Growing Older with Gusto

   Are you approaching the end of your primary career and wondering what comes next? It's a common dilemma, but what if there's a way to embrace this new chapter with purpose and excitement? In today's episode, we're joined by two incredible guests who've navigated this transition with success. Caroline Brecker, co-founder of Third Half Advisors, and Polly Chandler, a strength coach at the company, share their inspiring stories of how they reinvented themselves after leaving long careers to help others do the same. Caroline, with her extensive finance background, and Polly, a seasoned coach and facilitator, offer unique insights into how we can create the next phase of our lives with intention. Whether it's finding a new purpose through coaching, consulting, or simply embracing a new path, you won't want to miss this conversation about reimagining the rest of your life. Tune in to discover how to take that next step and thrive in your “third half!” — Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here     What's Next? With Caroline Brecker And Polly Chandler How To Rewire Yourself How many of us have reached a point in our lives where our primary careers are coming to a close and we're trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our life? We have two guests, a bit of a switch who made the transition and started another great phase of their lives. Caroline Brecker is the Cofounder of Third Half Advisors. Her background includes many years in finance with Stints at JP Morgan Private Bank where she oversaw $40 billion. Polly Chandler is a strength coach at Third Hald Advisors. Her background as a seasoned coach, curriculum designer and facilitator who played a key role in launching one of the first NBA's sustainability in the country led to her involvement with Third Half Advisors. Welcome to the show. Thank you, Gail. Thank you. Many of us reach this point in our lives where we're in endpoint with our career and so many people I've talked to the years, flounder because you've been successful, enjoyed a career but you want to do something else and don't know what it is and what to do. Tell our readers, if you will Caroline. Where were you in your life when you decided to retire from JP Morgan Private Bank and you need to figure out what's next? Excellent question. I retired from Morgan after decades of being there. The organization had evolved to a much bigger enterprise and was a place         that I probably was ready to move on from in terms of my own personal growth. Coincidentally to that, my husband was retiring and a dear friend of mine, Campbell Garish who is the cofounder of Third Half was also stepping back from his firm. While I was doing consulting work, I was watching these two try to navigate the stepping back part and it was amazingly complicated.       Need For Transition Support I was surprised at how many fragmented resources or lack of resources there were out there, especially in a trusted environment way. Again, our longevity has changed so dramatically. Over the last century, we've gained 30 years practically in life longevity and to know the people would be floundering around for not just months but potentially years was striking to me and Campbell and my husband. It spoke to a need in the marketplace for some community to help people have a little light structure in thinking through this next chapter. It was a very compelling need and something I found deeply interesting from my own work with individuals and families. Polly, how about you? My transition very much came from an intentional activity of logging what was energizing and what was draining me. I kept track of it for several months while I was still the Chair of the Department of Management at Antioch University. Over time, I saw a pattern, which was what was energizing me most was coaching and mentoring students and faculty and transitions. What was draining me were some of the academic responsibilities and committees and things like that. I took a giant leap, reinvented myself and began my next career as a coach and facilitator then had the happy coincidence of meeting Campbell, and Caroline and became part of the team. How did you all meet? How did you meet Carolina and Campbell? They asked me to help with a workshop they were delivering because they had another facilitator who I had taught with. Unbeknownst to me, what I was stepping into, I was just headed off to Connecticut to do an hour and a half workshop for Third Half Advisors and before you know it, I was a major part of the team. I am honored to be a part of the work to help people find their way and get inspired and energized for their futures. Polly, it sounds like you had a very logical road map that you set up for yourself to figure out what to do next. Caroline, did you have that too or did you was your approach a little different? The irony is, that's the benefit of being a coach. Polly has a set of tools that she had was thinking through to make the transition for us, the people if you will. That's part of the challenge that we, Campbell, myself, my spouse, and other people in our peer didn't have a set of tools to help navigate this. People are so in love with the autonomy and freedom they have when they transition but, in some ways, they need that life structure and toolset also to help navigate. Our society has created this arc where we're considered “done” in our late 50s and early 60s, yet we potentially have an entire lifetime ahead of us to pursue meaningful work and purpose. It's a real teeter-totter between enjoying the freedom one has and creating a plan for yourself. That's what in Third Half Advisors we spent a lot of time creating. It's those tools and light structure to help people think through the blueprint that Polly just mentioned. It has been transformative for the people that we work with. Again, when I was transitioning as well as Campbell, it didn't seem like there was a lot out there to help people with that light structure. They're lots of tools for leaders who are actively involved in their workplace. In fact, there's lots of tools from adolescents in helping with transition but a remarkably few tools as page. Longevity & Lack Of Past Tools To your point about our longevity has changed so much, that's part of the reason that we never had those kinds of tools available to us. For me in my case, I had a marketing research consultancy for years and I got out of it because the industry was changing and my life had changed. I was on a vacation and they often say something you get ideas when you're taking a shower or flying in a plane or whatever. I was listening to a show of somebody I had met in New York and I thought, “I could do that. That's what I used to do. I used to interview people.” That's how I got started. It got the wheels cheering but it wasn't like there was a tool set out there for me either. It took a while. Gail, to your point about the longevity piece. If you're 60-year-old, you have a greater than 50% chance of living to 90 plus. That's a lot of time. Our society is created this arc of we're all done in our late 50s and early 60s, but we almost have a lifetime left potentially of what we could be doing. Society hasn't quite addressed that and we need to create more forums, trusted environments and tools for people to address all that time. What we found is what made people very successful in their careers in a quite different tool set for this next phase where people are grappling with authenticity. They want to be in a more portfolio life strategy, meaning it's not just one thing they're doing but a variety of things. I was going to add. The one thing we've noticed is that people don't even find the word retirement fits with this longevity. We're rewiring. Transition and we make transition through 2 or 3 more times before we pass away. The thing is, even that model of retirement doesn't fit with this model of longevity. On your website, you use the metaphor like a rugby match. I was wondering how you compare life to rugby match. I thought that was a great metaphor. Could you tell our readers a little bit about how that came about?         To be honest, I'm not a rugby player. Nor am I. Campbell was a rugby player at university. Campbell who couldn't be with us is also a co-founder of Third Half Advisors. As we were thinking about what a good name would be for this program, he was reflecting on his university days where rugby is one of the few games where the opposing teams go to the bar afterwards and enjoy the company of each other and the competition melts away. People just enjoy the camaraderie and the stories of the game, which is analogous to this dividend part of life and that, “This should be the best part of our lives when we are at a point where we can enjoy the fruits of our labor, the competition, and the warrior part of our life.” Reflect and enjoy each other and the community. Also, it's called the third half but in addition, it's that incongruity third half signaling math complication of later life. We don't know how long we're going to live. Is it a full half? It fit nicely in this celebratory third half, which is what rugby players call that and a little bit of the unknown for what this the stage of life is for many people. It stuck and we've continued to use that name. Polly, you're the strength coach. Tell us what that means. During major transitions, people often lose touch with what truly energizes them. They may recognize their talents but forget what they love to do most. Using StrengthsFinder All of the participants in our programs take the Gallup StrengthsFinder Assessment. This is a tool that we have found is incredibly empowering because sometimes, when people are in this big transition, they've lost track of what their greatest energy comes from. They may know their talents but they may have lost track of, what is it I love to do most of all? The StrengthsFinder assessment is a scientific based tool designed by a large group of organizational psychologists from Gallup that has high reliability and validity. Almost 5,000 people a day take it. What we know about it is that one people can name and their strengths, they have a much more likely to be successful and they can create a strategy that is going to be life-giving because they're in their strength zone. We use it as a tool for coaching, programmatic design, and also for just following and tracking our people to check in, how are you doing? Where are you getting stuck? Some of our greatest weaknesses are when we're misusing some of our greatest talents. Walk me through if somebody were come to Third Half Advisors. What happens initially? Tell our readers a little bit about your process. I'll just start because this is the part where I love. We sit with people, Caroline, Campbell and I and we hear their story. We listen in to hear like what's going on, what's going well, what's exciting you, what are you worried about, and where are you stuck. By listening to them and understanding where they're coming from, we can help direct them to which of our program options is going to be the best fit. We have a couple of modalities. One is virtual programming born with many organizations during COVID. We have a group program that is what we call the Blitz version, which is to chunky days of group conversation coupled with individual coaching. As Polly mentioned also, we have one-on-one coaching as well. There's an independent series that people can take. That's the virtual realm. In addition, we have in-person retreats. We have both our own and we work with affinity groups to have programs that lasts anywhere from one day to two and a half days. Those are also extracted. Where are those retreats held usually? They're all over the country. We've had them everywhere and continue to build that piece out because people seem to be craving getting together. As a follow-up, we have what we call Lift Series, which is topical information from experts. It's meant to be interactive on Zoom to help people follow up with things that are on their minds around managing the portfolio life. Age doesn't necessarily have a number—it depends on mindset. Some younger people act much older, and some older people remain youthful in spirit. For us, we are launching a executive women's membership group that's happening and then we will additionally be having a Third Half membership model in the fall. Again, that's to help people think about everything from creative pursuits to board membership, being a director to consulting work to work travel. Those are all the things we're working with clients on. I keep getting things on LinkedIn myself. I don't know if they're bogus or not, about, “We want you to be on our board or whatever.” I don't have an interest in that but I'm not sure they're even legitimate. It's through LinkedIn. I'm getting as well a lot of different types of solicitations. I'm not sure where they're not necessarily coming from. I would say the board work in general that they have is emblematic of what people love to do because it's flexible. It doesn't require a consistent obligation. The construct of it is nice because a couple times a year, potentially. You have a group of interesting people around a common goal in the company. Often, for public companies, there's either equity or potentially compensation associated with it. What I would say, though, is boards and board membership are not all created equally. To Polly's point, you want to be careful when you go on a board that it's a role that you want. If you spent your whole career on governance and that's not something that likes you up. Don't join a board where you're head of governance all of the sudden because filling a calendar for our group, what we're finding is that's not energizing. We want to be careful with our clients to make sure it's what they're moving towards of burning yes. Not just building their calendar with stuff to spend time on. The essence board work is appealing but it can be created in other ways like consulting and other types of flexible opportunities. To Polly's point, we want to make sure these are very individual conversations around what those next stage looks like. I would say no to people that are going the same way. Caroline, do you notice any trends among different ages? In other words, if people come to you who are, let's say, 65 or 75 maybe or maybe a little older. Are there any trends of what these people end up doing? It's interesting because I don't know if chronology is the factor more than curiosity. To me, I see amongst all age groups that curiosity dictates the next step. Clearly, people who are in their later 70s and 80s have slightly more challenging health experiences. They may also be with a partner who's having nice experience. That caregiving role is something that's entering in more explicitly for that age group but Polly, I'm curious about your thoughts as well. Not to sound cliché but age doesn't necessarily have a number because it depends on the mindset. There are some much better people who act much older and vice versa. Polly, maybe you want to add in your thoughts.         One of the beauties of the Third Half Advisors is we attract anybody from 40 years old to 80 years old and all points in between. It's the cross pollination of these different ages that has helped us to see that there are certain patterns. No matter where you are, whether you're 40 or 50 or 60 or just about to leave your job or been out of work for ten years. People can support, give guidance, and reflect. By being on this familiar path of transition, I would agree with Caroline. It's not so much how old you are as much as a mindset of, what is it I'm longing to do most of all that's going to give me a life filled with joy and energy? Who are the people I want to have walking with me on this journey? What we've noticed is we can have this beautiful pair of a 45-year-old sitting with a 68-year-old and have so much in common. It is those commonalities that they are able to build the next chapter for themselves. You're right. I live in a community where there's people of bearing ages and it is your commonality, whether I have friends who are older than I am or younger that draw you together. The commonality of purpose or feeling like you have a strong sense of purpose is ageless. We do know that there's 33% lower risk of a stroke and 22% of client for people cross the board who have those strong sense of purpose. That is very important no matter what age you are to keep that sense of purpose. That's why it's challenging to have the words like retirement, which means to withdraw. That is technically definition of it and we don't want anyone to be withdrawing. I don't like word senior. I wish they was another word for senior. The other thing that's complicated is the word reinvent because for many people, this is their shot at being authentic and it's not they have to reinvent themselves. It's more about finding the core of who they are and the values that resonate for them that maybe late all along. Some of our exercises take people back to early or dreams and hopes. What we do and why the Gallup StrengthFinder is so helpful is we're focusing on the positive people and the essence of them. We're not trying to change them or make them someone else necessarily. That's also important. Let me ask you this. When somebody comes to Third Half Advisors, the first step would be to maybe sit down with Polly or with Caroline or Campbell or whatever and you do this profiling and you help them figure out. What's the timeline on that? The community piece is so valuable, and the isolation people feel after leaving the workplace can be profoundly untethering. It's driven personally by our clients. Some people are, as you can imagine, we have some successful executives who want results right away. We have to manage those expectations, but sometimes it's a year-long process. This is definitely a very iterative process. Not a one and done type of thing. The timeline is person specific. We try to use tools that they can bring with them on the journey to for however long they want to be engaged in all the unique and wonderful things that a life has to offer. We give them a toolkit that they might use, helps them, they get started, and it can reimagine what's next. Three years from then, it might shift again because there's a change in health, location, or in family structure. They have this toolkit they can go back to and then they sometimes come back to us for a refresh or conversation or coaching session. We like to see ourself is not a one and done company. We want to get people launched in onto their next chapter and season of life but that's why we have these lifts series and retreats. We're trying to encourage people to come back because just like purpose. It's one of the things we all have in common, so is community and having strong sense of community is one of the key things to people traveling together on this. We find people coming to our retreats and they start to form friendships and support each other. We had an example where this group of women were on a retreat and there was a little affinity group of people who were taking care of their parents. They were talking about how hard it was. They were working and had parental care. About ten days after the session ended, one of them lost her father. The outpouring of love from the participants in this group sympathizing and empathizing, what can we do, we're here for you. It was unbelievable how quickly this group of people who had only spent two and a half days together rallied around this woman who lost her dad. That's so nice. That's a great story, Polly. It's powerful. Importance Of Community The community piece is so valuable and the isolation people feel after they leave their workplace is very profound for people and untethering. We talked about the honeymoon period of leaving your work and this dip part. Our job is help with the dip because it can feel very dislocating in the following months of changing workplace. It's been a pleasure talking to both of you. If there's anything else you'd like to tell our readers, they sure like to hear because this has been a fascinating conversation, useful and helpful. Anything else? It's been a pleasure.         The more that we can support each other in this phase of life and continue to reach out for help on this. It's important both for men and women. We hate to hear people silently suffering around this. We certainly hope that people do feel comfortable talking about this because it is a real and challenging thing that our society is facing. Age is a thing in our country and we need to pivot and think about what mastery and community looks like especially as people's families tend to disperse more and community and clan is changing for many people as they age. That was the basis for my starting this show. I feel that older people and we're living longer have so much wisdom to dispense and your life isn't over at 65. That's why I have a lot of older people on the show, too. Much older than you, Caroline and Polly, but it's been a pleasure. How would my readers reach you if they want to reach out to you? What's the best way? It's through our website that they're able to communicate with us. That's hopefully pretty obvious way to just contact us. The website is ThirdHalfAdvisors.com. Gail, you're doing wonderful work as well. Keep on as they say. Thank you, Caroline. It's a pleasure to meet you both. Thanks for inviting us. Bye-bye. Thank you, Gail. Important Links Caroline Becker on LinkedIn Polly Chandler Website Third Half Advisors   About Caroline Becker Co-Founder Accomplished executive, savvy networker, passionate advocate. After more than 25 years of experience in the financial services/investment world—with Bankers Trust, Chemical Bank, and the J.P. Morgan Private Ban—Caroline understands how to synthesize client needs, align them with sustainable solutions, and execute with precision.    About Polly Chandler Program Designer, Senior Coach & Facilitator Polly is expert in the Clifton Strengthfinder, a critical tool for those transitioning into their Third Half and a fundamental part of our core day. Polly helps people articulate their strengths in the context of what brings them joy and energy, providing clarity and direction for members of our community by connecting what people do well to their happiness and purpose.

   Are you approaching the end of your primary career and wondering what comes next? It's a common dilemma, but what if there's a way to embrace this new chapter with purpose and excitement? In today's episode, we're joined by two incredible guests who've navigated this transition with success. Caroline Brecker, co-founder of Third Half Advisors, and Polly Chandler, a strength coach at the company, share their inspiring stories of how they reinvented themselves after leaving long careers to help others do the same. Caroline, with her extensive finance background, and Polly, a seasoned coach and facilitator, offer unique insights into how we can create the next phase of our lives with intention. Whether it's finding a new purpose through coaching, consulting, or simply embracing a new path, you won't want to miss this conversation about reimagining the rest of your life. Tune in to discover how to take that next step and thrive in your "third half!" --- Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here     What's Next? With Caroline Brecker And Polly Chandler How To Rewire Yourself How many of us have reached a point in our lives where our primary careers are coming to a close and we're trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our life? We have two guests, a bit of a switch who made the transition and started another great phase of their lives. Caroline Brecker is the Cofounder of Third Half Advisors. Her background includes many years in finance with Stints at JP Morgan Private Bank where she oversaw $40 billion. Polly Chandler is a strength coach at Third Hald Advisors. Her background as a seasoned coach, curriculum designer and facilitator who played a key role in launching one of the first NBA's sustainability in the country led to her involvement with Third Half Advisors. Welcome to the show. Thank you, Gail. Thank you. Many of us reach this point in our lives where we're in endpoint with our career and so many people I've talked to the years, flounder because you've been successful, enjoyed a career but you want to do something else and don't know what it is and what to do. Tell our readers, if you will Caroline. Where were you in your life when you decided to retire from JP Morgan Private Bank and you need to figure out what's next? Excellent question. I retired from Morgan after decades of being there. The organization had evolved to a much bigger enterprise and was a place         that I probably was ready to move on from in terms of my own personal growth. Coincidentally to that, my husband was retiring and a dear friend of mine, Campbell Garish who is the cofounder of Third Half was also stepping back from his firm. While I was doing consulting work, I was watching these two try to navigate the stepping back part and it was amazingly complicated.       Need For Transition Support I was surprised at how many fragmented resources or lack of resources there were out there, especially in a trusted environment way. Again, our longevity has changed so dramatically. Over the last century, we've gained 30 years practically in life longevity and to know the people would be floundering around for not just months but potentially years was striking to me and Campbell and my husband. It spoke to a need in the marketplace for some community to help people have a little light structure in thinking through this next chapter. It was a very compelling need and something I found deeply interesting from my own work with individuals and families. Polly, how about you? My transition very much came from an intentional activity of logging what was energizing and what was draining me. I kept track of it for several months while I was still the Chair of the Department of Management at Antioch University. Over time, I saw a pattern, which was what was energizing me most was coaching and mentoring students and faculty and transitions. What was draining me were some of the academic responsibilities and committees and things like th...

  Dr. Melvern Katzman is an amazing example of someone who is growing older with gusto and with a great sense of humor. He is a family man who cherishes his family connections, and has a revolving list of hobbies that keep him current and focused. He has the can do it spirit that has navigated him throughout his 97 years! — Watch the episode here    Listen to the podcast here    Super Ager & Super Helper: Dr. Katzman, 97, Solves My Tech Crisis! Welcome to the show. We are continuing a series of episodes with people who are considered to be super-agers. Dr. Melvern Katzman, who lives in Toronto, is 97 years young and will be talking to us about what it takes to get to his age. Dr. Katzmann practiced optometry for 60 years, was actively involved in his professional organizations, his faith, and was a leader for Habitat for Humanity. Most recently, at age 97, he chaired his condo buildings 40th anniversary party. He is definitely growing older with Gusto. Let's get started.      Welcome to the show, Dr. Katzman. Thank you very much for having me. Staying Vital At Any Age: Dr. Katzman's Secret Sauce To Joyful Aging I just have to tell my listeners, this is like so impressive before we even start the conversation. Dr. Katzman was having some trouble getting onto the podcast recording platform. He showed you effort like within a half hour, he did it all figure out, and here we are. I'm so impressed because I am a techno Neanderthal, and you're 97 years old, and I couldn't do what you did. I'm impressed. I wanted to ask you, people who come on our show or are selected because they've shown by example, their attitude towards growing older, and you're growing older in a positive and productive way. What would you tell someone who's maybe 50 years old what to do and how to grow older without being fearful of growing older? Let's say this. I really provided for my old age. I have many hobbies and I'm involved in the community, involved in my condo. When my time came to retire, I had plenty of things to do to keep my mind off being feared. Tell us a little bit about what you did to stay vital all these years. What were some of your hobbies? I know you do genealogy, and check me out. That was pretty impressive, too. I'm a stamp collector, a coin collector, involved with the condo, which I expanded into being involved with the federal government, the provincial government, and the municipal government. I'm quite active in the community. What would you say to our readers that has given you the greatest strength as you navigate through life's ups and downs? I think I'd have to go back to my family, my mother, my father, my in-laws, and one uncle who is my mentor. They provided a lot to me. They were the ones who made Mel Katzman. A Love Story & Lasting Connections: Family & Friends At 97 Dr. Katzman, tell our readers the wonderful story about how you met your wife. Believe it or not, it was that mentor uncle who made a blind date. He once had a function. He saw my supposed next and my wife, and he said, “That would be a nice girl for Mel.” We made a date, but he didn't realize her age. She was 17 and I was 24 and she wouldn't refuse the date because of my uncle. When we saw each other, that was it. Love at first sight, right? It's amazing. Talk to our readers a little bit about the importance of creating and keeping a strong circle of friends. There aren't too many friends. There aren't too many of my friends left. I seem to be the last one. What has happened? Children learn by observing and copying the actions and habits of adults. Throughout your life, I know you must have had a wide circle of friends. I had a lot of friends. Most of them, believe it or not, were younger than my wife and I. From my synagogue was one source. We belong to many organizations, and my activities in the community have created a lot of friends. Why do you think that you and your wife were drawn to younger people, or I should say, they were drawn to you? Why? We both enjoyed life. We were a happy couple, and we met happy people. That is very important. You mentioned having a lot of hobbies. I know you love genealogy. In stamp collecting, coin collecting, are there any other things that have given you great pleasure that's ongoing even? I think that my family has most people who want you to chat with them. They tell you that their family is very important. They contribute to your longevity. What is important to me besides I have a wonderful family, and I am needed. That is important to me. It's amazing when the family, the love that they give, extends life in my family, and being chronically blessed. I couldn't ask for more. They fulfill my needs with love. They also have given me something just as important, the feeling of being needed, which gives me a sense of purpose, belonging, and being important in our lives. I cannot go anywhere. They need me. The Power Of Being Needed: Finding Purpose & Fulfillment In Later Life I think that's so amazing because you're one of the first people on the podcast to really talk about that so important quality of being needed, and having a purpose in life. I know having a purpose in life is so important to growing older with Gusto. I know because your daughter reached out to me that obviously what everything you're saying is absolutely 100% authentic. I just think it says a lot about you and the type of father you were and grandfather. Tell us a little bit about your family. I have to bring in my wife. My wife is an exceptional person. How long were you married? 69 years. What I have and what we gave to our children, I give it all to her. She brought up that we now have seven doctors in the family, two lawyers, one CP, and one who didn't follow me, but took over one of my hobbies, which was construction, and he's in the construction industry. Tell us about your hobby in construction. You sent me a photo of a beautiful chair. Tell us about that. It was weak. My wife and I used to go around to antique shows, and we picked up this old chair, and I loved Mackenzie-Child. Her type of art. I painted the chair in her style. I've done other pieces of furniture. I've made furniture for my children and grandchildren. Very interesting for my grandson's Bar Mitzvah. I did the complete venue. He loved camping. I don't know if of Algonquin Park. The whole venue was Algonquin Park.     Tell us a little bit more about what it looked like. As you entered, there was a sign that you would like a highway sign made out of trees, and on it was his whole life. In other words, it's where he came from and what he did. I made a large boat that was filled with candy. Each table which not numbered would have the lakes in Algonquin Park. I made passports. You need a passport to get into Algonquin Park. That's so cute. Very creative. What was the color scheme? Outdoor green and white. That's amazing. Do you have any favorite sayings or philosophies for living the good life, which I know you do? I have many sayings, and my grandchildren and my children know them all. They fit situations, but one of my favorite sayings is “Monkey see monkey do.” I believe that children learn by observing and copying the actions and habits. My wife and I have tried to educate by example. I really like that. Lately, I've been reading a lot about what they call neuroplasticity of our brains, which basically they're saying your brain can change at any age, and in order to keep it supple and keep it going, there are certain things you should do, and obviously, you've done those. I'd like you to share your wisdom with our readers and talk a little bit about what you think makes for a strong brain. I just think that I gained active. As you can see, we have problems getting on. I didn't give up. You didn't. You're amazing. Right in the very beginning. It's so amazing. I played with it, and that's my life. I won't give up on anything. I can sit for days and take time to find something, that's just my style. That's great. Thinking back on your lifetime, what have been some of the largest societal changes during your life so far? Navigating The Digital World: Tech, Change, And Living In The Now I think technology. I think that it's affected every aspect of our lives. The internet, the smartphone, social media, and the way we were socialized to communicate. Just imagine if I had the ability to speak to my father, and I tell him that we're talking, I see you, you see me, and it's instantaneous. It's just, I think that made a big change. Are you on social media? The key to a wonderful marriage is respect for one another. Yes. What are you on? Facebook. How about Instagram? No. We will post this on Facebook for sure so that you can see it. Aside from I will obviously email you everything. What do you think about robots and artificial intelligence? That's going to be a big problem. I sit and think since you brought it up when I was doing research work, let's say 50 years ago, I would have to go to the library, pick out a book, sit and take a little piece out of the book to do my search, come back the next day, find another book. Just imagine I can get on the Internet and find information within seconds. I can write a research report within half an hour to an hour that it would take me days to do. Pretty amazing. What has inspired you throughout your life? What's been the most inspirational thing for you? My wife. What was her name? Rene. It's such a lovely love story. It's wonderful. That was 69 years of an exceptional marriage. They say time heals. It isn't a guarantee. It hasn't worked for me.       I know. On a positive note, what would you give somebody getting married? A young couple getting married, what advice would you give them to have a wonderful life and marriage together? Respect for one another. How does one show respect within a marriage in your terms? In my terms, it would be you've got to honor what she thinks, and she'll honor what you think. Listen, in every family, there are hot discussions and arguments, but the nicest part is making up. Any other words of wisdom for the secret sauce to living a joyful and wonderful life like the one you're living? Anything else that you can impart to our readers? I think that my friends, the very interesting as you asked about friends before, like I said, there are not too many of my friends left. As my children grew up, they gathered in our home, they slept over, and my children's friends went on vacations with us. Now that I'm older, they have become my friends. Just this last Sunday, my daughter was away, my older daughter was on call, and I was invited by their friend for Sunday supper. We had a long discussion. It was just like being at home with my children. It's important because if I didn't have them, I would settle. I also know that having a sense of humor is so important, and I know you have a wonderful sense of humor. I experienced your sense of humor when I asked if you were going to be free on certain dates, and you said, “Absolutely.” You gave me your whole schedule of being free from that day until the end of this year, anytime. It was so cute. Very funny. Anyway, I'm out of questions unless you want to say anything else. This has been wonderful hearing everything that you have to say. It's so important and valuable when wonderful. I thank you. I appreciate the opportunity, and thank you very much. By the way, if you need any help with your computer. Give me a phone call and I'll help you. I know who to call. That's cute. Thank you so much for being on the show. You're more than welcome. Thank you. You're welcome. Readers, please tune in on any podcast platform. Please share this episode with your friends and family and send in a comment to our website at www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com. Remember to always stay calm and stay connected.     Important Links Growing Older with Gusto Growing Older with Gusto on YouTube Growing Older with Gusto on Facebook Gail Zugerman on X

