:31:29]:
I don’t know if I know the hook thing yet.

Ryan Doolittle [00:31:32]:
Well, if you knew it every time, you’d be a billionaire. So I. It’s hard to always know.

Shannon Nelson [00:31:37]:
Yeah. So here’s my thing. Here’s what I’m doing. Like it, don’t like it.

Ryan Doolittle [00:31:41]:
We’re all great, right? So is. Is this social media thing now one of your streams of income? I don’t know how that works.

Shannon Nelson [00:31:48]:
Well, so I’m glad you asked. I have not as yet monetized I’ve had, I’ve had several offers.

Ryan Doolittle [00:31:56]:
Oh, really? Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:31:57]:
Oh, yeah. Some of the, you know, the adult diapers, I’d be perfect for that. I had a company in the uk, it was an adult toy company and it was called the Mona Lisa. M O A N a Lisa. They, you know, they, they were interested and I’ve been approached by, you know, lots of legit companies, but I, I haven’t done anything like that yet. I’m not sure I will. I, I don’t want it to turn into work for me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:32:19]:
Right, Right.

Shannon Nelson [00:32:21]:
And you know, if I, if I have a schedule or debt, like, I’m, I’m just doing my thing and enjoying it and I don’t really. The other thing is I’m somewhat tolerant of creators that I really like doing ads if they’re clever.

Ryan Doolittle [00:32:35]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:32:36]:
But, but I, I just don’t really want to be seen as selling out.

Ryan Doolittle [00:32:41]:
It, It’s a balance because if you do that, then people won’t believe anything you’re saying.

Shannon Nelson [00:32:46]:
Yeah, right. And you know, to be honest, I haven’t really had a clue what your value as a creator is in terms of doing something like that. I did get a very interesting offer last week. The first one that was meaningful to me that I might have considered, but they wanted grandchildren in it and we don’t do that.

Ryan Doolittle [00:33:06]:
Right.

Shannon Nelson [00:33:07]:
So I’m not saying I will never do it, but it would have to be pretty good and it would have to be completely in line with who I am.

Ryan Doolittle [00:33:15]:
Right. Yeah. Well, tell me about your core pursuits. So it definitely sounds like golf is one and doing these social media posts another.

Shannon Nelson [00:33:25]:
You know, even though I don’t generate revenue from the social media thing, it’s because. Become like a small business for me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:33:30]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:33:30]:
So I enjoy the interaction with businesses, with other creators, with, with followers. I really like the sense of community. I feel a sense of responsibility to my community and I’m thinking about it all the time. Not 100% of the time. I used to when I was new, but, you know, I, I like, I like producing content.

Ryan Doolittle [00:33:52]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:33:52]:
It fires me up. So. So I would say I spend as much time on that as I do on golf now. And so it’s made it, you know, a very groovy hobby for me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:34:06]:
Well, when you think about if it’s bringing you joy, isn’t that more important than money? You know, it’s hard to see it that way because we’re kind of trained to think what’s productive. What. Yeah, how do I make money? But that’s kind of more important is if you already have enough to support. Support yourself especially.

Shannon Nelson [00:34:23]:
Which I. Which I do.

Ryan Doolittle [00:34:24]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:34:25]:
And. And so far. Yeah, it’s more important. How I feel about doing it is more important. I, you know, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get bored with it. I have a very short attention span. I thought, oh, God, three months from now it’ll be like, yeah, no, done with that. Onto something new.

Shannon Nelson [00:34:39]:
I better learn how to play the violin or something.

Ryan Doolittle [00:34:42]:
Right, right.

Shannon Nelson [00:34:43]:
But because I’m like that. But I’ve, I’ve. It continues to. Who interests me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:34:49]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:34:49]:
And I’m never going to master it, so. I know that part.

Ryan Doolittle [00:34:54]:
Yeah. So you’ll always have something to work on. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:34:57]:
And I, and there, you know, believe it or not, the learning part of it is. Is really important to me. But also I’ve now I’ve developed this community and I like it. I like. And it. You know, there’s lots of people my age. There’s also lots of people who are younger. I hear from people all over the world.

