139

On October 21, 1985, my fiance and I saw Back to the Future for the first time. At that time, we didn’t know that October 21st was the date that was programmed in the DeLorean that Marty McFly traveled in. I loved the movie as I got to travel back to when my mother and father were engaged to be married and see a representation of what America looked like in that period.

After watching the entire trilogy, I often wondered what it would be like going back and then forward in time. I obviously knew that it wasn’t possible but sometimes, I would regress to those times when I was young and just imagined.

When my mother passed in 1997, she was 62. She was much too young to die, but I realized that my Creator had a bigger plan, and it happened for a reason. Yes, she had medical issues, but it didn’t make it any easier for my sister, brother, father, and me when she passed so quickly.

After she passed, one of my goals was to live past 62. I started to work out to extend my longevity passionately. I was fit and focused to get to January 24, 2023, a day after my 62nd birthday. And then on January 15,2009, that goal was in jeopardy. Fortunately, that goal was still intact on January 16, 2009.

One of the things my mentor had me start in 1988 was annually having a personal development goal and budget. Each year, when I put together my annual goals, one of the goals is to live past the age of 62 and another is a dollar amount and where it will go for my personal and business development.

Last year I invested those dollars into a program called Strategic Coach. My current mentor coached me to invest myself in the program as it would open my eyes and mind for growth. In the fourth session of last year’s program, we did an exercise called “The LifeTime Extender.”

At first, I struggled with this concept, but as we worked through it, it started to make sense and was in alignment with my goal of living past the age of 62.

As we did the exercise, I looked at my mom’s age, 62, then the age my dad passed, 81. If I look at those ages, I am over halfway to my goal age. But if I change my mindset to extend the goal for how long I wanted to live, I may not even be halfway. That is when I made the goal and the game plan to live to 139.

When I shared this with my team and my family, they looked at me like I was crazy. They all shared that no one has lived to that age, why do I think I should be able to?

The Why

When I looked at my current age, I wanted to look out far enough that I was less than half of the goal age. Second, when you extend your goal to an age that far out, you start to ACT like you are still progressing toward that goal age. And third, I wanted to be around for another centennial and see New Year’s Day, 2100.

The How

1. Financially– If I am going to live to 139, I need to develop a game plan on how to earn and save that will not only get me there but leave a legacy. So I made the commitment that I would never retire, only change my revenue-producing activities to be able to earn and enjoy my life and my family. This is why building a self-sustaining business focused on others and creating opportunities out of uncertainty is the cornerstone. As we have found out recently, there is more uncertainty every day.
2. Emotionally– Emotional intelligence is key. And investing in your personal development gives you many more references on handling things that come into your life as you learn; someone in the past has probably handled the same situation. Reading, attending seminars, and continually making new connections has been an excellent strategy for me to improve my emotional intelligence.
3. Spiritually– One thing I wrote about in my book “From Turmoil to Triumph” is something I learned from Bill and is true. The same God who was at the beginning, and with his Son on the Cross, was with my mentor when his son was killed in Korea, and is the same God who was with my wife and me when our son passed. Believing this, I know that God will be with me as I progress towards 139, and His Grace will be with me as Gratitude fuels Grace, and the more Gratitude I give, the more Grace I will receive and the better the opportunity I have to get to 139.
4. Physically- This one was the most challenging for me. I had a plan for my fitness with swimming and other daily activities. But health can be affected by eating correctly, heredity, and your mindset. This opened my eyes and mind to look for other ways to get longevity into my life. So I started to study longevity. I read Tony Robbins’ book ” Life Force,” which opened my eyes and mind to ways to extend my longevity. So I started to invest in some of the strategies I learned there and intentionally being around people who have lived to 100 and beyond and how they got to where they are.

As we all have learned during and since the pandemic, nothing is certain in life. One day you are out shopping at the mall, going to concerts and seminars and the next day you are locked up in your house and friends are dying.

People who have thrived out of this uncertainty were those who took massive action with a mindset of growth and contribution. Yes, some people had preconditions that were accelerated by the pandemic. But what I learned is if I took massive action in these four areas, I would give myself the best opportunity not only to survive but make significant progress toward living to my goal age of 139.

Acting as if I haven’t even lived half of my life yet, helps me maintain the mindset that I am young and, as I did in 1985 after we saw Back to the Future, I can regress to those times when I was young and just imagined when anything was possible. And I believe what my mom told me,

You can do anything you desire if you believe you can.

Take a moment and look at your life and what age you think you can live to. Take the Life Extender assessment at https://now.strategiccoach.com/myplanforlivingto156 and you too will learn what I learned from Dan Sullivan, “extend your lifetime to transform how you live in the present.”

And you will be able to create whatever opportunity you desire out of uncertainty then you will

Create your own flight plan for your future because

All the moments in your life MATTER!