Don't Let Parkinson's Define You: Rediscovering Joy and Purpose in Life

Don't Let Parkinson's Define You: Rediscovering Joy and Purpose in Life

A powerful episode of Live Parkinson's - Live an Exceptional Life!

A Parkinson's diagnosis can leave you feeling lost, questioning your purpose and passion. But what if we told you it doesn't have to define you? In this episode, we explore the empowering journey of rediscovering joy and purpose in the face of Parkinson's.

Join us as we:

• Shift perspectives: Learn how to redefine "normal" and embrace your remaining strengths.
• Explore practical strategies: Discover actionable steps for self-reflection and exploring potential passions.
• Hear inspiring stories: Be ignited by real-life examples of individuals thriving with purpose after a Parkinson's diagnosis.
• Uncover the power of community: Connect with others who understand your journey and build a supportive network.

This episode is for you if:

• You're living with Parkinson's and seeking to rekindle your passion and purpose.
• You're a caregiver supporting someone with Parkinson's and looking for ways to help them find meaning.
• You're simply interested in learning more about resilience and living a fulfilling life in the face of challenges.

Don't let Parkinson's dim your light! Tune in and discover the power within you to live a life filled with joy, purpose, and exceptional experiences.

#ParkinsonsDisease #ParkinsonsAwareness #ThriveWithParkinsons #RediscoverJoy #FindYourPurpose #LiveYourBestLife #Motivation #Inspiration

References:
Parkinson's Foundation
American Parkinson's Disease Association

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Get my book - Spectacular Life - 4 Essential Strategies for Living with Parkinsons - My Journey to Happiness to learn more about living a great quality of life with Parkinson's

Visit my You Tube Channel - Live Parkinson's -Live An Exceptional Life - Tremors Tor Triumph

Visit my website Liveparkinsons.comto sign up for the free Monthly Newsletter and read blog articles to help you lead a great quality of life.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only is not intended to treat or diagnose Parkinson's Disease. Please ensure that you are following the treatment plan developed by your doctor. Please ensure before starting anything new you get approval from your doctor. The information being provided is based on my own personal experiences and does not guarantee that it will benefit everyone.

Please visit me at Liveparkinsons.com

Get my book - Spectacular Life - 4 Essential Strategies for Living with Parkinson's - My Journey to Happiness

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York JCC Momentum - York JCC

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:11

Hello and welcome to Live Parkinson's Live an Exceptional Life. I'm your host, chris Custombotter, and I've been living an exceptional life with Parkinson's for the past 14 years. The mission of this podcast is to help as many people as possible living with Parkinson's lead a great quality of life. Today's topic is Living with Passion, discovering Purpose and Fulfillment in the Face of Parkinson's. So why is this such an important topic? Well, nearly 1 million people in the US are living with Parkinson's, and that number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by the year 2030, according to the Parkinson's Foundation. And PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's, again according to the Parkinson's Foundation. And then, finally, 70% of people with PD will experience depression at some point in their lives, and that's from the American Parkinson's Disease Association. So it's imperative to help people diagnose with Parkinson's live both with passion, purpose and fulfillment, so that they don't become isolated and lose their desire to participate in life. So won't you join me as we share ways to find purpose and fulfillment and live life on our terms, even after a Parkinson's diagnosis? Now, while this podcast is designed to be optimistic and provide strategies for finding passion and purpose in your Parkinson's journey, I also want to be realistic and discuss the challenges that we all face on our identity, passion and purpose when confronted with a Parkinson's diagnosis. So let's start with the bad news first and then transition into focusing on becoming like a phoenix and rising from the proverbial ashes of a Parkinson's diagnosis. Now I'll share my personal story and the impact and challenges I've dealt with after my diagnosis so that hopefully, you can relate to the experiences of others.

Speaker 1: 2:15

I was in my early 40s when I first noticed a slight tremor in my left hand. I mentioned it to the neurologist I was seeing for a nerve issue that I had gotten from Lyme's disease. The neurologist said it was nothing to worry about because sometimes it runs in families, especially since my mom's hand would shake. I took what I was told and didn't really worry about the tremor and got back to living my life. Then, two or three years later, when I would be sitting in the car after making a sales call for my job, my two pinky fingers would stick up in the air and I wasn't able to put them down. I thought this was really strange, but it only did this over a two to three period and would last about an hour and then it would go away, so there was no pain associated with it, so I really didn't think much about it.

