Be happy. Be yourself. If others don't like it, then let them be. 
Happiness is a choice. Life isn't about pleasing everybody.
John Spense

by Skip Cohen

When I started writing this morning, I had no idea what I wanted to write about. But the fun of Sunday Morning Reflections is that it's ALWAYS a blank canvas - I have only one rule: to try NOT to write about marketing.

So, this morning I started by looking for inspiration in Adobe Stock. I've been using stock for post illustrations for many years. When the picture above came up, today's theme hit me. Life doesn't have to be a race, but the older you get, the more focused you are on what you want to do. You wake up one day and realize you have fewer days left in your life than you've lived. The "race" begins.

If you know me even a little bit, you know my love for the craft and especially the respect I have for those of you who are full-time artists. I'm not a full-time artist in photography, but somewhere in life I did become a writer. But like many of you, I wanted a change - not to step away from imaging and business, but to add another direction to my life's journey.

That direction has become a greater focus on the challenges of aging. The new Facebook group is approaching 300 members, and as new podcasts air, it's going to grow. We can't stop the aging process, but we can have more fun with it.

While most guys my age have slowed down, I'm feeling energized and ramping up. Don't get me wrong, I'm slower than I used to be and I still creak for ten minutes when I get up in the morning. I love a mid-day nap (why should kindergartners get all the benefits?) and time to recharge my batteries. I suppose if I were to update the illustration above, this shot would suit me better.

Catch the smile on the old guy's face. That's how I feel working on this new project. It's bringing out energy and hopefully some solid information to help you bring more dignity to aging. It's also given me better focus, and while it's not a race, I don't have all the time in the world like I believed when I was younger.

Somebody recently tossed a negative bomb in a comment to me. You know the kind - trolls who like to dump their negativity on your doorstep, then run. His opinion was that it's time for me to slow down. Well, my mantra for years has never been more appropriate:

I do it because I can. I can because I want to.
I want to because you told me I couldn't!
Unknown Author

Here's my point...if you're not smiling at the start of every new day, then it might be time to change something in your routine. As the expression goes, this isn't a rehearsal - it's the only life you've got. So, focus on what your heart's telling you. "Happiness starts from within. True joy comes when you accept who you are, stop looking for outside approval, and enjoy your own company." GoodReads.com

I hate turning a post into an infomercial, but please check out the new Facebook group and join us. There's so much good content waiting in the wings and coming each week.

In the meantime, make it a day filled with new memories. If you need a slug day, then take it without guilt and appreciate the downtime. If you're pumped and loaded with energy, put it into something you love doing and the "peeps" you love to be with. With a world that's upside down, those eleven-second therapeutic hugs have never been more important to share.

Thanks for hanging out with me - Happy Sunday...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world. ​

by Skip Cohen

This has very little to do with imaging, but it does have to do with something EVERYONE has to deal with... the challenges that come with aging.

With this week's first full "Before They Take Away My Keys" podcast, Pam Polowski joined the discussion. Pam is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and Alzheimer's Trainer here in South Florida. She's very well respected and a good friend to so many of us who have had to deal with a loved one fighting Alzheimer's and dementia.

Pam shares a lot of good tips in this new podcast, but there's another aspect to the series I want to share. It's simply something new I wanted to launch. With a whole lot of help, thanks to my wife Sheila, co-host Chamira Young and several members of the community, it's becoming a reality. In another week, there'll be a website, but for now, if you're interested, please join us in the Facebook group.

Most of you know me from all my years in the photography world. While most people my age have retired, I'm not ready yet!  I had one last project I wanted to get off the ground. When my family was dealing with my mother's fight with Alzheimer's, we couldn't have done it without help from the Sarasota community, specifically the Senior Friendship Centers and their Caregiver Resource Center.

My relationship with the Centers started 14 years ago and led to a long list of different programs/projects involving so many different aspects of aging. The challenges my wife and I are experiencing with our own aging have led us to want to pay it forward and start programming that would help more than just us. This is a forum where we can all exchange ideas and benefit from the experts who will be joining us on future podcasts.

Whether you're in your 40s and dealing with the challenges of a more senior member of your family, or you're noticing changes of your own as you get older, we're going to do our best to cover all the bases in this new series.

Please join us in the Facebook group and then link to the trailer and our first podcast guest. Coming up next is Erin McCleod, CEO of the Senior Friendship Centers and recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, who will be joining us. She is an expert as a full-time advocate helping people establish and maintain dignity in aging.

Thanks for being one of my readers. Your support is so appreciated. Please help us spread the word on the new group. I know we're going to have a lot to offer. Just click on the links below.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
George Bernard Shaw

by Skip Cohen

Not too long ago, I started lightening up my Friday posts. Heading into the weekend, regardless of what you have on the agenda, it takes a little work to clear your head from the day-in-day-out stress of business and life.

