"I have carried a passion for caring for seniors since I worked for the County of Los Angeles, visiting nursing homes to recertify Medi-Cal (Medicaid) patients. I was appalled by rows of overmedicated elders sitting in hallways in wheelchairs with their heads drooping and drooling. And then there was the s-m-e-l-l . . .No one should have to live in this mindless hell! When I talked to one of the social workers, he suggested I become a nursing home administrator.
I decided to return to school and get a Masters in Public Health at UCLA. I soon became interested in ""alternative"" health--more school. At 40, I became licensed in acupuncture and herbology, and joined a clinic with my (now) husband.
Fast forward: my widowed mother was no longer able to travel from the Netherlands to visit us, so we went to see her. My husband agreed that I needed to help her manage to maintain her quality of life. I traveled to the Netherlands twice yearly for six weeks to three months over the next seven years to keep her.
Rather than try to maintain my acupuncture practice between trips to Mom, I joined a caregiving agency and began taking temporary assignments caring for seniors. I obtained certification as a nurse assistant and (new designation) Senior Health Technician. I was struck how things had come full circle.
Over the years, I worked with and learned a lot about Alzheimer's patients and undertook to study everything I could about dementia--online seminars, collecting books and articles. . .
(As I am writing, I am hearing the news on the TV in the background about Tony Bennett living with Alzheimer's . . .)
I learned that it is NOT necessarily an inevitable decline into a deep black hole, but can be stopped and even reversed.
The challenge: how to get this information into a form that I could share with the families of my care clients and beyond!
Enter: EPM in my inbox! No idea where it came from. Introductory webinar.
""The zoom room is open. This might just be the ""Holy Grail"" you’ve been waiting for…This could be the sign you're looking for...""
Such charismatic energy! Smart as a whip! Sign me up, Marisa!
I've got the time, I've got the credit card, and I've got the desire. Of course, inevitably I start getting more work assignments! Dementia patients, and 100 year-old who is the image of a super-ager. Sharp as a tack, hearing better than mine--right the exact model of what is possible if the mind stays sharp. Another sign.
One more problem, a month into EPM I get an e-mail from Marisa introducing Eben Pagan. Check it out. Virtual Coach. Right, I need this program to round out my training for my new, and final (at 72) career. Great program, fantastic coaches. Sign me up! But . . .6 live videos a week, umpteen programs. Time is evaporating.
So-o-o-o the good news. I HAVE up-leveled my productivity, I HAVE met (all but complete #11) my milestones, I DID clear time to marathon the videos (1.5X plus the print-outs) and do the exercises, many of which were already in progress.
AND, I have at my fingertips everything I need to reach the finish line . . .even if I am walking rather than running. . .I feel very, very happy (peak experience!)
Thank you Marisa, Murray, Coach Ed and all who made this possible!!!!!!
What is your biggest takeaway from EPM?
"Fuzzy" issues have been brought into sharp focus, and I have a map to negotiate the road forward and avoid pitfalls--actually, very much akin to what I hope to deliver to my target audience!
How did EPM help you become successful?
It has helped me turn a passion to serve a specific population, elders and their loved ones, into a plan for a marketable by breaking down the elements, warning about pitfalls, and developing the mindset required to bring the project to fruition.
How has EPM and your success impacted your life?
Although I did not, for various reasons, achieve Mission Accomplished, I have gained enormous confidence and sense of direction (plus it was fun!).
What has been the biggest change in your business?
A direction toward organization of content that is deliverable in modules, and a breakthrough in my attitude toward (read: fear of) m-m-m-arketing!
What is now possible for you because of your Experience Product?
I can talk to families of my care clients with dementia about my product, i.e. "I can help you with that!"