A veritable "Who’s Who" of Boomer marketers will be present at this weekend’s Festival of the Wise in Scottsdale, an event that bills itself as a "offering attendees the opportunity to lead the way to a healthier, wealthier, better future." Showing the way will be the likes of Jeff Taylor, CEO of Eons.com; Wendy Borow-Johnson, President of BoomJ. Inc.; Robin Wolaner, CEO of Tee Bee Dee; and Matt Thornhill of The Boomer Project.

Oh yes, and moi. I will be presenting side-by-side with these folks Friday evening and giving solo talks on both Saturday (10 Myths about Women 50+) and Sunday (The Art of Resilience).

So the real question is this. In such an illustrious audience of peers, both on and off-stage, how does one prove that one is indeed qualified to call one’s self "wise"? Given my on-going propensity for various degrees of foolishness, frankly, I’m just hoping that they let me in the gates!

The thing is, I have never personally resonated with the word "wisdom," and especially not with the associated adjective "wise." While both are better than "crone," I still envision someone who is wise as being either little and green, like Yoda, or elderly and wizened, someone who wears far more sensible shoes than do I, and sports a serene Buddha smile. In other words, "wise," to me, carries connotations of looking into life from the margins.

I, on the other hand, will undoubtedly be rushing from airport to venue with the same speed and frenetic excitement that makes me act younger rather than wiser than my years.

It's not that I haven't learned about myself and life over the decades. Certainly, there are wrong turns taken in the past that I hopefully won’t make again. I do love to offer my opinion when asked, and am always delighted when others actually listen to me. And I also admit that having a Ph.D. next to my name helps, as when I speak, people assume correctly that my ideas have been tested. But then again, knowing things--even a lot--does not constitute wisdom.

So what does? A trip to Merriam-Webster online actually brought some comfort. There are multiple definitions. The first is this: "a capacity for sound judgment, deep understanding and keen discernment." I can live with this, since Merriam wisely speaks of "capacity" rather than fulfillment of one’s potential for wisdom. I’m sure I have the capacity which is, after all, more aspirational than realized. In fact, I prefer at this stage of my life to think of myself as a work-still-in-progress, rather than the finished product.

The second definition is "evidencing or hinting at the possession of inside information." Check this one, too. Mostly because nobody can argue that as a woman 50+ who has both academic as well as personal knowledge of this demographic, I am definitely in possession of insider knowledge.

So hopefully I’ll see some of you at the Festival of the Wise. I’m happy to share my wisdom with you but until I’m little and green, wearing more sensible shoes and smiling serenely, please take it all with a grain of salt. more inside the nation»