2024 August 13 As a matter of fact, you *can* change

Hi, this is Jim Cranston from 7EveryMinute and 7EveryMinute.com, the podcast and website about reimagining your life. Thanks for joining me today to talk about a few miscellaneous topics that rolled across my desk in the past few days that seemed like they might have some interest.

If you like what you hear tonight, please leave a like, subscribe, tell your friends, send me a message. Thanks for joining me tonight to talk about a couple of interesting items, especially when you couple them with the perceptions of the aged market consisting of older individuals 

But first, just a weather early warning. I noticed the other day that even though we've had all these wonderful warm days, that winter and autumn really are coming. I was at a gas station filling up my car with gas and heard in the trees this huge flock of birds preparing for their trip south.

The days are quickly and noticeably getting a lot shorter, so it's time to start planning all your late summer activities, get ready for autumn, because even though we get used to how wonderful and warm it's been, you know it's coming if you're up in the north. To me, autumn is probably the perfect season. I have to admit, summer just flew by this year, so grab the rest of it while you can. Pay attention. Be mindful of what's going on. That's the best way to get the most enjoyment out of things. 

There was a woman who basically made YouTube into what it is today at Google. She was a big proponent for them purchasing it initially, and then took over on the marketing of it and ended up leading that division. Her name was Susan Wojcicki. Unfortunately, very sadly, she passed away yesterday at the age of 56 from lung cancer. I have to admit, normally, if I go through the paper or read it online, I see something like Oh, it's too bad.

I've seen her written up a few times and I've known of her for years. It just really struck me that here is somebody who really lived life very fully, did a lot of things, and is a reminder, to myself and hopefully to all of us, that life is never a given. We should really try and make the most of every single day.

It really is a gift. In Susan's case, besides creating and running a multi-billion dollar division, she was also a mother to five children and a caring spouse. What a great inspirational legacy that she did all these things and a couple years ago retired from Google. In a simple statement, she said she wanted to spend more time with her family and look after her health. She never tried to call attention to herself, but still just did all these amazing things that quite literally changed the world. 

It got me thinking, in part because I often meet people who spend a lot of time telling me about all the things that they cannot do. I'm not good at math. I can't use an internet. That was not a grammatical mistake. Or a computer. Seriously, people talk like that. They just have decided that they can't do things. I can't read. I can't speak. I can't talk well. The list is pretty much endless. Every time they say that, there's a piece of the brain that agrees with what they say and makes sure that what they believe becomes true.

So they indeed aren't good at math. They can't use a computer and all those other things. Then you have the other people. Instead of all the things they can't do, they talk in terms of possibilities. I've never been able to play the piano, and I'm so excited that I started taking lessons.

I've never done that sort of work before, and I can't wait to learn something new. I've never been out of the country before and just learned how to travel without spending a fortune. That list is also endless. But the big difference is, those people are telling their brains to prepare for something good and exciting, and it will improve their situations. 

For these people who believe in what they really want to have happen, what they believe is probably what's going to become true, in almost all circumstances. The only difference is how they look at the future, and how they approach new situations. The situation doesn't change, only the attitude.

As we talked about last week, there's many ageist forces encouraging us to give up, to feel hopeless, to try and buy a way out of happiness since you have no life left. They're all over social media. They're in ads. They're everywhere. But the reality is—nothing could be further from the truth. 

I'm in a mastermind, just a small group of people working towards a common goal. It's a mastermind of six people, a few of whom are just endlessly enthusiastic—like non-stop positive, and it's really something to behold and be around. That energy has an immense effect on everyone.

There are some people who started off seeing nothing but the problems of what they're doing, and now they're taking steps in their business that seemed totally crazy to them only a couple weeks ago. It's totally insane. What changed? Only their attitude. So tomorrow or later today, when you're tempted to say, I wish I could do— Stop, stop right there.

Turn that phrase right on his head and instead say, I will find a way so that I can do… Name your dream and start working towards it. We've covered the steps before and we'll be doing it again over the coming weeks, but there's nothing stopping you from moving closer to your dreams, no matter what your age and no matter how big your dreams are. 

Finally, the last thing I came across is an interesting story. The headline of the story is Doctors Wish More Seniors Took Ozempic. That caught my eye. What are they talking about? They talk about the potential weight loss, but that's really just the tip of the iceberg.

It's much like we talked about last week, in putting ageism aside and thinking about aging in a positive fashion; all the benefits that came out of that. It's exactly the same process going on here. Because of the potential for weight loss, everything else is really related benefits that come out of being healthier.

