Celebrate 100

Steve Franklin is an author, educator, speaker, businessman and centenarian wannabe. He is passionate about capturing the wisdom, wit, and advice of centenarians across America and energetically sharing it with the younger generation. He co-authored two major business textbooks that were adopted in hundreds of colleges and universities across America, educating thousands of college students about principles of business success. His articles have been published in over 40 publications, and his research has been reported in numerous periodicals throughout the nation including The Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune and many more. He has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs, including the Gannett Broadcasting "Million Dollar Dreams" series aired throughout the country and watched by millions of viewers. Dr. Franklin was a tenured professor and associate dean, and received the number one teaching evaluation by students three times at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. He has consulted with and delivered hundreds of keynote speeches to major organizations throughout North America, Europe, South Africa, and Dubai including Coca-Cola, General Electric, Federal Express, Northwestern Mutual, UPS, AT&T, Johnson and Johnson, IBM, Chick-fil-A. While at Emory, he cofounded the Emory Center for Healthcare Leadership and now serves on the Board of Regents at Oxford University's Harris Manchester College in England and is the Chairman of the Board of Governors for The American University in Dubai. For the past several years he has visited, videotaped, interviewed, dined, danced, laughed a lot, cried a little, and even exercised with centenarians all across America to capture and share their secrets and love for long and abundant life. Steve's goal is to live 120 years healthy, wealthy, and wise with his incredible wife, Elaine. He is over halfway there! Lynn Peters Adler is founder and director of the nonprofit National Centenarian Awareness Project, and is an expert on the lifestyles of active centenarians. For over 20 years she has been an advocate of positive aging. Lynn conducted the first nationwide survey of centenarian lifestyles and is the author of the award-winning book Centenarians: The Bonus Years. She co-produced the first centenarian documentary, Centenarians Tell It Like It Is, which aired regionally on PBS, and authored an inspirational calendar featuring active centenarians, Age with Grace: The Centenarian Spirit, published by Cedco Publishing. Lynn has been featured in major media, including a CNN special, Newsweek and People magazines, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and numerous local and regional media formats. She has appeared on all national television networks as well as various cable stations and radio programs. In 2008 she assisted the production and appeared in a Barbara Walters special, "Living to 150: Can You Do It?," with four of her centenarian friends. She was a two-term member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging in Arizona, past chairman of the Phoenix Mayor's Aging Services Commission, and member of the Arizona Attorney General's Task Force on Elder Abuse. She founded Arizona's Centenarian Program in 1985-1986, and was instrumental in helping other states and entities establish similar programs. Lynn is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and holds a law degree. She now lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is a writer, speaker, and consultant on centenarians and aging excellently. Her web site, www.adlercentenarians.org, includes the blog Live to 100 and Beyond and is the home of the National Centenarian Awareness Project. All proceeds she receives from the sale of Celebrate 100 will go to furthering the work of NCAP.

Foreword xi Introduction: Century-Old Questions . . . Century-Old Answers xiii Acknowledgments xvii CHAPTER 1 1 TODAY'S CENTENARIANS-CELEBRITIES AND NATIONAL TREASURES: A CENTURY OF WISDOM The Celebrities of Aging: Centenarians in the Spotlight 4 The Age of Centenarians: A Million or More by 2050? 8 The Wisdom of Centenarians: Authentic-Experience, Not Theory 9 National Treasures: Unique-Individually and Collectively 11 Cameos of Today's Centenarians 14 A Century of Progress: Th eir Century 23 CHAPTER 2 31 THE SCIENCE AND ART OF LIVING LONGER AND LIVING BETTER: EVERYBODY'S DOING IT On Being 100 32 Increasing Longevity 34 Lifestyle Improvements through Technology 40 Using Computers, Tablets, and Smartphones 41 Lifestyle Choices 42 The Big Three 42 Healthy Diet 43 The Benefits of Exercise 46 Socialization and Quality of Life 53 The Importance of Family 62 Interests and Avocations 67 CHAPTER 3 75 MONEY WISE AND TIME TESTED How They Think We Are Doing 78 Simple Saving Wisdom: Battle of Needs versus Wants 81 Debt Is a Four-Letter Word 83 Time-ly Advice 85 Investing Today-After a Century of Perspective 90 Defining Rich 97 CHAPTER 4 101 WORK WISDOM Take This Job and Love It 102 From Success to Significance 106 Teachers Extraordinaire 112 Keeping Up and Keeping On 118 Wise Work Advice 119 CHAPTER 5 131 THE TOP SECRETS FROM OUR CENTENARIANS Secret 1: Attitude 134 Secret 2: Healthy Eating 137 Secret 3: Faith 139 Secret 4: Exercise and Activity 142 Secret 5: Clean Living 144 Secret 6: Family 147 Secret 7: Genetics 150 Advice to Centenarian Wannabes 151 Why 100? 155 CHAPTER 6 159 THE CENTENARIAN SPIRIT: YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE HEART The Centenarian Spirit 161 The Centenarian Spirit in Action 162 Renegotiating Life 167 Sparks of the Spirit 168 Centenarians on the Go 172 Keeping Life Interesting-Common Interests, Not Common Age 179 Contemporary Centenarians-Thinking and Feeling Young 183 Catch the Spirit: Forget Aging Gracefully-Age Excellently! 192 A Formula for Longevity 195 A Toast to Future Centenarians 195 Appendix: Sharing the Wisdom 197 100 Questions to Capture the Secrets to a Long and Fulfilling Life 198 Notes and Further Reading 203 About the Authors 207