Growing Older with Gusto: Recent Episodes
Gail Zugerman
This is a podcast that will turnaround misperceptions about the aging process and the later stages of our lives. It will provide a forum through various interviews of people aged 75+ who are growing older in a positive way to dispel the cloud of resistance and fear of growing older that is representative of many baby boomers. Growing older with Gusto showcases people from various walks of life who will discuss what they have done in the past, and continue to do today to give their lives meaning and to grow older with gusto.
Guests who describe what it takes to embrace their later years can energize, and change the focus of baby boomers and others who have negative perceptions of this phase of life. Baby boomers, a generation that has historically had an impact on society can lose their fear of aging, embrace our later years & be another way of this generation making its mark on society.
Gail Zugerman, the host of this podcast, is an experienced moderator, facilitator, and interviewer who spent the majority of her career as an independent qualitative marketing research consultant. Her expertise in working in the medical, B2B, and consumer markets with the older population provides a springboard for showing the way that our brains are wired to continue growing and achieving all of our lives.
The Renaissance was a time of boundless curiosity and exploration, and nowhere is this spirit more alive today than in the world of hospitality, where a new breed of Renaissance Man is redefining the guest experience. In this episode, Gail Zugerman interviews Joao Rodrigues, a true modern Renaissance Man. Buckle up as we soar through his diverse passions, from piloting airplanes for TAP Airlines to building the innovative Silent Living hospitality experience. He’s also the visionary behind Herdade No Tempo, a regenerative farm where he’s cultivating a future focused on sustainability. Tune in and discover how Joao is redefining success and paving the way for a brighter future.
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Watch the episode herehttps://youtu.be/qhM-IedAEmk
Listen to the episode hereRenaissance Man: A Journey Of Passion, Purpose, And Preservation With Joao RodriguesIntroductionHow does being an airline pilot, a hospitality creator, and a regenerative farm owner, all connect to the show? We will find out with our guests. I’m Gail Zurgerman, host of the show which is dedicated to showcasing the benefits of growing older in a positive and productive way. Our guest is Joao Rodrigues and he is what I consider a Renaissance man.
He’s a pilot at TAP Airlines, a national Portugal airline. He is the Founder of Silent Living hospitality projects in Portugal and elsewhere. He’s also the Founder of a regenerative farm called Herdade No Tempo, where he is building a home community. Aside from all this, he’s a strong family man with five children and a wife and is passionate about life. We have so many things to talk with him about, so let’s dive in.
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Welcome to the show, Joao.
Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here with you.
Thank you. You’re involved in so many projects. I wanted you to begin by having you tell our readers a little bit about yourself. What’s been driving you the past few years?
I’m Joao. I’m in my 50s years old. I see myself essentially as a father of five kids and as a husband. I’m very person-orientated. My family is on top of everything. Everything that I do has a purpose which is looking and giving good examples to my family and to my kids, especially to future generations as well. I started off doing a degree in management and economics when I finished school.
After that, I wanted to become a pilot because I was passionate about flying. My father was a Captain in TAP for several years. I thought there was this connection with aircrafts, the machines, flying, and the world, and knowing lots of different cultures and different countries around the world. I then did my training up in Prestwick in Scotland, where it took me a year and a half roughly to get my airline pilot license then I joined TAP.
I’ve been in TAP for many years. It’s been years since I’ve been a captain. First of all, I was a captain on short-haul European flights. Since the last few years, I’ve been flying long haul, which means that most of the routes of TAP fly to Brazil. Probably to something like ten different destinations in Brazil. We fly to Africa, Angola, Mozambique, and Mexico as well as Cancun. We fly to the States to five different destinations. We fly to the States where I will be able to meet when I come to Chicago.
What is your favorite place to fly to?
To be honest, what I like is to have a different roster, which means that you don’t always fly to the same places, which ends up being quite good. Generally, I have two flights to Brazil, one to Africa and one to the States every month. That’s roughly my roster, which is great because I get to catch up with lots of friends that I have all over. Also get to understand different cultures, foods, and music. For me, all of that is nice and important. We also have something which is basically in the Northern hemisphere when it’s winter time, it’s summertime in the Southern hemisphere, which is very nice because you end up always catching a little bit of sun.
Vitamin D. You’re getting your vitamin D.
After joining TAP, which is if you ask me, “Joao, in which one do you perceive yourself as? Do you perceive yourself as a pilot or as founder of Silent Living or regenerative agriculture?”
I was going to ask you. How did you end up pivoting into the hospitality industry? How did that come about? What drew you to that?
The reason was by accident. Which means that when I sold the company that I had which was doing people-centered innovation. A lot based on anthropology and sociology. I sold my 50% of that company. I sold because I had been working very hard during the last few years. I thought I had something to give back to my family. I decided to build this weekend house in Comporta. In this beautiful, nice area with pristine beaches and beautiful waters as well.
It’s one hour South of Lisbon. Based on that, I built the house. A few years after, the house was finished because I put in a lot of everything that I do. I put a lot of effort into it and I like it. It’s all about the details and making everything work smoothly. The house was then chosen to represent Portugal at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. It made something like ten covers of magazines around the world like Elle Decor, in Italy like AD Spain, and Maisons Cote Sud. Suddenly, it was all over. Wallpaper as well. I decided, “We were not using the house that much. Let’s start renting the house,” because we were already borrowing the house to lots of friends and family. That’s how Silent Living started.
Silent LivingTell us a little bit about Silent Living. Tell us about the whole concept.
Silent Living is a small hospitality group in which we have several houses located in different areas of Portugal. It’s the idea that each of these houses should represent a local way of living in that area. For example, Casas na Areia, the first project we did. It’s a house that should represent how people live on the beach and close to the coast. It’s a beach house.
We then have Cabanas No Rio that represent. These are small cabins that basically represent how people live close to the river and close to a story of the big river. We have the house in the farm which is Casa No Tempo that should also try to represent how people live in a farm in the Alentejo region. We have Santa Clara that you were able to visit in Lisbon, which is basically also a small hotel with six suites. In which, it was an old palace. We tried to show how people used to live many years ago. Maybe 100 or 200 years ago inside one of these palaces.
I tell my audience, since I have been fortunate enough to have been there. It is exquisite and the gardens are amazing.
Thank you. We have the last house that we also joined to the collection is Casa Na Terra, which is a house on a lake. In each of these houses, we build with local materials. We only have local people working there. We only use local products for breakfast and the other meals as well. There is always this idea of connecting all of these projects to the locality, to the place itself, with the hopeful idea of grounding people and giving them a moment for themselves as well.
How did you come up with that name? I’m curious.
One day, as we started with each of the projects, each of them had their own name. We suddenly decided we needed to have an umbrella name that could basically look after all the projects and that could give a sense of unity to all of this. To do this, what we did was, better than ourselves giving us a name, is why don’t we ask our dear guests that stayed with us? Why don’t we ask them for their contribution to find out what could be our name?
