NOTE: What follows is a work-in-progress, companion piece to my 1/1/2020 episode of Living a Life in Full podcast. As for context, on 1/1/2019, I devoted that episode to being a one-person-show and reviewed a prior, long-form Influencer post, What You Need to Know to have an Optimized Healthspan: Bio-hacking for Beginners. That article was born from an experience I had concerning someone’s curiosity about my dietary choices and the results. That episode garnered a lot of kind support, and so I’m now experimenting with each New Year as similar kind of exploration and sharing.
Epic 60
When I turned 60, and after my initial freak-out passed I set out to make my 60th year somewhat of an adventure. I didn't want to squander any remaining years, and really, no one should at any age. And, with all due modesty, I am not a newbie when it comes to doing a number of dumb things in my first 59 years.
I decided to do what I called “Epic 60.” Not that I was going to do 60 things, but more so whatever I did would be epic for me to achieve while turning 60. As I have not gotten them all done in the time frame of one year, I then thought I could rename this endeavor as “Epic Sixties.” But that sounded more like a tribute album to old rock-and-roll bands, and potentially limiting or confusing. I realized with the help of my family pointing out to me that most of what all I want to do, so do others, of any age. Let’s rebrand to “Epic Living” and what follows herein is one way to approach such, and some tips and ideas that may resonate for you.
Let me know!
Epic 60
When I turned 60, and after my initial freak-out passed I set out to make my 60th year somewhat of an adventure. I didn't want to squander any remaining years, and really, no one should at any age. And, with all due modesty, I am not a newbie when it comes to doing a number of dumb things in my first 59 years.
I decided to do what I called “Epic 60.” Not that I was going to do 60 things, but more so whatever I did would be epic for me to achieve while turning 60. As I have not gotten them all done in the time frame of one year, I then thought I could rename this endeavor as “Epic Sixties.” But that sounded more like a tribute album to old rock-and-roll bands, and potentially limiting or confusing. I realized with the help of my family pointing out to me that most of what all I want to do, so do others, of any age. Let’s rebrand to “Epic Living” and what follows herein is one way to approach such, and some tips and ideas that may resonate for you.
Let me know!
Since I was a teenager I have been cooking-up and doing a bunch of challenging or interesting things, of which I keep a running tally that combines the to-do with the-done. I call mine The List or Life Resume.
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While my Life List is both my go-to manual and log book, I have also became more focused on catchy titled goals with a self-imposed deadline, like The 275 x 60 Project. It refers to visiting all 50 states plus 100 countries plus 125 World Heritage Sites (thus “275”) by the time I hit 60. Ta-da!
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In making this public, I hope to perhaps inspire (or perhaps inform) you to think about your life and what experiences you may want to add. And by involving others, it helps to not only motivate me, but also hold me accountable. (NOTE: In what follows, I reference a lot of companies and products, I do so only as a user, I have no advertising, compensation, or affiliate marketing with anything noted herein.)
To begin, here is a summary of what I did in my 60th year and trying to live epically:
To begin, here is a summary of what I did in my 60th year and trying to live epically:
- My wife and daughter and I went to Medellin, Colombia for our New Year’s celebration, which was wonderful fun. That got me to my 100th country and thus qualified me for membership in the Travelers Century Club. Tip: When possible, I try to have an activity do double duty.
- I did two challenges, the Gallon-a-day Challenge wherein you drink a gallon of water a day for a month, and the proverbial winter/polar bear challenge. I should note here that in the process of some activities, you may find some that you adopt (I have very much, and pretty consistently increased my water intake) and others are one-and-done (I will never again jump into cold water in Chicagoland in the winter on purpose).
I continue to produce my podcast, which gives me a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new ones in a way that I hope is of help and interest to others. AS Guy Spier puts it - "learning in public."
My five year motorcycle project was completed and the result accepted into the Ultimate Builder’s Competition at the International Motorcycle Show in Chicago, the Milwaukee Builder’s Invitational, and featured in Pipe Burn, Dime City Cycles, and Lowbrow Customs’ Weirdo Artisanal Magazine, and twice topped over 100k views/likes in a week on Pinterest.