  Dr. Melvern Katzman is an amazing example of someone who is growing older with gusto and with a great sense of humor. He is a family man who cherishes his family connections, and has a revolving list of hobbies that keep him current and focused. He has the can do it spirit that has navigated him throughout his 97 years! --- Watch the episode here    Listen to the podcast here    Super Ager & Super Helper: Dr. Katzman, 97, Solves My Tech Crisis! Welcome to the show. We are continuing a series of episodes with people who are considered to be super-agers. Dr. Melvern Katzman, who lives in Toronto, is 97 years young and will be talking to us about what it takes to get to his age. Dr. Katzmann practiced optometry for 60 years, was actively involved in his professional organizations, his faith, and was a leader for Habitat for Humanity. Most recently, at age 97, he chaired his condo buildings 40th anniversary party. He is definitely growing older with Gusto. Let's get started.      Welcome to the show, Dr. Katzman. Thank you very much for having me. Staying Vital At Any Age: Dr. Katzman's Secret Sauce To Joyful Aging I just have to tell my listeners, this is like so impressive before we even start the conversation. Dr. Katzman was having some trouble getting onto the podcast recording platform. He showed you effort like within a half hour, he did it all figure out, and here we are. I'm so impressed because I am a techno Neanderthal, and you're 97 years old, and I couldn't do what you did. I'm impressed. I wanted to ask you, people who come on our show or are selected because they've shown by example, their attitude towards growing older, and you're growing older in a positive and productive way. What would you tell someone who's maybe 50 years old what to do and how to grow older without being fearful of growing older? Let's say this. I really provided for my old age. I have many hobbies and I'm involved in the community, involved in my condo. When my time came to retire, I had plenty of things to do to keep my mind off being feared. Tell us a little bit about what you did to stay vital all these years. What were some of your hobbies? I know you do genealogy, and check me out. That was pretty impressive, too. I'm a stamp collector, a coin collector, involved with the condo, which I expanded into being involved with the federal government, the provincial government, and the municipal government. I'm quite active in the community. What would you say to our readers that has given you the greatest strength as you navigate through life's ups and downs? I think I'd have to go back to my family, my mother, my father, my in-laws, and one uncle who is my mentor. They provided a lot to me. They were the ones who made Mel Katzman. A Love Story & Lasting Connections: Family & Friends At 97 Dr. Katzman, tell our readers the wonderful story about how you met your wife. Believe it or not, it was that mentor uncle who made a blind date. He once had a function. He saw my supposed next and my wife, and he said, “That would be a nice girl for Mel.” We made a date, but he didn't realize her age. She was 17 and I was 24 and she wouldn't refuse the date because of my uncle. When we saw each other, that was it. Love at first sight, right? It's amazing. Talk to our readers a little bit about the importance of creating and keeping a strong circle of friends. There aren't too many friends. There aren't too many of my friends left. I seem to be the last one. What has happened? Children learn by observing and copying the actions and habits of adults. Throughout your life, I know you must have had a wide circle of friends. I had a lot of friends. Most of them, believe it or not, were younger than my wife and I. From my synagogue was one source. We belong to many organizations, and my activities in the community have created a lot of friends. Why do you think that you and your wife were drawn to younger people, or I should say,

    How often do you get to hear from someone who's 102 years old, sharp as a tack, and still living life with passion and purpose? In this episode of Growing Older with Gusto, host Gail Zugerman sits down with Dr. Robert Farber, a retired neonatologist pediatrician from Toronto, Canada. Dr. Farber shares his secrets to a long, fulfilling life—filled with family, friendships, and a love for sports (and yes, he still plays a mean game of Bridge!). He reflects on decades of medical practice, the joys of watching his grandchildren thrive, and his thoughts on the ever-changing world. Tune in for a heartwarming and inspiring conversation with Dr. Farber—proof that growing older with gusto is all about living with love, laughter, and resilience! — Watch the episode here     Listen to the podcast here     Thriving At 102: Dr. Robert Farber's Secrets To A Fulfilling Life How To Grow Older With Gusto I'm so excited because we have a very special guest on the show coming to us from Toronto, Canada. His name is Dr. Robert Farber. It's a pleasure to welcome you to the show. He has so many things to talk about. Most importantly, as most of you readers know, we love to talk to people who are growing older in a positive productive way. Dr. Farber is an incredible example of somebody who was now 102 and sharp as a tack and interesting. I'm going to stop talking because we got to talk to talk to Dr. Farber about all his secrets on how he got to where he is. Welcome to the show, Dr. Farber. How are you doing? How are things in Toronto? A little cool but bright. We're terribly worried about Trump. That could be a whole another episode. Tell me a little bit about what you like to do when you were growing up. What was like some of your favorite activities. I'm a very big sports fan. I'm still a big sports fan now. I loved fishing. My elder son and I went all over Canada in Northwest Territory and caught some big fish. What kind of fish? Is it Pike or salmon? What were you catching?         We're catching mostly Pickerel. You call them Walleye. Big eye. What's the biggest fish you've ever caught? I got a recording from the Minister of Fisheries in Manitoba. It was a 48 inches Pike. It's an action release. You caught it and then you let it go. One of the reasons that you were recommended to me to be on the show is, we love talking to people like you who are navigating through life in a way that is inspirational. I wanted to ask you, what would you tell someone who's at midline about what they should be doing and enabling them to grow older without being afraid of being older? Is any advice you would give to them? What will I advise them? What did you do to reach your state? Sit back and relax. You can't do anything about faith. What did you do to stay vital throughout your life? You said you like sports. Were you actively involved in a particular sport? I'm 6 foot one and a half, so I played a little bit of college of basketball. I grew up in a small town in Canada in Brantford, Ontario. I could skate beautifully. As a matter of fact, one of my closest friends Sam Kennedy eventually became a Detroit Red Wings Star. This is hockey. You played hockey? I could play hockey. Did you any other physical activities at midlife that you enjoyed? Physical activity? Making love to my wife. You don't need anything to maintain a friendship. It just exists. How long are you married? 65 years. Dr. Farber's Career As A Pediatrician Congratulations. That's quite a milestone. I know you're a physician. What medicine did you practice? I was a pediatrician. A child's specialist. Did you specialize in sleeping disorders with kids or anything special? Yes, neonatal work, newborns. Worked with sick kids a little over for 35-40 years. What is giving you the greatest strengths as you've moved through your life aside from being a doctor? My family. Family As His Greatest Strength And Joy Tell me a little bit about your family. I have three children, two boys and a girl. I have four granddaughters. They are married to four beautiful people. I have six great grandchildren. The oldest is now in the University. I can't get over how I cherish them so much. Do they live nearby? They all live in Toronto except my eldest son who is a lawyer in New York. He practices theater law. That's how I was giving your name through your son. He thought you would enjoy being on the show. Let's chat a little bit about friendships. I know family is important, but I've been told and other people I've talked to, as you grow older it's important to maintain relationships with other people and to be in touch with other people. How do you feel about that? Would you agree?        We had two other couples that we were extremely close to. Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 have passed away and there's only one living. I speak to her about every couple week and we say hello. She always invites me over for a false steak's supper. What does that mean? She lurs you over with the promise of a steak supper then she gives you chicken? She says that, “I'm going to make you a steak supper.” That's nice. Any tips for people as they grow older on how to maintain friendships? You don't need anything to maintain a friendship. It just exist. My best friend was named Billy Clairfield. His wife was very beautiful and very good friends with my wife. There is a Dr. Buckman, who was a dentist. He ruined all my teeth, but we were great friends. We had other friends but not as close as this. My wife spokes to her friends almost every day. That is nice. That is special. What would you say is giving you the greatest pleasure that you still derived pleasure from? Anything that you can think of? My grandchildren. I adore them. I worry about them a lot but they are all doing well. I'm sure you're a good role model. Do you have any favorite sayings or philosophy on living a good life? Not really. Enjoy every day. Let me ask you this, if you were given a pill and you woke up, you were 30 years younger than you are. What would you do differently? I would certainly go fishing. My son is going up to Alaska and I would certainly be going with him. Thinking back during your lifetime, what have been the greatest changes in society in your life time? Electronics by all means. Financially, I'm stable, but I worry a little bit about my health, but what the heck? I'm 102. How do you feel about those changes? They're good. Excellent. When my kids go away on vacation, I can Skype them every day. I can't believe that. It is pretty nice. Isn't it? Excellent. What is been most inspirational to you throughout your life? My work. I enjoyed every single day. How did you decide to go into that specialty? I had a problem with my eyes. Originally, I wanted to be an obstetrician and gynecologist but my eyes wouldn't allow me. I did an internship at Sick Kids Hospital and I fell in love with it. His “Secret Sauce” To A Joyful Life That's nice story. What can you tell our readers, I would call this your secret sauce to living a joyful and juicy life like you've had? What's your secret to being 102, thriving, and having a good life? Being financially stable and having the greatest kids and grandchildren in all my life that anyone could have and loving sports. What do you do now? What do you do to keep yourself busy since you retired? I play bridge. I play well. I watch sports. I watch every leaf game and every baseball game. I fight with my caregiver. What do you fight about? She seems very nice. She says I don't listen to her enough. I said I listen to her too much. She's a very nice person.         Is there anything else you want to talk about with me? Is there any questions that I haven't been asking you? No. I'm giving you the essence of my life. My wife is unbelievable. My family, I couldn't have asked for anything better. Financially, I'm stable and I worry a little bit about my health but what the hell, I'm 102. You seem pretty good to me. How are things in Toronto? You said you had a few concerns about the new administration. Do you want to talk about that at all? He's made a mistake. We talked about friends before. Canada was a good friend of the United States. A very good friend and he's destroyed that forever. The people in Toronto that you talk to agree with you about this situation. We never join in it. We love you and that people in the states. We love United States, but we never become a 40-50 first state. Never. I love it. You got great spirit. Dr. Farber, I'm out of questions. I want to thank you so much for talking to me. It's been my pleasure to have on the show. You've been a great guest. For all you readers, please share this episode with all your friends and family. This is a treat. How often do we get to speak with somebody who's 102, thriving and vital? It's been wonderful. How about saying, next year, same time, same place? I do. Next year, same place, same time. You're on. You got it. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Sure. Bye-bye.

    How often do you get to hear from someone who's 102 years old, sharp as a tack, and still living life with passion and purpose? In this episode of Growing Older with Gusto, host Gail Zugerman sits down with Dr. Robert Farber, a retired neonatologist pediatrician from Toronto, Canada. Dr. Farber shares his secrets to a long, fulfilling life—filled with family, friendships, and a love for sports (and yes, he still plays a mean game of Bridge!). He reflects on decades of medical practice, the joys of watching his grandchildren thrive, and his thoughts on the ever-changing world. Tune in for a heartwarming and inspiring conversation with Dr. Farber—proof that growing older with gusto is all about living with love, laughter, and resilience! --- Watch the episode here     Listen to the podcast here     Thriving At 102: Dr. Robert Farber's Secrets To A Fulfilling Life How To Grow Older With Gusto I'm so excited because we have a very special guest on the show coming to us from Toronto, Canada. His name is Dr. Robert Farber. It's a pleasure to welcome you to the show. He has so many things to talk about. Most importantly, as most of you readers know, we love to talk to people who are growing older in a positive productive way. Dr. Farber is an incredible example of somebody who was now 102 and sharp as a tack and interesting. I'm going to stop talking because we got to talk to talk to Dr. Farber about all his secrets on how he got to where he is. Welcome to the show, Dr. Farber. How are you doing? How are things in Toronto? A little cool but bright. We're terribly worried about Trump. That could be a whole another episode. Tell me a little bit about what you like to do when you were growing up. What was like some of your favorite activities. I'm a very big sports fan. I'm still a big sports fan now. I loved fishing. My elder son and I went all over Canada in Northwest Territory and caught some big fish. What kind of fish? Is it Pike or salmon? What were you catching?         We're catching mostly Pickerel. You call them Walleye. Big eye. What's the biggest fish you've ever caught? I got a recording from the Minister of Fisheries in Manitoba. It was a 48 inches Pike. It's an action release. You caught it and then you let it go. One of the reasons that you were recommended to me to be on the show is, we love talking to people like you who are navigating through life in a way that is inspirational. I wanted to ask you, what would you tell someone who's at midline about what they should be doing and enabling them to grow older without being afraid of being older? Is any advice you would give to them? What will I advise them? What did you do to reach your state? Sit back and relax. You can't do anything about faith. What did you do to stay vital throughout your life? You said you like sports. Were you actively involved in a particular sport? I'm 6 foot one and a half, so I played a little bit of college of basketball. I grew up in a small town in Canada in Brantford, Ontario. I could skate beautifully. As a matter of fact, one of my closest friends Sam Kennedy eventually became a Detroit Red Wings Star. This is hockey. You played hockey? I could play hockey. Did you any other physical activities at midlife that you enjoyed? Physical activity? Making love to my wife. You don't need anything to maintain a friendship. It just exists. How long are you married? 65 years. Dr. Farber's Career As A Pediatrician Congratulations. That's quite a milestone. I know you're a physician. What medicine did you practice? I was a pediatrician. A child's specialist. Did you specialize in sleeping disorders with kids or anything special? Yes, neonatal work, newborns. Worked with sick kids a little over for 35-40 years. What is giving you the greatest strengths as you've moved through your life aside from being a doctor? My family. Family As His Greatest Strength And Joy Tell me a little bit about your family.

  Matthew Edgerton is using personal life experiences and work background to help an aging population find their tribe and grow older with gusto. In this conversation with Gail Zugerman, he shares how he interviewed all types of people, from the aging in independent living to their caregivers and family members, to create his business model called Cogensus. Matthew sheds light on the lack of stimulation among older people and how he strives to determine the best way to get them engaged in life. He also explains how Cogensus uses AI in creating family memoirs that will give people a purpose and something to add to their legacy. — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Finding Your Tribe In The Digital Age With Matthew Edgerton Our guest is an enterprising man from California who has been shaped by life experiences to leave the world a better place by helping people as they grow older. His name is Matthew Edgerton, and he's launching a company in 2025 called Cogensus, which he has created through his background of being a thought leader in the areas of artificial intelligence, innovation strategy, and product development. Prior to his latest endeavor, Cogensus, Matthew led the global strategy and GTM for the communication and media division of Accenture, Microsoft's cloud-first practice. Matthew has so much to tell us about how he got to where he is, so I'd like to welcome him to the show. Welcome, Matthew. Gail, thanks for having me. How Matthew's Experiences Shaped Cogensus You told me you're shaped by your personal experiences. Let's start there. Can you tell our readers how this played into you starting your own company called Cogensus? Great name, by the way. Thank you. The personal experience I referenced was the particular passing of my grandfather. When I was a little guy, I spent a lot of time with my granddad. He watched me a lot from the ages of 1 to 11, when he passed away. My grandpa, I learned later in life, was a pretty exemplary guy. He went through a lot of interesting life experiences. Growing up with him in the context of being his grandchild, I was not exposed to any of that because there are a lot of adult topics you just can't talk to a child about.     I understand totally. When I was in my late twenties, I one day stumbled upon his online obituary, and it referenced a couple of things that I didn't know. I went on a research journey of my own to learn more about my grandpa. I learned that he joined World War II at seventeen. He fought and served and got a Purple Heart and a Silver Star. He came back and tried to commit suicide and then survived. A lot of intense life experiences. It's a shame that we don't have more clarity and depth on what happened there. That colored my experience. In the age of AI, I thought that a lot of people are going to be getting older. It'll be a real shame if their combined histories pass away without being saved in some form or fashion. That was one of the personal experiences that caused me to move in this direction. This is somewhat professional, but in 2022, I helped the United Nations. I wrote some climate standards for them. You can find it under the ITU group. Effectively, they have these things called SDGs, which are Sustainable Development Goals. There's a big focus on both preserving the histories of the world. That could be all kinds of different communities, including indigenous folks, all the way up to helping the world as it ages. That was where I first got exposed to this broader problem about, I'll call it the aging world that we live in. We are going to be entering a time where we have a lot more people over the age of 60 than under it. That causes a whole bunch of both societal as well as localized changes that need to occur. By taking that into account and trying to be a positive person and leave a positive impact, and then my own personal experiences. That is what shaped Cogensus effectively. Importance Of Social Connections And Combating Loneliness There is a lot of talk about the importance of social connections and how it becomes increasingly important as we grow older to maintain and create new connections. Can you talk to our readers about social isolation versus loneliness versus social connectedness? There are three interrelated but distinct concepts, and we flirt with all of them as people of the world, at any age. Firstly, loneliness is a broader construct. Loneliness is defined in a whole bunch of different ways, but in a very simple way, it's you feel alone. Whether or not you are physically alone. For example, you feel isolated to some degree. You don't feel connected with people next to you. Loneliness can be defined in many different ways. But simply put, it is the feeling of being alone, whether or not you are physically alone. It's those whole host of negative feelings that when someone says, “I am lonely,” they could be surrounded by people in a physical sense but feel no relation to them. Typically, loneliness is defined as the interrelated experience between you and I and other people. That feeling is interpersonal. Social isolation is the act of being isolated. That could be a physical or circumstantial situation where you yourself are alone. When you are in a room by yourself, you are isolated. That can also take place, meaning that you are more isolated from a community, because maybe you live in a rural setting, or maybe, as a lot have happened, unfortunately, people pass away near to you. You become isolated within your localized group. That's social isolation. Social connectedness is a psychology concept, which is the specific measurement to some degree of your social network. Social network does not mean social media. Social network means I have two best friends. I have three acquaintances. I have one family member. Those are your relationships. The degree to which you feel connected with those people is social connectedness. For example, there's a lot of research better understanding social connectedness, because people who score very low on that scale tend to have problems with social isolation as well as the feeling of loneliness. These three things are now being recognized as health drivers to some degree. They can improve your recovery for something or your chances of readmission for something. These heavily influence those factors. They also, for example, things like cognitive decline, dementia, and a number of other cognitive conditions. If you are socially isolated, you're effectively not as engaged with some of those verbal processing things. Those can cause those conditions to speed up in their severity. That's why it's very important to focus on these concepts, especially as we age, because we become more exposed to some of these realities of the aging body. Do you think that people who are naturally introverted or say they don't need to be around people all the time, or maybe just have a few close friends and that's it? Do they suffer more health-wise than other people? It's interesting because they could be more isolated if we're talking about social isolation, but they could be less lonely. What they find with the loneliness component is that, I'll call it the feelings perspective. Social isolation becomes a problem when you think about access to healthcare or access to emergency contacts. That's why it's good to live in or near a community potentially just for the physical location of people. However, you could live remote and not be lonely at all. You could have a very high degree of social connectedness because a lot of that is self-reporting. You could say, “I feel very connected to my sister who lives across the country. We talk every day.” You might not have those negative perceptions. That's one of the things that I feel social media has been very negative for the world over. In many cases, it can magnify this perception of you feeling alone. Whether or not you're surrounded by people that may have an interest in engaging with you. I would say, an introvert might be better prepared for some of those concepts, versus an extrovert that derives a sense of purpose or activity from the relationship with other people.     Understanding The Social Determinants Of Health Tell us, what are the social determinants of health? Social determinants of health are a concept that have been talked about since 2021, which was when they first made their prime-time appearance. They effectively are non-medical-related factors that influence health outcomes. This is a very broad category. It could be everything from your income to your political outlook to the country you live in. There's a whole bunch of different things. I believe there are about 14 to 20, and they're quite easy to find, the list of SDOH. That's the acronym for it. Is there some level of importance between them? Effectively, what they're finding is that within those SDOH categories, there's a fair degree of causation or correlation. Depending on how you look at it, to health outcomes meaning some of those are very impactful. For example, loneliness and social isolation are SDOH. As of 2025, now the health community in the United States, the NCQA, which is a regulatory body as far as healthcare reimbursers and payers and things of that nature. They've now formally recognized it in their care standards that hospitals need to collect this. What they're finding is that people suffering from unrelated conditions, like cardiac readmission or broken arms or legs or limbs. Depending on your standing within these other categories, your chances of improving can heavily go up or down. What they're finding is those are factors that are both very important from an individual health perspective as well as what they call health economics, which is hospitals knowing if this person might come back. It's very important to understand those as people who are caring for others. You could say clinicians, caregivers, or whatever, because those are now on the minds of healthcare professionals. For us as individuals, it's always interesting to take a look at those SDOHs and just see how you stand because a lot of that is how you feel about those. Where do you stand? I'm doing okay. Again, when I say where you stand, it's how you feel about the categories. For example, we could look at the country you live in as an SDOH, geographic location. For example, just by being in the United States. I benefit from some of the United States infrastructures, whereas that might not apply to someone who lives in a remote province in Southern India or Africa. They don't have access to clean drinking water, for example. Maybe looking at something like education. That's an SDOH. There's a whole bunch of stuff. It's effectively where you slot in with these categories. You could argue that a lot of first-world nations will automatically score higher on those things than someone from a more remote, impoverished area. Finding Your Tribe Vs. Shouting Into The Void Of Social Media You also speak about finding your tribe versus shouting into the void of social media, which I find fascinating. Can you describe to us exactly what you mean by that? This is just my words, truthfully. What I mean by that is, if we think about humans broadly and what it means to be connected and supported by your familial or friend ecosystem. I believe that the human brain can only deal with about 50 to 75 connections before we start dropping them. This is a number I read a long time ago. What that means is, you can only maintain so many relationships. Where you invest that time, it gets dividends back to you from feeling recognized and validated as a person, or if it's wasted energy. I believe that in the world we now live in, we have moved away from what I would call a healthier path or a healthier outlook to community management. For example, not too in the distant past, your community was the people who were physically near you. You had some level of interaction with your family members and you could identify with certain things like, “We mostly agree on that or this or that.” Those relationships may be more fruitful from a management perspective because you will get something more out of those, versus what a lot of people have now been conditioned to and are being conditioned to do is focus their energy outward into the broader social community world. This could be someone on the other side of the world, which you could have something in common with them. The chances of them hanging out with you on a day-to-day basis are very limited. That energy may be going wasted. When we look at things like social connectedness and social isolation, there's some degree of benefit that comes derived from creating a more localized community. When I say your tribe, back in the day, many years ago. People who live in the blue zones. That's one of the main criteria, their tribe or their community around them. I see them every day. An interesting fun fact is my grandmother-in-law. My wife's grandmother, lives in Taiwan. She's 105 and she's surrounded by family members. As anyone can guess, 105 is pretty old. It's one of those things where if you look at her lifestyle, it's very blue zone-ish. She tends to make all her own food at home. She's got her eight children who take care of her. She's highly supported. She's in a localized area and surrounded by her tribe. All those things are very important. For someone who, let's say, moved away from their family to a remote area. They never took the time to integrate with the locals. Their community might be a country away and have no localized community. They are very likely to feel isolated in some form or fashion, whether it be socially or physically. Those become very important for aging with Gusto, as you speak, that you can get out and do things with your communities. The last thing I'll say about that is it's always important to cultivate a new community where you go. I think a lot of people get stuck with, “I have these friends from high school,” that's it. That is very detrimental for aging in place or aging with a better health outcome. It is always important to cultivate a new community wherever you go. Many people get stuck in their past, which has been detrimental for aging with a better health outcome. As somebody who moved to a totally new part of the country with my husband, I feel a community, which is what we wanted to do. It does take some time to find your friends and to learn who people are and what people are who you want to be friends with. It takes some time. It's important for people to know that it's a process, and it's worth doing that.     It's hard. I think everyone recognizes it's harder to make friends as you get older just because there's a lot more there. With your children, it's as simple as, “I have this ball. Would you like to play with me?” The other kid goes, “Yes.” As an adult, you have a lot more accumulated things. I don't want to call them baggage because it's not the right word, but history and memories. That process becomes a little bit more tentative, but it is very important to put some level of effort into it because things happen in life. It's good to have people around you. How Aging And Social Connections Will Evolve In The Future We touched on this a little bit earlier, older people in particular, often have trouble maintaining connections because their friends or family members may pass away, move away, or lose their hearing. How do you see this changing in the future? There's two ways to look at this. There's a pessimistic outlook and an optimistic outlook. I'll give a little of both. The pessimistic outlook is if you look at the world's population, and I just use this broadly. We have a lot of folks getting older or living longer. They're not having as many children. Their children are not having as many children. This is pretty consistent across a lot of first- and second-world economies in the world. Some places are hit very badly. For example, Asia has a huge problem with this. The US is tracking a little bit behind, but still going in that direction. I think it's by 2050, about 20% of the population will be over 65, which is a dramatic number when you think about historical context. What that means is there are going to be a lot more people passing away. At the same time, there are going to be a lot more people aging in similar circumstances. That gives them the capability to form friendships in a more like-to-like comparison, potentially. People around you are experiencing a similar transition, a similar journey in life. There will be something you could identify and be friends with. As we go a couple of generations forward, I think the younger generations may have a bigger problem. The biggest takeaway from that is you need to keep an open spirit. This is a problem that I find. This is one of my personal critiques of social media broadly. Social media effectively finds what causes us to have a strong emotional reaction. Oftentimes, that's negative, and it seeks to magnify those things because they're looking for engagement. At the end of the day, how they get paid is when you click the link and you spend time in the whatever. It could be the news, an article, or videos. It doesn't matter. Those topics are not often good for you. We have much more negative content output than positive because negative just moves faster. People like to rage to themselves. That mindset is very negative because it causes a closing effect. You effectively close yourself off from new experiences and new people. By doing that, you're only harming yourself. It's a personal thing we all have to take some level of responsibility for. The best advice is you've got to keep an open mind and remember that we're not so different across age brackets, ethnicities, all of the above. Ways To Combat Loneliness And Isolation In Older Adults Aside from maybe living in a closely knit community, how can loneliness and isolation be abated for older people? What are some other ways that people can not be lonely and not feel the social isolation? Social isolation is the trickier one because isolation is generally physical. When it is social and physical, it's out. With feeling lonely, it's about understanding your connections. For example, it's very easy for us to lose touch with someone and think, “I won't call them. It's been fifteen years. There's no reason for me to call,” even if you were very close with them. The easiest thing you can do is figure out people that you used to enjoy company with. If there wasn't some horrible schism or chasm that caused you to break apart, reach out to them because they very likely may be thinking the same thing. It takes some level of faith to reach out to someone. Secondarily, this is something that we're looking to assist in our platform. We're going to help by building out effectively these personalized social connection charts that allow you to take an impetus forward and go connect with people that you would like to. Not through our platform, because we're not social media. We're just going to give you, “This is what we view based on what you tell us.” That's one. The last part of this, which is interesting because it sits right next to these things, is purpose. One of the key things about Blue Zone people and people who tend to live a long time is they have a very clear purpose in life. It's something they like, it's something they do and they talk to. It could be a whole bunch of things, but finding your purpose to some degree, the reason to get up and do something every day is what will keep you getting up and doing something every day. People who tend to live a long time typically have a very clear purpose in life.   Role Of Technology In Fighting Loneliness And Aging It's so true. Aside from social media, what do you see as the role of technology in loneliness and getting older? I think in many ways, outside of a couple of things in tech, that process is going to get a lot better. For example, with Cogensus. We are specifically building our platform to tackle some of those aspects, but what we're seeing is now with wearables and much more advanced data analytics and proactive monitoring, people who traditionally would have been a victim of a health event in an isolated context have now a way to reach out or they're being monitored. We have a much more eyes-on and hands-on approach, where in the past we just didn't. It wasn't uncommon to hear someone who lived in a remote countryside was found two weeks later having passed away from an event. Nobody knew. With now the advent of wearables and their mass scale, it's very easy. The watch you wear every day that tells your time. It could very easily check your heart rate and look for blood sugar. There's a whole bunch of different things. Once we start to get into this aspect of what we're looking at, which is your mental frame of mind, we are entering a new era of how we can better care for someone in this capacity meaning we can start to monitor how you're feeling in a very altruistic way. When you start to express negativity about your circumstances, in theory in the future, there could be some intervention event where we go, “We recognize you're at risk for blank. You may want to do this.” It's not a mandate. It's something purely for your own benefit. I think it's very positive overall. What about artificial intelligence? How do you see that impacting the aging population? Artificial intelligence is one of those very clear double-edged swords. Artificial intelligence has the capacity to do a lot of good stuff, but in many cases, it will be positioned to do not-so-good stuff. I don't necessarily think the people designing it are evil. It's more just a perspective of they're looking for certain milestones or, as I said, engagement points. Those might not always be rooted in what's best for you. For example, one of the key things to watch out for in a number of the AI platforms coming out is what they call unhealthy attachments. We're getting into an age where they can very clearly simulate an avatar that looks identical to you and me. Artificial intelligence is one of those clear double-edged swords. It has the capacity to do a lot of good. But in many cases, it can be positioned to do otherwise. I was going to ask you next about robots. How do you feel about robots? I know that people who are older, there are dogs or robotic dogs to help, which I thought was clever. The robots are far less concerning than some of these digital avatars. The reason I say that is, if someone is older and someone grew up in a very different time. Potentially, they have early stages of cognitive decline of some form or fashion. They might not understand that they're talking to someone that isn't real when it looks just like you and me on a health application. By the way, in the New York Times, there was a long story about a woman who was married who got involved. I don't know whether it was an avatar, but it was some artificial man online. She's having a real relationship with. Did you hear about that? It was very bizarre. I didn't hear about that one in particular, but that's not uncommon. That's probably my biggest. For example, within Cogensus, we do not, at this time, use realistic avatars on purpose. We have a very strong MD psychiatric bend in our technology. We use cartoon avatars on purpose because our intention is not to remove humans from the equation. Whereas a lot of applications of AI are what I call siloing applications. They're designed to appeal to you and specifically you and zone in so deeply that you get very attached to it. From a perspective of how we expand social communities and keep you healthy in these outcomes, that is the worst thing you could do. How Cogensus Can Help People Age With Gusto Tell our readers more about Cogensus. I want to know more about and understand this business that you're launching. How is it going to help people age more healthfully and with Gusto? Our platform is effectively three pillars. These pillars were created based on a lot of field research that I did. Before I launched this company, I went out and interviewed and spoke with a number of people across a whole bunch of different positions. These would be people in active in different kinds of care homes. These could be totally independent senior living. These could be people who still live in their own home and apartment, like no problem. They're not in any community. The people in memory care and a whole bunch of things. The caregivers that worked with them, clinicians that supported them, and their family members. I spoke with a lot of people. There were three things that jumped out to us as being very important. First and foremost, people experiencing loneliness and social isolation are not stimulated on a verbal activity basis on a day-to-day. What happens is they reach out to everyone around them. That could be things as well. To your point, they could start talking with an online chat app. They could reach out to customer service. That's from a deficit of activity. The first part of Cogensus is we have an AI-supported journaling feedback engine. Effectively, you can engage with this as if you were talking with you and me. Its function is not to guide you in any particular direction, but rather engage you in communication that stimulates where you want to go with it. The idea being, you talk about how you're feeling. You can talk about any event. You can just talk. It will engage with you as if you were talking with someone who was getting to know you. Over time, it will get to know you better. What we do with that is we take those conversations, and we extract indicators around verbal, memory, and mood. Those are the three. We're looking for indicators about how you're doing. Those are, when you allow them, shared with your provider. This could be a caregiver, a doctor, or whoever. It has to be a medical professional of some form or fashion. That's the key part. We're looking for things like, are you starting to mix up words? Are you misremembering things? Are you just sad? There's a whole bunch. A perfect use case for this is the loss of a spouse. This person can be perfectly, physically, and mentally able, but losing a spouse is a very traumatic activity. Especially with regards to social connectivity like you're connected to your spouse very deeply and typically. That puts you at risk for other comorbidities. It's very common for people to pass away after their spouse goes. We want to look at that. We want to make sure that you aren't at risk for negative health outcomes. Those insights are given to your doctor. The last part, which is a personal interest of mine, but also mirrors back to my broader career, is we give the user and the elderly person, the ability to take those conversations and create pictorial and textual memoirs. They can create memory books about their existence. We AI support that so you can make cool imagery and book entries and all kinds of stuff. Over time, those get packaged. You have this very robust living history of what you want to share. It's not trying to create you. There are a couple of AI platforms that say, “Give us all your stuff. We'll recreate you as an avatar.” That's not our goal. Do you do that by using photos they share with you or asking questions of them? How does that work? As I said, when you speak with the AI platform, let's say you want to talk about your dog, Shirley. You can tell the story about your dog and it will engage with you as if it's a normal person saying, “Tell me more about your dog. What kind of dog?” The point of that is for you to be able to recollect and say, “Create a memory of my dog, Shirley.” It will give you different options. You can create a pretty realistic version of your dog, Shirley. You can do that with a sample text effectively to make your book. The reason for this piece of the platform is that one of the biggest things that was called out between family members and people living in communities or by themselves or whatever, was the lack of communication transparency between the family members. If you're remotely far, again, you could be isolated but not lonely. We can solve or start to solve some of that, which is, family members want to be able to better engage with their aging relatives in some way. They feel very guilty, traditionally, about having to put them somewhere. The person being moved or transitioning in life is very shocken up. It's hard and chaotic. This gives them a way to collaborate on these memories and create these shared family memoirs. The idea being, one of the most important things as someone ages is to know that your life made a difference. The biggest way to do that is to know about the impact you made on yourself and others. You can create that now in our platform. It sounds like not only are you giving people a purpose, but then you're creating a bit of a legacy for them too. That was a big part for me because, again, this calls back to my grandpa. If he had this tool, it would be very impactful for he would have created a cool book. Unfortunately, we lost my mother-in-law. She passed away early from cancer. It was very clear as she dealt with the disease how important it was for her to share certain memories and pass on history. Without a tool like this, which is a problem a lot of people are facing. It's not just us. Everyone has a story or two about this. It's very hard to capture all those memories in a singular instance, especially when you're engaging in long-term care of some sort. Those memories are typically 30 seconds to a minute shared in passing and they're gone. Without a tool that can quickly capture those and then later help you import and create those. They go into the ether. That's why that function, of all the functions is the most important to me from what I call a social good perspective. Matthew, it sounds like you've done something good here in creating Cogensus. I would like to let our readers know how to reach you or how to learn more about Cogensus, more than we could share in this short episode. We are trying. We're building something that we believe will be impactful for the world over. It's as simple as going to www.Cogensus.com. That's how you get there. You could reach out to us through the website. Our intention is to go live with the product for our early test in August of 2025. We hope after that, you will start to see it in the market. At that point in time, we are also working with insurance companies to allow this to be reimbursable. Our goal is to make this available to as many people as possible out the gate. Our current model is that we sell through healthcare institutions and senior care communities. Once we're live, you could get that, ask your providers to look into what we're doing and then they can help procure that for you. Thank you, Matthew. This has been a great episode, and thank you for reading this show. If you'd like to learn more about our show, please go to www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com or check out our YouTube channel. Remember to stay curious and stay connected. Thank you, Gail.   Important Links ITU Matthew Edgerton on LinkedIn Cogensus Gail Zugerman on LinkedIn Growing Older with Gusto Growing Older with Gusto on YouTube   About Matthew Edgerton Matthew had 15 years experience as a leader of Global Strategy and GTM for Comms & Media Division of Accenture's Microsoft's Cloud First Practice.  

