Neuroplasticity: The key to aging gracefully and succeeding in business

Unlock neuroplasticity's secrets and control your cognitive destiny with our guest, Stu Morris. He unravels the brain's incredible ability to adapt and evolve, emphasizing that forgetting is more about recall than loss. Morris sheds light on how impactful experiences forge stronger neural pathways and offers strategies to counteract age-related cognitive decline by reshaping belief systems. Tune in to explore how understanding these mechanisms can lead to enhanced cognitive abilities and a new perspective on overcoming the challenges that come with aging.

Venture into the intricate dance between neuroplasticity and consumer behavior, especially within the photofinishing industry. Discover how repeated exposure to certain marketing cues establishes lasting neural habits, driving repeat business and evoking powerful emotions through nostalgia. We discuss the art of storytelling in marketing and the importance of focusing on impactful strategies rather than spreading efforts too thin. Learn how entrepreneurs can harness the brain's adaptability to thrive in business by engaging with industry trends and creatively utilizing existing channels. This episode promises to equip you with insights on maintaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex market landscape.

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Transcript

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Erin Manning 0:12

Welcome to the Dead Pixels Society podcast , the photo imaging industry's leading news source . Here's your host , Gary Pageau . The Dead Pixel Society podcast is brought to you by MediaClip,

Gary Pageau 0:25

Hello , welcome to the Dead Pixels Society podcast . I'm your host , Gary Pageau . Today we're joined by Stu Morris , who's going to tell us all about your brain . He's a brain guy . We all have one . It needs help , and Stu's going to help us . He's going to use a lot of words I can't pronounce , because we've had a discussion before this where we discovered that my ability to say neuroplasticity is a challenge , so that might be the only time I get it right . Hi , Stu , how are you today ?

Stu Morris 1:00

I'm real good , Gary . Appreciate you having me on your show , love your show , what I've heard , and the Dead Pixel Society I just think that name is just classic . So yeah , very happy to be here . Thank you for having me .

Gary Pageau 1:14

So let's talk a little bit about cognitive ability , right , that's your area of expertise . Everyone has it and it changes over time , and I know a lot of my listeners are getting older in age . What are some of the things you see that maybe they can start identifying that ? Hey , I need some help in this regard . What are maybe some of the things they encounter ? Is it like I forgot ? Is that just you forget where you put the car keys or stuff like that ? There's more to it , right ?

Stu Morris 1:42

There is more to it . I always start when people ask what I do . I always ask the question have you ever entered a room and forgot what you came in for ?

Gary Pageau 1:52

I've done that to my house .

Stu Morris 1:52

That's what I fix , that's what we fix . So we leverage neuroplasticity to improve the brain's cognitive ability . That's what we fix , okay , so , simply put , neuroplasticity it's the brain's ability to adapt and to reorganize , form new neural connections . Throughout your entire life , we found out , you never forget anything . It's just a matter of recall .

Gary Pageau 2:19

Really Okay , so let's go into that . So people always say I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday , but they may remember what they had for lunch in high school . Is that what that is ? It's the connection isn't being formed , but the older connections are there . Is that what that's about ?

Stu Morris 2:34

Yeah , that's part of it . That's part of what's called neuroplasticity pruning . So , neuroscientifically speaking , pruning is when you're not using a neural pathway . You're not using that thought or that memory , for very often your brain kind of naturally just tucks it back into a bookshelf for later use if you need it . But you tend to not be able to recall it . So you don't forget it , but you're not able to recall it . If you were having lunch , you can't remember what you had for lunch yesterday , but if you sat down with somebody naked you'd remember what you had for lunch yesterday .

Stu Morris 3:09

Emotions or things that make it more impactful in your life make a stronger neural connection , make a stronger pathway . So it's like walking through a grassy field and you turn around and you can see your footprints in the grass , but the next day they're gone . The grass pops back up . But if you take like a big Harley or a four wheel drive and you just chew through the mud , that path's going to be there for a long time . So depending on how you create that impact and how you create that emotional strength to , it will improve that neural pathway .

