“The time you can take to care for aging parents is 10-20 years according to a survey done by MetLife,” says today’s PYP MVP Ruth Ullman. There are plenty of other sobering statistics about the wave that’s coming -- and most people are either ignoring it or denying it even exists. Our conversation goes pretty deep into what’s happening around the world today, and the trend of aging parents shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

“No one wants to think about their parents getting old,” Ruth continues. “But to pretend that’s not going to happen can cost you a lot of money, not to mention time.”

Ruth began caring for her aging parents when she was in her 40s. She had to navigate a labyrinth of financial, legal and health mazes to get answers and figure out next steps. “It wasn’t easy,” she says, reflecting on that time of her life. “And my business didn’t survive because I hadn’t set it up to work without me fully present every day.”

Because of these experiences, Ruth founded her latest business called myeldercarejourney.com which focuses on helping small businesses, entrepreneurs and consultants realign their businesses to thrive while caring for aging parents. She believes that no one should have to choose between the business they created and caring for aging loved ones.

Ruth has been featured on Fox, CBS, NBC & ABC News and lately, a lot of podcasts where she spreads her message about how to prevent catastrophe from striking when aging loved ones become front and center in our lives.

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“Why are sports growing in popularity?” today’s guest Teresa McCloy asks rhetorically. “It’s because people are longing for that connection we get when we come together for an event.”

She’s right. I see it every time I go to watch a game in person. In that stadium, for a few hours at least, those of us who have chosen to spend our time watching athletes run, tackle, hit, jump, leap, throw, pound, and slide share in something very special -- and very human. Teresa gets this, which is why she has redesigned her life around helping clients discover the habits that aren’t serving them and building new ones that do.

It’s a fast-paced world out there and any professional knows the battle isn’t with information, but rather with execution on selected information relevant to us personally. As a REALIFE Speaker & Coach, Teresa McCloy partners with her clients to stop being productive and do what matters. There’s a difference, she argues, between going, going, going just because everyone else is doing that and deliberately choosing activities and strategies that are directly aligned with what matters most to us.

A recovering workaholic who was addicted to all the latest apps, software, and bestselling books on productivity, she is now passionate about helping business leaders and entrepreneurs to assess their habits and execute a REALIFE Process to take their everyday ordinary life to something Xtra-ordinay in their REALIFE, REALWORK & REALSELF. Teresa is a founding trainer and coach with the 12 Week Year system, and uses tools such as iEnneagram© and Life Maps, serving her audience and clients through speaking, masterminds and training to discover their REALIFE Process.

As we begin to gather with loved ones and friends in the coming weeks of the Holiday Season, let's remember Teresa's message about reconnecting to what matters most. Hold close the ones who you love best and express gratitude for the blessings both big and small you have in your life right now. And if it suits you, venture out to a live game somewhere to gather with those who share the joy in spectating, cheering, and celebrating being human together.

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Nancy Martin loves the Pittsburgh Steelers. A Pennsylvania girl through and through, she gets football and what it can mean for a town, city and region. When she’s not cheering for the black and gold, she is a renowned speaker, facilitator, and best-selling author of Dance Your Way to an Empowered Self, and the creator of “Back Off” - a proprietary method of teaching women and girls how to embody confidence so they can repel potential abusers and claim their own authentic voice.  

Her mission is to reach as many women and girls as possible before they become victims of abuse so they can build a light, happy future. We met through a mutual friend and PYP MVP, Claudio Toyama. Nancy has a lot of energy and loves to laugh while cooking delicious meals from scratch. She is vibrant, dynamic and dedicated to raising her son to be thoughtful, kind and driven by his own sense of self.

In her work, she uses a specialized combination of dance, movement, and intensive coaching to show her clients how to use their bodies powerfully and make the changes needed to repel aggressors and build core confidence. As a result, they experience a quick, dramatic change in self-assurance that affects their entire being. Not only do they learn to be true to themselves in all situations, but they also realize they are enough and their choices become fully their own.

Nancy’s extensive and valuable knowledge of the body-mind connection will help you think differently about how you are physically showing up each day -- and give you even more incentive to dance in the end zone, and not just on Sunday!

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Debbie Johnston’s motto is, “If I have touched one life, it was worth the journey.” And let me tell you -- she has touched many. November is National Adoption Month and among the many pursuits Debbie has engaged in over the years, advocating for children of all ages to find permanent homes is at the top of her list.

Over the span of her successful careers, she has been recognized as the Entrepreneur of Richmond, Virginia, Philanthropist of the Year, and Woman on the Move. As founder and President of Care Advantage, Nurse Advantage, and All About Care, she has created a dynamic compassionate care company that is devoted to giving back to the community. Her former companies employ approximately 3,000 health care professionals in central Virginia and surrounding areas. Debbie's journey to the top did not start off all glitz and glam though. In fact, she had a very humble start. Debbie grew up in a small town with her biological mother's sister and her husband who adopted Debbie at a young age. She was raised on a farm with four younger sisters and one brother, working hard with farm-life chores, too busy and loved to realize her actual scarcity.

"Originally I wanted to be a secretary like my mom, but after considerable coaxing from my dad, I decided to go into nursing,” Debbie says. “My dad told me that nursing would always afford me a job in good times and bad." Somehow, her parents scraped up the three-year tuition for Debbie to attend the Johnston-Willis School of Nursing.

Following nursing school, she decided to work in the operating room where she learned a lot in a short amount of time. In her book, The School of Heart Knocks, she tells the story of watching a 14-year-old girl receive her last rites in the emergency room. It was then that she decided to become a recovery room nurse, in order to lessen the close interaction with patients and guard against such heartache. "I began to see people being discharged quicker and sicker, which prompted my curiosity about what was happening to patients once they were sent home. It was this curiosity that led me into my career of home care."

Debbie sought and accepted an offer as a salesperson for a new national home health company in the area. After one year, she took the idea of home health care to a large hospital conglomerate and became the administrator of the division. However, the chief hospital administrator spun the home health division out on its own and decided to sell it. Debbie then received a push from a friend and started her own health care company. Care Advantage, Inc. was born out of a need to help people once discharged home. This has naturally evolved from helping patients leave the hospital to holding their hand and making their last few hours the best possible.

Today, Debbie is the sole owner and president of Care Advantage, Inc., which has become a leading company for personal and companion home healthcare, with 17 offices and affiliates throughout Virginia. "I believe that one of the best things about growing a financially successful company is having the ability to give to others. We have given over a million dollars to organizations all over the community. I also started ‘Eunice's Circle of Friends,’ which is a social group for Widows and Widowers, and those individuals who have lost a loved one." In 2014, Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed Debbie to the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority and as the Adoption Champion for the state of Virginia and these days, she spends a lot of her time helping match deserving kids with deserving parents.

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