AS THE VISIONARY BEHIND RANCHO LA PUERTA AND THE GOLDEN DOOR, DEBORAH SZEKELY SHARES A CENTURY-LONG JOURNEY OF PASSION, PURPOSE AND PIONEERING WELLNESS. HER STORY IS A POWERFUL REFLECTION ON LEGACY, LONGEVITY AND THE BELIEF THAT LIVING WELL IS A LIFELONG PURSUIT.

Founder of Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico and the Golden Door in Southern California, Deborah Szekely is the visionary who helped launch the modern wellness movement. In a year that marks both her 103rd birthday and the 86th anniversary of Rancho La Puerta, Intentional Living celebrates a legacy still shaping lives around the world.

Deborah Szekely has spent more than eight decades redefining what it means to live well. At 103, she’s as active and purposeful as ever — walking daily, working weekly, and challenging conventional ideas of aging. As the driving force behind two of the most iconic wellness destinations on the planet, Deborah is not just a pioneer – she’s a blueprint. Here, she shares thoughts on beauty, longevity, legacy and why it’s never too late to keep looking ahead. “Looking back is a waste of time. You’ll find mistakes, sure – but you fix them and move on.”

Deborah founded Rancho La Puerta at the base of Mount Kuchumaa, a sacred mountain with spiritual significance to the Kumeyaay people. “There’s a presence to it, a kind of energy you can’t quite explain,” she says. “I joke that the mountain was bored – and then, with all of these people running around, it felt alive.” The result? A place where generations of guests return year after year, some over a hundred times. “That kind of loyalty doesn’t happen unless something truly meaningful is happening.”

Deborah has always believed that wellness should extend to the people behind the scenes. At Rancho La Puerta, about two-thirds of employees are second or third-generation team members. “Once someone joins the Ranch, they often stay for life,” she says. “We’ve built a system of opportunity and care and that’s a big reason we’ve lasted this long.”

She’s also passionate about education. “When kids show promise, we give them scholarships to go to college.” Deborah’s daily routine includes a one-hour walk, usually along the vineyard trail. “If you walk it six times, it’s a mile. That’s my exercise and I never skip it.” Her beauty routine?

As simple as it gets. “Believe it or not, I just use soap and water! People tell me I should say there’s a product, and we’d sell tons – but there isn’t. “Beauty doesn’t come from what you put on your face – it comes from what you put in your body.” I walk an hour every day. I eat well. And I never stop doing what I love.” Today, Deborah continues to work at the Ranch three days a week, alongside her daughter, Sarah Livia Brightwood, who now leads the operation. “The future is bright,” she says. She divides life into thirds: the first 20 years are for learning: the next third is about career, family and building.

But it’s the final third – beginning in your 60’s that she believes reveals your true purpose. “That’s when you ask, ‘What can I do to help others? Where can I contribute?’ When you find your answer to that, you stop seeking. You know this is what I’m meant to do.”

These inspiring insights are a profound reminder that when we live with purpose, serve with heart and stay connected to contribution, our legacy becomes a life well lived.

– by Kelli Delaney Kot