  Matthew Edgerton is using personal life experiences and work background to help an aging population find their tribe and grow older with gusto. In this conversation with Gail Zugerman, he shares how he interviewed all types of people, from the aging in independent living to their caregivers and family members, to create his business model called Cogensus. Matthew sheds light on the lack of stimulation among older people and how he strives to determine the best way to get them engaged in life. He also explains how Cogensus uses AI in creating family memoirs that will give people a purpose and something to add to their legacy. --- Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Finding Your Tribe In The Digital Age With Matthew Edgerton Our guest is an enterprising man from California who has been shaped by life experiences to leave the world a better place by helping people as they grow older. His name is Matthew Edgerton, and he's launching a company in 2025 called Cogensus, which he has created through his background of being a thought leader in the areas of artificial intelligence, innovation strategy, and product development. Prior to his latest endeavor, Cogensus, Matthew led the global strategy and GTM for the communication and media division of Accenture, Microsoft's cloud-first practice. Matthew has so much to tell us about how he got to where he is, so I'd like to welcome him to the show. Welcome, Matthew. Gail, thanks for having me. How Matthew's Experiences Shaped Cogensus You told me you're shaped by your personal experiences. Let's start there. Can you tell our readers how this played into you starting your own company called Cogensus? Great name, by the way. Thank you. The personal experience I referenced was the particular passing of my grandfather. When I was a little guy, I spent a lot of time with my granddad. He watched me a lot from the ages of 1 to 11, when he passed away. My grandpa, I learned later in life, was a pretty exemplary guy. He went through a lot of interesting life experiences. Growing up with him in the context of being his grandchild, I was not exposed to any of that because there are a lot of adult topics you just can't talk to a child about.     I understand totally. When I was in my late twenties, I one day stumbled upon his online obituary, and it referenced a couple of things that I didn't know. I went on a research journey of my own to learn more about my grandpa. I learned that he joined World War II at seventeen. He fought and served and got a Purple Heart and a Silver Star. He came back and tried to commit suicide and then survived. A lot of intense life experiences. It's a shame that we don't have more clarity and depth on what happened there. That colored my experience. In the age of AI, I thought that a lot of people are going to be getting older. It'll be a real shame if their combined histories pass away without being saved in some form or fashion. That was one of the personal experiences that caused me to move in this direction. This is somewhat professional, but in 2022, I helped the United Nations. I wrote some climate standards for them. You can find it under the ITU group. Effectively, they have these things called SDGs, which are Sustainable Development Goals. There's a big focus on both preserving the histories of the world. That could be all kinds of different communities, including indigenous folks, all the way up to helping the world as it ages. That was where I first got exposed to this broader problem about, I'll call it the aging world that we live in. We are going to be entering a time where we have a lot more people over the age of 60 than under it. That causes a whole bunch of both societal as well as localized changes that need to occur. By taking that into account and trying to be a positive person and leave a positive impact, and then my own personal experiences. That is what shaped Cogensus effectively.

  Reinvention isn't just a change—it's an art, and Susan Hays has mastered it, French style. In this episode, Susan Hays shares her journey of reinventing herself after settling in southwestern France. From managing a guest cottage to curating a boutique vintage shop and assisting clients with property searches, Susan has built a fulfilling life centered on passion and purpose. She reveals how she combines her love for France with entrepreneurial spirit, creating a life that embraces change and thrives on connection. Tune in for Susan's insights on adaptability, building a business, and living with gusto, all inspired by the charm of French living. — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Reinventing Yourself, French Style: Susan Hays' Inspiring Journey How To Please Yourself By Helping Others Welcome to the show, a show dedicated to providing a platform for people who are growing older in a positive and productive way to dispense their wisdom. You can find out more about our show by going to our website at www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com. Our guest is a woman by the name of Susan Hays who has shown by example how to reinvent herself as she is growing older. She is coming to us from Southwestern France and talking to Susan about her life makes it clear she's like a controlled tornado. She grew up on a farm in Southern England loving outdoor adventures and a passion for horseback riding. She moved to London to work as an adult where she met her husband, Roddy, and they moved around a bit, floating among three different continents. Craving warm weather brought them back to France with their five kids where they tested the waters in Provence and Pyrenees. The past twelve years, they have settled into an area in Southwestern France. I think I'm pronouncing this right, Charente-Maritime, where Susan is happily engaged in a property search and relocation business, a guest cottage endeavor, and an online boutique business. I think I need a nap already.     Welcome to the show, Susan. Great to have you. It's an absolute honor to be here. Thank you for having me. In talking to your childhood experiences seem magical in themselves. I know that horses and physical activity seem to be the predominant theme. I was wondering, looking back on your formative years, how did they create a platform for you to continue Growing Older with Gusto? Get Up And Go: Embracing An Active Life I think I'm a great believer in just getting on and doing something. I think being a farmer's daughter, even though we had help on the farm, you learn just to get on and do things. If I want something done, just go for it. Always believe in yourself, and do your best. Also just to be outside as much as possible. I'm a great believer in outside doing physical activity as much as possible. Somebody once gave me some advice, actually quite recently, and it's when you get up in the morning, no matter what the weather, stand outside and just feel fresh air for five minutes. I now do that, whether it's rain or shine, and somehow it just sets you up for the day. When you get up in the morning, no matter what the weather is, stand out and just feel the fresh air for five minutes. That's a great idea. I'll try that. Now that I'm living in a warmer climate will help. That's true. Sometimes when it's cold, it's quite tough. I haven't gone the cold bath that route. I was just going to say, I don't think I'm going to be a candidate for a cold climate. Nonetheless, me neither. I just cannot, no. You moved from southern England to London where you received a pilot's license. How did that come about? I started working in London and I was actually terrified of flying and it was I would go on holiday and whenever I was on holiday, I would worry the whole time that I had to come back and get on that airplane again. I was sharing an apartment with a lady who was older than me but she also was a private pilot instructor. She said, “Just come and do a trial flight and a little plane and see if you enjoy it.” Funny enough, I really did enjoy it. I joined the flying club and went on to take my private pilot's license which sadly is no longer current, but it was a magical time. I remember when I was quite younger, I used to always love the takeoffs and the landings. It was always thrilling, but having a fear of heights, I don't think I could ever do what you did. It was fine if they were little planes. Now I love it. Cured my fear of flying for little planes. Little planes I absolutely love. Big planes, I still hate them. I count down the seconds, literally hate it. Little planes this, we went with the flying club, we went all the way down through France. We circled Mont Blanc in the Aerobatic plane, I did acrobatics. We did just so much over, it was magical. Love, Life, And Big Game Fishing: A World Record Adventure Tell us how you met your husband, Roddy, how did, and how it changed your life. We met because I went on holiday with some work friends from London, we were with Lloyd's insurance. We met actually when he was fishing on the island of Madeira, and he had his own sports fishing business. I met because we hired one of his boats and went fishing. Speaking of fishing, you mentioned to me that you won the world record for big-game fishing. Like where were you living? How did you get involved? Was that through Roddy? That again was through Roddy. This was after we had just thought of number one at the time. He was contracted to go and work for somebody on the island of Midway, which is a long way south of Hawaii. I went out there, but only for a short time. He was out there for several months. I went out there for a couple of weeks. Whilst I was there, we decided to go for a couple of wild records and succeeded. Still standing to this day. I was quite proud of that. I did a lot of fishing with him. Amazing. Did that require you to really not talk a lot? Why you make me catch the fish? It's serious, but we work as a good team. He's always been a boat captain. When we don't have paying clients, then I will be his angler for the day. Basically ever since we met, so for 30 years or so now, we've been a team and always worked together, always. It's just worked for us. I know your family expanded rapidly and you ended up having five children. I'm curious, how did you manage to juggle parenting and all your other activities? I don't know. I absolutely love children and they come before everything always. The youngest is now eighteen so technically they're all adults, but they will always still come before anything. For me, the children are my life. They just joined in. They were really easy children, I guess, if they had been really difficult children, maybe we would only have had one. In fact, the only one that was a bad sleeper and really difficult was the very last one. Maybe that's why we only had five. Aside from her, all the others slept absolutely beautifully. She was just a bad sleeper till she was about ten. That's funny. Maybe she had a lot of excess energy knowing who her parents were. Yes, she was always the one in charge in charge of all of her siblings and always has been. Returning To France: Creating A Life In The Countryside Now I know that you and Roddy found France to be your favorite place. You ended up moving back there after living on several different continents before you landed in this area which you're calling your favorite spot. Could you pronounce that again for me? Charente-Maritime. Very nice. Tell us a little bit about how you got back there and why you're there and why it's such a special spot of yours. My great-grandmother was French, so I always had a love of France and Normandy. I still actually do love Normandy. What is from the Channel Islands, which are little islands, actually part of the United Kingdom, but they are off the coast of Normandy, so they're much closer to France than England. He always used to come across to France a lot. For both of us, we had this love of France, Normandy in particular but the weather is not. I hate cold winters and I hate long gray winters, much though I love Normandy. We decided to settle further south. We were in Provence, did not go too well for us. We were burgled and it's a long story, but eventually, we had to go abroad for work and we came back and we went abroad and we came back. When we came back the third time, having made two costly and rookie errors when you buy something in the summer and you think everything's wonderful and you don't check things out. There was nobody to speak to or to give us advice except for locals that we might meet. When we came back the last time nearly twelve years ago, we had a checklist and we really stuck to it and we knew our eldest daughter was at university in the UK. We wanted to have good transport links to her. We wanted to be relatively close to the coast. We wanted a good-sized city town within twenty minutes, a good community spirit. We knew exactly what we wanted and we knew this area. We came here, we looked around and just completely fell in love with it. We have a great microclimate. We have guaranteed long summers. We have the second sunniest driest area in France after the Mediterranean. We do get those wonderful warm summers but we also get very short, mild winters. I never think winter doesn't really start till December. Now we're January, the mimosa's out, and daffodils will be out next month. February, we get days in the 20s, which is low 70s Fahrenheit, and spring is here. It's life just great. I should mention to our readers that you have a wonderful newsletter that you sent out almost weekly, I think, with some actually exquisite photography that really illustrates exactly what you're talking about, about this part of France. I'm a Francophile, so I like France too. It's intriguing. It's an interesting pocket of France that I'm certain that a lot of people aren't aware of. No, it's we call it a really well-kept secret. It's absolutely loved by Parisians. Many have second homes here. That's a really good thing because actually it's kept it quite cosmopolitan. There are things open. A lot of places in France tend to that especially places that are touristy tend to die a little bit in the winter and become a bit like ghost towns. This is because it is so cosmopolitan. It's open all year round. You can always get a good cup of coffee. You can get a good restaurant. It just keeps it quite buzzing. It's rural, it's quiet, but it's not backward. It's just got a great feel to it. It sounds like it has everything you could ask where all rolled up into one, which is unusual and really special. It's not super touristy because as you're saying, it's not known by outsiders in the way that a lot of other areas of France, a lot of people when they think of France, think of Paris, Provence, and maybe Normandy. That is France, but there is so much more. The Enchanting Cottage: A Retreat In Southwestern France Great. Now that you said your youngest is eighteen and your kids have left the nest, let's talk a little bit about what you've been up to. I know from your newsletter, you have this enchanting-looking cottage. Can you tell us more about it? When we came back here nearly twelve years ago, we didn't actually live where we're living now. We were twenty minutes down the road, twenty minutes close to the coast. We always wanted to have a guest cottage. We really liked the hospitality business. We've done a lot in the hospitality business together. That was a dream to be able to bring people to France and not just the cottage that we rented out for money. That's really stayed the same now that we've moved here. We also have a guest cottage. It's purely for two people. It's very small. It's very exclusive. We want to be able to bring people here and welcome them so that they feel that they can come and escape and we can chat with them and offer them a glass of wine. Very often we have a meal with them and we invite them over to our courtyard for dinner. We want it to feel like a wonderful experience for them, not like they've just rented somewhere like an Airbnb and that's it they come and they go and write a review or whatever. We want this to be something really special, which is another reason we don't do a booking calendar or anything because it's emails before people come so that you get to know people and I want people to really experience France when they're here. Tell us a little bit about what a typical day might be for somebody coming to stay in your cottage. Here we're really lucky, because it's a little village of about 650 people, probably near a thousand in summer, but not very big. It's on the river, and it's only two designated swimming areas on this river, on the river Charente. It has been a designated swimming area for 80 years. We also have three restaurants in the village and a riverside cafe, which is open from April until October, because that's only outdoors. We have a boulangerie, we have a couple of little shops, a little grocery store. People can really come. There is no parking on site. There's only public car parking in the car park because the access to the cottage is down through the garden. They have their own access. They're totally private from us. They don't have to see us at all if they don't want to, but they do have the pool which we use as well. If guests are there swimming, we won't go and intrude on them anyway. They walk through our garden. They can have breakfast sitting on the south-facing terrace. They can go for swims. They can walk down to the river. They can walk to two different chateaux with fascinating stone carvings because our local Charinters stone is very famous. You can go swimming in the river, you can rent boats, you can rent a kayak, and then if you want to go in your car you can go off and explore the Roman city of Sant, which is fantastic, modern but really old at the same time. There is just so much to do. Also, you can throw away your car keys and just say, “I'm just going to walk.” There is also high-speed Wi-Fi because some sadly that's the world we live in. We all like to be connected at the same time. That's the world we live in—we all like to be connected at the same time.   From Property Search To Online Boutique: A Multifaceted Entrepreneur That sounds great. Let's talk a little bit about your property relocation service like describing the type of person and properties you're matching up and how you want to. That's like saying how long is a piece of string because we have clients who are in their 30s who want a second home that is $110,000, or we have clients who are in their 70s. We have people looking for properties that are $800,000, we have people looking for tiny places that are $100,000. It literally is what people want. People want a town, other people want something in the country and don't want any neighbors. It's literally what people want, some people want to move here permanently, some people want an apartment, and some people want something they can come to once a year. It's really all sorts of things. It sounds like a potpourri of a lot of different people. I think when you're going to buy a property, you spend the biggest investment you make in your life pretty much and I think often. I know I spend longer thinking, “Am I going to buy a dress or a skirt or something than I do a house. I'll go and look at something and I'll go away and I'll think if I like it in a couple of days time.” A house, very often you look at for an hour and a half, and then you spend hundreds of thousands and you think, “Why would I not spend just a few thousand and really a very tiny percentage more and get a lot of expert advice and second opinions and everything else at the same time.” We made two very costly mistakes and then we helped somebody find a property here and they said, “You should really do this to help other people.” This was seven years ago now. We did and it's just wonderful to help people find out exactly what they want and then find places that probably aren't on the open market. A lot of agents we work with left us to know about properties long before they even hit the open market. We get first dibs on things. We help people say, “Look, this is a really great place, but this maybe is not for you because it's going to need so much work and we can get costs and things for everybody too.” It's wonderful to help people find out exactly what they want. I guess that involves you having to have a big resource list of people, if people are willing to renovate or whatever, as opposed to turnkey. You would be aware of that. We have a list of artisans and electricians, plumbers, and roofing people that we really trust. Some people, we have some clients at the moment who their property is going through, but they absolutely wanted no renovation whatsoever. They've bought a house that needs full renovation because they just fell in love with the location of the house, the village it's in, everything about it, the history, the views and they just said, “We'll do the renovation, but can you get us some quotes first and an idea? It's even got asbestos in the property that needs removing.” We got all of those quotes first. The agent we worked with was really good. She said I will take it off the market and hold it, but you're not committed to anything until we've got these quotes back. They're abroad, they're on a different continent. They could not possibly have done this on their own. If they did, it would have cost them a fortune way more than we charge just to come back and forth and stay places and try and find artisans to give them quotes when you don't know anybody. I mean, some things like this are just so hard to do. We know we've been there and it is so hard. I wish we'd had somebody that could advise us back then. We'd have saved so much money. It's so nice that you've taken your expertise and been able to help other people. I think that's wonderful. I'm curious, like are the people that are coming to you to relocate, are they mainly from France? Are they from other countries or far away?     Everywhere. We have, just to name a few, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, America, of course, the UK, French, Germans, Italian everywhere. Even a couple who live in Paris, because it's just too much for them to keep coming back and down. The problem with French estate agents or real estate agents is their details are quite often quite far removed from what you actually get in reality. They show you what they want to show you. When you sell a house for example, in the States, they tend to be staged and you can see almost a blank canvas. Here you will see a photo with somebody's washing up all over the sink and laundry all over everywhere. You've got to be able to think outside the box to even imagine what half of these places look like. Very rarely any floor plans. Some of the better agents do, but a lot of the really good properties are not necessarily the better agents. They're with more of the local French agents and then the details are really useless. You come and look at something and then you find out that there's a great big electricity pile. Next door there's an old rusty old factory next door or a pig farm next door or something but nobody's going to tell you that. If you've come from another country and then you look at all these properties and I've seen so many people go away and feel so dejected because it's just like, “How can we do this?” We do the shortlist. We go and view properties for people and take videos. We do virtual tours. We do live virtual tours with them. We just get them up on WhatsApp and say, “We're going to walk around so you can ask questions.” People come here and they normally have a short list that we've drawn up of maybe 5, or 6 properties with them. They know what they're looking at. We can show them where the nearest cafes are, where they're going to be able to do this, where there would be a doctor, how far it is to the hospital, and just all those things that we all need to know in. Often if it's in another language as well, it's pretty hard. It is. My husband and I were in Tokyo a few months back. We were trying to catch the bullet train at the Tokyo train station. Nobody spoke English. It's very scary. It is. If you don't know and it's something I don't think you realize until you go to another country and suddenly you're like, “How can I express myself?” It's quite scary. It is. Let's chat a little bit now about your online business. What is it called? What kinds of items are you having on your online business? It's purely Faucon, vintage, and antique French items that I find. Mostly, it started off when we first came here, so I would go around Faucon and buy things. I don't really do that anymore because Faucon's have actually changed a lot and you get far fewer bargains and there's an awful lot of clothing and plastic things that have come in. Now because I've got no and I get invited to private sales when people are selling manure and chateau and I tend to go around and then just pick very few. I don't have a great big inventory, maybe 30 pieces sometimes only 20, not a huge amount at all. I just pick things that I would want. Things that I think I would like that in my home. It's a very small thing. It's not a mainline part of the business at all. It's something that I find very interesting, and fascinating. It is, it's great. I love that why go and buy a pot that is made in China to look old when you could buy the real thing for maybe less money or certainly no more? I think it's lovely looking at things and thinking like a confit pot was used for preserving duck 150 years ago and they would put it in the ground. Now everybody loves them. The pots are part yellow or part green around the top and about a foot high. They were actually used in the kitchen, say, before refrigeration, they would fill them with fat, duck fat, then put the meat in and then put them in the ground up to the mark where it is painted. That's why it is only half-glazed. The inside is completely glazed. That's how they would preserve their meat all winter. Luxury Experiences And Chateau Stays: Unique Offerings For Travelers This is interesting. I never knew that's really interesting. I also know that you've talked to me a little bit about some very special offerings that you have coming up. I know our readers will find them most appealing. I'd like to talk first about your first offering, which is a four-night luxury experience. It's geared basically for a couple or maybe two friends. How would you describe this experience? This came about quite by chance because last year or the year before, we had quite a few people staying in the Gite and who asked if I would accompany them places, would I take them to the Il Doré? Would I go and do things with them? We thought a lot of people, sometimes solo travelers, sometimes groups, sometimes a couple of friends. They want to see more, but they're a little bit nervous about how to see more because this isn't your mainline tourist area where everybody knows you should go here, here, here. We thought there were so many people offering huge retreats for a lot of people. Why not offer something really just for a couple at far more basic prices in our own jeet? People can come and tailor-make for what they wish rather. It became so popular that we did first of all, started with just one date that we said, “We could do this.” Not a huge amount because I don't want to do back-to-back ones my husband doesn't either. We're both very adamant about that because it's got to stay a passion for us. It's more about people loving it than making money, which is probably why we'll never be rich because even our property business is all about helping people more than a business making money.     Your life sounds very rich to me. Exactly, it's rich in the fact that we love helping people. People can tailor-make what they want, not everybody wants workshops. Some people would rather just do antique hunting, some people would like to tour chateau, some people would like to just tour domains and see how wine and cognac are made, and other people want to do just workshops. We said, “If it's just two people, why not tailor make this to what they want precisely?” Let's say rather than just the set four days which sold out instantly, and therefore I had a lot of people saying, “What can we do? Why not say we can do this anytime from the 1st of May until the 30th of September?” A four-night thing, you let us know. We have very limited dates because A, the G is booked, and the guest cottage is booked for people on general vacation anyway. B, we only want to do it once a month. I don't want to do this all the time because as I say, “It won't be special.” Why not let people choose their dates and we will see if we can work with them and then let people choose? “I want to do a mixture of this, this, this.” It's totally everything is all-inclusive. Their breakfast, their lunch, their dinner. Some people want to meet other local expats, which we've found have a cocktail party and let them meet other people who have made this their home. It's a tailor-made holiday. That's great. There's another offering you mentioned that's geared to a much larger group and super special because the guests are going to stay for six nights at a special chateau. Can you tell us more about that? That is something that I am doing with a really dear friend of mine, Wendy, who is based at the Phineas Wright House in Massachusetts. We do this together. It's a joint venture. She's been doing retreats for several years now, notably to Paris, hugely successful. She's a lovely lady and a dear friend. She knows somebody here, which is how we were first introduced, that we do this together. This is the thing, I found a chateau quite locally, went to meet the people, and toured it. It was absolutely perfect. We rent the Chateau. This is very different, as you say because it's a larger group. There's a minivan to take everybody around. We have a Parisian chef who cooks at the Chateau. It's a very different experience. There's a set itinerary, obviously, because with a larger number of people, you have to do that. Again, it's fabulous for solo travelers. You still get your own ensuite bedroom in the Chateau. Chateau Live swimming pool. Where exactly is this church located, Susan? Where is it located? It's located in the Chardente-Maritime near the village of Saint-Savinien. It's about ten minutes from where we live and about fifteen minutes from the historical city of Saint and beautifully located. It's in many acres of its own parkland. It's absolutely beautiful, built in the late 1700s, and has been in the same family ever since it was built. Sounds beautiful. It is, and so totally different experience. For people that want to come and meet other people, some people like doing things on their own. Other people like larger groups and going around in a more knowing exactly what they're doing months in advance. What's the timing on this one? That one this year is the last week of August. Last year we did it in September. This year we've moved it forward to the last week of August. We do have a couple of spaces still available. It is absolutely superb. I'm fully on board. I join every single activity, there at night, eating the whole thing in the Chateau. We have a Parisian chef who does all the catering in the Chateau. There are dinners out there are incredible workshops. I think one of the favorites last year was a jeweler who makes sterling silver jewelry and that was fascinating. Again, in a chateau and lunch was served in the chateau. You are cooking classes? We do, our Parisian-trained chef, rather than accept cooking class, he will cook dinner and then explain and teach people exactly what they want to learn while he's cooking dinner. Last year, the last night, we had everybody eating in the kitchen rather than in the more formal dining room. Everybody sat around and first, we started with the basic knife skills, which even that is quite mind-blowing. Showed how to make what he was serving for dinner that night, which was actually fish. Just everybody is welcome to come and ask. Any night when he's cooking, people are welcome to go into the kitchen and join him and ask questions, and watch. You can have a cooking class the whole time if you want to. Reach Out To Susan For More! That's incredible. That sounds like so much fun. Susan, this has been such an interesting and fascinating conversation and you definitely are a fabulous example of somebody Growing Older with Gusto. I want you to tell our readers how they can reach you, whether it's for wanting to buy property near you or come to one of your special events that you're holding, or trying to buy something from your wonderful online business. Let our readers know. There were two, the best way is either on Instagram or if anybody's on Instagram, my Instagram handle is @OurFrenchOasis and always send me a direct message on Instagram and I do answer every single one. There are quite a lot, so sometimes I don't get back within the hour or even five hours, but I do always answer every single one. The other way is through our website, which is www.OurFrenchLifestyle.com. Join the website you can also sign up totally for free. I've never charged for anything to our newsletter which has several thousand subscribers and emails go out. It's most weeks. It is a great newsletter I will add. I can tell you put your heart and soul into it. I do and sometimes I think that's why sometimes it doesn't go out every week because sometimes I don't have time but it's nearly always every week. It is. It's sometimes Saturday, sometimes Sunday, occasionally it's a Monday instead. I mean this weekend we were taking our daughter back to university in Normandy so it went out on Monday because I wanted to write about where we'd been. Because I don't charge, it's a totally free thing and it's something I love doing, I'm not setting it to a clockwork time. It doesn't matter when it arrives, whether it's Saturday, Sunday or Monday, I always love it. On our website, there is also a contact form so you can email me. I love getting emails from people. On our website, you will also find under the heading experiences, everything about stays here. How you can join the retreats. There are also details on our guest cottage and the online shop. Our property business just loves chatting with people. People love France because that's what we have all in common. We love France, so I'm really happy to talk about that. From one Francophile to another, I thank you so much for this conversation. For my readers, please share this podcast and listen to it on any podcast platform where you get your podcast or our YouTube channel at Growing Older with Gusto or go to our website at www.GrowingOlderwithGusto.com and subscribe and please share this podcast with your friends and family. Thanks for reading and remember, stay curious and stay connected. Thank you, Susan. Thank you. It's been an absolute pleasure.   Important Links Growing Older with Gusto's YouTube Channel Our French Lifestyle's Istagram's Page Our French Lifestyle Our French Lifestyle's Facebook Page      

