Unleash Your Inner Wisdom With This One Surprisingly Simple Practice

January 11, 2023
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It's not my secret, of course, but the one surprisingly simple practice that will yield massive gains in your life (if you stick with it) involves nothing fancier than pen and paper.

I'm talking about journaling. That's right! Very old school, but you'll be surprised that many uber successful people consider journaling their secret weapon. More on that in a bit! 

I was first exposed to journaling in 2018 taking the AMP masterclass of Dr. Benjamin Hardy. To be perfectly honest at first, I did not think much of it. I thought of journaling as being more for teenage girls, not for mature adults. 

  • Wouldn’t I just write the same thing over and over?
  • What would I write about?
  • What could I possibly gain by writing down my thoughts on paper?

It occurred to me that maybe I was in the wrong mastermind. After all, I wanted accountability and action, not pieces of paper with random ideas and thoughts. I wanted to roar like a lion not sit down like Anne Frank writing in my little book.

I thought that journaling was just another beatnik or far-out technique that would lead nowhere but in reality, what I have found after admittedly much trial and error over the last four years is that journaling has become an absolutely essential part of keeping me focused and clear headed.

Flannery O’Connor

-American Novelist

"I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say"

I never thought I would say this ... 

What comes out of my pen is not some random gibberish but rather my deepest thought and feelings that are often so hard to verbalize when busy and distracted in everyday life. It’s hard to explain, but I think of journaling as a cheap form of therapy!

Journaling allows me to go quiet and figure things out. It forces me to question whatever beliefs I have on an issue that is bothering me or at the very least sucking lots of my energy. In addition, journaling offers insight and direction to moving forward in my life. As I said it’s like a self-administered form of cheap therapy. Tim Ferriss agrees with me!

I don’t think that I would have become a retirement advisor and coach if I did not journal. I could have just “retired” but there was something nagging at me that only when I put pen to paper did I realize that I wanted to do more with my life. I did not want the easy life of leisure that so many of my peers were pursuing. I wanted to still stretch and be involved in the world. But how? That took a while to figure out but journaling was the lynchpin to get the necessary clarity and sense of direction.

Not only have I gained clarity and a better sense of direction by journaling but I have also become more emotionally grounded.  It’s hard to process your emotions when you’re getting pulled in a million directions. It’s nearly impossible to figure out your true feelings if you don’t set aside time and space to write them down. And that’s what journaling can do for you. It can allow you the safe space of writing really intimate stuff without having anybody question you or, even worse, judge you.

Journaling has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool in enhancing mental wellbeing. It is a means of self-reflection and expression that facilitates the process of gaining insight into one's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. By engaging in journaling, individuals can become more mindful of themselves and their environment, thus allowing for more effective problem solving and decision making. Furthermore, journaling has been linked to improved emotional regulation through increased awareness of self and increased understanding of one's emotions.

The often broken journey from Resistance to Acceptance

I was not an original convert to the practice of journaling. I didn’t know what to write about. I didn’t know how to get started. I didn’t even know where I should write – in a leather-bound book, an open Word doc, or a simple notebook.

The possibilities appeared endless and I got stuck. For a while I procrastinated by getting lost in all of these options. I even asked my mastermind leader for help to which he simply responded, “Do whatever feels right to you”. Obvious, right?

I asked around and everybody had a different take. That didn’t help much but eventually I found my own method. I simple wrote in a basic notebook about anything that came to mind. Many days it was the same thoughts. Many days I felt like I was simply doing my “homework”. I sometimes felt like an outcast in my mastermind group.

  • Was I the only one that was struggling to find my journaling style and voice? 
  • Why was I not a true believer?
  • What was I missing?

And then it hit me. It was my belief that journaling was only for teenage girls that was holding me back.

The fact that day after day I wrote the same things down was not proof that journaling was a waste of time but rather that maybe there was a message right there staring at me that I did not want to deal with. Maybe there was a truth in my writing that I was reluctant to confront out of fear.   Maybe there was an element of responsibility for my life that I would have rather left in my unconscious mind.

Why were these same questions and thoughts popping up every day? Over time I realized that the questions were actually shifting ever so slightly. They were becoming more and more specific as were my answers.  My writing was becoming crisper until eventually the message became clear. And now I understood that that’s the whole point of journaling -to start in a maze of confusion and vagueness and little by little find that needle in the haystack that brings clarity and helps you move forward.

Did I develop this daily habit right away? Absolutely not. It took many tries, probably at least two years. I would journal for a couple of weeks, take a break and then go back to it. It was a lot of stop and go. It took me a while to figure out my own rhythm and style.

  • How long should I journal for?
  • What should I write about?
  • Were certain topics off-limits?
  • Should I write on my laptop, hard-bound journal or in a simple notebook?
  • Should I write in full sentences or just jot down some blurbs and scribbles?

In the first couple of years, I kept at it, in all honesty, primarily because of my mastermind group. Pure, raw peer pressure and the fear of being found out as a non-believer!

That pressure kept me from totally falling off the wagon so it worked until I no longer needed the reminders. I eventually embraced journaling for purely selfish reasons. It worked for me and it became a key part of my morning routine.

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Journaling will work for you too – if you stick with it

It worked for Marcus Aurelius during the days of the Roman Empire. In fact, his daily journal entries make up the contents of probably the most famous Stoic book of all time, Meditations.

Too dated for you? How about?

  • Actor Brad Pitt who credits journaling with helping him deal with disappointment and addiction
  • Comedian Jerry Seinfeld who journals every day to get new ideas
  • Author and podcaster Hal Elrod who includes scribing (his word for journaling) in his Morning Miracle SAVERS
  • Organizational guru Maria Kondo who journals every day to assess the progress she’s making on her goals. Same for actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, technologist Bill Gates and Spanx founder Sarah Blakely.
  • Speaker and motivational podcaster Mel Robbins who’s committed in 2023 to start a daily journaling practice

You must agree that the list of successful people that journal is impressive. There must be something to this practice! It sounds so simple, but will it work for me?

Still skeptical?

I get where you’re coming from.

You’ve tried every hack pitched by self-improvement gurus from cold showers in the morning to affirmations. You have tried but after a couple of weeks you lose interest. You don’t see the gain you expected. You have fallen in love with the next “shiny” object that you’re now convinced will be the key to massive results.

You’ve done this over and over again, right?

Like you, I’ve been there.

I tried a little bit of everything for so little to stick. But to my great surprise, journaling finally did stick but it took a while.

Here's what journaling has given me:

  • A clearer sense of what I control and my choices
  • Greater clarity of thought
  • A system to assess my core beliefs
  • More emotional stability
  • A reminder of my main goals and why they are important

There are numerous other benefits to journaling but let me explain a bit more.

Benefit #1 – Enhanced sense of control and my choices

By the simple act of writing things down you can become more objective about what’s going on in your life. You’ll quickly realize that a lot is out of your control (such as a stock market crash, your health or a natural disaster) and that fretting over what could happen is a waste of time and energy.

Writing your worst fears down on paper will lead you conclude that in most cases, events are out of your control. What can you do? Is it worth worrying about something that you have no control over?

