Hopes for 2008

Posted April 29, 2008, 4:16 pm

Growing Bolder asks leaders, thinkers, writers, life coaches, entertainers and role models to weigh in on issues affecting our lives.

Our question is: Now that we're halfway through, what do you hope can be accomplished this year?

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Dr. Laurie Helgoe
My hope is to have a new relationship with time. Instead of "racing time," I want to live in the embrace of time. Instead of taking, stealing or killing time, I want to give time to myself and others. Instead of trying to grab and control time, I want to open my hands and let it go. Speaking of letting go, I have just handed over my most personal work to my publisher. Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life is Your Hidden Strength is due out this Spring, and it holds many of my hopes and dreams. Have a blessed, time-abundant, 2008!

About Dr. Laurie Helgoe
Laurie Helgoe, Ph.D. is a psychologist, a mother, an actress and a prolific writer. She's the author of "The Boomer's Guide to Dating (Again)," "The Anxiety Answer Book," "The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Breaking Up," and, new this year, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Raising Boys" and "Introvert Power."  She is also contributing columnist for Wealth Manager Magazine.

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Dr. Ronda Beaman
Researchers at Harvard did a study on hope. They put rats into a pail of water and timed how long it would take for them to sink and drown. It took seven hours on average. Next they took rats, put them in a pail of water and four hours in, took them out, dried them off, fed them and then put them back into the pail. They survived for 21 hours more! The hope for something better, something good and something more tripled their strength and ultimate survival. My hope for 2008 is to keep hope alive, to see it thrive, to share hope, receive it and nurture it in myself and others. By waking each day with a hope full heart, by giving hopeful words to those who are discouraged and to end each day with hope for a better tomorrow, we can all create a great 2008.

About Dr. Ronda Beaman
Ronda is the author of "You're Only Young Twice: 10 Do-Overs to Reawaken Your Spirit." The wife, mother and grandmother is the ultimate renaissance woman -- she holds a doctorate in leadership and she's a dream coach, a distinguished professor and a personal trainer. She recently made her network tv debut as a contestant on "Don't Forget The Lyrics."

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Sandy Scott
I'm going to depart from using the word "hopes" for 2008 and substitute the word "goals." My personality is that I don't waste energy hoping for things -- I simply turn my hopes and dreams into goals and I do whatever it takes to achieve them. It has been a fascinating and arduous journey going from a broken neck just over two years ago to breaking state cycling records. For 2008, I have simple goals -- at least simple to articulate if not simple to achieve -- I intend to break all three of my own state cycling records. I have toyed with the goal of going to the world championships this year in an attempt to win a world title, but the expense and logistics are a bit much. I will be 68 years old at this time next year when I type my goals for 2009 and I intend to do so as a stronger cyclist than I am at this very moment! I know that some day I will have to face the reality of diminishing performance as age wins the battle, but so far, I continue to improve and thumb my nose at the aging process. I so enjoy beating cyclists 30 years my junior!

About Sandy Scott
Sandy is a master cyclist who was headed for victory in the 2005 Florida Senior games trials when he was nearly killed in a collision. It took two full years but, he's back! The 69-year-old now owns the state record for fastest 5K time by anyone over 60. And this year he's going for more!

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Joan Hansen
A world where prejudice, intolerance and hatred are erased; a world where people care, respect and help each other; a world where manners, politeness and civility are routine and a world full of love, family and friends.

About Joan Hansen
oan Hansen is on the front lines of social change. She is the director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program in Orange County, Fla. She helps people over the age of 55 become involved in the community through volunteer work. She is a mentor in the Amachi program and after the untimely passing of her daughter, Joan is raising her granddaughter Ashley and showing her the world!

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Esther Coffield
My hopes for 2008 are to get on the ball and finish three books I've started. It's up to me to take them from the computer to between the covers. From there to bestsellers! I have more Sassy Old Broads to expose. With the help of Growing Bolder I have hope! And dear Lord, give me the get up and go.

About Esther Coffield
Esther Coffield is a retired magazine editor and entrepreneur; her stories have appeared in several national magazines and this first novel recently debuted at Southern Festival of Books. With "an abundance of Sassy Old Broads antics," she is currently at work on a sequel.

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Sherrie Mathieson
My hopes are hopefully like most folks -- most importantly for good health and more progress towards peace in this world. In terms of my work, I hope the media begins to value the boomer population much more and that it doesn't persist in the way it currently perceives this market.

About Sherrie Mathieson
Sherrie Mathieson is an award-winning costume designer and stylist who has created a manual to help bring you and your clothes into the 21st century. Her book,"Forever Cool: How to Achieve Ageless, Youthful and Modern Personal Style" is full of tips for men and women.

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Susan Silver
My hopes for 2008 -- and this time I'm really serious -- involve wanting peace in the Middle East, but I have not much hope for it. Darfur needs hope and more action. But for myself, I want to travel, learn and meet more than Mr. Adequate while I can still enjoy him.

About Susan Silver
Susan was a writer for many of the greatest TV shows of all time, including "The Bob Newhart Show," "Mary Tyler Moore," and "Maude." These days, she writes a hilarious relationship column called, "The Search for Mr. Adequate." She is a frequent guest on the Growing Bolder Radio Show.

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