No 2. Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury
Friday, January 9, 2015
Do You Have a 2015 Dream Sheet?
I love calendars. Remember carrying around your paper planner? I used a Daytimer. What a thrill to start a new January with my new leather-bound 12 months of exciting fun activities. My planner had all my Arthur Murray dancing events, all my birthdays and anniversarites. I’d keep my goals and dates to monitor my progress.
There was always a section for dreaming and planning my future. I’d write down anything that came to mind that I wanted to accomplish in my life. Later I switched to a Palm electronic planner. Wow, I had all my contacts and calendar all in the same device. How I dreamed of not having to carrying around both my phone and planner. I used to hold them together and imagine that they were one. Remember the disasters of your electronic planner crashing and you had not backed up and you lost your information?
Then, one day, an Arthur Murray student told me that I could type a date into Google Calendar and that it would appear on my phone, and vice versa. All my desktop contacts would also be on my phone. Wow, heaven for me. I could make an appointment, enter my new contact and sync it immediately with reminders within seconds.
Why do I love calendars? Well, I love having things to look forward to. First, I make my yearly Arthur Murray schedule and add the dates. Then, I schedule my St. Monica service dates around my dancing events. Add to these Disneyland dates, trips, vacations, weddings, meetings, consulting and I end up with an action packed calendar.
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize
they were the big things.– Robert Brault
I can look at a month with all the color coded events and get excited about living. In front of me is life and all the many events that I am celebrating. There is always something exciting on my schedule and always something to look forward to.
Happiness is essentially a state of going somewhere, wholeheartedly,
one-directionally, without regret or reservation.– William H. Sheldon
With a new year, I always look to see when the holidays fall during the week, my birthday, and all my family and studio events. I know where I’m going and how I’m going to get there.
As for service, I do not think you can live a life of service without planning what you are going to do. I have two great mentors who set up schedules of service that involve hundreds of volunteers. They are amazing. They require that we give them our available dates for many months at a time, then they weave a perfect and fair balance of service between all the volunteers.
They are the masters of scheduling and I admire their contribution. Unfortunately, there are not too many leaders of this kind and they end up doing the lion’s share of the work in order that we, the many working under them, may have the opportunity to fulfill our service callings.
Happiness is mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel
fulfilled.– Dr. Benjamin Spock
Ok, here’s an exercise for you. Buy two things, first a wall calendar for your kitchen, or bath, bedroom, office, or hallway. Put it where you will see it first thing each morning.
Secondly, purchase a planner. Go to the dollar store and get a paper planner, or go to the Apple store and get a new iPhone 6 and use your new iCal. Get the new Samsung S6 and start on your new Google Calendar. But get something and get started.
Begin to write all you goals, hopes, dreams and how you are going to make these happen. Track your progress. Sit and look at your “Dream Sheet” and know where you are going, how and when you are going to get there, and be faithful to remembering why we are here!
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why. – Mark Twain
Thanks,
David Woodbury
Next Week: Get The Most Out Of Your Dancing in 2015!