“Don’t let the Old Man in.”

The lesson of course applies to women, too. Obviously, men and women both get old, but the image of the cantankerous, curmudgeonly “Old Man” is the one that brings to mind all the habits we have to be sure to keep from taking root as our birthdays pile up.

To keep the Old Man out, you reject the notion that you should stop giving, stop doing, stop learning, stop growing, and stop moving.

Being real doesn’t have a dictionary definition as much as a personal one, but “being real” is a phrase that pretty much everyone I've spoken to resonates with. And interestingly, their sense of what it means is usually identical to, or at least compatible with, mine.

“What’s your bottom line?” “What’s your emotional bottom line?” “let’s just get to the bottom line,” “and whether it’s the beginning of the day or the end of the day, what’s the bottom line?”  

“You asked me to help you, and I’m helping you.  Did you want me to lie to you?”

“Well, yeah! Can’t you just lie to me a little bit?”  he asked, cracking a smile.

Recently we took a trip to Chile and Argentina, where I was able to mix business and pleasure. I had the chance to hang out with amazing people, laugh, cry a few times, and see incredible sights.