  Reinvention isn't just a change—it's an art, and Susan Hays has mastered it, French style. In this episode, Susan Hays shares her journey of reinventing herself after settling in southwestern France. From managing a guest cottage to curating a boutique vintage shop and assisting clients with property searches, Susan has built a fulfilling life centered on passion and purpose. She reveals how she combines her love for France with entrepreneurial spirit, creating a life that embraces change and thrives on connection. Tune in for Susan's insights on adaptability, building a business, and living with gusto, all inspired by the charm of French living. --- Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Reinventing Yourself, French Style: Susan Hays' Inspiring Journey How To Please Yourself By Helping Others Welcome to the show, a show dedicated to providing a platform for people who are growing older in a positive and productive way to dispense their wisdom. You can find out more about our show by going to our website at www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com. Our guest is a woman by the name of Susan Hays who has shown by example how to reinvent herself as she is growing older. She is coming to us from Southwestern France and talking to Susan about her life makes it clear she's like a controlled tornado. She grew up on a farm in Southern England loving outdoor adventures and a passion for horseback riding. She moved to London to work as an adult where she met her husband, Roddy, and they moved around a bit, floating among three different continents. Craving warm weather brought them back to France with their five kids where they tested the waters in Provence and Pyrenees. The past twelve years, they have settled into an area in Southwestern France. I think I'm pronouncing this right, Charente-Maritime, where Susan is happily engaged in a property search and relocation business, a guest cottage endeavor, and an online boutique business. I think I need a nap already.     Welcome to the show, Susan. Great to have you. It's an absolute honor to be here. Thank you for having me. In talking to your childhood experiences seem magical in themselves. I know that horses and physical activity seem to be the predominant theme. I was wondering, looking back on your formative years, how did they create a platform for you to continue Growing Older with Gusto? Get Up And Go: Embracing An Active Life I think I'm a great believer in just getting on and doing something. I think being a farmer's daughter, even though we had help on the farm, you learn just to get on and do things. If I want something done, just go for it. Always believe in yourself, and do your best. Also just to be outside as much as possible. I'm a great believer in outside doing physical activity as much as possible. Somebody once gave me some advice, actually quite recently, and it's when you get up in the morning, no matter what the weather, stand outside and just feel fresh air for five minutes. I now do that, whether it's rain or shine, and somehow it just sets you up for the day. When you get up in the morning, no matter what the weather is, stand out and just feel the fresh air for five minutes. That's a great idea. I'll try that. Now that I'm living in a warmer climate will help. That's true. Sometimes when it's cold, it's quite tough. I haven't gone the cold bath that route. I was just going to say, I don't think I'm going to be a candidate for a cold climate. Nonetheless, me neither. I just cannot, no. You moved from southern England to London where you received a pilot's license. How did that come about? I started working in London and I was actually terrified of flying and it was I would go on holiday and whenever I was on holiday, I would worry the whole time that I had to come back and get on that airplane again. I was sharing an apartment with a lady who was older than me but she also was a private pilot instructor. She said,

  Ever wondered how to navigate life's challenges with a smile? Join Gail Zugerman in a hilarious and insightful conversation with Greg Schwem, a well-respected corporate comedian and cruise ship entertainer who has turned life's gut punches into punchlines. Discover how Greg's superpower – humor – helped him navigate a gray divorce and a cancer diagnosis, all while keeping his audience laughing. Plus, get ready for some witty insights on online dating, the importance of human connection, and the power of laughter in the face of adversity. Greg has recently written a book about his personal life called, “Turning Gut Punches Into Punchlines“.  He is on SIRIUS Radio and Comedy Central and has shared the stage with Jay Leno, Celine Dion, and Keith Urban! — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   The Power Of Humor: Navigating Life's Ups And Downs With Greg Schwem How To Use Humor To Get Through Life's Curve Balls Welcome to the show. This is a show that provides a platform for older people who are growing older in a positive and productive way to come on stage and dispense their wisdom. You can find out more about our show by going to www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com. We have a very special guest for the holidays from the start of the new year who happens to be a comedian from Chicago. He is navigating the ups and downs of life by utilizing his superpower as a comedian and using his great sense of humor. His name is Greg Schwem. He spends much of his professional time on stage and onboard cruise ships. The Chicago Tribune has proclaimed him as “The King of the Hill” in the growing world of corporate comedy. He's been on Sirius Radio and Comedy Central and has shared the stage with the likes of Celine Dion, Jay Leno, and Keith Urban. We're going to talk to Greg about how changes later in life don't necessarily have to be as scary as you might think if you find the humor in difficult, challenging, and unfamiliar situations. Greg has also written a very funny book based on his own personal life called Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines. There's a lot to talk about with Greg so let's get going.     Welcome to the show, Greg. Thank you for having me. Superpowers, I love that. I don't think I've ever been introduced as having superpowers. That's a lot of pressure. From Journalist To Comedian: Greg Schwem's Unlikely Path To Success Why don't we begin by having you tell our audience a bit about how you got started as a corporate speaker which the Huffington Post has called you “Your boss's favorite comedian”? It's weird. I quit my job in journalism. I was a newspaper and a TV reporter in West Palm Beach, Florida. I did that for the first five years out of college. I was always a comedian though. I always did it as a hobby. I started doing it in high school. I finally decided after five years in journalism, which doesn't sound like a lot but it is a lot. It takes a toll on you, particularly with the kind of stories that I was covering which were certainly not funny. They were very depressing. I told a lot of morbid stories. I would do that during the day and then I would go to comedy clubs at night and make people laugh. I eventually decided I liked doing that better so I moved back to Chicago. I became a club comedian, the guy who goes around to clubs around the country and makes people laugh. Little by little, I started getting approached because of the type of material that I was doing in my standup act. I was doing material about computers, business, meetings, and that kind of stuff. I would have people come up to me afterward and invite me down to their Christmas party, their golf outing, or little stuff like that. That snowballed. The more shows that I did for business groups, the more I got noticed by people who booked those kinds of events on a much larger scale. I was getting approached by corporate speakers bureaus, corporate booking agents, and meeting planners. It is a word of mouth marketing, so to speak. I had no idea that this kind of stuff even existed. When you're a journalist, you don't get invited to three-day offsite meetings. Your boss does, but not you. Someone's got to put out the paper. Little by little, I transitioned my whole act. Instead of being a club comedian, I became a corporate humor speaker. That's really what I've been doing for the past couple of years. That's an interesting path that you took to that. It's very rare. There are few comedians or people who have transitioned into the corporate market. It's different from working as a club comedian. Were you a little jokester when you were little? I was. One of the questions comedians get always asked is, “Were you the class clown?” I always say, “No. I was the class smart ass.” I always say the class clown is always in trouble because he's always trying to get the other kids in the class to laugh. What I would do is try to get the teacher to laugh. You can't get mad at somebody when you're laughing. I figured that out very early. I would sit in the back and pick my spots. I always enjoyed making people laugh and trying to figure out what would entertain them. You can't get mad at somebody when you're laughing. Navigating The Gray Divorce: Finding Humor In Unexpected Change To segue into a more serious subject, we hear a lot about the graying of America and the graying generation. There's a rise in what they're calling the graying divorce. I know that you have experienced this situation. I'm hoping you can give some wisdom to our audience about how your divorce came about and how you were able to use your superpower of humor to get you through a rough patch in your life. My divorce was no different from a lot of divorces. Gray divorce is defined as people over 50, certainly how long you've been married but how old you are physically. It is the only demographic where the divorce rate is on the rise. A lot of it is attributed to couples who stayed together and raised their kids and all of a sudden, the kids are gone. They're creating their own lives. The couples look at each other and go, “Now what?” There was a little of that involved in mind. There were other issues as well. I certainly realized at one point that it wasn't going to happen. You could say, “Did you go to therapy or so forth?” We'll get into that later. That's fine. That's a whole nother episode. We're going to talk about it. That's me. It's scary. For people in this age group, when they make the decision to get divorced, they're only thinking about the positives. They're like, “Finally,” probably men especially. They're like, “I supported my family. I did this. I paid the mortgage. I mowed the lawn. I did all this. Now, finally, I can focus on myself.” That's very common and it's natural to think that way. What you don't think is that you have been married for a very long amount of time. For me, that's half my life. I was married for 29 years. When you are in that situation, you become a little bit complacent. I don't use that in a negative term. You're like, “This is what I get. This is what I've gotten used to, my house and this. I come home and I sit in front of the fire. Every Christmas, we do this. Every Thanksgiving, we do this,” and so forth. All of a sudden, that's all gone. You have to reinvent yourself. That's something people don't think about. I don't think it's necessarily a reason not to get divorced if you're not happy, but it's something you should probably plot out. As I talked about in the book, I have not paid bills in 25 years. My ex-wife did that. There were a lot of things. That's what the responsibilities are. That doesn't even cover things like, “How do I meet people now?” I've had the same friends for 25 years, but I don't have those friends anymore. How am I going to meet people? How did you use your humor during your separation and then your divorce? I know you did use your humor to deflect some of these other feelings that cropped up for you. That's natural as a comedian. That's what comedians do. We are always looking for humor in everyday situations. It doesn't necessarily matter if those situations are funny from the start or serious. That's also why people always go to see comedians because they want to laugh at something that may be going on in their lives. Nothing makes me happier when I'm on stage or when I'm delivering some material about a particular topic and I see people in the audience nodding in agreement and looking at one another because I know I've hit on something here. They're like, “He's saying what I've been thinking.” It was natural to do that. Laughing is a way to get through the day. I've heard that it's also really healthy from a physical point of view. Online Dating After Divorce: Keeping A Sense of Humor Sometimes, you have to. You can get as frustrated as you want with lawyers and unfortunately the bad parts of divorce, the lawyers, moving out, and restarting your life. You're going to come into something that's funny and it's how you deal with that. I had always planned to write a funny book about divorce. I  thought that would be a good thing for me to do. I've written a couple of books before, but to write things down and journal my thoughts and maybe some of it will end up in my standup act on stage. As we'll probably talk about, there was a little twist in there that's something different. I want to talk to you a little bit about online dating. How do you do this passage? What are your ways of navigating these ups and downs of Greg Schwem's life? What would you like to know about online dating? Is it about how you do it? How can you keep a sense of humor while you are finding a date? Reading other people's profiles can be very funny. Trying to create your own can be funny. How funny do you want to be when you're creating it? What are your ultimate goals? I put down that I was looking for people my age. To be honest, when I entered online dating, it was more of a fact-finding mission for me. I knew that I was moving to Chicago, the city. I was moving out of the suburbs. Before I committed to that, I wanted to meet women my age who were also in the city to find out if they thought it was a good move. Was there enough to do? Was it more difficult to meet people? How easy is it to get around with transportation? All of that kind of stuff. I was very clear about that. In my profile, I said, “Right now, I'm looking for friends. Would you please be my friend, you over 55 ladies?” That's what it was for the first few months. Once you get a little more comfortable, you think, “I met somebody or I've seen somebody. It's time to see if we can have a new relationship,” which we know from someone who's been married for a long time, that's scary too. Did you ever have any instances where maybe somebody's profile didn't match up to what you met, saw, and interacted with? Everybody leaves something out of their profile. It's not necessarily that it didn't match up. I found a lot of humor in women's profile pictures because that's the first thing you see. I was amazed at how many profile pictures from women involved them holding a glass of wine. I don't know why. What's with the wine? These are all different sizes too. There were some that a fish could swim in the goblet they were holding. I found that to be funny. It's like, “What are you trying to portray with this particular photo?” That became, for me, an icebreaker. When I would reach out to somebody, I would make a comment about their photo, not a mean-spirited one. I remember there was one woman who I was a little interested in. She was on a paddleboard and there was this brilliant red sunset. I said something like, “I noticed your profile photo. Are you almost done recording your album?” It looked like the cover of an album or a CD. She thought that was very funny. There were a couple of women who I did meet who, all of a sudden, dropped a little bit of a bomb on me like, “Now that I've got him in the Starbucks I'm going to casually mention my sobriety or my ex abusive husband,” or something like that. You got to like, “Now you're here. I have to deal with that. Am I ready to?” Therapy And Reinvention: Embracing New Experiences It's not easy. That might send somebody, not you per se, but anybody going through a divorce or something like that into therapy. I know that you mentioned in your book that almost everybody these days does have a therapist, including your therapist. I was wondering if you would reflect back on your experience in getting through this gray divorce. How would you do things differently? How did therapy play into it? How would I do things differently in my marriage? No, in handling the divorce or getting through this. I don't know if I would handle it differently. I handled it very well. If I didn't eventually go talk to an independent third party, I don't think that would've been a good way to handle it. I was always anti-therapy. What brought you over that hurdle? Running out of people to talk to. This is something that another podcast host told me off-air. He had me on his show. He was divorced too. He said, “You realize you're going to have to make new friends because your old friends knew you as a couple. You're no longer a couple.” As much as I could say, “These are good friends of mine. We used to hang out at 4th of July picnics,” sadly, with the exception of a few, that is what happened. You can be mad about it or be upset and you can question whether they were ever your friends in the first place but I don't think that does you any good. Everybody has their own reasons. It might be uncomfortable. It might be that your friends are no longer comfortable talking to you. They question. Getting back to therapy, that's eventually what got me into therapy because you have all these questions like, “Why aren't people reaching out to me? What did I do? Am I suddenly a bad guy?” That's one of the reasons. Were you able to use your humor superpower as a way to overcome any bitterness that you might have? That is very common among people who either lose somebody because of a divorce or a death. Bitterness, that word can go a lot of different ways. I have tried very hard to not bring my personal life and any issues that I might have with my ex into either my act or my book. I don't think that gets you anywhere. I was saying if somebody, not you per se, but anybody out there tuning in feels they've been shortchanged because they were a couple and they're no longer a couple. Their friends are no longer who they think they were or were they ever their friends. Somebody can get over that by maybe finding a sense of humor in everything. It's good but you have to be very careful because your attempts at humor, and this is true on stage too, can be perceived in very different ways. It could come off as sarcasm. It could come off as bitterness. I've been a comedian for 30 years. I know how to read the room better than some people. Some people, when they try to maybe either reconnect with their children after a divorce, might think they're being funny and lighthearted but they might not realize how it sounds to the other person. It's a very slippery slope. What got me through it is I knew that other people were going through it too. If I could make them laugh and find things on stage and get that nodding response from people, then that was probably more therapeutic for me than going to a therapist. A lot of people helped me too. You have to be very careful because your attempts at humor can be perceived in very different ways. I want to say this. One thing I found out about people who are divorced is I realized we're all on the same team. Whether this was on a cruise ship, random, or maybe I met somebody in a restaurant or something, nobody jumped in and said, “Let me tell you about my divorce. Do you think yours is bad? Wait until you hear this.” I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to hear the particulars. I always say it's like your delayed flight. It's different from my delayed flight. I found that people were not doing that. They weren't trying to top you or turn the discussion to them. Everybody who I broached this subject with said, “It sucks but you're going to get through it. You're going to feel better when you come out on the other side.” That was enough for me. Divorce sucks, but you're going to get through it and you're going to feel better when you come out on the other side. The Double C: Finding Laughter In The Face Of Cancer That is a good way of putting it. That's very wise. My next topic is also not particularly uplifting, but I really admire you and everything that you've been through. Another life hurdle was while you were going through the divorce, y ou heard the C word, which is one nobody wants to hear. You experienced this right in the middle of your divorce. Tell our audience. How did your natural sense of humor get through your diagnosis and your treatment? It was the double C. It was Colon Cancer. It certainly sent the book in a different direction. I had planned to write a funny book about divorce, and then this happened. I approached it the way that we've been talking about, which is about trying to laugh at something and trying to find humor. I am a big observer of people. That's what comedians do. People say, “Your business is about jokes.” It's really not. A comedian's business is people, observing, and listening because that's what ends up on stage. We have to see something and then we poke fun at it or make light of it. That's the way our minds are always working. I don't think there's any reason that you can't let your mind work that way even when you are faced with a disease or an unexpected diagnosis where you're not sure where that's going to end up. It came naturally to me. It didn't mean that I was going into every doctor's appointment going, “How's it going, everybody?” I'm not going to be on stage. If I could get the nurses to laugh or the doctors to laugh, to me, that was like, “If you can get them to laugh, they're going to maybe take more of an interest in your case.” I remember when my surgeon came in. He was telling me where my tumor was. It was right where there was a bend in my colon. He was like, “We're going to take out the 90-degree angle and then I'm going to put those two back together.” I go, “How do you take this part and this part and put them together?” He goes, “That's why they pay me the big bucks.” I was like, “I like this guy.” He laughed and I laughed. I knew I was in the right hands. That's great. Humor As A Coping Mechanism: Finding Light In The Darkness That doesn't mean it was a yuk a minute, certainly not with the recovery or anything like that, but I do believe that there is the ability to find humor in any subject. There's so much craziness going on in the world. Do you see humor as a coping mechanism? If so, how can you recommend to our audience how they can cultivate that? Maybe somebody's taking life too seriously. I can only see it as a coping mechanism, and it always has been. This has become a topic of one of my corporate presentations. The title is Humor is Serious Business But We Should Still Be Laughing. I've given that talk to corporations before. What's happening is we're so busy trying to answer the question, “What is funny?” There is no answer to that. We need to start admitting that. Nothing is universally funny. To try and put rules on what is funny and what is not is doing us no good at all.     Comedy clubs are doing very well. They ebb and flow, but they do well when we are in a strange time or a very unknown situation of what's going to happen. Everybody's a little bit anxious as to what the future's going to hold so people look to comedy as escapism. That's why clubs are doing well. I've had a real renaissance in getting on stage. It's not that I ever disliked it, but with all that has happened to me and what's going on in the world, I'm enjoying the chance to make people of all ages laugh probably a lot more. Remember, we're coming out of COVID where there was no laughter because there was no place other than the internet and to sit by yourself with your phone in your room and try to make yourself laugh. We went from that to all of a sudden, “It's okay to go outside now. Let's start laughing again.” Turning Gut Punches Into Punchlines: A Comedian's Journey I'm thinking about your book. You mentioned the title. The subtitle though is what I really like. It's Turning Gut Punches Into Punch Lines: A Comedian's Journey through Cancer, Divorce, and Other Hilarious Stuff. That is quite a mouthful. It's a mouthful but that's the part that makes people laugh, and that's what I wanted. I wanted it because it shows what we've been talking about. You can laugh at subjects that aren't considered universally funny.     That's correct. What was your favorite section of the book? I know I had mine. It's divided into three parts. The first part was the reality of, “I'm getting divorced. I have to reinvent myself. I have to move out. I have to find a therapist.” The second part was about reinvention and trying new things. I tried things more for communication. I went to work for Amazon during the Christmas break. I don't need to work for Amazon. I'm doing okay, but I happened to see an advertisement saying, “We need help for Christmas.” December is usually a month in corporate comedy that is pretty slow. I thought, “I'll try this.” I drove for Uber to try and get material, meet people, and hear their stories. The last part of the book is all about the future. My favorite chapter is the last one because, in the last one, I went on a journey. I wanted to engage particularly with younger people because they're the future. I wanted to know what they thought of things and how they felt about things like marriage, divorce, and therapy. I was talking to people of my own generation for the whole time but I thought, “It would be a good twist to meet younger people because they're going to be faced with these challenges too. Maybe they have ideas that I didn't know about.” I looked at a lot of social media of people who were trying to answer the question of what it is to be happy. There's some funny stuff out there. That's probably my favorite chapter. What's yours? I had a couple. One was entitled Single Rizzable Male. Can you quickly tell some people who might not be in the know about what rizz means? Rizz was the Oxford University Word of the Year. They had the vote. We're doing this in late December 2024. I read about what it was this 2024. They voted on this word. In 2023, the word was rizz. Rizz is a take on charisma. The younger generation, if they can figure out a way to shorten anything and spend less time, which in this case, talking, they're going to do it. Rizz is like an attraction. You give off magnetism. That's where rizzable came in. That is the chapter that deals with online dating, filling up profiles, and the hits and misses of these people I met. I'm glad you liked that one. I did. Also, the one about your trip to Denmark and your discovery of hygge. This is part of the last chapter. It's very popular. It's a word for happiness. I was in Denmark. I was in Copenhagen. I saw a tour on TripAdvisor called The Happiness Tour and Learning About the Power of Hygge. I thought, “That's exactly what  I'm looking for. I want to see that.” There were about 10 of us. Our guide, who was about 38 talked, about hygge. What it involves is being present or being in the moment and listening to who you are with. You could use hygge as a noun or a verb. He said something like, “Why don't we go hygge in the park today? If you do go hygge in the park, you leave your phone at home because if you are on your phone, you are not in the moment. You are not as interested in that person who invited you that you're hygge-ing with.” I found that very fascinating. What was really interesting was when I was in Denmark, I observed there was a school group on a field trip. I was looking at these kids, probably anywhere from 8 to 14. They had no phones, not one. Can you imagine that in this country? No. They were commiserating with one another. They were listening to what was being told to them about whatever it was they were seeing. I found that to be really refreshing. What has gotten me through this is communicating, listening to other people, and hearing their stories no matter what age they are. I'm very intrigued with people. It's people that get you through tough times. It's not your phone. It's not necessarily your therapist. Your therapist can be great at dispensing advice, but that's for an hour. You leave and you've got the rest of the day or the evening to figure out what you're going to do. I have decided that people entertain me and fascinate me and I want to find out about everybody. Any other experiences that came out of writing your book that you didn't expect perhaps? I didn't expect people to be as forthcoming as they were. I've been a solo traveler on business. I eat by myself. You're in a strange city. I've had no problem sitting at bars or brewpubs and ordering, trying to talk to other people, and so forth because that, to me, is more than just sitting there, eating by yourself, and then scrolling your phone every now and then. I was amazed at how forthcoming people were to talk because that is something that COVID took away from us. COVID seems very far away but it will always be there. It will always be because it changed everything. It changed marriages. It changed how people work. It changed how people get educated. It will always be a part of our lives. That's another thing when I drove for Uber. It was amazing how much they would keep going if you got people to start talking. I find that to be very refreshing. I wasn't expecting that. Words Of Wisdom: Embracing Change And Finding New Beginnings You seem like an easy person to talk to and easy for people to open up to, which is nice. That is another superpower. I hope this will air and drop before the end of 2024, but if it doesn't, even for the new year. Any words of wisdom that you can give to anyone who has lost a spouse from their passing away or through divorce in a long-term relationship? Is there anything that they can do as far as keeping their sense of hor and getting through this? I'm willing to give people the same advice that was dished out to me about how it sucks but you're going to get through it. Maybe not for someone who has lost a spouse but certainly for people who are getting divorced, you could sit there, curl up in a ball, and say, “My life will never be the same. I lost my companion of this long.” You can do that but at some point,  you have to pick yourself up and say, “There's something new. What haven't I done? What have I always wanted to try?” That could be something like a cooking class. It could be a support group. I've always said it's never too late to learn a different skill or educate yourself about something. That's what I've tried to do. It's easier said than done. Everybody is going to have to do that at their own pace. It's never too late to learn a different skill or educate yourself about something. When you do those things, you meet people. That's what it's all about, right? Yes. You might meet somebody who's going through the exact same thing as you and you probably up until then thought you were the only person going through this and were very lonely as a result. It doesn't have to be that way. Is there anything else you want to tell us about your book or anything in general? I do hope people purchase the book. It is on Amazon. People who are maybe living in active retirement communities, I've started doing shows in active retirement communities. That demographic loves to laugh and they love to laugh at themselves. Sometimes, we aren't good at laughing at ourselves. When I do shows for maybe an over 55 group, how easy they are at laughing at their health problems, their sex lives, their lack of sex lives, and everything like that. You might as well laugh at getting old because it's going to happen. It's a gift. You might as well find something like that to laugh at. I'd be more than happy to come to any place that you think needs some laughter. If somebody wants to contact you, what's the best way? My website. It's GregSchwem.com. Tell me about your event and I would be more than happy to come and entertain you. That sounds great. Thank you so much. This has been so much fun. For all our readers, please join the show by going to www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com and share with your friends or whoever you think will enjoy the episode. This one I know you're going to share because it was great. Thank you very much. Stay connected and curious.   Important Links Greg Schwem Greg Schwem on LinkedIn Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines

  Ever wondered how to navigate life's challenges with a smile? Join Gail Zugerman in a hilarious and insightful conversation with Greg Schwem, a well-respected corporate comedian and cruise ship entertainer who has turned life's gut punches into punchlines. Discover how Greg's superpower - humor - helped him navigate a gray divorce and a cancer diagnosis, all while keeping his audience laughing. Plus, get ready for some witty insights on online dating, the importance of human connection, and the power of laughter in the face of adversity. Greg has recently written a book about his personal life called, "Turning Gut Punches Into Punchlines".  He is on SIRIUS Radio and Comedy Central and has shared the stage with Jay Leno, Celine Dion, and Keith Urban! --- Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   The Power Of Humor: Navigating Life's Ups And Downs With Greg Schwem How To Use Humor To Get Through Life's Curve Balls Welcome to the show. This is a show that provides a platform for older people who are growing older in a positive and productive way to come on stage and dispense their wisdom. You can find out more about our show by going to www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com. We have a very special guest for the holidays from the start of the new year who happens to be a comedian from Chicago. He is navigating the ups and downs of life by utilizing his superpower as a comedian and using his great sense of humor. His name is Greg Schwem. He spends much of his professional time on stage and onboard cruise ships. The Chicago Tribune has proclaimed him as “The King of the Hill” in the growing world of corporate comedy. He's been on Sirius Radio and Comedy Central and has shared the stage with the likes of Celine Dion, Jay Leno, and Keith Urban. We're going to talk to Greg about how changes later in life don't necessarily have to be as scary as you might think if you find the humor in difficult, challenging, and unfamiliar situations. Greg has also written a very funny book based on his own personal life called Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines. There's a lot to talk about with Greg so let's get going.     Welcome to the show, Greg. Thank you for having me. Superpowers, I love that. I don't think I've ever been introduced as having superpowers. That's a lot of pressure. From Journalist To Comedian: Greg Schwem's Unlikely Path To Success Why don't we begin by having you tell our audience a bit about how you got started as a corporate speaker which the Huffington Post has called you “Your boss's favorite comedian”? It's weird. I quit my job in journalism. I was a newspaper and a TV reporter in West Palm Beach, Florida. I did that for the first five years out of college. I was always a comedian though. I always did it as a hobby. I started doing it in high school. I finally decided after five years in journalism, which doesn't sound like a lot but it is a lot. It takes a toll on you, particularly with the kind of stories that I was covering which were certainly not funny. They were very depressing. I told a lot of morbid stories. I would do that during the day and then I would go to comedy clubs at night and make people laugh. I eventually decided I liked doing that better so I moved back to Chicago. I became a club comedian, the guy who goes around to clubs around the country and makes people laugh. Little by little, I started getting approached because of the type of material that I was doing in my standup act. I was doing material about computers, business, meetings, and that kind of stuff. I would have people come up to me afterward and invite me down to their Christmas party, their golf outing, or little stuff like that. That snowballed. The more shows that I did for business groups, the more I got noticed by people who booked those kinds of events on a much larger scale. I was getting approached by corporate speakers bureaus, corporate booking agents, and meeting planners. It is a word of mouth marketing,

  Pilates is the path forward for many people who have been active and are experiencing back and shoulder issues. Shane Rhoads of Movement Med talks to us about his journey and how he became interested in the field of Pilates. This interest fueled his desire to start a business encompassing Pilates and other forms of self-care that help people to "grow older with gusto!" Tune in as he also explores the importance of finding qualified instructors to maximize the benefits of Pilates, especially if you are already a senior. --- Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   The Beauty Of Pilates With Shane K. Rhoads Welcome to Growing Older with Gusto. We have another exciting guest who's growing older with Gusto and helping others to do that too. My personal experience as I'm growing older is the need for Pilates to keep my back in tip-top shape so I can enjoy doing some of the activities I love, like biking, swimming, and playing golf. Our guest is Shane Keith Rhoads. He's a professional trainer who turned his background in education into a Pilates, rehab, and medical exercise studio and a business, which he calls Med Movement. The business that he started in 2017 is unique in that he has created an environment for people to experience Pilates and other types of rehab exercises. He has a lot to share about his evolution, so let's bring him on. Welcome to the show, Shane. Thanks for having me. Getting Into Pilates My pleasure. In talking to you, I know you started in a way that is probably a little bit more unconventional than somebody starting a Pilates studio. Could you talk about how you got into the business of integrating body and mind? I'll go backward to tell you where the first light-up moment is. I've been in fitness for probably over 30 years. I started when I was a sophomore in college at Goodyear Fitness Center and Corporate Fitness. My major was Exercise Physiology and then Sports Medicine, working with athletes. I was an athlete at the time, so I was enamored with working with athletes. In grad school, I was a strength and conditioning coach for college sports teams and an athletic trainer, the guys who take care of injuries and tape ankles.     I had to put a lot of hours in and I had very limited time. I asked them, “Can I count my weight room strength coach hours as sports medicine hours?” They're like, “No, but if you become the last-phase rehab guy in the weight room, we'll count those hours.” I fell in love with working with people in that last transition from injury to full health again. That kept me still in sports. I went into professional baseball after that and had a private business after that. I also did some other things. At some point, I remember reading an article about Pilates. What year was that, would you say? 1989, I was in school. The reason I asked is that I'm hooked on Pilates. I know from talking to people that Pilates has evolved from when Joseph Pilates introduced it to the world, from being classical and helping dancers to being part of a rehab program. I was curious. 1996, 1997, I was looking for some new avenue and I came across an article. As I was saying, Pilates was starting to be in the public eye, but more from celebrities doing it, and it was on TV. I saw this article on rehabilitation in the Pilates setting, Brent Anderson and Polestar Pilates. It clicked. It's like this system and equipment can allow me to do almost everything with someone. It's a long-term longevity-type exercise routine. It's non-impactful. It works on all the mobility and stability you need, and there's a lot of variety. It's something you can do for a lifetime. That appealed to me because I can help rehab people, or help them with their medical conditions and get fit. I can keep doing it until they're 100 years old. We have a client here who's 96. When did that client start doing Pilates? I never asked her. She works with one of the other instructors. It appealed to me in that way.

  Pilates is the path forward for many people who have been active and are experiencing back and shoulder issues. Shane Rhoads of Movement Med talks to us about his journey and how he became interested in the field of Pilates. This interest fueled his desire to start a business encompassing Pilates and other forms of self-care that help people to “grow older with gusto!” Tune in as he also explores the importance of finding qualified instructors to maximize the benefits of Pilates, especially if you are already a senior. — Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   The Beauty Of Pilates With Shane K. Rhoads Welcome to Growing Older with Gusto. We have another exciting guest who's growing older with Gusto and helping others to do that too. My personal experience as I'm growing older is the need for Pilates to keep my back in tip-top shape so I can enjoy doing some of the activities I love, like biking, swimming, and playing golf. Our guest is Shane Keith Rhoads. He's a professional trainer who turned his background in education into a Pilates, rehab, and medical exercise studio and a business, which he calls Med Movement. The business that he started in 2017 is unique in that he has created an environment for people to experience Pilates and other types of rehab exercises. He has a lot to share about his evolution, so let's bring him on. Welcome to the show, Shane. Thanks for having me. Getting Into Pilates My pleasure. In talking to you, I know you started in a way that is probably a little bit more unconventional than somebody starting a Pilates studio. Could you talk about how you got into the business of integrating body and mind? I'll go backward to tell you where the first light-up moment is. I've been in fitness for probably over 30 years. I started when I was a sophomore in college at Goodyear Fitness Center and Corporate Fitness. My major was Exercise Physiology and then Sports Medicine, working with athletes. I was an athlete at the time, so I was enamored with working with athletes. In grad school, I was a strength and conditioning coach for college sports teams and an athletic trainer, the guys who take care of injuries and tape ankles.     I had to put a lot of hours in and I had very limited time. I asked them, “Can I count my weight room strength coach hours as sports medicine hours?” They're like, “No, but if you become the last-phase rehab guy in the weight room, we'll count those hours.” I fell in love with working with people in that last transition from injury to full health again. That kept me still in sports. I went into professional baseball after that and had a private business after that. I also did some other things. At some point, I remember reading an article about Pilates. What year was that, would you say? 1989, I was in school. The reason I asked is that I'm hooked on Pilates. I know from talking to people that Pilates has evolved from when Joseph Pilates introduced it to the world, from being classical and helping dancers to being part of a rehab program. I was curious. 1996, 1997, I was looking for some new avenue and I came across an article. As I was saying, Pilates was starting to be in the public eye, but more from celebrities doing it, and it was on TV. I saw this article on rehabilitation in the Pilates setting, Brent Anderson and Polestar Pilates. It clicked. It's like this system and equipment can allow me to do almost everything with someone. It's a long-term longevity-type exercise routine. It's non-impactful. It works on all the mobility and stability you need, and there's a lot of variety. It's something you can do for a lifetime. That appealed to me because I can help rehab people, or help them with their medical conditions and get fit. I can keep doing it until they're 100 years old. We have a client here who's 96. When did that client start doing Pilates? I never asked her. She works with one of the other instructors. It appealed to me in that way. I decided to go full into Pilates and got trained, and I worked at a number of Pilates studios over the years until I started my own business, which you know now as Movement Med. Body And Mind You've talked to me a little bit in our conversations about the integration of people trying to take care of their bodies but also their minds. Can you talk to us a little bit about that? One of the appealing parts of the Pilates environment is there's a focus on mindfulness and breathwork while you're learning to move more efficiently and while you're either strengthening the right muscles or trying to get more mobile. Other forms like yoga do the same thing, but putting it all together is more appealing and more effective. I've been a longtime fan of yoga and I started Pilates a few years back, and it is very different. The breathing is very different because you're breathing when you're doing the exercises in Pilates, whereas in yoga, usually, you start out with the breathing exercises and then proceed to do the physical part of yoga.     There are a number of things, but the breathwork will help you learn to calm yourself while you're stressing yourself if that makes sense. Breathwork will help you learn to calm yourself while stressing yourself. It does. It's a challenge. You learn properly, so part of the appeal for it is you're learning how to move more efficiently besides getting stronger. It takes slowing down in your mind to help your brain pick up that, like when you're learning a dance routine. That's interesting. There are a lot of health benefits to good breathwork as well. Joe Pilates, from the very beginning, one of his first core principles was breath. His statement was that it's the first and last act of life, so you better get it right. Classic To Rehab I like that. It's a good quote. What about this movement from classic to more rehab? When did that take place? Was that in the past 5 to 10 years? It's longer than that. I don't know if your audience is familiar with Joe. I can tell a little quick story about Joe. That'd be great. Joe Pilates was a sickly child with asthma. He became interested in physical culture or exercise at the time to improve himself. He did run away with the circus. At one point, he was in England. This was right when the war broke out. In 1914, he was teaching self-defense to Scotland Yard detectives and went to an internment camp on the Isle of Man. While he was in the internment camp, he decided to teach exercise to all the other prisoners of war, and then he started working in the hospital to help patients,  Whether it's true or not, that's where he got the idea of using the springs because he would use the springs to attach to their limbs and help them start moving sooner, which was way ahead of its time. We used to cast people and leave them there. He came out after the war and went back to Germany where he continued to cultivate his perfect mat routine. Classical Pilates is very familiar with the Joe Pilates mat routine, which is a full-encompassing routine that covers your whole body. It teaches you fitness, wellness, mobility, and strength. All those exercises in a sequence are supposed to be the perfect routine. The machines, which he got the initial idea for from his time in the camp, were supposed to help you do the mat routine better. Not to get off our topic, the machines are where the rehab professionals started playing around with because I always tell people that no one can come through my door without having a positive movement experience. We have spinal cord-injured clients from 95-year-old clients to healthy people. You can use this environment or these machines to set up situations where you can have success. You can't always have that on a floor routine at first. It made a lot of sense. That happened to me because I started out on the floor. Depending on who was teaching, I either liked it or didn't like it. I had a love-hate relationship with mat Pilates. When I got onto the machines, I fell in love with Pilates. In the past year or so, I've used it as a rehab form of exercise. It helped you have success in your body. Sometimes when you're a little challenged on something, you can't have that positive experience. It's harder to like. The right instructor is going to bring you along with the machines to get you to a point where you can do those other things and it feels good.     Benefits Of Pilates Tell our audience a little bit about why Pilates is the best. To me, it's a good long-term health approach as we grow older with gusto. It's low impact. That's first and foremost. It's a focus on all the elements of health, strength, mobility, flexibility, mindfulness, and breathwork that we spoke of. There's probably not a large cardiovascular element, but I always tell people that what we do here is going to enable you to do what you do out there more efficiently and without pain. You can take up a dance class. It helps you add that into your life if that makes sense. It does. I know that I've experienced building up the heat when I'm doing Pilates. What is that all about? It's not cardiovascular. Sometimes you focus hard. It makes everything to start working harder. Growing Old With Fitness There's so much information out there on how to grow older both physically and mentally these days. How do you recommend to our audience to navigate the fitness world while growing older? That's a big challenge for some people because if you understand social media and algorithms, you can go down the wrong algorithm and get fed all kinds of twenty-year-olds doing advanced exercises that you should not even be trying. There are organizations out there. First and foremost, let me back up. Find someone who's able to help you, who has experience with either working with seniors or working with medical conditions in exercise. Your doctor is a good start, but I'm talking about the day-to-day people to help you. Find someone who can help you get the full experience of Pilates. Your doctor is a good start, but also check those people whom you meet every day. It's not always financially feasible to work one-on-one with someone. Find the right classes and seek out the right types of studios that are more conducive to your age and goals. There are organizations though. You can look up online. There's the Healthy Aging Association, the International Active Aging Association, the Medical Fitness Association, and the Medical Exercise Association. By putting in the right keywords, you can find good information online for senior exercise or exercise with medical conditions, which is another aspect of what we're talking about. Movement Med I wish there was another word for seniors. I haven't thought of one yet. If you do, let me know. What else would you like to talk about? I know that there are new things in store for Movement Med. Do you want to talk a little bit about that? What's next for you? At Movement Med, we always talk about how we're trying to help as many people as we can. We first started out with more of a one-on-one personal training type model. This year, we're launching more small group specialty classes geared towards conditions. We have a Steady Steps program for balance. We have always had a long-time chronic back program that I've run, but we're going to do it in a small 3- or 4-person format. We're trying to add some online libraries to those so people can be helped at home. We have a Parkinson's program too. What are you doing for Parkinson's? We're going to start in the fall with a small group class. For years, we've been trying for grants for it, but we're going to launch it anyway. We've made a lot of connections in that community. One of my instructors is diving deep into the Parkinson's world, and that's going to be her specialty. There'll be 3 to 6 people, a small group, and a sequence of education and exercise over time. Will you be doing boxing with the Parkinson's? It's more of the strength, mobility, and balance work that complements. Boxing is popular for Parkinson's. That's what I heard, that's why I asked. That's exciting. Do you offer massages? Yeah, massage, myofascial work, we have a Rolfer as well here at the studio. We did add that this year. Tell us about that. Tell us why that's an important complement to everything else that you're offering. Sometimes you run into problems you can't solve and some of your aches and pains with movement and exercise. Although as movement professionals, we like our yoga and Pilates, I would like to think so, sometimes it's nice to have someone professional with educated hands to help you relieve tension patterns in fascia or muscle tissue. That's going to help complement what we're trying to do within the studio. Sometimes, you run into aches and pains in your body that you cannot simply solve with movement and exercise. In such cases, it is never a bad thing to seek professional help. Out of all the types of massage therapies that you offer, what would you say is probably the best for somebody who has severe spinal stenosis? All three of the people here who do massage are clinically trained. They've worked in clinical environments. That's first and foremost. You're looking for someone who can understand what you're dealing with, work away from the area of pain, and address upstream and downstream, where those tension patterns are starting. Sometimes with stuff like stenosis or disc herniations, you still have to move. If you become too sedentary, it deteriorates as well. How do we get your body able to manage that spine and move more efficiently to cause less stress to it? Part of that's being stronger in the right areas, and mobile in the right areas. Part of that is you have these tension patterns in your fascial tissue or muscle that someone like the massage therapist can help relieve, without regressing or spreading symptoms. Achieving Better Results That's interesting. Shane, is there anything else that we haven't touched on that you might want to add to the conversation? How long have you been doing Pilates? Maybe this is my second year full-time. I'm trying to make it consistent. I did do mat Pilates for a while off and on, but it was something I didn't like, particularly if I was taking it in a group class format. I had to like the teacher to do it. It was a love-hate relationship with mat Pilates. I've been doing it regularly for probably two years. Pilates is growing still. It's been growing for a long time, but it's taken on a lot of different, as far as fitness business aspect, a little of different avenues. You have places online where we're working a lot of one-on-one and trying to help treat conditions or improve your posture and long-term health. You have big group places that are more about the experience of harder exercise and loud music. That's the hardest thing for everyone to navigate when they hear Pilates, especially when a doctor would say, “Go do Pilates for your back,” and you walk into the wrong place.  You're right. I know somebody who said, “I'm having back surgery because of Pilates.” I'm like, “What? Are you kidding me?” As with anything, you're hiring the right professionals. With the mat work, the biggest challenge was it was very lucrative for studios to start doing group classes on machines. Except for the pure classical studios, I'm sure they do phenomenal mat stuff, the good instructors wanted to stay on the machines. I had a person who learned from me years ago when I was in San Diego, and all she wanted to do was mat. She became the greatest mat teacher ever. There are people out there who are like that. They are purists. That's more about getting their background if you're going to go that route. It's beautiful work, the mat work. You have to have the right person to bring you along if it's too challenging for your body at first. Is there anything like a step-by-step program where you do mat and then you progress to the machines, or you do them together? How does that work in the world of Pilates? I see it here all the time with my instructors. I see them doing mat work and then also using the machine for areas that you may not be as good or strong to help complement that leg. I think originally, Joe intended the machines to help prepare you for doing this perfect mat routine. That's probably the best way to do that. You can still find that enamored mat Pilates teacher who's going to take their time and teach you how to do a perfect mat routine. It's the same thing in yoga. You come across the same thing in yoga. That is very true. There's nothing like a committed teacher who's excellent at what they do. If you're working with someone, you have to like their personality and their approach. Episode Wrap-up This has been great and interesting. How can our audience find their way to Movement Med? MovementMEDChicago.com is the best way. On Instagram, we're @MovementMED, and MovementMEDChicago on Facebook. We're on Instagram and our website. I don't do too much on Facebook. I understand. Thanks for being on the show. This has been interesting. I've learned a lot too, and I'm sure my audience will too. Thank you for being on the show. To our audience, remember to stay curious and stay connected. Drop me a comment if you'd like to. You can find us on any podcast platform and our YouTube channel, Growing Older with Gusto. Thanks, Shane. Have a great day. Bye.   Important Links MovementMedChicago.com www.Instagram.com/movementmedchicago www.Facebook.com/MovementMedChicago

The Renaissance was a time of boundless curiosity and exploration, and nowhere is this spirit more alive today than in the world of hospitality, where a new breed of Renaissance Man is redefining the guest experience. In this episode, Gail Zugerman interviews Joao Rodrigues, a true modern Renaissance Man. Buckle up as we soar through his diverse passions, from piloting airplanes for TAP Airlines to building the innovative Silent Living hospitality experience. He's also the visionary behind Herdade No Tempo, a regenerative farm where he's cultivating a future focused on sustainability. Tune in and discover how Joao is redefining success and paving the way for a brighter future. -- Watch the episode here https://youtu.be/qhM-IedAEmk Listen to the episode here Renaissance Man: A Journey Of Passion, Purpose, And Preservation With Joao Rodrigues Introduction How does being an airline pilot, a hospitality creator, and a regenerative farm owner, all connect to the show? We will find out with our guests. I'm Gail Zurgerman, host of the show which is dedicated to showcasing the benefits of growing older in a positive and productive way. Our guest is Joao Rodrigues and he is what I consider a Renaissance man. He's a pilot at TAP Airlines, a national Portugal airline. He is the Founder of Silent Living hospitality projects in Portugal and elsewhere. He's also the Founder of a regenerative farm called Herdade No Tempo, where he is building a home community. Aside from all this, he's a strong family man with five children and a wife and is passionate about life. We have so many things to talk with him about, so let's dive in. --- Welcome to the show, Joao. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here with you. Thank you. You're involved in so many projects. I wanted you to begin by having you tell our readers a little bit about yourself. What's been driving you the past few years? I'm Joao. I'm in my 50s years old. I see myself essentially as a father of five kids and as a husband. I'm very person-orientated. My family is on top of everything. Everything that I do has a purpose which is looking and giving good examples to my family and to my kids, especially to future generations as well. I started off doing a degree in management and economics when I finished school. After that, I wanted to become a pilot because I was passionate about flying. My father was a Captain in TAP for several years. I thought there was this connection with aircrafts, the machines, flying, and the world, and knowing lots of different cultures and different countries around the world. I then did my training up in Prestwick in Scotland, where it took me a year and a half roughly to get my airline pilot license then I joined TAP. I've been in TAP for many years. It's been years since I've been a captain. First of all, I was a captain on short-haul European flights. Since the last few years, I've been flying long haul, which means that most of the routes of TAP fly to Brazil. Probably to something like ten different destinations in Brazil. We fly to Africa, Angola, Mozambique, and Mexico as well as Cancun. We fly to the States to five different destinations. We fly to the States where I will be able to meet when I come to Chicago. What is your favorite place to fly to? To be honest, what I like is to have a different roster, which means that you don't always fly to the same places, which ends up being quite good. Generally, I have two flights to Brazil, one to Africa and one to the States every month. That's roughly my roster, which is great because I get to catch up with lots of friends that I have all over. Also get to understand different cultures, foods, and music. For me, all of that is nice and important. We also have something which is basically in the Northern hemisphere when it's winter time, it's summertime in the Southern hemisphere, which is very nice because you end up always catching a little bit of sun. Vitamin D.