Via my podcast episode with Daniel Rintz and Joey Flohr, I wound up collaborating with them as an Executive Producer on their documentary. Here’s the trailer.
The nonprofit I founded, Center for Global Initiatives, was recognized for its eighth consecutive year as top ranked healthcare nonprofit and achieved Platinum level recognition by GuideStar. One of our talented volunteers was able to get an ambulance for our partners in Tanzania, which was incredible. This work is very near-and-dear to me.
I did what I believe will be my last ultra-distance, self-supported run. It was a 100K mostly on the wonderful trails near where we live, which are both mercifully kind to my joints and allow for being in bathed in nature. (In training, beyond just getting in the miles, I stopped lifting weights and substituted only body weight exercises and core, with the once a week exception of a kettlebell routine I really like. I cycled off creatine monohydrate and boosted my magnesium (augmented with zinc) as I had some bothersome cramping.)
I think this will be my last (and also the furthest) ultra-distance challenge for a number of reasons. First, it takes quite some time to train, and with wanting to do other things there is an opportunity cost. For me, while I do run when traveling, and very much enjoy it and find it a wonderful way to explore a new place, doing a few miles in the morning is very different than logging a half marathon and then touring—or worse, sitting on a plane. Second, my feet seem to suffer the worst. I have done everything—shoe and sock experimentation and swaps, dust clouds of powder, mummy levels of tape, moleskin and super-moleskin secured with tincture of benzoin and even super glue. Third, and to me a bit surprisingly, there was “a study involving 52,600 people followed for three decades, the runners in the group had a 19% lower death rate than nonrunners. But among the running cohort, those who ran a lot—more than 20 to 25 miles a week—lost that mortality advantage.” And finally, while I will keep running, I do feel a little bit of been-there-done-that when it comes to ultras. I know I’m so slow as to never be competitive enough to get into Western States or Bad Water, and being competitive was never in the cards for me regardless. So my next experimentation will be with shorter distances, and attempting to be a bit faster (more on that later). That’s pretty much the opposite of my approach for the last 20 years of my running. According to my 23andMe data, I should be good at it, genetically speaking. At the least, by blisters should subside and I can regrow most of my toe nails.
I think this will be my last (and also the furthest) ultra-distance challenge for a number of reasons. First, it takes quite some time to train, and with wanting to do other things there is an opportunity cost. For me, while I do run when traveling, and very much enjoy it and find it a wonderful way to explore a new place, doing a few miles in the morning is very different than logging a half marathon and then touring—or worse, sitting on a plane. Second, my feet seem to suffer the worst. I have done everything—shoe and sock experimentation and swaps, dust clouds of powder, mummy levels of tape, moleskin and super-moleskin secured with tincture of benzoin and even super glue. Third, and to me a bit surprisingly, there was “a study involving 52,600 people followed for three decades, the runners in the group had a 19% lower death rate than nonrunners. But among the running cohort, those who ran a lot—more than 20 to 25 miles a week—lost that mortality advantage.” And finally, while I will keep running, I do feel a little bit of been-there-done-that when it comes to ultras. I know I’m so slow as to never be competitive enough to get into Western States or Bad Water, and being competitive was never in the cards for me regardless. So my next experimentation will be with shorter distances, and attempting to be a bit faster (more on that later). That’s pretty much the opposite of my approach for the last 20 years of my running. According to my 23andMe data, I should be good at it, genetically speaking. At the least, by blisters should subside and I can regrow most of my toe nails.
I also did a wacky thing on the eve of my Epic 60 Vision Quest as it were, called Everesting or 29029, an homage to the height of Everest. Jessie Itzler rents a mountain (I did Vermont) and builds a base camp village with bands, bonfires, glamping tents, food and drink, and you hike up it as many times as you can, with the goal of hitting a cumulative total of 29029 feet. He thinks of it as Burning Man meets Ironman.
