Growing Older with Gusto

We all know people who could use a lift by wearing clothing that makes them feel like themselves as they grow older. But what if your clothes are difficult to put on or uncomfortable to wear because you do not move as easily or in the same way you did when you were younger? Jimmy Zollo, co-founder & CEO of Joe & Bella, created a fashionable adaptive apparel brand for older adults. A graduate of Indiana University, Jimmy polished his marketing & sales skills with the NBA, WNBA before joining the team at GrubHub, one of Chicago's most successful startups. His role on the team of creating critical partnerships led to GrubHub's expansion nationally & provided a foundation for the company's future sales strategy. Jimmy and his father Peter have collaborated together once before with Collaborata, a market research startup, before getting together once again to create Joe & Bella. This previous experience allowed them to gain insight into a market they identified through their own personal family need. The result is a fabulous line of contemporary apparel for people with physical or mental limitations. Jimmy talks with host Gail Zugerman about how his past work experiences & personal life experiences combined to spark the idea for Joe & Bella.

Today’s guest on the podcast, Benjamin Surmi, is a younger person devoted to helping people grow older with gusto. His background as an activity director, home repair coordinator, & Lifelong Learning Center Director has given him the tools to create new products, and techniques for empowering people in various stages of life. We talked about his current work which includes: The new era of technology which combines the physical and the technological worldBridging the generation divideThe technique called “Humanitude” developed by a company in France that promotes better care for people that are compromised. It’s based on communication techniques and an online course is available.A description of the Koelsch communityPredictions on how new products and techniques will combine to provide a better quality of life for everyone as we grow older.The importance of lifelong learning Take a walk & listen in as Ben Surmi brings us up to date with modalities and products designed to help us grow older with gusto. You can reach Ben at: bms@koelschsenior.com Please support us by writing a review on your favorite podcast player.

Adapt or disappear is the mantra of our guest, John Manhold. John is an amazing Renaissance man who at age 102 just finished writing his latest book. His many interests and his ability to keep transforming allows for him to continue being vital. He has lived an incredible life, and he shares his secrets for adapting with us in this podcast episode. He has been able to simultaneously work as a research scientist, pathology professor, world lecturer, internationally renowned sculptor, and licensed US Coast Guard Merchant Marine. Also, he is a survivor of WWII and the Korean War. Free time finds him golfing and boating. Conversation in this episode: What advice does he give for living to the Century mark? I’ll give you a few of his thoughts, and listen to this podcast episode to really learn the secret sauce for living a well-lived life up to, and past 100. A few nuggets: He tells us how his nomadic lifestyle gave him great pleasure and was a stimulating way to live. Younger people need to study history, moderate their usage of “new-fangled items,” and learn the difference between listening and hearing. The one thing that has given him strength throughout his life is the belief in a higher power. He jokes on the podcast by saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes!” Today he keeps busy reviewing books for Amazon. His webpage is: www.johnmanhold.com. Please listen to this latest episode on your favorite podcast platform and watch him on our YouTube Channel: Growing Older With Gusto

Barbara Lewis, a 68-year-old Montreal-based vocalist, talks to us about how singing can be a portal to a happier and more peaceful self as we grow older. She began her singing journey as a child when she entered herself in a contest. We learn the song she sang to win the contest by her singing it for us on this episode. The Podcast continues with her sharing her thoughts on singing and how it brings gusto into your life. Some of the ways: The power of singing; being spurred into action, takes you back and forth in time, gives you hopeSigning wraps one in emotion which is amazingly powerful Today, more people are involved in both group and private singing. She explains the importance of a hormone being released by group singing. The hormone is ocytocin which is a social bonding hormone. The episode delves deeply into how singing helps us grow older: it’s never endingGives a transcendent experience to an audience The connection between singing and laughing is explained by Barbra. People who take group or private lessons are given exercises to do which at face value seem a bit goofy. They are asked to meow or bark. The purpose is to help open your ears, and remind you of how the muscles are coordinated. The singer with a half-smile is tricking the brain into thinking they are feeling better. What Wisdom She would Tell Her Younger Self Perfection lies in Being YourselfIt’s important to take time each day to be quiet. Her Secrets for Leading A Joyful Life Find a great partnerLaughDo more of what you love to do. We do a wrap of this episode with Barbara singing one of her favorite songs. Listen in to hear a great singer! You can contact Barbara by email at: barbara@barbaralewis.com or go to her YouTube Channel: Singing After 40 Please listen to our podcast at most podcast platforms and our YouTube Channel.

