In this episode of 60 Plus Uncensored, host Seb Frey sits down with Ande Lyons to talk about life after 60, reinvention after 60, and what it really looks like to keep showing up with energy and meaning. Ande is 69, a four-time founder, and the host of “Don’t Be Caged by Your Age,” where she interviews people who refuse to shrink into outdated expectations. Together, they dig into staying relevant later in life, the everyday language and assumptions that quietly reinforce ageism, and why community, especially getting in the room with people, can be one of the strongest foundations for aging with purpose.
Early Life in New England, and the “Wonderbread Years”
Ande’s story begins in Salem, Massachusetts, the “witchy town,” as she calls it, where she was born into what she describes as an old New England WASP family with deep roots going back generations.
After high school, she didn’t stay put. Instead, she went exploring around the United States. She names that season her “Wonderbread years,” a funny phrase that holds a lot of truth: years of growing in “12 different ways,” taking in new places, and collecting experiences that later shaped how she works and how she leads.
Eventually, she came back to the Boston area, earned an undergraduate degree and an MBA, and built a life with her husband. They’ve been together for 40 years, another thread in her story that matters because it reflects something she returns to again and again: connection, partnership, and long-term resilience.
Even when she jokes about Boston drivers, there’s a point under the laughter. She describes people in the greater Boston area as “kind but not nice,” meaning they’ll show up for you and defend you, but they won’t always do it with gentle language, especially behind the wheel. It’s a small detail, but it fits her overall tone: direct, human, and more interested in what people do than what they say.
When Ande reflects on her “Wonderbread years” and the importance of exploration before everything had to make sense, Living Your Best Life After 60 Through Gerotranscendence is a strong companion resource for understanding why curiosity, perspective shifts, and inner growth often expand later in life rather than contract.
The Roots of a Founder: “Unemployable Since 1992”
Ande calls herself “unemployable since 1992,” and she means it in the best way. She’s a four-time founder who has been launching businesses for as long as she can remember.
For her, entrepreneurship isn’t just a job category. It’s a way of being in the world, curious, problem-solving, and willing to learn publicly. She describes launching businesses as “the best personal development program out there,” and that phrase says a lot about how she sees risk and growth.
Ande doesn’t talk about entrepreneurship like it’s a shiny identity. She talks about it like a training ground. You learn how you respond to pressure, uncertainty, failure, and the need to keep going anyway.
She also makes a generous point for anyone who tries it and decides it isn’t for them. In her view, you still “win” because you gain transferable skills and learn what you don’t want to do. That idea, learning as victory, comes up repeatedly in how she talks about aging, too.
Building Companies, Riding Highs, and Getting Knocked Down
Ande doesn’t stay in theory for long. She shares real examples from her business life, including a dot-com venture that grew to 100 employees, raised over $8 million, and even turned down $14 million in capital.
She describes the company as doing early YouTube– and Facebook-style content. This was between 1998 and 2000, and she says they were close to profitability when the dot-com collapse hit like a “tsunami.” They were “taken down,” and there wasn’t anything they could do.
What stands out is that she still calls it “a lot of fun.” Not because it was painless, but because she seems to measure a life by aliveness, by the willingness to build, try, and engage fully, even when outcomes are uncertain.
Then she shifts into another chapter: a food manufacturing business she scaled in less than two years. Here, she offers a lesson that feels useful for people thinking about reinvention after 60, or even reinvention after 50.
She had to figure out how to bring a product to market without relying on grocery stores. She explains that grocery store distribution can crush margins and requires a lot of money. Instead, she went through the food service route.
Ande mentions that women business owners are considered minority-owned businesses in supplier diversity programs. That gave her an entry point with food service companies that supply hospitals, hotels, and corporate campuses. She describes it as a smart way to protect margins and build brand awareness.
Her product was called Goddess Granola, and she leaned into the brand with humor. She called herself the “chief executive goddess,” and she enjoyed the human moments that came with it, like people joking about “the goddess” being on the phone.
When Life Turns: Mother Nature, a Fire, and a Family Reality Check
When Seb asks what happened to Goddess Granola, Ande’s tone changes. She says it “broke my heart,” and then she describes a cascade that many people will recognize as real life, when problems don’t arrive one at a time.