Gary Pageau 3:40

What is it about getting older , then ? That prevents those pathways from engaging ? I mean , I guess that's what we're talking about , right , is it ? Because when you're younger , your brain is fresh and new and by the time you're old and jaded , you don't really want any more pathways . You've got enough pathways yeah , that's a .

Stu Morris 4:02

that's a very good question . Okay , so the biggest part , the biggest effect that we've found in just in our personal research so this is not necessarily scientific , but in just my reading over the last 16 , 18 years on neuroscience , it seems to me like the biggest problem and what we combat is normal cognitive aging , normal cognitive decline in aging Right . So the biggest thing to combat with that is our belief system . As we get older , we are trained to believe that , oh , I'm older now and I'm just forgetful . Right , you have to overcome that disempowering belief , that's half of it right there .

Stu Morris 4:42

It has nothing to do with science so much , except that you can use neuroscience to overcome a disempowering belief . For sure Interesting and neuroplasticity will help you create new habits and can defeat those old habits of like , oh gosh , you know , automatically thinking like I'm older now and I forget things . So if you can get past that , which is kind of the first part of everything we do really , then we can . Absolutely we have . We have proven , neuroscientifically proven strategies to combat age related cognitive decline all the time . You can do it all day long . That's my bread and butter .

Gary Pageau 5:15

You know , take it from the standpoint of , let's say , a business owner who is operating , let's say , a small business of some sort , and you know they're running into these issues where , you know dating myself a little bit you go back 20 years people weren't really dealing with the amount of flow of information like they did . Right , you know , right now , you know you could usually be able to run a camera store by looking in the till and knowing how much you . You know that . You know how much money was coming in and you looked on the shelf and there was your inventory and you know customers came in , they bought stuff and they left and you know that was how you're in the business . Now it's , you know , online ordering and now there's all these other inputs . Does that have anything to do with it , the amount of inputs coming in that people are struggling with , or is it mostly attitude , like you said ?

Stu Morris 5:59

Oh yeah , absolutely so . There is what's called cognitive load , and we see it a lot in stressful situations . So if you have a very stressful job or are experiencing like I handled it in the emergency department a lot of times I worked in the emergency department for 22 years and you are working with people that are under a tremendous amount of stress , right and so and we know that those that that stress , that that affects your neuroplasticity , it hinders it , it slows it down , it makes those pathways less memorable and harder to recall . So , for sure , things like meditation people kind of snicker at meditation and mindfulness . Sure , I don't know why . It's only been used since 7,000 years before Christ . You know what I mean .

Gary Pageau 6:50

It has always a decent track record right .

Stu Morris 6:53

It has always a decent track record , right , exactly . And so you need to stop and slow down and relax your brain . You need to take 10 minutes of some deep breathing and try not to think right , just empty your mind , and there's a lot of exercises to do that that promote neuroplasticity and we work through a lot of them , especially , you know , in the book there's you get the book , you get the course for free , and in the course there's a lot of mindfulness exercises . There's even audios that you can listen to , that you can download and listen to and things like that . So meditation and deep breathing exercises , mindfulness practices , those will reduce stress and they absolutely promote neuroplasticity .

Gary Pageau 7:35

Really , because I just find that kind of fascinating that I mean I guess it makes sense , right ? If you're more at ease in your mind , there's less traffic to inhibit the formation of pathways .

Stu Morris 7:47

Yes , you know another excellent strategy for that . My personal favorite is naps .

Gary Pageau 7:57

Nice Okay .

Stu Morris 8:00

So I don't live on the beach for nothing . I mean , I learned some stuff here . So there's kind of two things the mindfulness breaks during your day . Just take five minutes and do some mindfulness exercises can really impact your brain and really kind of clean up the cobwebs . Sure Okay .

Gary Pageau 8:23

Power napping . Maybe going for a walk or something like that can actually improve your cognitive ability .