Speaker 1: 3:06

About nine months later, I was on vacation with my family in Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland and my wife and I had gone for a morning walk and when we got back she ran to the grocery store. About 20 minutes after she left my left hand began to shake and I couldn't get it to stop. My kids got nervous and they called my wife and said Dad's hand is shaking and it won't stop. My wife came back and said we're going to the emergency room to get this checked out. We need to figure out what's going on. I said no, I'm fine, it'll stop in a little bit. I'm probably just tired from the long hilly walk that we took. She kept insisting and I finally said okay. So she wouldn't really stop bugging me. That's the real reason. I said okay, be honest.

Speaker 1: 3:57

At the ER doctor they did an examination and then came back and said the tremor is probably stress related. I didn't say anything at the time but I was thinking to myself stress related, I'm on vacation. So when we got home from vacation I was able to get an appointment with a neurologist and he was great and we did a series of steps to try and determine the source of the tremor. I told him. The ER doctor said it was stress related. The neurologist said well, that could be a possibility, because sometimes underlying stress can cause a host of issues that can manifest in all sorts of different places in the body. So he said well, let's try an anti anxiety drug to see if that'll help you with the tremor. And then we scheduled an appointment for me to come back in a month to see if there was any improvement.

Speaker 1: 4:50

During that month period on the anxiety medication. I began dragging my left leg when I walked and then when I returned for my next visit I told him about dragging my left leg when I walked in and I still had the tremor. So he wanted to roll out nerve conduction problems and wanted to get a nerve conduction test on me. So we scheduled the nerve conduction test and if you've never had one, they're pretty fun Actually, no, just kidding. You show up for the test and they place needles at different points in your body along your shins, in your near your cheeks, in your in your arm, and then they run electric current through it to determine if you can feel it and if your nerves are conducting the impulses.

Speaker 1: 5:35

So after acing that test, he decided to try me on a Parkinson's medication to see if that helped with the tremor. He prescribed a dopamine agonist and within two days the tremor disappeared. So he suggested I see a movement disorder specialist and he referred me to the neurology clinic at the University of Maryland and that's where he went to medical school and he said there was, they have a great staff. So I was able to get an appointment with the movement disorder specialist at the University of Maryland and I went for my first examination and after Evaluating me and listening to my symptoms, she diagnosed me with Parkinson's. This was 14 years ago. She mentioned at the time as well that it's not a death sentence, that you can live a good quality life with Parkinson's. There are going to be challenges, but if you're willing to face the challenges, follow your medication that's prescribed and Exercise, you can still lead a great quality of life.

Speaker 1: 6:40

So on my our ride home and and I was sitting in the passenger seat and looking out the window and I had time to think about the diagnosis I just received and I thought to myself I'm only 46 years old and I had degenerative brain disease. Then the questions began to swirl throughout my mind Am I going to be able to work and support my family? Am I still going to be able to participate in the hobbies and activities I enjoy? Or am I going to become a burden on my family? Will someone need to take care of me? You see how easy it is to let the negative thoughts spiral out of control quickly. So it was at this point that I put the brakes on and I said to myself you've got a crucial decision to make, and I was either going to feel sorry for myself and Let Parkinson's take control and leave me down the negative road of anger, denial and pity, or I was determined to take control. So, of course, I decided to take control and bring Parkinson's along for the ride.

Speaker 1: 7:49

It was at this point I got home and I spent the next two months Researching Parkinson's, everything I could find from clinical studies, and then I also began studying exceptional people that were doing Great things after a Parkinson's diagnosis, because I wanted to understand what they were doing so that I could apply the same things, because anytime you want to learn something and you want to get good at it, and you want to get good at it relatively quickly, without reinventing the wheel. Look at people that are already great and what did they do to get to where they they wanted to be? So I took all the the two months of research that I collected and and everything I learned from studying these exceptional people, and I distilled it down into the four strategies for living an exceptional life with Parkinson's, and they were exercise, nutrition, attitude and optimism, and community and social interaction. So those were the four strategies or pillars that I was going to use, with laser focus, to help me live a great quality of life with Parkinson's, and I write about it in my book, spectacular life the four strategies for living with Parkinson's disease, if you, if you're interested in learning more.