During months in all the houses, the teams were trained. They wouldn’t ask anything to the guests but they would collect the words that guests would say when they first enter the spaces. People would say, “It’s about the simplicity of the architecture. It’s about nature.” A lot of people say, “The sense of home and family.” A lot of people would talk about the silence, “It’s about the silence of the architecture and the space. The way we look after our guests.” Silence was one of the words which was more frequently said. We thought that Silent Living could fit very well as the brand for our hospitality group.
Hospitality And AgingThat’s a wonderful way to come up with a name and a branding, so to speak. That’s a fascinating story. How is being in this hospitality or hotel business added to your life and the whole process of growing older?
As I mentioned to you before, I’m very person-oriented. I’m looking after others. It’s one of the best things that we can do in the world. In Silent Living, what we mainly do is look after other people when they stay with us. We generally do it in a very simple and an easy way in which we look after our guests as longtime friends. We do everything to make their experience as special as possible. By saying this, one of the important things for us is also that we get to inspire our guests during their stay.
When I say inspire, it could be either through the architecture, the generosity of our service, or through the beauty of the houses itself or the interiors. All of these things should touch people during their stay and hopefully, promote some changes in their future lives. It’s the idea of leaving a little seat. This I think answers your question.
Where do these people come from most of them? How do they learn about Silent Living?
I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly. My idea is that most of these people know the houses and the Silent Living through lots of articles that have been published in the press. As well as our online website and our Instagram accounts. A lot of people that stay here mentioned they were recommended by a friend. The word of mouth is on the top of the list.
Farm JourneyLet’s talk now about your involvement with your farm. How did it all start? How did it come about? What are you doing? What is it all about? It’s so incredibly interesting.
The idea of the farm is an extension of Silent Living. The project of the farm is inside the hospitality group of Silent Living. Although, as I say, Silent Living is a tree. The farm is a huge trench. It’s quite an important part. Why? It’s because it was also the idea. During COVID, I flew very little. I had the time and the space of mind to focus and to try and understand in 1,000 acres how one could inspire other people to basically look after the planet.
Has anyone in your family ever been into farming? Did they introduce you to it? It was quite a big leap from piloting and then hospitality. I would think you’d be so busy. Although, in COVID, I understand. Things shut down.
If I try to investigate a little bit back in my family, if someone did it seriously, it was probably my great-grandparents. Both of my grandparents and my parents love it. They like it but they were never into it. The farm was rented out during a period of many years. Going back to this ideal year that I was telling you a minute ago, it’s all about how men, the animals and nature live in a perfect symbiosis. At the same time, not only produce very nutritious food and very healthy food but also look after the planet.
When I say look after the planet, I’m speaking about retaining carbon in the soil. I speak about increasing the capacity of the soil to retain water and lowering the temperatures. All of this is extremely important nowadays. We do this based on something called holistic management. There is a gentleman in the US called Allan Savory, who’s basically our mentor. He’s been studying desertification in the big savannahs in Africa.
He has found basically a way which is copying what the wild animals are doing in the big savannahs in Africa because they’re afraid of the predators. They keep all together and they keep moving as a herd. It’s this movement as a herd that basically has proved itself to be the best way to regenerate the soil, to build a very extreme resilient soil. It’s the birth for very nutritious food and nutritious trees.
We also have an agroforest in our farm of more or less 2.5 acres where we grow all our vegetables, lots of fruits and where we work a lot with the idea of the symbiosis between the plants. We plant some of the trees very close to each other because they end up helping and protecting each other. Either from bugs or too much sun or shortage of water. It’s zero chemicals. It’s much more than organic or any of that. Basically, it’s this idea on the farm. Whoever comes to visit us will be able to learn about how we do this process.
We want to share it with the world. We want to be a demonstrative hub of how to do all of this. Not only holistic management but also the growing of very nutritious food in our agroforest. Other people can go to their countries inspired by this idea and copy a lot of this and do it. We all together, hopefully, will be able to save the planet. That’s the idea.
What water do you use for both your animals and your land? How do you get it implemented into the farm?
We have several lakes on the farm. It’s through these lakes that we basically retain the water during the winter time that we can then use it during the summertime. The cows are not allowed to go close to these lakes. We protect the integrity of the water. We also have something like four boreholes from where we take the water. We have it in 22,000-litre deposits of containers where we then spread the water through all the farms for all the cattle so that they have fresh water in all of these several places.
You told me that you are also building a community on the farm, near the farm or in that area? Can you talk a little bit about it, please?
The idea of the community is basically interesting people around this idea of saving the planet. It’s a study of the United Nations. I don’t know if you’re aware but it says, “In the next 60 years, there won’t be enough food for everyone on the planet.” There will be a huge shortage of food. At the same time, we also have lots of news coming out telling us a little bit about the problem that we are encountering with climate change.
It’s the idea of creating a community around these problems to solve this. The idea is that we are working on it. There are lots of people that have been visiting Silent Living houses during the years and have asked me as well, “We would love to have a house here in Portugal. Can you help us look for a lot? Can you help us build a house? You have such a good taste. You could help me.” It’s so hard to do that. I decided that inside the farm because we have lots of land, so inside the farm, we could build another 10 or 15 houses spread around in the farm. We basically integrate the houses with nature because the houses are designed around rocks, trees, and lakes.
What are they made out of, the homes themselves?
The homes are made out of something called poor concrete, which is a concrete mixed with soil from the farm like a terracotta. It has the resistance of concrete but then it has the beauty of the soil in the walls as well. It’s extremely efficient regarding temperature-wise. Most in the winter and in the summer. It’s this idea that once you’re going to sell these houses to these future owners, which are basically our partners in the farm as well. We will run the whole house as a hospitality project.
Whenever the owners are not there, what we do is we cater the houses, clean the houses, maintain the houses, and we run the houses. The owners that have the houses now have a revenue on their investment. Not only are they connecting themselves to this beautiful project of saving the planet but at the same time, they’re investing in a beautiful property as well as a beautiful home. They’re getting a return on their investment, which is pretty fair.
What would you say to any individual who’s not fortunate enough perhaps to have a home on your farm? What can an individual do to help with climate change?
One of the very important things is try to find out where your food comes from. Try to buy local, from local producers, in which at least you know it’s organic. That’s the least you should accept because not only by doing this, you’re looking after your health. At the same time, you will be looking after the planet and the future of all of us, which is very important.
Focus on buying local produce whenever possible. This way, you’re more likely to get organic options. It’s the least you should accept for your health. But the benefits go beyond you! You’ll also be supporting the planet and the future of us all, which is incredibly important.
