Karl A. Pillemer, a renowned Cornell gerontologist, used the wisdom of crowds — more than 1,000 Americans over 65 years old — to glean material for his book “30 Lessons in Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.”

Here are twelve of those lessons (as adapted from this article in the Washington Post):

1. Marry someone like you
2. Act now if you will need your body for 100 years
3. Stay connected
4. Be able to look everyone in the eye
5. Say yes to opportunities
6. Travel more
7. Send flowers to the living
8. Share time with your children
9. With adult children, YOU usually need to compromise
10. Take advantage of the time you have
11. Find freedom
12. Don’t waste your time worrying about getting old