This, like Polar Bear dipping, was a one-and-done for me. But, it was a hoot. (I also learned about and became a power user of topical DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) cream as a base and then applying magnesium oil for pain and swelling with a knee injury I was dealing with while on the mountain, and after. Be aware of side-effects and uses before you consider it, and get professional consultation as well.
This, like Polar Bear dipping, was a one-and-done for me. But, it was a hoot. (I also learned about and became a power user of topical DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) cream as a base and then applying magnesium oil for pain and swelling with a knee injury I was dealing with while on the mountain, and after. Be aware of side-effects and uses before you consider it, and get professional consultation as well.
What I didn’t do:
Write lyrics to a favorite instrumental. Still on The List. I have a decent start, but I needed to find software to get the words-to-the-notes, and then fiddle with the technical more than the lyrical. So, a work in progress.
Write lyrics to a favorite instrumental. Still on The List. I have a decent start, but I needed to find software to get the words-to-the-notes, and then fiddle with the technical more than the lyrical. So, a work in progress.
What I plan to do: Picking, Planning, and Performing
Generalization is hard. So, none of that I say next may be of interest or a good fit for everyone. Certainly use good judgement and seek professional advice when need be before doing anything that could backfire.
I cautioned from a prior post, “We are very complex beings—biologically and psychologically. In managing our lives, we begin at a point in time and we have some options and choices. I simply recommend that we all experiment, that we try things out and on for size. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t. Tweak, iterate, experiment, rinse and repeat. Our bodies and psyches change over time and situations, so we will always need to monitor and course-correct as need be.” I have found that as I age or my body changes (in a better way or with an injury) I may revisit an approach that I’d discarded in the past, like getting back into foam rolling or blowing the dust off my e-stim device. Not everything works the same all the time. Be open to adapt and tweak as need be.
Okey-doke?
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What follows are my experiments and trials. I show them as more so structural or process examples rather than a playbook or checklist for you, as we each need to tailor our own.
Cognitive/Intellectual Plans for things that help keep me sharp, happy, and intellectually challenged and growing. I plan to make more time for:
Money/Finances
As now being part of the Financially Independent Retire(d) Early crowd, it’s even more important to be on top of all things financial. I’d like to avoid an Epic Fail in the financial area of our lives. Being a metrics and performance nerd, I have switched to having most of our investments with Personal Capital for their aggregating dashboard, built-in spending tools, and great advice. This coupled with our frighteningly smart accountants makes for a better night’s sleep (and more on that specific aspect coming up). Here's what I find helpful and enjoyable:
Body/Fitness
I have what I need at home for most all of my needs—trails to run and ride, chin-up bar, dumbbells, adjustable bench, kettlebells, yoga mat and block, Bosu ball, balance board, barbell plates with hand grips, and a spin bike, and I’ll keep using them all. I want to experiment with the efficiency of getting results and to try something different/fun:
Generalization is hard. So, none of that I say next may be of interest or a good fit for everyone. Certainly use good judgement and seek professional advice when need be before doing anything that could backfire.
I cautioned from a prior post, “We are very complex beings—biologically and psychologically. In managing our lives, we begin at a point in time and we have some options and choices. I simply recommend that we all experiment, that we try things out and on for size. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t. Tweak, iterate, experiment, rinse and repeat. Our bodies and psyches change over time and situations, so we will always need to monitor and course-correct as need be.” I have found that as I age or my body changes (in a better way or with an injury) I may revisit an approach that I’d discarded in the past, like getting back into foam rolling or blowing the dust off my e-stim device. Not everything works the same all the time. Be open to adapt and tweak as need be.
Okey-doke?
N of 1
What follows are my experiments and trials. I show them as more so structural or process examples rather than a playbook or checklist for you, as we each need to tailor our own.
