This is an episode near and dear to my heart, and is one of the most listened to episodes of Loving Later Life. 

It's Up To Us is my second spoken word poem and it shares feelings of distress, concern, hope and encourgement about our current state of affairs. I'm told that more people need to hear it, so this is it's encore broadcast.

The other reason that I am doing a replay is that my son is getting married two days before this drops to the very wonderful and talented Dylan Landau. For those of you who don't know, Dylan wrote a performs the theme song to Loving Later Life.

I hope you'll listen/listen again, and share/share again.

It's Up To Us!

Laurie Gerber is one of the most engaging and effective life coaches and presenters in the country.

After holding several positions at Handel Group® over the last 20 years, including President of HG Life, Laurie is currently licensing The Handel Method® and running Laurie Gerber Coaching, Inc. focusing on LOVE coaching.

Laurie has appeared on the Today Show, Dr, Phil, MTV and A & E and been the resident love expert at Match, Zoosk, Jdate, and many more.

She has been presenting to and coaching individuals, couples, and groups, with a wide range of partners including: the dating sites above, General Assembly, She Tribe, BeSocialChange, IvyConnect, Ellevate, and many more. She has appeared on television shows, podcasts, radio shows, and all over the internet. Check out “The Secret-Free Diet”, her TedX talk on the power of truth telling.

When not working from her NYC townhouse, she’s meditating, jogging, or attempting to get cuddles from her 10, 21 and 23-year old kids and husband of 27 years.

We had SOOO much fun, even though she called me out on my own beliefs! You must listen and you'll want to share it with others!

This week I am diverting again from regularly scheduled programming. Instead of sharing another inspiring conversation with one of my special guests (in two weeks it’s another a super great one!), a thought came to me as it often does, when I least expect it and in the most unexpected places, which would be TMI! Anyhow, it is one that has to be done now at this time, and I’m in charge so I’m going to do it! And that’s all I’m going to say about it, because it’s short and to the point, and if I were to write more here, you could have already listened to the episode!

See you there?!

For this episode I am breaking with my normally scheduled programming because this is episode 111. The number 111 has a special meaning to me, and come to find out in recent years, not just to me!

Please join me in this episode as I discuss the meaning of the number 111 and how it carries profound significance for me personally and for all of us universally.

Spiritually it carries a powerful lesson, encouraging us to embrace the power of your thoughts and beliefs. It is often associated with unity, new beginnings, and the interconnectedness of mind, body and spirit. It serves as a messenger for a transformative journey of self-discovery, inviting you to embark on a new path of confidence, motivation, and independence.

And much more.

Even if this seems a bit wooey to some of you, listen anyway! You never know what you may hear that will change the way you look at things.

See you there!

The inspiration for this episode came from writing my bi-weekly email to my list of those of you who have signed up to receive it.

I was thinking about how many of us have yearnings and desires that have been put on pause, pushed aside or forgotten…or abilities, talents and skills that have yet to be discovered.

What are we waiting for? Time is going to keep tick-tocking no matter what, so what exactly are we afraid of happening? Who cares if we try something and we don’t like it or discover we’re not good at it? Time is going to pass regardless, so why does the outcome matter so much?

I also share something I’m going to be doing (to practice what I preach), so I hope you’ll join me…in more ways than one!

If you’re looking for a sign, this is it.

Vicki DeArmon is the founder/publisher of Sibylline Press; a publisher of the brilliant work of women authors over 50, and a revered 40-year veteran of the book industry.

Vicki started Foghorn Press in 1985 at age 25 in San Francisco before selling it fourteen years later. Her novelistic memoir about this era, Foghorn: The Nearly True Story of a Small Publishing Empire, was published in the Spring of 2025.

A lifelong writer of memoir, she also previously worked as the marketing and events director at Copperfield’s Books and as a consultant to the California Indie booksellers.

Sibylline publishes 60 plus books a year in memoir and fiction and this Fall, will introduce a new imprint, Sibyl Writing Craft offering books and classes for writers.