Within a five-month period, two of her main ingredients were hit by nature. Almonds were affected by drought, and maple syrup “didn’t flow that year,” making both suddenly far more expensive.
Then her manufacturing facility was hit by lightning and burned to the ground.
And then her husband got laid off, while they had a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old at home. Ande calls it the kind of moment when you have to make “hardcore decisions,” because life isn’t just business plans. It’s family, stability, and doing the best you can with what’s right in front of you.
This part of her story matters because it keeps the conversation honest. Reinvention isn’t always a personal brand moment. Sometimes it’s simply adapting when circumstances change everything.
Pushing Back on the Myth: “As You Get Older, You’re Less Resilient”
Seb raises a common belief: that as people age, they tend to become less resilient. Ande immediately pushes back. She calls that belief one of the ageist stories people absorb, the kind that whispers, “We’re going to be more feeble,” or “We can’t recover,” or “We can’t pursue dreams once a body changes.”
Ande’s argument isn’t that aging is easy. It’s that aging requires recalibration. You can still pursue what matters, but you may need to adjust how you do it.
She says many people’s dreams come down to being “fully expressed,” feeding their passion, feeding their purpose, and feeding their pocketbook. She repeats that trio, and it becomes a framework: expression, meaning, and practical sustainability.
For Ande, resilience isn’t brute force. It’s flexibility. It’s stepping back, staying curious, and finding another route forward.
If Ande’s pushback on the “aging = fragility” narrative resonated, Secrets of Super-Agers: Wisdom From People in Their 80s and 90s is a great companion resource for seeing what durable resilience can actually look like in real bodies and real lives.
Retirement, Boredom, and the Quiet Fear of Becoming Irrelevant
Ande brings up retirement as a major turning point for many people. She describes how some people retire and feel relieved. Others retire and feel lost.
In her view, it’s not unusual for someone to spend a period traveling, golfing, or enjoying freedom, and then start to feel bored. The days can become less meaningful. People can feel disconnected, and over time they may begin to fade in ways that affect health and mood.
Her phrase for the alternative is clear: “Don’t retire. Rewire.”
She says 70% of people over the age of 60 want to stay engaged, visible, and connected. That’s a key point for anyone thinking about life after 60. Often, what people want isn’t endless leisure. It’s participation. It’s contribution. It’s a reason to get up and feel part of life.
This is where her message ties strongly to staying relevant later in life. Not relevance as status, but relevance as belonging.
When Ande talks about retirement feeling freeing at first, and then quietly shrinking into boredom, When Retirement Feels Too Small: How to Reclaim Purpose, Connection, and Joy is a strong companion resource for rebuilding meaning, identity, and connection in the “rewire” season.
A Turning Point: Coming Out About Her Age
One of the most striking moments in Ande’s story is when she talks about “coming out” about her age on LinkedIn.
She spent years in the startup ecosystem and ran a monthly pitch event. Over and over, she heard people advise founders, “Explain your business as if you were talking to your grandma.” Ande bristled, and she explains why.
First, it was never grandpa, which she saw as gendered ageism. Second, the message implied older people can’t understand tech. Ande pushes back by reminding listeners what her generation lived through, typewriters, carbon copies, copy machines, PCs, email, cell phones, and countless tech cycles.
She also admits something personal. Younger people often assumed she was in her early 50s, and she found herself carrying fear about what would happen if people knew she was older. That fear, she says, is especially common for women, who are often pressured to stay vague about age.
So when she turned 66, she posted a photo holding a Route 66 sign and used the phrase “Don’t be caged by your age.” She describes the expression on her face like she was silently asking, “Will you still love me now that you know I’m this old?”
The post went viral. The comments were powerful, some heartbreaking, filled with loneliness and invisibility, and others inspiring, filled with people repurposing their experiences in extraordinary ways.
Ande also notes she caught herself in her own bias when a 91-year-old man commented about launching something new and enjoying LinkedIn. Her first reaction was basically, “What are you doing on LinkedIn at that age?” Then she realized it: that’s ageism too.
That moment matters because it shows how deep internalized beliefs can run, even in someone who is actively fighting them.
The Leap: Podcasting as a Tool for Reinvention and Connection
Out of that experience came Ande’s podcast, “Don’t Be Caged by Your Age.”