Cognitive/Intellectual Plans for things that help keep me sharp, happy, and intellectually challenged and growing. I plan to make more time for:
- Chess on demand (app)
- Jeopardy (app, Hulu, Alexia)
- Meditation (experimenting with apps [Calm, Headspace, Oak, Walking Up] and TM)
- Humor/laugh (fan of Conan and standup)
- Podcasts as both a consumer and producer
- Music and curated playlists
- Reading everything, curating for LinkedIn, and having authors as guests on my show
- Writing original content for LinkedIn, Medium, geek.ly as well as invited book reviews
- Working on meeting the needs of those we work with through the Center for Global Initiatives
Money/Finances
As now being part of the Financially Independent Retire(d) Early crowd, it’s even more important to be on top of all things financial. I’d like to avoid an Epic Fail in the financial area of our lives. Being a metrics and performance nerd, I have switched to having most of our investments with Personal Capital for their aggregating dashboard, built-in spending tools, and great advice. This coupled with our frighteningly smart accountants makes for a better night’s sleep (and more on that specific aspect coming up). Here's what I find helpful and enjoyable:
- I read and love the Wall Street Journal
- I watch and love CNBC and Bloomberg TV
- Minimalism. A word on this. It seems that for our whole family, independently and rather organically and/or transitionally, has evolved into the less-is-more perspective on life—use it or appreciate/value it, or donate it. We also tend to value experiences over possessions. Now, we’re not evangelistic or kooks about it, and again to each their own.
- Ramit Sethi to the rescue. I love his point that one should be unrelenting on saving on the things that don’t matter to you, and counterbalance that with splurging on what does. His book is fantastic, especially for younger folks. I bought my son and daughter their own copies and I gifted 17 more for my son’s friends as high school graduation gifts. I even bought the second edition that just came out. (You’ll see how I applied his perspective to buying my first car below along with experience-stacking.)
Body/Fitness
I have what I need at home for most all of my needs—trails to run and ride, chin-up bar, dumbbells, adjustable bench, kettlebells, yoga mat and block, Bosu ball, balance board, barbell plates with hand grips, and a spin bike, and I’ll keep using them all. I want to experiment with the efficiency of getting results and to try something different/fun:
- Rowing
- Sauna for these many reasons. However, one really needs to have a physician’s clearance before experimenting with heat as it seems that longer duration at higher temperatures is the secret sauce in its effectiveness, but there are obviously risks more so for some folks. Be safe and smart.
- Decrease distance in running (for the reasons noted above, except for training for the Camino)
- Increase my gravel biking
- Increase my exposure to (and thus enjoyment of) nature via more trail running and gravel biking
- Decrease my concern with times (and to be clear, I will not beat myself up if every time out is not a Personal Record, but I do like to keep track of my heart rate and some other metrics that my Suunto 9 Lime and app help with). As for the watch, it was a Ramit-approved splurge that I can use to measure heart rate in the sauna, and anywhere else for that matter, plus help me not get lost on a run. My prior (antique) watch could not do any such things and went kaput after a couple of hours, so what spurred the buy was my need to have a charge last long enough to cover my turtle-like 100K. So, it was an unexpected treat to get that and so many other features that I’ll not likely outgrow for some time.
- I also want to increase my movement and standing throughout the day, again trackable with the watch. When working, go for a two minute walk every hour. Sit no more than 20 minutes at a time and break things up with yoga squats.
- A nice pairing with yoga is Onnit’s Unbreakable. It’s a free, downloadable ebook with companion videos that is a comprehensive collection of (some pretty difficult) exercises to help mitigate athletic injury risk. Good luck.
- I opted to get a heart scan or coronary calcium scan to see how my ticker is doing. Simply, when calcium is present, the higher the score, the higher the risk of heart disease. It cost me $75 out of pocket, was painless, and took all of 3 minutes. It can be worth the peace of mind with a low score, or even more valuable if there is an issue. (Do keep in mind, that “CT scans can expose you to as much radiation as 200 chest X-rays.”)
- Speaking of heart attacks, every day, I finish off my shower with the faucet turned to full blast cold, but science says that cold water exposure can help your body’s immune, lymphatic, circulatory and digestive systems as well as help in the weight-loss department presumably because it seems to boost your metabolism.
- Here are some of my best fitness tips and findings.