Shannon Nelson [00:35:14]:
I did an interview with a guy from a German television station two days ago.

Ryan Doolittle [00:35:18]:
Really?

Shannon Nelson [00:35:19]:
Yes.

Ryan Doolittle [00:35:20]:
Holy cow.

Shannon Nelson [00:35:20]:
I know. And you know, I’ve got. I’ve got followers in Arabia and in Australia and I get the odd hi from Brisbane or whatever. You know, like, it’s.

Ryan Doolittle [00:35:30]:
Wow. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:35:31]:
Yeah. So that’s gratifying too. And. And then the other thing is my grandkids, when I’m long gone, will be able to look at it and realize where they came from. It’ll explain a few things for them.

Ryan Doolittle [00:35:40]:
I bet they will love that. Yeah. I get a chance to see you. I mean, I wish I could watch my grandma, you know.

Shannon Nelson [00:35:48]:
Yeah, me too. I wish I could just, you know, remember a conversation with her. You know, my grandma has.

Ryan Doolittle [00:35:54]:
She, she had a, you know, her answering machine my sister saved.

Shannon Nelson [00:35:58]:
Oh, that’s great.

Ryan Doolittle [00:35:59]:
And we listen to it every year on her birthday. So imagine what your grandkids will be able to do.

Shannon Nelson [00:36:04]:
Yeah. It’s going to take a long time for them to weed through all my crap. I love that idea. I, you know, I saved one message that my, that my mother left me on my answering machine. She died three years ago and I miss her every day. The message was, it’s your mother. M O T H E R Mother. You remember me? You know, like it was just one of these classic.

Ryan Doolittle [00:36:24]:
Harassing you.

Shannon Nelson [00:36:26]:
Yes. She was always giving me grief or something or another. And so I saved that message. But yeah.

Ryan Doolittle [00:36:35]:
So you also. Do you play Pickleball.

Shannon Nelson [00:36:38]:
I play some pickleball. Yeah. I have to tell you, this is terrible, but the highlight of my summer was I played a game of pickleball with my grandson who was 10 and his buddy, who’s the goalie of his hockey team. His name is Zach Klunk. Is that not the best name for a goalie? That is perfect. My grandson John got to pick his partner, so he picked his dad thinking that, you know, strong team, right? And Zach, that little diamond, picked me. So of course I went out there and played my rear end off and, you know, pulled a muscle in my hip. But we whooped them.

Ryan Doolittle [00:37:10]:
You got the victory.

Shannon Nelson [00:37:12]:
It’s the best.

Ryan Doolittle [00:37:13]:
Worth it.

Shannon Nelson [00:37:14]:
The best thing that happened to me all summer. It was so fantastic. The highlight of my summer, I played last. Now just because my hips are creaky, I’ve kind of had to slow down substantially with regard to pickleball and tennis. I walk a lot. I. And I, you know, I used to play golf all the time and I, I do, I play a lot of, a lot of competitive golf.

Ryan Doolittle [00:37:35]:
Oh, you joined tournaments?

Shannon Nelson [00:37:36]:
Yeah, I like, yeah, I played.

Ryan Doolittle [00:37:38]:
Wow.

Shannon Nelson [00:37:39]:
And I have. Can I just do a little boast? The highlight of my whole life, which give me nothing but grief for. So I had to say this to my son. So three years ago I won our club championship and I was the, I was the oldest person to ever win it. I was 66 when I won it. So this was, this, it was a very big deal. And I, I did, I did something, but I can’t remember what it. I, I said, you know, it’s the best day of my life.

Shannon Nelson [00:38:01]:
My oldest son called me and he said, mom, you, you had children? I said, oh yeah, no, you guys were good. You guys were good too. But that was really good.

Ryan Doolittle [00:38:11]:
Right?

Shannon Nelson [00:38:13]:
My kids gave me a lot of grief.

Ryan Doolittle [00:38:16]:
I feel like maybe they got your sense of humor.