There is a book called Food by an American writer called Mark Hyman, in which he talks about the problems of food in the US. I recommend it if someone can get the book. It’s easy to buy online or at the bookstore and try to learn a little bit of how to eat more healthily. It starts a lot by, if you are not able to grow your own vegetables, then buy your neighbor’s vegetables as close as possible.
Tell our readers a little bit about your boutique hotel and how the food from the farm comes over and what you do in your special dinners that you have because they are special.
We don’t call Santa Clara a hotel. I would rather call it a home. It’s a palace almost 300 years old. We recovered it years ago and we ended up doing this. On the ground floor, it has a beautiful lobby and an entrance. We have our office of the Silent Living then we have a long table where we accommodate fourteen people and where the restaurant goes on called Ceia. Ceia means supper. I will come back to that in a moment.
On the first and second floor, we have the six suites. On the last floor, we have our family home. We have a little garden at the back as well to welcome our guests. Going back to the concept of Ceia. What we wanted with Ceia is basically showcase the work that we are doing at the farm. Ceia is a fine dining restaurant in which the meal starts around half past seven. People get to have a drink before dinner.
Once they get seated, the dinner takes about 2 or 3 hours. It’s eight moments with beautiful, very nice food, very nutritious, and very healthy food that we collect from the farm twice a week that our team here transforms. Each of these moments should showcase one of the issues that we are overcoming in the farm.
It could be carbon, the symbiosis, photosynthesis, or soil. It focuses on all of this and it tries to explain how we do it on the farm. It’s much more than just a beautiful meal with very nice ingredients with a nice atmosphere. You get to know other people during the dinners as well because it’s a long table. It’s a communal table, shared. At the same time, it’s not that you learn but at least you get aware of lots of things that are happening to our planet and how to solve some of them.
Finding Purpose Through Diverse InterestsIt’s a wonderful experience for anybody traveling to Lisbon. I highly recommend it. How do all your interests coincide to give you a greater sense of purpose which you artfully had created for yourself? How would you recommend or if you were giving advice to someone looking to expand their horizons a bit as they go older? Any advice?
I feel it myself as I grow older. One of the things which is limited in our life is time. As time passes by, the more we use, the less we have to be able to use. One of the very important things that we all love to do is use this time very well, which means try. When we’re with someone, forget about the phone and any of the other things that are happening and focus on that person and concentrate on that moment.
Live the moment more than being worried with what happened or in the past or worrying about things in the future. It’s extremely important to live the moment. It’s all about that. It’s the secret life. I believe it’s the secret of living in the moment. Once that moment is past, you look back and you’re okay with yourself because you’re saying, “No, I’ve lived that moment the best I could. There’s nothing else we can do.”
That’s all we can ask of ourselves.
That’s right. I always tell this to my children, “When you do a task, do it extremely well. Focus on that task. Forget about everything else. Don’t be worried about what’s going to happen tomorrow or day after. Live the moment. It’s very difficult to do but it’s beautiful. It adds a lot to our life. As I grow older, if you ask me, that’s what I will try to do. Hopefully, giving good examples, trying to do good things, beautiful things, and leave a good mark. Sometimes more than bringing something new to the planet. Look at whatever we already have here and how we can improve it and make it better.
Sometimes, instead of focusing on creating and introducing new things, it’s more beneficial to look at what we already have on the planet and find ways to improve and make it better.
ConclusionThank you so much. As we wrap up for being such a great guest and coming all the way from Lisbon for our readers. If somebody wants to get in touch with you, whether for the farm or staying at one of your other hospitality homes, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?
The easiest way is to go online and probably look up Silent Living either through the website or through Instagram. If you send a message both on Instagram or on one of our email accounts saying, “This is for Joao.” You will easily come across Joao. Joao will be on the other side. I will be able to answer everyone.
Thank you very much. For those of you reading, if you’re not a subscriber, please subscribe by going to www.GrowingOlderWithGusto.com. Share the show with your friends. Thank you so much for reading. I always say stay connected, stay busy, and stay reading. Thank you, Joao.
Thank you. It was a huge pleasure.
Important Links: TAP Airlines * Silent Living * Herdade No Tempo * Allan Savory – LinkedIn * Food*
About Joao RodriguesA man who embraces life. This is Joao Rodrigues, our guest coming to us from Lisbon. He is a pilot for TAP airlines, A founder of Silent Living Hospitality Group, Founder of Herdade No Tempo, a regenerative farm and devoted family man.Joao talks about his zest for life and how his personal philosophy makes him a great example of growing older with gusto.
Who doesn’t love a good James Bond thriller? In this episode, our guests, after spending over 50 years in the high-tech business, decided they wanted to return to their passion. What is their passion? Their passion is spy movies. Dan Silvestri and Tom Pivvato did their research and they discovered that most sites are dedicated solely to James Bond movies. They kept exploring and found out by examining other spy movies that had been made that so many of them are interrelated. Their curiosity led them to discover things about the origins of spy movies, common themes, scenes that you see within different movies, and the influence each spy movie has on others in this genre. They started a podcast called Spy Movie Navigator, and this podcast is designed to enhance your viewing experience when you watch different movies. It was created as a landing pad for people interested in spy movies, from the classics to current releases. There’s so much to talk about in this episode so tune in!
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Watch the episode hereListen to the podcast hereSpy Movie Navigator: Cracking The Spy Movie Code With Dan Silvestri And Tom PivvatoWho doesn’t love a good James Bond thriller? In this episode, our guests after spending over 50 years in the high-tech business decided they wanted to return to their passion. What is their passion? Their passion is spy movies. They did their research and they discovered that most sites are dedicated solely to James Bond movies. They kept exploring and found out by examining other spy movies that had been made that so many of them are interrelated.
Their curiosity led them to discover things about the origins of spy movies, common themes, scenes that you see within different movies, and the influence each spy movie has on others in this genre. They started a podcast called Spy Movie Navigator, and this podcast is designed to enhance your viewing experience when you watch different movies. It was created as a landing pad for people interested in spy movies, from the classics to current releases. There’s so much to talk about in this episode so let’s get started. Welcome to the show, Dan and Tom.
We’re very happy to be there.
Gail, it’s fantastic to be here. Thanks for inviting us.
I’m excited to talk to you and learn more about this passion of yours. First of all, tell the readers what ignited your passion for delving into the genre of spy movies.
I’ll go first on that one. First of all, we have a website called SpyMovieNavigator.com and the podcast show is called Cracking the Code of Spy Movies! It went back to high school. I was at St. Ignatius High School, and my friends and I decided when Goldfinger came out that we were going to cut classes and sneak downtown and go see Goldfinger. It was the third James Bond movie ever out. We had a system in the class where the teachers took a roll call and they put the names on a piece of paper. They clipped it outside the door and then someone would come and pick it up.
