Get Inspired
Authentic Conversations of Guts, Grit, and Gusto
Get Inspired
Authentic Conversations of Guts, Grit, and Gusto
How to Live a Long Life and Live it Well with Hilary DeCesare
One World in a New World with Zen Benefiel
A Movie in the Making
A Movie in the Making. I’m so excited to let you know that Kevin Bernhardt, the popular screenwriter found my story to be so intriguing that he has written a screenplay about it. Yippee!
The film promises to encompass my life in America, as I worked relentlessly to achieve my professional dream to become a healer, while holding together my hilarious, complex family, including a husband and two young children—all while tapping into my past as a Holocaust survivor.
Kevin Bernhardt is an accomplished professional, check out his work at IMBD.com, which resulted in films with Academy Award winners and nominees including Sylvester Stallone, Dennis Hopper and many more Hollywood stars.
I’m looking forward to this adventurous and exciting opportunity. I am hopeful. Stay tuned!
Honorary Speaker at Stars Academy School
A Lifetime of Resilience
Lead Up For Women- Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Do It!
Hidden Hills • January 2021 • The Pandemic in Perspective
Surviving the Holocaust as a Child- Unarmored Talk Podcast with Mario P. Fields
Lioness For The Female Entrepreneur • January 2021 • Formula for Success: The Role of Guts, Grit and Gusto
Beyond the Acorn • Nov/Dec 2020 • The Inimitable Dr. Erica Miller”
Finding The Guts To Thrive During Hard Times
Amac • Sep 2020 • COVID-19: This Too Shall Pass
Living Well At Any Age
How to Get Out of a Rut and Overcome Adversity
Texas CEO • July 2020 • How Long Do You Want to Live? Dr. Erica Miller Believes You Can Decide
Healthy Aging • June 2020 • Aging with Gusto: Looking on the Bright Side
Tap Into Your Ancestral Resilience
Tap into your ancestral resilience
Maintaining a positive mindset during present, uncharted, challenging times of the COVID-19 environment is not easy but definitely doable. Wars, epidemics and natural disasters are ALL part of OUR human history and experience. Keep in mind, we are the most resilient species in the universe. Our ancestors before US, survived and thrived through thick and thin — so will WE.
Meantime, practicing a positive, can-do attitude is essential to see US through these unexpected, scary days. You Can Do It! Keep calm and adapt to the temporary ‘new normal’ of social isolation.
Zoom, Skype, FaceTime with your family and friends, ‘visit’ your drawers and closets, get rid of excessive treasured clutter to be donated to charitable organizations. Thoughts of future acts of kindness, positive memories of past adventures and visions of our life journey still to be is bound to empower, uplift and promote resilience and inner strength as we weather this temporary trauma.
As a Holocaust survivor and Israeli Air Force veteran, I KNOW ‘This to Shall Pass’. I will survive and thrive in my ongoing, amazing Life Journey. So will YOU 
If I can Do It, so Can You
Life is an amazing, adventurous, uncharted journey: what to do when the unexpected happens
When the unexpected happens
Did you know that when the unexpected suddenly happens, our first tendency is to “freak.” It’s just human nature. Fight or flight is part of our ancestral DNA (coping, survival skills) in response to an imminent or imagined danger.
Wars, epidemics and natural disasters are part of our ancestral experience. We’ve survived those from the past. We shall survive and weather the temporary crisis at hand. Remember, we are not dinosaurs. We have evolved for many generations and are the most resilient species ever. This too will also pass. 🖐
As a Holocaust survivor and an Israeli Air Force veteran, I have a ‘can-do’ attitude ✌. I not only plan to survive, I am doing everything I can to stay informed, keep my distance, wash my hands etc. so that I can continue living healthily to 123. If I can do it, so can you. 🎸
Age Is Just a Number
Age is just a number. We can determine at any age to reverse our functional deterioration and live our best years now—with or without our genes’ cooperation. So while we need to admit we’re getting older, it’s our attitude about age that matters. Here’s my advice:
Stop fighting it.
Embrace it.
Own it.
Love it.
