meetjimowen.com
MEET JIM OWEN
How does a former Wall Street guy keep
reinventing himself when his goal is making a difference?
The common thread is offering inspiration.
And at 84, Jim Owen is still asking himself,
“What’s next?”
Best-Selling
Author
FITNESS
EVANGELIST
DOCUMENTARY
FILM PRODUCER
COMPETITIVE
ATHLETE
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
Jim Owen was 35 years into a successful Wall Street career when his creative spirit tugged at him. Out of the blue he came up with an idea: Cowboy Ethics, a heartfelt response to the corporate scandals and social upheavals of the early 2000s. He was so gripped by the concept that he decided to radically change his life. “Making money was no longer enough,” he says. “I wanted to make a difference.”
His 2004 book, Cowboy Ethics, a best-seller with more than 165,000 copies in circulation, along with two follow-up volumes, Cowboy Values, and The Try, seeded a robust grassroots movement. This Code of the West trilogy also led to programs that have reached tens of thousands of businesspeople, educators, students and parents around the country
FITNESS EVANGELIST
At 70, and feeling the strains of a decade on the book tour and speaking circuit, Jim embraced a different mission: inspiring older adults to slow down the aging process by making fitness a way of life. His book, Just Move!, grew from his own journey of transformation.
Starting as a “certified couch potato” racked with chronic lower back pain, he exercised his way to being pain-free and in the best shape of his life. The book was published by National Geographic in 2017 and named one of the year’s top five books on healthy aging by The Wall Street Journal.
DOCUMENTARY FILM PRODUCER
After release of his book, Just Move!, Jim set his sights on bridging what he calls “the inspiration gap” on the subject of aging. His answer: producing documentary films. “We can’t argue or browbeat people into taking better care of themselves,” he says. “Information isn’t enough. We have to motivate and inspire them. The film medium has the power to do that on both an emotional and an intellectual level.”
Jim devoted the next two years to producing his 2020 documentary, The Art of Aging Well. It aired more than 200 times on 116 PBS stations in 25 states. His latest film, SuperAgers: Growing Old, Living Young, is currently airing on PBS nationwide, and can also be streamed at pbs.org. The 30-minute film explores what we all can learn from older folks who don’t let advanced age or health issues keep them from living active, fulfilling lives.
COMPETITIVE ATHLETE
When asked about his personal approach to fitness, Jim will tell you that he thinks of it as his sport, competing both with himself and others. He recently took his competitiveness to the next level by taking part in California’s 2024 Senior Games, which included ten fitness events. Jim entered all ten in the 80-to-84 age bracket, even though six were exercises he had never done before.
In preparation, Jim trained harder than he ever had in his life, working with two trainers for four hours a week in the hot summer sun. When the dust had settled on the 2024 Games, he had won a gold medal in every event – ten fitness medals in all – a feat no one in any age bracket had ever achieved before.
SPEAKING
With his fireside chats, Jim turns the typical speaking format on its head. Rather than a long “talking heads” segment followed by a brief Q&A, Jim sparks engagement with a 15-minute video followed by 45 minutes of lively interaction with audience members. Eliciting heartfelt stories and penetrating insights, it’s an experience sure to be long remembered.
CURRENT TOPICS
It’s Never Too Late to Get Geezer-Fit
With big dashes of humility and humor, Jim reveals the inspiring and often surprising lessons he learned on the road from pain-wracked, “certified couch potato” at age 70 to strong and fit at 80. “If I can do it,” he says, “anyone can. Just control what you can, and don’t sweat the rest.” More lightbulbs go on as audience members share challenges, frustrations and triumphs of their own.
Celebrating the Heroes in Our Lives
June, 2024 marked the 80th anniversary of the landing on Normandy Beach. Jim was so moved by the accounts of the few remaining survivors that he wanted to share reflections on our present-day heroes–and why we need them now more than ever.
To book a fireside chat:
(858) 214-9435
jparksowen@icloud.com
SHOP
YOU ARE MY HERO Coin
Jim commissioned this special coin to let his heroes know how much they have meant to him. The recipients were so moved that he is making these coins available to others.
– Two sides beautifully engraved
– You Are My Hero / backed by the Tree of Life
– 1.5” diameter / 1 oz. gold-tone metal
Available at $15 each (includes s&h)
Click here to order online
Or contact Nita Alvarez
323-876-3491 / 323-854-0466
nita@alvarezgroup.net
No international orders
MEDIA
For TV or podcast appearances, interviews,
and authored articles:
SHANNON LEIGH KEENAN
803-730-8753