Eli Davidson, who’s appeared on CNN, The Today Show, NBC Dallas, Joan Knows Best, and more – has much to offer, especially to women who are in and around menopause.
Dr. Mache Seibel: You got so much publicity when you first started sharing your approach to business. Your book, Funky to Fabulous, is an international bestseller. Perhaps we could chat a bit about where you are today, what’s important to you, what you are thinking about and what you’re up to.
Eli Davidson: My life really began at 40. It’s been such an exciting quantum leap for me – and this is really the space that we work with our clients in – having them achieve a quantum leap of a 300% or even 500% growth in their business. We were really honored that my company and I were chosen by Richard Branson’s team to be mentoring entrepreneurs who have businesses that are not just going to be profitable, but are going to change the world. It’s really an honor because I’m being surrounded by people who think even bigger than I do. I remember when the company first needed us to have the support to scale to a billion.
Dr. Seibel: That’s pretty transformative.
Eli: That’s very transformative. It is just a number, but there’s a difference in people that are really committed to making a difference on the planet.
Dr. Seibel: So you’re working with entrepreneurs who are trying to really have an impact on our planet – maybe beyond – and they’re successful in achieving goals and in achieving high profits. You are helping them in their journey and that is a pretty awesome position to be in. I’m sure the concepts they bring are eye opening. Can you give us an example?
Eli: One company is committed to and working on changing the global food supply chain.
Dr. Seibel: That makes sense.
Eli: Changing the global food supply chain is a big idea that really can impact all of us. Another company that we’re working with is in the early stages of technology that can create a computer that’s three times faster than the fastest super computer. That sounds kind of futuristic, but what that really means is that the cures for cancer, AIDS, Ebola, and other diseases with this technology can take potentially years or months, instead of decades. Globally, there are so many wonderful scientists who have so much data – but they can’t get it to one another fast enough. Of course, we’d really like to see cures for all of these diseases in our lifetime. This was very inspiring to get the support from people with big missions. There is one other thing I’d like to share with fellow women who are over 40.
Dr. Seibel: You’ve said that’s when life begins.
Eli: Yes. These are people who sometimes feel afraid – they have their own bad-hair days, they got rejected like everybody else. They have days where they don’t feel confident. As a fellow woman, the message I want to relay is that they’re feeling the same challenges that all of us feel. It’s really an encouragement for women over 40 to go for your dreams! The years over 40 are your jubilee years.
Dr. Seibel: Your point is very important because too much time has been spent stigmatizing women for a natural transition like puberty, which is, going from a child into womanhood. Menopause is going from womanhood into mature womanhood, – a time of wisdom. It’s an opportunity to share what you know and to bring so much more to the world. Yet it is often viewed simply as aging, which is both a pity and wrong. You call it a jubilee.
Eli: It is a jubilee because once a woman is really a wise woman, we are less encumbered by the joyous but all-consuming business of rearing children. What I see is that after 40 is when a woman really taps into what we call the supra, or the above self or higher self that really dwells throughout her entire life.
A wise woman is more apt to tap into her supra self and the best part of herself, that wisest part of herself. It is that part of her that is inspired, courageous and really ready to give back to the planet. That supra self is what women can really engage with. It is really the legacy that we are here to leave that actually goes past our own nuclear family.
Dr. Seibel: So it is more than just being the parent of DNA that takes the form of children who are your legacy to the world. You’re saying that there’s so much more to give and to offer to others because you’re now so much wiser and have so much that people could learn from you.
Eli: Yes, absolutely, that’s so beautifully put. Women in their jubilee years have a pull to legacy. I’d say most women in their jubilee years are really eager to give back, not only to their planet, to their family, but to the world! That’s why to me it is the jubilee years. People are really a service to the world when people will never know our names – but will be touched by our work.
Dr. Seibel: Giving to someone as a known person is a very high form of charity, but giving anonymously in some religions is the highest form of charity. It’s really a totally selfless thing in which the good of doing is reward enough. So you’re saying to tap into that and really realize that giving is something that rewards you in ways you may not understand and now you have the emotional, mental and spiritual wisdom to benefit many people. So take advantage of that and let others take advantage of it.
Eli: They’re doing a lot of research that there’s an empathy gene. I haven’t seen the data on this yet, but I feel very confident that in the next five years they will discover that women in their jubilee years have a closer tie with compassion and empathy.
Dr. Seibel: Wouldn’t it be interesting if genes were not only there but actually have be activated to be expressed? Wouldn’t it be interesting if there was a time in life when genes for positive behaviors would be activated in some way? That somehow we could merge the science and the spirit to go together, to turn on our empathy?
