[Applause]
it took me most of my life to figure out
something really simple if you want to
live your best life at any age you’ve
gotta have an idea of what that looks
like and a plan to get there right now
well as a baby boomer here was my
original plan I believed we needed to
wish really hard that time would stand
still and we’d all be forever young of
course that didn’t happen and clearly
time doesn’t stand still for any of us
and you know what else
wishful thinking is not a plan for
example you want to be healthy and fit
and then you see a picture of yourself
from a family reunion you say wow when
did I gain have 15 pounds or yeah right
you take a job until that dream
opportunity comes along and then 20
years later you say whoa what a time go
or you work hard most of your life and
then suddenly you realize you didn’t
save enough for retirement according to
recent reports 76 to 80 percent of baby
boomers wish they’d saved more for
retirement and for those who think the
Powerball jackpots gonna bail them out
good luck with that you know why odds of
winning the big one are about one in 292
million
as the late American psychologist
Abraham Maslow reportedly said the story
of the human race is the story of men
and women selling themselves short now
how can that be when supposedly we want
a meaningful happy life we may tell
ourselves I’ll live my best life in the
future but let me ask this at what point
does the present become the future it
doesn’t matter if you’re a baby boomer a
millennial or a member of any other
generation the future is now and that
means that now is the time for us to ask
what do we really want our best lives to
look like fortunately if we have a clear
picture that best life then small steps
we take today tomorrow and in the future
can make all the difference to
illustrate I’m going to share something
personal
I grew up scared speechless my silence
was like a personal invitation to all
the bullies in the neighborhood and then
others including some of my teachers
were quick to tell me who I was and what
I thought defiant sullen shallow I’d
heard it all and when I became a parent
I realized my inability to communicate
affected every aspect of my life I
couldn’t even make a doctor’s
appointments over the phone for my kids
without first writing out a script and
sing it to make matters worse I grew up
believing you’re either a winner or
you’re a loser you’re either a success
or you’re a fit come on I only heard
about a 25 percent response rate and
that was a pop quiz you’re a success or
you’re wrong
all right thankfully a friend suggested
I try Toastmasters and so out of
desperation because I’d heard that
Toastmasters help people gain confidence
communicating I joined and then week
after week I watched other members model
confident communication I followed step
by step manuals and I got lots of
feedback emphasizing growth rather than
success or failure in her book mindset a
new psychology for success motivational
researcher Carol Dweck stresses the
importance of a growth mindset if we
want to move toward our best lives well
a couple of years I realized I had grown
and I could speak up those small steps
guided by a clear vision change my life
forever in a minute
I’m going to share how all of us can use
a similar process to identify our best
lies and then move toward it but first I
want to share another example that I
think will better illustrate this
process several years ago and I mean
several years ago I had a position as a
communication assessment researcher I
also did writing assessment training one
time I was sent to New York to work with
a group of grade school teachers I
started my session by sharing an example
a writing sample from a fourth graders
class immediately the teachers let me
know they weren’t impressed
in fact one teacher said that child will
never be a writer
then I shared another sample from the
same classroom and this time the sample
got rave reviews you probably guessed it
was the same child right just six months
later now the reason this transformation
was possible was that the child was
given a clear picture of what good
fourth grade writing looked like and
then that picture that vision was broken
down into measurable components and put
on a scale teachers call this research
space tool a rubric used with permission
I’m going to share an excerpt of one
you’ll notice the measurable component
that I’ve listed is editing a beginning
writers work needs usually extensive
editing but as they progress step by
measurable step eventually they should
get to the place where the writing needs
very little editing after working with
rubrics for several years I realize that
any of us could use the same basic
process to move toward our best lives I
call this personal application a vision
map vision maps are pretty easy to
develop it’s a two-step process and it
involves our intuitive and our
analytical skills now first rather than
having somebody else gives you their
vision you create a picture of your own
best life and sometimes it really helps
to literally have a picture of that best
life my artist friend and collaborator
Susan Rochester helps others do this
through a process called visual drilling
and this involves gathering images that
speak to you and then responding to them
in some way for myself I find that I’m
drawn to images of women who have