Shannon Nelson [00:38:19]:
They did. And that’s one thing I was going to say is that, you know, I actually, believe it or not, I did a little research yesterday online deter to try and determine whether a sense of humor is something that you could teach. And it was inconclusive. But there’s no question that I may not have been the world’s most thoughtful, diligent parent, but I’d be right up there with the fun parents. We had a ton of fun in my. And my kids learned from an early age that self deprecating humor is a good thing. They don’t take themselves too seriously when it comes to me. I have people ask me all the time.

Shannon Nelson [00:38:52]:
What do your kids think of your videos? And I say, you know what? They’re all good. I mean, they even like some of them sometimes. It’s. I, I mean, I can’t believe it when I see that they’ve liked one. It’s like, oh, my God, they probably want me to babysit.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:05]:
And one, like, from them is worth, you know, a thousand.

Shannon Nelson [00:39:09]:
You bet it is. And I haven’t told them that, but.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:12]:
No, don’t tell them yet.

Shannon Nelson [00:39:13]:
No, my, my kids are. My kids are totally on board, but I try to be respectful of. Well, first of all, I’m, you know, I’m. I’m respectful of their privacy with regard to children. They have been themselves, you know, on the receiving end of some serious teasing in my videos. And they, They’ve just all been good.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:30]:
They’ve. They’ve responded well, or they’ve been good sports about it.

Shannon Nelson [00:39:33]:
Yes, absolutely. And even my ex husbands have been great.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:36]:
Oh, really?

Shannon Nelson [00:39:37]:
Yeah.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:38]:
Wow.

Shannon Nelson [00:39:39]:
That’s because I’ve been really good. It could go either way.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:44]:
Do they. They come up in the videos sometimes?

Shannon Nelson [00:39:47]:
Yeah, sometimes.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:49]:
And they see this and they, and they say, good job?

Shannon Nelson [00:39:52]:
Well, I didn’t say that.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:53]:
Oh.

Shannon Nelson [00:39:56]:
Then any lawyers call me.

Ryan Doolittle [00:39:58]:
They bite their tongue maybe, like, they’re pretty good.

Shannon Nelson [00:40:00]:
They’re pretty good. I used to get, I used to get, you know, they would never comment on the video in social media, but I would get a text with some comment, you know, here, there, or whatever, and generally positive. You know, I think they’re supportive. I think most people feel like if you’re, you know, 65 or older and you’re an old person and you tackle something that really isn’t in your bailiwick, that, that’s, that’s, that’s a good pursuit. You know, step out of your comfort zone and try something, and you just never know what might happen. So.

Ryan Doolittle [00:40:31]:
Well, and that’s one reason why the word retirement seems a little outdated. Because the old idea was you, you’re done. And now you never have to step out of your comfort zone. Right? You can just sit in the La Z boy. But now, like, it sounds like you might be more busy than you were, no question. Working.

Shannon Nelson [00:40:49]:
And, and all the people I know that are my age are doing the same thing, man. They’re having a wonderful time, whether it’s. And, you know, and obviously I know a lot of golfers, but they’re also pickleballers. They’re, you know, tennis players. They’re traveling. They’re. They’re having. I said As a joke, I did a video about being a boomer grandma and about how we’re too busy to babysit and whatnot.

Shannon Nelson [00:41:10]:
And I said, as a joke at the end, I said, you know, this is our time. Well, retirement for my generation is kind of like that.

Ryan Doolittle [00:41:17]:
Yeah. Oh, interesting. Yeah, that just hit me. Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:41:22]:
It’s like you get to pursue and do all the things you want to do. Like, I thought I had a really busy day yesterday. Well, you know, the gardener came first thing in the morning, and you had to watch him do that. And then somebody came to, you know, maintain my furnace. And then after that, the bug guy came to spray the bug. I mean, it was just like one person after another coming to take care of my house.

Ryan Doolittle [00:41:43]:
Right.

Shannon Nelson [00:41:44]:
And I was exhausted at the end.

Ryan Doolittle [00:41:45]:
Of the day from supervising.