Rather, wouldn’t it make more sense to become laser focused on what you do control? By writing things down I have been able to in a sense get out of my own head by realizing that I only need to worry about what I can control. The rest is beyond me. Good or bad. Any difficult situation or problem is suddenly a lot more manageable. I can exert my choices over areas of my life that I can control.

As ridiculous as they may appear here are some examples of my journal ruminations on this topic of choice

  • I can’t control a stock market crash, but I can control how much risk I’m taking in my portfolio
  • I can’t control when I’ll die, but I can lead a lifestyle that improves my probability of living a long, healthy life
  • I can’t control somebody else’s behavior, but I can choose to live with it and not let it bother me or leave the situation entirely

Journaling has allowed me to see more clearly the areas of my life where I do have a say.

Benefit #2 – Greater clarity of thought

We live in a dynamic, high-pressure world. A world full of “noise” and minimal “signal” as statisticians would say. It’s easy to go with the flow and simply react to what’s going on around. Finding clarity means identifying the “signal” in a sea of complexity and busyness.

You need clarity in your life in order to move forward. You need to understand who you want to become and how you want to live your life. As I write in my book, Reimagining Retirement, you need a Vision of your Future Self. Without that vision you cannot hope to lead an intentional life.

It’s amazing what putting pen to paper can do to extract your innermost thoughts. You’re not debating with a friend or foe. You’re just letting your writing flow and letting the chips fall where they may. It will take you several tries but eventually your written thoughts will result in clarity and your own truths.  You’ll finally see that vision of your life that previously appeared grey and foggy.

christina baldwin

-author

"Journal writing is a voyage to the interior"

Benefit #3 – Assessing your beliefs

We all have our own beliefs about life. I’m not talking about values such as honesty and empathy but rather the set of assumptions we all use in our daily lives to guide our behavior. Beliefs are hidden from public view and many times we don’t even know what they are until we take the time to explore our innermost core.

Beliefs are often developed in childhood. For example, our beliefs about money are most likely developed in our childhood watching our parents. The interesting thing about beliefs is that they are often hidden even from ourselves. Journaling offers one way to little by little bring these beliefs to the surface.

Have you ever sat down and written down your foundational beliefs? Try it. You’ll probably find a lot about yourself but at first you will probably feel a bit disoriented and unsure what to write.

You know why? Because, in many cases you are harboring beliefs that are not true and are in fact holding you back. Harsh but most often true!

We like to think of ourselves as these super rational people dealing with everybody else’s quirks and randomness when in reality our own beliefs are driving our own behavior and many times we don’t even know what these beliefs are.

Yes, you could go to therapy but a more cost-effective way to get at the root of your beliefs is to quietly write them down day after day until you let go of any societal pressures and ideas of who you are and the truth finally emerges.

Only when you truly understand your beliefs can you face up to the task of assessing whether these beliefs are empowering or limiting you.

I have found journaling a very effective way to get to the bottom of your true beliefs. Sometimes just knowing what’s been holding you back is enough to give you the permission to move forward.

Benefit #4 – Greater emotional stability

Who doesn’t experience fear? Absolutely, nobody. We all have our fears – some deserved and many others totally unfounded. Most times our fears don’t materialize but we as humans have a tendency to obsess over what could go wrong even if the probability is infinitely small, or totally out of our control.

Our reptilian brain has a way of playing tricks on us. Cruel, isn’t it but it keeps happening. We will always have our fears, but we can choose to confront them before we sink into a massive energy sinkhole. I have found journaling about my fears a great way to stop catastrophizing about the future.

Here are a couple of examples:

I go through patches where I wake up feeling anxious. Nothing terrible but still unsettling. I often don’t even know why I’m feeling this way until I journal about it. My anxiety usually revolves around money even though under most scenarios my wife and I are going to be fine. For me, at least, thinking about my anxiety does not make the feeling go away. Only by writing my feelings down on paper do I realize how silly I’m being.

Other times, I wake up thinking about my days as a mutual fund portfolio manager and instantly get a little jealous of friends of mine still in the “game”. My envy is usually short lived ounce I scribble these thoughts on paper and realize that that was my past for which I’m grateful for but it has nothing to do with my current vision of who I am and the life I want to lead.  I love my friends still in the “game” but I’ve moved on to a different set of expectations for my life. I have journaling to thank for getting me out of the envy trap! It usually works.

martina navratilova

-all-time tennis great

"Keeping a journal of what’s going on in your life is a good way to help you distill what’s important and what’s not"

Benefit #5 – A reminder of what's important

It’s the time of year when people typically set goals for the new year. I bet that by April Fool’s Day not only have most people not followed through with their goals but few even remember what they were in the first place.  Just look at the rows of unused treadmills at your gym or how people have totally forgotten about their intention behind “Dry January.”

It’s really interesting how easy it is to forget one’s goals when busy and in the flow of everyday life. It’s happened to me and I think of myself as being pretty focused. Sure, I do remember some of my goals but I have forgotten that a plan without action is just a dream. 

By writing your goals down and focusing on your progress you’re likely to increase your odds of success. That daily reminder has been shown to be invaluable. It’s amazing how often we forget what’s important as we get busy with life. There is always tomorrow, right? We are as noted business coach Marshall Goldsmith says “better planners than doers.”

Journaling offers a way for us to reaffirm our goals and not let busyness bury our long-term dreams in the graveyard of best intentions.

jim rohn

-motivational coach

"Start from wherever you are and with whatever you've got"

How do I get started?

By now, hopefully, you can see why among others Oprah, the “Rock” and Jerry Seinfeld are committed daily journal writers.  I believe that everybody could benefit from journaling, but getting started and sustaining that commitment is not always easy.

If you’re new to journaling or have not been able to incorporate the practice into your daily living you need to develop the habit one day at a time until the benefits become apparent and journaling becomes as automatic as brushing your teeth after a big meal.

Developing a journaling practice is no different from starting any other habit. Two great references for people interested in the topic are Tiny Habits by Stanford Professor Dr. BJ Fogg, and Atomic Habits by James Clear. Distilling from their wisdom and my own experience developing a journaling practice here are some tips you might find useful.

Tip #1 – Don’t fret over picking the right journal or writing tool. Just get started with whatever feels right to you. If you have to wait to get the perfect journal from Amazon, you’re procrastinating.  I use a simple composition book like the one kids use in school.

Tip #2 – Just get started and start small. There is no better time than now. It’s not going to be easier tomorrow. Take that first step. Maybe give it 5 minutes on Day 1 and see how it feels. Most people do not spend more than 10 minutes journaling. See how many days you can keep the streak going. That’s a trick that Jerry Seinfeld used during his early days as an up and rising comedian.

Tip #3 – There is no perfect or right way to journal so come up with your own style. Full sentences, perfect grammar, bullet points, mind maps -it does not matter. Make journaling your own experience with your own way of filtering your thoughts. I use a lot of bullets and diagrams with the occasional mind map to jot down my thoughts. It looks really messy but it works for me.

Tip #4 – Journal in a quiet place where you can really focus on your thoughts and pick a time. Most people that I know prefer to journal in the early morning before the busyness of daily living  sets in. Pick your spot and time. Psychologist and author Dr. Ben Hardy journals in his car (he’s got 6 kids so now you know why his car is sacred) in the wee hours of the morning before he heads out to the gym.

