taru.com

Who is the Oracle of Aging?

Taru Fisher — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:29:08 +0000

I’m a long time member of BNI (Business Networking International) and in our chapter, we have someone who writes the introductions for members who are doing their 10-minute presentation. Our resident Member Experience person is none other than the fabulous Susan Schwartz, Brand Strategist, Speaker and the Queen of Branding.

I was doing my presentation on January 27, so Susan and I spent quite a long time on the telephone where I regaled her with stories of my life. Because I’m 67, I have quit a few stories to tell. What Susan came up with follows, and I have some questions for you after you read it.

“Bawdy. Naughty. Dangerous. Wild.
Spiritual. Centered. Profoundly reverential.
Passionate. Purposeful.
Physically challenged. Tired.
All of them — at one point, or many, in her life, have described our resident Oracle of Aging with grit and grace, Taru Fisher.

In her youth, Taru went to India to sit at the feet of her guru. I don’t know if reincarnation was part of her studies, but I don’t think Taru has to worry about coming back. She’s had more extraordinary experiences in this one life than most people probably have in several. From living in a commune to working in a psych ward, to experiencing the divine bliss of oneness and the pain of arthritis.

That’s barely the beginning.

Obviously I can’t even give you the whole story. But I can tell you; she is planning to write a book. And you will definitely want to read it.
Taru, actually Premtaru, means tree of love. Taru received her name from her guru who also told her that many people would come to sit under her branches to be nurtured and receive love.

And that is exactly who Taru has grown to be —
Strong. Centered. Wise. Wonderful — unshakable.”

OK, I had no idea what she was going to say and I was floored by this introduction. I wondered who she was talking about–and then I realized it was ME.
Is this what she’d gotten from our conversation? If so, how could I possibly deserve it? It was that old “self-worth” thing again. Part of me absolutely loved it and another part cringed in embarrassment.

So, to people who know me, I’ve got the following questions:

1-        Do I warrant the title, The Oracle of Aging?
2-         If I do, for what reasons?
3-         What do you expect from an Oracle of Aging?

The Oracle is off to do the dishes now.

My new theme song: My Best Days Are Ahead of Me

Taru Fisher — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:20:02 +0000

The lyrics of American Idol runner-up, Danny Gokey’s new release, My Best Days Are Ahead of Me are very inspiring. And the song as Danny sings it is simply outstanding. We’ve chosen it as our Alive! Whole Life Fitness Studio’s theme song — and it’s now my song to get me up and moving forward with inspiration. I love this song so much, I purchased it on iTunes. That’s a lot for me as I buy very few songs.

So, here are Danny’s lyrics:

My Best Days are Ahead of Me

Blowing out the candles
on another birthday cake
Old enough to look back and laugh at my mistakes
Young enough to look at the future and like what I see
My best days are ahead of me

Life hasn’t always been a party
but mostly it’s been good
There’s only one or two things that I’d change if I could
I don’t get lost in the past or get stuck in some sad memory, yah
My best days are ahead of me

Age is nothing but a number
Sometimes I have to wonder
What does it really mean
But hey I’m still putting it together
I keep getting better
if I keep getting better
I can be whatever I want to be
My best days are ahead of me

I’ve got sunsets to witness
dreams to dance with
beaches to walk on
and lovers to kiss
there’s a whole lot of world out there
that I can’t wait to see
My best days are ahead of me
My best days are ahead of me

I really love the line “age is just a number” because that’s been my experience of aging. When I remember that my best days are ahead of me, the possibilities seem endless.

Thanks, Danny, for a really great and inspirational song.

I love my short, gray hair

Taru Fisher — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:06:28 +0000

“Short, Gray Hair makes you Ugly, Unloveable, and Worthless…” is the title of this amazing video by Matthew Blom that I saw on YouTube. I share it here because it underscores a message I want all aging women to get. It’s a message that’s central to my mission for my Change the Way You Age Group Coaching Program.

I found myself moved to tears as I watched it. It is beautifully done with such love and compassion — Thank you Matthew Blom.

The iPad is not for geeks; It is for us!

