Don't Die Before You're Dead

PSA...Do you have a bank account which you use regularly? Do you deposit fund into it and use your debit card for multiple transactions? Me too.I am sure that like you this has been going on for many years confident in the banking system. However, I have since learned just how vulnerable we are. Are you a criminal? Do you think like a criminal? Do you know any criminals? Like you, my answer to all these questions is NO! So how am I suppose to know how this fraud against my account through an ATM happened?Listen to what has transpired over the past 6 months in my quest for the return of funds lost through NO fault of my own.  If this happened to me, can it happen to you?

May was the beginning of road trips in preparation for the final leg of the cross Canada tour - the East coast.  Three trips in all: Wasaga Beach, North Bay and Kincardine. Betty handled things like a dream. June 7th became the schedule departure date.Then the long weekend brought about a dangerous detour. One that I never saw coming. What I thought was possible indigestion, wasn't.

When facing challenges on her job,  Annette Lavigne had to think  about her plans to continue working or retire, she decided it was time to open a new door. Through her years of being a Toastmaster, Annette knew she had many skills to help her move forward. One thing she knew for sure. She wasn't ready for retirement.With the help of others, Annette decided to take the necessary courses to move to a new industry...one of great interest to her. She studied and with working at her own pace, she passed the requirements to become a Mortgage Agent.She says that maybe you won't want to become what she has become, but to know that making changes even as you enter the senior years is very doable.

Are you journaling?  if so, how do you do it?  Are you typing on your computer so you can save files and take up less room than having books? Or handwriting?Handwriting really does have some benefits in writing your journal. As you focus on writing clearly, you can change some of your characteristics. Graphologists can offer lots of insight into how a person writes not just whether the writers are the same in pieces of writing.The benefits of journaling are many ranging from improving memory and concentration, strengthening ability to focus, and reduce stress and anxiety.Have a listen and see if you should either keep journaling or begin.

Dharma Bums Yoga has been teaching yoga for nearly 20 years.  Bums yoga! Love that name as the owner, Rachel Page focuses on chair yoga for seniors and beginners. During this episode Rachel shares her passion for using yoga to strengthen core muscles, improve flexibility and movement and the importance of breathing properly for maximum oxygenation.Listen as she explains how to get these tremendous benefits even if you have limited mobility.  You can also catch some of her demos on my YouTube Channel - Merri Macartney.Either way, if all you get out of this is the importance of taking the time to breathe efficiently a few times a day, your body will love you.

What do you do when you find that your life is being consumed by too much work and not enough living? Time for a change. Listen as Leanne and Lyle McCabe share with me how they sold their business and decided to downsize in order to travel the world.  Although they weren't working that business anymore they chose to set up a business that relates to their dreams. Thus BeachTravelWine.com was born.The life they now lead together appeals to their priority of staying active and healthy.  It is also their dream to reach out to others through their podcasts and blog. Leanne and Lyle are very open with how they came to make the decision to embark on this new chapter and how they are managing to live their dream. Truly an inspiration to those who wish to stop just thinking about their dream but go out and get it.

This episode starts with a meandering 15 minute, turned 1 hour, trip to the coffee shop. Google maps outlined ways for me to go but when I came across some of the streets, I decided not to go down them.  Some were too hilly, some too broken up or muddy. In any case I would change directions and then try to find another route. I came to crossroads, deadends and consequently made many U turns.I did, however, reach my destination.As I was meandering, I thought of just how much life can be like that. We start off in one direction and usually end up making some kind of adjustment to our plans. I know I have been on many detours and run into deadends...like 2 practice marriages.How are you doing? Are you up for changes too?  Retirement can create many of these situations for us, especially if we did not plan on it. Then what's a person to do?Listen to some of my meandering thoughts and see if you might agree.

Hayley Mayer from Sydney Australia is a psychotherapist who has faced a traumatic experience and has since learned to dance with life not wrestle with it. She offers tools and techniques to implement when faced with challenges and others who might try to step over your boundaries. Hayley's focus is on the importance of self-love saying it is foundational to living a life filled with our purpose.Her idea of loving ourselves is to talk consider what you would say to a 5 year old child. If you wouldn't say it to them, then don't say it to yourself.Listen as Hayley talks about the self-love vs selfishness conundrum.  What's your take? Agree or disagree?

Owner and founder of The Couples Clinic, therapist Ronnie Littlewood, shares with us some insights into how to strengthen relationships going into this new year.These apply to all types of relationships regardless of ages or gender although her comments might be more relevant to a female audience.Her practice plus her personal life experiences were shared to provide listeners with some tips and strategies to help them move forward in whatever relationships might need a boost.

Is this the time of year when you stop to reflect on where you are in life? Do you ask yourself how things are different this year from this time last year?  Many people do.As you think about your life and how you got to where you are today, consider that you will be in the same place this time next year. How would you like things to be then?Listen as I read to you the closing passage of my book, Don't Die Before You're Dead,  and consider my challenge.