Tip #5 – Focus on one or two areas of your life that are challenging you. Is it relationship issues that require your attention? Is it something related to your work? Is it something in your life that you can’t quite understand and requires self-examination? Is it related to your fears and anxiety or other uncomfortable emotions such as jealousy? Is it a focus on your health? You can’t possibly address everything at once. Remember, start small and everyday go deeper and deeper until you find clarity and a way forward.

Tip #6 – Bonus Prompts to jump-start your engine

  • What’s worrying me today? Do I understand where these worries are coming from? Do I need to really worry?
  • What kind of life do I envision for myself? In 12 months, 5 years, ...
  • What are my true beliefs in life? Are these beliefs true?
  • Am I living up to my potential? What’s holding me back from achieving my goals?
  • What are two or three things that I could change this year to find greater happiness? Why am I not taking action?
  • What could I do to become more persistent and resilient?
  • What are two or three things in my life that I need to deal with urgently?
  • What am I grateful for?
  • What brings me joy? How can I get more of that?
  • What am I really good at?

robin sharma

-motivational coach

"The starting point of discovering who you are, your gifts, your talents, your dreams, is being comfortable with yourself. Spend time alone. Write in a journal"

What you write in your journal is for your consumption only. You can choose to do with it as you wish.
”

Small investments compound to large ones 

Get started today 

Your Future Self will thank you for it


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The 9 Keys to True Wealth

November 7, 2022
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What is True Wealth?

Is it a number in your bank account? Is it the clothes you wear or the car you drive? While those things may be signs of wealth, they do not necessarily mean you are wealthy. True wealth goes much deeper than that. In the Bible, we are told that true wealth is a gift from God. It is a treasure that you can’t see or touch. It isn’t an external possession or a commodity.

True wealth is about all of the things that make your life joyful and fulfilling. It is about having a sense of abundance and a growth mindset. It is about feeling rich, regardless of how much money you have in the bank. It is about living a life of purpose and meaning.

According to Henry David Thoreau, "Wealth is the ability to fully experience life."

Everybody has their own definition of wealth, but the fundamentals are the same.

Here’s how I think about it. Your wealth is an encapsulation of everything affecting your happiness and sense of fulfillment. It’s not just how financially set you might be but also how you feel about yourself and your life in general. It’s about your health. It’s about your relationships. It’s about all the areas in your life that are important to you.

I think that we can all agree that having a roof over our head, being healthy and having the necessities in life are a starting point. For most people, however, having material possessions is not enough to lead a happy and fulfilling life. Most people also need a sense of purpose and a feeling that their lives matter. They need to feel useful and part of something bigger than themselves.  They need to look forward to something that matters to them be it a small goal or a massive dream that they have been living with forever.

The mix of all of these fundamental drivers, of course, varies from person to person. Everybody has a different vision for their life. You care about different things. Your life circumstances are different.

True Wealth is Multi-Dimensional 

I have a framework I use in my coaching practice called the NET WEALTH system to assess how wealthy you truly are and which areas of your life require your attention. You might have seen similar approaches before such as the “Wheel of Life” originally created by Paul J. Meyer, founder of Success Motivation® Institute, Inc.

Each letter corresponds to an area of life that research has shown to be important in determining a person’s happiness and sense of fulfillment.  

The NET WEALTH system incorporates all the major areas of your life – financial as well as non-financial. It’s a system that allows you to identify those areas in your life where you need to put attention and those where you already excel. It allows you to monitor where you are relative to where you see yourself as your Future Self based on your priorities.

The components of your NET WEALTH are the fundamentals that create happiness and fulfillment. By following the fundamentals that matter to you will be able to ignore the environmental noise and societal pull toward a one-size-fits-all life that most often leaves you feeling like a square peg in a round hole.

The 9 Keys to True Wealth

N- NEST

Living in a supportive environment

Your house is an important part of your environment, but so are your physical surroundings, the people you interact with, the community you live in, what you do on a daily basis, and, in general, everything that comprises the surroundings around you.

Where and how you decide to live should reflect the important role your environment plays in shaping your thoughts and behaviors. You may never have thought much about your surroundings before, but your environment is actually a critical determinant of the type of routines and lifestyle you end up adopting. In fact, research by Dr. Benjamin Hardy shows how your environment is a much more powerful influence on your behavior than willpower alone.

Oftentimes, we are not even aware of how our environment is affecting us. In his book Willpower Doesn’t Work, he states, “Much of your behavior is unconsciously cued by your environment.”

Your housing decisions are one aspect of your environment. Where you decide to live needs to be naturally in sync with all other areas of your life.

E-Earnings

Creating a sustainable earnings stream

Wherever you want to go with your life and however you decide to get there, your Future Self requires fuel for the journey. The challenge is turning your assets – financial and human - into a sustainable earnings stream to fund your lifestyle.

Being earnings-rich has nothing to do with how much money you have in the bank. Being earnings-rich is about having an income stream that exceeds your cost of living. You could have lots of money but if you spend recklessly, you will eventually run out of money. Conversely you may not have a lot of money saved up but if your expenses are minimal and under control you’ll be just fine.

Being financially savvy requires managing both your sources of income (from wages, getting a decent return on your money, passive sources) and your expenditures (your necessities, wants and indulgences).

Yes, there is a lot more to financial health but it all begins with the basic fundamental that expenditures should not exceeds income in order to create a sustainable lifestyle.

T - Time

Spending time where it matters

As humans, we know that time on earth is a blessing, but somehow, we don’t treat time with the same respect and attention as we do other scarce resources--for example, money. We often believe that we will always have more time to do what we want to do in life.

There is always tomorrow, but as Author Sam Horn points out, “Tomorrow is not a day of the week.”

Specifically, how do you want to allocate your time? Time is our most precious resource, but many people still treat it as a renewable resource. Are you getting an acceptable rate of return on your time?

I use a concept from noted management consultant Stephen Covey called the time matrix. Your available hours are divided into four blocks:

  • Important and Urgent Activities – this is the time you want to manage
  • Not Important and Urgent Activities – best to avoid
  • Important and Not Urgent – this requires your undivided attention and focus
  • Not Important and Not Urgent – limit how much time you spend here

Do you know how your time is split between these four blocks?

Investing your time wisely requires thought (what matters to you), a plan (what are you going to do with your time), and action (creating practices and habits designed to maximize the return on your time).

Take the NET WEALTH Assessment
W- Work

Utilizing your skills and life experiences

Many people think of their work simply in terms of company, title and pay. They don’t realize that work is actually a pretty important part of one’s identity. It’s also a major part of their social network and the source of structure and intellectual stimulation.

Working is more than just about money. Just ask one of the many people who “un-retire” every year. Surveys show that most of them do not go back to work for financial reasons. They do it to feel connected and vibrant.

For many people, the ideal work fulfills several of their needs at the same time. For example, my friend Greg found a way to combine his love of the seas, problem solving, and interacting with people by working as a charter boat captain.

What are you looking for in terms of work?

Do you find your current work satisfying?