Speaker 1: 9:13

Now again. I was diagnosed at 46. I was able to work another six years until my Parkinson's symptoms caused me to have to leave the workforce and About six months after I stopped working, I felt like I lost my purpose in life. I just kind of felt like I was wondering. You know, my friends and family were going to work and accomplishing things and I just didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything. I didn't feel like I was making any contributions and it started to become depressing and I began looking for ways to find purpose in my life. You know, I wanted to feel like I'm making a contribution, I want to be able to help others and I want to get a sense of personal satisfaction at the end of the day that I actually learned something or made contributions, that we're going to help other people. And so I Sat back and I started doing again.

Speaker 1: 10:13

I went back to doing some of the research and I started just searching on the on the internet and I came across looking for different websites on Hobbies or activities or learning, and I happen to come across a and adult learning site called you to me and I thought that was a great opportunity for me to learn new things. So it's a online learning class where there's all kinds of online classes for hundreds of different topics, from photography to computers, to health, to working on gardening, nutrition Anything you want to learn you can probably pretty much find on there. So I thought it was a great opportunity to learn new things and and find purpose again in my life. So I took a course on designing websites by using code HTML code, css and JavaScript to help Create your website and Then, while I was learning code. My daughter, emily, mentioned that she'd like to get into blogging and eventually write a book. She was a journalism public relations major in college and and she was busy working, so I took a course on blogging so that I could share the information.

Speaker 1: 11:34

As I was going through the blogging class, a light bulb suddenly went off and I thought to myself you know, I could really use what I'm learning with the website and with blogging to help others diagnose with Parkinson's and help them lead a great quality life, based on all the research that I've done. And that's when I decided to jump in with both feet and start a website so that I could write blogs to help others. And it was while I was learning website development and blogging that I made many mistakes and challenges along the way. So it wasn't 100% perfection from the beginning and two years later, I'm still, you know, working to learn as much as I can to make the website better and give people a better user experience. And so, in the spring of 2022, I launched live Parkinson'scom as the website that I was going to use to write articles and share information on helping people live a great quality of life. So it's there that I share my story and it's there that I write blogs on the four strategies to help people live a great quality of life.

Speaker 1: 12:56

And after writing a few blogs, my mentor suggested that I take what I've written and write a book to share my story. And I thought about that for a little bit because, honestly, I'm don't consider myself William Shakespeare or a great author or writer, and so I molded over for a little bit and then I finally said to myself okay, I'm going to step outside my comfort zone, I'll write a book. And so I wrote a book to share my story and spent the next six months writing, editing and revising the book and published it on Amazon. It's called spectacular life for essential strategies for living with Parkinson's my journey to happiness. And then, a few months after launching the book and getting some very positive feedback, my mentor suggested that I start a podcast. And again I was apprehensive and again thought about it and just said okay, I'm going to step outside my comfort zone. And I spent several months researching and about podcasts and how to create a podcast and how to distribute your podcast and then how to make sure that you're getting in front of the audience, that that you're trying to help or give information to. So I spent several months researching and then I launched the podcast, the Parkinson's live an exceptional life in October of 2023.

Speaker 1: 14:31

And then I guess, if I didn't have enough to do, my mentor again said we're talking, and I was. I was talking about my weight loss struggles and I talked about being on a roller coaster with my weight loss. I pretty much my entire life I would gain weight, lose weight, gain weight, lose weight. And I always like to say that, instead of buying the one day ticket for the weight loss roller coaster ride, I inadvertently bought the lifetime pass and I just told her that I most goals I set I'm able to achieve with no problem, but for this one I was struggling. And she said why don't you start a YouTube channel to share what you know about Parkinson's, based on your past experiences and the four strategies, and then, as part of that, talk about your weight loss struggles to help people as well that are struggling with their weight, and you can use it to hold yourself accountable, and then you can, and then others can see that you're working hard to try to lose the weight. So that's what I did, and so I again I went back and did a lot of research on how to start a YouTube channel, and I spent about two months doing that.