Her goal is simple and specific: interview people who shatter age-related expectations and provide resources. She’s especially aware that many listeners are constrained by caregiving responsibilities, health challenges, or a lack of support. She wants to offer examples that spark ideas, and tools that make the next step more possible.
She shares examples of guests who reflect a wide range of paths. She mentions interviewing a woman who lost her sight in her late 50s due to an immune disease and now shoots videos using Ray-Ban video glasses. She talks about a woman lifting weights daily in her 70s, and another who did a bodybuilding contest at 76.
Ande also talks about podcasting itself as accessible. She says she has no formal broadcasting training, and she emphasizes that anyone can start. The tools can be inexpensive, with the major costs being a microphone and hosting. She also mentions PodMatch as a way to find guests.
What she likes about podcasting is how it connects you. If you’re entering a new industry, you can interview people in that industry. You get to learn, build relationships, and grow a network in a way that feels natural and human.
This is one of her most practical messages for reinvention after 60. You don’t have to start with a huge leap. You can start by asking questions and building community.
If someone reading this is intrigued by Ande’s idea of “start by asking questions,” How Lifelong Learning Keeps Your Brain Sharp After 60 is a natural companion resource, because podcasting is lifelong learning in public, and it’s one of the most confidence-building ways to stay mentally engaged.
Emotional Challenges: Confidence, Identity, and Being Seen as We Age
Although Ande has a bold tone, she doesn’t ignore the emotional side of aging. She talks about shame that can build up around wrinkles, spots, body changes, and feeling like society only wants the young version of a woman.
She also names a cultural double standard. Men are often celebrated for aging, while women are not celebrated in the same way. That can lead to pressure to hide age, soften identity, or try to be “youthful” instead of simply being fully present.
Ande points out how “well-meaning” language can still feel patronizing. She gives examples like “young lady,” and she also pushes back on phrases like “65 is the new 45.” Her response is firm: “65 is 65.”
In her view, you earned those years. You worked hard to be here. Don’t diminish them.
She describes what she’s aiming for instead: aging “out loud and proud.” Not as a performance, but as a refusal to disappear. She mentions the “pro-aging movement,” and references a phrase she admires: “I’m not youthful. I’m lifeful.”
For the deeper emotional layer, shame, invisibility, and the pressure to “stay young” instead of “stay lifeful”, How to Stay Positive and Motivated as You Age is a helpful companion resource for building self-respect and steady momentum without slipping into toxic positivity.
Personal Choice, Cosmetic Procedures, and the Real Point Underneath
Seb brings up cosmetic surgery, Botox, and the pressure women can feel. Ande’s response is careful and respectful. She says she’s not here to tell a woman what she should do with her body.
If someone wants a facelift, fillers, or to color their hair, she says, “You do you.” The key is motivation. Do it for yourself, not because you think society will accept you only if you look a certain way.
Underneath that is her deeper message: practice radical self-love. Aging brings a new version of yourself, and part of aging with purpose is learning how to meet that version with respect.
For Ande, what people respond to isn’t perfect skin. It’s “your glow,” “your vibe,” the energy that comes through your eyes and your smile. She describes that as soul-level visibility, and she believes it matters more than appearance at any age.
Health, Movement, and the “Energy Portfolio”
When Seb asks how she stays healthy, Ande credits genetics first. She calls it a “good DNA package,” and that honesty is refreshing because it avoids the easy myth that health is always earned.
Still, she shares what she does. She exercises consistently and eats sensibly. She says she’s not into strict restraints, and she notes that animal protein works well for her.
She also describes using a walking pad, a compact treadmill-like device. She likes it because she can walk while watching shows or listening to podcasts, especially when outdoor conditions aren’t ideal. She even suggests that someone who needs stability could place a walker across it for support.
Ande also shares that she has osteoporosis. She doesn’t take drugs for it, but she focuses on keeping her core strong so she stays stable and reduces fall risk. She frames movement as a privilege, not a chore, and encourages people to keep moving their body in ways that feel doable.
She also distinguishes between positivity and “toxic positivity.” She says she can “go down to the depths of despair,” and she’s had horrific things happen. But her nature is like a flotation device, she “bobs right back up.” She looks for humor and the “magical moments” of daily life, and she surrounds herself with people who have a positive outlook.