E-EMotional Energy

Connecting your emotions to your journey

Humans are emotional creatures. Research has shown that our emotions drive our behavior. Understanding our emotions and responding appropriately is a key life skill.

Our emotions carry energy. In fact, the word emotion is derived from the concept of movement. The Latin derivative, “emotere,” literally means energy in motion.

In path-breaking research by Dr. David R. Hawkins, he classified common emotions along an energy scale, depicting the intensity of the feeling. Positive emotions give you energy, while negative emotions deplete it.

I think of negative emotions as a leak on a boat. A leak won’t initially sink the boat, but it will definitely weigh it down and slow its trajectory. The leak will overwhelm your thoughts. Eventually, the boat will sink unless the hole gets plugged in time. In any case, the boat ride will not be as enjoyable or smooth as it could have been.

Positive emotions, on the other hand, lift you up. They make the boat ride feel lighter and faster. Positive emotions allow you to think about all the good things in your life and give you a sense of possibility. They give you more energy to pursue your goals.

Your emotional energy is such a huge part of your NET WEALTH. With it, you can climb mountains and lead the type of life consistent with your Future Self. Without emotional energy, you’re likely to be always running on fumes and never quite having enough energy to reach your goals.

A - Achievements

Having something to work towards

Research in the field of positive psychology has found that happier and more fulfilled individuals seek new challenges. These individuals set goals for what they want to achieve in the future and set out necessary plans and action steps. Having something to look forward to gives structure to daily living. It provides clarity and a sense of direction. It moves people from a focus on the past to looking ahead.

Pursuing meaningful achievements throughout your life is an important driver of your wellbeing. These achievements don’t have to mirror those of Elan Musk or Nelson Mandela. They could be simple things, such as taking care of your grandchildren, planting a new garden, writing a book, or helping young entrepreneurs start a new business. It could involve working on any of the dreams and aspirations that you still harbor. 

Humans have a need to feel relevant and keep looking forward in life. When people focus exclusively on a life of comfort and pleasure, they tend to lose that connection to the world and their future. In comparison, people that also focus on fulfillment behave in ways that keep them vested in the bright future that they have envisioned for themselves. It’s a future that involves striving and working toward your dreams and aspirations.

Take the NET WEALTH Assessment
l - learning

Keeping your mind sharp

Learning does not stop once you graduate from college or leave the corporate world. In today’s world, we all need to become lifelong learners if we are to keep up with all the change around us. The benefits of learning go beyond simply attaining more skills and possibly earning more money. Learning also has a lot of mental health benefits and can be a source of great joy and fulfillment.

Lifelong learning is not just a nicety to make time pass. To keep on learning is absolutely necessary for your wellbeing.

As people live longer, a critical skill is to adapt and learn new societal norms and practices. Mastering new ways of communicating and behaving in everyday life is part of fitting in society.

Research by Professor Valeri Helterbran at Duquesne University concluded that, “People over the age of fifty who said they continued to learn about topics that interested them were 18 percent more likely to feel satisfied with their lives and 43 percent more likely to feel vital.”

Learning something new is a great way to maintain brain health. The brain does particularly well when faced with novelty and challenge. Just doing the same things over and over will not generate new neural connections. It will reinforce and strengthen the connection, but learning something new that is also challenging provides the greatest benefits to brain health.

t - tribe

Maximizing the value of your social circle

Humans are social animals. All humans have a need for physical and emotional connection. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs places belonging right after our need for food and water and a safe place to live. Studies show that humans with high quality social connections tend to be happier as well as healthier.

People often underestimate the value of their social circle of family and friends until it is almost too late. They assume that people will be around when they need help, or that they will be just fine on their own. In reality, friendships as well as family connections need to be tended over time.

Your social capital depends on the quality and depth of your relationships. Your most important relationships are probably with your family. Some relationships will be based on business or professional connections and might be more transitory in nature. Others will be based on friendship, and yet others on areas of common interest.

h - health

Keeping your body in tip-top shape

Your physical health will drive much of your daily satisfaction with life. As people live longer the focus is shifting to quality of life. Research shows that our genes only account for about 30% of our overall aging. That means that 70% is due to the environment and the lifestyle choices we make. 

Our health is everything when we don’t have it, but we often ignore it until we are facing an issue that seriously derails our daily life. In the western world especially, we have grown accustomed to an unhealthy lifestyle of sedentary living, poor diet, and excessive food consumption. As a consequence, the average male in the U.S. is today, on average, ten pounds heavier than a couple of decades ago, without being any taller. 30% of U.S. adults over the age of 65 are considered to be medically obese.

The greatest tool protecting your health is exercise. You need to keep on moving. You also need to keep mentally engaged. It’s worth remembering the saying, “Use it or lose it.” It applies to both your physical as well as mental health.

We all know that we can’t postpone getting older and eventually dying. What we can do, however, is live as healthy as possible so that we not only live a long time, but also live well along the way.

Take the NET WEALTH Assessment

Are you leading a Wealthy Life?

It's not all about the money, money, money. Although a comfortable financial situation is a major component of a wealthy life, it's not the only factor. A rich life is also about having strong relationships, good health, purpose and meaning, and a sense of fulfillment.

Money is important, but it's not everything. There are many other elements that contribute to a wealthy life. A person can be rich with or without money. Some people have plenty of money, but they're not wealthy because they don't have good relationships. Others may have a very comfortable lifestyle, but they are not rich because their health is poor.

  • Are all areas of your life aligned and in balance?
  • Are there areas that require your immediate attention?
  • Are you ready to commit and take action to become truly wealthy?
  • Do you have a plan for closing the gap between where you are today and where you want to be?

Warning - The trap awaiting most people

Most people fall into the trap of focusing only on money, and this can lead to a number of problems.

First, if you only focus on money, you may miss out on important aspects of your life. For example, you may not spend enough time with your family or friends, or you may not pursue your passions.

Second, focusing only on money can lead to greed and a desire for material possessions. This can lead to financial problems and debt.

Finally, if you only focus on money, you may forget about what is truly important in life. Instead, focus on your relationships, your health, and your happiness. These are the things that will truly make you wealthy.

Final Remainder

Wealth is not just about money. It’s about living a rich and fulfilling life. The American dream is about more than just money. It's about having a good life, and that includes being happy in your daily activities, being connected to friends and family, and accomplishing your passions.

Being wealthy is about having a balance between your physical, mental, and emotional health, your relationships, your finances, and your spirituality. If you have all of these things in balance, then you will be truly wealthy.

Take the NET WEALTH Assessment

My book, Reimagining Retirement – 9 Keys to True Wealth is now available on Amazon.

September 27, 2022
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Here’s the link: https://www.retirewithpossibilities.com/reimagine-retirement/

The book is not going to tell how to amass enough money to buy a megayacht but it will help you lead a happy and fulfilling life in retirement. And, what could be better than that, right?

The book is geared at Baby Boomers already in the early stage or planning their retirement.

I would love it if you would buy a copy and write a review on Amazon.

5 Easy Ways to Regain Lost Time by Living Well

May 2, 2022
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Time is like a river running down from the mountains. It always moves in one direction, and the second that flow of water touches you, it is past you. You can’t stop the flow. But unlike a river, time does not get replenished.

