It saddens and frustrates me when I see people in their fifties or sixties moping around talking about how “it’s not easy getting old.” On the other hand, I am inspired when I see an older person, someone in their eighties or nineties, living a vibrant and productive life. It gives me hope and further proves my theory that there is a huge difference between aging and getting old.
So what’s the difference between these two groups of people? Why are some, still in mid-life, seeming to be on their last legs while others, old enough to be the parents of the first group, still going strong?
The answer really boils down to a couple of key differences, as outlined in the “Ageless Living Method” to mak the rest of your life, the best of your life.
1. Challenge the myths of aging
“You’re getting on in years — you’d better slow down,” “At my age, I’d better be careful,” “Act your age,” “We’ll all wind-up in a nursing home sooner or later,” “I’m just having a senior moment.”
All of the above statements are nonsense. There’s no biological connection between age and poor health. If you want to break down these beliefs, find references of older people living vibrant, productive lives. They’re all around us. People like Hulda Crooks who became the oldest person to climb Mt. Fuji in Japan at 91 years of age. Author Phyliss Whitney, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 104, said in an Associated Press interview when she was 85 that “I’ve slowed down in that I only write one book a year. A writer is what I am.”
2. Ignite your passion
Older people who are living vibrantly are passionate about their life. Their outlook is positive and they are motivated by something outside themselves. They have a purpose. They are engaged in life and are pursuing something that matters to them. Whether a career, a hobby, a cause, or something in between, they have dreams and goals and are living life to it fullest.
3. Create your vision
If you were living your ideal life, what would it look like? In your journal, write a vivid description the life you dream of living. For now, don’t be concerned with how you will do this. What are you doing and with whom? Where do you live? Where are you vacationing? What type of work are you engaged in? Who are your friends?
Write your vision in as much detail as possible, making sure to include the feelings you are experiencing and engaging as many senses as possible. Smell the ocean if you’re at the shore. Hear the sounds of the people in the city where you’re visiting, and so on. If it’s a dream home you desire, see each room in vivid detail. What do you see when you look out the windows?
4. Change your beliefs
The only thing stopping you from having whatever you desire is your belief about your ability to achieve it. What beliefs are standing in your way? Do you tell yourself, “I’m too old,” “I don’t have enough education,” “I’m not smart enough,” or some other variation on this theme?
Challenge those beliefs that are not serving you. Find references of someone just like you doing whatever it is you want to do. Override your limiting beliefs with positive affirmations.
5. Reclaim your power
Spiritual Power: A regular practice of prayer and meditation, the former, talking to God and the latter listening, will help you create and maintain a strong connection with your Creator.
Emotional Power: You can strengthen your emotional power by devoting some time each day visualizing your ideal life. Sit quietly, close your eyes (assuming you’re not driving), and create a “mind movie” in which you’re living your ideal life.
Mental Power: You can strengthen your mental power by paying attention to your self-talk and replacing any disempowering thoughts with positive affirmations. Read positive and uplifting information daily to maintain a more productive state of mind.
Physical Power: Of course, without physical power and energy you’re not going very far. It is essential, as we age, to take an active part in maintaining our health. Invest the time to learn about health and nutrition. Of course, exercise is important too. As a society, we do not move enough. Our high-tech lifestyles have enabled most of us to expend the minimal amount of physical energy in our day-to-day life.
Do you have an Uncle George? If you read my first book, Handbook to a Happier Life, you may remember a quotation from my Uncle George. He said, If it doesn’t have a heartbeat, it’s not important. I’ve always liked that idea and have used it as a way to keep things in proper perspective.
As much as I like George and consider him to be pretty wise at times, there is also one thing I never liked about him; the fact that he eats whatever he wants and does not gain an ounce. Okay, so I’m jealous that he can do this and I can’t.
Are you like my Uncle George, able to eat whatever you want without concern for weight? Or are you like me, and so many other people, who have to really watch what we eat if we don’t want to put on those extra pounds?
