Mary Radu, MS, MSW, CPCC, Certified Professional Coach and Philanthropy Consultant Invites you to listen to a podcast of the Commonwealth Club of California!

What do I want to accomplish?  Where do I want to go from here?  How can I intentionally share my resources during this phase of my life as well as when I’m gone?

Those of us at midlife are facing a much more extended lifespan than did our parents and grandparents.  Many people are living into their 70, 80 and 90’s with new opportunities for staying active and involved.  If you checked in with your crystal ball in my previous blog you may have learned that you probably have 10 to 20+ years ahead of you.  As you move into your second half of life you may be shifting your focus away from the outward tasks of building your career, raising a family and managing externally imposed expectations. Collecting material possessions now might not be as important as your inner life, having meaningful experiences and relationships. You may sense and see changes in yourself and in the people around you that raise concerns about your own mortality and realize that your remaining time is finite.

You might find yourself asking some big questions about how you live and what you want to contribute with the resources available to you:

• what am I here for?
• what do I still want to accomplish and where do I want to go from here?
• what will I pass along to my family and my community for which I will be remembered?  and
• what do I want to leave behind that will make the world a better place than I found it?

I recently joined with three other professionals to provide some insights on how to make planning for the big questions of life easier.

In part 2 our panel continues the discussion of successfully planning for a long life. Income planning for your future needs and legacy planning are two big concerns that inevitably arise.  The program begins by addressing how legacy planning can fit into your life plan, followed by the financial and legal vehicles for implementing your legacy planning.

Join me in listening to the recording of our session at the Commonwealth Club of California on Longevity Planning: Practical Approaches to Managing Life Transitions (Part Two)

Panelists:

Mary Radu, MS, MSW, CPCC
Elizabeth Krivatsy, Esq.
Ben Yohanan, President, Hatch Retirement Services

If this has brought up some concerns that you’re ready to address and you’d like some additional support in taking your first step, contact me for a brief chat at 707.824.8836.

May meaning be your motivator!
Mary

Mary Radu, MS, MSW, CPCC, Certified Professional Coach and Philanthropy Consultant Invites you to listen to a podcast of the Commonwealth Club of California!

Have you considered how you’ll be living the remainder of your lifetime?
We are all part of an aging nation and world.  For a healthy 65-year-old couple, there is a 50 percent chance that at least one will live beyond the age of 92, and a 25 percent chance at least one will live to age 97.

Let’s see what this means for you.  Look into your own crystal ball and imagine how long you expect to live, based on your heredity, your personal history and your current health and lifestyle.  Is that 95, 80, 70?  Now subtract your current age and note how many more years you have to live.  Now add 5 years onto that number for contingency planning. My hunch is you’ve got at least 5 years.  And most likely you have at least 10, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years or more years remaining!

So you see, there a good amount of time that will be impacted by the way you live starting today and the way that you plan for what will come in the future.  Even for forward-thinking individuals, the amount of planning necessary to cover your bases can be overwhelming.

I recently joined with three other professionals to provide some insights on how to make planning for the big questions of life easier.  In the first presentation our panel addresses the basics of what you might expect during the years ahead plus two core concerns of this generation: Will my nest egg allow me to maintain my lifestyle through retirement, and what if I or my spouse/partner becomes chronically ill?

Join me in listening to the recording of our session at the Commonwealth Club of California on Longevity Planning: Practical Approaches to Managing Life Transitions (Part One).

Panelists:

Mary Radu, MS, MSW, CPCC, Certified Professional Coach and Philanthropy Consultant
Denise Michaud, Long Term Care Specialist
Ben Yohanan, President, Hatch Retirement Services

If this has brought up some concerns that you’re ready to address and you’d like some additional support in taking your first step, contact me for a brief chat at 707.824.8836.

P.S.   Keep tuned it for Part 2 coming soon!

May meaning be your motivator!
Mary

Recently I received an email with this wish:
May 2010 be the best year of your life!!!

Don’t you want this coming year to be the best ever for you?  Since life happens one moment and one day at a time, the only time you can impact how well your life will be lived is today.  We all have life circumstances that can be “better or worse” depending on the incremental choices that we make in the moment, every day of our lives.

Take a look at what you have planned for the rest of today.  What might shift if you decided to make this the most meaningful, contributing, successful day you can live?  Consider these questions in choosing your best possible day scenario:

1. What activities will make up My Best Day? To make this a best day, contributing to an overall best year ever, what are my choices?  What activities must be carried out, which might be better handled another day?  Which might be dropped all together since they don’t significantly contribute to me, others I care about or the world around me?
   
2. How can I carry out my activities so they will add to the quality of This Best Day? What are my choices in how I carry out both essential duties and desires?  What will increase my enjoyment?

Waking up this morning next to my husband I created a best morning experience.  Rather than a quick peck on the cheek, I gazed into his eyes and greeted him with a smile, kiss and words full of love and appreciation for having him as my life partner.

I recently had friends spend the night.  Time with these friends who I dearly love would absolutely make this a best day ever.  Their overnight visit meant they would be with me on Monday morning, which is generally a work day at my home office.  In the time leading up to the weekend I cleared my Monday morning schedule.  Monday morning I reminded myself of my modified work start time so that I’d avoid distracting thoughts.  I also let my friends know how much time I had to spend with them.  With my decks cleared and them knowing my availability we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and walk together.  I could be fully present with them knowing that I’d shift my focus to work obligations later in the day.

Shifting your days to the best possible is a daily choice.  Will you make today the first of many that will make 2010 your Best Year Ever?  Write me about it!

May peace break into your home and may thieves come to  steal your debts.

May  the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your  lips!

May  happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of  joy

May the problems you had, forget your home address!

Want more inspiration for meaningful living? Click here to sign up for our Pathmaker ezine and receive periodic articles with helpful tips and inspiration.

Read past articles for effectively navigating your midlife career, philanthropy and lifestyle. Go to http://www.pathmakercoaching.com/resources/articles.html.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: Certified Life Coach and Philanthropy Consultant, Mary Radu, guides midlife individuals and couples to discover how to share their unique gifts and be positive change makers. Let Mary and Pathmaker Coaching help you design and execute your unique path, aligning your life with your passions and values. If you’re ready to get moving, get resources at http://www.pathmakercoaching.com/resources, or contact Mary mary@pathmakercoaching.com to discuss how you can get supported to make a bigger impact 707.824.8836. See Mary’s Positive Change Makers Blog at http://www.positivechangemakers.com

Our busy lives and the daily challenges we face in the current economic climate take up a lot of time and energy. And I suspect that still you’ve each had moments when you’ve wondered, worried and perhaps even begun making some plans about what your life will look like 10 to 20 years from now.

One of the biggest decisions we’ll each make is where we will live. In his blog, RetirementRevised, journalist Mark Miller sites an AARP survey that found that “89 percent of Americans would like to live in their current homes as long as possible – and that number rose to 95 percent when people over age 75 were asked the question.” Although active adult and age-restricted communities are popping up around the country, a survey by Metlife and the National Association of Homebuilders indicates that only three percent of 55-plus households had moved to one as recently as 2007. The reality is that most of us will be living in our current communities.

There’s a new term for this “living at home” option….it’s called “aging in community”. If you were to choose this option, what would it take for you to successfully live in your current home, enjoying your time, engaging in work or leisure pursuits and taking care of the physical maintenance of your home and body?

For many of us, existing resources – including family, friends, neighbors and community services – won’t be adequate to support us when we need help doing what we can no longer do for ourselves. Yet the best choice for our desire to live independently as long as possible may be to stay in our homes. Plus, staying in our homes may represent our best financial option.

In response to older adults’ desires to remain in their homes and communities, grass roots, member-driven, aging in community Villages are developing around the country. There are at least 48 open Villages across the United States, including three in the San Francisco Bay Area; six more are in development. Villages provide the support services people need where they are, taking advantage of existing community resources and involvement of other members in the intentional community.

According to Susan Poor, a founder and board member of San Francisco Village, “It is well documented that healthy aging is not just about medical care. The holistic approach of Villages and other intentional communities includes practical, day-to-day support, as well as social connection, meaningful work and activities, lifelong learning, and a critically needed focus on prevention and wellness through physical and brain fitness, good nutrition, home safety, etc.”

Is this an intriguing lifestyle option you’d like to explore?

If so, the first step is getting clear about your desires related to participating in a virtual Village community. What do you perceive may be the obstacles and challenges you will face in the years ahead having the support you will need? I can help you get clear about what you want and set in motion a plan to explore this possibility. Contact me or call 707-824-8836 for a brief chat to talk over your situation free of charge. You also can find out more about what these intentional communities offer and how you can become involved. Check out the Beacon Hill website.

Want more inspiration for meaningful living? Click here to sign up for our Pathmaker ezine and receive periodic articles with helpful tips and inspiration.

Read past articles for effectively navigating your midlife career, philanthropy and lifestyle. Go to http://www.pathmakercoaching.com/resources/articles.html.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: Certified Life Coach and Philanthropy Consultant, Mary Radu, guides midlife individuals and couples to discover how to share their unique gifts and be positive change makers. Let Mary and Pathmaker Coaching help you design and execute your unique path, aligning your life with your passions and values. If you’re ready to get moving, get resources at http://www.pathmakercoaching.com/resources, or contact Mary mary@pathmakercoaching.com to discuss how you can get supported to make a bigger impact 707.824.8836. See Mary’s Positive Change Makers Blog at http://www.positivechangemakers.com