When the flow of time is plentiful, you take it for granted, but as the flow starts diminishing, you begin to notice and value it more highly. Over time, the flow of time starts drying out and the flow becomes a trickle and eventually stops. Time becomes more valuable as we have less of it.

Computer Science Professor Randy Pausch faced this reality when he was diagnosed in August of 2007 with terminal pancreatic cancer at the age of 46. He was given three to six months to live. He eventually passed away in July 2008 but not before delivering one of the most watched YouTube videos of all time.

A self-described efficiency freak, Randy preferred to answer his phone while riding his bike (not sure that I would try this). He joked once in a lecture that he had yet to find a way to make more time, but he was trying.

While Randy never did find a way to make more time, he became an instant expert on what to do with his limited time on earth the minute he was given his terminal diagnosis. As is customary of retiring faculty at Carnegie Mellon, he was asked to deliver a final lecture.

After his terminal diagnosis his wife Jai did not think that giving a lecture was a good use of his limited time, but there was something inside of Randy that kept pushing him, and he committed to a September 18 date.  It took Randy a while to figure out exactly what he wanted to say, but it finally dawned on him that all the things he valued in life were rooted in the dreams and goals he had as a child, so he aptly named his last lecture “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”

The lecture has been viewed over 20 million times on YouTube, but its popularity has less to do with achieving your childhood dreams and more with how to lead your life the right way. “If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you,” was Randy’s key message.

Nothing makes you realize the value of time more than knowing that your time is finite. 

randy pausch

-Carnegie Mellon

"Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think"

We cannot make more time but we can change how fast we age

Our minds might tell us we’re 65 or 37 years old but in reality our internal age may be significantly different.

I know what you’re thinking.

Is this yet another version of Benjamin Button?  

And in a sense it is but it’s also based on recent academic research on aging. Specifically research dealing with the difference between your chronological and biological age. Your chronological age is based on your birthday. In contrast, your biological age depends on how healthy you are, not when you were born. It measures the wear and tear on your body parts.  

For example, in a study done by Dr. Dan Belsky at Duke University following adult males from the time they were 26 years old to age 38 he found that the rate of aging varied tremendously. The study looked at measures such as the functions of kidneys, liver, lungs, metabolic and immune systems as well as levels of cholesterol, cardio fitness, lung function and the length of telomeres (these are the caps at the end of our DNA strands that have been found to shorten with age).

The results were eye-opening. Some males were aging as fast as three years per chronological year while others were lowering their bio age at a rate less than that predicted by their chronological age. At the end of the study participants all 38 years of age exhibited a biological age range from 30 to nearly 60 years old.

Other researchers have used different methods to measure aging such as the epigenetic clock discovered by Dr. Steve Horvath at UCLA in 2013. What’s remarkable about the epigenetic clock is its accuracy in predicting lifespan even after adjusting for chronological age, gender, health practices and previous aliments.  

This is not some new age science peddled by oil snake salesmen. It’s serious research backed by hundreds of millions of dollars of new venture capital. It’s been rumored that anti-aging Company Altos Labs who counts Steve Horvath among its staff and reputably Jeff Bezos among its investors has raised close to $300 million since its inception in 2021. Investing in age-related research has taken off with no signs of cooling off.

Anti-aging is not just reserved for ego-maniac billionaires

Have you ever wondered why some people look and act much younger than their chronological peers? My 93 year old uncle in Costa Rica is one of them. He still travels the world by himself, looks amazing, walks everywhere and socializes across all age groups. I’m not sure what his biological age is but I am pretty sure that it is much lower than the number of candles on his birthday cake (if that is even possible).

People can be significantly younger than their chronological age and guess what? Here’s the best part is that all it takes according to Dr. Kara Fitzgerald author of the Younger You is proper diet and a healthy lifestyle.

You must be wondering, “Can it really be that easy?”

That’s what I was wondering about until I looked at the results of her pilot study where participants reduced their biological age by over 3 years by following an 8 week program of a very doable diet and lifestyle. No strange injections or supplements. Everything in the study could have been bought at your local grocery store.  No need to be a billionaire like Jeff Bezos or Larry Ellison.

Now, the pilot study was admittedly small but Dr. Fitzgerald as well as numerous functional medicine practitioners have been finding remarkable results with their clinical patients throughout the years by following very similar diet and lifestyle recommendations.

I am not a doctor but I think that there is something to all of this that can be highly beneficial to our lives. In a sense I don’t really care about how much younger I might be biologically but what I do care about is feeling younger and more energetic today and in the future.

That’s why I was impressed by some of the key benefits from following the recommendations in Younger You and other functional medicine practitioners:

  • Improved energy and mood
  • Fewer headaches, skin irritations, and less joint pain
  • Improved gastrointestinal health
  • Lower "bad" cholesterol
  • Drop in insulin and blood sugar levels

To be clear nobody is promising eternal life. What the research shows is that easy to implement nutrition and lifestyle practices can make our biological age move in reverse. By how much is still an open question but the premise that one can significantly improve one’s quality of life is enough for me.

Deepak Chopra

-Medical Researcher

"Your biological age is a critical component in the entire aging process, and again, can be very different from your chronological age"

I hope that you find this research as exciting as I do but before I get to some science-based recommendations for how to lower your biological age first we need to clear up a couple of widely held misconceptions that could be holding you back:

Misconception #1 - It's all about your genes

How many times have you heard people justify their lifestyle and in particular their nutrition and exercise choices on their ancestor’s genes? “There is no point in eating healthy as I come from bad genes”. Or, “Everybody in my family has died young so why should I kill myself exercising.” And there is the other extreme of “My parents both lived to 95 years of age and they never exercised?” “I’m luckily from a good gene pool”.

There is a common myth held even among highly educated people that your genes determine how long we live. I must admit that I held this view for a long time. My dad lived to age 88 and my mom to age 92. On my mom’s side of the family there are people that have lived past 100. So for many years I held on to the notion that I had good genes and that I would live into my 90’s.

What I didn’t know is that genes only account for about 30% of a person’s longevity. The environment in which we live and our lifestyle choices account for the rest. Where we live, what we eat, our ability to deal with stress, our general fitness, and our mental outlook are all more important taken together than our genetic endowment.

Misconception #2 - Everybody ages at the same rate

We tend to lump people into age groups and believe that everybody is basically the same. For example, a person older than 65 years of age is in the retired bucket. Anybody in their 80’s is decrepit and in need of daily assistance, and so on.

In reality there is a wide divergence how people age. Based on looks some people age well, others not so. That’s the external side, but what about under the hood? Different body parts age at different rates within all of us. Medical research done on identical twins has found that the older you are the more variation in overall health. The same genes applied to different environments and lifestyle choices can lead to a wide spectrum of health outcomes.

Everybody gets older but we do it at significantly different rates depending on our environment and lifestyle choices. The importance of your genetic endowment diminishes with age. Our health care choices and actions become much more influential.

Misconception #3 - You can't do anything about it

Many people admit defeat before even trying. They’ve been leading a sedentary lifestyle that they are comfortable with and do not want to change. While we are all experts at rationalizing our behavior, there is always a benefit to improving your lifestyle and health choices.

