I had a very stimulating exchange with our Pass It On Network Liaison from Arizona, Barbara Penn-Atkins, a Coach, Speaker, Workshop Facilitator and Author. You won’t believe how thirsty we all are for meaning in our lives, said Barbara, who never ceases to be amazed at the reaction she gets when she talks about self empowerment at independent senior living homes. “So often I feel that people are waiting for permission to be more engaged. The way I see it is that we all have gifts and they are there to be shared and this is true throughout our lives. We don’t need permission to share – we just need to do it whenever we have the chance”.

The audience at her last talk in Phoenix in August ranged from 65 – 95. The hall was packed well before starting time at 3 pm and she finally drove away after 10 pm. Her inspiring talk on how everyone at any age can draw on their personal power to bring meaning to their lives touched a deep cord. “We all have gifts and experience to share, we can all look around and see what needs to be done and ask ourselves what can I do about them? It can be lending an ear to someone, it can be encouraging someone to each for their dreams, it can be contributing to the community, there so many possibilities. I often extend my right arm and spread out the fingers of my hand by way of inviting people on a trip of exploration”.

The wrist area is your grounding, the thumb represents your dreams, realized and still-to-be-realized, the index is your creativity, your community, health and well-being, the middle spirituality, the ring finger, riches, whether material or non material, and the pinkie, your purpose. I invite people to explore these pathways for themselves.

It was this kind of talk that Barbara presented at a networking session where TV producer Steve Savant happened to be listening. He was captivated and invited her to speak on his show, Steve Savant’s Money, the Name of the Game, about “Retirement: Transitioning to a Life of Significance.”