Taru Fisher — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:41:43 +0000

As an Apple lover, I had waited with anticipation for the rumored Apple “tablet”. Yesterday my wait was over; the iPad had arrived. I went to a lot of web sites where some of the younger geeks tended to bash it for its’ apparent limitations, some of which were:

No multitasking
No Adobe Flash
No camera or iChat capabilities
Still limited to AT&T’s 3G service

First, I didn’t expect the iPad to replace my iPhone, or my MacBook Pro, or my iMac 27,” or my digital camera. I would have liked a carrier other than AT&T because of their abysmal service, but I’m saying a prayer that situation will change in the near future.

Steve Wozniak was unhappy that it didn’t allow him to edit movies or fool around with music. Steve, don’t you have a real Mac for that? I do.

Mashable has a great article about the purpose of the iPad. It proposed that the iPad is a device for consuming content, not creating it.
As such it is uniquely suited to this task. If I want to create content like this blog post, for instance, I sure as heck will use my 27“ iMac–not an iPad.

What do I find so valuable about it?

It will save trees, millions of them. Right now I have literally hundreds of books lining the shelves of several book cases. I tend to read several at a time, and have to carry at least two with me–just in case. With the iPad, I can have all the books I’m currently interested in with me when I go to Cafe La Tartine for tea. I can de-clutter my house by passing along my unused book cases to someone who needs them.
It has a much larger screen (9.7inches) than my iPhone. As we age, our eyes need help reading small print. I’ve tried reading some books on my iPhone, and it’s darn difficult! I’ll be able to read bigger text and enjoy it rather than struggling. We have a client who is trying to read a 600 page novel on his iPhone, and it takes 13,000 pages. On the iPad, it will take 600.

At a mere 1.5 pounds, it’s light weight, and only 1/2” thick (that’s actually “thin”). My laptop is increasingly difficult for me to carry, and when I take it somewhere it’s usually to surf the web, check email, look at Facebook, or post to Twitter. I hardly need a laptop for those tasks if I have an iPad.
It’s small enough to fit in a woman’s tote bag or large purse without having to carry yet another case. Men will have to figure out their own preferred method of transport.

How will I use it?

As a book reader. I love reading but the arthritis in my hands sometimes interferes with holding the books pages open. No such problem exists with the iPad. I can have my current books with me wherever I go, meaning I’ll actually read more — what a concept.
To get email while I‘m away from my real computers. I’m CEO of Alive! Whole Life Fitness Studio and I need to be able to access my email wherever I am — OK, except at the movies or maybe the bathroom.
To browse the internet (of course). I’ll be able to look up the latest Onion articles and laugh my a** off. Laughing is good.
I’ll finally be able to actually see the Facebook app and post updates; Twitter will be easier to see as well. It’s those eyes again!
To keep my favorite photos of my family and friends so I can share them with people I meet. I promise I won’t force them to look!
To access some of my favorite YouTube videos; the ones that either make me laugh or inspire me.
I’ll use the Maps feature to find my way to a new restaurant or a business.

I hope Apple extends the iBook store to publishing eBooks created by us folks; what a concept! A friend of ours also had a great suggestion. Some of the publishers could subsidize the cost of the iPad in return for a long term subscription to their content. It could work kind of like the old book club model, only on steroids.

If Apple is smart (and I think they are really, really smart), they’ll market this to my demographic; the 50-pluser’s and above. As DTNick said in a comment in a PC World article :

“As I mentioned …, we geeks sometimes lose touch of what real people use computers for: http://bit.ly/cLtQUy
My mom, for example, isn’t going to care about multitasking, the aspect ratio, the lack of an HDMI port, or any of that spec stuff. All she’ll care about is whether it’s easy to use, and whether it’ll get her online.”

DTNick, I’m not your Mom–but I could be. Thanks for thinking of me!

So, geeks who want more than what the iPad offers, please don’t buy one; obviously it’s not for you. Leave it for us, the 78 million plus Boomers and beyond (I’m a bit beyond) who will find it an extremely valuable piece of technology.

Finding My Voice

Taru Fisher — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:28:45 +0000

It’s been awhile since I sat down to write a post. Stuff like tax preparation, and a zillion other things I decided were more important than blogging (silly me) kept me from writing. Well, no more excuses. Here I am again.