Clearly, the older you are the less beneficial these changes will be to your overall health, but studies have shown that even individuals already in their 60’s and 70’s show significant improvements to their overall health after going through wellness programs involving diet, stress management and exercise.

It's never too late to start. Some of the recent "senior" runners in the Boston marathon did not get started until their 50's or 60's. 


Levering research to feel and look great

You must be wondering what comes next. Surely the hammer is about to drop. A bad surprise? The recommendation to only eat rabbit food, drink water, and run in circles for a minimum of six hours a day? Easy if you’re a hamster, right?

Here’s something we can both agree on – eating like a hamster won’t work. Not in the short-term but certainly not in the long-term.

But before you get discouraged I have some great news. You don’t have to become a hamster. All you have to do is follow some easy and fairly straightforward nutrition and lifestyle suggestions.

Now, to be clear I am not recommending a specific protocol or guaranteeing a drop in your biological age. For that go look up the specific guidelines of the Younger You or similar programs.

I am, however, suggesting a set of anti-aging practices that the vast majority of functional medicine practitioners have found helpful but that too many of us have not quite yet implemented in our daily lives.

Here’s we go:

Anti-Aging Practice 1 - Proper Nutrition

Watch your diet - preferably prepare meals at home emphasizing a plant-based diet. Dr. Marc Agronin author of the book “The Dementia Caregiver” swears by the MIND diet which includes generous portions of fruits and vegetables, fish, legumes, chicken, and olive oil while refraining from processed foods, sugar, whole-fat dairy and red meat. At home meals typically have 30% fewer calories than restaurant meals. Poor diet is both the number one cause of death and long-term disability in the US.

Maintain a healthy body weight - Obesity is linked to all sorts of issues such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Keep your body mass index (BMI) between 19 and 25. I know, not easy to do and the trend globally has been up. Fight the trend for your own survival. Your metabolism slows 5 percent every decade after the age of thirty. Don’t eat like your younger self. You will only make it harder on yourself.

Watch your sweet tooth - Sugar intake is becoming a key public health issue contributing to major adverse effects. Sugar makes your blood insulin levels spike. High-sugar diets are associated with an increased risk of many diseases, including heart disease, the number one cause of death worldwide. High-sugar diets can also lead to obesity, inflammation and high triglyceride levels, and high blood pressure.

Drink alcohol in moderation - that means a lot less than you think. Most doctors would have you stop at one drink per day. If you’re going to drink, have some red wine. Your liver will thank you. Excessive alcohol consumption lowers the body’s immunity to disease.

Never smoke – enough said.

Anti-Aging Practice 2 - Exercise

Move – walk, jog or run. You could take a spin or Zumba class. Anything to get your heart pumping. The optimal aerobic training involves maintaining between 60 and 80 percent of your maximum heart rate for between 30 and 45 minutes. Your maximum heart rate is calculated as 220 minus your age. I just turned 60 years old so my maximum heart rate is 160. Ideally, I should exercise at least three times a week and maintain my heart rate between 96 to 128 heart beats per minute. Get yourself a heart monitor.

Aerobic exercise has all kinds of beneficial effects on your physical heath. It has been shown to lower your risk for strokes, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. On top of that your mental and emotional energy will improve

Pump Up – strength training to build muscle strength. You don’t have to be all jacked up, but you should do enough strength training to overcome what doctors refer as sarcopenia.  Sarcopenia begins in your mid-30s and refers to the gradual loss of muscle mass. 

Both men and women should do strength training. It does not have to involve the use of free weights. You may prefer exercise machines which are easier for many people to use or work out at home using minimal equipment. You could rely on elastic band resistance training or simple old-fashioned exercises such as planks, pushups and squats. The idea is to reduce your body’s frailty. Two or three times a week for between 30 and 45 minutes should suffice.

Stretch – build flexibility and balance. This is really important as your muscles tend to stiffen up with age along with your risk for a fall. Dr. Mark Williams in his book The Art and Science of Aging Well recommends doing between 10 and 15 minutes daily of flexibility and balance training. If you enjoy group lessons, you’re in luck – you may want to try yoga, Tai Chi or Barre.

Anti-Aging Practice 3 - Mind Games

Keep learning new things -it might be learning to speak Spanish or how to build a rock wall. It might be learning more about the environment or how to salsa dance. Everybody should embrace becoming a lifelong learner. It’s not true that creativity declines with age. In fact, the ability to connect things and events while interpreting the context at hand increases with life experience and wisdom.

Challenge your brain - doing the same things over and over is highly unlikely to challenge your brain. You need to innovate. Medical researchers have found that the brain thrives on novelty and new challenges. If you never try anything new your connections in your brain will atrophy in a process known as synaptic pruning.

Our brains literally grow with our own actions and experiences. The brain is constantly being reshaped by a process called brain plasticity. Feed your brain new experiences and it will keep on building interconnections. Tackling something new is what’s important. Listen to Eleanor Roosevelt, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

Going through the same routine everyday simple re-enforces existing brain connections, but novelty is necessary to build new connections. Make it part of your daily routine to challenge your brain.

Practice mindfulness – we all need to learn to at times slow down our thoughts. Many of the nitty gritty issues that annoy us on a daily basis will lessen in importance the more we can quiet our mind. 

Mindfulness as practiced, say, through meditation enables us to lower our stress level and better enjoy the present. Lowering stress in our fast-moving society is increasingly becoming absolutely necessary for ensuring a healthy body, mind and brain. There are many forms of meditation. I don’t personally subscribe to any one form. For me it is more about quietly sitting down first thing in the morning and slowing down whatever is going through my head at the moment.

Anti-Aging Practice 4 - Managing Stress

Write your thoughts down. Journaling on a daily basis is one of the best ways to find clarity and slow our minds down. It seems that once you write something on paper many of our fears do not look as overwhelming.

Visualization is a close cousin of journaling. The idea is to visualize past happy experiences or things that bring you inner peace which in turn will shift attention away from the source of immediate stress. Maybe it is a memory from growing up, a favorite tree, or a special place in your heart.

Go for a walk, preferably surrounded by nature. Look up, around, and down. Look at the tree leaves swaying in the wind and listen to the sound of birds. If you’re lucky enough to live close to a place with water look at the rhythm of the water and listen carefully. Close your eyes. Breathe.

Breathe. Celebrity doctor Andrew Weil is a huge fan of breath work for dealing with stress. We often think of breathing as a purely automatic response, but by consciously measuring your breaths in and out you can gain control over your emotions.

Listen to calming music. This one works wonders for me. Many years ago, as part of a corporate retreat, I was tested to see what would lower my immediate stress level. For some people it is moving around. For others, it is breathing, and for me, it was listening to music.

Think of the worst possible outcome and how likely it really is. This idea comes from blogger Tim Ferris. Stress is a manifestation of fear. Tim’s suggestion is to stop and think what might actually go wrong, then quantify the likelihood of the worst outcome actually happening. This simple reframing will lower your stress as you realize that our worst hardly ever come true.