Health/Nutrition/Diet
The yin to body and fitness’ yang is health, nutrition and diet. I plan on:
The yin to body and fitness’ yang is health, nutrition and diet. I plan on:
- Continuing to use my wonderful Chilipad to optimize my sleep. My wife and I have our own controls, and I have to say, we are big fans.
- I added an Echo device under our bed and can ask for rain sounds to drift off to sleep if needed.
- Breathing. I have been experimenting with various breath-work exercises and apps a la Wim Hof and others. I also, on a daily basis after each workout I blow into a peak flow spirometer x5. I do this as not only a measure, but I also feel like I get a bit of an airway clearing oftentimes. Since I have had some pulmonary issues in the past, it’s something I like to keep an eye on.
- I plan on eating more raw foods, less processed foods, and less sugar. Duh.
- I will remain plant-based as to my diet. It’s not for everyone. I am not an evangelist, but I am a fan. I enjoy Dr. Michael Greger’s work and his book "How Not To Die" and here’s a great Google Talk on the topic as a primer. Here are some of my favorite vegan resources.
- I’m always tweaking supplements in response to what I’m doing, how I’m feeling and how I’m eating.
- Lots of folks, from Tim Ferriss to Donald Layman (Professor Emeritus of Nutrition at the University of Illinois), recommend consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast. I like it post-morning-workout/recovery when I really need it. Get it however you wish. Being plant-based makes my choices legumes, greens, nuts, and seeds more so on the weekends when I have more time, and a pea, rice, or hemp protein shake on weekdays.
- Microbiome. This is a huge interest of mine, and to reprise what I’ve written before: “I have come close to being evangelistic about the role of gut health and wellbeing as of late. Personally, I like inulin, a prebiotic that is actually sweet and can be sprinkled on or mixed in just about anything that you’d like a wee bit sweeter. And in pill form, I supplement with a capsule of a strain of 1 billion Lactobacillus Sporogenes (vegan sourced, of course), once daily. I will spare you all the details, but let’s just say I have noticed a number of benefits. For more on dietary aspects of boosting your microbiome, Kriss Carr has a nice piece on 3 Ways to Boost Your Digestion & Improve Gut Health and dietary options to help out. Such can be especially important if you have a history of antibiotic use that could have knocked your GI’s flora out of whack.”
- Drink close to a gallon of water a day, still. I like to add lemon juice for taste. I’m not sure there is a great empirical basis for the lemon. I’ve read theories that it helps with a variety of things, but I’m not familiar with any good peer reviewed, human studies for this. If you know of evidence for or against, please post in comments, thx.
- Time restricted eating. When I was much younger and much heavier (BMI=33), I did a fair amount of fasting. As is true to the cliché, the best diet is the one you stick with, these days, to fit in my lifestyle, I try to practice the 16/8 Protocol in that I don’t eat anything 16 hours and whatever I do eat, I do so during the other 8. (Some suggest 14 hours of fasting for women.) It’s fairly easy to fit into most lifestyles and folks can further tweak based on goals of weight loss and fitness gains with meal and workout timing. For me, as I’m not a big breakfast fan, I can push back eating to noon or 1 PM most days (not all, yet). This gets futzed with when traveling, holidays, events, etc. of course, so just do the best you can most of the time. Also, here’s a helpful piece on time restricted eating and coffee consumption that I found helpful.
- And as a reminder, there’s a lot of woo-woo out there when it comes to nutrition, so vet things that are of interest, including what I note. Here is a how-to piece I wrote on How to Protect Yourself from Fad Science.
I tend to be a more introverted person, and social anxiety is not unknown to me (yes, in spite of outward appearances). But nevertheless, this does not mean that being alone is a goal. In fact, a recent article in the American Psychological Association’s monthly magazine entitled “How Close Relationships Help Us Thrive” notes the scientific evidence for this from the work done at the University of California Santa Barbara’s Close Relationships Lab. Their work examines how romantic relationships help with coping in the face of stress and adversity.
I cannot give much in the way of romantic advice, I leave that to you and the web, but I will say that I do make it a priority to be a good partner to my wife, good father to my children, good collaborator with my colleagues, and supportive pal to my friends. I don’t always measure-up or do a great job, but I do mindfully work on it.