This is resilience as practice, not perfection. It’s a steady return to curiosity and connection.
Purpose, Ikigai, and Making Work Fit the Season You’re In
Ande says she’s a big believer in ikigai. She describes it as bringing together purpose, passion, profession, and vocation, and she likes it as a map for finding what can feed meaning and income in a way that fits your life.
She recommends the book “Don’t Retire, Rewire,” saying it includes exercises to help people identify what they might enjoy doing now, even if they’re coming out of decades of hard work or sacrifice.
She also gives a real-life example from her own home. Her husband, about to turn 74, was picked up by a younger company that wanted his wisdom and experience. Ande sees this as part of a broader shift: companies are increasingly having to rethink older workers and the value they bring.
She adds an idea that many people find helpful: managing an “energy portfolio,” not just a financial one. She suggests that what might take a younger person a 40–50 hour week, an older seasoned person may be able to do in 25 hours, with strong results.
This is a practical way to think about staying engaged in life after 60. You don’t need to “pull the plow” forever. You can find work, consulting, or volunteer roles that fit your energy and still feel meaningful.
When Ande talks about designing work around your “energy portfolio,” not just your finances, How to Reenter the Workforce After 60: A Practical Guide to a Fresh Start is a strong companion resource for exploring flexible work, consulting, and purpose-driven roles without forcing a full-time grind.
Community in Real Life, and Why Being in the Room Changes Everything
Ande founded the New England Podcasters Group in May 2024 because she wanted community. They meet in person every second Saturday of the month, and they also offer a Zoom option.
Her reason is simple: “There’s just nothing better than looking into someone’s eyes in person.” She calls it “HIRL”, hugging in real life, and she values the side conversations and the warmth that happens when people share space.
She’s also responding to a real challenge many older adults face. If you’re aging in place, not connected to a church, your kids are grown, and friends have passed on, your social life can shrink quickly. Zoom can help, but it’s not the same as belonging locally.
Ande’s advice is to look for events that spark interest, Meetup, Eventbrite, local groups, or start one yourself. She admits she worried no one would show up when she launched hers, but people did, and it grew.
She also makes a point that directly connects to staying relevant later in life: don’t be afraid to be the oldest person in the room. Show up in your full self. Let people see what an older adult can look like. That visibility dissolves ageism in real time.
If the “HIRL” idea, hugging in real life, hit home, Creating a Fulfilling Lifestyle After Retirement is a great companion resource for building local rhythms, relationships, and belonging so life doesn’t quietly narrow as the years pass.
What Thriving People Share in Common After 60
Toward the end, Seb asks Ande what she’s noticed across the people she’s interviewed. What do those who are thriving in their 60s and beyond have in common?
Ande’s answer is clear. They decided age was not a limitation. They decided age was a growth opportunity. They didn’t step back; they stepped forward.
They gained clarity about what mattered and tapped into courage built over years. They chose visibility, contribution, and purpose. They faced constraints, worked around them, and found pathways to share their passion and delight themselves.
That’s reinvention after 60 in her language. Not a single dramatic moment, but a pattern of choosing forward motion, again and again.
Conclusion: A Reflective Way Forward Into Life After 60
Ande Lyons doesn’t pretend that aging is simple. She doesn’t claim you can outsmart time, avoid hardship, or glide through loss. She has stories that prove otherwise, business collapses, nature-driven setbacks, and moments where family reality required hard decisions.
But her bigger point is steady, and it’s worth holding onto. Life after 60 is not an ending unless you decide it is. If you want aging with purpose, you don’t have to force a perfect plan. You can begin by staying curious. Try something. Pull on a thread. Join a room, even if you feel awkward at first. Build a small community or find one nearby. Keep learning new things, because new learning keeps the mind lit up and engaged.
If you’re searching for staying relevant later in life, Ande’s story offers a grounded reminder: relevance isn’t about being young. It’s about being present. It’s about connection, contribution, and allowing yourself to be seen exactly as you are, in the season you’re in.
And if you’re considering reinvention after 60, you can start today without waiting for permission. You can show up gently, consistently, and with enough courage to take one more step than you took yesterday.