Pray or appeal to a spiritual power. I’m a bit reluctant to bring this up because many people frown at the mention of religion. But I do find that just by slowing down and speaking to a higher power, whatever that might be, tends to calm you down. I was raised Catholic, but when I pray, I talk to a higher power that does not fit any particular religious belief system. I simply believe that if you really need help there will be mysterious ways in which assistance will come your way. That belief by itself calms me down.

Anti-Aging Practice 5 - Playing the long Game starting Now

There is no tomorrow if there is not a today. Get going. Investing in your health is analogous to investing in your financial future. Taking that first step is hard but little steps done consistently yield a world of benefit.

Many people start small because that’s all they can do. A walk around the block, saying no to a night cap, doing 3 pushups, eating one portion instead of two, going to bed ½ hour earlier or starting a meditation practice.  It’s never too late to start living a healthier lifestyle.

Stanford University Professor, Dr.BJ Fogg, says that there are three ways to develop new habits – have an epiphany, change your environment, or start by changing in tiny ways.  Having an epiphany is too rare to be useful. That leaves us with the two other possibilities.

Changing your environment – your surroundings and who you associate with most frequently – is a great strategy for creating lasting lifestyle changes. Want a healthier, more physically active lifestyle? Try living in a community with easy access to nature trails and physical activities such as swimming, and exercise lessons.

As psychologist, Dr. Benjamin Hardy has said, “While you’re in an enriched environment, your desired behavior is automated and outsourced.” A healthy environment will almost automatically lead to an upgrade in lifestyle.

Institute small changes in your routines - a faster, more efficient method for creating change is to seek to implement small changes in the intended direction. That’s what Dr. BJ Fogg recommends in his book, Tiny Habits. Start by implementing small steps.

Do something that is easy to do, but do it consistently. A new habit takes time to form. A friend of mine once told me that for him running was as automated as brushing his teeth. That’s your goal – starting a behavior that you know will lead to a healthier lifestyle to the point where you continue doing it routinely without even thinking about it.

Turning Defense into Offense

According to the World Health Organization the average life expectancy for somebody living in the US is 78.5 years old. The average person can expect to enjoy 68.5 years of good health. That leaves the average person to live the last 10 years of their lives in poor health.

In the western world especially, we have grown accustomed to an unhealthy lifestyle of sedentary living, poor diet, and excessive food consumption. As a consequence, the average male in the US is today, on average, ten pounds heavier than a couple of decades ago without being any taller. Is that living well, or do you want to lower your biological age to enjoy a more energetic life in retirement?

The average person’s approach to their health care is to play defense. Medical Technology and medicines help you keep disease at bay. We all know that no game in life can be won by only playing defense. You must also learn to play offense and be proactive about maintaining good health.

I have given you 5 easy ways to switch from defense to offense but only you can execute on the field. Time to take advantage of science-based approaches to lowering your bio age. Your reward is a  more energetic and healthy you! 

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Top 5 Reasons Why Your Dream Retirement May Be Sinking FAST

March 15, 2022
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Even Pros and Science Teachers can fail the big Test

Just ask former Professor Nancy Schlossberg a well-known researcher of retirement and transition issues. Professor Schlosberg first retired from a long academic career in 1998 and moved like many of her generation to sunny Florida.

The transition from professor to retiree did not go as planned. Instead of feeling elated, she felt lost. Instead of taking it easy, she kept searching for something meaningful to do. After some soul searching she discovered that she missed her identity as a college professor. She had trouble adjusting to being “fully” retired. She choose to “un-retire” to write a book.

As anybody that’s tried it, writing a book can be as demanding as or even more so than your typical day job. Professor Schlossberg was an expert on retirement before she retired yet she still found the transition difficult. Since her "first" retirement she has written not one but eight books - the last one (she swears) was published in 2017. 

Here's another story. 

I recently took an Uber ride on a cold winter night in Boston and, as I usually do, started a conversation with the driver. It turns out that the driver (I’ll call him Mike) started driving for Uber three years ago.

He appeared to be in his late 60’s so I asked him what he did before driving for Uber to which he chuckled and said “NOT THIS." 

"This was all my granddaughter’s idea.”

It turns out that Mike retired after a 30 year career as a high school science teacher. After sitting back and relaxing for the first few years, he grew bored and anxious.

“Playing golf and watching reruns of the Walton’s can only take you so far.” 

Mike tried to go back to his old job but they had moved on. He tried tutoring high school students but found the work unfulfilling. He didn’t miss the work, but rather the people. He missed being a part of things!

Then one day, his granddaughter said that he should be an Uber driver. “I had no idea what that was, but my granddaughter showed me how it works.” He thought about it. He liked getting out of the house. He could use a few bucks and best of all he could pick his schedule. If he didn’t like it, no big deal.

For Mike it’s been three years as an Uber driver and he loves it. Of course, not always the driving part but engaging with people oftentimes his granddaughter’s age.

“I learn so much from just hearing them talk and more often than not we end up having our own conversations. It has made my retirement so much more enjoyable. Rather than talking about the good old days like most of my former colleagues, I get to feel part of the real world.”

Benjamin Franklin

-inventor

"I didn't fail the test. I just found 100 ways to do it wrong"

Retirement - easy if you're a robot, challenging if you're a real person

Most people think that retirement is a breeze. It’s the time in life when you no longer have any family and career commitments that suck up all your time and energy. It’s all beautiful sunsets and relaxing walks on the beach. No need to worry about anything anymore.

Sounds great, if only it were true.

In reality, many retirees find themselves at a loss. After so looking forward to their “golden” years they find themselves bored, disappointed and often anxious about the future.

How’s it possible to fail at retirement? 

With all the free time?

Without the stress of yet another soul-sucking “corporate” restructuring?

What's wrong here?

Surely, these Baby Boomers must a bunch of malcontents. They have it so much better than grandma and grandpa! They have raided the young with their generous social security and Medicare programs and they are still bummed out? 

All true and that makes it feel even worse. It sucks!

When you’re supposed to having the time of your life and you’re not you feel even worse. Like something is wrong with you. Like you’re the only one at the dance without a partner. You feel guilty. You feel like you’re wasting the rest of your life.

Awful isn’t it? "Poor bastards" you may think.

Let me tell you a little secret,

We ALL have these depressing thoughts!

Even pros like Nancy Schlossberg or my Uber driver, Mike. I have had these thoughts and I am not quite retired yet.

Tell me the truth,

Are you the only person on the planet that has not had these feelings?

Nobody told you about the rough side of retirement, did they?

You’ve been going through transitions your whole life. The one into retirement is supposed to be easy.

You have been dreaming about retiring for years. You anticipated smooth sailing ahead, but suddenly the seas have turned choppy and the headwinds have picked up. Nothing you can’t deal with but still stressful. Not exactly the ride you expected especially at this stage in life.

Nobody told you about these “challenges”.

Nobody. Even your best friend that retired a while back kept his pie-hole shut. It’s as if in order to be indoctrinated into the “retirement club” you need to go through the stress and annoyance of hazing all by yourself.

Why couldn’t somebody have warned you before? You would have prepared better and sailed right thorough the storm into retirement bliss.

I get it. I often wish that things were different. Easier for sure, but it never seems to work this way. You’re always that lone wolf lost in the woods having to find your way out without any help.

