Baby Boomers are returning to education in large numbers - either to update previously acquired skills or to learn new ones. The proportion of students aged 45 to 54 years has now overtaken the 24 to 34 year age group.

Some have retired already and others will be looking at retirement options in the next few years and they want to stretch their minds or prolong their careers.

What is motivating them and what are they looking for in retirement?

Some will just want to fill their time by learning something new while others will be looking for a retirement income stream to help pay for all the fine wine and holiday cruises!

Today’s retirees are fitter and younger than previous generations. Their lifespan is longer and they can expect many years of retirement.

However retirement is a huge upheaval and requires careful planning. Especially in the current global economic downturn and the uncertainty of what the future will bring.

Many baby boomers will need to work longer as they watch their retirement funds shrink. Those with money in the bank are seeing the interest on their savings plummet so it’s a double whammy for them. And falling interest rates are not helping those who have paid off their homes and no longer have a mortgage.

The first step towards a successful and fulfilled retirement is education. A growing number of baby boomers are realising this and are returning to high school or university to further their education, to fulfil a long-held desire or to create an income stream.

That’s awesome! The more you learn, the more you grow. And the more satisfied you’ll be with your life!

With today’s technology, learning is easier than ever. It can all be done online from home at a time to suit yourself! Here at Own Your Life Club we now have over 560 educational, inspirational and motivational audios, videos and eBooks to ensure your learning experience is easy, convenient and fun! Discover how easy it is!

Go on, give it a go! You’ll feel happier, healthier and more fulfilled. And that’s true of learning at any age, not just Baby Boomers!

Until next time, this is Julie Vale from Own Your Life Club.

I’ll Be Happy When …

We convince ourselves that life will get better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we’re frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are. After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they’re out of that stage!

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we’re able to go on a nice vacation or when we retire. The truth is there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with… and remember that time waits for no-one.

So, Stop Waiting …

Until your car or home is paid off.
Until you get a new car or home.
Until your kids leave the house.
Until you go back to school.
Until you finish school.
Until you lose 5 kgs.
Until you gain 5 kgs.

Until you get married.
Until you get divorced.
Until you have kids.
Until you retire.
Until summer.
Until spring.
Until winter.
Until autumn.
Until you die.

There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don’t need money,
love like you’ve never been hurt,
and dance like no-one’s watching.

Until next time, this is Julie Vale from Own Your Life Club.

Sometimes we take our health for granted - as we found out recently when Richard decided it was time to do something about his annoying hernia. It was starting to become really uncomfortable so he made an appointment to see a specialist to arrange for surgery to repair the left hernia. Apparently the hernia on the right side also needed surgery even though he was not aware of its presence and it wasn’t causing any discomfort.

Hernia surgery is almost routine these days. A hernia is a protrusion of tissue or part of an organ through muscle tissue. Richard’s hernias were in the groin (inguinal), the most common type. The surgeon explained the procedure which would entail opening up each side and placing a piece of mesh at the back of the muscle where the hernias were popping through. An overnight stay in hospital, home for some rest and back at work when he felt ready - and a legacy of two 60 cm scars!

Richard is a very active person and resting is not part of his daily activity! However when he was back at home his whole mid-section was still quite painful and so resting and sleeping came easily - although he was a bit frustrated with being so inactive.

The recovery was going well and he was getting better day by day. Then five days after the surgery he felt quite sharp pain so he went off to bed early. In the middle of the night (a Saturday night) he told me he couldn’t bear the pain any longer and asked me to take him to hospital.

The doctor and staff on duty kept him under observation and pain-free (thank goodness for morphine) from 2.30 am-6.30 am when they transferred him to one of the large teaching hospitals with more specialised facilities. His symptoms were looking more and more like appendicitis although they couldn’t rule out there might be a connection with the recent hernia surgery.

Next day being Sunday the hospital was short-staffed so Richard was kept under observation and topped up with drugs until a CT scan could be arranged later in the day. The scan showed pools of blood all around his stomach area where they shouldn’t have been. He was haemorrhaging from one of the hernia sites and had lost a lot of blood.

Another day of monitoring and drugs followed before a further CT scan was performed to find out whether the bleeding had stopped. Luckily it had. The risk of infection was too great to perform surgery to remove the blood and so the only treatment was to keep him pain-free and under observation in hospital for the next four days. Eventually he was well enough to come home.

And now, more than three weeks after the surgery, Richard has returned to work at his hobby business Wicker Works. It’s the busiest time of year for the business and he doesn’t want to let his customers down at Christmas. He still experiences pain, gets extremely tired and is looking very drawn. He is still not always able to put in a full day. Pain killers are close at hand and he’s been advised a full recovery could take several months. The rogue pools of blood will eventually be absorbed by Richard’s system, a slow and often painful process.

With no previous experience of internal bleeding in the family it came as a quite a shock to find out how painful and dangerous it is. Richard was in good hands the whole time he was in hospital and we’re thankful for a wonderful public health system in Australia, full of caring and dedicated people.

