Healthy Wealthy Boomer: June 1 – Healthy Boomer Challenge

The Health Wealthy Boomer definition of health is being healthy mentally, emotionally, Spiritually, energetically, physically and financially. Inherent within this definition is the premise that total health is the single most important component of being a wealthy boomer – our most valuable asset.  Let’s look at this idea and expand it.

First a couple of statistics…

The U.S. Census Bureau says that by 2030, after all baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) have turned 65, more than 71 million senior citizens will be living in the USA.

Currently, more Americans than ever are obese: one-third of the adult population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-06-05-obesity-age_x.htm

Whatever your personal situation is, far too many Baby Boomers are putting on weight and don’t exercise. Many of us who used to be in the 15% body fat (or lower) category are creeping up to the 25% range. There are much more in-powering choices and life patterns we can make than obesity, particularly as we age.

Many Boomers have decided that it’s  too late to do anything about it and believe they are stuck permanently with sore joints, weak legs and being tired all the time – because that what happens after 50.  Collectively, this is what we have been taught to accept as truth.

I disagree.

If you left a new car out in the elements and never waxed it from day one, eventually the paint would peel off. Who would ever treat a nice car that way – particularly at $25-40K+? You wash it and wax it regularly to protect the paint and to prevent oxidation. You change the oil and get the transmission serviced so it will last as long as possible.

Bodies need love too. If you are not already doing so, start loving your body and yourself. Treat yourself like an honored guest.

If you wait until 2030 to take action, it may be too late. On the positive side, you still have 20 years to become a healthy boomer. A few years ago at a Peak Potentials Train the Trainer 1 Certification intensive, Blair Singer made an interesting point via demonstration that puts 20 years into perspective.

Before I describe what Blair did, let me tell you a little about who Blair Singer is (in case you don’t know). Blair Singer is close friends with Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad Poor Dad,  a real estate investor and all around entrepreneur). Blair is a Rich Dad Adviser and a highly respected “sales trainer” – the guy companies call in to get results in sales by training their staff. Blair was also a student of Marshall Thurber, a genius in his own right and a protege of Bucky Fuller.

By the way, Blair Singer is a healthy wealthy boomer…

Here is a short video entitled Blair Singer: Secret Formula For Business Success that will give you a sense of how dynamic and talented Blair is and why he is such a successful trainer:

So back to my story…

Blair called volunteers to the front of the room ( we had about 600 attendees of which I was one) and had them line up facing the audience across the entire width of the room – and I would guess it was about 200 feet across. Then he had the volunteers stretch out a single rope all the way across the room each person in line holding the rope and keeping it level. He said that this rope represented a “whole lifetime”.

Next he talked about how a person can learn almost anything they need to in 90 days – with the right instruction, information and diligence.

Then Singer had another volunteer attach a piece of red string 3 feet long to the “life rope” and he asked the group,

“What do you all think that 3 feet of red string represents?”

He got all kinds of answers – and everybody’s attention.

Blair finally said,

“That 3 feet of string represents 90 days of your life. You can learn how to do just about anything in 90 days. And look what a tiny portion of your entire life that time really is. If you think about it, no matter how hard the challenge or how uncomfortable it makes you feel, you can both learn:

• whatever you want to learn, or
• need to learn or
• have to learn

and you can stand whatever it is for 90 days knowing it is such a small percentage of the total. Don’t you agree?”

He got absolute consensus from the group. In the big scheme of things, the time period is truly insignificant relative to your entire life. It really was an effective visual – and we often learn easier visually.

In this case, I certainly did.

Here is my Baby Boomer challenge to you:

Take the next 90 days and do something to improve your health.

Be realistic.

Take a step and start creating new habits.

Here are my basic suggestions:

• Start walking more…  Use the stairs at work, park in the far corner of the parking lot when you shop, walk to the store to get the paper or buy a quart of milk instead of driving 5 blocks. You get the idea. Start taking a walk everyday – intentionally. It relaxes you, it stretches your muscles and it activates your metabolism. Walking for health is something all of us can do.
• Keep a journal of what you do.  Keep tabs on what you are doing everyday so you can look at your progress on your self improvement journey. Not a big deal – maybe: “I walked 15 minutes today.”
• Find out about meditation – take a class or watch You Tube videos, or meet with a friend -  and if you already know about meditation, start doing it again.  Meditation is one of the best things you can do for your health. It improves so many things by default. And if nothing else, just sit quietly on the back porch for ten minutes (no phones, television or noise) and watch the sun come up or enjoy your garden or look at the moon. Getting quiet is a very good thing to do on a regular basis.
• Drink more clean water. Learn how to hydrate your body better.
• Stretch every day.
• Start going to bed earlier.

Do this for 90 days and you will feel significantly better than if you continue to postpone that period of time represented by the 3 feet of red string.

Why wait?

The purpose is to create new habits or re-create them…

If you choose to go further with this, we have created courses  and workshops that really work and help people learn how to walk their talk. Get in touch on our contact page and let’s move forward.

In 20 years, you can actually be healthier than you have been in a long time and you can still become a healthy boomer. Why wait any longer to get started? You can do this incrementally gradually increasing the distance you walk and the intensity with which you exercise. Cut back on fried foods and start eating more Omega 3′s.

Start gradually and work up and in no time at all you’ll look forward to talking a brisk walk and having a tall glass of water. Think how much more energy you will have in 20 years compared to what you will feel like physically if you don’t start now. Many of the effects of aging can actually be reversed, so why wait?

Speaking of Boomer Health: What is your health worth to you?

As far as being healthy goes in 2030:

• what will that health be worth to you then? Or said differently,
• what will it be worth you in 2030 to get your health back?

To my way of thinking, being a healthy boomer is a really good investment in your future – and in your wealth – because the root of real wealth is based in pure health. It is one of those intangibles that you can control in your life. And in time, the results will become tangible – one way or the other.

When you are healthy, you have more creative energy, more energy to work, start new projects and build your wealth along the way. On the other hand, not only is it hard to work and be creative when you feel lousy, it’s no fun. How can you distinguish between wealthy boomer and a healthy one? Do you agree that health an essential component of abundance and wealth?

It’s amazing how many people I have met in the last couple of years – in their mid to late 60′s that wish they had taken better care of their bodies when they were younger. I have also met a number of people who are healthier now – in their 60′s and 70′s than many people I know in their 40′s.

• Will you be getting healthier all the time by the time you are 65?
• And will you be actively building your wealth and living the life you want, or
• Will you be working every day to pay the rent and eat like so many people in their 60′s today?

There’s no time like the present.

In fact there only is the present. The past is history and the future hasn’t come yet.

Wake up, tune it and get with it.  I double dare you…

The choices you make today will determine what you become in 20 years. When the time comes, don’t say “nobody told me”. Are you really too busy to care of your health?

Get started now on the Healthy Boomer Challenge.

I AM Michael Barrett and I AM a Core Health Facilitator and Boomer Health Coach

First off, I work at it.

I am a baby boomer. I care about people in my age group who are starting to show the signs of wear and tear and who aren’t doing anything about it. I want to help Boomers change this in a big way and I know how.

If you’re wealthy and sick, are you really wealthy? If you had a terminal disease, what would you pay to get your health back? The fact is that millions of Boomers are headed there right now unless they start doing something about it.

For the greater part of my adult life, I have been very consistent about taking care of myself. I love to feel good and I have lots of energy. Ask people that know me well and they will verify my vast reserves of energy and untiring ability to keep going after most people burn out.

I’m not a superstar, just a guy who has a system that works well for me.

I am not a tri-athlete, a marathon runner or a weight lifter. But I have amazing endurance, useable strength and overall excellent physical tone. I can’t run 26 miles but I bet I could walk 100. I can’t lift 400 pounds, but I have a healthy back and that’s what hydraulics are for – not the human body. I’m almost 56 (and that picture was taken less than two weeks ago), but most people think I’m in my 40′s and that’s not just from the way I look, it’s also how I use my body. It’s physical expression as well as surface appearance.

In my book, Healthy Wealthy Boomer: The Plan to Make the 2nd Fifty Years Better Than the 1st, I go into detail. I also wrote a companion course to implement the plan and get it working in 60 days, called “How To Look Better and Feel Better in 60 days.”

I created checklists and instructions that I keep in a binder and check off the list as I follow the program everyday. I have found this to be effective for me because it creates a visual map of my consistency, diligence and where I need to improve my efforts. At a single glance, on one sheet I can see everything I have done (or not done) for 10 days.

Over the course of the last 35 years, I have read and studied all kind of programs and been a diligent student of natural health and how to create a healthy lifestyle with the objective of a primary goal:
LONGEVITY.

Here ‘s a quick summary of what I do all the time.

• I walk.
• I drink lots of water.
• I eat really healthy food and know a lot about what fuel works best for my body.
• I practice qigong regularly.
• I do Tibetan rejuvenation exercises.
• I do a 6-7 minute set on the Total Gym (although right now it is in storage in another state after a recent move and I have not retrieved it yet)
• I stretch.
• I love my body and let him know often how much I appreciate everything he does for me.
• I love myself.
• I focus on positive thoughts and language.
• I think healthy thoughts.
• I work at balancing my emotions and being present.
• I MEDITATE everyday.
• I recognize SOURCE ENERGY as the root of my strength and the source of my health and I express my gratitude every day

I do lots of other things regularly – but not every day. I choose health and always take responsibility for three things:

• What I put in my mouth everyday
• What I think about and the words I use
• How I use my time

I have developed a system that really gets long range results. It is designed to work for anybody – just regular people who want to improve themselves. You simply start wherever you are and get started doing whatever you can handle to begin with. You add more to the regimen as you develop skills, expertise and the ability to handle more.

Nothing extravagant, exotic or difficult to learn.

The key is to get started and keep doing what you can everyday. I can show you how.

I’m no super star professional athlete, just a guy who has figured out how to keep thinking right and really loves to feel good. Most of it is common sense, but it helps to have a coach to bring out the best and learn how to improve – at least until you have the system down yourself.

I’m going to start introducing live workshops, online training and various programs in the near future. I am also now focused on publishing my book with three more coming after that.

For now, if you’re feeling lousy. Do something about it.

• Start walking everyday and increase the distance as your legs get stronger and your breathing improves.
• Drink a gallon of water a day forever. Start with a few glasses of water and work up. I fill a half gallon container up 2 times a day and drink it all day long. You can drink a glass every hour. Whatever works for you. Just do it. Hydration is so important.
• Start eating smaller portions of the food you are eating right now. And eat more frequently. Cut way back on fried foods – period. Eat more raw food and organic is way better.
• Elminate toxic thinking and emotions.

None of that costs anything or is a big transition. Anybody can do what I just wrote.

• Choose to start loving yourself.
• Decide.
• Take responsibility.
• Do it.

You are perfect, whole and complete and you are loved Divinely just the way you are. There is nothing you need to change or be, just to to remember that you are perfect and really believe it.

With some practice on your part, the rest will take care of itself. Before you know it, you’ll be a healthy wealthy boomer too.