You might wonder how it’s possible to love the aging process, but really it all begins with attitude. I’m not asking you to love the limitations that aging might bring. My younger readers don’t yet know this, but it’s not fun having to stop for a breather while other, younger peers run on ahead of you. It’s not fun having to make more frequent trips to the bathroom. But my older readers can take heart because there’s good news: being chronologically gifted doesn’t mean you have to pretend to be young! Isn’t that a relief? Aren’t you glad to hear that it’s okay to be old—to act your age? And for younger readers, there’s good news, too. Being chronologically gifted means it’s okay to get older. You don’t have to cling to your youth as though there’s nothing left to look forward to once the gray hairs outnumber the colored ones. In fact, on that day, you’ll actually have more to enjoy about life than you can possibly imagine from where you are right now.
Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that older people can just aggressively tell the world, “I’m old…deal with it!” The world is going to move forward with or without us as we age. If we want to continue having a meaningful opportunity to participate in life, then we’re going to need a healthy mind and a healthy body. We won’t always be young, but we’ll always be growing. So let’s focus less on the number our age represents, and more on the fact that we’re continuously evolving— all the way to our last breath. This need for meaningful development is something that 20-year-olds and 80-year-olds have in common. In their own, age-appropriate ways, both groups are on their way to becoming a better version tomorrow of who they are today.
That’s right. No matter what our age is, we only thrive inasmuch as we continue growing into better, more well-rounded people. I use that word “better” in its basic qualitative sense. Each time we acquire a piece of knowledge or improve upon a skill that helps us deepen relationships, appreciate our experiences, and leave a more robust legacy, we’ve made ourselves better people than we were before. It doesn’t matter how small the change is as long as it’s a true change. Period.
And that’s the goal we have to keep before us if we hope to live a longer, more meaningful and rewarding life. That’s they way the chronologically gifted live. We have to get up each morning, asking ourselves what we think, say and do that will help us go to bed that night feeling good about ourselves.
Five Tips for Preserving Memory
Memory is just one of the brain’s many functions. Many people are concerned about losing their memory and developing dementia. While changes in memory occur throughout our lifetime, they become more noticeable as we age. But there are ways to manage the process and preserve memory functions. Here are five tips to help accomplish that goal:
- Strive to create new memory connections. This means seeking out more social interactions and opportunities to engage with people.
- Maintain a positive attitude. Recognize the brain has plasticity, so you can learn or re-learn skills throughout life. This requires commitment and practice.
- Mentally stimulate yourself. Whether through brain games, reading, or intellectual pursuits, these activities promote memory and cognitive functioning.
- Stay healthy. Exercise regularly and practice good nutrition to keep your brain healthy.
- Enjoy hobbies and other activities. Think about what you’ve lost interest in and find ways to replace or develop new pursuits.
Change the perception
So how can we extend our lives? Tune out the negative. Focus on the positive. Instead of using the word “old,” substitute “wise,” “mature,” “seasoned” and “experienced.” Think about it: in most cultures, elders are typically revered for their accumulation of knowledge and experience. Even those who haven’t accomplished much of special merit exhibit a time-tested combination of cultivated skills and experiential wisdom that rightly inspires humility in younger people (who do well to capitalize on their insights). So, almost by default, age demands more than a modicum of respect.
With the right information and mindset, people can learn how to approach one’s later years with optimism and determination, recognizing that no one ever has to lose their cultural edge. After all, people are living longer, healthier lives every day, all over the world. A huge part of why aging seems to come upon people suddenly and overwhelmingly is because people don’t take the steps early on that will give them the best possible chance of living long, healthy and meaningful lives.
Consider the aging process with a healthy mixture of acceptance and enthusiasm. This mind shift leads people to live happier (and often longer) lives. Known as the chronologically gifted, these people regard their age as a gift, the seal of a lifelong journey for which they are profoundly grateful. It’s a journey that began at birth and one they hope to continue through a personal legacy that immortalizes them in the memories of others. Facing their own mortality, the chronologically gifted are determined to live with significance, passion, and purpose in the here and now.
References:
https://news.yale.edu/2002/07/29/thinking-positively-about-aging-extends-life-more-exercise-and-not-smoking
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-832261.pdf