Finish With A Flourish

I help seniors lose weight naturally and learn how to keep it off permanently, with an individualized program designed especially for you, your body and your lifestyle.

Susan Longley

To schedule a call or sign up for a workshop with Susan, fill out the contact form below:

Enjoy the Finish with a Flourish Website

I travel all over the United States, living in my car camper and staying mostly in National Parks. Frequently I meet flourishing seniors whose stories I have to tell. These videos are posted below. I hope they inspire you to find a new way to flourish.

You can support Susan’s interviews with flourishing seniors by supporting her on Patreon. Supporters receive exclusive access to easy, quick, and nourishing recipes you can prepare at home or at your campsite!

SUSAN’S CREDENTIALS

M.Ed. in Education, Georgia State University

Certified Professional Co-Active Coach from The Co-Active Training Institute

Certified Personal Trainer and Water Exercise Instructor

Graduate of the Health Coach Training Program from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition

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Finishing with a Flourish

Charles

Charles Jackson started writing books in his late 70s.  He’s working on his fourth one now at age 81.

Richard

Richard Thornton has had a very busy life, and continues to pursue his passions in his second career. 

Clare

Clare worked for two different international nonprofits during her career.  She continues to maintain her global perspective now that she is retired and in her eighties.

Lew

Lew was a successful corporate executive when he decided to seek something more fulfilling at age 50 and ended up as a personal trainer.

Jim

Jim is a sculptor living near the thriving artistic community of Nashville, Indiana. Here’s the image of the sculpture we mentioned in the interview.

Joy

Joy is a very old friend of mine. She raised four children as a single mom while earning her Ph.D. She continues to maintain a thriving consulting business.

Kathy and Randy

Kathy and Randy are old friends. I pushed the wrong button on the camera, so you won’t see our Happy New Year, but we’ll be back next year.

Dalton

Dalton is one of my personal training clients and a new friend. The personal trainer she refers to who moved out of town was me!

Lillian

My first interview was with Lillian, and I met while staying at her Airbnb in North Carolina.

HAVE A QUESTION?

Do you have a question, comment, or would you like to be interviewed?

Remember you have to be over 60 to be featured on this website, and you do not have to use your real name.  Hope to hear from you soon!

16 Comments

  1. Susan Longley

    Welcome to Finish with a Flourish. I’m looking forward to getting a lively conversation going here about how to flourish even when the world is saying you can’t!

    Reply
    • Linda Harrison

      I’m 72 yrs. old so I love to hear how other senior citizens are living their lives. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Lew; hearing about how he had a “second act” after retiring early. From the sounds of it, he may be headed to a “third act.” Since I’m a retired airline person and have always loved travel, it’s inspiring to hear that others (especially seniors) also appreciate the joy of traveling.

      Reply
  2. Kathy Harber

    An interview with Susan for Finish with a Flourish was a fun experience. However, it really made my spouse and I have an even richer discussion about how we want to spend our next years together. Since then we’ve also enjoyed hearing how other seniors are viewing these years! Thanks for the reflections!

    Reply
  3. Richard Thornton

    Who’s finished? I am firmly convinced that the secret to mental and physical health in the golden years is a continuing intellectual curiosity and a long list of things to do!

    This web site is an excellent idea and long overdue. Journalists of the text message generation tend to present members of the Baby Boomer generation as inanimate objects or worse, brain dead.

    Reply
  4. Thomas Vinton

    I remember when Susan was coaching my wife Flo and me 15 years ago and how she set us up to envision a life we weren’t giving ourselves permission to have. Writing down “impossibilities” that later became realities opened up a growth mindset that we still nurture today. Having passed through survival and learning to thrive, I think for the remaining years of our career, we will really be focussed on the needs of the community, here in Hong Kong where we live and also across borders using online resources.

    Reply
    • Susan Longley

      Hello Thomas and Flo. If I expected anyone I knew 15 years ago to be flourishing now, it would be you two! I would love to come to Hong Kong to interview you guys.

      Reply
  5. Nancy Aronie

    So Interesting!! No one has done this. Love the interviews!!!

    Reply
    • Susan Longley

      Nancy is an NPR correspondent and author of Writing from the Heart. I met her at a writing workshop at Omega Institute in New York, where she was the direct inspiration for me to get off my butt and get this website going. Thanks, Nancy!

      Reply
  6. Annette Becklund

    Wonderful! I am going to share these inspirational videos with my boomer clients who could use a pick-me-up!

    Reply
  7. Kathleen Cunningham

    A close friend directed me to your website, and I was intrigued by the title. The very pleasant interviews have given me some notions on which to pin some of my own ideas as I wrestle with the formidable-but-interesting problem of how to keep in top form, that is, “flourishing”—physically and mentally, of course, but mainly psychologically—in what I know from the actuarial tables has got to be the finishing twenty percent (if that!) of my time on this mortal coil. Mental flexibility, as its physical counterpart diminishes (Randy’s advice: learn to adapt), seems to me the prime takeaway notion, and so wish me luck as I build on that thought. Thank you for having this great idea for us oldsters. I look forward to more and more interviews.

    Reply
    • Susan Longley

      Welcome to the Finish with a Flourish community, Kathleen. I’m glad you are finding inspiration here.

      Reply
  8. Billy Foster

    I think that it is important that we older folks stay engaged with the world and share our knowledge, and maybe you could even say our wisdom. Susan’s interviews are a good way to do that. Keep them coming, Susan.

    Reply
  9. Susan McConnell

    Great idea, Susan! So valuable for people to share how they are aging gracefully and happily.

    Reply
  10. Bonnie S.

    Hey Susan, I am so happy you have plunged into something that has been on your bucket list for a while. And it is really exciting… WOW! Hearing from their own voices is great.

    Your site has good potential for issues, ideas, and thought—to engage and assist each other with their version of flourish.

    I am sure you are working things through as you go but tell me how this works? For instance, I have at least one question I could ask all of your interviewees. Right now, I want to tell Jim how refreshing and beautiful is his sculpture.

    Reply
  11. Joy

    What stimulating questions you ask, Susan !! And you make your interviews both interesting and fun.
    Are you finding if flourishing is a lifelong habit or is it a habit that can be developed at a much later time of life?

    Reply
  12. JB

    Absolutely inspiring. I realize It is not important what your age is but what your mindset is and these people absolutely prove it; thank you so much for doing this.

    Reply

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Susan is available for personal coaching for people over 65 on how to find and manifest a new purpose in life. Message her using the box at the top of the page and request a free consultation.