BizTechDay Star - Michael Gerber - Part 1

Of everything I attended at BizTechDay, Michael Gerber’s presentations stood out as the best of the best. Why? Because everything else was about using technology as an entrepreneur, and Michael’s was about the entrepreneur, the person behind the technology. All the technology in the world will not help an entrepreneur who lacks the appropriate mindset, or who lacks the insights required to succeed.

Michael gave us all this and more. And the most inspiring thing to me is that Michael is 73 years old and still going strong and contributing his gifts to the world. That inspires me because my vision and mission is to change the meme around aging, change the way people think and feel about aging, and inspire elders to share their wisdom.

Some of the first words out of his mouth were shocking, “If you don’t want to grow your business, pack it up now”. So, in easily digestible nuggets, here are some of the main points Michael made:

• Ask yourself three questions: What is the significant thing my company is here to do? Is it scalable? Is it transformational?
• Work on the model of your scalable, transformational business. Become a Master of Business Design (MBD).
• Create a perfect system that works so you don’t have to.
• This exquisite operating system includes every single component of your business.
• It makes no difference what product or a service you offer. This exquisite system is the key to success.

• Companies are started by Technicians who suffer entrepreneurial seizures; don’t just create a job, pretending to be a business.
• Replicate a company that is transformational.
• The very first system to create is client fulfillment.

Next Michael talked about the Dream and Creativity:

• What is your dream? What is the great result you want to produce?
• It’s about your destiny and you’ve got to know what it is -- the one thing you want to transform.
• Be creative right now in your own personal economy.
• The Dreamer has a Dream, the Thinker has the Vision.
• The Dreamer, Thinker, Storyteller, and the Leader must be present to create and sustain a successful business.
• We must transcend to transform! This is the spiritual work of an entrepreneur.

He said one must absolutely have a blank sheet of paper and a beginners mind, because you can’t fix a broken business, you have to create a new one. Think about this for your own business. I did this about mine, and it propelled me into right action.

I’ll have more juicy tidbits in the next post. Watch for it!

Healthy Bones, an Overview

This guest post is by Damon P. Miller II, MD, ND


Our bones are alive, constantly renewing and rebuilding themselves, and to have strong and healthy bones, there are some simple steps you can take.

The most important drug for your bones is exercise. Gardening and housework are some of the best exercises. Running, walking and cycling give a good workout to the legs, but do not do much to strengthen the bones of the spine and upper extremities. If your lifestyle does not include cutting wood and carrying water, you need to include weight training in your exercise routine. I prefer the slow motion weight training for its safety record and effectiveness (this is what they do at Alive! Whole Life Fitness). Yoga and Pilates classes that focus on core strength are widely available, affordable and useful.

Lessening the risk of hip fracture is important, but by my reading, the value of the pharmaceuticals such as Fosamax is over-rated. These drugs have some risks (ask your dentist about Fosamax induced osteonecrosis), and the decrease in risk of hip fracture is so small as to be almost zero. Research has shown that there is far better data for the value of taking adequate amounts of Vitamin D3 each day. Women who have hip fractures are almost always deficient in Vitamin D, and women who take adequate amounts of Vitamin D3 have a markedly reduced risk of hip fracture. I recommend at least 1000 to 3000mg per day of Vitamin D3. To put this dosage in perspective, know that a caucasian person in a sunny climate can produce almost 10,000mg per day of Vitamin D, with no known adverse effects.

The current recommendations for calcium intake are probably too high. Also, most women take far too little magnesium. I recommend that you take equal amounts of a soluble, well absorbed calcium and magnesium supplement, and for many women, recommend more magnesium than calcium. Use magnesium malate, which is less likely to cause diarrhea, 1-4grams per day, and calcium citrate-malate, 250-450mg per day.

The best food sources of calcium are organic dark-green leafy vegetables such as collards and kale. Milk from cows is not a good source of calcium for most people. The reasons for this are complex, and include the fact that the proteins found in milk (whey, casein and albumin) cause an exaggerated loss of calcium in the urine. People who consume milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream daily lose more calcium than they take in from the milk, and end up in a negative calcium balance. We in the United States have the highest per capita consumption of milk and dairy products of any country in the world, and we also have the highest incidence of osteoporosis induced fractures. You figure it out. (Visit www.notmilk.com for some wild fringe information on the dairy industry)

Bone density studies do not measure the strength of your bone, just the density. Density does not necessarily equate with strength. Read The Myth of Osteoporosis by Gillian Sanson for a good discussion of this.