Stu Morris 8:28

Sure , go for a walk in the middle of the day . From time to time somebody has gone for a walk in the middle of the day and you come back and you think clearer and sharper and it's just natural . The other key part of that is sleep and rest . So we kind of talked about naps . But during sleep the brain consolidates memories and it clears out toxins and repairs neural connections . So you have to have proper sleep hygiene . It's a consistent bedtime , avoiding screens on your phone and the computer before bed , creating a restful , dark environment . These are all crucial to supporting cognitive longevity , absolutely .

Gary Pageau 9:03

So why do you think we're seeing this coming , as almost ? I wouldn't say it's a crisis , but it seems to be more of an issue these days with . Is it just because people are living longer , or it's a more stressful environment , or there's just so many inputs , or people just don't take enough naps ?

Stu Morris 9:22

Yeah , absolutely , I'm going to sit down . Gary , you answered that . Those are the reasons . Exactly . There's , I think , two kind of big ones going on . I think we're more aware of the world that's going on around us .

Stu Morris 9:35

Our great-grandfather lived and was subjected to as much information , right , a billboard he didn't see it . Television , he didn't see it . Radio was a rare , you know , if you went into town you got to listen to the radio if it was on , and it was , only it wasn't on 24 hours a day , right , so you didn't get the newspaper and you didn't see what's going on the world . You kind of focused on your own farm . Right , let's say we are more aware of what's going on around us . That awareness has really built this culture of comparing ourselves . Right , we want to compare ourselves to the kardashians or whatever , and they're living the life of luxury and they're all worried about their , their eye makeup or some stupid thing . And then we like , oh well , my eye makeup isn't good enough , or I don't drive a lamborghini or I , and we're always . We naturally compare ourselves and we're comparing ourselves to things that don't exist . Like , I know the kardashians exist , but really they don't exist .

Stu Morris 10:29

Not even the kardashians live that life right that's just what we see , and right and the same as group or any social media podcast . You , you , you know there's no ugly pictures on social media , right ?

Gary Pageau 10:41

well , you haven't seen my insta , but , um , it's sort of , it's sort of the old . Uh , comparison is the thief of joy statement .

Stu Morris 11:06

right ? Yeah , exactly , I'm sorry , did you ask a question ? So emotion is the deal . Joy , fear , elation , you know any number of emotions . Those affect your neuroplasticity hugely and if you are robbed from your joy , you will find neural pathways that are joyless and you will get used to cruising down those . Your brain just automatically . I mean , that's , that's how we produce habits . Brain does that automatically . You don't have to make a habit right , and so the brain does that automatically and you live a life , a joyless life . You will continue to live a life , a joyless life , because it's become a habit of how your brain functions , and it's a forgettable life . How about that ? Yeah , there's no . If there's no joy there's , there's nothing emotionally attached to that neural pathway . And you , yeah , you , you look back after 20 years . You're like I've been sitting in this recliner watching , you know , the Cosby show or something , right , I mean , there's no , there's . You've got a life that has a legacy . You've created a legacy . It's just not impactful .

Gary Pageau 12:15

So let's talk a little bit about , you know , kind of steering this towards my audience , which is , you know , business people , right , small business people , people in the memory business , right , and who are in the joy business really , because that's one of the reasons why people say they get into this business is because they're able to preserve family memories for other people and share them with wall decor or photos or prints or photo books or all these great things where they provide the equipment that let people enjoy photography which brings them joy and all that . But a lot of people have , you know , run the businesses themselves . You know , kind of get mired down in the business . So what are some thoughts or suggestions you have other than naps ? What are your some ideas when you talk to business people about reigniting their joy or their interest that will then again re-engage their brain , if you will .

Stu Morris 13:03

Well , you know , re-engaging your brain and improving , you know , neuroplasticity , or being able to boost your neuroplasticity , is really is a could be super powerful tool for entrepreneurs in the photographic service industry for sure , especially in like realms of marketing . Boost your neuroplasticity is really is a could be super powerful tool for entrepreneurs in , you know , the photographic service industry for sure , especially in like realms of marketing , communications and media strategies . The photo finishing laboratory , entrepreneur understanding and leveraging neuroplasticity can enhance customer engagement , brand loyalty , even operational efficiency . As I read about your audience and read about you and listened to your shows , I was trying to think of some areas , so I kind of came up with six areas I think that might be advantageous to your listeners .