You know, there’s another important aspect to all of this. We’re very grateful that we have several sources of income so that when something like this comes along we can cope financially. Here at Own Your Life Club we teach that it’s a great idea to invest in financial education - to earn multiple streams of income to create a buffer and protect against an economic downturn, illness or injury. And now we’re proof that it creates peace of mind when something unexpected comes along!

Until next time, this is Julie Vale from Own Your Life Club.

Learning…It’s For Life

Today I want to pass on a tip that I believe can make a real difference to your education and success. And that is, information sessions and short seminars. You know, the ones advertised throughout your daily newspaper that you don’t take any notice of. Free events held either locally or in your nearest city. Richard and I try to go along to these events and information sessions as often as we can.

This week, in the middle of a very cold and wintry blast, we dragged ourselves from our warm living room to attend two evening seminars. One was related to real estate and the other to health and wellbeing.

The real estate evening was presented by a young man who is passionate about property - and equally passionate about wine as it turned out. Real estate, and teaching people about the benefits and pitfalls of purchasing property, is his weekday passion. And his weekend relaxation is to escape to his winery and vineyard which he operates with equal passion. We picked up some useful tips about buying property in our own city and suburbs.

The health and wellbeing event was presented by a larger than life American in a 10 gallon hat. His beliefs about the health industry, and in particular the pharmaceutical giants, was eye opening to say the least. Don spoke of things we hadn’t heard about before and gave us a lot think about, especially regarding the foods we eat and the way we learn. He has studied the ways of the Ancients, our ancestors, who understood the way the body works and interacts as a whole unit.

The 7 Principles of Health according to the Ancients are:

Fresh Air
Water
Sunshine
Walking
Whole Foods
Healthy Relationships
Passion

Don spoke about the way whole foods and raw foods can prevent disease and also sharpen our ability to learn and use our imagination. We were mesmerised. And as a result we’ve already made some changes to our diet and the way we look at food as fuel for our bodies.

The point I want to make is that it’s stimulating to challenge your beliefs and think about something from a different perspective. We thoroughly enjoyed our evenings and certainly came away from both events with a lot to talk about, new insights and new information.

And so I hope you never stop learning and stretching your mind. It’s not only fun but sometimes the new information you’re exposed to can change your way of thinking. Or open your mind to an opportunity you wouldn’t have known about.

Until next time, this is Julie Vale from Own Your Life Club.

Su Doku - A Puzzle To Ponder!

Over the years I’ve been a big fan of crossword puzzles, although I must admit to steering clear of the cryptic variety!

So, when a new type of puzzle called Su Doku appeared in my morning newspaper last year, I decided to give it a go. And I’m a big fan now. These days I skip through the Very Easy and Easy levels with ease! The Medium level takes me through a cup of coffee. However the Hard level sometimes frustrates me to the point of giving up so there’s a sense of achievement when I complete these.

By now you’ll be thinking I should get a life! (Perhaps you’re right, but that’s another story!) But I feel justified in my morning ritual after reading about recent research by the University of NSW showing that our brains shrink if they’re not stimulated.

Brain scans show that if we don’t engage in complex mental activity, such as puzzles, a new language, tai chi or even travel, our brains will have twice the shrinkage in old age.

The old adage ‘use it or lose it’ is literally true of our brains! So, let’s all do a puzzle or take a course in something we’ve always wanted to learn more about - and do it today - in the knowledge that it can delay or prevent the onset of dementia.

Now, back to my Su Doku puzzle! (I’m even trying to get Richard onto Su Doku - a lost cause?)

Until next time, this is Julie Vale from Own Your Life Club.

Good Health - One of Life’s Greatest Treasures

If you’re like me, you’ll agree that your health is one of the most important assets you can possess. It’s right up there with family, having a roof over your head, enough to eat, fresh water and of course clean air.

Good health or bad health is predetermined to some extent by your genetic code but there is a lot you can do to ensure that you make the most of what you’ve been given. Not only regarding your physical health but also your mental and emotional health. Having a healthy body and a healthy mind will help you enjoy your life more with the bonus of helping you live longer. Health and nutrition not only affect your personal life and lifestyle but can also affect the morale, productivity and profitability of a business.

There are some great tips and good advice in this Audio Presentation by Chris Males, owner of one of Australia’s fastest-growing corporate health businesses. His advice doesn’t relate only to health and nutrition in the business environment but is also useful in increasing everyone’s energy levels and overall health.

Click here to listen to this Audio Presentation from Chris Males

You will learn:

* Useful tips to increase your health
* When is the right time to exercise and what will work for you
* The importance of having a healthy staff around you
* Tips on weight loss and nutrition
* Secrets to increase your energy levels
* Understanding that your staff are your greatest asset

I hope you enjoy his Feel Remarkable presentation!

Until next time, this is Julie Vale from Own Your Life Club.