For me to remain at a healthy weight, I need to watch what I eat and limit the things that are likely to add more weight. However, since these also tend to be the foods that I like, I am not willing to stop all together, so I take other steps.
One of the things that I have done recently was that I recommitted to, in addition to following a fitness program, regular nutritional cleansing and drinking a healthy high-protein shake that contains a complete vitamin and mineral supplement.
Since I cannot do much about the toxins entering my body from the environment, food and water supply, pesticides and such, I’ve chosen to detox on a regular basis.
And since I’m working on reducing high carb foods like muffins, bagels and such, drinking the shake in the morning is my assurance that I’m getting a highly nutritious breakfast and a good amount of protein. This is essential in the morning to get our brain chemicals working at optimal levels. This way, even if I succumb to my favorite muffin or bagel, I know I have a good baseline of nutrition to start my day.
This is a recording of a talk I gave at the NJ Savvy Living magazine Better Living Expo. It explores how to make the rest of your life, the best of your life. Based on my new book, Dont Let an Old Person Move Into Your Body
It saddens and frustrates me when I see people in their fifties or sixties moping around talking about how “it’s not easy getting old.” On the other hand, I am inspired when I see an older person, someone in their eighties or nineties, living a vibrant and productive life. It gives me hope and further proves my theory that there is a huge difference between aging and getting old.
So what’s the difference between these two groups of people? Why are some, still in mid-life, seeming to be on their last legs while others, old enough to be the parents of the first group, still going strong?
While the answer is complex and involves several facets most of which are covered in my new book, it really boils down to a couple of key differences.
It Takes Passion
The first of these and perhaps the most important is passion. Older people who are living vibrantly are passionate about their life. Their outlook is positive and they are motivated by something outside themselves. They have a purpose. They are engaged in life and are pursuing something that matters to them.
Whether it’s a career, a hobby, a cause, or something in between, they have dreams and goals and are living life to it fullest.
In Don’t Let an Old Person move Into Your Body I wrote about Isagenix distributor Jimmy Smith who, past the age of eighty, is on a mission to carry a message of physical health and financial wealth to people all across the globe.
It Takes Power
Beyond attitude, passion, and purpose, living a full and productive life requires power; spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical power.
You can’t “go for the gusto” if you’re too weak to get out of bed.
Spiritual Power
A regular practice of prayer and meditation, the former, talking to God and the latter listening, will help you develop and maintain a strong connection with our Creator. It has been proven that people who have a relationship with a Higher Power are happier, more at peace and tend to live longer then those who do not. Spend time each day in quiet reflection and contemplation. This simple act will do more for your well-being than anything else you might do.
Emotional Power
You can develop and strengthen your emotional power by devoting some time each day visualizing your ideal life. Sit quietly, close your eyes (assuming you’re not driving), and create a “mind movie” of you living your ideal life. See the sights, hear the sounds, smell the smells, and taste the tastes you’d be enjoying if this were happening for real. Your subconscious mind does not know the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined. Your subconscious will accept your visualization as real and, by virtue of the Law of Attraction, will begin bringing it toward you and inspiring you to take action toward it.
Mental Power
You can develop your mental powers by paying attention to your self-talk and replacing any disempowering thoughts with positive affirmations. Read positive and uplifting information daily to maintain a more productive state of mind. Commit to personal development and learning as a life long endeavor.
Physical Power
Of course, without physical power and energy you’re not going very far. It is essential, as we age, to take an active part in maintaining our health, whatever it maybe. I wrote in Don’t Let an Old Person Move into your Body to accept what you cannot change and change what you can. However you can probably improve more of your health then you think.
There’s a lot of scientifically based information about health and nutrition available today. People are becoming better informed and seeking, and finding, solutions to what were once thought to be “incurable” aliments.