If your name was on the list, you were in the class. If it wasn’t, you were absent. A friend of ours, our mission was to go downtown and see Goldfinger. Our inside guy was going to put our names on the lists for each of our classes and everything was going to be great. We went downtown and saw Goldfinger. It was terrific. I went back to school the next day, and we were in detention. Our friend chickened out. We were in detention for about a week, but it was worth it. That’s got me started on the spy movies and James Bond in particular.
How about you?
For me, it was back in spy movies and the Columbo TV show. Columbo’s not a spy, but it got me going on the genre of it. However, when I looked at things like The Spy Who Loved Me, which was the first Bond movie that I saw in the theater, it was like, “This is different. I like this type of movie.” That helped me with that. Why we started delving into them other than being fans is that we were on a trip and we were up in Piz Gloria, which is this mountaintop retreat that was used in the movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It’s gorgeous up there, and it’s like this remote little thing on top of a mountain.
Where is this located?
It’s in Switzerland.
It’s 10,000 feet up.
It was above the town of Mürren. Dan and I were sitting in the bar that night and we’re like, “We liked it so much. There’s got to be other people who would like this.” We started looking into, “Can we do something around this?” I was thinking at that time about retirement and looking for something to do, and we were like, “Can we do something here?” A few years later, here we are and having a heck of a good time.
Tell us about what are the origins of spy movies. You mentioned Columbo. I would think of Columbo off the top of my head or Goldfinger. I think it was one of the first James Bond movies I saw. What are the origins of spy movies? As you did your exploration into this genre, what did you discover?
When you look back on spy movies, everyone thinks of James Bond. Ian Fleming wrote all the novels and stuff starting in 1953 but if you look back on spy movies, they’ve been around for decades before that. You go back in the history of spy movies, you look at the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie, The 39 Steps. Many people consider that to be the first official spy movie. There were a few before that. It was a silent movie too, as well.
I was going to ask about that. If there were any silent movies.
I’ll talk about one of those. It’s one that I like better than Dan does.
As I said, there were a few others before that. The 39 Steps though was the birth of the more modern concept of what a spy movie is. A lot of the elements that we see now in spy movies from that point forward came from the roots of these older spy movies like The 39 Steps in 1935, Secret Agent, which was also a Hitchcock-directed movie in 1936 and others liked. Those began the real spy movie genre back in the ’30s.
What was the Doris Day movie where she sang Que Sera, Sera?
The Man Who Knew Too Much.
It was both a 1934 version and a 1956 version of that. He was in the 56th version of that but Hitchcock did both of them.
I also think that influencing spy movies, World War I and World War II played a big role.
In what way?
It’s because a lot of the early spy movies were around spying on your war enemy. There was a lot of influence there. The first spy movie that I know of is something called Spione. It’s a German silent movie by Fritz Lang. It being silent is nice because they can put up English subtitles there, which is nice.
What year did that come out?
That was a 1928 movie. You can find it online on YouTube. There’s a version out there by BluRay Classic Studios. It’s a pretty good print of it. There are some that are tough prints, but that one’s a pretty good one. We see many of the tropes used in that movie used in future movies even though this was a silent movie. You also have The 39 Steps that Dan talked about. By the time he got to that, the formula was there in terms of getting us into what a spy movie should look like or what the industry thinks it should look like.
Tom mentioned the spies, World War II, and the World Wars. There’s a movie coming out now. It’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and that is based on a real World War II Operation, Operation Postmaster. We already saw it.
When you first started getting together and getting your ideas together, how did you discover that certain spy movies or themes are interrelated? What was your take on that? Why do you think that is?
I think a couple of things. Spies, like Ian Fleming, for instance, he was an internal intelligence officer for the British. He was a naval intelligence officer. He knew a lot of stuff that was going on. As a matter of fact, he was involved in many of the operations that were executed in World War II. The concept of what goes into real spying worked its way into the movies for sure certainly because of Fleming and how he popularized spies. However, it’s the real-world element I think that influenced what went into spy movies.
Absolutely. Also, trains, Dan.
Every spy movie has got to have a train.
The early spy movies all had train scenes, and now almost every spy movie has a train scene in it. Many with a fight on the train which is pretty interesting.
The greatest fight of all on the train was From Russia with Love.
You see something like that and it influences the next movie out. Also, other things like there’s a mole in the organization. Hitchcock called it MacGuffin, where you have an object that people are going for. What it is doesn’t matter. It’s the mission of getting that whatever it is, that MacGuffin. Hitchcock started that and everybody started using that.
It’s another tool that Hitchcock used. I was going to ask you. You saw that in other spy movies. Does he always appear in every movie?
Yes, he did.
In some form.
Yes.
Did other people copy him or not?
Yes.
They did.
A little bit here and there, but not as much as Hitchcock, I don’t think.
Is Michael G. Wilson a producer or owner? He’s one of the two guys that owns Eon Productions.
He produces the James Bond movies.
Since he started working on them, I don’t know one that he’s not in. I think he’s in all of them.
He’s not in all of the early ones, but he’s in certainly the later ones.
He started working.
He does that. He makes a little cameo. It has been done. Hitchcock though, when he did it, he started putting himself in earlier in the movies because people were so distracted looking for him that they weren’t paying attention to the movie.
I think one other influence that I wanted to make sure I talked about here is real-world spy stuff. Real-world espionage tasks. Things like something called a brush pass where you two people pass and they hand something off. It’s so fast you don’t even see it or a dead drop where they put something somewhere or a predetermined place and somebody else comes by later and picks it up. As things change in the real espionage world, some of that stuff ends up hitting into the real spy movies. The real-world espionage world is influencing what we see on screen.
Do you think there are ebbs and flows to the audience’s interest in this genre? Does it change according to world events? You mentioned world events do play into the development of these spy movies. Does what’s going on in the outside world have any impact on the interest in the genre?
I think, absolutely especially in Eon Productions, the people who produce the James Bond movies. They are constantly looking at what’s going on in the world for their movies because they’re out of Fleming material. Fleming wrote about thirteen novels and short story collections. They’re out of Fleming material for the most part.
They’re always constantly looking at what’s going on in the real world, what’s the influence of that on the global perspective of country versus country, and so on. Also, spy versus spy. That makes a lot of sense for them to do. Also, the people who are familiar with it, they’re going to be more interested in that. It’s smart business to do it, but it’s certainly a good source of information for them to do the screenplays and write new material.
I also think the whole ebb and flow thing comes into play with things like the Cold War. There were a ton of spy movies and they had to shift after the Cold War “ended.” How espionage was done is still all there, but it’s not as big of a thing in people’s minds as when we were very heavily involved in the Cold War. As the world events happen now, I’m going to bet we’re going to see more Russian and Asian spy conflicts happening here and that will be a very big influence on the industry.
That leads to the next question that came top of mind. Are spy movies in different countries different than ones that originate in the United States or do they play off one another? Do they copy or is there something common depending on which country they’re produced in?
