DANCING WITH THE STARS CONTESTANTS ARE GREAT ROLE MODELS OF REWIRING!

Dancing with the Stars is a terrific metaphor for Rewiring™. The celebrities involved are almost always people who achieved a level of fame, but now the reason for that fame is fading, faded--or gone. But they still want to be visible and known for something.

The stars I’m talking about weren't trained as dancers. But like great dancers, these actors and athletes almost always are willing to make a sacrifice. Actors wait on tables and athletes strain almost daily at the gym. In the case of dancing, all of them had to learn a whole new set of skills. They are always drawing on strengths from their past, whether that's talent, discipline, courage, or simply the ability to make people want to root for them.

Significant is the fact that none of them rewire alone. They seek out encouragement and training from a variety of sources, from their primary dancing instructors to the parade of motivators that surface during their training and performances. By taking the risk of looking foolish, failing, or having people say they should have stayed retired or out of the limelight, they have opened themselves up to new opportunities. There is a lesson here for all of us.

WORKING OUT AND WALKING ARE GREAT ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPORTS

I've heard that during times of change and challenge that people take to working out more. I was curious to see if there was any data to support this notion, and discovered that the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association had some very interesting findings.

Since a lot of the work I do has to do with mature workers, remember that is any one over the age of 40, (I know many of you may be freaking!) I have a high interest in that group. I learned that the most popular athletic activities among people 55+ are fishing and golf followed by fitness walking, treadmill exercise, stretching, and the use of hand weights.

Since people are watching their money, I love the fact that walking, stretching, and lifting weights are free or inexpensive, and in this economy, that sounds pretty good. In fact The Wall Street Journal had a great editorial by Cameron Stracher called RUNNING FOR LEAN TIMES.

I live in New York City, and have run in the MORE mini- marathon, but more importantly for me, I walk alot. The health benefits of walking are huge. Walkers are a lot healthier than their sedentary friends. Walking reduces the chances for cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, and if these aren't good enough reasons to put on your sneakers or comfortable shoes I don't know what are! Yes it means that you have to rewire your mindset and view walking as fun and as a positive move, and not as drudgery!

And by the way, when you walk you will want to stretch before and after. And that means you've participated in two positive sports!! So go for it. And start out slowly; don't overdue and don't try to prove that you're a jock if you're not!

YOGA CAN KEEP YOU YOUNG

I had been saying that I wanted to build yoga in to my life for awhile now. And like many of you, I live in the land of good intentions (it sounds better than saying the land of procrastination) and some things get done faster than others. But I'm pleased to say that practicing yoga and trying to live what I call a yoga life--- are now a part of my life. I always knew that yoga was good for my body, soul and spirit but I was even more thrilled when a friend sent me the article entitled: "YOGA'S GRANNY SWAMI"http://www.news.com.au/

Bette Calman is an 83 year old yoga instructor who has no problem doing a headstand and has taught the spirit of yoga for over 40 years. She is an inspiration on every level. As I travel the country giving people ideas on how they can rewire their life I now add ---and try yoga. Be aware that there are many different types of yoga and yogis so you may try a few different classes before you find one that feeds your spirit and soul.

If you want to do some homework, read YOGA JOURNAL or check out The Everything Yoga blog at http://www.itsallaboutyoga.com/.
Namaste

Suzanne Braun Levine Does It Again!

The whole "age thing" can rock people. Some people out there are denying their age; even denying to themselves that they're getting older. And then some people I know, not many, but some, say they are actually older than they really are so others will think they look terrific for their age! ( and can you imagine one time the culprit was my own little sister!) She got back into yoga and living right and quickly returned to her senses.

But it is the French philosophy that I love. They say "you have to feel good in your own skin." For all I know the French could be big fans of plastic surgery but regardless I still think it's a wonderful philosophy to live by.

And now Suzanne Braun Levine's new book, FIFTY Is the New Fifty, offers a great new philosophy that I think many of us have been waiting for! The book is honest, practical, inspiring even a little irreverant and everyone should read it and LIVE IT! And if you want to know more or subscribe to her newsletter visit http://www.suzannebraunlevine.com/.
You keep us in the present and honest Suzanne!

DOCTORS SAY- DON'T RETIRE! and LIVE TO 100!

It's one thing for me to say to people, don't retire, but it's a whole other thing when doctors and medical research supports my belief! Deborah Kotz of USNews, recently wrote an article, entitled: 10 Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100. I've included a few pertinent paragraphs below.

The biggest factor that determines how well you age is not your genes but how well you live. Not convinced? A new study published in the British Medical Journal of 20,000 British folks shows that you can cut your risk of having a stroke in half by doing the following four things: being active for 30 minutes a day, eating five daily servings of fruit and vegetables, and avoiding cigarettes and excess alcohol.

While those are some of the obvious steps you can take to age well, researchers have discovered that centenarians tend to share certain traits in how they eat, move about, and deal with stress—the sorts of things we can emulate to improve our own aging process. Of course, getting to age 100 is enormously more likely if your parents did. Still, Thomas Perls, who studies the century-plus set at Boston University School of Medicine, believes that assuming you've sidestepped genes for truly fatal diseases like Huntington's, "there's nothing stopping you from living independently well into your 90s." Heck, if your parents and grandparents were heavy smokers, they might have died prematurely without ever reaching their true potential lifespan, so go ahead and shoot for those triple digits by following these 10 habits:

1. Don't retire. "Evidence shows that in societies where people stop working abruptly, the incidence of obesity and chronic disease skyrockets after retirement," says Luigi Ferrucci, director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The Chianti region of Italy, which has a high percentage of centenarians, has a different take on leisure time. "After people retire from their jobs, they spend most of the day working on their little farm, cultivating grapes or vegetables," he says. "They're never really inactive." Farming isn't for you? Volunteer as a docent at your local art museum or join the Experience Corps, a program offered in 19 cities that places senior volunteers in urban public elementary schools for about 15 hours a week.

Now do you belive me when I tell you take the time to read Don't Retire, REWIRE! You won't be sorry!

JOB SITES FOR MATURE WORKERS

I did a program this weekend in West Bloomfield, Michigan entitled: PRIME TIME OVER 50 sponsored by Jewish Vocational Services of Detroit. http://www.jvsdet.org/. JVS does outstanding work for a wide variety of constituents and employs some of the most compassionate, caring people that I have ever had the opoporutnity to work with!

The audience was comprised of several hundred energetic people who were all in some type of work transition. I gave them what I call one of my Meat and Motivation presentations which included the following job sites. I think they're some of the best and wanted to share them with you. I hope you find them helpful:

http://www.retiredbrains.com/

http://www.workforce50.com/

http://www.retirementjobs.com/

http://www.theladders.com/

And one that is very comprehensive and chocked full of info is http://www.seniorjobbank.org/!

JERI REWIRES BY PLAYING POKER!

I decided to rewire some of my fun a few weeks ago and took a poker class!
I needed to add something active, not passive to my life, and a lunch n' learn event on poker sounded great. Not only did I learn to play, but I won! Check me out at

http://www.pokerdivas.com/category/news-and-events

Playing poker fulfilled many of my personal "drivers." Those 85 motivators that we identified in DON'T RETIRE, REWIRE! My drivers include having a need to have new and different experiences and to be current. I realized that today's challenges were zapping me of my energy and positive spirit and that I was yearning to do something new! So off to a PokerDivas class I went! It was everything I wanted and MORE !

Are you in a rut? Feeling like you want to get away, but can't? Ask yourself if you are getting enough "driver" fulfillment? And if the answer is no, then take the time today to see what you can add to your life! Make the time to Rewire! Your future fun is waiting!