Stories & Insights

WHY GREECE? Hellas = Greece. This is the official name of our birthplace. The name Greece comes from the ancients who called it Graikos and then adopted by the Romans into Graecia. It is the land of the Hellenic people, of the Hellenistic period and the philosophy of Hellenism. Hellas, Helen, Helene aka Eleni means light. That is what strikes you when you visit Greece; the light, the sun, the brilliance of the sky is unbelieve…more so against the vivid blue of the Aegea

Hellas = Greece. This is the official name of our birthplace. The name Greece comes from the ancients who called it Graikos and then adopted by the Romans into Graecia. It is the land of the Hellenic people, of the Hellenistic period and the philosophy of Hellenism. Hellas, Helen, Helene aka Eleni means light. That is what strikes you when you visit Greece; the light, the sun, the brilliance of the sky is unbelieve…more so against the vivid blue of the Aegean, Ionian an

Why don’t we have a better word for people who have lived five decades or more? We are called senior citizens, old people, mature adults, old-timers, the elderly, the aging population, old-farts, geezers, etc. And, while all of them may be true (or not!), they are depressing, negative and in some cases, downright rude! Words mean things and with that, people create an image in their head about it. These definitions depict someone who is shuffling along, disoriented and bef

Explorers were the first travelers. The most daring and adventurous set out to discover new lands, new people, new experiences. They created the routes that allow us to touch the world. Zaf and I are following in their footsteps. There was always a sense of wanderlust for me, even as a child. I would dream of far off places that I would visit dressed in sophisticated clothes and dark sun-glasses. What was interesting to me was how the people lived. I remember a school

Retirement isn't a set of bullet points on a meeting agenda. In every Ventura County gathering where the hum of conversation fades just before a speaker takes the floor, I see faces expectant and cautious - hoping for more than investment projections or yet another to-do list. That pause in the air holds possibility. Leaders and organizers know: their community deserves stories that breathe, not just data to absorb. When I first began leading workshops and retirement speaking

The day I gave myself permission to stop seeing retirement as a finish line, everything shifted. Years measured by endless appointments and obligations disappeared with the closing of an office door, leaving unscripted space as both invitation and riddle. I remember staring out at the Pacific from a windswept bluff near Ventura's Surfers Point, the horizon suddenly open - a view as thrilling as it was unnerving. Even so, I didn't want a handbook filled with tidy tips or sprea