Shannon Nelson [00:41:48]:
Yes. Isn’t that awful? I mean, I’m not rich or anything, but as you get older, you know, you. You have time to pursue the things that you really want to do. And I do occasionally hear from followers who say, you know, I’m retired now, and I’m kind of lost. I’m really lucky because I play golf, and golf is an instant thing. Socially, physically, everything.

Ryan Doolittle [00:42:10]:
All those. It covers all those bases.

Shannon Nelson [00:42:12]:
Yeah, it really does. But I think likewise tennis or pickleball or. Or any sport you bring up, whether you’re cycling or whatever. I mean, I also cycle, but not seriously. I swim. I do lots of things. Plus, I am an avid audiobook listener.

Ryan Doolittle [00:42:26]:
Oh, I am, too.

Shannon Nelson [00:42:27]:
I. I listen to the books while I’m walking my dog, which is tomorrow perfect. While I’m on the road driving.

Ryan Doolittle [00:42:32]:
Well, wait, you walked about two hours a day.

Shannon Nelson [00:42:35]:
Yeah, she’s a. She’s a lab. She needs lots of exercise. Wow.

Ryan Doolittle [00:42:38]:
Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:42:38]:
Yeah.

Ryan Doolittle [00:42:39]:
So you’re. And you’re definitely. A lot of our listeners are animal people. So you’re a dog person?

Shannon Nelson [00:42:43]:
Well, I’m a dog and a cat person, but both, you know, I’m. I’m. Yeah, I don’t have a cat now, but I had my. The kids will tell you that our house growing up was a menagerie of animals, rescues and strays and whatever. I don’t have a cat right now because I’m in California, and there’s coyotes, and I really don’t like the idea. Idea of an indoor cat.

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:01]:
Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:43:02]:
But I’ve always. I’ve had a black lab my whole life. This time, she’s yellow and. Oh, yeah, she’s different.

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:09]:
I like the idea that this black lab is yellow.

Shannon Nelson [00:43:11]:
Yes.

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:12]:
That’s a good Book title or something.

Shannon Nelson [00:43:15]:
I know. Anyway, she’s. So I’m also a doggy person, you know, so I’ve got my golf friends, I’ve got my dog walking friends, you know, it’s one.

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:23]:
So are those your social groups or the people on the dog? People.

Shannon Nelson [00:43:27]:
Yeah, I, you know, I have a crew of old buddies that I hear from. Usually when somebody’s died, I’ll get a phone call from an old friend. But. But most of my pals now are golf buddies and dog buddies.

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:38]:
Okay. Oh, that’s interesting. Yeah. So this dog is how many. So the two hours. Is that two.

Shannon Nelson [00:43:44]:
An hour in the morning. Yeah, an hour in the morning and an hour at the end of the day.

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:48]:
And by the end of the day. What’s your dog’s name?

Shannon Nelson [00:43:51]:
Stella.

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:52]:
Is Stella saying, come on, it’s time for our, Our next.

Shannon Nelson [00:43:55]:
Actually, actually, the. At the end of the day, she’s looking at me like, really?

Ryan Doolittle [00:43:59]:
Oh, really? So, so you’re the one, the driving force. Okay. Oh, that’s fascinating. Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:44:06]:
Yeah, yeah, she’s. I, I can’t imagine my life without a dog. In fact, I did a post a little while ago because people keep saying to me, well, Stella, be your last dog, you know, on account of your bald one. Oh, no, I can’t even bear thinking about it.

Ryan Doolittle [00:44:19]:
Yeah, no, no, you’ve still, you still got a lot of time left. Plenty of dogs.

Shannon Nelson [00:44:25]:
I don’t know if I’ll have another big dog, but.

Ryan Doolittle [00:44:27]:
Oh, really? You think it’s more work than a little dog?

Shannon Nelson [00:44:30]:
Well, I think harder to manage, you know, like. Yeah, physically and already it’s just in the last little while, I feel myself. I can feel getting older and my hips are a little bit creaky. I. You know, getting up out of a chair sometimes takes a couple tries.