Today we launched a new season and our first guest is financial wizard, Sarry Ibrahim, who is going to tell us how we can grow older not only with gusto but how to grow our money with gusto! Here are some of the topics we covered in this episode: The 3 Keys To Better Understand Money When You Are Younger Know your financial self. Become familiar with your current savings, income, debt and average expenses.Know your habits; understand how you spend and save money. Identify any previous successful financial projects.Understand the concept of opportunity cost; what it really means to save, invest and spend. What To Do At Each Age To Prepare For The Future 25- 45 Years Old: Accumulation Phase; buy a home or rental property. Grow your savings and pay down debt. This includes 401K’s IRA and Infinite Banking. 45-65 Years Old: Protection Phase; Paying down the majority of debt and increasing your net worth. 60 Years Old+: Gifting Phase; plan on passing on your net worth to the next generation using an estate plan and other resources. How To Motivate Yourself Prepare for Retirement? Think of your future self. Consider the tax component of your money. What is helpful is starting a “forced savings”. It’s like a recurring bill. What is Wealth Weapon The Ultra Wealthy Use As They Grow Older With Gusto? Sarry gave the example of a wealthy tech client who decided to put his earnings in a cash value life insurance policy. It’s like a savings policy with dividends, it’s protected from taxes and you can borrow against it. How can We Make Social Security Work In Our Best Interests? Make sure its joined with other retirement accounts. Whole life insurance can help not increase your taxes on Social Security. 3 Keys To Financially Grow Older With Gusto Live life on your own terms. Dream Big. Visualize what you want financially.Get involved in compound growth early.Identify ways of protecting your money from risks; economical, market, financial, or legal.

https://amzn.to/3w3m2oX Our first episode in May for Growing Older With Gusto has us exploring the ways we can continue to drive as we grow older without being a hazard on the road. Our guest, Henry Rameriz, of Oakland, California is an expert in anything to do with driving. His background as a California Highway Patrol, and owner of the Bay Area Driving School provides him with lots of experience. Some of the topics we discussed are: Teaching nuns at a convent to driveUnusual teachers at his Driving SchoolThe Consequences of Marijuana on drivingRoad RageHow to Fix Traffic Collision ProblemsWays of Getting Older Family Members off The Road Henry is also the author of “ Driver TuneUp” available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Lulu Books. Put in those earbuds and take a Spring Walk as you learn some insightful tips on deriving as we grow older!

Dr. Michael Kogan Our most recent guest on the Show is Dr. Michael Kogan, an epidemiologist with the US Health & Human Services Department. He is extremely involved with helping children, and currently directs the child heath epidemiology office in Washington, DC. Admittingly, he has realized that his perceptions of growing older have evolved since he was in his 40’s. Now, he recognizes that people will listen to older people, and even his adult children want to spend more time with him! His curious and passionate nature has taken him to Columbia during the 80’s where he was captured by gorillas to Nova Scotia where he spent time working in a bakery. The recent pandemic has made him more aware of the nature of people and what we need to do to grow older with gusto! Some of the topics we talked about include: Getting arrested in ColumbiaWorking in a bakery in Nova ScotiaHelping young women in his office with STEM.His greatest professional achievement.The greatest challenges he faces at H&HS. Take a listen while you enjoy your first Spring Walk. Our conversation is the perfect length to enjoy nature and learn something, too!!

Put in those earbuds and listen to our latest guest, Julie Sursok, who comes to us from Sydney, Australia. Julie is a great example of someone who exemplifies “growing older with gusto” by walking the talk. She has moved from continent to continent, lost everything, regained everything, and now has turned her story into a highly regarded book. This weeks’ show highlights parts of her life story, and also how she came about writing this book. The book is called, “I’m Now Called A Senior - WTF”. She shares with us the path to publishing, and also some hilarious subjects she has encountered as an aging boomer. She talks about various subjects we encounter as we grow older and puts a humorous spin on them. Some examples are: TravellingSeparate BedroomsMedical ChecksDownsizingTechnical Faux Pas She is sometimes referred to as the female Jerry Seinfeld! Please take a listen and make a comment! Also, share with other friends this inspiring & hilarious episode!

Ardee Krause Today’s episode deals with a topic that many people who are growing older with gusto are encountering — online dating. Widows, divorcees, and never married women are flocking to online dating sites as another avenue of meeting men. Our guest today, Ardee Kraus, has had lots of experience in her attempts to widen her circle of friends and meet a new man. She started out as a widow joining special interest groups hoping to meet men which didn’t happen. This is the reason she turned to online dating. Her adventures and misadventures are all captured in this episode. They are very telling and informative on what to watch out for and how to attract the right type of man. Ardee has developed a checklist of ways women can identify scammers and here are some of them: Profile PicturesDemographic Information or ProfileInitial commentsWhat they ask forAnswers to your questions and concerns Listen to this episode and discover how to identify if someone is scamming or real. It’s a humorous account from a woman who maintains a positive spirit throughout as she recounts her experiences. The episode is the perfect length of time for a Spring walk!

This show’s episode is with Sky Bergman, an award-winning photographer who is getting ready to take her talents to new heights! Sky’s documentary called, Lives Well Lived: Celebrating the Secrets, Wit and Wisdom of Old Age, will be seen on PBS. It’s a fantastic documentary that covers Sky’s four years of interviewing 40 people over the age of 90. She describes it as “40 People, 3000 Years of Collective Life Experience” Sky’s career has encompassed many other accomplishments. These include having her Fine Art work included in permanent collections at The LA County Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Bibliotheque National de France. Her commercial work has appeared on book covers for Random House and Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, Inc. Magazine that use her work include Smithsonian, Readers Digest and Archaeology Odyssey. Currently, Sky is working as a Professor of Photography and Video at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The episode highlights how Sky became inspired for her work, how she went about doing it, and what the future looks like after completing the documentary. Her next project is called The Intergenerational Project and she speaks a bit about how her students have created bonds with older generations and come away with a new sense of what life can be like from different perspectives. View us on our YouTube Channel, Growing Older With Gusto, share with your friends, and Subscribe!

