No 39. Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury

Friday, September 25, 2015

A person is only as big as the dream they dare to live.
— Unknown

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of
life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to
be enthusiastic about.
— Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) English Novelist and Clergyman

Every day when I awaken, I’m excited about the upcoming day. Sometimes I’m excited because I have so many opportunities that day. Perhaps I have a challenging situation to take care of. The day may hold some mystery for me. I may be excited because I don’t know what will happen with what’s ahead for me. Then, sometimes I know that the day will be a home run all the way around.

Despite the success cult, men are most deeply moved not by the
reaching of the goal, but by the grandness of the effort involved in
getting there.
— Max Lerner (1902-1992) American Educator, Columnist

I know that I’m going to give each opportunity the “grandness of effort” that is deserved.

Man is happy only as he finds work worth doing — and does it well.
— E. Merrill Root (1895-1973) American Writer

I am so blessed in my life to have found the work worth doing. My “profession” as a professional dance instructor will be the path for the rest of my life, God willing!  My teachers are 20 to 25 years older than I am and they are all going strong.

To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate
the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man’s life.
— T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) American Poet

It is never too late to be what you might have been.
— George Eliot (1819-1880) English Novelist

The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must
not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but
jump in and scramble through as well as we can.
— Robert Cushing Dennison (1921-1998) American Military Officer

I like a person who knows his own mind and sticks to it; who sees at
once what, in given circumstances, is to be done, and does it.
— William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English Essayist

If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend,
experience your wise counselor,  caution your elder brother  and hope
your guardian genius.
— Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Writer and Statesman

Let’s just go for it in life.  I’m not going to wait until I’m ready for a task. I’m going to move forward and learn as I go. Warts and all, I’m going to make it happen. How? First, set your goal and fix your mind on it. Second, surround yourself with others who will make your goal come alive. Third, calculate what it will take to get the task done, and plan to double the effort, resources, and energy needed to complete your task. (If you don’t believe this, you have never remodeled a home or business.) Lastly, make perseverance your best friend and just move forward and never look back.

An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; A pessimist sees
a calamity in every opportunity.
— Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British Politician

As I move forward to my goals, I just see wonderful opportunities meeting me as I move forward.

The past cannot be changed. The future is still in your power.

— Hugh Lawson White (1773-1840) American Politician

Don’t dwiddle on the past. Let it go. Being angry at someone is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. I found that I had been angry at someone for over 30 years. I was justified and if you knew what she did, you’d be angry too. Then, I just woke up and realized that she had no idea that I was always boiling mad at her.  I typed a letter when I apologized to her for carrying all this negativity for these many years and I asked her to forgive me.  Then, I did not mail the letter, I just let it go. I did not want her to know how shallow I had been for all these years. Now I feel great and I have love for her in my heart.  Let the past go, check your baggage at the ticket counter and get on board. Live, love, laugh!

Keep on Dancing!

David Woodbury