The following showed up in my E-mail box a few days ago … and appeared to be a perfect add-on to the comments that appeared on this page a couple of weeks back under the heading “The Next Booth Brothers.” It’s written by Jerry Del Colliano and appeared in his daily blog which is directed to members of the radio broadcast industry:
Last week one of my readers shared a thought that resonated so powerfully with him that he wanted to tell me about it.
The motivational speaker Matthew Kelly coined the term “become the best version of yourself” and my reader said “Whenever I get the chance I share that line with a friend, family member or co-worker who seems to be down and out or in need of a pep talk. I am batting a thousand with that phrase, and it his truly changed my life and helped me to inspire others.”
It’s the only purpose in life that is worthy of our hard work and dedication. We live to become a better version of the person we were yesterday.
Ironically enough, the way to get to “best” is to first take the eulogy test:
1. When you die, how do you want to be remembered?
2. What kind of a person would you have wanted to become?
3. What personal traits are you leaving to those you love the most?
4. What is your strongest attribute?
Then, live on and dedicate yourself to these things that you deem most important. It’s impressive to be rich and die rich.
But you are rich when you can chip away at becoming better at what’s important to you. Even our smartphones and mobile devices get better each time they are reinvented. Shouldn’t we?
I’m pleased to say that I gave Jerry his first job in commercial radio in 1964 while he was still a student at the Temple University School of Communications in Philadelphia. Jerry went on to become a successful radio station program director and later publisher of a radio industry newsletter, Inside Radio, and is now a consultant, author and college professor in the field of communications.
Then, just a couple of days later … Jerry sent along this little “epistle”:
First, We Must Dream To Make Them Come True . . .
Think of the focus that Olympic athletes must have to work for years and years for one chance to realize their dream – The Gold Medal. They work through injury, disappointment, bad luck and extreme competition to get a shot at the accomplishment that drives them.
The rest of us also want our dreams to come true especially in an age of plenty in which we now live.
It’s not for the lack of “wanting,” it’s often our inability to see vividly in our mind’s eye that which we want to come true. Walt Disney, the great dreamer, said, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them”.
Know your dream – if you can’t provide endless details about that which you want, you probably will never get it. Focus on the most important thing that would make your life fulfilled and then assure that everything that you do – where you work, live and with whom you spend time helps you advance your dream. Share it with others because, as the writer Erma Bombeck said, “It takes courage to show your dreams to someone else”.
It’s great to work hard on someone else’s dream, but better to see, feel and taste the one that drives you.
© 2013 Jerry Del Colliano
Of course, this was written from a secular standpoint. So, I say that you must make the substance of your dreams a part of your daily prayers. Then, over time, you’ll find whether or not they are anointed and blessed by our Lord … guiding you on how to proceed.
Marlin