We did one on Raazi, which was produced in India. Again, I think you have a subset of themes that are in spy movies, and it’s oftentimes country versus country for one reason or another. In this Indian movie, it was the Indian-Pakistani War during that timeframe. Again, they’re going to frame it from their Indian perspective and what a spy organization looks like for India versus Britain, the United States, or whatever.
However, that was a very interesting movie because now you’re seeing their perspective of their battle basically with Pakistan. They did a fair job of presenting both sides evenly. It’s going to be different from each country, but it’s going to be their perspective that brings it to the film but still this subset of tropes, standards, and things that happen in the real spy world that are going to be used over and over again.
Also with India, though, Dan, there’s a different formula in India for doing a movie. Most of the movies that are over two hours long get an intermission. It’s Bollywood-based, there’s a dance break in the middle of the movie with a song. Even if you don’t have the dance break, they’ve got musical interludes where they advance the story without dialogue. It’s just whatever the lyrics to the song are and not the actors talking.
The style is different, but the concepts are going to be very often similar. If you take a look at the Chinese movie Cliff Walkers from a few years ago where you take Pathaan, which was another Indian movie. It’s us versus them, whoever them is, whether it’s a country or another organization and we’ve got to stop them from doing something bad. That’s very common across all of the movies that I’ve seen across all the different nationalities.
In Raazi, when they were smoking, they put a flash-up on the screen saying, “Smoking kills.” They do some things differently.
What other influencers would you say play into the spy genre?
I think you have a lot of things. We were talking about the real world that influences what goes in but you also have spy movies that influence other spy movies. Those are the kinds of things that I think we look at. This one we did was on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. We looked at maybe 4, 5, or 6 other movies that you can reference within that movie that you could say, “This kind of thing was going on in this movie or that movie,” and so on. I think that’s a big influence. What happens in one spy movie, if it’s successful, you will see it over and over again like the train concept that Tom was talking about in future spy movies. That’s a biggie.
One example of things coming from the real world was from the Goldfinger movie in 1964, when James Bond in the pre-title sequence comes out of the water in a wetsuit. He’s going to go into this area and blow up some stuff he needs to blow up. He’s in a wetsuit, but he unzipped it and he’s in a tuxedo so that he looks like he fits into his atmosphere. You’d think, “This could never happen in the real world, and this is just fantasy stuff.” However, it did happen in the real world in World War II.
There was an operation in the Netherlands where a specially made wetsuit was made for this diver. He was to go in and extract a couple of prisoners from this German mansion, and he was going to fit in because he had the tuxedo on and be able to walk right in and do this. It happened in real life. It’s that kind of stuff constantly they’re looking for. Tom and I look for that in these movies and bring that out because a lot of people would not pay attention to that kind of thing. We’re bringing these different elements out to the movies, but they’re big influencers in what happens in the movies.
I think the times matter a lot too. When we talked about the Cold War, there were a lot of things. If you think about something like Star Wars, it wasn’t a spy movie, but it had a very direct influence on the James Bond movie Moonraker. Bond used to smoke cigarettes. He doesn’t do that anymore. The womanizing has been brought way down and now, the next thing we’re seeing in spy movies is the topic of artificial intelligence.
Many people don’t know what it means so in the movies that makes it be anything they want, and totally ridiculous. I think it’s going to be overplayed. We saw it in the last Mission Impossible movie, and it didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I understand that stuff a bit. The other thing is you see influences on what was successful in another movie, maybe not on a specific, “We were on a train and had a fight,” but action sequences have gotten bigger and bigger.
They keep trying to outdo the last movie with an action scene and stunts. It’s raising the budgets to an almost unsustainable level. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how that calms down because if you look at something like The Ministry that we talked about or Raazi, there are not as many of those big action scenes in them but the industry was trying to one-up each other for quite a while there with the stunts mainly in spy movies and that’s not really about the espionage. That’s just about how a spy movie is made.
That’s what’s going on now, and it’s been going on for several decades. It’s the battle between espionage for spy movies. We’re talking about espionage and real espionage life happens in From Russia with Love versus action movies, which many of the Mission Impossible movies are. The producers are constantly looking at what selling and they’re making those adjustments. If action is selling, their spy movie is more action-oriented than espionage-oriented. That’s a constant battle, and it changes over time. It also changes from country to country. It is a battle for the producers to try to figure out what to do next but it has been a battle between those two elements, espionage and action for decades.
They say timing is everything and I know that the James Bond series has been constantly popular with every generation. Let’s talk a little bit about that. Is that sustainable or is there any other competition to James Bond that has been as successful?
I think James Bond, it’s been around since 1962 for movies. It was in 1953 when Ian Fleming started writing Casino Royale. It’s been around for over 60 years. Is this sustainable? It looks like it. They’ve done a good job so far. Will it continue to be sustainable? Everyone’s waiting to see what their next decision is because Daniel Craig is no longer James Bond. That’s been since 2019. That’s been out and nothing’s been done since. People are wondering what’s going to happen next. It’s a challenge, but I think they’re going to continue to try to produce it. They do get new and younger people interested. They must or else the older people are not going to be around to watch the new movies.
It’s interesting how all the different generations enjoy it and flock to those movies.
If you ask somebody who their favorite James Bond actor is, it’s likely to be whoever they saw first in the role. I mentioned that these things change over time and adapt to time. If they were putting out some of the womanizing stuff that happened in the early Bonds, they might not get the audiences now. Their ability to adapt is extremely important.
It’s a must for the money or just to be successful.
If you look at other series that have tried to take on Bond, you had Bourne, which was a very good probably first two movies, and then it tapered off. You had Mission Impossible, which is still very strong although they’re at a critical point now with Ethan Hunt and Tom Cruise playing Ethan Hunt. Now, the nice thing with Mission Impossible is the team members come and go so they could easily say, “It’s not Ethan Hunt. We’ve got a new head of whatever the team is.” With the Bond movies, it’s harder for them to do that. They have to say, “Here’s a new actor and we’re going on our merry way.”
Mission Impossible is the franchise that has any chance of competing with the James Bond franchise. You look at that by Box Office numbers, and they’re the only ones who compete globally versus James Bond. James Bond is a global phenomenon, and so is Mission Impossible. Many of the other franchises that are trying. They even tried Harry Palmer in the mid-’60s, and that was based on Len Deighton’s books and so on. They did three of them and that was the end of that. It’s very difficult to do, but Mission Possible probably is in the best position to challenge the Bond franchise.
With streaming, there are a lot of companies trying. Netflix has put out a bunch of things that they’ve said, “This is our answer to go after Bond. We want this to be a series like Bond.” You had the Kingsman.
We are watching A Gentleman in Moscow right now.
This series happens, but nothing stuck as well as Bond.
Let me ask you this. How did your background in high tech play into, if in any way, your passion for the spy genre? Did it have any influence or was that something that was different for you when you wanted to pursue that?