Gary Pageau 13:43

I love checklists , let's go .

Stu Morris 13:45

Boom For the photo finishing laboratory . Like entrepreneur , a big one is customer behavior and habits , right . Neuroplasticity involves the brain's ability to form and reorganize those neural connections and it's based on experiences and behaviors . So for a photo finishing lab that's important because you know creating habits , for instance . So through consistent exposure , specific messages or incentives , customers can develop habits . Habitual behaviors always will choose your lap , like that's a habitual behavior , such as always choosing your lap , for instance . Or a reward program or reminders for a photo project , like creating a photo album .

Stu Morris 14:23

So those personalized promotions can help reinforce repeat visits and it creates a natural lasting neural pattern okay so the emotional connection behind that , which is what we've talked about , how that connects your emotions , connect your to your , to your neuroplasticity or those neural pathways , rather . So photos are tied to memories and emotions . Right Boom , it's perfect for it . So highlighting the emotional value of a photograph can trigger emotional responses in the brain that even deepen the customer's attachment to your brain On a customer behaviors and kind of helping your customer form you know , I've always thought about that .

Gary Pageau 14:59

I always thought some successful marketing that , I see , is when people , uh , online for example will send you a , an email with your own pictures and it said hey , we pre-made this photo book for you . Relive the memories and hopefully order it right , right , so that's that sort of activity . That's what you're talking about .

Stu Morris 15:17

Absolutely . Yep , that's it . You know . Another thing that entrepreneurs need to do is they need to market to their customers , right ? So photo business right , you are a visual business , so visual and emotional cues . You better get on board with that if you're not using pictures in your photograph .

Gary Pageau 15:32

That's sort of a given right with that if you're not using pictures in your photograph .

Stu Morris 15:36

That's sort of a given right , Exactly so . The visual nature of the photographic industry totally makes it ideal for stimulating the brain's visual processing centers .

Stu Morris 15:44

So design visual , appealing marketing materials that evoke emotions nostalgia , joy , for instance to emotions that appeal to a visually visual marketing . You can enhance memory retention of your brand that way . Neuroplasticity doesn't exactly prove it , Neuroscience , we haven't proven it yet and that's harder to do , but it absolutely suggests that repetition of these emotional stimuli Well , they actually strengthen the brain's association between your brand and that positive feeling that's why I've got a question about that , because I hear this from marketing people all the time and you're kind of touching on something .

Gary Pageau 16:20

That's sort of one of my little things I like to harp on , if you will , a lot of times in in the marketing world . You know it's driven by creative people want to invent stuff all the time and they tend to want to change up things a lot . But what you're saying is you , once you've got a winning approach , you should be sticking with it .

Stu Morris 17:04

Yeah . If you find something that can help organize information for your industry and evoke emotion , yeah . Stick to it like a wet shirt .

Gary Pageau 17:16

You bet All right , because the reason I say is because you always hear people oh my gosh , I got to be on TikTok , I got to be this , I got to do that , I got to do all these other things , and it gets very distracting for them and it gets very , you know , it gets to be a stress point . Right , I've got , oh , I've got to be on all these things where it's like , well , you know what People kind of expect you to communicate a certain way , with a certain image , in a certain way . And , yeah , you might be missing some people , but are you really ?

Stu Morris 17:45

Yeah , exactly you know , the more you narrow down your market , the bigger the market . You have Right , you narrow something down you can really expand on it .

Stu Morris 17:55

So , as far as marketing and branding goes , those , you know , visual and emotional cues are just are the key to strengthening that stimuli . Another thing is that our brains , you know we naturally respond to stories . Our brain is wired to organize information in narratives . That's just the way we're made . So effective marketing for a photo finishing lab , you know , should focus on customers' stories and their emotional impact of preserving memories through the photographs , and you can reshape how a customer will perceive the value of those printed photos by telling the story Right . And that'll do it . But you know , like what you said , there's so much information . You got to be on TikTok , you got to do this , you got to do that , you know . You ask how do you market a book , For instance , for me I asked that question and they gave me a book . I'm like I can't . I can't do all this Right . You just got to find something that works , something you're good at , and stick to it .