Of course, exercise is important too. As a society, we do not move enough. Our high-tech lifestyles have enabled most of us to expend the minimal amount of physical energy in our day-to-day life. One of the best actions a person can engage in, especially as we age, is yoga. The gentle stretching helps us maintain not only fitness but flexibility as well and the deep breathing goes a long way to helping us relax and reduce the stress in our lives.
How you age is up to you. You can live your life vibrantly and productively, or you can just get old. Decide now to take decisive action to make the rest of your life, the best of your life.
How To Make The Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life
by Jim Donovan
reviewed by Edie Weinstein-Moser
As Jim Donovan welcomes his fifth ‘baby’ into the world of words, ironically, it is geared toward those who are chronologically at the other end of the life spectrum. All that being said, “Don’t Let An Old Person Move Into Your Body” has universal appeal, regardless of whether you are pre, post, or way past baby boomer generation. The subtitle is alluring as well, since those of us in the 50 plus range were fed the belief that as we age, we dry up physically, emotionally, mentally and sexually. Donovan aptly demonstrates, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In his first three books, he speaks of the dramatic turnaround his life took, from homeless and hopeless to revitalization and creating the life of his deepest dreams. A boomer himself, Donovan expands the vision to assist those who may have given up on their dreams.
From the outset, he challenges the myths related to aging including those which claim that deterioration is a necessary part of the aging process and that we can only enjoy life after years of hard work, scrimping and saving and then ultimately retiring,
Donovan offers inspiring suggestions such as finding a purpose, managing physical well being, tapping into the Law of Attraction, (raising your energetic vibration to call in what it is you desire) using affirmations and vision boards, as well as steering clear of people who are unhealthy role models (he uses the delightfully evocative term ‘energy vampire’ to describe someone who sucks the life out of you with their negativity).
Chapter titles, that invite the reader to delve into their depths, include:
Redefining Your Purpose and Reigniting Your Passion shares the story of a 63 year old man who left his day job to become a stripper.
Whatsoever You Believe offers up an idea that I use often, called a ‘bridge belief’
that can span the gap between where you are in your life currently and where you
want to be.
You Don’t Have To Eat Dog Food Unless You Want To provides guidance in the
realm of finances, encouraging readers to be astute with regard to their assets and
liabilities, reading the well considered wisdom of Robert Kiyosaki who wrote the ‘
‘Rich Dad’ book series. A powerful quote from Kiyosaki is “Live within your means
and raise your means”.
A consummate word-smith, Donovan also suggests tried and true interventions including asking himself in the midst of a challenging situation: “What’s working?” as in what it is that he can find that is beneficial rather than detrimental. He practices what he preaches by providing himself with ‘extraordinary care days’ during which he enjoys what I think of as ‘get to’s’ rather than ‘have to’s’.
This book invites readers to commit to ultimate well being for what could be the most fulfilling times of their lives.
Excerpt, Don’t Let an Old Person Move Into Your Body
A butcher for most of his adult life, Jimmy Smith was content with living a modest, middle class lifestyle. He was a happy man blessed with a loving wife and six children, until at sixty-two years of age he had the rug pulled out from under him. Due to his failing health and being unable to stand all day cutting meat, he was forced to leave the job he had held for most of his life.
While this is surely something that would be a challenge to anyone, in his situation it could have been devastating. Fortunately, for Jimmy, a friend introduced him to the network marketing industry, providing him an opportunity for self-employment and a chance to build a business of his own.
After being in the business for a time, Jimmy Smith found his passion in both the leading edge products and the business opportunity offered by Isagenix International, a company whose vision is to make a positive impact on world health and free people from physical and financial pain, and in the process create the largest health-and-wellness company in the world.
I have personally experienced the Isagenix products and found them to be one of the highest quality nutritional products available as have two of my colleagues John Gray and Jack Canfield.
Jimmy had found his calling. With the the health benefits he realized from taking the Isagenix products and the business opportunity it provided, he was on fire and ready to tell the world about his new business.