You may still be that lone wolf lost in the woods but I am going to tell you about a couple pitfalls to look out for.

Unfortunately I can’t hold you by the hand and promise that everything will be all right, but at least you’ll be forewarned.

Here we go.

Look out for the 5 WARNING SIGNS THAT COULD sink your Dream Retirement

#1

Playing footloose with your finances


  • Overspending especially in the early years of retirement
  • Not  getting a decent return on your money
  • Ignoring the compound loss of purchasing power caused by inflation

The surest way to mess up your journey is to run out of fuel. Money is necessary as the fuel that propels your life in retirement. Without it you will live in survival mode and who wants that?


You might live 2 or 3 decades in retirement. You need your money to last and, therefore, you need to manage your financial resources.


There are two key ingredients to your financial health.


One is balancing your expenses and sources of  income.  You can't just spend willy-nilly and expect not to drain your savings.


The other is to keep your financial assets working for you by investing in strategies designed to beat inflation.    

Try this,

  • Have a realistic budget (that you stick to) and allocate some leftover money to unforeseen contingencies
  • Don't become overly risk averse with with your financial assets - you still need to get a return and that means taking some investment risk
  • Distinguish between "needs" and "wants" - evaluate how much your "wants" are costing you. Your "needs" are your priority

#2

Watching the same re-runs over and over


  • Sticking to an outdated identity
  • Complaining about how the world has changed (in a bad way)
  • Sticking only to what you’ve done in the past

We all enjoy watching re-runs occasionally but after a while most of us crave something new.


People that spend all their time thinking about the past not only get stuck in their own heads but little by little start annoying even their closest friends and family.


Do you have friends that keep talking about their "glory" days? Like your friend that "casually" keeps mentioning what a big shot they were at work? Annoying, right?


Our roles in life change over time.  Our circumstances change. The world changes.


Rather than living in the past, the goal should be to move forward and grow into the best version of ourselves for the stage in life we're in. 

Something to Think About,

  • Be grateful for your past, live in the present, and look forward to the future
  •  Adopt an identity consistent with your current stage in life
  • Re-imagine your life by consciously designing your Future Self

Bill belichick

-nfl coach

"To live in the past is to die in the present"

#3

Seeing the bogeyman everywhere


  • Focusing on things you have no control over (the weather, the stock market, crooked politicians, millennials (not your children, of course) 
  • Only doing “safe” things that you have done ad nauseum in the past
  • Ignoring the drain that negative emotions exert over you

Retirement brings out many fears in people. We can let fear of the unknown drive our behavior but at the cost of our world becoming smaller and smaller.


If we let fear win, our whole lives will be spent playing defense. We'll avoid doing anything we haven't done before.


We'll chop off the upside of life to prevent "bad" things happening to us. The truth is, many of those "bad" things may or may not happen. Are you that afraid of the unknown to limit good things from happening to you? 


Try this,

  • Put some space between your thoughts, emotions and actions. Don't allow your unchecked negative emotions dominate your behavior
  • Inch out of your comfort zone. Taking action is the best recipe for dealing with your fears even if all you take are tiny steps
  • Change your environment (if it reminds you of your concerns and worries) to reinforce the type of person you want to become. Yes, you can become the Fearless Leader of your Life!

patty digh

-author 

"The death rate for people who play it safe and for people who live boldly is the same: 100%"

#4

Loving "Manana" a lot more than today

  • Avoiding having any structure to your day
  • Being “busy” versus being "productive"
  • Always thinking that "manana" is the best time

Are you always busy? Are you always putting stuff off? Never seem able to find the time to go for your dreams?


If you are, it could it be that you don't value your time enough. It could be that your priorities are off. You say one thing but act as if you will live forever.


Time can be your friend or enemy. You choose by your actions. We all get the same 24 hours a day. As author Sam Horn likes to say, "tomorrow is not a day of the week."


Make each hour count in the way that matters to you. For some people that is spending quality time with a friend or relative. For others it is about learning a new skill that will help them down the road.


You decide what is important to you and make the time for it. Simple!

Try this, 

  • Evaluate what you’re doing that’s keeping you so busy. Is it important, or just a bad habit? Bonus Question: How many hours a day do you spend in front of your TV or computer?
  •  Allocate time to the things that matter to you - your relationships, your vocation, your hobbies, your health, for instance. These are the things that five years from now you will be grateful you invested in  
  • Track how you spend your time for a couple of weeks. Then decide if your time allocation is consistent with  the life you want to lead. What are you over-investing in? What important area of your life is being neglected? 

steven covey

-motivational coach 

"Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important"

#5

Not accepting new members into the Friends & Family Club


  • Not replacing lost friendships with new ones
  • Relying only on your spouse and immediate family for support and interaction
  • Only interact with people your own age and social status

Who's on your team? Does your team keep you going when you're feeling blue? Are you, in turn, a key player on somebody else's team?


We all need to have a good team around us. People we can trust and especially people we love and appreciate for who they are. The type of people that support you in whichever way you need at the moment. It might be a pep talk. It might be tough love. It might be as a sounding board. 


People come and go throughout our lives. As palliative nurse Bronnie Ware states in her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying,  not staying in touch with close friends is a big regret for people. Sad but true. 


How many good friends have we had throughout our lives that we no longer stay in touch with?   I know I have several and unfortunately some are gone already.


It's inevitable that we will lose some friends over time. We will also lose family members that we love. Nothing is static but that is more reason to stay engaged with the world and keep our social circles fresh and vibrant.


Like a good gardener we must nourish and nurture our friends and family.

Something to Think About

  • Participate in fun activities that involve group interaction with people outside of your current social circle 
  • Adopt an attitude of being of value to others - you never know when you'll need help
  • Mentor a young person, work outside the home, help a neighbor, volunteer, engage in the world in any way you can

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-ancient african proverb

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go the distance take a team"

Plug your Holes before they sink you Dreams

It's never easy right? Everybody told you that retirement would be a piece of cake but now you know. Even pro's like Nancy Schlossberg  and retired science teachers can fail at retirement.

Failure is not necessarily bad if you learn from the experience. Everybody looks at retirement as a one and done thing when in reality it is about the rest of your life.

You could spend 2 or 3 decades retired.

Don't you think that a lot will happen during this time? 

The expectation that we need to figure it all out before we retire and then stick religiously to the game plan leads to nothing but frustration. Not only does the world change but so do your circumstances. More importantly, you will change as you transition through this next phase in life. 

And as we all know, transitions are never easy.

Retirement is an end to your primary career days but not an end to your life as you know it. Some of your nagging life challenges will stay with you forever as will some of your key personality traits and values.

All retirement does is free you from the job you once had. It gives you to freedom of a new beginning but getting through the "messy middle" as MEA founder Chip Conley would say is not a gimme.

Why should we expect only smooth sailing in retirement?

Instead of expecting perfection a better approach might be to, as noted coach Zig Zigler once said,

 "Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes."

The key prerequisite of a successful retirement is taking action. It involves plugging those pesky holes that we all encounter before they sink our dream retirement.

Take that first step! You'll be thankful you did five years from now.

Imagine what a retirement full of possibilities would look like! 

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