I always knew The Cure as an English rock band originally formed close to my home town in Southern England but now I have learned “The cure is …” a transformational movie not only for those of us too young to retire® but for all ages. This transformational film experience is about how every human body is brilliantly designed for vitality and longevity. It provides inspiration on many levels and many of the important aspects of positive aging such as health, nutrition, and spirituality. Even Napoleon Hill, author of the best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich, makes an appearance reminding us of the natural law he describes as: “What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”
Another reminder in the movie and the three accompanying shorts is about the importance of love. In the season of gratitude, love yourself and everyone. Start by sending love your own way today.
So in addition to wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving, I encourage you to find out what the cure is… Cut and paste this link into your browser: http://thecureismovie.com/?page_id=395/#!/deployment_code=16589227mdswr1
Paul G Ward, Principal, 2Young2Retire
Leila Denmark’s passing last week has been well reported in the news media. Dr. Leila, 114 years old when she died, was world’s oldest practicing physician when she gave up her practice at 103 years of age. Dr. James Hutcherson, one of Dr. Leila’s grandsons, is reported to have said, “She absolutely loved practicing medicine more than anything else in the world. She never referred to practicing medicine as work.”
“You keep on doing what you do best, as long as you can,” Denmark told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I enjoyed every minute of it for more than 70 years. If I could live it over again, I’d do exactly the same thing.”
Dr. Leila Denmark is a wonderful role model for all of us who are Too Young To Retire®. We celebrate the life of this exceptional physician.
New blog posts will be coming soon but, in the mean time, we wanted to let you know that the next 2young2retire Facilitator Certification Tele-training has been scheduled to begin the first week of April. If you or anyone you know would like additional information, please contact us via the 2young2retire link on the left of your screen.
We are visiting family in another part of the country and having a lively conversation about David Eagleman, the neuroscientist, and how a childhood accident left him with an insatiable curiosity about Time. Eagleman had fallen off a roof and survived, sans most of the cartilege in his nose, but having experienced during the fall a slowing down of time that would shape who he was and would become. Many accident victims report something similar, and the suggestion is that time is perhaps far more malleable than we suppose, or perhaps it is just our perception of time that is squishy, or possible there is no difference between time itself and how we perceive it.
Before long, the older people around our brunch table were inevitably drawn to memories of 9/11, the day we Americans got a horrific reminder we were not invulnerable from the violence that many other people around the world live with on a daily basis. This conversation seemed oddly related to the previous one in my mind, because it has become almost cliche to note that time also stood still for many of us on that September morning. We remember with astounding clarity where we were when we first learned of the attack. Some were watching their favorite morning talk shows, others were at work, others were away from home (like us) on vacation. We remember who we were with, who notified us, and when we got the news, exactly the moment we became fused into one nation, watching the horror unfold — like exceptionally well-done special effects, noted someone — then repeated and repeated throughout the morning in what has since become a media tic.
What I recalled of that time, with something of a sinking feeling, was how quickly the event itself — once we became exhausted by those awful first images — got lost in translation as we attempted to got understand how this could possibly have happened to us. Why do They hate us? we wanted to know. Who could have foreseen the macabre celebrity many indulged in, claiming a relation or friend or friend of a friend among those who perished. Six degrees of separation bringing us all together first in a sense of national unity rarely seen since, then swiftly dissipating into something less admirable.
I wonder how many of the families of 9/11 really want this annual reliving of their terrible losses, culminating in this anniversary? Are they eager to revisit the moment when, like for victims of an accident, time literally stood still. And after which, they would feel themselves permanently changed. There are a few among the families of those who died willing to say they are exhausted by the annual rituals of mourning. How courageous they are to declare what many of us are thinking: Enough.
There were children at our table today, listening quietly. After awhile, a 13 year old echoed this: Wasn’t it time to move on, he asked us, his elders. If we keep on reliving this every year, the terrorists will have won. Something to ponder on this sobering anniversary.
realizing that the brilliant thought is probably not original but feeling good about having thought it anyway.
OK, who said that? I found it in my iPhone Notes along with poems I like, poem fragments that might grow up some day, reservation numbers, addresses of hot restaurants, and notes to self about this and that (mostly that). I put it in my Commonplace Book. If you don’t have one of these notebooks that contain scraps of wisdom you encounter and hope to remember and maybe even USE, what are you waiting for?
I’ve Googled this quote and nada. I know it isn’t original with me. Well, never mind. How about you take a turn here and send in some thoughts about what maturity means to you. Use the comment box below and have at it. All will get automatically published and maybe we’ll dream up some way of acknowledging the quote we deem the best.
If you haven’t already discovered it, check out Dr. Bill Thomas’s new idea: http://changingaging.org/ A way to get your blog out to the public as part of a ‘blogstream,’ and improve the chance of going viral with a post or idea that you feel strongly about. That’s the only reason you would blog anyway. Most of us, Pioneer Woman — Martha Stewart on the range — notwithstanding, don’t make a living from a blog. Even if you’re passionate about your subject, getting started as a blogger is the easy part. Sustaining the effort at the same high caliber may not be. Even Seth Godin who sends stuff out every day, isn’t brilliant 100 per cent of the time (but 95 per cent ain’t bad).