I’ll let Tom talk about that because his background is high-tech. Mine is sales and marketing. I have a sales and marketing angle too.
For me, I got hooked on Bond in high school.
Gentlemen, we are running out of time, I’m sorry to say but tell me quickly how did this interest come after retirement and how has it helped you? You’re growing older with gusto, you’re passionate about this, and you have so many interesting things to talk about. In one sentence, tell us how this interest has helped you after retirement.
Everyone wants to retire and when they get there, they’re bored. I think before you retire, you need to know what you’re going to do. If you’re going to be traveling half the year, great. If you’re going to write a book, great. Tom and I are doing this because it keeps your mind and body moving. It keeps you thinking and it keeps you moving forward. You have to have something to do after you retire. This is a productive entertaining thing. We’re in the entertainment business so we’re trying to entertain people.
For me, all I would add that is my wife gave me the guidance before I retired that I needed to have something specific to do. She was right and this ended up being a perfect opportunity for me. I get to keep my technical skills going a little bit with what I do. I enjoy doing the spy movie, so it gives me something to keep driving for.
How can our readers find you and find your podcast?
We have a website, SpyMovieNavigator.com. Our podcast show is called Cracking the Code of Spy Movies! It’s also a YouTube channel with the same name. We’re in every major podcast app like Apple, Overcast, and everything. Every one of them, we’re in. You could go to your podcast app, look for Cracking the Code of Spy Movies, and start listening. We appreciate it.
Thank you, readers. I’m sure you enjoyed this episode. Please share it with your friends, and remember to stay curious and stay connected.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Gail.
Important Links* SpyMovieNavigator.com * Cracking the Code of Spy Movies! * YouTube – Cracking the Code of Spy Movies * Apple – Cracking the Code of Spy Movies
About Dan Silvestri and Tom PivvatoDan & Tom get together through a mutual interest in spy movies. This catapulted into their developing spymovienavigator.com and Cracking the Code of Spy Movies. Passionate about spy movies leads to a third act for Dan & Tom. They took a deep dive on the subject and created Cracking the Code of Spy Movies.
Who doesn't love a good James Bond thriller? In this episode, our guests, after spending over 50 years in the high-tech business, decided they wanted to return to their passion. What is their passion? Their passion is spy movies. Dan Silvestri and Tom Pivvato did their research and they discovered that most sites are dedicated solely to James Bond movies. They kept exploring and found out by examining other spy movies that had been made that so many of them are interrelated. Their curiosity led them to discover things about the origins of spy movies, common themes, scenes that you see within different movies, and the influence each spy movie has on others in this genre. They started a podcast called Spy Movie Navigator, and this podcast is designed to enhance your viewing experience when you watch different movies. It was created as a landing pad for people interested in spy movies, from the classics to current releases. There's so much to talk about in this episode so tune in!
Struggling to care for aging parents while juggling your own family? Today, Bina Coleman discusses the challenges of being part of the sandwich generation and the importance of finding support groups and resources. She also talks about the future of Parent Projects, a company that helps families stay organized and communicate with each other about caring for elderly loved ones, including the use of artificial intelligence to help families better care for their aging parents. Don’t miss out! Learn how to make caring for your aging parents a little easier.
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Listen to the podcast hereHow Parent Projects Can Help You Care For Elderly Loved Ones With Bina ColmanHello and welcome to the podcast, Growing Older with Gusto. My name is Gail Zugerman, and my husband, Charlie, likes to joke that his name is Gusto. But actually, this podcast is created to show people in younger generations how to grow older in a positive and productive way by having guests on the show who are doing just that or helping others to do just that. Today, we have an episode about the sandwich generation, and I don’t necessarily mean those of you who grew up eating subs or hoagies or Philadelphia cheesesteaks, whatever.
So, our guest today is a younger woman named Bina Coleman, who’s going to tell us how she started her business out of seeing a need in the marketplace for balancing a full-time career, raising young kids, and having elderly parents who had health care needs of their own. It is a juggling act, one that’s been addressed by the media, but Bina Coleman saw an opportunity, and she’s very busy with her own life. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona, and she managed to find the time to create her original business, which was called Compassionate Callers, and it’s recently morphed into Parent Projects, which she’ll talk about. But it’s a business targeted to those people who need support with numerous activities that are busy, and her business was set up to really help people who are in the sandwich generation have peace of mind and know that their elderly parents are living a good older life while they maintain theirs. She also has a degree in gerontology and over a decade of experience in the field of elderly care.
So, I’d like to get started; she has so much to tell us. She has a great story. So welcome to the show, Bina.
Thank you for that introduction. It was very good. It was a great introduction. It’s all true. There are so many of us.
Right, so start us out. Tell our listeners about your story, about your background, and your personal experiences that led to the development of Parent Projects.
I grew up here in Phoenix, and my parents actually owned the first four franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. I was in sixth grade, so in 1996, they were literally one of the first home care agencies in Arizona or Phoenix, and now there’s over 500, I want to say. Growing up, this is all we heard: the elder world, the seniors, the caregivers, so my brother and I just knew this world when none of our friends did.
The Sandwich-Generation CaregiverWhen it was time for me to get my degree, it was kind of a no-brainer to do gerontology, though it’s extremely niche, and there’s not many of us. But fast forward, I am married, I have two little kids; they’re still little. So, even back when my father was living in a memory care facility and then passed, they were even younger. But I truly became a sandwich generation caregiver because I was working full time. I was doing sales for home care, home health, and hospice, and I was also visiting my dad, like I said, in a memory care unit.
We were lucky enough to place them in a beautiful place in Scottsdale, so that was wonderful, truthfully. But, you know, I’d show up with both kids and just think there’s something missing in this continuum of care for everybody, memory or not, or whatever maybe they’re going through. I thought there’s something missing, and that’s where Compassionate Callers actually really came from.
What a valuable service. Really, it’s amazing. Keep going; tell us about the services.
Compassionate CallersSo, I’ll tell you about Compassionate Callers and then kind of how it merged. Compassionate Callers is a business where we’re able to call people up to five times a day, seven days a week, and that could be for anything. I mean, truly, just because it’s so easy, it really did start with medication reminders and meal reminders, but really morphs into just anything you can imagine. Like I said, it’s not just for people who have memory issues or anything like that because one of our clients was a younger man who was very depressed, and getting him out of bed was something, that’s why we called him. So, there’s just a lot of reasons why these up to five phone calls a day, seven days a week can really make a difference in somebody’s life, and that’s what we were doing with Compassionate Callers, and this was Monday through Sunday. So, let’s say an adult child lived out of state, and they were worried their mom wasn’t even getting up or wasn’t eating lunch; we stepped in and took over those calls.
I met the founder of Parent Projects, and we really hit it off. We really felt we were working towards the same goal and innovative. We wanted the best for everybody in the family situation.