Use this affirmation: “My bones are alive, and I have strong and healthy bones.”


Dr. Miller has recorded a two-CD set of one of his best talks on bone health. You can get a copy at: http://www.bettereyehealth.com/item--Healthy-Bones-CD-Set--SU-001680.html, or by calling his office at 888-838-3937.

I am not a Senior Citizen -- I am an Elder

While perusing some elderbloggers blogs, I came across a discussion of the term Senior Citizen v.s. Elder. Language has always intrigued me, so I decided to dig further.

Did you know that Dictionary.com defines a Senior Citizen as:

• an elderly or aged person, especially one who is retired or whose principal source of support is a pension or Social Security benefits.

What a non-descript definition. How utterly boring and useless.

An Elder, on the other hand is defined as:

• a person who is older or higher in rank than oneself.
• an aged person.
• an influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler; a superior.

The Bible Dictionary (not one I usually frequent, but pertinent here) defines Elder as:

• a name frequently used in the Old Testament as denoting a person clothed with authority, and entitled to respect and reverence (Gen. 50:7).

Now, which would you rather be called as you age, Senior Citizen? Or Elder? I know without a doubt you can consider me an “Elder”. Don’t call me a “Senior Citizen” unless you want to insult me! You’ve been forewarned.

Powerful Aging Tip #6

Sex – otherwise known as intimacy

According to Dr.’s Oz and Roizen in You: Staying Young, “having monogamous, regular sex has been proven to extend your life.” Yes, sometimes (actually in many instances) women lose their libido as they pass menopause, if they have a hysterectomy, or have their ovaries removed. There are natural solutions out there. I highly recommend finding a sympathetic, knowledgeable health care practitioner who specializes in this area and get healed! One of the joys of aging is having the ability to give and receive love through intimacy with a beloved partner. It brings you touch, love and emotional connection.

In Younger Next Year for Women by Crowley and Lodge they state “Sexuality, which is the limbic component of touch and emotional connection, is more important than physical sex, and if you can’t have sex for some reason, snuggling works almost as well.”

Recommended Reading:

The Hormone of Desire: The Truth About Testosterone, Sexuality, and Menopause, by Susan Rako, M.D.

Ecstatic Lovemaking: An Intimate Guide to Soulful Sex, by Victoria Lee, Hugh Prather, and Gayle Prather

Powerful Aging Tip #5

Stress – some is necessary; too much is harmful.

One of the first things I recommend is de-stressing. There’s just so much going on in our lives, it’s become easier and easier to feel overwhelmed, burnt out and SERIOUS. Sometimes it’s stress related to health issues; sometimes to relationships; sometimes finances, you get the point.

Here are some tips to de-stress:

• Immediately focus on the present by feeling the physical sensations in your body. Become aware of your breathing and slow it down. Six breaths in, a slight pause and 4 breaths out works well for me.

• Notice the way your body feels, hear what you hear, see what you’re seeing. If it’s pain you’re dealing with, focus on the parts of your body that feel good rather than the painful area. Being present to what is stops the mind’s negative chatter.

• Stop worrying. Say to your self “ I don’t need to worry now, I can worry all I want in 5 minutes”. When the 5 minutes is up, give yourself another 5. The worry cycle is usually broken after the first 5 minutes!

• If your mind decides to focus on the problem situation anyway, see the situation resolved in the best possible way. To engage all your senses, first see what you’ll see when it is resolved, then hear what you’ll hear, and then feel how you will feel when the problem is solved.

For example, if it’s related to weight loss see yourself in a mirror looking like you want to look, hear what others will be telling you about how great you look, and feel the emotions you’ll have when you look and feel lighter!

All these steps will create a space between the “problem” and how you think about it. You’ll get new insights about how to handle it, and discover new, more effective strategies to create what you want in your life.

Powerful Aging Tip #3

Food we eat – can mean the difference between life and death!

Eat an anti-inflammatory diet by avoiding refined, processed foods. They contain pro-inflammatory additives, carbohydrates and fats. So, just what foods are anti-inflammatory?