The Renaissance was a time of boundless curiosity and exploration, and nowhere is this spirit more alive today than in the world of hospitality, where a new breed of Renaissance Man is redefining the guest experience. In this episode, Gail Zugerman interviews Joao Rodrigues, a true modern Renaissance Man. Buckle up as we soar through his diverse passions, from piloting airplanes for TAP Airlines to building the innovative Silent Living hospitality experience. He's also the visionary behind Herdade No Tempo, a regenerative farm where he's cultivating a future focused on sustainability. Tune in and discover how Joao is redefining success and paving the way for a brighter future. — Watch the episode here https://youtu.be/qhM-IedAEmk Listen to the episode here Renaissance Man: A Journey Of Passion, Purpose, And Preservation With Joao Rodrigues Introduction How does being an airline pilot, a hospitality creator, and a regenerative farm owner, all connect to the show? We will find out with our guests. I'm Gail Zugerman, host of the show which is dedicated to showcasing the benefits of growing older in a positive and productive way. Our guest is Joao Rodrigues and he is what I consider a Renaissance man. He's a pilot at TAP Airlines, a national Portugal airline. He is the Founder of Silent Living hospitality projects in Portugal and elsewhere. He's also the Founder of a regenerative farm called Herdade No Tempo, where he is building a home community. Aside from all this, he's a strong family man with five children and a wife and is passionate about life. We have so many things to talk with him about, so let's dive in. — Welcome to the show, Joao. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here with you. Thank you. You're involved in so many projects. I wanted you to begin by having you tell our readers a little bit about yourself. What's been driving you the past few years? I'm Joao. I'm in my 50s years old. I see myself essentially as a father of five kids and as a husband. I'm very person-orientated. My family is on top of everything. Everything that I do has a purpose which is looking and giving good examples to my family and to my kids, especially to future generations as well. I started off doing a degree in management and economics when I finished school. After that, I wanted to become a pilot because I was passionate about flying. My father was a Captain in TAP for several years. I thought there was this connection with aircrafts, the machines, flying, and the world, and knowing lots of different cultures and different countries around the world. I then did my training up in Prestwick in Scotland, where it took me a year and a half roughly to get my airline pilot license then I joined TAP. I've been in TAP for many years. It's been years since I've been a captain. First of all, I was a captain on short-haul European flights. Since the last few years, I've been flying long haul, which means that most of the routes of TAP fly to Brazil. Probably to something like ten different destinations in Brazil. We fly to Africa, Angola, Mozambique, and Mexico as well as Cancun. We fly to the States to five different destinations. We fly to the States where I will be able to meet when I come to Chicago. What is your favorite place to fly to? To be honest, what I like is to have a different roster, which means that you don't always fly to the same places, which ends up being quite good. Generally, I have two flights to Brazil, one to Africa and one to the States every month. That's roughly my roster, which is great because I get to catch up with lots of friends that I have all over. Also get to understand different cultures, foods, and music. For me, all of that is nice and important. We also have something which is basically in the Northern hemisphere when it's winter time, it's summertime in the Southern hemisphere, which is very nice because you end up always catching a little bit of sun. Vitamin D. You're getting your vitamin D.  After joining TAP, which is if you ask me, “Joao, in which one do you perceive yourself as? Do you perceive yourself as a pilot or as founder of Silent Living or regenerative agriculture?” I was going to ask you. How did you end up pivoting into the hospitality industry? How did that come about? What drew you to that? The reason was by accident. Which means that when I sold the company that I had which was doing people-centered innovation. A lot based on anthropology and sociology. I sold my 50% of that company. I sold because I had been working very hard during the last few years. I thought I had something to give back to my family. I decided to build this weekend house in Comporta. In this beautiful, nice area with pristine beaches and beautiful waters as well. It's one hour South of Lisbon. Based on that, I built the house. A few years after, the house was finished because I put in a lot of everything that I do. I put a lot of effort into it and I like it. It's all about the details and making everything work smoothly. The house was then chosen to represent Portugal at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. It made something like ten covers of magazines around the world like Elle Decor, in Italy like AD Spain, and Maisons Cote Sud. Suddenly, it was all over. Wallpaper as well. I decided, “We were not using the house that much. Let's start renting the house,” because we were already borrowing the house to lots of friends and family. That's how Silent Living started. Silent Living Tell us a little bit about Silent Living. Tell us about the whole concept. Silent Living is a small hospitality group in which we have several houses located in different areas of Portugal. It's the idea that each of these houses should represent a local way of living in that area. For example, Casas na Areia, the first project we did. It's a house that should represent how people live on the beach and close to the coast. It's a beach house. We then have Cabanas No Rio that represent. These are small cabins that basically represent how people live close to the river and close to a story of the big river. We have the house in the farm which is Casa No Tempo that should also try to represent how people live in a farm in the Alentejo region. We have Santa Clara that you were able to visit in Lisbon, which is basically also a small hotel with six suites. In which, it was an old palace. We tried to show how people used to live many years ago. Maybe 100 or 200 years ago inside one of these palaces. I tell my audience, since I have been fortunate enough to have been there. It is exquisite and the gardens are amazing. Thank you. We have the last house that we also joined to the collection is Casa Na Terra, which is a house on a lake. In each of these houses, we build with local materials. We only have local people working there. We only use local products for breakfast and the other meals as well. There is always this idea of connecting all of these projects to the locality, to the place itself, with the hopeful idea of grounding people and giving them a moment for themselves as well. How did you come up with that name? I'm curious. One day, as we started with each of the projects, each of them had their own name. We suddenly decided we needed to have an umbrella name that could basically look after all the projects and that could give a sense of unity to all of this. To do this, what we did was, better than ourselves giving us a name, is why don't we ask our dear guests that stayed with us? Why don't we ask them for their contribution to find out what could be our name? During months in all the houses, the teams were trained. They wouldn't ask anything to the guests but they would collect the words that guests would say when they first enter the spaces. People would say, “It's about the simplicity of the architecture. It's about nature.” A lot of people say, “The sense of home and family.” A lot of people would talk about the silence, “It's about the silence of the architecture and the space. The way we look after our guests.” Silence was one of the words which was more frequently said. We thought that Silent Living could fit very well as the brand for our hospitality group. Hospitality And Aging That's a wonderful way to come up with a name and a branding, so to speak. That's a fascinating story. How is being in this hospitality or hotel business added to your life and the whole process of growing older? As I mentioned to you before, I'm very person-oriented. I'm looking after others. It's one of the best things that we can do in the world. In Silent Living, what we mainly do is look after other people when they stay with us. We generally do it in a very simple and an easy way in which we look after our guests as longtime friends. We do everything to make their experience as special as possible. By saying this, one of the important things for us is also that we get to inspire our guests during their stay. When I say inspire, it could be either through the architecture, the generosity of our service, or through the beauty of the houses itself or the interiors. All of these things should touch people during their stay and hopefully, promote some changes in their future lives. It's the idea of leaving a little seat. This I think answers your question. Where do these people come from most of them? How do they learn about Silent Living? I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly. My idea is that most of these people know the houses and the Silent Living through lots of articles that have been published in the press. As well as our online website and our Instagram accounts. A lot of people that stay here mentioned they were recommended by a friend. The word of mouth is on the top of the list. Farm Journey Let's talk now about your involvement with your farm. How did it all start? How did it come about? What are you doing? What is it all about? It's so incredibly interesting. The idea of the farm is an extension of Silent Living. The project of the farm is inside the hospitality group of Silent Living. Although, as I say, Silent Living is a tree. The farm is a huge trench. It's quite an important part. Why? It's because it was also the idea. During COVID, I flew very little. I had the time and the space of mind to focus and to try and understand in 1,000 acres how one could inspire other people to basically look after the planet. Has anyone in your family ever been into farming? Did they introduce you to it? It was quite a big leap from piloting and then hospitality. I would think you'd be so busy. Although, in COVID, I understand. Things shut down. If I try to investigate a little bit back in my family, if someone did it seriously, it was probably my great-grandparents. Both of my grandparents and my parents love it. They like it but they were never into it. The farm was rented out during a period of many years. Going back to this ideal year that I was telling you a minute ago, it's all about how men, the animals and nature live in a perfect symbiosis. At the same time, not only produce very nutritious food and very healthy food but also look after the planet. When I say look after the planet, I'm speaking about retaining carbon in the soil. I speak about increasing the capacity of the soil to retain water and lowering the temperatures. All of this is extremely important nowadays. We do this based on something called holistic management. There is a gentleman in the US called Allan Savory, who's basically our mentor. He's been studying desertification in the big savannahs in Africa. He has found basically a way which is copying what the wild animals are doing in the big savannahs in Africa because they're afraid of the predators. They keep all together and they keep moving as a herd. It's this movement as a herd that basically has proved itself to be the best way to regenerate the soil, to build a very extreme resilient soil. It's the birth for very nutritious food and nutritious trees. We also have an agroforest in our farm of more or less 2.5 acres where we grow all our vegetables, lots of fruits and where we work a lot with the idea of the symbiosis between the plants. We plant some of the trees very close to each other because they end up helping and protecting each other. Either from bugs or too much sun or shortage of water. It's zero chemicals. It's much more than organic or any of that. Basically, it's this idea on the farm. Whoever comes to visit us will be able to learn about how we do this process. We want to share it with the world. We want to be a demonstrative hub of how to do all of this. Not only holistic management but also the growing of very nutritious food in our agroforest. Other people can go to their countries inspired by this idea and copy a lot of this and do it. We all together, hopefully, will be able to save the planet. That's the idea. What water do you use for both your animals and your land? How do you get it implemented into the farm? We have several lakes on the farm. It's through these lakes that we basically retain the water during the winter time that we can then use it during the summertime. The cows are not allowed to go close to these lakes. We protect the integrity of the water. We also have something like four boreholes from where we take the water. We have it in 22,000-litre deposits of containers where we then spread the water through all the farms for all the cattle so that they have fresh water in all of these several places. You told me that you are also building a community on the farm, near the farm or in that area? Can you talk a little bit about it, please? The idea of the community is basically interesting people around this idea of saving the planet. It's a study of the United Nations. I don't know if you're aware but it says, “In the next 60 years, there won't be enough food for everyone on the planet.” There will be a huge shortage of food. At the same time, we also have lots of news coming out telling us a little bit about the problem that we are encountering with climate change. It's the idea of creating a community around these problems to solve this. The idea is that we are working on it. There are lots of people that have been visiting Silent Living houses during the years and have asked me as well, “We would love to have a house here in Portugal. Can you help us look for a lot? Can you help us build a house? You have such a good taste. You could help me.” It's so hard to do that. I decided that inside the farm because we have lots of land, so inside the farm, we could build another 10 or 15 houses spread around in the farm. We basically integrate the houses with nature because the houses are designed around rocks, trees, and lakes. What are they made out of, the homes themselves? The homes are made out of something called poor concrete, which is a concrete mixed with soil from the farm like a terracotta. It has the resistance of concrete but then it has the beauty of the soil in the walls as well. It's extremely efficient regarding temperature-wise. Most in the winter and in the summer. It's this idea that once you're going to sell these houses to these future owners, which are basically our partners in the farm as well. We will run the whole house as a hospitality project. Whenever the owners are not there, what we do is we cater the houses, clean the houses, maintain the houses, and we run the houses. The owners that have the houses now have a revenue on their investment. Not only are they connecting themselves to this beautiful project of saving the planet but at the same time, they're investing in a beautiful property as well as a beautiful home. They're getting a return on their investment, which is pretty fair. What would you say to any individual who's not fortunate enough perhaps to have a home on your farm? What can an individual do to help with climate change? One of the very important things is try to find out where your food comes from. Try to buy local, from local producers, in which at least you know it's organic. That's the least you should accept because not only by doing this, you're looking after your health. At the same time, you will be looking after the planet and the future of all of us, which is very important. Focus on buying local produce whenever possible. This way, you're more likely to get organic options. It's the least you should accept for your health. But the benefits go beyond you! You'll also be supporting the planet and the future of us all, which is incredibly important. There is a book called Food by an American writer called Mark Hyman, in which he talks about the problems of food in the US. I recommend it if someone can get the book. It's easy to buy online or at the bookstore and try to learn a little bit of how to eat more healthily. It starts a lot by, if you are not able to grow your own vegetables, then buy your neighbor's vegetables as close as possible. Tell our readers a little bit about your boutique hotel and how the food from the farm comes over and what you do in your special dinners that you have because they are special. We don't call Santa Clara a hotel. I would rather call it a home. It's a palace almost 300 years old. We recovered it years ago and we ended up doing this. On the ground floor, it has a beautiful lobby and an entrance. We have our office of the Silent Living then we have a long table where we accommodate fourteen people and where the restaurant goes on called Ceia. Ceia means supper. I will come back to that in a moment. On the first and second floor, we have the six suites. On the last floor, we have our family home. We have a little garden at the back as well to welcome our guests. Going back to the concept of Ceia. What we wanted with Ceia is basically showcase the work that we are doing at the farm. Ceia is a fine dining restaurant in which the meal starts around half past seven. People get to have a drink before dinner. Once they get seated, the dinner takes about 2 or 3 hours. It's eight moments with beautiful, very nice food, very nutritious, and very healthy food that we collect from the farm twice a week that our team here transforms. Each of these moments should showcase one of the issues that we are overcoming in the farm. It could be carbon, the symbiosis, photosynthesis, or soil. It focuses on all of this and it tries to explain how we do it on the farm. It's much more than just a beautiful meal with very nice ingredients with a nice atmosphere. You get to know other people during the dinners as well because it's a long table. It's a communal table, shared. At the same time, it's not that you learn but at least you get aware of lots of things that are happening to our planet and how to solve some of them. Finding Purpose Through Diverse Interests It's a wonderful experience for anybody traveling to Lisbon. I highly recommend it. How do all your interests coincide to give you a greater sense of purpose which you artfully had created for yourself? How would you recommend or if you were giving advice to someone looking to expand their horizons a bit as they go older? Any advice? I feel it myself as I grow older. One of the things which is limited in our life is time. As time passes by, the more we use, the less we have to be able to use. One of the very important things that we all love to do is use this time very well, which means try. When we're with someone, forget about the phone and any of the other things that are happening and focus on that person and concentrate on that moment. Live the moment more than being worried with what happened or in the past or worrying about things in the future. It's extremely important to live the moment. It's all about that. It's the secret life. I believe it's the secret of living in the moment. Once that moment is past, you look back and you're okay with yourself because you're saying, “No, I've lived that moment the best I could. There's nothing else we can do.” That's all we can ask of ourselves. That's right. I always tell this to my children, “When you do a task, do it extremely well. Focus on that task. Forget about everything else. Don't be worried about what's going to happen tomorrow or day after. Live the moment. It's very difficult to do but it's beautiful. It adds a lot to our life. As I grow older, if you ask me, that's what I will try to do. Hopefully, giving good examples, trying to do good things, beautiful things, and leave a good mark. Sometimes more than bringing something new to the planet. Look at whatever we already have here and how we can improve it and make it better. Sometimes, instead of focusing on creating and introducing new things, it's more beneficial to look at what we already have on the planet and find ways to improve and make it better. Conclusion Thank you so much. As we wrap up for being such a great guest and coming all the way from Lisbon for our readers. If somebody wants to get in touch with you, whether for the farm or staying at one of your other hospitality homes, what's the best way to get in touch with you? The easiest way is to go online and probably look up Silent Living either through the website or through Instagram. If you send a message both on Instagram or on one of our email accounts saying, “This is for Joao.” You will easily come across Joao. Joao will be on the other side. I will be able to answer everyone. Thank you very much. For those of you reading, if you're not a subscriber, please subscribe by going to www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com. Share the show with your friends. Thank you so much for reading. I always say stay connected, stay busy, and stay reading. Thank you, Joao. Thank you. It was a huge pleasure.   Important Links: TAP Airlines Silent Living Herdade No Tempo Allan Savory – LinkedIn Food About  Joao Rodrigues A man who embraces life. This is Joao Rodrigues, our guest coming to us from Lisbon. He is a pilot for TAP airlines, A founder of Silent Living Hospitality Group, Founder of Herdade No Tempo, a regenerative farm and devoted family man. Joao talks about his zest for life and how his personal philosophy makes him a great example of growing older with gusto.