Gary Pageau 18:48

But make sure it works and make sure you're good at it , and not to say you can't try new things . But you don't have to try every new thing .

Stu Morris 18:58

Oh , yeah , yeah , yeah , you don't have to try . Don't try everything . You can't be all things to all people , right ? Take it from Abe Lincoln .

Gary Pageau 19:05

Yeah .

Stu Morris 19:05

One of my favorites , right , can't be all things to all people , right ? Take it from abe lincoln yeah , one of my favorites , right , can't be all things to all people . So I was thinking as far as a , you know , a photo lab entrepreneur kind of thing . There's , there's a lot that goes into the customer experience right so personalization is a part of customer experience and neuroplasticity , can you know ?

Stu Morris 19:24

it's the brain's constantly adapting , based on those personal experiences , right so offering personalized recommendations based on your customer's history specific types of photo prints maybe , or based , you know , on their past purchases .

Gary Pageau 19:37

I'm not exactly well , and then the other piece of it is that on in the photo business , unlike many other market segments , you're dealing with people's personalized content , content that's meaningful to them , that they can then personalize a product with . So actually it's , in my opinion , has an advantage over other product categories . Like , you know , if you're , if you're going to do a you know , let's say , you're doing a coffee mug as a gift , right Boring mug from Starbucks is not the same as one with a , you know , personalized photo on it . Now , I know coffee mugs are kind of cliche because there's thousands of other products that are out there , but the point is is I think our industry has almost an advantage over other market segments because of the opportunity to personalize .

Stu Morris 20:18

It sure does . And the photo mug it might be . I mean , I would like to have one . I don't have one , but if you're a grandma who drinks a cup of tea or a cup of coffee every morning and you have a mug of your grandchild , you have created a customer for life .

Gary Pageau 20:32

Right .

Stu Morris 20:32

Right , they will want to know . So that's exactly how you can tailor those experiences and it leads to stronger customer loyalty and your brain will naturally associate that lab , or that your business , with meeting that unique needs .

Stu Morris 20:46

That lab or that your business with meeting that unique needs , right , so cool , yeah . And then you know that customer experience has a lot to do with that , what we were talking about , that neuroplastic overload or neuro . So making the process of uploading photos , for instance , or ordering prints as simple and as seamless as possible , it creates , you know , a frictionless experience and the brain will seek naturally to repeat that , right so , and the brain will seek naturally to repeat that .

Stu Morris 21:06

So if you do something , you like it and it's easy , you just go right back to it . You don't think about it . It's a habit that's formed almost instantaneously , so the easier and more rewarding the interaction , the more likely customers are to return .

Gary Pageau 21:18

Yeah , I just read . I'm probably the last person on the planet to have read Atomic Habits by James Clear , but that's a lot of that . Yeah , is the idea . If it's easy enough , it reinforces that behavior .

Stu Morris 21:38

Yep , keep it simple and you'll do it . My father was a baseball coach and he always said the key to mastery , the key to success , is consistency , and the key to consistency is simplicity . Keep it simple , you'll do it consistently and you'll master it . He was a Marine . He never argued with him . You could , but you're going to lose . So my guess is , with the amount of change that you've seen in the industry this is just me verbalizing here . I don't know , but it seems like there's a need for a lot of training and innovation for an entrepreneur in the industry . This is just me verbalizing here . I don't know , but it seems like there's a need for a lot of training and innovation for an entrepreneur in the industry , because it's . I mean , they used to be everything's digital and it used to not be right . I mean it's huge in your market .

Stu Morris 22:17

So learning and adaptation is something that just falls right in line with neuroplasticity . It's not just for customers , it absolutely applies to the entrepreneur . So the ability for the brain to learn and adapt is crucial for staying competitive and you want to do that right , so by continually engaging with marketing trends or photography techniques or customer service skills well , even like going to conferences , meeting people and doing all those kind of things .

