Understanding Living Longer

Category Archives: Valuing Possessions

A gift worth having….

When Bismark created the world’s first state pension scheme in the 1880s he never expected to pay out – it was simply a creative (and seemingly popular) tax raising exercise. Life expectancy in Germany at the time was 48, so 65 was selected for benefit payments to start, thus ensuring there were few, if any, […]

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Disruptive technology

When something comes along that sends an established market into turmoil it is usually described as a ‘disruptive technology’. Recently I have spotted at least two such changes. When EML started I saw a friend had a home office printer/copier/scanner which looked ideal – and so it proved, but with one big drawback. The unit […]

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The acid test…

When reviewing your possessions – try this. Ask your close family what they would do with ‘your stuff’ if you were hit by the proverbial bus? Most likely their response will fall into one of a number of categories: – Items of value to be sold (house, car etc) – Items of personal value but […]

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A picture tells….

If the old saying is that ‘a picture can tell 1000 words’ – just imagine what a collage can do! One of my long term clients found that with each successive year he is embracing new experiences while continuing with the things he loves. Looking to illustrate the huge variety of these many activities I […]

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Christmas spirit…

As we approach Christmas the annual marathon of giving and receiving cards has already started – and I continue to object! Not in a ‘Scrudge-like’ manner – rejecting the Spirit of Christmas in it’s entirety, but in a more selective way – the giving and receiving of cards to people we see all year round […]

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Taking your own advice….

When coaching others, I use an analogy of the decks of an old galleon where the lowest deck was called an orlop while the captain spent his time up on the bridge. In truth, when charting our way through life we all spend time on every deck – sometimes doing the reassuringly mundane chores of […]

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We’re only just getting started…!

For the first time in nearly 40 years there are no desktop computers in use at home, and, come to think of it, apart from an old TV recorder, there are no disc drives either. In parallel, along with much of the country, we are about to switch over from those two tiny copper wires […]

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That ‘a-ha’ moment…

That ‘a-ha’ moment… Recently a client captured the essence of what we do: ‘Now get it… at some point I will no longer be here. What EML is asking me to focus on everything I can control between now and then. While our discussions are structured around your six core areas, my success comes from […]

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Make it a good one…

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 […]

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The final ‘downsize’

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 […]

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