I just have one question going back to when we were talking about Compassionate Callers. When you called, and when you had your calling service, and let’s say somebody was out of state and they had hired your company to do that. Now, did you have the ability to go actually to where they were living and help out, or call somebody, another resource, to help them? How did that work?
It’s a great question. So yes, I’m based in Phoenix. It was a nationwide service because nothing was “hands-on.” So, they truly were dedicated phone calls. However, with your other part of the question, resources are my favorite thing in the world. Anybody who needs any resource, I feel ‘I know who to reach out to,’ or ‘what kind of person.’ If I don’t know someone in that industry, but I know you need a placement agent in Alabama, “All right, let’s find you a placement agent in Alabama.” I like to really give those resources out because there are so many available that people just don’t know about, and I think that’s the biggest hindrance of really caring for the aging population or anyone. It is how to use and utilize the resources that are out there, and so I love people to know about them.
The biggest hindrance to caring for the aging population or anyone is how to use and utilize the resources that are out there.
Parent ProjectsSo, Parent Projects is a wonderful service. You can log on to parentprojects.com. You create a whole project, as in the name, it can be for a loved one, your aging parent, your aging great aunt, whatever the situation. Let’s say that you just feel overwhelmed, you don’t understand when this doctor appointment is, or you want to upload stuff, we have it all for you. You can be organized. You can upload all insurances. You can have a calendar to mark all doctor appointments or any kind of appointments.
Parent Projects: Parent Projects is a wonderful service that helps you be organized, upload all insurance, and have a calendar to mark all doctor appointments or any type of appointment.
The reason why I love that so much is because let’s say there’s a sibling in California, one in New York. They’re obviously not going to be together too often, unfortunately, right? But this allows them to get on the same platform and really say, ‘Okay, look, it’s marked in the calendar that mom has an eye appointment on the 16th.’ All right, great, we all know that, and we’re able to say to her then, ‘How did your eye appointment go? Who’s taking you to your eye appointment?’ Really get down to the brass tacks of that singular appointment just by looking at the platform that you guys have together. So, it’s a wonderful service.
That’s great. What are some other services that you found to be most helpful to people in what we call “the sandwich generation?” I mean, that one that you just described is great. Even in Europe or China, or wherever they live.
Absolutely. I think it is so needed even if you do live next door to them. I assume you’re going to have your own life too, and you can’t always be on top of it. Some other resources that I found when I was going through my own care journey with my dad were support groups, truthfully. I happened to find one, and I encourage everyone if you’re in this situation. Mine was for kids or people under the age of 40 who had a loved one, most likely a parent, with dementia. And that, to me, was the best support group I could have joined. It was virtual because, luckily, there aren’t too many people under 40 who are dealing with that, with a parent with Alzheimer’s or dementia. But also, just because we were all over. Some were in Oregon, some were in California, so that to me was the best thing I could have done. It was once a month, but that is truly what I highly recommend to everybody. Find yourself a support group if you can. Yes, friends and family are amazing, but going through and talking to people who are going through what you’re going through and being able to laugh and cry and scream, you can’t put money on it. It’s just priceless. That would be one of my biggest resources I would encourage people to do.
Very well put. I think that is very crucial and important. I mean, we all have friends and family that are supportive, but in order to really have empathy and have experience, it’s good to speak with people who walk the walk and have that learning, so to speak. So, tell us a little bit about your recent merger. Is there anything that’s different that you have experienced or found in merging your business, as a businesswoman?
It’s a cool experience. Parent Projects is a very tech-heavy company, which I’m personally not. It’s just who I am. It was really wonderful to be able to use and utilize their tech for Compassionate Callers, and that’s what we’ve been doing and why it’s on the back burner right now because we want to make it as robust and great as possible. One of the biggest positives is that we’re able to do these amazing things with technology so that when we do roll out Compassionate Callers again, it’s going to be everything I could have ever dreamed of. Up to date, technology forward, there’ll be schedules and calendars and notes, the whole thing. I think it’s a really good merger between us because on their end they’re very tech forward, so I bring the gerontology degree or point of view to their company.
It sounds like you’re more people-oriented, like you want to handle the families and talking to them, and explaining.
Exactly.
What are some other ways that you’re projecting your business is going to go? Maybe in five years. What do you think? Think about the people that you know where you live and people you interact with in other parts of the country. Any thoughts on where you might want to see it?
Compassionate ConciergeI do know that Parent Projects, we’re also doing a Compassionate Concierge service, which is very cool. That is where you can literally book someone like me. I’m going to have a team, and you just book me for about 45 minutes. We discuss what’s going on, and those resources I talked about, you get them right off the bat. We’re really looking at this like a concierge service for anyone that’s feeling overwhelmed, they don’t know where to start. Most people don’t. I feel like when I talk to people like you, Gail, because you and I are in this every day, it’s so like, ‘Oh, you do this?’ and it’s so second nature. But a lot of people just don’t know what to do. So, you book an appointment with a Compassionate Concierge through Parent Projects, and you get some direction. You get ideas. You get suggestions. You get those resources. So, that’s something we’re really, really going to push soon. So, you’ll see stuff on that.
Parent Projects: Parent Projects is doing a Compassionate Concierge service where you can book someone and discuss what’s going on.
Then, the other thing, we’re very AI forward, I should say. I don’t know how much you know about AI.
A little bit.
That’s how I feel. I know it. The Parent Project people, they are very smart with it. Where again, I’m just not that tech friendly. But I do know we’re using that service and technology to better everyone’s experience with the whole aging process. So, there will be more to come on that as well. So, there are exciting things to come.
So, can you give me just one example of how artificial intelligence is going to impact your business and help it?
Yeah, actually. So, if people have projects like what I spoke about. You go on, you sign up, you have these projects. You can journal, or you can say how your parents are doing for the day. And then, the AI technology starts to track it and to really understand, ‘Oh, maybe every day around five, they have a fall.’ Or that’s when they’re getting the most confused. If you’re journaling this, that AI technology then, that I was able to find resources, is able to say, ‘Hey, look, you might need a hands-on caregiver between the hours of four and nine every night.’ They are able to see patterns that are happening due to the journaling or just doctor appointments or whatever is going into this project and say, ‘This is probably one of the services that you could use.’ So, it’s fast information. If someone doesn’t have time to book an appointment with Compassionate Concierge, eventually, the idea is that this AI technology will say, ‘Well, this is what you’re going to need anyway. So, why don’t we just at least get an assessment started?’
Very interesting. Okay. Well, any other things you want to talk to us about, and the listeners, that you feel is important for them to know?
I know. I feel like I probably gave people more questions. So, I was going to say, just reach out to me through Parent Projects. I’d love talking to people.
What’s the best way for our listeners to reach you, Bina?
It’s bcolman@parentprojects.com.