If you have an idea for blogging to the mature age group, I encourage you to sign up for the Changing Aging blogstream and see what other savvy older adults have to say about a wide range of subjects. And just for good measure, here are a few of my favorite blogs in no particular order. Why they make the cut will be self-evident: idiosyncratic (good) and with content is both informative and fun to read (even better). Most posts are short, or if not, at least the germ of the piece is in the lead, so you know right away if it’s your cup of chai. Enough said:
(After It’s Not Easy Being Green, The Muppets)
It’s not that easy being gray,
hair the color of Spanish moss
hanging from the banyans,
absent the silky shine of children,
photographers’ models,
impeccably groomed socialites
It’s not that easy being gray,
hair the texture of wire
springing away from the scalp,
shocked at its own existence,
like it has lost its way
and doesn’t know where to roam.
Gray is hormone-sapped split ends,
dread-locks framing a lived-in face.
People tend to pass you over
‘cause you remind them
of things they would rather forget.
But gray’s the color of clouds before rain,
and gray can feel cool and friendly, like
a ball bearing that broke loose and rolled
free, far from home. And gray’s what you get
if you’re lucky enough to live that long, and I think
gray is what I want to be.
Thanks to a link provided by schoolteacher who has been using material from 2young2retire.com in her charter school classroom, we decided to update our page for entrepreneurs. Here it is:
You may always have dreamed of being your own boss, or you may find yourself driven by an economic climate that opens new doors even while it closes others. Whatever the motivation, welcome to the club. You are in excellent company. While young entrepreneurs tend to be the darlings of the media, the 55 and older cohort of entrepreneurs is growing faster and doing better. Why? Could be life/work experience, some cash from a downsizing, mortgage paid off, kids launched, and an idea that has been incubating for a while. Too Young to Retire: 101 Ways to Start the Rest of Your Life (Plume 2004) is packed with business ideas, from antique restorer to wedding planner. If your big idea isn’t listed here, feel free to drop me a line and tell me about it: marika@2young2retire.com.
Obviously launching a business at any age is a huge undertaking and we can only scratch the surface of the subject here. The good news is, there is plenty of information available to anyone with access to a computer and Internet connection. Beside some fire in the belly and cash, what we all need as entrepreneurs is help from experienced business people who can mentor us through the startup process and direct us to the people and resources that help us grow.
Small Business Resources
As of this writing, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is about to launch a newly designed website that will make it even easier to connect with experienced mentors — 13,00 of them — on line and in a new series of workshops on starting, managing and growing your business. A click will take you to an archive of business columnists SCORE has been around since 1964 offering free and confidential business advice that has helped millions of aspiring entrepreneurs.
Wall Street Journal Small Business is another excellent source of ideas and expert opinion. The Small Business Guide covers everything from starting a business to selling it.
Another source of good general information for free is the Small Business Administration. See also the Virtual Business Plan from Bizplanit.
Business Insurance is a handy guide to some basics including legal, marketing and personnel resources with live links to speed you there.
The independent entrepreneurs check out Working Solo (www.workingsolo.com), the terrific site started by Terri Lonier (lone-yay) on the joys of being “boss-free.” Ilise Benun’s Marketing Mentor is also dedicated to the soloist or small partnership. Get a free consultation, daily newsletter and preview of her books.
You can find lots of help by seeking out trade associations connected with the business you’re considering. Trade associations can fast-track you right into the action, helping you connect with the people in the know, and perhaps even some financing sources. When Paul and Sands Belizzi wanted to ranch alpacas in Northern California, they got started in just this way: Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (U.S.), 800-213-9522.
As the name suggests, the National Business Incubation Association “provides entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful.”
The U.K. has a model for what is possible when you have a champion. In this case, the champion is Charles, Prince of Wales, and his organization is Prime-Cymru (Welsh for Wales), www.prime-cymru.co.uk, dedicated to help would-be entrepreneurs 50 and older get a start. Of the 600 start-ups Prime-Cymru has helped launch, only 6 have failed.
Inn Keeping
Thinking about owning/operating a B&B (who hasn’t)? You might want to contact theProfessional Association of Innkeepers International for some on the ground information. Try out innkeeping for a season or a year. Or check out house sitting via THE CARETAKER GAZETTE, (715-426-5500) published by Gary and Thea Dunn.
Owning/Operating A Family Business
If you do go into business for yourself, chances are you’ll find yourself (at least in early stages) working with your spouse or another family member. A caveat: these partnerships are easier to get into than to get out of, so make sure you know how to end gracefully (and save the relationship itself).
The Center for Family Business has courses and more information on this topic. 203-932-7421. Another resource: The Family Firm Institute, Inc.
And, don’t overlook your local Chamber of Commerce. Knowing who’s who in business in your community can be a great way to test the waters.
Books/Magazines
There are literally hundreds of books on becoming a successful entrepreneur. One of our favorites remains Paul Hawken’s Growing a Business (Fireside, 1998). The co-founder of Smith and Hawken, he now leads The Natural Step, an organization committed to sustainable business practices.
Inc. Magazine remains a reliable source of information for the entrepreneur, whether you are just starting out or growing your business. We loved the recent coverage on balancing business with life featuring Pete and Laura Wakeman of Great Harvest Bakery. Search the Inc. site for this.
Also useful is Entrepreneur magazine, which also features a wealth of small business how to’s.
Jeff Berner’s The Joy of Working From Home: Making a Life While Making a Living (Berrett- Koehler Publishers, Inc. 1994) is a classic of its kind, packed with great ideas for you entrepreneurs and independent contractors.