If I'd Only Known I'd Live This Long. David Boone's Beard
If I’d only known
I’d live this long...
Simple tips on health, fitness and life that everyone should know before they get old
David Beard
Copyright © 2012 David Beard, All Rights Reserved.
Except for the purpose of reviewing, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publishers. Infringers of copyright render themselves liable for prosecution.
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure this book is as accurate and complete as possible, however there may be mistakes both typographical and in content. The authors and the publisher shall not be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0853-8
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
Illustrations by Karin Hearn
Layup design by Dannie Cameron, GreatDesigns.co.nz
Printed in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
Testimonials
“I love this book! David has covered every aspect of a joyful long life, making it clear, simple and real - if not always easy! But that’s life. And with David’s wisdom, may we all have more of it, with abundance.”
Catherine Palin-Brinkworth M.AppSci, CSP, Inspirational Speaker & Author
“It can take 100 years to gain wisdom or you can take 100 minutes to read and contemplate David’s ideas and enjoy fast tracked wisdom.”
Glenn Capelli, CSP, Professional Speaker & Author of ‘Thinking Caps’.
David has some great tips for living a long and healthy life and enjoying an active healthy and happy retirement. This book is easy and fun to read, I recommend it highly!
John Shackleton, CSP, Speaker, Coach, Trainer & Author of ‘Life is for Living’
Finally, an easy to read, practical guide for anyone wanting to grow old with better health. This book is full of useful information with examples which somehow humanise the theory behind the aging process. Great!
David Reed, Active Ageing spokesperson for Council on the Ageing Western Australia
David has captured the essence of the baby boomers challenge of how to add more life to their remaining years. A great book in its elegant simplicity.
Matt Church, CSP, Professional Speaker, Author & Fitness Expert
Acknowledgements
Putting together a book involves so many things and so many people. There are those that inspired me even to write this in the first place. They may not even know it, but Matt Church and Gihan Perera inspired me to get started.
Throughout the writing process I asked many people to read my ideas and give me feedback; I took advice from all of them and used it to refine how and what I wrote. I hope I haven’t missed someone, and if I fail to mention you, my sincerest apology. Thanks to Annette Stanton, Professor John Bloomfield, Glenn Cardwell, Toni Stampalija, Suzanne and Graham McKenzie, Matt Hern, David Reed, Richard Price, Jenny Davies, Malcolm Quekett, Denice Rice, Shirley Beard, Les Harvey, Dave Pretty and Lesley Tunnecliffe. Your combined suggestions, comments and encouragement have been invaluable.
Karin Hearn’s ability to take an idea and bring it to life in a fun and humourous way is an outstanding skill. Thanks Karin for the way your illustrations and sense of humour add so much to the enjoyment of reading this book.
Thanks to Dave Pretty for his advice and assistance with the layout and design and to Maria and the team at Maruki Books for coordinating the production and printing process. Thanks to Dannie Cameron for her graphic design skills and the great finished product.
A special acknowledgement to my family, Julie, Jordan and Matthew who have had less income to live on while I spent time writing this book instead of doing ‘real’ work.
“The good news is that life expectancy is increasing;
the bad news is that the extra years are tacked on at the end.”
Gordon Livingston
“I wish I was 20 years younger and knew what I know now.”
Dad
These were the words of my Dad and no doubt many fathers before him, but I didn’t take much notice way back then. Who does when you are young? However, as I have grown older, and having worked with adults from 25 to 105, I have learned the value of Dad’s statement.
When you work with people in their 80s, 90s and 100s you learn a lot about life. I certainly did, and it made me curious enough to begin asking them what they would pass on to younger people. More specifically, what advice would they give to people wanting to live long and happy lives?
I learned that life can be great or it can be boring; it can be an adventure or it can be a struggle. I learned that you can be independent and active, or you can end up dependent on others and limited in what you can do. I learned that you can cherish every moment or you can be disappointed and frustrated.
I learned that your health is your greatest asset in old age and that your attitude makes the difference between thriving and just surviving. Importantly, I also learned that it’s the little things that people do throughout their lives that makes the difference between being healthy and independent in old age and possibly not even growing old.
This book is a collection of tips and advice gathered from people in their 70’s, 80s, 90s and 100s. Read it through and mark the ideas most relevant to you right now. Once you’ve incorporated them into your life, go back and look for a few more ideas to try out. Keep this book accessible so you pick it up regularly for more ideas.
The little things you do can make a lifetime of difference.
Expectations and Attitudes
Assume you’ll grow old
Most of us aren’t good at planning for the future, except maybe when it comes to money. Some people spend hours and even thousands of dollars to ensure they will have enough money to live on in retirement. They invest in assets that will provide an income and engage the services of financial planners to help guide them to achieve their goals.
However, when it comes to health and fitness, many people just assume they will have what they need to enjoy the lifestyle they envisage for their later years. They don’t think they have to take action now or that they can influence what their health and capabilities will be in the future.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Like Eubie Blake, who wished he’d known he was going to live so long, you need to assume you’ll grow old and take action now so that you will able to live the life you want.
Don’t get to your eighth or ninth decade and then wish you’d taken some simple steps when you were younger to be fit and healthy.
Instead,