Stop eating starch; that means refined carbohydrates and the white stuff we so love like potatoes, white rice and foods made with refined flour. Why is it bad? More calories per pound and no “I’m full” signal spells overeating and poor nutrients.

Use extra-virgin olive oil when preparing your food; eat oily fish or take a high-quality fish oil supplement.

Replace foods made with white flour and sugar with those made with whole grains. Add colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet.

Reduce your chicken and red meat consumption – they contain a pro-inflammatory amino acid. Replace some of these meats with beans that are high in vegetable protein.

And don’t forget the black or green tea, high in anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.

Now, quantity does matter. Studies have shown that reduced caloric intake increases longevity. Something I’ve done that has proven helpful is to eat a good breakfast with plenty of protein, my main meal at lunch , and a very light supper early in the evening.

Any time you feel stuffed after eating, you’ve eaten too much. How do you stop before you’re stuffed? You eat SLOWER and with intention, noticing how your food tastes and the minute you feel satisfied, you STOP eating. It actually takes 20 minutes for you to notice the feeling of fullness, so if you stuff it down while distracted by TV, you will not notice when you are full.

Powerful Aging Tip #2

Cardiovascular Exercise - Why?
To improve our ability to circulate the blood around in our bodies.

To find out your target maximum heart rate, start with 220, deduct your age and multiply by 80%. For example:

220 – 66 (age) = 154 x .80 = 123 my target maximum heart rate.

To start, get it up there for 20 minutes, 3 times a week. Work your way up to doing 45 minutes of aerobic exercise four days a week. How you ask, well speed walking is one of the best ways to do this because it’s low impact – meaning your joints will last longer and feel better. Of course, biking, hitting the treadmill, and any other activity that elevates your heart rate and keeps it there.

Always consult your health care provider before starting any new exercise regimen.

Powerful Aging Tip #1

Strength Training is critical to the rest of your life because it increases your coordination as well as your ability to perform the functions of daily living.

Three pounds of lean muscle burns up to 10,000 calories a month just sitting on the couch. However, I don’t recommend being a couch potato!

Do strength training 2 times a week for 20-minutes using a slow motion, high intensity, and low impact method. Do it to full muscular fatigue and you’ll gain 50% more muscular strength than with traditional methods. Because muscle weighs more than fat, you may actually see your weight on a scale increase.

Don’t look at your weight, look at your “waist” measurement. If you carry fat mainly around your waist, you are more likely to develop health problems than if you carry fat mainly in your hips and thighs. Women with a waist measurement of more than 35 inches or men with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches may have a higher disease risk than people with smaller waist measurements because of where their fat lies.

It also:

• Increases your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
• Increases your body’s blood sugar tolerance and help prevent adult onset diabetes.
• Increases your bone density.
• Increases your body’s ability to regulate its’ internal temperature.
• Decreases your percentage of body fat.
• Lowers your cholesterol/HDL ratio.

And besides, it’s fun! It also creates endorphins which make you feel good, keeping depression at bay.

Try it, you’ll like it and, once you see and feel the results, you’ll love it.

Afraid of aging?

Don't read this is you are afraid of aging and only want to confront it when you take your last breath. This won’t be for you; it might make you wake up and create a life worth living.

I’ve started reading the book, “What Are Old People For?” by William H. Thomas, M.D., and he says many of the things I've come to believe (and experience) around the aging process. We both agree is is a NATURAL part of life; just like birth, childhood, adolescence, young adult, middle-aged adult, and MATURE adult (think old, but without the cultural crap associated with that word).

As we age we accumulate a lifetime of insights, challenges overcome, strategies for living -- just plain wisdom -- which we now have access to as we continue to live our lives. What a splendid gift; both for ourselves and for others younger who would, given an open mind and heart, reap the benefit of our experience.

As Dr. Thomas so wisely points out, “aging requires life...being alive is a continuous prerequisite for growing old...given a choice between aging and death, we choose to grow old.” Amen! I choose to grow old and to do it powerfully, and make it fun and fabulous.

One of the first things I recommend is de-stressing. There’s so much going on in our lives it’s become easier and easier to feel overwhelmed, burnt out and SERIOUS. Sometimes it’s stress related to health issues; sometimes to relationships; sometimes finances, you get the point.

Here are some tips to de-stress:

1- Immediately focus on the present by feeling the physical sensations in your body. Become aware of your breathing and slow it down. Six breaths in, a slight pause and 4 breaths out works well for me.

