If you didn’t get a chance to read my article in Science Of Mind Magazine this month, I thought I would repost it here:
“Exercise is king, diet is queen. Put them together and you have a kingdom.”
~ Jack Lalanne
I have a burning desire to live very well; well beyond my 100th birthday. I am fully enrolled with the belief that I will realize this intention and enjoy the fruits of its eventual success everyday living towards its realization. Are you up for living that long and well? Picture that experience for yourself and feel its vitality, conviction and power. Greater peace and infinite creative energy can be harnessed by knowing that your longevity is greatly enhanced as much by broccoli and jumping jacks as it is by showing up heart first and giving and living large.
So, what are the cool centenarians doing? They are eating right and light. The cultures and countries that host and boast the most centenarians are the ones who love a plant-based diet. Along with covering their bases with getting ample complex carbs from fruits and veggies everyday they are also getting the majority of their proteins and fats from plants too. Legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains power their body’s and minds for the long run-helping to prevent the diseases commonly associated with aging while adding energy to their fulfilling lifestyles. The calorie hit from these plant-based powerhouses is lighter and lower-a scientifically proven way to positively impact both quality and quantity of life. Seniors often don’t feed themselves enough so remember that healthy nutritious food is important at every age!
The 100-plus club is sweating to the beat of their own drummer! I ask you to exercise only on the days that you eat. Yes, it IS that important. Whether your vision is dancing or sprinting into your 100′s then you need to burn calories, sweat your prayers and move with grace and gratitude all the days of your most beautiful life. Feeling under-motivated? Move and be moved. Exercise will naturally raise the neurotransmitter dopamine which is all about motivation and tends towards decline as we age-that is, unless we move-now you have your motivation and your mojo back.
Service with a smile. The word “retirement” does not exist in the traditional Okinawan (a culture rich with centenarians) dialect. Those who live the longest have created a reason for both being and getting up in the morning. In fact, in a study of 1200 centenarians only three and a half percent retired at age 65 and 92% worked over 60 years of their life. Whether you sell on Wall Street or serve in a soup kitchen plug in and be on purpose.
Have a heart to heart. The more friends, love, laughter and community you have the longer you will live. The socially fit will inherit the world as well-connected people have half the mortality rates as lonely people. Hug more and longer, smile bigger and brighter and serve with passion and purpose-live like you mean it now and forever!
I have heard from many of you that this month you are going to be taking on some big goals with exercise-more miles on the bike and in your running shoes, more turns in the pool and more time on the trail-right on! Here is some food for thought:
I just returned from the post office where a bright eyed woman offered me a piece of cake. “What’s the occasion?” I asked.
Never give up! Persistence is to success what copper is to steel (Napolean Hill). Funny thing that in a world where media tends to make success look like it happened over night and this only fuels our instant gratification desires and moreover encourages giving up, or letting go or moving to greener pastures long before we should. Here’s the deal, I have been exercising and eating clean and well religiously for nearly 30 years-I have persisted thru macrobiotics, veganism and gluten- free conscious omnivorism all in the name of moving towards greater awareness and vitality. I have done Ironman, body building, vinyasa flow yoga, Crossfit and intervals ’til the cows came home! Which eating and exercise plan worked? All of them…they all worked because I used each of them to teach me about my larger vision and goal of being awake and as awesome as I can be and the power of persistence is the thread that is woven thru each of these plans, disciplines and philosophies. The deal is that if you want to be happy, healthy, sexy, successful, strong, a contributor and at peace then you need to decide that each and every day you will resist the temptation to give up at taking the best care of yourself. Rather deciding to make adjustments, deepen, cultivate and persist at becoming a more alive you-the joy is in the journey-stick to it!
I am working on learning a new language. My goal is to learn to speak Spanish. This is not an easy thing for me-I have a bit of a belief system challenge in that I have not done well in the past with learning a new language. I am dyslexic. I have my fair share of old wounds from school and teachers who said I was slow,should not plan on going to college and would most likely always struggle with academics. Well, here’s the thing, I love to learn…I read only things that will help me to be more effective, to grow and to be a better me. There are ideas about learning in the science community that centered around having either a “fixed” mindset or a “growth” mindset. If you are interested in flourishing in your life, becoming all that you intend for your self to be and being a force for positivity you will do well to develop a belief in that you have a growth type mindset. Simply with coming from “growth” you believe that with diligent, patient, persistent and playful work you can and will achieve any result that you desire. When we adopt the “fixed” mindset we are under the belief that our abilities and intelligence are set in stone and we have what we have. So I have got some work to do around my fixed belief and learning Spanish.
Debra, Elli and I had an awesome hike in the Santa Monica Mountains just off the coast of Malibu yesterday-brilliant blue sky broke thru the marine layer as we climbed high above Will Rogers’ ranch. After our hike we visited the little museum of sorts next to his home-Will Rogers had a syndicated newspaper column that was published in 500 newspapers! One of his great quotes was “We should lead a life where if your parrot was to spend time with a gossip columnist you would not be worried as to what the parrot would tell!” Who are you when no one is watching? Are you integrity when its only between you and God?( It always just is) I moved from my bed to my journal at 4:30 this morning-I am working on seeing the grace and the grit of my solo time…noticing where I can up level my awareness. Today, choose to go solo for a time and be confidant that you and Whomever is watching will delight in what we see-shine on!
We have the power to launch a great week by leveraging Monday’s top be a “tone setter”. I am grateful for knowing in my heart that some things always work…always. My conviction for these practices is unwavering and I am grateful for knowing that all I have to do is to choose to put them into action. In business we often think in terms of the “return on investment”- sometimes referred to as the ROI. I use the same framework when I consider my investment of practices and actions. What types of actions and practices produce a strong return? Without a doubt I have come to know, embrace and fight for my morning investment of exercise. I began using the power of exercise when I was 12. My home life was a mess; alcoholism, depression, and its related offspring of low self esteem, and small mindedness were the norm in my home. I discovered that when I was tense, anxious and troubled with unrelenting low confidence and my state was not healthy I always felt better when I exercised-it never failed. Exercise became my “drug” of choice. Push ups, running, jumping..anything and everything worked to raise me up one thought about me and life after another. This morning I am still using this powerful practice-I use it every morning. Life has challenges, living a full out life of purpose and passion when you push the edges will always be challenging. Your quality of life is your business and as such can be treated with a clear understanding of your ROI for your actions. Make this Monday magical by investing in a truth about you and your life-when you move-your mind and your heart will move towards something greater…your thinking, your confidence, your desire to show up and serve will all be stronger! Let’s rock it!
For the past month we have been loving the organic blueberries at the Farmer’s Market. Clearly one vendor’s berries stand above the rest and we make sure to visit his booth to pick up 3 boxes of blueberries before he sells out.