refused to be silenced
and I respond to those images by feeling
courageous another way we can picture
our best lives is by identifying
personal role models one of my favorites
is the late American suffragists
susan b anthony even though she had a
fear of public speaking for over fifty
years she was the voice for those who
didn’t have a voice and you know what in
1871
she spoke right here in Roseburg Oregon
yet another way we can visualize our
best life is to do some reflective
journaling to write about our
experiences our talents and our passions
interestingly the root word for passion
comes from Latin and it means to endure
or to suffer so here’s a question for
you for what are you willing to endure
or suffer once we have a picture of our
best lives then we can draft a vision
statement or two to help guide us
examples might include I’m healthy and
fit or I have a satisfying career or I’m
secure in retirement at this point we’re
starting to act as our own personal
coaches but we’ve got to go beyond words
because a vision without actions there’s
nothing more than magical thinking so
with the second step we need to take
that vision and break it down into
measurable components and put it on a
scale in other words we’re creating our
own personal rubric and this is what I
call a measurable action plan for
example I know that as I continue to age
I want to stay
so I have a miserable plan for exercise
and you’ll notice that I’ve highlighted
balance work I added that last year my
daughter-in-law a physical therapist
said that working on our balance is one
of the most important things we can do
as we age now I don’t always do three to
four minutes a day I don’t always do two
to three minutes a day but I do
something and that’s what counts
I was going to demonstrate this today
but my daughter-in-law said don’t do
that in platform shoes I first started
using vision maps about 15 years ago
after that point I really didn’t have a
picture of my own best life I tried on
different careers like you try on
somebody else’s clothes and none of them
fit at one point I was offered a
research assistantship and a doctoral
program for educational leadership and I
thought why not
it meant free tuition to finish the
program so okay I through my coursework
I started tearing into my dissertation
and then I thought I no longer
interested why am I doing this I had no
idea so you know what I did I quit I
used personal problems as my excuse I
quit not only once but twice so I have
regrets
sure
after several months of reflective
journaling I finally could see that my
best life involved helping others find
their voices and maybe their best life
and one way I could do that was through
teaching especially in a place where
community and relationships mattered so
I developed a measurable action plan and
that plan led me right here to unclutch
Community College 13 years ago when I
was hired to teach speech and
communication I was already a
grandmother those are the 13 years I’ve
taught here
I taught small group communication I
designed that course focused on service
learning in the beginning in the
beginning of each term I’d asked
students to visualize a solution to a
community problem and then develop a
measurable action plan to implement that
solution one team of four women
envisioned the community auction to help
raise funds for a local grade school
project their components of their
measurable action plan included
organizing their option getting
donations and promoting their event with
the help of our supportive community
those four women raised over two
thousand dollars for a local grade
school teaching at UCC has been one of
my best lives yet I love it when I hear
other colleagues ask students how’s your
job going how’s that car running for you
I’m thankful to have such caring
compassionate colleagues my own students
have also left a forever impact on my
life I’ve celebrated with them at
graduation I’ve been invited to a couple
of their weddings and I also attended
two of their funeral
because my vision map led me here and
because being here has been true to my
core I have never doubted that this was
where I was supposed to be but now I’m
an elder woman not elderly there’s a big
difference I’m an older woman that’s one
of our reticence told me I am now wise
like Judah I am so as a wise elder woman
I know it’s now from time for me to
start thinking about my best life after
teaching I’ve modified my vision map so
I can continue doing what I’m doing
after I do retire vision maps are
flexible they change with us as we move
through time as we pro anyone can create
a vision map parents can use them with
their children small groups can use them
to accomplish great things we can even
use them in relational and
organizational communication and when
these areas improve all of our lives are
better of course it takes effort to
create a vision map but that’s our
choice one good news is this whether
you’re a baby boomer a millennial or a
member of any other generation it is
never too late or too early to start
living our best lives when guided by a
clear vision those small steps we take
to not only make our lives better but it
can improve the lives of others we touch
the future is now and so now is the time
for each of us to ask what do we want
our future to look like
[Applause]
it took me most of my life to figure out