When I met Jimmy Smith, a few years ago, he was turning eighty and had the energy and stamina of a man half his age. Not only does he look and feel great, he went on to become the top earner in his company, making himself and his family very wealthy, while building a lasting legacy for his children and grand-children.
Perhaps what best describes Jimmy’s energy and passion for what he is doing is the experience that I had while attending an all day event with him. I was leaving the event after being in the hotel for over 12 hours. Riding the elevator down to the lobby with Jimmy’s daughter Grace, talking about what a long day it had been, I asked where her dad was. “Oh, he has a few more meetings,” she replied. We both laughed at the fact that while we, decades younger, were both ready to call it a day, Jimmy the Butcher was still going strong.
Jimmy Smith is the perfect example of what can happen when a person’s passion is ignited by something larger than himself. If you ever have the opportunity to meet Jimmy Smith, by all means, do so. It’s a life changing experience. Excerpt, Don’t Let an Old Person Move Into Your Body
In my opinion, life is not so much about how long we live, as it is our quality of life for however long we are on this earth. To achieve this, I have created a concept I call “My Health Team.” Rather than put the responsibility for my life in the hands of my doctor, I have chosen to take personal responsibility for it and have assembled a team of health practitioners and advisors. You see, while I believe the medical profession, at least in the United States, is very good at treating illness and excellent at emergency medicine, I feel there is a big difference between not being sick and being healthy.
Many people in our world today might be considered “not sick,” since they have no overt symptoms and are feeling alright. However, that is not to say that they are healthy. While traditional medical doctors, for the most part, are great at helping you if you have an illness, it is not within the scope of their work to treat a well person. For this reason I have assembled my own team of health professionals.
Since I believe the one that is ultimately accountable for my health is me, I have appointed myself captain of my own health team. Depending upon your present level of health and fitness and your beliefs about the subject, your team members will vary from person to person. My own personal team includes, of course, our family doctor, and when necessary, one or more specialists, my dentist, and a doctor who specializes in longevity and preventive medicine.
At various times, my team will include a massage therapist, personal coach, chiropractor, personal trainer, yoga teacher, and various other modalities to help me stay balanced. By employing the concept of a “health team” I am able to maintain the best health possible and continue to improve as time goes on.
In addition to my health team, I eat a reasonably healthy diet and supplement that with a number of vitamins, herbs and some of the cutting edge nutrients like Co-enzyme Q10, a powerful antioxidant.
Stephen Sinatra, M.D., a board-certified cardiologist, a certified bioenergetic psychotherapist, a certified nutrition and anti-aging specialist, and the author of The Sinatra Solution, and co-author of Reverse Heart Disease Now, said that in his research, Co-enzyme Q10 was one of the greatest medical advances of the 20th century for the treatment of heart disease. And suggests what he calls his “Awesome Foursome” for maintaining heart health and treating chronic heart disease: magnesium, CoQ10, L-carnitine and D-ribose.
While they all do different jobs, he says, all support the production of ATP, the high energy molecule that fuels just about every physical activity in our body.
I exercise regularly, and as I said earlier, I’ve been inspired to set a goal of being in the best physical condition I have ever been. The interesting thing about this goal is that I can never reach it. It will keep moving as I approach it. The more fit I become, the more I increase my fitness capacity. This is one goal that I will enjoy never reaching.
One last thought about health and fitness. You may be thinking “I’m getting older; it’s too late for me to get fit.” Studies have shown that regardless of your age when you begin exercising, you can increase your fitness levels dramatically by following a regular exercise regimen. Of course, check with your healthcare provider before starting any exercise or nutritional program.
“While being young is an accident of time, youth is a permanent state of mind” Frank Lloyd Wright
Have you ever noticed that some people age well, becoming older with grace and dignity, looking vibrant and alive and remaining physically and mentally active well into old age? Frank Lloyd Wright, quoted above, was still designing when he passed on at 92.
Others, it seems, begin getting old in their youth. What makes the difference?
Why is such a large portion of our society aging so poorly? Why are hospitals and nursing homes overcrowded and many older people just barely alive?