Vicki and I had so much fun talking (and laughing, and laughing) about her adventures in publishing and in life. You don't want to miss this conversation!

To learn more about Vicki:

www.sibyllinepress.com Sibylline Press social: @sibyllinepress Substack: @publishingwithVickiDeArmon

For those of you who are Loving Later Life regulars, you know that I began this podcast to connect us all so that we feel heard, seen, inspired and also entertained.

My hope is that you'll be inspired by my guests and perhaps even through my experiences that it is not ever too late to go for what you want in this precious life we have been gifted.

There are also times when I am compelled to express a point of view that I am passionate about. This is one of those times, and the way it manifested was in a spoken word poem.

Some of you may have seen my YouTube video of this already and if you haven’t, after you listen to this episode, I invite you to go watch the video. The link is in the show notes page for this episode, if you go to nancylanggibbs.com, click on the arrow next to podcast in the top bar and then click on Show Notes. Then click on this episode entitled It’s Up To Us and scroll down for the link. Or you can go to YouTube and search Nancy Lang Gibbs, It’s Up To Us. (Or below if you're reading this on the Show Notes page!)

I ask if perhaps you are not on the same page as I am, that you listen anyway to open the aperture of your lens. For those who are on the same page, please forward the link to others and ask them to do the same. The message, I believe, is so very important to share.

Thank you for listening and until the next time, Live Passionately, Live Vulnerably and Keep Loving Later Life.

YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/vLdDCUKrRc0?si=PlC9V3Em1_658kU3

Satori Shakoor is my guest and she is a dynamic storyteller, multi-disciplinary artist, and social entrepreneur known for her bold and transformative work in the arts. A 2017 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow, Satori began her career as a recording and touring vocalist with George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic as one of the Brides of Funkenstein before expanding into acting, comedy, and television writing.

She is the creator and Executive Producer of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers®, an award-winning storytelling platform that fosters healing and community connection. Satori’s storytelling prowess has been showcased on global stages, including The Moth, PBS, and NPR, while she also serves as host of Detroit Performs Live for Detroit PBS.

With her solo, standup storytelling concert film, Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale, she breaks outdated stigmas around aging and womanhood, bringing humor, truth, and empowerment to center stage.

A sought-after facilitator and speaker, Satori has worked with major institutions like Duke University, the University of Michigan, and even the United Nations. Her work continues to inspire and transform communities, using the power of storytelling to connect humanity and spark meaningful dialogue.

Join us to hear the importance of storytelling!

What a time it is in our lives right now. What a crazy ass f-ing time. I told a friend that if all of what is occurring in our country and in our world were the plot of a movie, we’d all be saying thank goodness this couldn’t actually happen, that’s so unrealistic!

And, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you are out there worrying about something. Am I right? I mean heaven knows there are a lot of things to be worried about right now. Like real things.

Then there's the type of worrying about things that have not yet happened. And for frosting on the worry cake, add the thought process that if you worry it will prevent something bad from happening.

I’ve earned a master’s degree in this kind of worrying, from thousands of hours of life-long learning. And I thought I was unique in this special brand of fear and worrying, until I found out that I wasn't. How?

Join me as I share my biggest worry, the big A Ha I had about it, and what I'm now doing to stop it!

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement. She has received numerous awards for her university teaching at USC’s Davis School of Gerontology and for her contributions to the field of aging, the community and literary arts.

As one of the nation’s leading experts on preparing for the non-economic aspects of retirement, she has worked with over 25,000 employees at corporations and universities to do just that.

As a syndicated columnist on “Successful Aging” for the Southern California News Group, Helen has published over 1,000 columns reaching 1.2 million readers weekly.

Additionally, Helen has served as an expert witness for large class action age discrimination cases. She is co-founder of Renewment and co-author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, "Project Renewment®: The First Retirement Model for Career Women" (Scribner) and has been recognized by PBS Next Avenue as one of the 50 influencers in aging.

I promise that you will be inspired on so many levels! Do yourself a favor and listen to the very end!

Website: www.HelenMdennis.com