Gary Pageau 22:43

Right , because I mean you don't want to hear someone say I'm too old for this . Right , because they're really not so so . So that is part of the thing , is you always hear people like I just I go to a lot of industry conferences and I see a lot of people and it's just the value for them is , like you said , they're almost re-engaging their neurons in a way , as they're interacting with people , exchanging stories , like you were talking about , and learning new things .

Stu Morris 23:07

A hundred percent and you believe what you say comes out of your mouth more than anything else . So if you say I'm too old for this , you better believe that you're your own in that Right . Engaging in activities that challenge your brain's creativity , experiencing with new photo products or marketing ideas , it stimulates the brain's , the part of the brain , the region that relates to innovation . You become more innovative , so over time the brain strengthens its capacity for creative problem solving and it can lead to new services or marketing strategies that will differentiate your lab from a blue sea of competitors , kind of thing . Right . So that's right along the lines of what you're saying . I was kind of thinking that with photos and the photo industry , that there's obviously a lot of new media strategies . Content creation , ding , ding , ding . Right , we hear content creation In that realm though .

Stu Morris 24:04

Neuroplasticity , you know , inform how you create and present content okay , so for example , educational content that teaches the customers about preserving photos , maybe , or tutorials on creative uses for prints that can tap into new learning pathways in the brain and it makes your brand more memorable . Videos and visuals are especially effective , right ? You're telling a story and we and you know you go on tiktok and everything's a video .

Gary Pageau 24:31

It's not like myspace next , thing , you know you were talking about geo cities uh , I remember .

Stu Morris 24:43

I remember posting on my first bulletin board as a freshman in college oh my gosh .

Gary Pageau 24:46

So when I was a freshman in college .

Stu Morris 24:46

That was actually a physical bulletin board as a freshman in college . There you go , oh my gosh .

Gary Pageau 24:48

So when I was a freshman , in college that was actually a physical bulletin board with a thumbtack oh my god , I love this gary .

Stu Morris 24:59

This is so much fun .

Gary Pageau 25:00

So , anyway , so getting back to that . All right , but . But we're kind of talking in circles here and I want to make sure we kind of tie all this in a bow is ? You know , you're talking about new things , telling stories , doing TikTok , but you know , 10 minutes ago we said don't do all the things , so so there is a balance there that you kind of have to strike . So can you kind of address that a little bit ?

Stu Morris 25:19

Yeah , I , I , you know , I think , um , like , I'm not on TikTok personally , right ? I just um , it's just one , I just didn't want to . Oh well , you've got to be on book talk , you sell books , you're an author , you got to be on book talk . I'm like , no , I don't actually , so I just , I just didn't want three or four or five or 10 things .

Stu Morris 25:35

So pick your , you know , pick your strategy for sure , but whatever that is using those visuals is , you know , very it's effective at engaging the both the video and the and the auditory parts of the brain , and then encourage your customer to you know , to form a strong um association with , with your lab , with your business , and so , wherever you're doing it , do it well , but don't do so much of it that you can't do all of it or any of it and you can integrate some of these other things , like you said , you know the short videos , the how-tos , the demos and things within your existing channels .

Gary Pageau 26:14

That's what I'm saying , like . I mean , you know , if you've got a Facebook page , there's really no reason why you couldn't have that within the Facebook page you already have . You don't need to start , you know a TikTok to do that , you know . Or even on Instagram , or for LinkedIn or some of these other platforms you may already have chosen as your channel , you can integrate some of the creative aspects you were talking about within those channels without having to invent a whole new thing is where I was kind of going with that .

Stu Morris 26:40

A hundred percent , gary Yep , if you , if your lab , your business just regularly posts tips , I don't know offers , showcases , customer stories on social media , just what you're using , you don't . We're not talking . You know , we think of a social media and we think of Facebook or or Instagram or something like that , but there's 160 of them .

Erin Manning 27:00

There's 160 big ones around the world right .

Stu Morris 27:03

So you're just not going to reach all the audience .