Speaker 1: 15:52

And then I was very apprehensive, because I don't like getting my picture taken and now I have to make videos with me in it. That was a little. That was very nerve wracking for me, but I, in order to grow, I said, okay, I'm going to step out and step off the cliff and go ahead and do it. And so in late January of this year 20, 24, I launched a YouTube channel live Parkinson's, live an exceptional life. And the tagline there is tremors to triumph, because I want people to see that Parkinson's doesn't have to hold you back from doing the things that you wanted to do.

Speaker 1: 16:38

Now, the reason I wanted to go into so much detail about my story was to show you you can find purpose and meaning and fulfillment in your life after a Parkinson's diagnosis. And, believe me, like many of you, when you're faced with a diagnosis and you go home and you feel like you've lost your, your purpose, or you've lost your way, or you just don't feel like you're making a contribution. So I know exactly how you feel. It's almost like you're a bottle bobbing in the ocean and you've got no direction. You're just falling, whatever way the wind is is blowing you. So what I wanted to distress in telling my story is that you can change your thinking and have a purpose, and so think outside the box and discover new things and ways to use your strengths and your abilities to do things that give you personal fulfillment and satisfaction, and maybe that's to help others as well. So maybe not only you're helping yourself, but you're you. Maybe you're volunteering or teaching others new skills, or maybe it's learning a new hobby like painting or sculpture, music, dance, anything that reignites your passion, because that's what it's all about.

Speaker 1: 17:56

Don't let Parkinson's take your life from you and so you become isolated and drop out of all the activities you enjoy, enjoy life and find things that you're passionate about. So the key is to stay engaged so you don't begin to isolate yourself and get down the dark road that I talked about earlier, which is very easy to do. You have the power to learn and try new things, create those new neural pathways and you want to get some. Get the benefits of accomplishing things you never thought or felt like you were able to accomplish before. You can do a lot of great things if you're willing to search for it and put the time in, set some goals and maybe create a bucket list. Ask yourself what do I want to do? What do I want to learn Will give me purpose and fulfillment. For instance, maybe you wanted to learn about photography and travel and take photos of exciting destinations. Nothing's holding you back. Accept yourself. You can achieve great things by setting goals, and Not only setting goals, but the key is to take action.

Speaker 1: 19:14

The old adage is true what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve. Now, a life with passion and fulfillment is in front of each and every one of us. If we just put our fear in our negative feelings aside and our ego aside, because sometimes we're worried about what people think or oh Well, look at them, they've got tremors or geezer, balance isn't very good, or do they have to use a cane. So it's helpful if we can check our ego at the door as well and just go for it and it's like I've. I tell my kids and I tell others you can't make other people happy. You can. You can only make yourself happy. So make yourself happy by finding things that are going to Give you a sense of purpose, that you're passionate about and that you enjoy. You know. Don't be afraid to seek help from others on discovering what it is that can help you find your purpose. Now, remember, you're gonna make mistakes along the way. We all do, we all fail, we all fall down. It's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get up. And One of the quotes that I've heard through life is remember that life begins at the edge of your comfort zone, so don't be afraid to step out of out of your comfort zone.

Speaker 1: 20:36

Okay, now that I've talked about the challenges of Parkinson's diagnosis and We've shifted and changed our perspective on how we we look at our diagnosis and Finding fulfillment, let's look at some of the specific Strategies or steps that we can use to help us uncover our passions and lead a fulfilling and enjoyable life after a Parkinson's diagnosis. So you want to be able to look Parkinson's in the face and say you're not stopping me, I'm gonna do what I want and I'm gonna learn what I want. And so one of the things you can start out doing is reflect on your past back and look at some of the old hobbies and Pastimes and jot down a list of things that you enjoyed before your diagnosis. Maybe they were things you did 10, 15, 20 years ago but maybe got away from because of work or family responsibilities, and Now would be a great time to pull those out. Could be hobbies. Maybe you like to travel, maybe you like dancing, maybe you like going to Broadway shows or concerts. So we visit those old pastimes. What is it that you've done in the past that maybe you still have that fire for in your in your belly to go and and Read and redo that to help give you some passion in your life.

