What’s Your Dream?

A new beginning… a clean slate… a New Year. I used to spend quite a bit of time at the beginning of each year writing out specific goals for myself in all areas of my life. (Financial, mental, physical, spiritual, emotional.) I still set goals, but I find they are simpler these days. I still believe in specifics, but I am a “big picture” person.

My long-standing favorite definition of success was penned by Ralph Waldo Emerson and reads like this:

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of old and new friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
     Ralph Waldo Emerson

So you see, success is reachable for all of us. I have to remind myself that anything is possible, notwithstanding past disappointments.

If you need a little lift as you prepare for 2008, I suggest a site I recently discovered: Simpletruths.com. There are some awesome & inspiring short movies. My favorite to date is about Johnny the bagger with the main message that “your life can make a difference.” Good stuff.