My New Book!

It's here!  I'm thrilled and delighted to announce my newest book:

50 WAYS TO ENJOY TURNING FIFTY: 

Make the Most of Your Milestone Birthday to Have the Best Year Ever

Only $2.99.  Available here for PC or Kindle:   
http://bit.ly/MakingTheMostofTurningFifty

This self-help guide is packed with activities, examples and ideas to make the most of turning fifty -- to make your fiftieth year whatever you’d like it to be.

I've applied my expertise as an author, coach and Ph.D. specializing in creativity to develop and tailor this book for people to make the most of their mid-life milestone.  This book is designed to help you:

* appreciate your life thus far

* understand yourself better -- your unique attributes and what’s truly important to you

* do more of what you love -- and less of what you don’t

* strengthen important relationships

* treat yourself well

* have fun

* put things in order

* get rid of what you don’t need

* live a life you love

* put things in place for the future, and

* establish your legacy

Of course, you don’t need to do ALL of these things to have a terrific fiftieth year.  This book is designed so you can focus on whatever is important, appealing or interesting to you -- you can browse and bounce around the 50 Ways however you like.

How do you feel about turning fifty?

If you’re happy and excited and looking forward to a wonderful year:  this book is designed to help you make the most of your milestone.

If you’re feeling neutral -- that’s it’s just another birthday -- let me ask you this:  what if it didn’t have to be just another ho-hum year?  This book is packed with fifty ways to make this your best year ever.

If you’re full of dread:  this book will help you handle it...and in fact, turn it into an opportunity to live the life you really want.

Twenty is a time of exploring.  Thirty is a time of proving.  Forty is a time of establishing.  Fifty is a time of reflecting, re-connecting and re-grouping.  It’s a pivot point to the rest of our lives.  Why not use your milestone birthday to enjoy your life, improve your life and live the life you want?

50 WAYS TO ENJOY TURNING FIFTY: Make the Most of Your Milestone Birthday to Have the Best Year Ever
 
Available here for Kindle or PC for only $2.99:   http://bit.ly/MakingTheMostofTurningFifty

*****

Looking forward to your feedback on this -- message me or leave a comment below. 

Put Your Paperwork in Order

When my mother passed away unexpectedly, the greatest gift she gave me was that her legal paperwork was accurate, complete and up to date.  Her wishes were crystal clear.  It’s hard to think straight when you’re grieving, so having everything spelled out was a relief.  Having all the paperwork in order also saved me the expense, stress and emotional toll of probate, legal wrangling and tax hell. 

Julia was not so fortunate.  Sorting out her mother’s estate required a year of hemorrhaging money for legal fees and taxes --plus grappling with a mountain of indecipherable paperwork and umpteen stressful meetings.   

“It was so emotionally draining,” she said.  “Every meeting with the lawyer meant we had to relive mom’s death.  A half hour probate meeting would knock me out for the rest of the day.”

I'm determined to spare others from this unnecessary anguish.  I encourage you to ask yourself:  What kind of experience do you want for the people you care about? 

If you haven’t already, now is the time to update your will, your medical wishes, your funerary wishes, your trust and all other legal documents.  It’s also helpful to document your financial holdings, to bundle important information with your legal documents and to place it in a safe, secure location.

Activity:  Review your legal documents including your will, your medical wishes, your funerary wishes, etc.  What’s in place already?  What gaps need to be addressed?  Take the necessary steps to ensure all your legal documents are accurate and complete.  Inform your executor(s) of your medical and funerary wishes.

Activity:  Should something happen to you, what information will your heirs need?  Document important legal and financial information such as financial holdings, passwords, etc.

Activity:  Place your important legal and financial documents in a safe, secure location.  Inform your executor(s) of their location.

Your comments are most welcome.  Message me or leave a comment below.

The Joy of Giving

The joys and benefits of giving are legion.  How delightful it is to bestow kindnesses on strangers.  Or to ‘pay forward’ kindnesses received.  How rewarding to give important people in your life presents.  How soul-affirming to contribute to the greater community.

Research in the field of Positive Psychology overwhelming confirms what you probably know from your own experience:  Giving feels good and begets good.  

Jason hosted one of the best birthday parties I’ve attended.  He insisted that he wanted no presents, no libations, and no contributions to the event.  Instead, he made a point of providing everything...and giving his guests gifts.

            “I like giving,” he explained.  “Giving makes me happy.  I’d much rather give than receive so letting me do that is the best birthday gift you can give me.”

He has a point.  It feels great to give to those we care about.  If we can provide them with something we know they need or want, even better.

Of course you already give the important people in your life gratitude, affection and plenty more.   

As we turn fifty, we have an opportunity to give them something special -- as a way of celebrating our milestone.

Kelli flew her two best friends to a five star hotel in the Florida keys for a long weekend.  It was a treat for them -- and for her.  “We had a blast,” she reports.

 This year, I'm thinking about the significant people in my life and what I can give them.  You can too.

Activity:  Jot down the names of the people you care about most.  For each, brainstorm possible gifts.  It might be a letter that details why they are special to you.  It could be a handmade object of your affection.  Maybe you know they need a particular object or would love a specific service.  Perhaps they just want to spend time with you.

Your ideas and comments are most welcome.  Leave them below or message me.

Stretch Your Mind

One alarming thing I've noticed during my fiftieth year:  my brain is working slower.  Sometimes I have difficulty retrieving the correct word or name or phrase.  (The technical nae of this 'anomia' and it is most annoying).

Under the circumstances.  I'm thinking that this is a great time to give some attention to my mental acuity by doing things like:

* learning something new -- online, in classes or workshops or by other means

* reading

* doing puzzles of all sorts

* playing word or logic games

I know I'm not alone.  Luisa spent part of her fiftieth year learning Italian.  Abby digs doing crossword puzzles.  Chad enjoys taking philosophy courses online.  Jean-Guy is a sucker for Sudoku.

What about you?  How do you keep your mind sharp? Message me or leave a comment below.