Mom Knows Best: What I know now in my 50’s that I didn’t know in my 20’s/30’s!

Many people ask me why I published a book & why I chose to be a YouTube Talk Show Host and Blogger in my 50’s!  My answer is “why not?”

Why wouldn’t you want to listen to a woman who has been there done that and has so many friggen T-shirts she could open her own store?  Isn’t it easier to learn from someone else’s mistakes and that by doing so, it might be able to prevent drama filled scenarios from happening to you?

Hello!  I wish someone had helped pave the way for me in my 20’s!  Some of my life lessons give a whole new meaning to “banging your head against a brick wall” and I can tell you that I pretty much caved that sucker in!

I never understand why so many businesses get rid of their mature employees because they think that only young new blood in the room will bring a fresh outlook to the company???  That may work for gaming markets or teen clothing lines but why wouldn’t you also want people on your team that have “walked the walk of life?”

Age experience is invaluable and should never be underestimated in any place of business.  Successful companies get what I am talking about!! There should always be a mix of men and women of all ages to give a well rounded and balanced outlook to anything in life.

OK enough of that crap; let’s talk about how you can save yourself a lot of unnecessary drama or life lessons that really could be avoided.

Whoever made up the cliché “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” should be smacked upside the head because that isn’t exactly a heartwarming statement and doesn’t come without a whole pile of steaming BS to deal with! Listen to someone older and wiser to make changes in your life because it saves you one Hell of a lot of time and many embarrassing moments!

 What I did or didn’t do in my youth that I would do differently today:

• Put money away to buy a house rather than buying shoes or spending money partying every weekend. $$$$
• Not use baby oil and spend hours in the sun at the beach! (Stay away from tanning beds!!)
• I would have started yoga in my teens (not at 48) to keep up the muscle tone and flexibility into my later years.  Have you seen their bodies in the yoga studios?! Damn! 
• Learned about nutrition and stayed away from the high-carb diet of the 80’s and then having to deal with those 25 extra lbs for the next 10 years!
• I would have had stronger boundaries and knew when to let go of something or someone that wasn’t healthy a lot faster!
• I would have been happy with my AA breasts that I was regularly made fun of in my teens. I have the last laugh now that mine are still perky and above my belt line. That’s right bitches!
• Understood my self-worth was more important than being with some guy who was only there for sex.
• I would have had more expectations from the people who I was close to in my life so I wasn’t just the constant care giver and nurturer.  Relationships and friendships need to have a reciprocated respect towards each other. Even strong people need support!
• Removed myself from people who squashed others accomplishments and only surround myself with positive like minded men and women.
• I wish that I had someone to lean on and confide in through my teen years. A go-to person.
• Trusted my instincts and listened to those spidey senses telling me NO because they were always right!
• I would have understood that bullies are assh*les and nothing they had to say had any value; because they were more insecure than I ever was.

What choices did I make back then that have worked out well in my life today?

1. I started weight training at 19 years old. This keeps the body parts uplifted for a lot longer and helps defy gravity! I actually have cleavage now and my butt hasn’t blended in with the back of my thighs! (yet) I kept up my Kegel exercises especially after childbirth! (I strongly recommend Googling this ladies!)
2. I understood by age 17 how “Bad Boys” were a pain in the ass and not worth the one night stand of hot sex!  It was sure fun watching them try though!
3. I worked 4 part time jobs starting at an early age which gave me the financial freedom to move out of an unhealthy environment at 17 and buy my first cheap car.  Saying that; I learned a lot about cars due to the lemons I owned over the years! Need an oil change? Tires changed? Battery jumpstart? I’m your girl!
4. I started writing in a diary when I was 10 years old which I have now made into a career later in my life. Whatever passions or talents you have in your younger years is what your career should consist of.  Get paid to do what you love!
5. I chose to be “a doer” and not allow some of the hardships I endured throughout my years to control my life direction in a negative way.  I learned how to pick myself up and keep going forward.  Playing the victim keeps a person stuck for a very long time.
6. I knew how important it was to tell my son how proud I was and how much I loved him regularly and not repeating a pattern from my own childhood.
7. Being the oldest girl of 5 kids I learned how to be a mother at an early age which gave me the tools to be a devoted and independent single mom for 18 years. 
8. I visualized the job I wanted as a flight attendant from the age of 13 and made it happen. I flew the friendly skies for 20 years. (Until they became not so friendly.)
9. I constantly took courses in anything that interested me; which kept me continually growing in new directions. You will always hear me say that “diversity is the key to staying young!” You will always have something to talk about and you will never be boring to be around.
10. I learned that humor will get you through anything and being a little crazy is a good thing. <3 

Teachers come in all age groups and when you are open to receiving their knowledge, life will become easier and make so much more sense!  Don’t make excuses as to why things haven’t worked out or play the victim and prolong the bad choices you may have made.

Don’t turn your nose up at someone sitting beside you who may be a lot older than you; embrace the moment and ask them questions.  Get inside their brain and learn all that you can, because I can tell you from the bottom of my 50+ year old heart, there is one Hell of a lot of valuable knowledge and life experience in that mature head of theirs.

Go ahead and try it and you’ll see what mama’s talking about! <3

Susan McCord @ The Dear Sybersue Talk Show

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