No 28 Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury
Friday, July 14, 2017
“Nothing will take the place of persistence”
“I want to remind you that success in life is based on hard slogging. There will be periods when discouragement is great and upsetting, and the antidote for this is calmness and fortitude and a modest yet firm belief in your competence. Be sure that your priorities are in order so that you can proceed in a logical manner, and be ever mindful that nothing will take the place of persistence.”
– Walter Annenberg, Publisher and philanthropist (1908 – 2002 )
Persistence, by Calvin Coolidge
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is filled with educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination are alone omnipotent.
“Press On!” has been and always will be the answer to every human problem.
I love this saying: “hard sloggin”. I think I know what that is. The good part of slogging is that the good days are so sweet and the good times are greatly appreciated. Going through the slog makes the good days all the more magical.
“When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take – choose the bolder.”
– W.J. Slim (1891 – 1970 ) British military commander
“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) American Poet and Essayist
Everyone is watching our every move. Do you believe this? I can say a lot of things about life, but I know that others are always watching my actions and seeing if I am walking the walk. Do you know what I found out? I discovered that somehow others know what we do in private. I don’t mean they have a video of us, but they know our hearts and our intentions and they know how are feeling and how we live. Our actions show others how we think in our personal lives and what we do when no one is watching. I have recently been convicted of some of my private thoughts and actions and have changed my personal talk to positive words and my actions to positive actions. I am trying to “choose the bolder” in all my decisions.
“No obstacles fell in his way that seemed to him insurmountable. He might be defeated, as he sometimes was, but he shrank from no hardship through impatience, he fled from no danger through cowardice.”
– J. P. Morgan writing about Napoleon Bonaparte
“What is now proved was once only imagined.”
– William Blake (1757-1827) English Poet
Overcoming obstacles is how the once impossible has become the reality of today. Remember that Walt Disney stood in an orange orchard and visualized the Magic Kingdom. The theme park was in his dreams and he made an impossible idea a reality that has been enjoyed by millions from around the world.
I recently heard a very successful man say, “I’m not taking anything with me”. He was talking about how he was living his dreams and how he was teaching persistence and perseverance to others as his life work. He is such a great man and when you are around him, you just feel the great energy coming from every part of his being.
If I could write just one message every week, it would be to not be afraid of your dreams. Live them. You know how the motivational speakers say you can have anything you want in your life? Well, they sometimes forget to tell you all the work that goes into making these dreams come true. They sometimes forget to include the fact that you can have anything you want in your life if you are willing to help others get whatever they want in their lives.
Yes, we can have it all, but the price is great. The road is full of challenges and only the ones who persevere will reach the end of their goal path.
Let go of fear. Have a little courage and you will live your dream.
Thank you for reading!
David Earl Woodbury
Keep on Dancing!
davidearlwoodbury@gmail.com