Speaker 1: 22:00

And then you want to identify your strengths and values. What is it that you're good at? Is it something that you can share with others and what are your key values? I mean, we all have key values that we love about. We all have key values that we love by or a set of morals. What are your values and how do they fit in with your strengths? For example, do you enjoy helping people Deal or do you like creating things? Could be a physical thing, like you're into woodworking and you're building a coffee table. Or it could be art, where you're into painting or music. Maybe you want to get into either learning a new instrument or learning how to write and produce music. So if they're your strengths and they fit in with your values and you've and you've got a passion to do it and it's something that you're really going to enjoy, then go ahead and jump in with both feet.

Speaker 1: 23:00

I know when I had to stop working and thought I had lost my purpose. Learning new things that I could apply to help myself and others really Energize me, so let it energize you as well. Consider past challenges when there activities that you always wanted to try but never did. What held you back. Why not use this opportunity to try these activities now? I Know I'll give you an example.

Speaker 1: 23:28

I know I always wanted to play, learn to play guitar, but I never did. And after my Parkinson's diagnosis, about four years into it, I decided I was going to Take the leap and I was going to learn how to play guitar, because I wanted to be able to play songs that I listened to growing up and that are on the radio, and be able to play for friends and family. I thought, well, that's gonna be very rewarding for me and it's something that I'm going to enjoy. So I had to ask myself Can I do these activities? Was I going to be able to learn guitar. I mean, after all, I have to make chord shapes with my Left hand, which is the one I have tremors in, and I don't have the best manual dexterity. But the guitar has helped me with my fine motor skills and it's helped me and the music has helped me as well.

Speaker 1: 24:20

Stay on steady beat when, if you have freezing it's, I just think back to the music and it gets me, gets my feet moving again. Learn new possibilities. Talk to others, your family and friends. Do you know other Parkinson's patients? What are they doing? What are their passions and hobbies? And Ask them what, what are they passionate about and why and how are they living a fulfilling life? How are they finding purpose? Use online resources. Look for websites or articles, forums dedicated different hobbies and activities. By looking at those, you might something might pique your interest and you'll say, wow, that sounds interesting. I'd really like to try that Now.

Speaker 1: 25:06

When I was thinking I wanted to learn guitar, I started out by watching a number of YouTube videos on learning how to play guitar and I talked to people who played guitar and the next thing I did is I went over to the local music store and talked to the owner, bob, and he helped me alleviate my fears about trying To learn guitar with Parkinson's. He gave me great guidance and he helped me even select a beginner guitar that I could start with, and Ever since then about six years now it's been a great journey and I've learned a lot of great songs. I've met a lot of great people in my guitar journey. So don't be afraid to use the resources that are available to you. You know network is always going to help you in the long run. And then experiment and be open-minded. Start small now.

Speaker 1: 26:00

The key is is not to say to yourself oh, I want to try to learn five or six new things at one time to give me purpose in my life. Pick one or two things that are you're really passionate about, that you really enjoy, and then focus like a laser on that and those are gonna give you Satisfaction, they're gonna help you, give you purpose and they're gonna give you enjoyment. So try not to overwhelm yourself with too many things at one time. I know it's easy I say that to myself as I sit here and do a website, a, a podcast and a YouTube channel but it's something that we can all keep in mind when we're doing things and then be adaptable. If something seems too challenging, try to modify it to fit your abilities. You can maybe use some assistive devices like Keynes or walkers, as we're asked for help to find Alternative ways that you can participate in the activity that you want to join. And I want to give you an example.

Speaker 1: 27:02

One of my friends in our momentum group and that's for people with Parkinson's and other neurological disorders there's a class every day and we do exercise and cognitive things, but we also do social activities as well, and we were talking one day and she said that she read my book and she was very inspired and she always wanted to start a website. And because she wanted to, she does. She writes stories and poetry and she wanted to be able to share her stories and poetry online via a website. And I said, joan, I'll be happy to help you. And so we sat down together and we designed her website and I showed her how to upload her stories and poems and Pictures, that and those type of things that she wanted to put on her website and she's done a fantastic job. So I want to give out plug to Joan, or a shout out to her website, which is called press on with Parkinson's calm. So if you're looking for positive, uplifting stories and poems in inspiration, I encourage you to visit her website as well. Again, it's press on with Parkinson's calm, think.