Is this a natural progression or can we actually alter the way we age?
The Bible teaches us that we have a natural life expectancy of 120 – 150 years. Many of the people written about in the Old Testament lived to be over one hundred, and in some parts of the world today, entire villages live well beyond one hundred years of age.
What are the secrets of a long and productive life and what can you do about it? More importantly, how can you live your life to the fullest, enjoying an abundance of health, wealth, and happiness? How can you make the most of your life, for however long you are here?
How can you live, laugh, and love more? What steps can you take, starting now, to achieve the best level of health and fitness you are capable of reaching? How can you get back in touch with your dreams and desires and begin to experience them? How can you learn to age with passion, purpose, power, and prosperity?
In Don’t Let an Old Person Move Into Your Body, you will be asked to reevaluate and question the preconceived notions you have about aging and the commonly accepted beliefs about health. You will be asked to examine your attitudes and beliefs and come to understand the important role they play in how we age. You will learn ways to age without becoming old.
You’ll be introduced to people who have aged successfully and learn their strategies. You will learn about the latest developments in the field of longevity and identify ways you can minimize, even slow, the process of aging. You will create a compelling vision for your future and a plan for a long, active, and prosperous life.
I invite you to join me in this exciting journey into aging and learn how you, too, can develop your personal plan of aging with passion, purpose, power and prosperity, and make sure you don’t let an old person move into your body.
It is your God-given birthright to have a life of joy, happiness, health, love, fun, prosperity, excitement, abundance, and all the other wonderful things life on earth has to offer. To accept less is to shortchange yourself and your loved ones.
While I was putting the finishing touches on my new book, I added the paragraph below. This led me to the video and, though my book is not yet ready, I feel this information is far too important to wait to share.
Please watch the short video and think about what Dr. Blaylock is saying. Then consider what you are eating and drinking and feeding to your family.
Dr. Russel Blaylock, a former brain surgeon and the author of Excitotoxins- The Taste That Killsand several other books cautions against the common practice of adding MSG (monosodium glutamate) to foods, including baby food, to enhance taste. MSG, is what is known as an excitotoxin because it causes damage to our nervous system by causing our neurons to fire their impulses rapidly until they reach a state of exhaustion and die.
I find it unconscionable that our government regulatory agencies allow companies to call these excitotoxins by any name they choose and add them to our food as long as the glutamate content is less than 99 percent pure. This allows companies to use names like Caseinate, Chicken broth and, even, “natural flavorings” to disguise these dangerous additives. Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, a even more dangerous additive, contains three excitotoxins and, in many cases, added MSG. For a more detailed explanation of what takes place in the brain as a result of this, read Suzanne Somers interview with Dr. Russell Blaylock in chapter 14 in her eye opening book, Breakthrough or Dr. Blaylock’s book, Excitotoxins.
It seems amazing to me that, in all this outrage about Newsweek, Oprah Winfrey, Suzanne Somers and big Pharma, everyone seems to be missing the fact that the information Ms. Somers is writing and speaking about is not coming from her, it’s being reported to her by some of the leading, most highly accredited medical doctors in the US.
There is a growing movement in America to help people become healthy. This is a long, long way from treating disease, which is what we’ve been doing with the traditional medical approach to health.
The reason the pharmaceutical industry opposes natural cures is quite simple, they can’t patent it and, therefore, there’s no money in it.
Why does Newsweek care? A single issue of the magazine contains $1.4 to $2.3 million in pharma ads (based on advertising rate card prices).
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As much as I like George and consider him to be pretty wise at times, there is also one thing I never liked about him; the fact that he eats whatever he wants and does not gain an ounce. Okay, so I’m jealous that he can do this and I can’t.
Have you ever noticed that some people age well, becoming older with grace and dignity, looking vibrant and alive and remaining physically and mentally active well into old age? Frank Lloyd Wright, quoted above, was still designing when he passed on at 92.