Creativity, Life Long Learning, Personal and Professional Development
My creative outlets are varied, if not manic. I will likely continue to:
- Futz with bikes (both with and without motors)
- Draw, albeit poorly
- Work on those lyrics
- Work on my podcast (doing the background research and managing the post-production are always major learning experiences of very different types, which I really like and need)
- Consult as being a proverbial "Startup Whisperer"
- I’ll also take MOOCs like EdX with Harvard. I just did one on analytics, and it was a doozie.
This area is a mix of spontaneity, others’ ideas, my plans, and what may come. Known at this time:
- My daughter and I have long awaited the time between her college graduation and first job to do our circumnavigation (around-the-world) trip. I even had David Mink, former president of the Circumnavigator’s Club on the show to learn tips we can all use. I also made this collection of travel tips and hacks, and we’ll be using the almost three-quarters of a million points I have earned and saved over the years to make it a reality.
General Tips
Get many birds with one stone.
I have found that many activities can augment one another, like the point of crossover in a few circles of a Venn diagram. Some examples:
To repeat: We are very complex beings—biologically and psychologically. In managing our lives, we begin at a point in time and we have some options and choices. I simply recommend that we all experiment, that we try things out and on for size. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t. Tweak, iterate, experiment, rinse and repeat. Our bodies and psyches change over time and situations, so we will always need to monitor and course-correct as need be.
Please consider this is an open invitation to join me in any of these yet to be accomplished activities. Many of you have already done them so I would warmly welcome any tips, tools, methods, recommendations, leads, hacks, contacts and/or sharing of your experience and advice!
Bottom line, see what works, most of the time, for you. Now, go do something epic!
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If you'd like to learn more or connect, please do at [email protected]. You can follow me on LinkedIn and learn more here.
Get many birds with one stone.
I have found that many activities can augment one another, like the point of crossover in a few circles of a Venn diagram. Some examples:
- Traveling (travel) with a loved one (relationship) to go climbing (nature bath, exercise/fitness).
- When I bought my first and only new car (Life List goal), I did so with their European delivery program (adventure). Doing that saved me 5% on the cost of the car (saving money and spending on what’s important a la Ramit), my wife (relationship) and I when on a trip to Germany (travel) and had access to the factory and museum tours (unique experiences) and some meals and hotel covered (money saving). I have long wanted to drive on the Autobahn (Life List goal) and got to do so—wee! Coincidentally, it was October, and we were in Munich, so (bonus) Oktoberfest (unique experience).
- If I go to Bhutan Wilderness Medicine Conference (travel), I’ll get to also hike/climb (adventure, fitness, relationships) and get continuing education credits needed to maintain my clinical license and learn (personal and professional growth and development/lifelong learning).
- Eating healthy and exercising consistently keep you in “ready-mode” or at least reduces the 0–60 time need to prepare for a new physical adventure that may come your way.
- “Content Stacking.” When I do a podcast episode, I not only post on just about every audio platform, but I write it up for LinkedIn, Medium and Academia.edu as posts. I save the audio file as a MP4, and post to YouTube and Vimeo with a static image. Thus one episode can be found and consumed in the various preferred ways that an audience member would want.
To repeat: We are very complex beings—biologically and psychologically. In managing our lives, we begin at a point in time and we have some options and choices. I simply recommend that we all experiment, that we try things out and on for size. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t. Tweak, iterate, experiment, rinse and repeat. Our bodies and psyches change over time and situations, so we will always need to monitor and course-correct as need be.
Please consider this is an open invitation to join me in any of these yet to be accomplished activities. Many of you have already done them so I would warmly welcome any tips, tools, methods, recommendations, leads, hacks, contacts and/or sharing of your experience and advice!
Bottom line, see what works, most of the time, for you. Now, go do something epic!
# # #
If you'd like to learn more or connect, please do at [email protected]. You can follow me on LinkedIn and learn more here.
Mentoring
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