People tend to get more mobile because, with less extra weight, there's less force on their joints, so they have fewer pains. Perhaps they can resume or start more hobbies. Some people talk about starting golf or going for a walk in the park, and that leads to more social interaction, and that's a huge benefit as we age. 

And the list goes on. The weight is a symptom, and the results are building upon each other and magnifying each other. They talk about one of the issues is that Medicare won't pay for it unless it's prescribed as part of another condition, such as diabetes. Whether or not they'll cover it, that's a whole different story. But they're saying one of the problems is people start this when they're 62 or 63, and they warn patients that when they turn 65 and go on Medicare, they'll lose the ability to get this paid for, because you go to this different insurance. 

But for me, one of the things that really caught my attention is that most of the benefits that are available are available if a person could just find the motivation to make life changes, even without the prescription. I'm not minimizing the effort at all. It takes a lot of effort to make lifestyle changes. I know that. But with good envisionment and goal setting, plus an accountability partner or accountability group, very often the impossible suddenly becomes totally possible. Remember the mastermind group I mentioned—it wasn't that people were trying to pump up the other people who weren't confident. 

It was simply that by being in a motivated group who shared their goals, they changed their own mindset and then changed everyone else's mindset. Everyone realized that what they wanted really was possible. That exact same level of peer support can help any of us make huge changes in our lives simply by letting us see that many of the barriers we perceive are really created by ourselves to avoid unknown situations.

So never give up on your goals, no matter how big and crazy they might seem. Try to surround yourself with other like-minded people, and be amazed at what you're able to accomplish when you work from a place of positive mindset. 

That's it for the evening. I hope these little stories helped you see that life, and any stage of life, is always a source of opportunity. As we age and mature, we don't need tough love. There's a guy I just came across and he had a lot of really good things. It was all tough love. He was talking to his 20-year-old self. This is what you got to do. We don't need tough love. 

We're older. We've learned a lot of things, but what we can really benefit from is believing in ourselves with people around us who also believe in themselves so we all pull ourselves forward together. You can be the catalyst to change not only your own life, but the lives of those around you. 

Seek out the good in life and the good in people. Amplify it. Share it. And you'll find yourself and your friends living above the negativity that permeates so much of what we see these days. If someone talks about the good old days, remind them that we can make the coming days even better if we help each other get there. 

Your homework (always optional) is to think about something you wanted to do—play an instrument or run a 5K race, anything that seems out of reach, that you think you just can't do anymore. Take a little paper, put a line down the middle, make two columns—on one side, write down all the reasons that you think you can't do it anymore. Then next to them, write down what would have to change for you to start trying to do that dream again. It doesn't have to be in great detail. Some of them can be just silly. Oh, I'd have to learn to do something. This is too complex. But write down a bunch of reasons. Write down a bunch of things that might help you get there. 

Now, for extra points—I say it's extra points, but it's really pretty important. If you take one or two of those beginning steps and commit to working on them, even maybe two times a week for a couple of few weeks, Write down how you feel or perform at the beginning, you know. Can't even find middle C on the piano. 

Can't hit two notes that don't sound bad together. Then work on it a couple times a week for a few weeks. Follow a way, a course—anything—whatever you feel like doing. At the end, go back and write down what you're doing there now. Chances are, you'll be a lot better at the end than you were a couple weeks ago. You'll learn some things, you'll gain a couple small skills, and you'll realize, I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm better than I was a couple weeks ago. Congratulations, you're at the start of your journey to a more satisfying life. 

That's it. Please remember the many ways to help others. There are the wars in Ukraine and in Israel, in the Mideast, there's stuff going on in Niger and Venezuela. The list is long. One of the best ways we care for ourselves is to care for others. If you want to support the people in Ukraine, I have some links up at UKR7.com. If you want to support people who are in trouble from natural disasters (and some war zones) visit World Central Kitchen at WCK. org. They bring food to people in need.

Even if you don't want to support someplace outside your area, you can support someplace locally. That's awesome too. You can make a change in somebody's life. When you walk past them, just stop and say, Good morning. Say, Hey, how you doing? It doesn't have to be special. Say something nice into somebody else's life. One person at a time, we can make the world a better place. So if you're able, check on one of the places to donate. If not, just be nice to somebody else because when you live outside yourself, it changes your perspective on the world and gives you more motivation to be more active in the world itself.

As always, thank you for stopping by. If you found something interesting or useful, please pass it along. Please subscribe, hit that like button. If not, please drop me a comment as to what you'd like to hear. Have a great week. Remember to live the life that you dream of, because that's the path to true contentment. Love and encouragement to everyone. See you next week on 7EveryMinute and 7EveryMinute.com. Thank you.