On the business side, I've talked to so many artists who are frustrated by ever-changing consumer trends, keeping up with technology, and dealing with the competition. Then, throw in the fact that the world is upside down. The 6:00 PM news has become one of the scariest shows to watch. We're all buried under the stress of politics, the economy, health issues, and the list goes on and on.

So, a few months back I moved to a stronger lifestyle theme on Friday posts. My goal is to remind you that you can't control the outside world, but you can manage your little piece of it. It's all tied to your attitude and making fun a priority. "Fun" is one of those words so often lost under the pressure of being a business owner.

Lou Mitchell wrote the following with the quote above: Engaging in play and maintaining curiosity and enthusiasm can keep us young at heart, regardless of age. The perspective encourages us to incorporate fun, creativity, and joy in our daily lives...Are you prioritizing fun and creativity in your life, or are you becoming bogged down by routine and responsibilities?

Here's my point this morning: Whether you're 30 or pushing 80 - you're only as old as your attitude. To modify something I learned at least 40 years ago from a remarkable motivational speaker, Ed Foreman, and put into my own words: Life is for laughing, loving, and living - not bitching, moaning, and complaining. 

Wishing all of you a terrific weekend ahead. Do your best to focus on things that make you laugh and your heart soar! And if somebody tells you to act your age, subtract at least 10-20 years. It's time to bring back the Peter Pan inside you..."I won't grow up!"

Often when you are at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.
Fred Rogers

By Skip Cohen

A couple of weeks ago, with help from my co-host, Chamira Young, we launched a new Facebook group based on an upcoming podcast series, "Before They Take Away My Keys." Just to say I'm excited about it would be a huge understatement.

My career in this industry started at Polaroid in 1970. The adventures have been non-stop, but I noticed a few months ago that it was time for something dramatically different. My love for the photography industry hasn't changed. I love working with photographers and helping them build stronger businesses, but it's been 13 years since Scott Bourne helped me launch SCU... and I was blogging for 4 years before that.

So, the challenge became one of the great benefits of aging - deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up! LOL  I  want to be doing something that brings together what I've learned from so many of you as entrepreneurs and combine it with fulfilling a need.

*POOF* - getting back to podcasting was the solution...but on topics beyond imaging. We're all dealing with aging, and it doesn't matter if you're 40 or hitting your very senior years. There are so many variables, and I'm a perfect example - I'm not done yet!

Here's my point - it really does take a village! From my wife and muse, Sheila, to friends, family, and especially my co-host for a few hundred podcasts, Chamira Young, everybody has been supportive and shared so many outstanding topic ideas.

Chamira and I recorded a short trailer, and next week we'll start sharing our first episodes. We're starting with a soft launch with a Facebook page, already at 230 members. We're on Apple Podcasts and will eventually be expanding to a full-blown website at www.beforetheytakeawaymykeys.com.

Please join us - whether you're 40 and worried about an aging loved one, or you're much older, this group is about everything from your bucket list to leaving a bigger footprint that you were here, laughed the loudest, and loved the longest.

In the months ahead, with the help of some incredible guests, we'll be sharing ideas to help you navigate the aging maze.

​We can't stop time, but we can help you make the most of it.

It's TGIF and I'm wishing all of you a terrific weekend ahead. In a world that's upside down, make some new memories with the people you love the most!

by Skip Cohen

When I wake up each morning, my body creaks for ten minutes, but I really don't feel any older than I did as a teenager. And, according to my wife, I'm no more mature!

Aging isn't for sissies!  At some point, all of us have to face the challenge that we really do have to give up our car keys, but that's why God created Lyft and Uber! However, before that day comes, we thought it was time for a podcast series that reminds you of the necessity to smile more and bitch less.

So, whether you're 40 and worried about an aging loved one, or you're much older, this group is about everything from your bucket list to leaving a bigger footprint that you were here, laughed the loudest, and loved the longest.

In the months ahead, my co-host, Chamira Young, and I, with the help of some incredible guests, will share tips and guidance to help you navigate the aging maze. We can't stop time, but we can help you make the most of it.

We want to help you live a better life! There are so many topics to share about aging. Whether the challenge is your own aging or caring for a more senior family member, things never seem to slow down. Most important of all, there are so many things people don't talk about until it's too late.

Please listen to the short sneak peek sound bite above and then join us on the "Before They Take Away My Keys" Facebook page, which we hope will eventually become home to a whole bunch of knuckleheads who still refuse to grow up!  Just click the button below.