Speaker 1: 28:21

Another step or strategy that you can use is To be open to new experiences. Don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and try something completely new. When I took the course on writing websites or Designing websites with code, I knew nothing about HTML code or CSS or JavaScript, but it was a great learning experience for me and then I was able to Take the code and create the parts of my website. So don't be afraid to try new things. I'll give you another example from my momentum class. A good friend of mine, andy, decided he wanted to learn boxing, something he'd never done before, so it was something completely different. Andy was a music teacher and, after his parking Parkinson's diagnosis, decided he wanted to learn to box because it was beneficial to help him with his motor symptoms. So he went out in a ledge, signed up to work out with the trainer and learn to box. And Andy does a great job and has acquired boxing skills while at the same time helping him manage his Parkinson's symptoms. And then Three other people in the momentum class have also done some great things and I want to share those with you as well.

Speaker 1: 29:44

Joan, who I mentioned has the website. Donna and Shelley from our Parkinson's class decided they wanted to try a group fitness class called Soul Fusion. The instructor, susanna, that instructs the soul fusion class also teaches our one of our momentum classes. So soul fusion is it's a combination of yoga, cardio, pilates or ab work and strength training, and originally they were all apprehensive to attend, but Susanna kept nudging them and eventually they decided to give it a try and now they attend class on a regular basis and they modify the moves when they have to or the yoga poses and, believe it or not, they end up turning into an inspiration for all the other people in the class, because those people look at Joan, donna and Shelley and say, wow, even with Parkinson's they can still Do what they want to do.

Speaker 1: 30:56

Another thing you can do is to focus on the process and not the destination. Remember enjoy the journey. If you're starting something new and you're passionate about it, don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to Be great or I need to complete this right away. Just enjoy the experience and remember, learning any new thing takes time, and the easiest way to Learn something new is to break it down into small pieces. Learn a little piece and then build and continue to build on that and, before you know it, you're going to have learned and be proficient at whatever the skill is that you were trying to learn. And then it's also important to celebrate even small victories. Celebrate your victories along the way, no matter how much progress you feel like you're making. It might seem small, and I know it's frustrating when you feel like your progress is stalled or you've plateaued. I've done that in guitar, but I've done that in exercise with many things in life, so it's important that you reward yourself along the way and be able to feel good about what you've learned. Now I'll give you an example.

Speaker 1: 32:09

When I was learning guitar and I talk about this in the book I struggled with the C chord. It's where you have to stretch your fingers across three different frets, and for two weeks I kept struggling and then, by being patient and practicing every night, I was finally able to make the C chord and be able to transition from one chord, one C chord, to another chord in a timely manner. Now it made me very happy because now I could play a bunch of songs with a that had a C chord in, where before I wasn't able to do that. So there's thousands of songs out there that have a C chord. So now, because I was patient, took the time and focused, I was able to meet my goal of making a C chord and then embrace the learning curve.

Speaker 1: 33:01

You know, be patient with yourself, give yourself permission to make mistakes. I'll be honest, I'm the king of making mistakes. My wife will probably tell you that as well. But remember, even all the great inventors were the results of things failing many, many times. In fact. Look up a little statistic for you Thomas Edison failed 2,774 times, according to his records, before he reached the working design of the incandescent light bulb. And then Milton Hershey of the famed Hershey chocolates and Hershey Park amusement park. He failed at six businesses before finally succeeding. And then he and his wife started a school called the Milton S Hershey School for orphan boys, which has since transitioned to helping boys and girls that are in need or lost in the system a place to go to school that's covered by the endowments from the school.

Speaker 1: 34:10

So just remember that we all learn and grow from our failures. It's okay to make mistakes. It's people, it's all the time. That's how we learn. The best way to learn something is to make a mistake, so don't let mistakes and failures set you back. And then finally connect with others, join some clubs or online communities that are related to your new interest or passion, and share your experiences with others. Those are all key things to help with your Parkinson's journey.