  Who doesn't love a good James Bond thriller? In this episode, our guests, after spending over 50 years in the high-tech business, decided they wanted to return to their passion. What is their passion? Their passion is spy movies. Dan Silvestri and Tom Pivvato did their research and they discovered that most sites are dedicated solely to James Bond movies. They kept exploring and found out by examining other spy movies that had been made that so many of them are interrelated. Their curiosity led them to discover things about the origins of spy movies, common themes, scenes that you see within different movies, and the influence each spy movie has on others in this genre. They started a podcast called Spy Movie Navigator, and this podcast is designed to enhance your viewing experience when you watch different movies. It was created as a landing pad for people interested in spy movies, from the classics to current releases. There's so much to talk about in this episode so tune in! — Watch the episode here https://youtu.be/6Ez6fNzjH-o?si=ICE3OxN6tKHvFYCf   Listen to the podcast here   Spy Movie Navigator: Cracking The Spy Movie Code With Dan Silvestri And Tom Pivvato Who doesn't love a good James Bond thriller? In this episode, our guests after spending over 50 years in the high-tech business decided they wanted to return to their passion. What is their passion? Their passion is spy movies. They did their research and they discovered that most sites are dedicated solely to James Bond movies. They kept exploring and found out by examining other spy movies that had been made that so many of them are interrelated. Their curiosity led them to discover things about the origins of spy movies, common themes, scenes that you see within different movies, and the influence each spy movie has on others in this genre. They started a podcast called Spy Movie Navigator, and this podcast is designed to enhance your viewing experience when you watch different movies. It was created as a landing pad for people interested in spy movies, from the classics to current releases. There's so much to talk about in this episode so let's get started. Welcome to the show, Dan and Tom. We're very happy to be there. Gail, it's fantastic to be here. Thanks for inviting us. I'm excited to talk to you and learn more about this passion of yours. First of all, tell the readers what ignited your passion for delving into the genre of spy movies.     I'll go first on that one. First of all, we have a website called SpyMovieNavigator.com and the podcast show is called Cracking the Code of Spy Movies! It went back to high school. I was at St. Ignatius High School, and my friends and I decided when Goldfinger came out that we were going to cut classes and sneak downtown and go see Goldfinger. It was the third James Bond movie ever out. We had a system in the class where the teachers took a roll call and they put the names on a piece of paper. They clipped it outside the door and then someone would come and pick it up. If your name was on the list, you were in the class. If it wasn't, you were absent. A friend of ours, our mission was to go downtown and see Goldfinger. Our inside guy was going to put our names on the lists for each of our classes and everything was going to be great. We went downtown and saw Goldfinger. It was terrific. I went back to school the next day, and we were in detention. Our friend chickened out. We were in detention for about a week, but it was worth it. That's got me started on the spy movies and James Bond in particular. How about you? For me, it was back in spy movies and the Columbo TV show. Columbo's not a spy, but it got me going on the genre of it. However, when I looked at things like The Spy Who Loved Me, which was the first Bond movie that I saw in the theater, it was like, “This is different. I like this type of movie.” That helped me with that. Why we started delving into them other than being fans is that we were on a trip and we were up in Piz Gloria, which is this mountaintop retreat that was used in the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It's gorgeous up there, and it's like this remote little thing on top of a mountain. Where is this located? It's in Switzerland. It's 10,000 feet up. It was above the town of Mürren. Dan and I were sitting in the bar that night and we're like, “We liked it so much. There's got to be other people who would like this.” We started looking into, “Can we do something around this?” I was thinking at that time about retirement and looking for something to do, and we were like, “Can we do something here?” A few years later, here we are and having a heck of a good time. Tell us about what are the origins of spy movies. You mentioned Columbo. I would think of Columbo off the top of my head or Goldfinger. I think it was one of the first James Bond movies I saw. What are the origins of spy movies? As you did your exploration into this genre, what did you discover? When you look back on spy movies, everyone thinks of James Bond. Ian Fleming wrote all the novels and stuff starting in 1953 but if you look back on spy movies, they've been around for decades before that. You go back in the history of spy movies, you look at the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie, The 39 Steps. Many people consider that to be the first official spy movie. There were a few before that. It was a silent movie too, as well. I was going to ask about that. If there were any silent movies. I'll talk about one of those. It's one that I like better than Dan does. As I said, there were a few others before that. The 39 Steps though was the birth of the more modern concept of what a spy movie is. A lot of the elements that we see now in spy movies from that point forward came from the roots of these older spy movies like The 39 Steps in 1935, Secret Agent, which was also a Hitchcock-directed movie in 1936 and others liked. Those began the real spy movie genre back in the '30s. What was the Doris Day movie where she sang Que Sera, Sera? The Man Who Knew Too Much. It was both a 1934 version and a 1956 version of that. He was in the 56th version of that but Hitchcock did both of them. I also think that influencing spy movies, World War I and World War II played a big role. In what way? It's because a lot of the early spy movies were around spying on your war enemy. There was a lot of influence there. The first spy movie that I know of is something called Spione. It's a German silent movie by Fritz Lang. It being silent is nice because they can put up English subtitles there, which is nice. What year did that come out? That was a 1928 movie. You can find it online on YouTube. There's a version out there by BluRay Classic Studios. It's a pretty good print of it. There are some that are tough prints, but that one's a pretty good one. We see many of the tropes used in that movie used in future movies even though this was a silent movie. You also have The 39 Steps that Dan talked about. By the time he got to that, the formula was there in terms of getting us into what a spy movie should look like or what the industry thinks it should look like. Tom mentioned the spies, World War II, and the World Wars. There's a movie coming out now. It's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and that is based on a real World War II Operation, Operation Postmaster. We already saw it. When you first started getting together and getting your ideas together, how did you discover that certain spy movies or themes are interrelated? What was your take on that? Why do you think that is? I think a couple of things. Spies, like Ian Fleming, for instance, he was an internal intelligence officer for the British. He was a naval intelligence officer. He knew a lot of stuff that was going on. As a matter of fact, he was involved in many of the operations that were executed in World War II. The concept of what goes into real spying worked its way into the movies for sure certainly because of Fleming and how he popularized spies. However, it's the real-world element I think that influenced what went into spy movies. Absolutely. Also, trains, Dan. Every spy movie has got to have a train. The early spy movies all had train scenes, and now almost every spy movie has a train scene in it. Many with a fight on the train which is pretty interesting. The greatest fight of all on the train was From Russia with Love. You see something like that and it influences the next movie out. Also, other things like there's a mole in the organization. Hitchcock called it MacGuffin, where you have an object that people are going for. What it is doesn't matter. It's the mission of getting that whatever it is, that MacGuffin. Hitchcock started that and everybody started using that. It's another tool that Hitchcock used. I was going to ask you. You saw that in other spy movies. Does he always appear in every movie? Yes, he did. In some form. Yes. Did other people copy him or not? Yes. They did. A little bit here and there, but not as much as Hitchcock, I don't think. Is Michael G. Wilson a producer or owner? He's one of the two guys that owns Eon Productions. He produces the James Bond movies. Since he started working on them, I don't know one that he's not in. I think he's in all of them. He's not in all of the early ones, but he's in certainly the later ones. He started working. He does that. He makes a little cameo. It has been done. Hitchcock though, when he did it, he started putting himself in earlier in the movies because people were so distracted looking for him that they weren't paying attention to the movie. I think one other influence that I wanted to make sure I talked about here is real-world spy stuff. Real-world espionage tasks. Things like something called a brush pass where you two people pass and they hand something off. It's so fast you don't even see it or a dead drop where they put something somewhere or a predetermined place and somebody else comes by later and picks it up. As things change in the real espionage world, some of that stuff ends up hitting into the real spy movies. The real-world espionage world is influencing what we see on screen. Do you think there are ebbs and flows to the audience's interest in this genre? Does it change according to world events? You mentioned world events do play into the development of these spy movies. Does what's going on in the outside world have any impact on the interest in the genre? I think, absolutely especially in Eon Productions, the people who produce the James Bond movies. They are constantly looking at what's going on in the world for their movies because they're out of Fleming material. Fleming wrote about thirteen novels and short story collections. They're out of Fleming material for the most part. They're always constantly looking at what's going on in the real world, what's the influence of that on the global perspective of country versus country, and so on. Also, spy versus spy. That makes a lot of sense for them to do. Also, the people who are familiar with it, they're going to be more interested in that. It's smart business to do it, but it's certainly a good source of information for them to do the screenplays and write new material. I also think the whole ebb and flow thing comes into play with things like the Cold War. There were a ton of spy movies and they had to shift after the Cold War “ended.” How espionage was done is still all there, but it's not as big of a thing in people's minds as when we were very heavily involved in the Cold War. As the world events happen now, I'm going to bet we're going to see more Russian and Asian spy conflicts happening here and that will be a very big influence on the industry. That leads to the next question that came top of mind. Are spy movies in different countries different than ones that originate in the United States or do they play off one another? Do they copy or is there something common depending on which country they're produced in? We did one on Raazi, which was produced in India. Again, I think you have a subset of themes that are in spy movies, and it's oftentimes country versus country for one reason or another. In this Indian movie, it was the Indian-Pakistani War during that timeframe. Again, they're going to frame it from their Indian perspective and what a spy organization looks like for India versus Britain, the United States, or whatever. However, that was a very interesting movie because now you're seeing their perspective of their battle basically with Pakistan. They did a fair job of presenting both sides evenly. It's going to be different from each country, but it's going to be their perspective that brings it to the film but still this subset of tropes, standards, and things that happen in the real spy world that are going to be used over and over again. Also with India, though, Dan, there's a different formula in India for doing a movie. Most of the movies that are over two hours long get an intermission. It's Bollywood-based, there's a dance break in the middle of the movie with a song. Even if you don't have the dance break, they've got musical interludes where they advance the story without dialogue. It's just whatever the lyrics to the song are and not the actors talking. The style is different, but the concepts are going to be very often similar. If you take a look at the Chinese movie Cliff Walkers from a few years ago where you take Pathaan, which was another Indian movie. It's us versus them, whoever them is, whether it's a country or another organization and we've got to stop them from doing something bad. That's very common across all of the movies that I've seen across all the different nationalities. In Raazi, when they were smoking, they put a flash-up on the screen saying, “Smoking kills.” They do some things differently. What other influencers would you say play into the spy genre? I think you have a lot of things. We were talking about the real world that influences what goes in but you also have spy movies that influence other spy movies. Those are the kinds of things that I think we look at. This one we did was on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. We looked at maybe 4, 5, or 6 other movies that you can reference within that movie that you could say, “This kind of thing was going on in this movie or that movie,” and so on. I think that's a big influence. What happens in one spy movie, if it's successful, you will see it over and over again like the train concept that Tom was talking about in future spy movies. That's a biggie. One example of things coming from the real world was from the Goldfinger movie in 1964, when James Bond in the pre-title sequence comes out of the water in a wetsuit. He's going to go into this area and blow up some stuff he needs to blow up. He's in a wetsuit, but he unzipped it and he's in a tuxedo so that he looks like he fits into his atmosphere. You'd think, “This could never happen in the real world, and this is just fantasy stuff.” However, it did happen in the real world in World War II. There was an operation in the Netherlands where a specially made wetsuit was made for this diver. He was to go in and extract a couple of prisoners from this German mansion, and he was going to fit in because he had the tuxedo on and be able to walk right in and do this. It happened in real life. It's that kind of stuff constantly they're looking for. Tom and I look for that in these movies and bring that out because a lot of people would not pay attention to that kind of thing. We're bringing these different elements out to the movies, but they're big influencers in what happens in the movies. I think the times matter a lot too. When we talked about the Cold War, there were a lot of things. If you think about something like Star Wars, it wasn't a spy movie, but it had a very direct influence on the James Bond movie Moonraker. Bond used to smoke cigarettes. He doesn't do that anymore. The womanizing has been brought way down and now, the next thing we're seeing in spy movies is the topic of artificial intelligence. Many people don't know what it means so in the movies that makes it be anything they want, and totally ridiculous. I think it's going to be overplayed. We saw it in the last Mission Impossible movie, and it didn't make a lot of sense to me. I understand that stuff a bit. The other thing is you see influences on what was successful in another movie, maybe not on a specific, “We were on a train and had a fight,” but action sequences have gotten bigger and bigger. They keep trying to outdo the last movie with an action scene and stunts. It's raising the budgets to an almost unsustainable level. I think it's going to be interesting to see how that calms down because if you look at something like The Ministry that we talked about or Raazi, there are not as many of those big action scenes in them but the industry was trying to one-up each other for quite a while there with the stunts mainly in spy movies and that's not really about the espionage. That's just about how a spy movie is made. That's what's going on now, and it's been going on for several decades. It's the battle between espionage for spy movies. We're talking about espionage and real espionage life happens in From Russia with Love versus action movies, which many of the Mission Impossible movies are. The producers are constantly looking at what selling and they're making those adjustments. If action is selling, their spy movie is more action-oriented than espionage-oriented. That's a constant battle, and it changes over time. It also changes from country to country. It is a battle for the producers to try to figure out what to do next but it has been a battle between those two elements, espionage and action for decades. They say timing is everything and I know that the James Bond series has been constantly popular with every generation. Let's talk a little bit about that. Is that sustainable or is there any other competition to James Bond that has been as successful?     I think James Bond, it's been around since 1962 for movies. It was in 1953 when Ian Fleming started writing Casino Royale. It's been around for over 60 years. Is this sustainable? It looks like it. They've done a good job so far. Will it continue to be sustainable? Everyone's waiting to see what their next decision is because Daniel Craig is no longer James Bond. That's been since 2019. That's been out and nothing's been done since. People are wondering what's going to happen next. It's a challenge, but I think they're going to continue to try to produce it. They do get new and younger people interested. They must or else the older people are not going to be around to watch the new movies. It's interesting how all the different generations enjoy it and flock to those movies. If you ask somebody who their favorite James Bond actor is, it's likely to be whoever they saw first in the role. I mentioned that these things change over time and adapt to time. If they were putting out some of the womanizing stuff that happened in the early Bonds, they might not get the audiences now. Their ability to adapt is extremely important. It's a must for the money or just to be successful. If you look at other series that have tried to take on Bond, you had Bourne, which was a very good probably first two movies, and then it tapered off. You had Mission Impossible, which is still very strong although they're at a critical point now with Ethan Hunt and Tom Cruise playing Ethan Hunt. Now, the nice thing with Mission Impossible is the team members come and go so they could easily say, “It's not Ethan Hunt. We've got a new head of whatever the team is.” With the Bond movies, it's harder for them to do that. They have to say, “Here's a new actor and we're going on our merry way.” Mission Impossible is the franchise that has any chance of competing with the James Bond franchise. You look at that by Box Office numbers, and they're the only ones who compete globally versus James Bond. James Bond is a global phenomenon, and so is Mission Impossible. Many of the other franchises that are trying. They even tried Harry Palmer in the mid-'60s, and that was based on Len Deighton's books and so on. They did three of them and that was the end of that. It's very difficult to do, but Mission Possible probably is in the best position to challenge the Bond franchise. With streaming, there are a lot of companies trying. Netflix has put out a bunch of things that they've said, “This is our answer to go after Bond. We want this to be a series like Bond.” You had the Kingsman. We are watching A Gentleman in Moscow right now. This series happens, but nothing stuck as well as Bond. Let me ask you this. How did your background in high tech play into, if in any way, your passion for the spy genre? Did it have any influence or was that something that was different for you when you wanted to pursue that? I'll let Tom talk about that because his background is high-tech. Mine is sales and marketing. I have a sales and marketing angle too. For me, I got hooked on Bond in high school. Gentlemen, we are running out of time, I'm sorry to say but tell me quickly how did this interest come after retirement and how has it helped you? You're growing older with gusto, you're passionate about this, and you have so many interesting things to talk about. In one sentence, tell us how this interest has helped you after retirement. Everyone wants to retire and when they get there, they're bored. I think before you retire, you need to know what you're going to do. If you're going to be traveling half the year, great. If you're going to write a book, great. Tom and I are doing this because it keeps your mind and body moving. It keeps you thinking and it keeps you moving forward. You have to have something to do after you retire. This is a productive entertaining thing. We're in the entertainment business so we're trying to entertain people.     For me, all I would add that is my wife gave me the guidance before I retired that I needed to have something specific to do. She was right and this ended up being a perfect opportunity for me. I get to keep my technical skills going a little bit with what I do. I enjoy doing the spy movie, so it gives me something to keep driving for. How can our readers find you and find your podcast? We have a website, SpyMovieNavigator.com. Our podcast show is called Cracking the Code of Spy Movies! It's also a YouTube channel with the same name. We're in every major podcast app like Apple, Overcast, and everything. Every one of them, we're in. You could go to your podcast app, look for Cracking the Code of Spy Movies, and start listening. We appreciate it.     Thank you, readers. I'm sure you enjoyed this episode. Please share it with your friends, and remember to stay curious and stay connected. Thank you very much. Thank you, Gail.   Important Links SpyMovieNavigator.com Cracking the Code of Spy Movies! YouTube – Cracking the Code of Spy Movies Apple – Cracking the Code of Spy Movies   About Dan Silvestri and Tom Pivvato Dan & Tom get together through a mutual interest in spy movies. This catapulted into their developing spymovienavigator.com and Cracking the Code of Spy Movies. Passionate about spy movies leads to a third act for Dan & Tom. They took a deep dive on the subject and created Cracking the Code of Spy Movies.

  Who doesn't love a good James Bond thriller? In this episode, our guests, after spending over 50 years in the high-tech business, decided they wanted to return to their passion. What is their passion? Their passion is spy movies. Dan Silvestri and Tom Pivvato did their research and they discovered that most sites are dedicated solely to James Bond movies. They kept exploring and found out by examining other spy movies that had been made that so many of them are interrelated. Their curiosity led them to discover things about the origins of spy movies, common themes, scenes that you see within different movies, and the influence each spy movie has on others in this genre. They started a podcast called Spy Movie Navigator, and this podcast is designed to enhance your viewing experience when you watch different movies. It was created as a landing pad for people interested in spy movies, from the classics to current releases. There's so much to talk about in this episode so tune in! --- Watch the episode here   Listen to the podcast here   Spy Movie Navigator: Cracking The Spy Movie Code With Dan Silvestri And Tom Pivvato Who doesn't love a good James Bond thriller? In this episode, our guests after spending over 50 years in the high-tech business decided they wanted to return to their passion. What is their passion? Their passion is spy movies. They did their research and they discovered that most sites are dedicated solely to James Bond movies. They kept exploring and found out by examining other spy movies that had been made that so many of them are interrelated. Their curiosity led them to discover things about the origins of spy movies, common themes, scenes that you see within different movies, and the influence each spy movie has on others in this genre. They started a podcast called Spy Movie Navigator, and this podcast is designed to enhance your viewing experience when you watch different movies. It was created as a landing pad for people interested in spy movies, from the classics to current releases. There's so much to talk about in this episode so let's get started. Welcome to the show, Dan and Tom. We're very happy to be there. Gail, it's fantastic to be here. Thanks for inviting us. I'm excited to talk to you and learn more about this passion of yours. First of all, tell the readers what ignited your passion for delving into the genre of spy movies.     I'll go first on that one. First of all, we have a website called SpyMovieNavigator.com and the podcast show is called Cracking the Code of Spy Movies! It went back to high school. I was at St. Ignatius High School, and my friends and I decided when Goldfinger came out that we were going to cut classes and sneak downtown and go see Goldfinger. It was the third James Bond movie ever out. We had a system in the class where the teachers took a roll call and they put the names on a piece of paper. They clipped it outside the door and then someone would come and pick it up. If your name was on the list, you were in the class. If it wasn't, you were absent. A friend of ours, our mission was to go downtown and see Goldfinger. Our inside guy was going to put our names on the lists for each of our classes and everything was going to be great. We went downtown and saw Goldfinger. It was terrific. I went back to school the next day, and we were in detention. Our friend chickened out. We were in detention for about a week, but it was worth it. That's got me started on the spy movies and James Bond in particular. How about you? For me, it was back in spy movies and the Columbo TV show. Columbo's not a spy, but it got me going on the genre of it. However, when I looked at things like The Spy Who Loved Me, which was the first Bond movie that I saw in the theater, it was like, “This is different. I like this type of movie.” That helped me with that. Why we started delving into them other than being fans is that we were on a trip and we were up in Piz Gloria,

Struggling to care for aging parents while juggling your own family? Today, Bina Coleman discusses the challenges of being part of the sandwich generation and the importance of finding support groups and resources. She also talks about the future of Parent Projects, a company that helps families stay organized and communicate with each other about caring for elderly loved ones, including the use of artificial intelligence to help families better care for their aging parents. Don't miss out! Learn how to make caring for your aging parents a little easier. --- Listen to the podcast here How Parent Projects Can Help You Care For Elderly Loved Ones With Bina Colman Hello and welcome to the podcast, Growing Older with Gusto. My name is Gail Zugerman, and my husband, Charlie, likes to joke that his name is Gusto. But actually, this podcast is created to show people in younger generations how to grow older in a positive and productive way by having guests on the show who are doing just that or helping others to do just that. Today, we have an episode about the sandwich generation, and I don't necessarily mean those of you who grew up eating subs or hoagies or Philadelphia cheesesteaks, whatever. So, our guest today is a younger woman named Bina Coleman, who's going to tell us how she started her business out of seeing a need in the marketplace for balancing a full-time career, raising young kids, and having elderly parents who had health care needs of their own. It is a juggling act, one that's been addressed by the media, but Bina Coleman saw an opportunity, and she's very busy with her own life. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona, and she managed to find the time to create her original business, which was called Compassionate Callers, and it's recently morphed into Parent Projects, which she'll talk about. But it's a business targeted to those people who need support with numerous activities that are busy, and her business was set up to really help people who are in the sandwich generation have peace of mind and know that their elderly parents are living a good older life while they maintain theirs. She also has a degree in gerontology and over a decade of experience in the field of elderly care. So, I'd like to get started; she has so much to tell us. She has a great story. So welcome to the show, Bina. Thank you for that introduction. It was very good. It was a great introduction. It's all true. There are so many of us. Right, so start us out. Tell our listeners about your story, about your background, and your personal experiences that led to the development of Parent Projects. I grew up here in Phoenix, and my parents actually owned the first four franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. I was in sixth grade, so in 1996, they were literally one of the first home care agencies in Arizona or Phoenix, and now there's over 500, I want to say. Growing up, this is all we heard: the elder world, the seniors, the caregivers, so my brother and I just knew this world when none of our friends did. The Sandwich-Generation Caregiver When it was time for me to get my degree, it was kind of a no-brainer to do gerontology, though it's extremely niche, and there's not many of us. But fast forward, I am married, I have two little kids; they're still little. So, even back when my father was living in a memory care facility and then passed, they were even younger. But I truly became a sandwich generation caregiver because I was working full time. I was doing sales for home care, home health, and hospice, and I was also visiting my dad, like I said, in a memory care unit. We were lucky enough to place them in a beautiful place in Scottsdale, so that was wonderful, truthfully. But, you know, I'd show up with both kids and just think there's something missing in this continuum of care for everybody, memory or not, or whatever maybe they're going through. I thought there's something missing, and that's where Compassionate Callers actually real...

Struggling to care for aging parents while juggling your own family? Today, Bina Coleman discusses the challenges of being part of the sandwich generation and the importance of finding support groups and resources. She also talks about the future of Parent Projects, a company that helps families stay organized and communicate with each other about caring for elderly loved ones, including the use of artificial intelligence to help families better care for their aging parents. Don't miss out! Learn how to make caring for your aging parents a little easier. — WATCH THE EPISODE HERE https://youtu.be/znWIZXCDGQE?si=j7SRklwvmjVtgt0S Listen to the podcast here How Parent Projects Can Help You Care For Elderly Loved Ones With Bina Colman Hello and welcome to the podcast, Growing Older with Gusto. My name is Gail Zugerman, and my husband, Charlie, likes to joke that his name is Gusto. But actually, this podcast is created to show people in younger generations how to grow older in a positive and productive way by having guests on the show who are doing just that or helping others to do just that. Today, we have an episode about the sandwich generation, and I don't necessarily mean those of you who grew up eating subs or hoagies or Philadelphia cheesesteaks, whatever. So, our guest today is a younger woman named Bina Coleman, who's going to tell us how she started her business out of seeing a need in the marketplace for balancing a full-time career, raising young kids, and having elderly parents who had health care needs of their own. It is a juggling act, one that's been addressed by the media, but Bina Coleman saw an opportunity, and she's very busy with her own life. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona, and she managed to find the time to create her original business, which was called Compassionate Callers, and it's recently morphed into Parent Projects, which she'll talk about. But it's a business targeted to those people who need support with numerous activities that are busy, and her business was set up to really help people who are in the sandwich generation have peace of mind and know that their elderly parents are living a good older life while they maintain theirs. She also has a degree in gerontology and over a decade of experience in the field of elderly care. So, I'd like to get started; she has so much to tell us. She has a great story. So welcome to the show, Bina. Thank you for that introduction. It was very good. It was a great introduction. It's all true. There are so many of us. Right, so start us out. Tell our listeners about your story, about your background, and your personal experiences that led to the development of Parent Projects. I grew up here in Phoenix, and my parents actually owned the first four franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. I was in sixth grade, so in 1996, they were literally one of the first home care agencies in Arizona or Phoenix, and now there's over 500, I want to say. Growing up, this is all we heard: the elder world, the seniors, the caregivers, so my brother and I just knew this world when none of our friends did. The Sandwich-Generation Caregiver When it was time for me to get my degree, it was kind of a no-brainer to do gerontology, though it's extremely niche, and there's not many of us. But fast forward, I am married, I have two little kids; they're still little. So, even back when my father was living in a memory care facility and then passed, they were even younger. But I truly became a sandwich generation caregiver because I was working full time. I was doing sales for home care, home health, and hospice, and I was also visiting my dad, like I said, in a memory care unit. We were lucky enough to place them in a beautiful place in Scottsdale, so that was wonderful, truthfully. But, you know, I'd show up with both kids and just think there's something missing in this continuum of care for everybody, memory or not, or whatever maybe they're going through. I thought there's something missing, and that's where Compassionate Callers actually really came from. What a valuable service. Really, it's amazing. Keep going; tell us about the services. Compassionate Callers So, I'll tell you about Compassionate Callers and then kind of how it merged. Compassionate Callers is a business where we're able to call people up to five times a day, seven days a week, and that could be for anything. I mean, truly, just because it's so easy, it really did start with medication reminders and meal reminders, but really morphs into just anything you can imagine. Like I said, it's not just for people who have memory issues or anything like that because one of our clients was a younger man who was very depressed, and getting him out of bed was something, that's why we called him. So, there's just a lot of reasons why these up to five phone calls a day, seven days a week can really make a difference in somebody's life, and that's what we were doing with Compassionate Callers, and this was Monday through Sunday. So, let's say an adult child lived out of state, and they were worried their mom wasn't even getting up or wasn't eating lunch; we stepped in and took over those calls. I met the founder of Parent Projects, and we really hit it off. We really felt we were working towards the same goal and innovative. We wanted the best for everybody in the family situation. I just have one question going back to when we were talking about Compassionate Callers. When you called, and when you had your calling service, and let's say somebody was out of state and they had hired your company to do that. Now, did you have the ability to go actually to where they were living and help out, or call somebody, another resource, to help them? How did that work? It's a great question. So yes, I'm based in Phoenix. It was a nationwide service because nothing was “hands-on.” So, they truly were dedicated phone calls. However, with your other part of the question, resources are my favorite thing in the world. Anybody who needs any resource, I feel ‘I know who to reach out to,' or ‘what kind of person.' If I don't know someone in that industry, but I know you need a placement agent in Alabama, “All right, let's find you a placement agent in Alabama.” I like to really give those resources out because there are so many available that people just don't know about, and I think that's the biggest hindrance of really caring for the aging population or anyone. It is how to use and utilize the resources that are out there, and so I love people to know about them. The biggest hindrance to caring for the aging population or anyone is how to use and utilize the resources that are out there. Parent Projects So, Parent Projects is a wonderful service. You can log on to parentprojects.com. You create a whole project, as in the name, it can be for a loved one, your aging parent, your aging great aunt, whatever the situation. Let's say that you just feel overwhelmed, you don't understand when this doctor appointment is, or you want to upload stuff, we have it all for you. You can be organized. You can upload all insurances. You can have a calendar to mark all doctor appointments or any kind of appointments. Parent Projects: Parent Projects is a wonderful service that helps you be organized, upload all insurance, and have a calendar to mark all doctor appointments or any type of appointment. The reason why I love that so much is because let's say there's a sibling in California, one in New York. They're obviously not going to be together too often, unfortunately, right? But this allows them to get on the same platform and really say, ‘Okay, look, it's marked in the calendar that mom has an eye appointment on the 16th.' All right, great, we all know that, and we're able to say to her then, ‘How did your eye appointment go? Who's taking you to your eye appointment?' Really get down to the brass tacks of that singular appointment just by looking at the platform that you guys have together. So, it's a wonderful service. That's great. What are some other services that you found to be most helpful to people in what we call “the sandwich generation?” I mean, that one that you just described is great. Even in Europe or China, or wherever they live. Absolutely. I think it is so needed even if you do live next door to them. I assume you're going to have your own life too, and you can't always be on top of it. Some other resources that I found when I was going through my own care journey with my dad were support groups, truthfully. I happened to find one, and I encourage everyone if you're in this situation. Mine was for kids or people under the age of 40 who had a loved one, most likely a parent, with dementia. And that, to me, was the best support group I could have joined. It was virtual because, luckily, there aren't too many people under 40 who are dealing with that, with a parent with Alzheimer's or dementia. But also, just because we were all over. Some were in Oregon, some were in California, so that to me was the best thing I could have done. It was once a month, but that is truly what I highly recommend to everybody. Find yourself a support group if you can. Yes, friends and family are amazing, but going through and talking to people who are going through what you're going through and being able to laugh and cry and scream, you can't put money on it. It's just priceless. That would be one of my biggest resources I would encourage people to do. Very well put. I think that is very crucial and important. I mean, we all have friends and family that are supportive, but in order to really have empathy and have experience, it's good to speak with people who walk the walk and have that learning, so to speak. So, tell us a little bit about your recent merger. Is there anything that's different that you have experienced or found in merging your business, as a businesswoman? It's a cool experience. Parent Projects is a very tech-heavy company, which I'm personally not. It's just who I am. It was really wonderful to be able to use and utilize their tech for Compassionate Callers, and that's what we've been doing and why it's on the back burner right now because we want to make it as robust and great as possible. One of the biggest positives is that we're able to do these amazing things with technology so that when we do roll out Compassionate Callers again, it's going to be everything I could have ever dreamed of. Up to date, technology forward, there'll be schedules and calendars and notes, the whole thing. I think it's a really good merger between us because on their end they're very tech forward, so I bring the gerontology degree or point of view to their company. It sounds like you're more people-oriented, like you want to handle the families and talking to them, and explaining. Exactly. What are some other ways that you're projecting your business is going to go? Maybe in five years. What do you think? Think about the people that you know where you live and people you interact with in other parts of the country. Any thoughts on where you might want to see it? Compassionate Concierge I do know that Parent Projects, we're also doing a Compassionate Concierge service, which is very cool. That is where you can literally book someone like me. I'm going to have a team, and you just book me for about 45 minutes. We discuss what's going on, and those resources I talked about, you get them right off the bat. We're really looking at this like a concierge service for anyone that's feeling overwhelmed, they don't know where to start. Most people don't. I feel like when I talk to people like you, Gail, because you and I are in this every day, it's so like, ‘Oh, you do this?' and it's so second nature. But a lot of people just don't know what to do. So, you book an appointment with a Compassionate Concierge through Parent Projects, and you get some direction. You get ideas. You get suggestions. You get those resources. So, that's something we're really, really going to push soon. So, you'll see stuff on that. Parent Projects: Parent Projects is doing a Compassionate Concierge service where you can book someone and discuss what's going on. Then, the other thing, we're very AI forward, I should say. I don't know how much you know about AI. A little bit. That's how I feel. I know it. The Parent Project people, they are very smart with it. Where again, I'm just not that tech friendly. But I do know we're using that service and technology to better everyone's experience with the whole aging process. So, there will be more to come on that as well. So, there are exciting things to come. So, can you give me just one example of how artificial intelligence is going to impact your business and help it? Yeah, actually. So, if people have projects like what I spoke about. You go on, you sign up, you have these projects. You can journal, or you can say how your parents are doing for the day. And then, the AI technology starts to track it and to really understand, ‘Oh, maybe every day around five, they have a fall.' Or that's when they're getting the most confused. If you're journaling this, that AI technology then, that I was able to find resources, is able to say, ‘Hey, look, you might need a hands-on caregiver between the hours of four and nine every night.' They are able to see patterns that are happening due to the journaling or just doctor appointments or whatever is going into this project and say, ‘This is probably one of the services that you could use.' So, it's fast information. If someone doesn't have time to book an appointment with Compassionate Concierge, eventually, the idea is that this AI technology will say, ‘Well, this is what you're going to need anyway. So, why don't we just at least get an assessment started?' Very interesting. Okay. Well, any other things you want to talk to us about, and the listeners, that you feel is important for them to know? I know. I feel like I probably gave people more questions. So, I was going to say, just reach out to me through Parent Projects. I'd love talking to people. What's the best way for our listeners to reach you, Bina? It's bcolman@parentprojects.com. Very good. Thank you so much. This has been interesting, and I've learned a lot too, and I'm sure our listeners have. So, thank you all for listening. Please go to our website, www.growingolderwithgusto.com, and subscribe if you've enjoyed this episode, which, how could you not? And also, you can share this episode if you'd like with other friends or family members that you think would benefit from this. So, thanks for listening, and remember to stay connected and stay curious.   Important Links Parent Projects Bina Coleman About Bina Colman A degree and background in Gerontology coupled with over a decade of experience in the field of elderly care was the springboard for Bina to observe a crucial gap in the continuum of care. She was a part of the sandwich generation herself a few years ago, and felt compelled to address this need, leading to the inception of Parent Projects. In her personal journey, she found herself balancing a full-time career, a family with young children and regular visits to her father in a memory care community. Her father's early-onset dementia diagnosis in his late 50's and his subsequent passing in his early 60's made her acutely aware of the challenges faced by the sandwich caregivers and their families. Bina was determined to spare others from the overwhelming stress she experienced during that time. Parent Projects emerged from this personal journey, aiming to provide much-needed support to individuals who are juggling busy lives, full- time jobs and numerous responsibilities. Their service steps in to make those crucial calls on their behalf, offering the peace of mind they rightfully deserve. Their mission is to alleviate the burden and stress of caregiving, ensuring that families can focus on what matters most while Parent Projects provides essential support.