Gary Pageau 27:07

So just pick your audience that you can reach and reach them well , and reach them with something that'll stick in their mind and maybe reinvigorate those practices with some of the things you were talking about , as opposed to yeah , because I think that's where people kind of they look at social media channels and they have kind of a vision that there's sort of a certain type of thing right , like , for example , tiktok is you know short , cool little videos . Well , you can do that on other platforms as well , because there's obviously TikTok success and they steal that approach right . So if you've already got a decent Instagram following , you can do that within that platform . You don't need to .

Gary Pageau 27:44

Not that I'm dissing TikTok Personally . I'm like you . I don't have one . I'm not so fond of giving the Chinese all my information , but I'll give it to Zuckerberg for some reason , and that's another thing . But the point is is that I guess what I'm trying to talk about is maybe have some , be more strategic with this , but still have the creative approach , so that you can keep those pathways open for new ideas .

Stu Morris 28:10

Yep , absolutely , gary . Yep , you nailed it . You could do this for a living .

Gary Pageau 28:15

Or have a podcast , even I don't know . Maybe I'll start a podcast .

Stu Morris 28:19

You should really tell people about your insights .

Gary Pageau 28:23

As you probably guess , I'm not modest about speaking my mind . You have a book out . We haven't really talked about the book . How would someone who is , you know , in the business because again , I know a lot of people who struggle with this , right , I mean because you know they've been in the industry a long time and they're just they talk about having no time and no , and a lot of it's fatigue and they're , you know , tired and that translates into , you know , I forget things , I'm not doing things . Well , like it's tough for me to learn stuff . So , kind of bringing this back to kind of what you're offering , what is the theme or the directive , and we kind of talked about naps and kind of some of that stuff as a jokey standpoint . But you know reality , what are some of the top things we want to learn from your book , which is called I have a note here power , influence and purpose yeah , power , influence and purpose .

Stu Morris 29:15

It's the 10 . It's 10 neuroplasticity essentials to architect a legacy of impact . Went through three editors for that and it's you know , every word just kind of is a chapter in itself kind of a thing . But yeah , that's what it is . So we're all going to leave a legacy , gary . We are all going to leave a legacy . Is yours going to be an impactful legacy ? Is it going to be something that you're proud of ?

Stu Morris 29:42

I have , you know , have 22 years of working in the emergency department . I have dealt with death and dying and I think probably maybe once a week I had some little old lady grab my hand and say don't go be with your family , go do what's important . You don't be on this gurney in the emergency department where I'm at right now in 20 , 30 , 40 years and have regrets , and so that's kind of what the book's about . It's building a legacy that is impactful , and you can do that by using neuroplasticity . It's the easiest way you want to change .

Stu Morris 30:20

Use neuroplasticity . That way you can use science to change how you feel , how you think , where you go , what your goals are , what you want to do in life , and that's what it's all about and the book's really good and it offers a lot of step-by-step you know processes and strategies , but the course in the book has been a bestseller for a long time . And the course in the book is we've taken it offline right now because we're revamping it for the book , but it's the over 51 advantage right , and it is literally the step-by-step guide to preventing and reversing cognitive decline .

Gary Pageau 30:57

So you get the book , you buy the book , you get the course for free Nice . So where can people go for more information on the book , the course and Stu Morris ?

Stu Morris 31:03

So thank you very much . You can go to over51.com is like our main clearinghouse of information for the book . Specifically , you can go to powerinfluencepurpose . com .

Gary Pageau 31:15

Nice , well , great Stu , this has been fun . This has been a fun conversation . When I was like brain health I'm not sure I want to talk about that , but this has been fun . I've learned a few things and I appreciate your time . Thank you so much .

Stu Morris 31:29

What a pleasure , what a pleasure to be with you , gary . I've done a few podcasts myself , a lot of them , and I haven't laughed this much in any of them . It's been a great , great show . I really appreciate your time and your willingness to let me help your audience you take good care , sir and your willingness to let me help your audience .

Erin Manning 31:45

You take good care , sir . Thank you for listening to the Dead Pixels Society podcast . No-transcript . No-transcript . Read more great stories and sign up for the newsletter at wwwthedeadpixelssocietycom .