Speaker 1: 34:46

Now a few things to consider and keep in mind when you're trying to find your passion and your purpose is to set realistic goals and expectations. That way, you're not getting discouraged. What you don't wanna do is say, oh, I'm gonna learn this in two months if it's something that's complex and if it's something that you really enjoy and maybe you're able to do it for the rest of your life. I like to fly fish, and so fly fishing is an activity that you can do for a lifetime, and I like to tie flies and play guitar. So the key is to set realistic goals and expectations so that you don't get disappointed and just say, oh, I can't do it, and then pick things you enjoy that are gonna give you a sense of accomplishment, and don't look at the whatever the perceived difficulty is. So you may be really interested in something, but go, oh, that's real difficult, and then you decide, nope, I can't learn it. And then you miss out on a great opportunity to learn something new. You can learn new things. You just have to break them down into small pieces and again learn the first piece and then continually build on, and you'd be surprised at the things that you can learn.

Speaker 1: 36:02

And one of the things I'm gonna work on personally helping others is I talked about Joan and her website. She wanted to learn to play guitar for her worship group at church, and so I had lent her one of my guitars and gave her the information on the chords, and then the other day she stopped back and said that she was having difficulty and maybe guitar wasn't for her. But I'm gonna ask her again and say I'll personally teach you to play guitar and show you how to do it, and maybe that'll give her the confidence to overcome the hurdle. Maybe, maybe not, but it's something that I really wanna try to help her through, since she has such a passion for playing in her church worship group. And then, most importantly, have fun, enjoy the learning experiences and the new things that you're participating in and you'll discover you can achieve more than you ever thought you could.

Speaker 1: 36:55

Now I consider you all my friends, and living with Parkinson's can be a challenge. It doesn't have to define you, but I'm gonna be honest, it is challenging. Now, within each of us, even in the face of Parkinson's, there still lies a spark, a passion waiting to be rekindled. You have a purpose waiting to be rediscovered, because ultimately, it's about having. You want to have a life with fulfillment, purpose and happiness, to be able to live the life that you want.

Speaker 1: 37:33

And remember the stories you heard today are some of the testaments to that possibility. I talked about Andy and I talked about Donna, shelley and Joan, and they just show you that passion isn't extinguished by Parkinson's diagnosis, but rather you can use it to transform you, to shine in new, different ways. So what's your spark? What ignites your soul and brings you joy? Think about that, take a step back and take the time to think. That's my spark and what is it that I really enjoy, and then don't be afraid to explore and experiment and step outside your comfort zone. Your journey to fulfillment is going to be different from mine or your friends or your families, but the destination is still the same, and that's to find joy, purpose and happiness and meaning and live a fulfilling life. So here's my call to action to you Take one step today.

Speaker 1: 38:39

Let fear or doubt hold you back. Use one activity, one idea that sparks your interest or your curiosity, and take that first step and see where it leads you. So don't be afraid. You pick action and then, after you've taken the action, share your story. Inspire others by sharing your journey. Others are looking at you saying, wow, you've got Parkinson's, how are you getting around? And you seem so well grounded and you can talk about how you've got your purpose and your fulfillment in life by jumping into some of the passions that you've always thought about and then embrace the journey. Remember it's not a race. You don't have to race to get done and check things off a checklist, or you don't have to be the winner. You'll be the winner when you take that first step and you go a little bit at a time. Take every single victory, no matter how big or small. Learn from your setbacks, because we all have them, but keep moving in a forward direction with hope and determination. Living with passion and purpose in the face of Parkinson's is not just possible, but it's necessary. It's a force that's going to allow us to truly live an exceptional life. When you find your passion and fulfillment, that's going to, in turn, lead to a great quality of life and a great, happy and fulfilled life. Join us, ignite your passion and let's live Parkinson's, live an exceptional life.

Speaker 1: 40:20

This is my website, live Parkinson's, and my YouTube channel, live Parkinson's Live an Exceptional Life. Remers to Triumph and learn more about not only my journey, but the journey of Parkinson's and helping to find your purpose in life. I found mine and I hope that you find yours as well. Also, if you would indulge me and do me a favor is go to fanlistcom Live Parkinson's life and I'll put a link in the description below, but leave me a comment, a suggestion, or share your story. I'd love to hear from you. Please leave your story in the community, where others can learn what great things that you're doing and they can share their stories as well. We can help each other live the best quality of life as possible. Remember, you're not alone, you're strong, you're resilient and you have the power to live a life full of passion and purpose. Thanks for listening and I'll see you in future podcasts.