If you want something different, you are going to have to do something different. ~ Jack Canfield
It is often said that people do not change until the pain of change is more than the pain of staying the same. The option to look at our progress or results and make any adjustments to get a different result is one of the greatest advantages of free will. Yet, when given a different way of doing things even by an expert or professional some will say, “that is not how I/we do it.” Or they will say, “We/I have always done it this way or that.” It seems they are more in love with the pain or the plan they crated rather than zeroing in on what is necessary for the desired results.
When a plan or action is not working, not getting the results you are aiming for you have to make an acute evaluation of your process. In as objective a fashion as possible you must step outside of yourself and rise to the 10,000 foot view of the situation and make a thorough assessment of everything. Next, you use all your available knowledge, experience, and sometimes outside experts and consultants to plot your adjustments. If you’re in a boat headed to Port-au-Prince and your assessment says you are off course wouldn’t you use your knowledge and experience and the instruments on the boat to get the vessel back on track toward your desired destination? Or would it be wise just to stick to it full speed ahead in the wrong direction?
In a recent post, we shared my Dad’s formula for Situational Success:
The choice is always ours. It has always been our choice to change in order to get a different result. The results we desire. But alas, a wise Rabbi once said, the poor will always be among us. Why? No matter what some will never change to get change. The question is, will you?
Don’t let them change ya, oh
Or even rearrange ya
Oh, no
~ Bob Marley, “Could You Be Loved”
This has been one AMAZING year for the Dubbs! I am grateful and thankful for my family and all the individuals who have contributed to this year’s journey. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! I write you this missive from the kitchen table of my parents in Huntsville, Alabama on a lovely Christmas Day. (It is unusually warm for Christmas in Alabama – the windows are open… etc.) I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it home to my parents’ place for Christmas this year, but I stuck to the plan… and things worked out. Like the leader Hannibal from the 80’s tv show The A Team, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Yesterday, was my first day back in Huntsville after a year-long absence and I was greeted by several family members visiting from Philadelphia including my Dad’s older brother, my Uncle Gary. Gary, and his partner John, enthusiastically inquired where we could screen a home video from 1992 that was made during the graduation party held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after I completed my time at Huntsville High School. As a legacy specialist the video recorded by my Uncle John is a priceless treasure trove of family history, images, and most impactful of all, the voices of loved-ones who have long transitioned from our earthly plane.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I listened to my Dad’s mother wish me congratulations, offer me a blessing, and proffer up a reminder that I am to always remember the sacrifices necessary to build the man, as well as an edict to share the knowledge and learning acquired in my future endeavors. Well, 1992 was 27 years ago, and the journey has been vast and deep, starting ten days after the party that I mention here, I found myself laying in a top bunk at the United States Navy’s Naval Training Center in San Diego, California for a nine week edition of U. S. Navy Boot Camp.
My father has always taught us, “Plan your work and work your plan.” I did just that Dad, and as a result I am able to share Christmas in person with you this year. A blessing wrapped up in a child being obedient to the wise instructions gifted by the parents.
May the Universe Bless you and yours. May the Ancestors smile on your endeavors along the journey. May the world know the wonders of your character by the works you leave behind.
Merry Christmas. Happy Kwanza! And all the most meaningful experiences and lessons for us all in the year 2020.
Here, is a video I did back in 2018. #LegacyLesson 005 – “Change Your Relationship With Failure” inspired by the @willsmith video from 1/11/2018 discussing your relationship with #failure. #WillSmith
Don West Jr. - BLOG 