Notice the way your body feels; hear what you hear, see what you’re seeing. If it’s pain you’re dealing with, focus on the parts of your body that feel good rather than the painful area. Being present to what is stops the mind’s negative chatter.

2- Stop worrying. Say to your self “ I don’t need to worry now, I can worry all I want in 5 minutes”. When the 5 minutes is up, give yourself another 5. The worry cycle is usually broken after the first 5 minutes!

3- If your mind decides to focus on the problem situation anyway, see the situation resolved in the best possible way. To engage all your senses, first see what you’ll see when it is resolved, then hear what you’ll hear, and then feel how you will feel when the problem is solved.

For example, if it’s related to weight loss see yourself in a mirror looking like you want to look, hear what others will be telling you about how great you look, and feel the emotions you’ll have when you look and feel lighter!

All these steps will create a space between the “problem” and how you think about it. You’ll get new insights about how to handle it, and discover new, more effective strategies to create what you want in your life.

It’s worked for me, and I’ve started to sleep better too! More on sleep in the next post.

How I stopped trying and started living

My mind was racing - again - as I thought of the thirty odd things I had to do; all of them seemingly critical to our success. As I talked on the phone to my friend Patty, I whined about how much work I’d had to do on getting her courses up and running on our online scheduling system; I whined to my other friend, Carol, the organizer extraordinaire, about a visit from an old friend that had created more unfinished work for me to do. In retrospect, It seems like I whined to every unfortunate soul I came in contact with today - ick!

As I listened to myself, I began to feel uncomfortable at how un-resourceful I sounded, how I sounded like a freaking victim -- which I definitely am not! I stopped in my tracks and looked at what work I was doing and realized how much I had accomplished and that much of it I actually enjoyed; I could even say it was fun and challenging.

I had allowed an old habit of not being present to what was actually happening sidetrack me from noticing what I was doing in that very moment, moving from one task to the next intuitively and gracefully and enjoying myself.

As I let my ideas and old habits drop away, I became still and saw the absolute perfection in what I had chosen to do in that moment. Past moments dropped away, future tripping stopped and I took my dog, Max, for a walk -- I simply let go and followed the flow of what was right in each moment, and it was perfect and effortless and fun.

The older I get, the better I get at seeing the unconscious moments and moving out from them. I really like aging!

I've discovered I'm not Superwoman - shocking!

I haven’t blogged for over a month while we moved our fitness studio out of the back yard converted workshop into a commercial space three times bigger. This has been one of the most difficult moves I’ve ever done -- and I’ve done a lot of them. It was basically my husband, James, and myself with one day of help from a dear friend and my son and his significant other.

I’ve always been able to do anything I set my mind to, and I’ve been accustomed to taking care of pretty much everything other than the physical stuff -- arthritis being a factor. This time I felt stretched well over my limits and there were times when I wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. Kinda’ like when I was a kid and it seemed safe and cozy and warm in there.

Well, I survived and I’m a much wiser person for it. Now I know I need to get more help, not just to move but in the business itself. This one-woman army is looking for a team to work with. I’m not Superwoman anymore!

My story - 6 years ago - Called "Turning 60"

I am living a life today that just seven years ago I considered impossible. But this miracle is one I created for myself – by making new choices, I have made a new life. I hope by sharing my story, others will realize they can do this too.

Right before I turned 60, I felt deeply depressed about my life. Actually, I felt I had no life and realized I had to change my health or die. I had developed Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 36 while living in the religious commune of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. I had watched it progress from some intermittent right hand pain to full-blown Rheumatoid Arthritis, eventually claiming my right hand, left hand, neck, jaw, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles and toes. It seemed as if there was virtually no place in my body that wasn’t on fire with a toothache-like pain that was unremitting. With its’ accompanying constant feeling of weakness, depression, and loss of life energy, I began to over identify this illness as who I was. For more than twenty-five years I existed in a living hell, with no real hope of ever emerging again. I tried every known, and many unknown, remedies! All failed me, creating an ever-deepening cycle of despair and hopelessness.

In 1999, I was somehow managing to hold down a full time job at Stanford University, but the disease had progressed to the point where I was unable to walk even half a block, and I was in bed by 6:00PM each evening. On Mother’s Day the year I was 59, I was so sick I had to cancel a visit to my beloved youngest son in Albany, a mere 50-minute drive. I touched a depth of sadness I had never reached before, and had thoughts that death was a preferred alternative to the life I was living.