Eli: I think it’s actually almost an antidote to some of the physical challenges women go through in menopause, to really have that clear intention of being of service and of being used for a mighty purpose and really tapping into our human greatness, even if our body is not feeling particularly comfortable. That when we really come to that higher purpose, that supra self. Those are the qualities that can override physical discomfort.
Dr. Seibel: I’ve taken care of some ten thousand women over the last 30 years or so and I’ve seen many women transition from one phase of life into another. Women are often the nurturers for their children, their friends, their partner, and of their parents transitioning to getting older. The one person that many women don’t have time for is themselves. Society often compares them to an earlier physical self when there were fewer wrinkles and perhaps smaller waistlines. Many times women lose self-esteem. Sometimes they feel they don’t have a value or purpose as their children leave the house. How can we help women offer the wisdom they have to so many others when in some instances they don’t feel good about themselves?
Eli: The supra self is really very different than the ego self. The ego is really our physical body, our mind and our emotion. If our identity is on our waistline or our wrinkles, we’re really caught up in a limiting pattern and even a limiting view of ourselves. Our wrinkles or our waistline is actually the smallest part of us. When a woman really identify herself – who she truly is, which is her spirit, her supra self, – it allows her to look in the mirror and see her beauty even with a lot more wrinkles.
Dr. Seibel: You’re saying that what you see in the mirror is really the covering of the real treasure; what is within. The beauty within is really the richness that we all possess and women have a particularly ample amount as they age – experiences that tie into a meaningful tool they can share.
Eli: Ever so true! My challenge to you is to take five minutes today go look in the mirror. I’m going to join you in doing this. Look into your eyes and see the window of your soul, see the beauty of the supra self! Look past your wrinkles and look into the beauty of who you are! That’s step one.
Step two is to go out and do some action that demonstrates your beauty to another human being. That can be as simple as putting a coin in a parking meter for someone else. Or send an anonymous gift to a nonprofit. As you engage the supra self, you become more connected to the beauty of who you are. The bodily changes that we see during menopause is not who we really are.
Dr. Seibel: You’re saying that within you is something special, within you is a deep rooted resource, but like water in a well, you have to prime the pump. You’re saying prime the pump and see the fountain flow.
Eli: Yes, absolutely! And the more that you can take this inspired action– it connects you with your spirit. That’s really the magic key: go in, connect with your spirit, take an action. When a woman or any human being engages in that process, it’s almost impossible for them not to feel good about themselves because they are doing their best to really follow the spirit inside of them and share it with the world.
Dr. Seibel: What you’re saying is that if you think about the people who took care of you, who nurtured you, whoever helped you at any point in your life, when you needed a hand and they lent it, when you needed a little change and they lent it, probably what you remember is their actions – and not the wrinkles on their face.
Eli: Absolutely! To me, the wrinkles on our face are almost a call from our supra self to disengage from our ego, to really grow up in the best sense of that, to really grow into the upward vision of ourselves so that we see ourselves as we truly are, not as the very limited misidentified view of ourselves .
Dr. Seibel: You’re saying to use the changes in your body to recognize you’re at a time where you mean so much more than the appearance of some superficial things. Dig down deep, tap into that, and go to action. What are some of the tips that you can give to women to really have the best years after 40?
Eli: Ladies, get feisty! I’m sorry if looking at magazines makes you feel bad about yourself. Don’t subscribe to them. Decide how you want to live your life and go for it. I got divorced at 40. This isn’t everyone’s path. I really like partnership and I was very committed to holding the vision of having the man that I wanted to share my life with – and I met him at 55! Have the courage to not let age hold you back from having your dreams come true. So get feisty; if someone makes you feel bad or has a comment that you don’t like, speak up.
10 Tips for Living Your Best Life After 40:
• Quit subscribing to or reading magazines that make you feel bad about yourself.
• Decide how you really want to live your life and take a leap – go for it!
• Never let age keep you from living your dreams.
• Don’t be afraid to speak up about your needs, thoughts and feelings.
• Find something you love about yourself and nurture it.
• Be open to self-discovery – you might be surprised at what you learn about yourself.
• Enjoy love! It doesn’t have to be with a romantic partner – nurture your friendships and the relationships you share with family.
• Make sure you have a circle of support – everyone needs this.
• Give back – the more you give, the more you get.
• Get feisty!
Eli: If you’re a woman that is really committed to making a global impact, please come to our website and that is www.diamius.com where we gather with other women to really make an impact on the planet.
Dr. Seibel: In the spirit of giving that Eli so beautifully spoke about, I’d like to offer a free eBook: Changes During the Change: What to expect and what to do about it. Go to www.FreeMenopauseEBook.com and get your free eBook today.