Today I’m sitting in my home office with a ceramic heater at my knees, huddled in a turtleneck trying to stay warm. According to my husband, the barometric pressure is supposed to be lower than it’s ever been which is probably why my arthritic joints are so achy.
It’s been raining, windy and cold for days — it seems like weeks — here in sunny northern California. Four storms all stacked up in a pretty little row, waiting to jump on land and feed the earth.

Now, I love the rain, and the thunder, and even the lightning. Ok, even those freezing cold little bits of hail made me feel more alive than I’ve felt in a long time; I’m happy to report it was so small that no damage was done to my car. When we lived in New Mexico, I reveled in the daily afternoon autumn thunderstorms that swept across our four acre property outside Lamy. I even dared to go outside and stand under our tin-roofed porch, kind of daring the lightning to strike me. Of course, it never did so I am here now to merely remember that incredible feeling of aliveness, and power and vulnerability that overcame me during these storms.

I’ve found that the stuff nature has thrown at me so far in my life has been bearable and even exhilarating. I do not know how I would respond to a natural disaster as devastating as the one to hit Haiti. I watch news accounts, see the unbearable suffering and feel ashamed that I have complained about our home and it’s “defects”, or how food wasn’t cooked the way I wanted it so I sent it back. Or how incredibly ungrateful I can be when things aren’t going my way. Or how my dog eats better than the Haitians. I feel ashamed.

We donated money to AmeriCares and that helped my state of mind – a little bit – but there is so much more that needs to be done. Several of the people who send me email newsletters included the following links in them so I would have the opportunity to give to the Haitian people. I include them, below, so you can also have the opportunity to give if your heart is touched as mine was.

Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing had this to say in his newsletter:

“I don’t know about you, but with the earthquake in Hatiti
I found myself glued to the television and feeling rather helpless
in the face of all that devastation.

It’s really hard to comprehend, not just that tens of thousands
have lost their lives, but that the living have virtually lost their
whole city. It will literally take generations to rebuild.

It kind of puts our small problems in perspective.

And it hopefully brings up the question, “What can I do?”

The answer is that you can make a donation. Perhaps you can do
more, but every single person can, at the very least, make a
donation that will go directly to aid in Haiti.

My wife and I were on the verge of buying a buying a fireplace
heater for our living room. I told my wife that we could do without
it this winter and donate that money instead.

So, that’s what we did. And I urge you to do what you can.

Below are links to a number of different trusted organizations that
will make sure your donation gets to Haiti and make a difference.
And even a small donation can help. I read yesterday that over
$50 Million has already been raised from small $5 to $10 donations
through cell phones and social media.

Here’s a number of links that you can be assured will get your
money to Haiti. And, of course, fell free to donate to any other
reputable aid organization.”

Care
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=N.Jja&m=1ary0h20yaOQIo&b=NLOAGsZuHufet.QZmYsV1g

Habitat for Humanity
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=N.Jja&m=1ary0h20yaOQIo&b=xW7fDYytLBP2eHlYYjvKlQ

World Concern
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=N.Jja&m=1ary0h20yaOQIo&b=oPNPDXDVljHdct4tpQiU4w

AmeriCares
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=N.Jja&m=1ary0h20yaOQIo&b=iQjZnu7O5g2d5QXFWaRT3A

Avavaz
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=N.Jja&m=1ary0h20yaOQIo&b=O7q13ME4iy9dlO4xRgbqEA

Robert is someone I trust and whose integrity is without question. I couldn’t have said it better, and I am happy to pass this along as he requested.

Look around you, be grateful for what you have, and see what is possible for you to share.

The Gift

Taru Fisher — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:29:42 +0000

My son, Matt

Have you ever received a gift from someone you love that absolutely takes your breath away?
Has this gift helped to ease years of the pain you felt over something you had to do, but has haunted you ever since you did it?
Have you ever received the gift of absolute love and understanding?

This Christmas I received a gift that did all that and more, and moved me to tears. My youngest son, Matt, gave me a scrapbook he had made, a scrapbook filled with pictures of me, my sons, and my husband. It was filled with quotes and one in particular brought home to me just how much he understands my pain:

“Children and Mothers never truly part – Bound in the beating of each other’s heart” — Charlotte Gray

I keep re-reading this book of love and acceptance, and each time I do, I am moved once again to tears. Many, many years ago, my then spiritual teacher told me as I cried upon sitting in front of him, “Don’t hold back the tears; tears open your heart”. My heart is bursting open with love and gratitude for the gift this scrapbook has brought to me.