Ryan Doolittle [00:44:47]:
Don’t tell I’m already making the noises when I get up.

Shannon Nelson [00:44:51]:
Yeah, that just gets worse. So, I mean, I’ve still got lots of energy, but let’s say Stella lives another 10 years. I can’t imagine getting a baby lab in 10 years. You know, that would be a lot of fun. I like the little wiener dogs. They’re cute.

Ryan Doolittle [00:45:03]:
Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

Shannon Nelson [00:45:05]:
So maybe she’ll be my next dog.

Ryan Doolittle [00:45:08]:
So what was your primary career?

Shannon Nelson [00:45:10]:
Well, I started in the brokerage industry. I was a. A woman broker at a time when there were none. I got married and had three. Yeah, it was fun. It was a great education.

Ryan Doolittle [00:45:19]:
Oh, I’m sure.

Shannon Nelson [00:45:20]:
I got married and had three kids very quickly. Okay. So ended up after the second one, going home, I was lucky to be able to do that. And then I worked part time for most of the time my kids were growing up. Eventually moving into writing. I wrote a column for the local newspaper.

Ryan Doolittle [00:45:35]:
Really?

Shannon Nelson [00:45:35]:
Like sort of the same stuff I do now, but just written which newspaper? Oh, it was in Vancouver. Oh yeah, you wouldn’t know. It’s not down here. And then I wrote a book about golf, a little book about golf, which is kind of a fun thing about the difference in the way men and women approach the game.

Ryan Doolittle [00:45:49]:
How cool.

Shannon Nelson [00:45:50]:
And then that led to a TV show that was kind of the Canadian version of the View, really, but it wasn’t very good. But it was very interesting. And then that led to a radio show. And I worked in radio off and on for probably 10 years.

Ryan Doolittle [00:46:05]:
Oh, how cool. In Vancouver.

Shannon Nelson [00:46:08]:
In Vancouver, yeah. And so, so the things, all of the things that I did, career wise together help what I’m doing now. Right. Like, I’m very comfortable on camera, I’m very comfortable speaking, I’m very comfortable telling a story because I, you know, I’ve kind of written it in my head before I tell it. So all of those things make it easier for me than somebody who’s just green, you know, to make posts, which is lucky.

Ryan Doolittle [00:46:33]:
What was, was all of this sort of a plan to do what you’re doing now? No, it was just because you were training for it without knowing it sounds.

Shannon Nelson [00:46:40]:
Yes, exactly right. And I think that’s common. I mean, I have, I. I did many different things and at the end of it, here I am with these, you know, and I’m not, I’m not saying I was really good at any of them, but I was good enough. And now they’ve all conspired to put me in this place where I can make kind of hokey videos. So it’s fun.

Ryan Doolittle [00:47:01]:
It was so serendipitous to get you to these hokey videos.

Shannon Nelson [00:47:06]:
It’s true, though. It’s true. I know it. You know, I sometimes think every now and then somebody will take a shot at me. Like, I guess you think you’re a big shot now. It’s like, you know, I don’t think I’m a big shot at all. I know exactly what I am. I’m just making hockey videos.

Shannon Nelson [00:47:19]:
And that’s it.

Ryan Doolittle [00:47:21]:
That’s sort of the point is that you’re not a big shot. That makes you a big shot. Not being one makes you one, I guess.

Shannon Nelson [00:47:26]:
So. You know what? One of the things that, that I do try to do with my posts is make people feel comfortable with who they are right now. So, you know, I’m often self deprecating about my body because women, we’re all obsessed with our bodies, right? Like, I just did a video this morning about getting ready to go swimming in my bathing suit, you know.

Ryan Doolittle [00:47:42]:
Oh, you did the video in the bathing suit?

Shannon Nelson [00:47:44]:
In my bathing suit. It’s not pretty. I’m just telling you that. Telling you that, right?

Ryan Doolittle [00:47:47]:
It takes bravery.