Very good. Thank you so much. This has been interesting, and I’ve learned a lot too, and I’m sure our listeners have. So, thank you all for listening. Please go to our website, www.growingolderwithgusto.com, and subscribe if you’ve enjoyed this episode, which, how could you not? And also, you can share this episode if you’d like with other friends or family members that you think would benefit from this. So, thanks for listening, and remember to stay connected and stay curious.
Important Links* Parent Projects * Bina Coleman
About Bina ColmanA degree and background in Gerontology coupled with over a decade of experience in the field of elderly care was the springboard for Bina to observe a crucial gap in the continuum of care. She was a part of the sandwich generation herself a few years ago, and felt compelled to address this need, leading to the inception of Parent Projects. In her personal journey, she found herself balancing a full-time career, a family with young children and regular visits to her father in a memory care community.
Her father’s early-onset dementia diagnosis in his late 50’s and his subsequent passing in his early 60’s made her acutely aware of the challenges faced by the sandwich caregivers and their families. Bina was determined to spare others from the overwhelming stress she experienced during that time.
Parent Projects emerged from this personal journey, aiming to provide much-needed support to individuals who are juggling busy lives, full- time jobs and numerous responsibilities. Their service steps in to make those crucial calls on their behalf, offering the peace of mind they rightfully deserve. Their mission is to alleviate the burden and stress of caregiving, ensuring that families can focus on what matters most while Parent Projects provides essential support.
Host Gail Zugerman interviews Burt Fendelman a practicing attorney in NYC dedicated to aiding collectors, heirs and others evaluate art work and collectibles for the purpose of understanding the tax implications of gifting or selling of their treasures.
He talks with Gail about how having passion for your work as well as staying connected with others of all ages is essential to growing older with gusto.
Burt Fendelman is a gregarious and energetic 86 year old living in NYC.
He began his career as a tax attorney and got bored with it so changed to a different type of law practice. This enabled him to work in the area of the arts which is and remains a personal passion.
He chats with us on the show about how important it is to maintain personal connections and create new ones as we grow older. His favorite thing to do when growing up was getting to meet new people and not being afraid of new people.
Lose your fear of aging by not thinking about it! Realize that your body is a machine and needs to be serviced. Also, the most important thing is to keep your mind busy.
Volunteer and give back. Being alone is apparently equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes a day.
Learn how to listen and share your experiences with friends.
Talks about health, fitness, motivation, mental fitness, and nutrition tips.
Convert Negative Energy To Fuel A Positive Future
Linda Steele, author of “Nerves of Steele” is public speaker, and fitness expert who through her writing shows how people can reinvent themselves from any trauma in the past and grow older with gusto!
She teaches an approach using a holistic/ and body-mind connection. Her belief is the past doesn’t need to define you. Her approach is through clean eating and taking care of your body.
Linda’s book, “Nerves of Steele” a memoir is touching!
Gail Zugerman host of Growing Older with Gusto speaks with Jeff Williams, Chief Coach for Bizstarters and creator of the Virtual Incubator Business Startup Program. If you're thinking that you are not quite ready to retire and want to strike out on an entrepreneurial venture of your own, listen to this podcast episode.
Our guest Wendy Green is host of the podcast “Hey Boomer” created to help baby boomers find a purpose, stay engaged in the world, and increase their confidence to recreate their lives or see their dreams come alive.
Based in Greenville, South Carolina, Wendy started her podcast after a long career in training and development with the desire to continue to stay relevant, and to make a difference in peoples lives.
Born legally blind, Katherine Schneider of Eau Claire, Wisconsin talks with host Gail Zugerman about growing older with gusto while being differently abled.
Her physical challenge did not deter her from becoming a clinical psychologist, writing four books, and getting involved in several philanthropical ventures.
While determined to lead the good life herself, she has also managed to clear a path for others by making sure that people with disabilities have access to everything they need.
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
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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.
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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 circled back to writing when she and her husband Bill acquired the Soup for The Soul Brand. Amy refreshed it, brought it up to speed with her perspective, and the brand is a BRAND NEW success story.
More than 170 new books have been published since 2008, with most of them becoming national bestsellers here in the US and Canada.
Her latest book, Age Is Just A Number, 101 Tales of Humor and Wisdom for Life, is flying off the shelves.
How amazing to bring an old soul to life again!
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 today.
- Pleasant surprises when she got out of her comfort zone.
- Her secret sauce for living a fulfilling life.
- Early advice in life that she followed.
- Why she has lived to 87.
- What advice she would give her 40 year old self today.
- How she feels about ageism in todays world.
- The most important things in life from her vantage point.
- What is happiness?
Surprisingly, she ends the episode by singing a song about COVID!! She has a good voice for singing, and for communicating her wisdom on life!
The interview is a perfect length for taking a walk in nature or kicking back in front of a warm fireplace!
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 conversation with Eileen on our podcast, GrowingOlder With Gusto, focuses on how the years beyond Fifty can be vital, and a time to really do what ever you want. It’s a time where people know themselves better, have more freedom to explore, and can achieve more than they ever imagined.
Eileen shares with our viewers and listeners the Five Key Ways to Age With Authenticity. The Five Keys are:
- Identify the Gift of Growing Older
- Live with Conscious Intention
- Honoring and Sharing Your Unique Talents
- Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone
- Give Yourself Permission to Thrive
She ends the Episode by telling us about the 3 things our listeners can do daily to grow older authentically.
This show is the perfect episode to inspire you as you start thinking about ways of making a fresh start in 2021!
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 their “fur-ever” homes. His business for dogs at risk is called “Dog As My Co-Pilot” and operates from Jackson Hole, Wyoming!
He began the business by flying rescue animals from the Rocky Mountains, southwest, and Pacific regions of the country. Many of the pets come from Texas, and there are current plans to expand to other parts of the country that are in great need of his service. The name of his NFP business stems from knowing that once the dogs get in the plane and up in the air they become calm. He feels it’s “like they know they are on a flight to freedom — and are truly his co-pilots”! His motto is “Leave No Dog Behind” and he and his limited staff work energetically to make sure all dogs are adopted and/or placed in no-kill shelters.
The coordination of placement in adoption centers, and the flying of the pets take incredible tenacity with Peter making several stops a day while transporting the pets. A new affiliate of “Dog As My Co-Pilot” is Wondercide, an Austin based business that provide natural products for dogs and the home. Proceeds from this year will go towards a flight for the dogs. I asked him for advice for people growing older with gusto who want to help out. He suggests adopting an older dog, volunteering at a no-kill shelter, or just dropping off food and supples. For listeners who want to donate to a great cause or reach out to Peter Rork, M.D., and become a squadron go to https://dogcopilot.org Enjoy listening to the fascinating story of Peter Rork, MD, and how he went from helping people as a surgeon, to helping pets fly to freedom!