Conversation with Felix Martin

Felix Martin is one of the strongest persons I know. At age 85 we did a conversation about his life. If you have a few minutes to spare I invite you to listen to his talk. The playlist below includes English subtitles if you turn on the captions in Youtube:

Those of us who can go through a lifetime without any major illness have the gift of good genes and good luck. But it’s not only luck. They have routines and habits they apply over a lifetime. As we listen to a person’s life story we also realize that like everyone, they had their share of challenges and they were able to get through them.

Highlights from Felix’s philosophy and lifestyle

• Consistency: each week includes a few things that he practices over and over, including morning exercise and a balanced nutrition that limits excesses.
• Eats everything: Felix is no vegan. He eats sugar, coffee, drinks alcohol and enjoys a feisty meal every now and then. He emphasizes that eating a diverse diet exposes us to different nutrients and keeps the overall mix in balance, avoiding excess. This habit is very similar to that of Robert Marchand.
• Takes time to get work done: Felix wakes up a bit earlier. He recalls that during his career and life he saw other people being always rushed, trying to complete a task too fast. He much prefers taking a bit more time to do the same job without stress. “I also do a better job when taking time”, he adds.
• Keeps himself mentally active during retirement: Felix is part of a workgroup in his local town of Apt. The group takes historical writings from several centuries back, written by hand in old French, and transcribes them into modern French. Doing this is real work for the brain’s memory as he learns new vocabulary from old times, connects it to today’s semantics. Then with his colleagues they do the transcription. It’s like physical exercise for the brain.
• Started working at age 14, full time. He explains the story in the interview. Once again, very similar to Marchand’s life, though in the case of Marchand, he started at 3, part time.

Thanks again to Felix for sharing his experiences with our community.