Host Gail Zugerman interviews Burt Fendelman a practicing attorney in NYC dedicated to aiding collectors, heirs and others evaluate art work and collectibles for the purpose of understanding the tax implications of gifting or selling of their treasures. He talks with Gail about how having passion for your work as well as staying connected with others of all ages is essential to growing older with gusto. Burt Fendelman is a gregarious and energetic 86 year old living in NYC. He began his career as a tax attorney and got bored with it so changed to a different type of law practice. This enabled him to work in the area of the arts which is and remains a personal passion. He chats with us on the show about how important it is to maintain personal connections and create new ones as we grow older. His favorite thing to do when growing up was getting to meet new people and not being afraid of new people. Lose your fear of aging by not thinking about it! Realize that your body is a machine and needs to be serviced. Also, the most important thing is to keep your mind busy. Volunteer and give back. Being alone is apparently equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes a day. Learn how to listen and share your experiences with friends.

Talks about health, fitness, motivation, mental fitness, and nutrition tips. Convert Negative Energy To Fuel A Positive Future Linda Steele, author of “Nerves of Steele” is public speaker, and fitness expert who through her writing shows how people can reinvent themselves from any trauma in the past and grow older with gusto! She teaches an approach using a holistic/ and body-mind connection.  Her belief is the past doesn't need to define you.  Her approach is through clean eating and taking care of your body.   Linda's book, “Nerves of Steele” a memoir is touching! Video version above podcast audio version below

Gail Zugerman host of Growing Older with Gusto speaks with Jeff Williams, Chief Coach for Bizstarters and creator of the Virtual Incubator Business Startup Program. If you're thinking that you are not quite ready to retire and want to strike out on an entrepreneurial venture of your own, listen to this podcast episode.

Our guest Wendy Green is host of the podcast “Hey Boomer” created to help baby boomers find a purpose, stay engaged in the world, and increase their confidence to recreate their lives or see their dreams come alive. Based in Greenville, South Carolina, Wendy started her podcast after a long career in training and development with the desire to continue to stay relevant, and to make a difference in peoples lives.

Born blind, Katherine Schneider of Eau Claire, Wisconsin talks with host Gail Zugerman about growing older with gusto while living with a disability. Her physical challenge did not deter her from becoming a clinical psychologist, writing four books, and getting involved in several philanthropical ventures. While determined to lead the good life herself, she has also managed to clear a path for others by making sure that people with disabilities have access to everything they need.

We all know people who could use a lift by wearing clothing that makes them feel like themselves as they grow older. But what if your clothes are difficult to put on or uncomfortable to wear because you do not move as easily or in the same way you did when you were younger? Jimmy Zollo, co-founder & CEO of Joe & Bella, created a fashionable adaptive apparel brand for older adults. A graduate of Indiana University, Jimmy polished his marketing & sales skills with the NBA, WNBA before joining the team at GrubHub, one of Chicago's most successful startups. His role on the team of creating critical partnerships led to GrubHub's expansion nationally & provided a foundation for the company's future sales strategy. Jimmy and his father Peter have collaborated together once before with Collaborata, a market research startup, before  getting together once again to create Joe & Bella. This previous experience allowed them to gain insight into a market they identified through their own personal family need. The result is a fabulous line of contemporary apparel for people with physical or mental limitations. Jimmy talks with host Gail Zugerman about how his past work experiences & personal life experiences combined to spark the idea for Joe & Bella.

Today's guest on the podcast, Benjamin Surmi, is a  younger person devoted to helping people grow older with gusto. His background as an activity director, home repair coordinator, & Lifelong Learning Center Director has given him the tools to create new products, and techniques for empowering people in various stages of life. We talked about his current work which includes: The new era of technology which combines the physical and the technological worldBridging the generation divideThe technique called “Humanitude” developed by a company in France that promotes better care for people that are compromised.  It's based on communication techniques and an online course is available.A description of the Koelsch communityPredictions on how new products and techniques will combine to provide a better quality of life for everyone as we grow older.The importance of lifelong learning Take a walk & listen in as Ben Surmi brings us up to date with modalities and products designed to help us grow older with gusto. You can reach Ben at:  bms@koelschsenior.com Please support us by writing a review on your favorite podcast player.

Adapt or disappear is the mantra of our guest, John Manhold. John is an amazing Renaissance man who at age 102 just finished writing his latest book.  His many interests and his ability to keep transforming allows for him to continue being vital.  He has lived an incredible life, and he shares his secrets for adapting with us in this podcast episode. He has been able to simultaneously work as a research scientist, pathology professor, world lecturer, internationally renowned sculptor, and licensed US Coast Guard Merchant Marine. Also,  he is a survivor of WWII and the Korean War.  Free time finds him golfing and boating. Conversation in this episode: What advice does he give for living to the Century mark? I'll give you a few of his thoughts, and listen to this podcast episode to really learn the secret sauce for living a well-lived life up to, and past 100. A few nuggets: He tells us how his nomadic lifestyle gave him great pleasure and was a stimulating way to live.  Younger people need to study history, moderate their usage of “new-fangled items,” and learn the difference between listening and hearing. The one thing that has given him strength throughout his life is the belief in a higher power.  He jokes on the podcast by saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes!” Today he keeps busy reviewing books for Amazon. His webpage is: www.johnmanhold.com. Please listen to this latest episode  on your favorite podcast platform and watch him on our YouTube Channel: Growing Older With Gusto

Barbara Lewis, a 68-year-old Montreal-based vocalist, talks to us about how singing can be a portal to a happier and more peaceful self as we grow older. She began her singing journey as a child when she entered herself in a contest. We learn the song she sang to win the contest by her singing it for us on this episode. The Podcast continues with her sharing her thoughts on singing and how it brings gusto into your life. Some of the ways: The power of singing; being spurred into action, takes you back and forth in time, gives you hopeSigning wraps one in emotion which is amazingly powerful Today, more people are involved in both group and private singing. She explains the importance of a hormone being released by group singing. The hormone is ocytocin which is a social bonding hormone. The episode delves deeply into how singing helps us grow older: it's never endingGives a transcendent experience to an audience The connection between singing and laughing is explained by Barbra. People who take group or private lessons are given exercises to do which at face value seem a bit goofy. They are asked to meow or bark. The purpose is to help open your ears, and remind you of how the muscles are coordinated. The singer with a half-smile is tricking the brain into thinking they are feeling better. What Wisdom She would Tell Her Younger Self Perfection lies in Being YourselfIt's important to take time each day to be quiet. Her Secrets for Leading A Joyful Life Find a great partnerLaughDo more of what you love to do. We do a wrap of this episode with Barbara singing one of her favorite songs.  Listen in to hear a great singer! You can contact Barbara by email at: barbara@barbaralewis.com or go to her YouTube Channel: Singing After 40 Please listen to our podcast at most podcast platforms and our YouTube Channel.

Today we launched a new season and our first guest is financial wizard, Sarry Ibrahim, who is going to tell us how we can grow older not only with gusto but how to grow our money with gusto! Here are some of the topics we covered in this episode: The 3 Keys To Better Understand Money When You Are Younger Know your financial self.  Become familiar with your current savings, income, debt and average expenses.Know your habits; understand how you  spend and save money.  Identify any previous successful financial projects.Understand the concept of opportunity cost; what it really means to save, invest  and spend. What To Do At Each Age To Prepare For The Future 25- 45 Years Old:  Accumulation Phase; buy a home or rental property. Grow your savings and pay down debt.  This includes 401K's IRA and Infinite Banking. 45-65 Years Old: Protection Phase; Paying down the majority of debt and increasing your net worth. 60 Years Old+: Gifting Phase; plan on passing on your net worth to the next generation using an estate plan and other resources. How To Motivate Yourself Prepare for Retirement? Think of your future self.  Consider the tax component of your money. What is helpful is starting a “forced savings”. It's like a recurring bill. What is Wealth Weapon The Ultra Wealthy Use As They Grow Older With Gusto? Sarry gave the example of a wealthy tech client who decided to put his earnings in a cash value life insurance policy. It's like a savings policy with dividends, it's protected from taxes and you can borrow against it. How can We Make Social Security Work In Our Best Interests? Make sure its joined with other retirement accounts. Whole life insurance can help not increase your taxes on Social Security. 3 Keys To Financially Grow Older With Gusto  Live life on your own terms. Dream Big. Visualize what you want financially.Get involved in compound growth early.Identify ways of protecting your money from risks; economical, market, financial, or legal.

https://amzn.to/3w3m2oX Our first episode in May for Growing Older With Gusto has us exploring the ways we can continue to drive as we grow older without being a hazard on the road. Our guest, Henry Rameriz, of Oakland, California is an expert in anything to do with driving.  His background as a California Highway Patrol, and owner of the Bay Area Driving School provides him with lots of experience. Some of the topics we discussed are: Teaching nuns at a convent to driveUnusual teachers at his Driving SchoolThe Consequences of Marijuana on drivingRoad RageHow to Fix Traffic Collision ProblemsWays of Getting Older Family Members off The Road Henry is also the author of “ Driver TuneUp” available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Lulu Books.  Put in those earbuds and take a Spring Walk as you learn some insightful tips on deriving as we grow older!

Dr. Michael Kogan Our most recent guest on the Show is Dr. Michael Kogan, an epidemiologist with the US Health & Human Services Department. He is extremely involved with helping children, and currently directs the child heath epidemiology office in Washington, DC. Admittingly, he has realized that his perceptions of growing older have evolved since he was in his 40’s.  Now, he recognizes that people will listen to older people, and even his adult children want to spend more time with him! His curious and passionate nature has taken him to Columbia during the 80’s where he was captured by gorillas to Nova Scotia where he spent time working in a bakery. The recent pandemic has made him more aware of the nature of people and what we need to do to grow older with gusto! Some of the topics we talked about include: Getting arrested in ColumbiaWorking in a bakery in Nova ScotiaHelping young women in his office with STEM.His greatest professional achievement.The greatest challenges he faces at H&HS. Take a listen while you enjoy your first Spring Walk.  Our conversation is the perfect length to enjoy nature and learn something, too!!

Put in those earbuds and listen to our latest guest, Julie Sursok, who comes to us from Sydney, Australia. Julie is a great example of someone who exemplifies “growing older with gusto” by walking the talk. She has moved from continent to continent, lost everything, regained everything, and now has turned her story into a highly regarded book. This weeks’ show highlights parts of her life story, and also how she came about writing this book. The book is called, “I’m Now Called A Senior - WTF”. She shares with us the path to publishing, and also some hilarious subjects she has encountered as an aging boomer. She talks about various subjects we encounter as we grow older and puts a humorous spin on them. Some examples are: TravellingSeparate BedroomsMedical ChecksDownsizingTechnical Faux Pas She is sometimes referred to as the female Jerry Seinfeld! Please take a listen and make a comment!  Also, share with other friends this inspiring &  hilarious episode!

Ardee Krause Today’s episode deals with a topic that many people who are growing older with gusto are encountering — online dating. Widows, divorcees, and never married women are flocking to online dating sites as another avenue of meeting men. Our guest today, Ardee Kraus, has had lots of experience in her attempts to widen her circle of friends and meet a new man. She started out as a widow joining special interest groups hoping to meet men which didn’t happen. This is the reason she turned to online dating.  Her adventures and misadventures are all captured in this  episode. They are very telling and informative on what to watch out for and how to attract the right type of man. Ardee has developed a checklist of ways women can identify scammers and here are some of them: Profile PicturesDemographic Information or ProfileInitial commentsWhat they ask forAnswers to your questions and concerns Listen to this episode and discover how to identify if someone is scamming or real. It’s a humorous account from a woman who maintains a positive spirit throughout as she recounts her experiences. The episode is the perfect length of time for a Spring walk!

This show’s episode is with Sky Bergman, an award-winning photographer who is getting ready to take her talents to new heights! Sky’s documentary called, Lives Well Lived: Celebrating the Secrets, Wit and Wisdom of Old Age, will be seen on PBS. It’s a fantastic documentary that covers Sky’s four years of interviewing 40 people over the age of 90. She describes it as “40 People, 3000 Years of Collective Life Experience” Sky’s career has encompassed many other accomplishments. These include having her Fine Art work included in permanent collections at The LA County Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Bibliotheque National de France. Her commercial work has appeared on book covers for Random House and Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, Inc.  Magazine that use her work include Smithsonian, Readers Digest and Archaeology Odyssey. Currently, Sky is working as a Professor of Photography and Video at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The episode highlights how Sky became inspired for her work, how she went about doing it, and what the future looks like after completing the documentary. Her next project is called The Intergenerational Project and she speaks a bit about how her students have created bonds with older generations and come away with a new sense of what life can be like from different perspectives. View us on our YouTube Channel, Growing Older With Gusto, share with your friends, and Subscribe!

Today’s episode explores the method for finding oneself & re-inventing ones life at mid-life and beyond.  Our guest, Lucia Knight comes to us from the UK where she started a business called MidLife Unstuck and wrote a book, XChange.  Lucia took the bold and gusto move of piecing together her work and life experience pre-midlife to helping others get unstuck in both their careers and life! The show discusses how she used what she calls “Experiments” to jumpstart her own life, create a fulfilling older life, and ultimately help others discover and identify their life passions and move forward. Her “experiments” started slowly and gained momentum when she shared them with friends who hopped on the bandwagon.  One example is climbing the French Alps in a short period of time. She refers to “Fierce Midlife Experiments” which often involve physicality and the tenacity to try totally out of the box activities. She touches on what she calls ones “SuperPowers” and provides the framework for everyone to dig in and figure out what exactly are their SuperPowers!!  Everyone has 4-5 things they do better than other people and enjoy. Her “Fierce Emporium” is another offering that Lucia provides for those interested in identifying 8 traits for their “Fierce Cube.” So, take a listen to Lucia and get inspired!!  Our chat is the perfect length for a 20 minute walk for those in warmer climes or for sitting with a cup of hot chocolate if you are spending time indoors right now. Lucia Knight can be contacted at her website: midlifeunstuck.com

Amy Newmark, author, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Chicken Soup For The Soul book series is our first guest of 2021 on Growing Older With Gusto. Her writing career began in college when she travelled throughout Brazil interviewing regular people as part of her senior honors thesis at Harvard College.  Amy worked for three decades on Wall Street and became a hedge fund manager and tells us how writing was always a part of her pathway in the world of finance. 2008!  The year that Amy circled back to writing when she and her husband Bill acquired the Soup for The Soul Brand. Amy refreshed it, brought it up to speed with her perspective, and the brand is a BRAND NEW success story. More than 170 new books have been published since 2008,  with most of them becoming national bestsellers here in the US and Canada. Her latest book, Age Is Just A Number, 101 Tales of Humor and Wisdom for Life, is flying off the shelves. How amazing to bring an old soul to life again!  

Lynn Ruth Miller Our first episode of the year, 2021 is introducing the oldest living female comedienne.  She claims that is an apt description because she is the “oldest standing female comedienne! Based in London, Lynn Ruth Miller has been a guest on America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent and recently published her memoir, Getting The Last Laugh a tale of the steps she took to get to where she is at age 87. Some of the topics we talked about are: How she got to where she is today.Pleasant surprises when she got out of her comfort zone.Her secret sauce for living a fulfilling life.Early advice in life that she followed.Why she has lived to 87.What advice she would give her 40 year old self today.How she feels about ageism in todays world.The most important things in life from her vantage point.What is happiness? Surprisingly, she ends the episode by singing a song about COVID!!  She has a good voice for singing, and for communicating her wisdom on life! The interview is a perfect length for taking a walk in nature or kicking back in front of a warm fireplace!

Eileen Willams Our guest on the show this week is Eileen Williams, an author, blogger, speaker and podcast host. Her blog and podcast, both called Feisty Side of Fifty, focus on the lifestyle of the baby boomer generation. Her career has encompassed 20+ years of working as a career strategist for people looking to change careers. She’s been a frequent speaker on both radio and TV, and has been interviewed for various publications; Market Watch, Money Magazine, Kiplinger to name a few. Our conversation with Eileen on our podcast, GrowingOlder With Gusto,  focuses on how the years beyond Fifty can be vital, and a time to really do what ever you want. It’s a time where people know themselves better, have more freedom to explore, and can achieve more than they ever imagined. Eileen shares with our viewers and listeners the Five Key Ways to Age With Authenticity. The Five Keys are: Identify the Gift of Growing OlderLive with Conscious IntentionHonoring and Sharing Your Unique TalentsStepping Outside of Your Comfort ZoneGive Yourself Permission to Thrive She ends the Episode by telling us about the 3 things our listeners can do daily to grow older authentically. This show is the perfect episode to inspire you as you start thinking about ways of making a fresh start in 2021!

Our guest on the show this week is Peter E. Rork, MD, who practiced orthopedic surgery for 30 years before pivoting to a totally new business! His business has been showcased on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC, Fox & The Hallmark Channel. Peter decided to rewire, and not retire after a life altering event in 2012, by putting together his skills as a certified flight instructor and pilot (started flying at age 12) with his passion for transporting his furry friends (dogs and cats) to what he calls their “fur-ever” homes. His business for dogs at risk is called “Dog As My Co-Pilot” and operates from Jackson Hole, Wyoming! He began the business by flying rescue animals from the Rocky Mountains, southwest, and Pacific regions of the country. Many of the pets come from Texas, and there are current plans to expand to other parts of the country that are in great need of his service. The name of his NFP business stems from knowing that once the dogs get in the plane and up in the air they become calm. He feels it’s “like they know they are on a flight to freedom — and are truly his co-pilots”! His motto is “Leave No Dog Behind” and he and his limited staff work energetically to make sure all dogs are adopted and/or placed in no-kill shelters. The coordination of placement in adoption centers, and the flying of the pets take incredible tenacity with Peter making several stops a day while transporting the pets. A new affiliate of “Dog As My Co-Pilot” is Wondercide, an Austin based business that provide natural products for dogs and the home. Proceeds from this year will go towards a flight for the dogs. I asked him for advice for people growing older with gusto who want to help out. He suggests adopting an older dog, volunteering at a no-kill shelter, or just dropping off food and supples. For listeners who want to donate to a great cause or reach out to Peter Rork, M.D., and become a squadron go to https://dogcopilot.org Enjoy listening to the fascinating story of Peter Rork, MD, and how he went from helping people as a surgeon, to helping pets fly to freedom!

How do women find that great “Big Love” as they grow older? Listen to our guest on the show today tell us how her past experiences jettisoned from a journalism background, led her to create a business that helps women break down the barriers that have prevented them from finding what she calls, “Big Love”. She draws upon her past work experience as an intuitive coach where she helped women create a more expansive, magical and soulful life.  Her ability to help women clarify purpose in their lives was a steppingstone to creating her business, Moxie Creative & Consulting, based in downtown Chicago. Deb’s own life took a positive tailspin as she and her partner of three years decided right before she turned 60, to tie the knot, and create a blended family. The show talks about how women can rewire their brains for love, overcome roadblocks from losses or disappointing relationships,  and through the use of Neuroplasticity, remake and reinvent themselves so they can find their “Big Love”. Grab those earbuds and listen in as you walk off your Thanksgiving Dinner!

As the USA prepares for a virtual Thanksgiving, Growing Older with Gusto host Gail Zugerman welcomes video animator and techie Reno Lovison to the show to discuss some ideas for how to spend thanksgiving during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Reno shares some ideas for how to engage your family even while apart and at the end find a link to Reno's cute COVID Thanksgiving Parody that combines over the river and through the woods with lyrics you could only imagine in 2020. Check out Reno at: https://chicagobroadcastingnetwork.com

“I’m Not Done Yet” is the acronym for a UK based company called INDY. The founder of INDY, is Andrew Middleton. He is a British retired corporate executive who started INDY as a way to help people who are 50+ reinvent themselves, get past being stuck in an older mindset, or facing ageism in the workplace. Middleton draws upon his own personal and work experiences to help what he refers to as the INDY generation. Most, but not all of his people come from the 60’s and 70’s generation which show no signs of slowing down! The show describes what he refers to as the 7 INDY tribes that are evolving. Some of his tribes include : Community - bettering their community Love - looking for a new life love Fitness - running a marathon Entrepreneurial - starting a new business Ecology— helping the environment Middleton is using his skills to help people keep going and growing older with gusto. He promotes the INDY identify to empower people, tells inspiring stories and the end result is he helps them to find a new purpose in life. Come listen to the show as he tells us about the “Clarity Process” he uses with clients to help them get unstuck. Learn about the lawyer who through INDY is now leading tours through his town in the UK. It’s a quick listen and perfect for sitting in front of a fireplace to get some inspiration!

Our guest on the show this week who is making her second appearance is Yvonne Wolf, an intercultural consultant to China.  On the show, we have fun exploring the many ways the Chinese Zodiac influences how people grow older beginning in childhood. We begin the discussion by talking about the comparison of the Chinese Zodiac to the Zodiac in the Western Hemisphere. Our conversation with Yvonne talks about the significance of the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac. She explains that people can determine someone’s age based on their animal designation! Other interesting topics we cover include: Are there “good” animals and “bad” animals in the Chinese Zodiac? What makes the Chinese Zodiac so important to the Chinese people? The Zodiac’s influence on childhood, workplace marriage and family life. How the Chinese Zodiac Tie into Growing Older With Gusto? Yvonne will be back on the show talking with us about “Life Begins At 60” Come take a listen to Yvonne take us on a journey of sorts to China!  It’s a great way to ease yourself into a change of seasons and the Covid-19 fatigue!

Fighting Forward.  Jeopardy television game show host Alex Trebek, inspiration and beloved by many, passed away after a nearly two-year fight with pancreatic cancer.  The survival rate of pancreatic cancer today is in the single digits but The Lustgarten Foundation is fighting that every way it can.  Learn from President and CEO Kerri Kaplan of the Lustgarten Foundation, the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research, on how Alex Trebek has positively influenced pancreatic cancer research and ways in which they are positively impacting those who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and researches towards a cure. Donate to the Lustgarten Foundation Thanks to separate funding to support administrative expenses, 100% of your donation goes directly to pancreatic cancer research.   Gail Zugerman supports The Lustgarten Foundation

Guest Wendy Parman How does one take life events, and use them to catapult you forward in life? Come listen to our guest this week, Wendy Parman talk about her transformations from acting, singing and songwriting, to creating her own voice studio in Chicago, Illinois.  She credits her teacher when she was 10 years old in igniting the flame of creativity by allowing her, and her best friend to create a play that they wrote and performed. “Fragments of Heartbreak Reassembled Here” her solo performance and “Callie’s Solo” a musical comedy web series on UTube are based on her real-life experiences. Her voice studio located in Chicago, has pivoted recently due to the Covid crisis and produced a ZOOM version of her “Singers Salon” to do a benefit for an organization helping communities at risk on Chicago’s South Side. Come take a listen to Wendy Parman and learn how she is growing older with gusto.

Yvonne Wolf, our guest on the show this week, is an intercultural communicator who specializes in Asia. She tells us this is the philosophy of aging in Eastern Asia. I think it is also a privilege. Yvonne talks about the Asian mindset when it comes to exercise, diet, menopause, aging, and how the Asians revere those who are older. One story describes the surgeon general of Taiwan coming to senior centers to commend the people on staying healthy! Also,  the grandmother holds status!  Viewed as powerful, they take charge of budgets and other family matters. Older people are always the “go-to”  for advice! The age of CEO’s in Asia is generally at least 50 years old. So, we’ve just touched the surface. Yvonne will come back on the show and talk about:   The Chinese Zodiac and You   Why Life Starts At 60   Chinese Traditional Medicine and A Healthier You. So, take a listen - a perfect length for a walk!  

Sheila Stone Get out of your comfort zone. This is the advice Sheila Stone, our guest this week on the show gives for those wanting to grow older with gusto,! Sheila is the master of reinvention and works at helping women create a new life for themselves after 50. She is a great example herself as she went back to college at age 48 to get her degree and a Master’s degree in England. Not slowing down he started doing stand up comedy upon retiring to LA, and decided at age 60 to start a travel business. She is a big believer in creating a great life for yourself as you grow older and shares her ideas for adding some mojo to your state of mind! Her 3 tips for reinvention are: Dream Big but be realistic, Don’t let anyone shut you down(including friends and family), and don’t be defined by your age. Take a listen! This interview is the perfect companion to your Fall walk!

Listen to our latest guest, author Heidi Herman talk about how the idea of Butter was one of the sparks for her latest book. “On With The Butter - Spread More Living Onto Everyday Life” is a compendium of stories, challenges and advice, on how you can apply the metaphor of butter which makes everything taste better, to the of enhancing your life as you grow older. Herman’s family roots in Iceland and a close relationship with her Icelandic Mother were the impetus for putting her thoughts down on paper. The Icelandic phrase, “Afram Meo Smjorio” translates to “carry on, keep doing what you are doing, forge ahead and keep moving.” You will hear about how her mother did something new every day of the last year of her life, to how the author challenged herself to entering a Warrior Dash. Put in those earbuds and listen to a fun and engaging podcast interview!

Alana Dawson of Podcast Party Sometimes life events spiral our world in a life-enhancing way. This is what happened to Alana Dawson who suffered a serious health setback as a young wife and mom. It set her on the path to thinking about and executing what she refers to as her legacy.  This life-changing event was the catalyst for being more aware of how she wants to grow older, and interact with the world. Take a listen as she tells us about her journey.  Figuring out what I call your mojo, and being generous with it, are what Alana thinks are the keys to growing older with gusto! Alana's website:  alanadawson.com The interview is the perfect thing to listen to while you take a Fall walk!

What can I say about a 78 year old man who has the fitness age of 35?  Well, he has a lot to say about how he has been growing older with gusto! Come listen to Rico Caveglia share with us his 7 Essentials of Life, and how you, too can “Be Bold and Never Be Old!”  He has developed a lifestyle he calls the “Aging Living Lifestyle” that promotes a way of living that ensures we keep on moving in the right direction both physically and mentally. Rico is an author and a Senior Olympic State Winner in California and walks the talk! He is currently busy working on a virtual summit that will take place in November where he will have 50 top experts in the field of aging on the platform!  His new product offering is the “Ageless Body Self Care Guide” which will be available to people attending the summit. So, let me introduce Rico Caveglia! Put in your earbuds, listen to Rico and learn how to live agelessly!