My dearest friend, Katrina, had been telling me for several years about a nutritionist who had helped cure her of her allergies, but I hadn’t actually been ready to pay money to heal myself; I guess I didn’t feel worthy. I had also tried so many different methods to cure this nasty disease that I no longer believed that there was any cure out there. But now I was morbidly desperate and willing to do anything to feel better so I went to see Dr. Harold Kristal, a Metabolic Nutritionist in San Rafael, CA. After a series of lab tests and psychological assessments, he determined my metabolic type was a “Slow Oxidizer”, and recommended very specific dietary supplements and foods tailored to me. He also told me that sugar was poison for me, something I actually knew because every time I ate sugar-laden foods my joints became very painful. However, I had lapsed into emotional eating as my only real pleasure in life, so I had continued to eat foods that I knew intuitively were bad for me. I began my new dietary regimen immediately upon leaving his office and actually felt better that same day. I was at least 65 pounds overweight at that time, and lost 9 pounds the first week. I finally had energy and could walk more than one block! My joint pain decreased so that I was able to cut my arthritis medicine injections in half. I followed his program religiously and to the letter. Once I began to feel more energy and less pain I knew I could never go back to the old way of eating and living – healthy living is now an absolute requirement for me.

I had to learn all about metabolic nutrition in order to fully accept this program; I had previously failed so many other so-called “diet plans”. I bought Dr. Kristal’s book and proceeded to learn all I could. Once again, necessity and the drive to learn kicked into high gear. I became so knowledgeable, and was so successful in losing weight (50 pounds and counting), increasing my energy level, and ameliorating my arthritis symptoms, my example inspired many friends and acquaintances to go see my nutritionist as well. I learned that I could inspire and motivate people to change, both through example and knowledge of the subject.

Now that I had energy, my Rheumatologist recommended I start doing slow motion, low impact, high intensity strength training, something I never thought I’d be able to do -- the standard gyms and spandex-clad exercisers years younger than me were not at all appealing. However, I wanted to be able to open car doors, reach into cupboards and get plates, get in and out of a bathtub by myself, so I decided to put my objections aside and start the strength training. I was very gratified to discover that this particular type of strength training was done one-on-one with your own trainer, usually in private sessions. The results have been nothing short of amazing, even to my Physical Therapist. Over a span of two years, I went from not being able to walk half a block to walking more than three strenuous miles, leg pressing 340 pounds (more than twice my body weight), and back pressing 140 pounds. I also gained 10% bone mass!

This inspired my husband to learn how to train others in in this method, which in turn led to a mid-life career change for him. Once again I learned the power of inspiration and example in changing lives. We both wanted to share this safe, effective and powerful strength training method with others so we opened Alive! Whole Life Fitness Studio where we specialize in private, one-on-one slow motion, low impact, high intensity strength training we call SafeStrength® . Now, as a Health & Wellness Coach, I want to inspire more people over age 50 to live healthier lifestyles and remain active, productive members of society throughout their lifespan.

I’m also ardent about helping women approaching 60 (and beyond) understand that aging is NOT a disease--this is the most incredible time of our lives. I've been so inspired to help other women like me, I went back to school and became a life coach so I could have the skills to motivate and coach others about the tremendous possibilities available to us. Second Adulthood is a time when we can create passionate lives around our deepest dreams and values, coming alive to create communities of older wise women where our wisdom is shared and we make a difference in the world. I want to coach women who want to age with pride, vigor, passion, commitment, and joy.

Now, instead of being crippled by my arthritis and depression, I have so much energy and excitement about life that I can't stop thinking about the things I want to do.

P.S: It’s 2009 now and I’m 66. Most of this is still true, although my coaching doesn’t specifically focus on Health & Wellness any longer. My husband has developed his own strength training protocol -- SafeStrength®, and started a training program to train trainers in the method.

I’ve done a lot of NLP trainings from which I’ve become certified as an NLP Coach & Health Practitioner, as well as a WealthyMind™ Trainer. My latest certification is in Hypnosis from the NLP Institute of California. I just can’t seem to stop learning! And I love NLP for absolutely changing my life and how I see myself in it.