A Journey of a Thousand Miles

"Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action." Napolean Hill

I watch and read movie reviews, but never go to the movies and rarely rent one to watch at home. This seemingly paradoxical behavior results from two conflicting desires. The first is a desire to keep up with popular culture and the second is to protect my time for more productive pursuits. The reviews give me the scoop on movies without my having to spend two or three hours in a theater. I prefer to stay home and read (or write) a book.

We all have these little inconsistencies and idiosyncracies and most of them are harmless. My friend Kathy collects cookbooks, but she doesn’t cook. Many people subscribe to publications that they never get around to reading. And thousands of us plan to pay off all our bills, buy a new car and start a charitable foundation as soon as we hit the lottery, but we never buy a lottery ticket. Humorist and curmudgeon, Fran Lebowitz, insists that "I've done the calculation and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not." It’s true that you are extraordinarily unlikely to win millions of dollars, but you definitely will not win if you don’t buy a ticket. You have to get in the game.

Sometimes, though, our contradictory behavior can get us in trouble. I once had a friend who said she longed to have her own business and frequently asked how she could get started. I gave her books to read, exercises to do and tests to take that would get her started on the road to entrepreneurship. I told her about classes she could take and people to talk to in her field and she never followed up on a single thing. Maybe she just liked to hear herself whine, or maybe she was so paralyzed by fear that she just couldn’t take a step toward her dream. Yet, like the lottery, you can’t possibly win if you don’t join the game.

If you have a dream, think of one baby step you can take TODAY—make a phone call, read an article, check a website. Then do it.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved

Reading Lessons

“Most people tell me that their darkest times seeded their most significant growth”. Marsha Sinetar

Today was my first day off in ten days and I took full advantage of it. After a nap this morning to catch up on some lost sleep, I went out to lunch with my parents. I have another tough week of work ahead and then I get two full weeks off for the holidays. I can hardly believe it.

I’m planning to spend some of the time getting things organized in my house (a never-ending project), writing and reading.

I currently have 21 books checked out of the library and 26 on hold. The unread ones on my shelf include most of my favorite topics: creativity, writing, small business, and religion. I also have a couple of mysteries. More of the same is on the way. I’m on track to read a total of 120 books this year, ten per month. Next year, I definitely plan to cut down on reading about other peoples’ lives, so I can devote more time to living my own.

This has been a rough year, and I’m looking forward to a better 2007. The time off will give me a chance to be still and reflect on the lessons I’ve learned. With any luck I will be able to go on to new and better lessons next year.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved

Our Global Village

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Max Ehrman, "Desiderata"

Next time you’re feeling sorry for yourself, check out this slide show. It puts things into perspective. Some nitpickers have pointed out that it isn’t entirely accurate and some of the figures presented are impossible to really know, but the spirit of the ideas is powerful.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved

Peace Like a River Ran Through the City

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals. Anonymous

Last year, one of my favorite Christmas gifts was a set of warm wishes candles from my nieces. The twelve rectangular candles came in rainbow colors and each one represented a wish: wealth, luck, comfort, health, fun, peace, love, joy, adventure, balance, longevity and success. Each month I chose one to focus on. As the candle burned down, a charm representing that concept was revealed.

This month’s wish is for peace. While I’d dearly love to bring about world peace, I’m taking to heart the advice to think globally and act locally. If I can create peace in my own life, that can contribute in a microscopic way to peace on earth.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved

A Vision for Your Future

"The best way to be ready for the future is to invent it." John Sculley

This is just too good not to pass on. I learned about it from Lee Silber’s newsletter. It’s about a new multimedia way to set your goals for the coming year. Check out the vision statement at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bis6fUSFxY. I’m going to give it a try. It is that time of year again, when I have to reassess 2006, write about it for my Christmas letter and look ahead to what I want to accomplish next year. Doing a vision statement slide show (I’ll use PowerPoint) will be a fun way to do it.

Over the weekend, I drove around in a lot of snow and ended up having breakfast by myself because my friend Barb couldn’t make it in the snowstorm. Normally, when I eat alone in a restaurant, I have a book to read, but Saturday I didn’t take a book because I expected to be with Barb. Luckily, I always have a notebook in my purse, so I used the time to make notes for a short story I want to write.

When I left, I stopped at OfficeMax to buy myself two items on my Christmas list: an external hard drive they had on sale and a PURPLE padfolio. After that, it was time to stop buying things for myself until after Christmas. I need to get serious about buying gifts for others and getting out my holiday decorations.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved