I’ve been watching Dan Buettner’s series on how to live to 100 (the secrets of the Blue Zone). He focus is on the importance of creating the right environment and he shows how originally this happened by chance, but through careful nurturing similar results can be achieved anywhere. He also shows how easy it to […]
A life skill for many people over 50 is being able, both physically and emotionally, to contain their ‘stuff’. Wartime austerity nurtured a caution against parting with anything ‘just in case’ which then extended into and beyond the ‘throwaway’ society of the 60s and 70s. Is there anyone over 70 who doesn’t have at least […]
A recent article in the financial press highlighted the perils of ‘gifts with reservations’ citing the Inland Revenue guidance on what constitutes a reservation. The rule that made me smile was borrowing more than three books a month from a ‘gifted personal library’- I remember driving around every charity shop in the county trying g […]
Decisions – decisions Increasingly, I am aware of a difference between the ‘very wealthy’ and the rest of us. When it comes to possessions, they know exactly what they want, and don’t hold on to anything else. Growing up in a household familiar with post war austerity I was indoctrinated with the full set of […]
My first coaching client took a little time get the EML ‘message’, but, since then it is incorporated in everything he does. He sees the time between now and the moment he is ‘no longer around’ as a countdown clock and looks carefully at everything he is does and how he is spending his money. […]
When it comes to life planning, deciding when and how to retire is likely to be the most important decision you ever make. For earlier generations it was easy – you worked through to your 65th birthday, probably in the same industry and maybe even the same employer. It was then time to collect your […]
During our coaching programme I will ask the client what they want from various aspects of life. Many find the exercise challenging, not because they don’t know, but because their list is too long – it is an impossible ‘wish-list’. Capturing their thoughts without interrupting the ‘flow’ has made me a fast scribbler! I ask […]
Not everyone referred to EML is ready to face the reality of their changing prospects for later life. While fees are sometimes cited as being the issue, they are nothing more than a convenient excuse along with, ‘I’m too young’, ‘I’m too busy’ etc etc. The real message is ‘I don’t want to acknowledge my […]
Give yourself a little bounce….! When the family was younger we had a trampoline – complete with a safety net that made it look like an old fashioned gas tower. For many years it gave immense enjoyment, for bouncing on, camping under and even as a playground for the cats. As our young children grew […]
After an enforced break of over three years due to Covid, I find myself, once again, gearing up to deliver talks on EML’s research into living longer. The starting point is my earlier presentation, which is in need of updating as the data I have been using has moved on. Much of what was projected […]