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Jul 04

Youtube’s Most Famous Family

The Fourth of July is about fireworks, barbecues, and family gatherings.

Shay Carl Butler and his family have made an art form of documenting their family life, and they have monetized it!

A manual laborer for years, Shay Carl posted his first video on youtube while on break at his job installing granite counter tops. Today, Shay Carl’s full time job is posting daily videos of his family on youtube. Sound boring? Not even. Check out his Shaytards Youtube Channel, which now has over 2.3 billion views!

Shay Carl also co-founded Maker Studios, which was sold to Disney in 2015 for almost $1 billion dollars! His latest project is the Trixin Clothing Line, which is also a family business.

Do you have a hobby or a passion that you would like to monetize and turn into a business?

Jul 03

Farewell To Holocaust Survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel

I read Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, Night, when it was selected by Oprah’s Book Club in 2006. The book is a detailed memoir of his experiences as a teenager in Auschwitz. It is one of the most widely read and discussed books of our time.

Elie Wiesel spent decades advocating for human rights, and authored 57 books about the subject. When he wrote about his guilt for having survived the Holocaust, it raised awareness about the horror of the Nazi movement at a time when people did not want to talk about it.

Elie Wiesel was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his work in speaking out against violence. He has also been awarded over 100 honorary doctorate degrees.

President Obama led the tributes by saying, “Elie Wiesel was one of the great moral voices of our time, and in many ways, the conscience of the world. He raised his voice, not just against antisemitism but against hatred, bigotry and intolerance in all its forms.”

You can learn more about Elie Wiesel in this 1993 interview with Oprah. He was an amazing human being.

Jul 02

What Is A Living Will?

In Colorado, a Living Will is called a “Declaration as to Medical or Surgical Treatment.”

One of the most dramatic stories to illustrate the importance of having a Living Will is that of Terry Schiavo.

Terry suffered a cardiac arrest when she was only 26 years old. She was resuscitated, but suffered massive brain damage. After 2 1/2 months of hospitalization without improvement, she was diagnosed with “persistent vegetative state,” and transferred to a long-term nursing care facility.

Terry Schiavo’s husband was awarded legal guardianship and argued that Terry would not have wanted prolonged artificial life support without any hope of recovery. He believed that she would have wanted her feeding tube removed. Terry’s parents argued in favor of continuing artificial nutrition and hydration. They believed that Terry would have wanted to live. The costly legal battle lasted 15 years, before Terry Schiavo’s feeding tube was eventually removed and she passed away.

A Living Will is a document that only goes into effect in two situations: (1) You are unconscious or incompetent and have a terminal condition. (2) You are in a persistent vegetative state that is not a terminal condition.

Your Living Will contains your instructions regarding the administration of artificial nutrition and hydration, and of life-sustaining procedures. Under Colorado law, a “life-sustaining procedure” is any medical procedure that only serves to prolong the dying process. This may include cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation, medications, and surgery. The Living Will also contains instructions about whether or not you want to make anatomical gifts.

Regardless of your decision to accept or reject life-sustaining treatment, medical professionals will continue to provide all necessary treatment to relieve pain and alleviate your suffering.

Your Living Will may be revoked or amended at any time. If you do revoke or amend a Living Will, it is very important that you provide your doctor, family, and anyone else with the most current version so they are aware of your wishes. So long as a Living Will appears valid and the medical professionals are not aware of any fraud, revocation, or that it was improperly executed, the attending physician may rely on it without the threat of liability.

A Living Will must be witnessed by two uninterested parties, and should be notarized if possible.

Jul 01

What Are Advance Medical Directives?

If you have ever been hospitalized, you were probably asked for your advance medical medical directives. This is because adults have the legal right to consent to or refuse medical treatment, and medical facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funds must tell their patients about these rights.

Advance Medical Directives allow you to declare your wishes in written documents, to be used if you are ever in a situation in which you cannot communicate them. They do not take away your right to make medical decisions if you are able to do so.

Colorado recognizes five types of advance medical directives:

Living Wills
Medical/Heath Care Powers of Attorney
CPR Orders/Do Not Resuscitate Orders
Disposition of Last Remains Declarations
Organ and Tissue Donation Declarations

If you do not have advance medical directives and become incapacitated due to an injury or illness, your loved ones may have to go through a court process to obtain legal guardianship to be able to make medical decisions for you. Even then, your family may not know your wishes. Not having advance medical directives can create conflict between your loved ones.

You should provide copies of your advance medical directives to your doctor, family members, health care agent, and any medical facility you may be admitted to.

Jun 30

$2 Trillion Tax Bill Is Coming Due for Baby Boomers

July 1, 2016 is a day that Uncle Sam has been waiting for!

The oldest baby boomers will turn 70 1/2 and will be required to begin taking money out of their tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts. They will also begin to pay the income tax.

Investors tend to leave their retirement savings untouched, to allow them to grow tax-deferred and to receive the maximum benefit possible. However, the oldest boomers will now have to withdraw annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their tax-deferred retirement savings accounts.

The penalty for failing to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) is 50% of the amount the account holder was obligated to withdraw!

Some ways to reduce required minimum distributions (RMDs) include staying on the job, donating part of your RMDs to charity, or using part of the RMD to fund a health savings account.

Reference: Why a $2 Trillion Tax Bill Is Coming Due for Baby Boomers, Money Magazine, June 27, 2016

Jun 29, 2016

How To Live To Be 100+

One of my favorite TED Talks was given by Dan Buettner, best-selling author of The Blue Zones. The Blue Zones are geographic regions where there are high percentages of active, healthy centenarians.

The Blue Zones outlines nine factors that lead to a long, healthy, happy life:

Move Naturally – The world’s longest-lived people don’t lift weights or run marathons. Instead, their environments require long vigorous walks, or activities like farming and gardening.
Purpose – Why do you wake up in the morning? Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.
Down Shift – Stress leads to chronic inflammation, which is associated with every major age-related disease. The world’s longest-lived people have routines that relieve stress.
80% Rule – The Okinawans say a mantra before meals as a reminder to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. They don’t overeat, which is a problem in America.
Plant Slant – Centenarian diets are mostly plant-based. They typically eat meat only five times per month.
Wine @ 5 – Surprisingly, moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers, especially if they share those drinks with friends.
Belong – Attending faith-based services four times per month – no matter the denomination – adds up to 14 years of life expectancy.
Loved Ones First – Centenarians put their families first. They commit to a life partner, invest in their children, and keep aging parents and grandparents nearby.
Right Tribe – The world’s longest lived people chose or were born into social circles that support healthy behaviors.

For more information, visit The Blue Zones website