Today’s episode explores the method for finding oneself & re-inventing ones life at mid-life and beyond. Our guest, Lucia Knight comes to us from the UK where she started a business called MidLife Unstuck and wrote a book, XChange. Lucia took the bold and gusto move of piecing together her work and life experience pre-midlife to helping others get unstuck in both their careers and life! The show discusses how she used what she calls “Experiments” to jumpstart her own life, create a fulfilling older life, and ultimately help others discover and identify their life passions and move forward. Her “experiments” started slowly and gained momentum when she shared them with friends who hopped on the bandwagon. One example is climbing the French Alps in a short period of time. She refers to “Fierce Midlife Experiments” which often involve physicality and the tenacity to try totally out of the box activities. She touches on what she calls ones “SuperPowers” and provides the framework for everyone to dig in and figure out what exactly are their SuperPowers!! Everyone has 4-5 things they do better than other people and enjoy. Her “Fierce Emporium” is another offering that Lucia provides for those interested in identifying 8 traits for their “Fierce Cube.” So, take a listen to Lucia and get inspired!! Our chat is the perfect length for a 20 minute walk for those in warmer climes or for sitting with a cup of hot chocolate if you are spending time indoors right now. Lucia Knight can be contacted at her website: midlifeunstuck.com

Amy Newmark, author, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Chicken Soup For The Soul book series is our first guest of 2021 on Growing Older With Gusto. Her writing career began in college when she travelled throughout Brazil interviewing regular people as part of her senior honors thesis at Harvard College. Amy worked for three decades on Wall Street and became a hedge fund manager and tells us how writing was always a part of her pathway in the world of finance. 2008! The year that Amy...

Lynn Ruth Miller Our first episode of the year, 2021 is introducing the oldest living female comedienne. She claims that is an apt description because she is the “oldest standing female comedienne! Based in London, Lynn Ruth Miller has been a guest on America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent and recently published her memoir, Getting The Last Laugh a tale of the steps she took to get to where she is at age 87. Some of the topics we talked about are: How she got to where she is...

Eileen Willams Our guest on the show this week is Eileen Williams, an author, blogger, speaker and podcast host. Her blog and podcast, both called Feisty Side of Fifty, focus on the lifestyle of the baby boomer generation. Her career has encompassed 20+ years of working as a career strategist for people looking to change careers. She’s been a frequent speaker on both radio and TV, and has been interviewed for various publications; Market Watch, Money Magazine, Kiplinger to name a few. Our...

Our guest on the show this week is Peter E. Rork, MD, who practiced orthopedic surgery for 30 years before pivoting to a totally new business! His business has been showcased on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC, Fox & The Hallmark Channel. Peter decided to rewire, and not retire after a life altering event in 2012, by putting together his skills as a certified flight instructor and pilot (started flying at age 12) with his passion for transporting his furry friends (dogs and cats) to what he calls...

How do women find that great “Big Love” as they grow older? Listen to our guest on the show today tell us how her past experiences jettisoned from a journalism background, led her to create a business that helps women break down the barriers that have prevented them from finding what she calls, “Big Love”. She draws upon her past work experience as an intuitive coach where she helped women create a more expansive, magical and soulful life. Her ability to help women clarify purpose in their...

As the USA prepares for a virtual Thanksgiving, Growing Older with Gusto host Gail Zugerman welcomes video animator and techie Reno Lovison to the show to discuss some ideas for how to spend thanksgiving during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Reno shares some ideas for how to engage your family even while apart and at the end find a link to Reno's cute COVID Thanksgiving Parody that combines over the river and through the woods with lyrics you could only imagine in 2020. Check out Reno at:...

“I’m Not Done Yet” is the acronym for a UK based company called INDY. The founder of INDY, is Andrew Middleton. He is a British retired corporate executive who started INDY as a way to help people who are 50+ reinvent themselves, get past being stuck in an older mindset, or facing ageism in the workplace. Middleton draws upon his own personal and work experiences to help what he refers to as the INDY generation. Most, but not all of his people come from the 60’s and 70’s generation which...

Our guest on the show this week who is making her second appearance is Yvonne Wolf, an intercultural consultant to China. On the show, we have fun exploring the many ways the Chinese Zodiac influences how people grow older beginning in childhood. We begin the discussion by talking about the comparison of the Chinese Zodiac to the Zodiac in the Western Hemisphere. Our conversation with Yvonne talks about the significance of the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac. She explains that people can...

Fighting Forward. Jeopardy television game show host Alex Trebek, inspiration and beloved by many, passed away after a nearly two-year fight with pancreatic cancer. The survival rate of pancreatic cancer today is in the single digits but The Lustgarten Foundation is fighting that every way it can. Learn from President and CEO Kerri Kaplan of the Lustgarten Foundation, the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research, on how Alex Trebek has positively influenced pancreatic cancer...