something really simple if you want to
live your best life at any age you’ve
gotta have an idea of what that looks
like and a plan to get there right now
well as a baby boomer here was my
original plan I believed we needed to
wish really hard that time would stand
still and we’d all be forever young of
course that didn’t happen and clearly
time doesn’t stand still for any of us
and you know what else
wishful thinking is not a plan for
example you want to be healthy and fit
and then you see a picture of yourself
from a family reunion you say wow when
did I gain have 15 pounds or yeah right
you take a job until that dream
opportunity comes along and then 20
years later you say whoa what a time go
or you work hard most of your life and
then suddenly you realize you didn’t
save enough for retirement according to
recent reports 76 to 80 percent of baby
boomers wish they’d saved more for
retirement and for those who think the
Powerball jackpots gonna bail them out
good luck with that you know why odds of
winning the big one are about one in 292
million
as the late American psychologist
Abraham Maslow reportedly said the story
of the human race is the story of men
and women selling themselves short now
how can that be when supposedly we want
a meaningful happy life we may tell
ourselves I’ll live my best life in the
future but let me ask this at what point
does the present become the future it
doesn’t matter if you’re a baby boomer a
millennial or a member of any other
generation the future is now and that
means that now is the time for us to ask
what do we really want our best lives to
look like fortunately if we have a clear
picture that best life then small steps
we take today tomorrow and in the future
can make all the difference to
illustrate I’m going to share something
personal
I grew up scared speechless my silence
was like a personal invitation to all
the bullies in the neighborhood and then
others including some of my teachers
were quick to tell me who I was and what
I thought defiant sullen shallow I’d
heard it all and when I became a parent
I realized my inability to communicate
affected every aspect of my life I
couldn’t even make a doctor’s
appointments over the phone for my kids
without first writing out a script and
sing it to make matters worse I grew up
believing you’re either a winner or
you’re a loser you’re either a success
or you’re a fit come on I only heard
about a 25 percent response rate and
that was a pop quiz you’re a success or
you’re wrong
all right thankfully a friend suggested
I try Toastmasters and so out of
desperation because I’d heard that
Toastmasters help people gain confidence
communicating I joined and then week
after week I watched other members model
confident communication I followed step
by step manuals and I got lots of
feedback emphasizing growth rather than
success or failure in her book mindset a
new psychology for success motivational
researcher Carol Dweck stresses the
importance of a growth mindset if we
want to move toward our best lives well
a couple of years I realized I had grown
and I could speak up those small steps
guided by a clear vision change my life
forever in a minute
I’m going to share how all of us can use
a similar process to identify our best
lies and then move toward it but first I
want to share another example that I
think will better illustrate this
process several years ago and I mean
several years ago I had a position as a
communication assessment researcher I
also did writing assessment training one
time I was sent to New York to work with
a group of grade school teachers I
started my session by sharing an example
a writing sample from a fourth graders
class immediately the teachers let me
know they weren’t impressed
in fact one teacher said that child will
never be a writer
then I shared another sample from the
same classroom and this time the sample
got rave reviews you probably guessed it
was the same child right just six months
later now the reason this transformation
was possible was that the child was
given a clear picture of what good
fourth grade writing looked like and
then that picture that vision was broken
down into measurable components and put
on a scale teachers call this research
space tool a rubric used with permission
I’m going to share an excerpt of one
you’ll notice the measurable component
that I’ve listed is editing a beginning
writers work needs usually extensive
editing but as they progress step by
measurable step eventually they should
get to the place where the writing needs
very little editing after working with
rubrics for several years I realize that
any of us could use the same basic
process to move toward our best lives I
call this personal application a vision
map vision maps are pretty easy to
develop it’s a two-step process and it
involves our intuitive and our
analytical skills now first rather than
having somebody else gives you their
vision you create a picture of your own
best life and sometimes it really helps
to literally have a picture of that best
life my artist friend and collaborator
Susan Rochester helps others do this
through a process called visual drilling
and this involves gathering images that
speak to you and then responding to them
in some way for myself I find that I’m
drawn to images of women who have
refused to be silenced