Thank you, Matthew, for showing me such love and understanding.

You’re Tired Because You’re Doing the Wrong Thing, the Wrong Way

Taru Fisher — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:17:07 +0000

My second installment of Michael Gerber’s BizTechDay presentation is very personal for me. There are several things he said that hit me like a bolt out of the blue and propelled me into action.

He said “you’re tired because you’re doing the wrong thing, the wrong way”, and “burnout means you are working with energy you no longer have”. I had been feeling exhausted and burned out for over a year when I came down with some illness that laid me up for over a month. I couldn’t do much of anything; even thinking was too much effort. So, I relaxed into what was, and discovered what I really wanted to do next. I realized I had been doing what I “should”, rather than what I’m passionate about. I had a lot of rational reasons for this, but while I was recovering I understood what all my explanations were — excuses for not living the kind of life I really want. That illness was a blessing!

Another thing Michael said was truly hard for me to hear, but I absolutely knew it was true for me: “It’s not because you don’t have the time; it’s because you don’t have the will”. I felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over my head and woke me up. This was an incredibly valuable insight.

He made some other valuable points:

There is no reason for a small business to fail.
To realize your dream, the first thing to systematize is your client fulfillment system.
Sometimes one must shut off income in order to make space to create.
It’s about clarity. Be articulate and communicate the extraordinary gift you are bringing to the world.
No one is going to do it for you — it happens when you do it.
Discover what you are capable of replicating, and what you cannot.
Dream big, think small, act smaller.

He said he created his system on the fly, promoted it first, and then created it as he went along. This information was extremely useful for me as I tend to want everything perfect before I start, a mind set which frequently keeps me in analysis paralysis.

So, the price of admission to BizTechDay was a bargain. I was inspired by Michael Gerber to jump start my Powerful Aging Coaching Group, “Change the Way You Age”. And, just as inspiring is the impact he is making at age 73–still going strong, providing great value and inspiring others. I really admire this!

BizTechDay Star – Michael Gerber – Part 1

Taru Fisher — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:30:50 +0000

Of everything I attended at BizTechDay, Michael Gerber’s presentations stood out as the best of the best. Why? Because everything else was about using technology as an entrepreneur, and Michael’s was about the entrepreneur, the person behind the technology. All the technology in the world will not help an entrepreneur who lacks the appropriate mindset, or who lacks the insights required to succeed.

Michael gave us all this and more. And the most inspiring thing to me is that Michael is 73 years old and still going strong and contributing his gifts to the world. That inspires me because my vision and mission is to change the meme around aging, change the way people think and feel about aging, and inspire elders to share their wisdom.

Some of the first words out of his mouth were shocking, “If you don’t want to grow your business, pack it up now”. So, in easily digestible nuggets, here are some of the main points Michael made:

Ask yourself three questions: What is the significant thing my company is here to do? Is it scalable? Is it transformational?
Work on the model of your scalable, transformational business. Become a Master of Business Design (MBD).
Create a perfect system that works so you don’t have to.
This exquisite operating system includes every single component of your business.
It makes no difference what product or a service you offer. This exquisite system is the key to success.

Companies are started by Technicians who suffer entrepreneurial seizures; don’t just create a job, pretending to be a business.
Replicate a company that is transformational.
The very first system to create is client fulfillment.

Next Michael talked about the Dream and Creativity:

What is your dream? What is the great result you want to produce?
It’s about your destiny and you’ve got to know what it is — the one thing you want to transform.
Be creative right now in your own personal economy.
The Dreamer has a Dream, the Thinker has the Vision.
The Dreamer, Thinker, Storyteller, and the Leader must be present to create and sustain a successful business.
We must transcend to transform! This is the spiritual work of an entrepreneur.

He said one must absolutely have a blank sheet of paper and a beginners mind, because you can’t fix a broken business, you have to create a new one. Think about this for your own business. I did this about mine, and it propelled me into right action.

I’ll have more juicy tidbits in the next post. Watch for it!

My Take-Aways from BizTechDay – Part 2

Taru Fisher — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:56:28 +0000

Here’s my second installment of what I learned at BizTechDay 2009. It’s about viral video.