Shannon Nelson [00:47:48]:
It takes a lot of courage. But the reason I do that is so that everybody else out there will go, you know. Yeah, I look like that too. Maybe I can go to the pool and go swimming or whatever. Right? Like, yeah, I’m not, I, and, and I’m not really a huge fan of all the survey delicious videos. Right. Like, look at me, I lost 47 pounds and I’m all buff and everything and I’m 81. Like those things aren’t my.

Shannon Nelson [00:48:11]:
Yeah, they’re not my shtick. I’m just a normal person and I just, I like to feel that what I post makes other people, people feel okay about just being right. Normal people too.

Ryan Doolittle [00:48:23]:
I, I wish I had a little more of, you know, I feel good about myself because I’m healthy instead of nitpicking the, you know, this doesn’t look good like that.

Shannon Nelson [00:48:33]:
Or oh no, listen, the whole time I’m walking to the pool, I’m thinking, is anybody seeing my cellulite? I mean, right? Are my boobs level? Like, what’s going on? You know, that’s what I’m thinking. But I’m, you know, I’m trying to get over it. You know, we had, the whole diet culture was just a nightmare in my generation. And I know that I passed that on to the next generation. We all did. You know, it’s an exception that didn’t. But you know, I try to battle it. But all of that negative stuff is still though for sure.

Ryan Doolittle [00:49:03]:
It’s so hard. Sometimes I hear it come out of my mouth and I, without even trying and I think, oh, that’s so deep inside of me. It was just there.

Shannon Nelson [00:49:12]:
Yeah, I feel the same way. Exactly. There’s just no way I, you know, I did it. I remember my mom saying to me once, I’d been really quite sick and my mother, I don’t think she ever weighed more than £85 in her life. And I loved my mom, she was wonderful. But she had the fat thing too. And I remember her coming over and saying, well, dear, you know, I’m sorry you’ve been sick, but you’ve never looked better.

Ryan Doolittle [00:49:32]:
Oh, yes.

Shannon Nelson [00:49:33]:
Just, you know.

Ryan Doolittle [00:49:35]:
Well, you seem like you have such a good thing going, and you’ve gotten yourself to a good place. Do you have any advice for other people who are going to retire or maybe they. They are retired and they’re not enjoying it?

Shannon Nelson [00:49:47]:
Yeah. And it’s kind of what we talked about earlier. My advice would be to get a hobby, because if you find people that are mutually passionate about the same things you are, there’s just a huge breeding ground for friendship. And so not. Are you. Not only are you doing something you really enjoy, but you actually make friends doing it. And, you know, whether that hobby is bridge or golf or tennis or cycling or a walking club, it doesn’t matter. But, you know, just step out of your comfort zone, and you’ll meet people, and they.

Shannon Nelson [00:50:24]:
They will eventually fill up your world.

Ryan Doolittle [00:50:26]:
Yeah. Oh, that’s great advice.

Shannon Nelson [00:50:28]:
Just staying home is not a good. No, it’s not a good idea.

Ryan Doolittle [00:50:31]:
So the main thing is don’t. Don’t be stagnant. Go out and do.

Shannon Nelson [00:50:35]:
Yeah, go out and do. The other thing I would say is just don’t let. Don’t let your. Your. Your light. Don’t let your light dim just because you’re retired.

Ryan Doolittle [00:50:44]:
Yeah.

Shannon Nelson [00:50:44]:
I mean, get out there, try something new, like making videos. For me, I never dreamed in a million years it was gonna end up being something, you know, that people actually wanted to watch, and yet it was. So step out of your comfort zone, and you learn something, and, you know, you never know what might happen.

Ryan Doolittle [00:50:59]:
Yeah. I love it.

Shannon Nelson [00:51:01]:
Try something new.

Ryan Doolittle [00:51:02]:
Well, Shannon Nelson, thank you so much for coming on the Happiest Retirees podcast.

Shannon Nelson [00:51:07]:
I love the title of that. I am one of the happiest.

Ryan Doolittle [00:51:11]:
Hey, you made the cut.

Shannon Nelson [00:51:13]:
I think that’s great.