and I respond to those images by feeling
courageous another way we can picture
our best lives is by identifying
personal role models one of my favorites
is the late American suffragists
susan b anthony even though she had a
fear of public speaking for over fifty
years she was the voice for those who
didn’t have a voice and you know what in
1871
she spoke right here in Roseburg Oregon
yet another way we can visualize our
best life is to do some reflective
journaling to write about our
experiences our talents and our passions
interestingly the root word for passion
comes from Latin and it means to endure
or to suffer so here’s a question for
you for what are you willing to endure
or suffer once we have a picture of our
best lives then we can draft a vision
statement or two to help guide us
examples might include I’m healthy and
fit or I have a satisfying career or I’m
secure in retirement at this point we’re
starting to act as our own personal
coaches but we’ve got to go beyond words
because a vision without actions there’s
nothing more than magical thinking so
with the second step we need to take
that vision and break it down into
measurable components and put it on a
scale in other words we’re creating our
own personal rubric and this is what I
call a measurable action plan for
example I know that as I continue to age
I want to stay
so I have a miserable plan for exercise
and you’ll notice that I’ve highlighted
balance work I added that last year my
daughter-in-law a physical therapist
said that working on our balance is one
of the most important things we can do
as we age now I don’t always do three to
four minutes a day I don’t always do two
to three minutes a day but I do
something and that’s what counts
I was going to demonstrate this today
but my daughter-in-law said don’t do
that in platform shoes I first started
using vision maps about 15 years ago
after that point I really didn’t have a
picture of my own best life I tried on
different careers like you try on
somebody else’s clothes and none of them
fit at one point I was offered a
research assistantship and a doctoral
program for educational leadership and I
thought why not
it meant free tuition to finish the
program so okay I through my coursework
I started tearing into my dissertation
and then I thought I no longer
interested why am I doing this I had no
idea so you know what I did I quit I
used personal problems as my excuse I
quit not only once but twice so I have
regrets
sure
after several months of reflective
journaling I finally could see that my
best life involved helping others find
their voices and maybe their best life
and one way I could do that was through
teaching especially in a place where
community and relationships mattered so
I developed a measurable action plan and
that plan led me right here to unclutch
Community College 13 years ago when I
was hired to teach speech and
communication I was already a
grandmother those are the 13 years I’ve
taught here
I taught small group communication I
designed that course focused on service
learning in the beginning in the
beginning of each term I’d asked
students to visualize a solution to a
community problem and then develop a
measurable action plan to implement that
solution one team of four women
envisioned the community auction to help
raise funds for a local grade school
project their components of their
measurable action plan included
organizing their option getting
donations and promoting their event with
the help of our supportive community
those four women raised over two
thousand dollars for a local grade
school teaching at UCC has been one of
my best lives yet I love it when I hear
other colleagues ask students how’s your
job going how’s that car running for you
I’m thankful to have such caring
compassionate colleagues my own students
have also left a forever impact on my
life I’ve celebrated with them at
graduation I’ve been invited to a couple
of their weddings and I also attended
two of their funeral
because my vision map led me here and
because being here has been true to my
core I have never doubted that this was
where I was supposed to be but now I’m
an elder woman not elderly there’s a big
difference I’m an older woman that’s one
of our reticence told me I am now wise
like Judah I am so as a wise elder woman
I know it’s now from time for me to
start thinking about my best life after
teaching I’ve modified my vision map so
I can continue doing what I’m doing
after I do retire vision maps are
flexible they change with us as we move
through time as we pro anyone can create
a vision map parents can use them with
their children small groups can use them
to accomplish great things we can even
use them in relational and
organizational communication and when
these areas improve all of our lives are
better of course it takes effort to
create a vision map but that’s our
choice one good news is this whether
you’re a baby boomer a millennial or a
member of any other generation it is
never too late or too early to start
living our best lives when guided by a
clear vision those small steps we take
to not only make our lives better but it
can improve the lives of others we touch
the future is now and so now is the time
for each of us to ask what do we want
our future to look like
[Applause]
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