Sometimes people think that once their education for a formal career is done, there is no longer any need to look for other opportunities to learn. That might work for some but the fact is that we need to keep our brains engaged.  Like the old adage says, use it or lose it.What can this added learning be? Anything and for any reason. Whether it is merely an interest or pursuit of a side hustle, it doesn't matter. Learning opportunities are everywhere.  This podcast includes how to find free opportunities to expand knowledge and others might cost a fee dollars. Take a listen to see if there is anything that will inspire you to carry on becoming a life-long learner.

It is easy to think about aiming for work/life balance but not so much when we think about life/life balance.  Sometimes it is easy to get unmotivated and feeling stuck in the doldrums like the short days of early winter.In this podcast there are 5 possible ideas that could help add some balance. Retirees know only too well how easy it is to get stuck in a routine and miss out of living a full life while they still can.The idea is always to do what you can, while you can, for as long as you can. 

After having fallen off the wagon for quite some time, what is needed to get back on? First it begins with acknowledging that it is indeed possible to start where you left off. Yes, it might be embarrassing, a matter of pride but being honest is a great first step. Realizing that we are not alone in having fallen is empowering. We are human and we are not alone in facing this issue. Why we face it might be very different but how we can recover is the same. Just start. Remember that time is racing and leaving things till tomorrow might be the biggest part of the problem. Tomorrow never comes and very quickly it becomes a matter of many many tomorrows have passed.That's what happened to me. Now I begin anew.Listen in as I share my viewpoint today. I invite you to hold me accountable. If you want me to do the same, just let me know.

My guest Lori Lococo is a current Niagara Falls City Councilor and is running for re-election this fall.  When I first met Lori she was an office administrator for a legal firm and was one of the top district leaders in Toastmasters. Listen in as Lori tells how her experiences allowed her to develop key skills for being a team player, for understanding he need for due diligence in decision making and how to be servant leader to her community. Find out how Lori assessed her skills and used them create a new direction for her life.

Many ask the question about what's life going to be like after they retire. What can they do? What do they want to do? Cindy Pavella retired from her career job dealing with group insurance and employee benefits. After a short hiatus to reset, she settled into an entirely different industry as customer representative for a museum and planetarium.In this interview, Cindy tells us how she came about making a new life for herself and also about the joy she finds in her volunteering. Listen as she tells of her experiences and how her next chapter has opened up a whole new world.

More than likely the day will come when the memories you hold in your memory bank will be of more value that the money you have deposited in your bank account. At that time, you might be limited in what you can and can't do, can go and can't go but with your memories you are free to redo what you've done and revisit places you've been.Realize now while you can that those memories will be priceless to you in your golden years so make them now while you can.  Become conscious of the passing of time. Make every day one worth remembering. Uplift your spirits or perhaps uplift someone else's.Invest in the bank that will reward you for years to come.

Now is the time of year when we become more engaged in self reflection.  We know that a brand new year is imminent and we give a thought or two to new year's resolutions.  Even if we don't believe in them, we can't help but let them cross our minds if only to scoff at them.Many days in the year go by with nary  a thought to how our lives are shaping up. And yet when we see the all too familiar marker of time marching past, we pause to reflect.Or at least I hope we do.Ask some elderly folks who have become experts at looking back on their lives and they will often tell you that they don't regret the things they did, but rather the things they didn't do.If only they had used their time in reflection to create plans for a new direction.Is this you? Listen as I share some strategies that have worked for me. Then dare to live the life you are meant to live.

From childhood we learn that there are certain things expected from us. We catch on early that our parents then our teachers expect us to behave according to the "norms" we see around us. Those of us who don't adhere to those behaviors soon find that life present challenges that those who do adhere don't tend to face.For those who live up to the expectations life seems to offer more rewards and opportunities to move forward. There are also societal expectations that tend to govern our lives. They are found in our continuing education, relationships, and career choices. As we mature and progress through life we find ourselves acknowledging that there are certain times when we are expected to have a life partner, begin a family and even buy a home.Have you noticed this? Are you aware that you may be living your life according to those expectations? Are you living in the box? That's where the expectations are.Discover what it might mean for you to live outside the box...at least according to expectations.

Because Covid 19 came with restrictions, lockdowns and border closures,  plans for my Cross Canada tour was not a possibility. Instead of taking on the huge disappointment as a cancellation, I saw it as an opportunity to adjust my plans.Instead of cross Canada, I opted to fully tour Ontario - a province I had lived in my whole life but never fully explored...till summer 2021.Instead of being a speaking and book signing tour, it became a friendship tour as I visited friends I hadn't seen in a very long time. Instead of being about delivering my message of doing what you can while you can for as long as you can, I lived it fully every day.Act I became my practice tour. Act II will be planning for the cross Canada tour of 2022 and Act III will be the execution.Listen in as I share how Act I set the stage for the rest of the play - Don't Die Before You're Dead.