School of Life

Dump the junk. The human body is like an automobile. No matter how beautiful and shiny you keep the exterior, it'll turn into an old clunker if you don't maintain the engine. Dump the junk food. Maintain your body with lots of real food.

Later is Now

Don't put off until later those things you've always wanted to do. You may think you'll have more time in the future. Not true. Ask any retired person. They'll tell you they get up in the morning, turn around and it's eleven p.m. and the day is over. Find the time to do the things you love right now. Here's how I do it:

• I combine— work on craft activities and/or ride my stationary bike while watching television, listen to French DVDs while driving, work out scenes for my novel and record the ideas into a small recorder while on my walk.

• I find and use little slots of time—What do you do while waiting for the coffee to brew? for the doctor/dentist to appear? for your husband to get ready? during television commercials? standing in line somewhere? Depending on the situation, I may read my current novel, check my garden plants, or strum a chord or two on my newest passion, the guitar.

The point is: Later is now, so this is the time to do it.

School of Life

To paraphrase the French philosopher, Descartes. You can learn anything you want as long as you break it down into small enough pieces. Think about it.

Wrinkles

Probably the biggest cause of wrinkles is the sun. The best wrinkle cream is a sunscreen . I use an SPF 25 sunscreen that provides both UVB and UVA protection. It has only two active ingredients: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. I apply it everyday no matter what the weather.

Exercise is an Enabler

Exercise is an enabler. It enables you to do all the other things in your life by ensuring that you have good mental, physical and emotional health. Therefore, it must be a top priority, not something you do when you have time.

Here is my strategy. I don't adhere to a rigid schedule. However, I do make sure I take a two mile walk some time during each day, five days a week. I work out at my fitness center three days a week for thirty minutes. Again, the workout time is not rigid. What is rigid, is that I do it three days a week. Finally, I ride a stationary bike for twenty minutes five evenings a week. I do this while I watch my favorite television program.

Remember, in the case of exercise, some is always better than none.

Balance

When I joined the fifty and beyond nation I implemented a simple change that enriched my life tremendously. Balance. Now this concept of balance governs everything I do. In short, I allocate certain amounts of time to health maintenance, intellectual pursuits, hobbies, career and entertainment. Here's an example of how it works. Every morning I wake up early enough so I can read in bed for an hour. Five days a week, I walk two miles. I spend three hours a day on my writing. I watch television for two hours a day and am very selective about my choice of programs. I could go on, but you get the idea.

The critical point is this: Don't allocate so much time to one life activity that you end up skimping on or skipping another.

Welcome

Welcome to my new website for all those who are or will one day be over fifty. My goal is to share the countless benefits, joys and solvable problems of the best half of life. I invite you all to join me in this celebration by adding your comments about your experiences, solutions to difficulties and, most important, all the things you love about the best half of life.