I have really been admiring Elizabeth Potts Weinstein’s use of video. She’s consistent and produces really effective videos that are FUN to watch, and have great content. So, i had to attend the following session on Viral Video.

Video Entrepreneur: How to Turn Visitors to Customers Using Viral Videos

The presenters were Mike Koenigs of Traffic Geyser, and Justin Kan, Founder of Justin.tv .

Unfortunately, Mike talked so darn fast, my notes are not as complete as I’d like, and there were no handouts. So, I’ll do the best I can with what I’ve got. You can visit his web site for more information and his free Viral Video Secrets . It’s a bit “salesy” for my taste, but he has good information.

Mike’s points were:

There are 1 Billion videos watched on YouTube in the US every day. (Staggering, isn’t it!)
Just do it! Don’t wait for it to be perfect. There are low cost/low tech ways to create short videos.
Make a short video (3 minutes or less) that has a beginning, a middle and an end.
Send it everywhere; there are video directories like there are blog directories

Be sure you let viewers know:

who you are
something about you
how to find you
how to hear from you

Justin Kan was a bit easier to follow so here goes:

Justin.tv hosts live videos; your very own TV show!
Answer the top ten questions your clients are asking about your business (FAQ)
Also and the top ten questions they should be asking (SAQ)
Schedule your show at a regular day and time and be consistent — show up!
Do lifestyle pieces (these get viewed the most), and testimonials from clients
you can outsource voice overs — he recommends Voice123

I got really excited about this. I have a strong hunch that video is the way to go. I like it because it personalizes an already impersonal web experience. I’m all about building relationships and have come to love in-person networking because I can meet people face-to-face and get a feel for the other person. I think video will allow prospective clients, interested people, and friends to actually get a real experience of who I am. Yes, they’ll see my age lines, and I’m no Sophia Loren, but I’m a real person and that will show through.

Elizabeth has offered to let her followers know her process for doing her videos, and I’m eagerly awaiting it. Consider following her on Twitter, @elizabethPW, she’s a hoot! Oh yeah, I’m also on Twitter, @tarufisher, and I’m pretty interesting, too!

My Take-Aways from BizTechDay – Part 1

Taru Fisher — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:34:24 +0000

I recently attended the two day event, BizTechDay, which brought together hundreds of entrepreneurs, techies, social media networking gurus and the media. I was looking forward to learning more about how to use social media networking to really connect with other like-minded people and to promote our business. I learned a lot!

Facebook Fan Pages

I got a lot of extremely valuable information about Facebook Fan Pages from Hazel Grace Dircksen of SocialBees. Here are some of the suggestions given:

Be sure you start your Fan page with the intention to consistently post daily
To help you remember to post, set it as your home page in your browser

Post a maximum of three (3) times a day
Don’t “over-share” — i.e. overly personal comments
Post about business needs and information
Make all posts relevant to your brand/purpose/mission
Make content very exciting – Don’t try to directly sell
Offer your fans exclusive benefits and perks
Simple contests are very good for engaging your fans, but avoid video contests — they’re too complicated
Create custom tabs for ads
Above all, have fun!

SocialBees services include building Fan pages for clients. They know all the Facebook apps that can be used on a Fan page, and how to make the page both visually attractive and effective. I’m going to have them do this! I have an Alive! Whole Life Fitness Studio Fan page, but it is not nearly as effective as it could be, and I wasn’t ever quite sure how to make it better.

I was very impressed with Hazel; she’s articulate, extremely knowledgeable and gracious; a winning combination.

Brand Building on Google Local Business

Before I attended #BTD, I had forgotten I previously used Google Local Business — now I intend to really use it . It has some great features, namely:

Your business will get found on Google and Google Maps
You’re able to control the information on your listing and keep it up to date

You can add your logo, photos, videos, coupons
Add a thorough business description; select all appropriate business categories
Add freeform information like a complete description of your services
A version of Google Analytics specific to Google Local Business is available from your business’ Dashboard

In subsequent posts, I’ll share what I learned about viral video and virtual work teams. My last post on #BTD will be about Michael Gerber’s presentations. They were the best and contained the most valuable information of the entire event. He got a standing ovation and he deserved it.

I hope you find value in these posts, and I encourage you to post comments and questions. I will answer each and every one.