What you can do!


“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Greetings from the Front Porch!


I love John Wooden, his legacy of leadership and his commitment for growth is the reason I would pick him if I had the opportunity to go back in time  and spend one day with anyone,

His insight, integrity and faith have been a guiding force in my pursuit to become a participant in life instead of a performer. 

I use to be a woman who spent a good part of my life performing, hiding behind my masks, my tasks and my roles. 

If you would have asked me to tell you what I was good at back in the day, what you would have found  from me would have been a long silent pause while I held back my tears, composed my thoughts and rehearsed my lines, of course in my head.

I was good at trying to please everyone, all the time.  Did it work?  No, never.  It left me completely and utterly exhausted and the feeling of defeat was always following close behind me.

Over the last several years I have learned to trade in the masks for hats, which I have learned to hang up on a rack when not in use.  I traded my ticket of performance in for participation, granted, it is much messier now then back in the day when I rehearsed every line, every action every detail of my life but, I am free to be me. 



I have also taken my tasks, to do’s and check boxes and narrowed  the twenty plus a day down to no more then five must do’s on any given day.  Granted, there are days when I might have to add a few more but also days where I get to take off a few more as well.

Through the process of learning how to participate instead of perform I have also been able to discover who I am.  I have learned to focus more on what I can do instead of what I cannot do while celebrating the fact that there is still so much I can learn if I choose to.

Also, through this process of learning how to participate instead of perform; I was able to discover my voice, the voice that shouts from the rooftop, everyone matters even me!  The voice that likes to listen well and ask good questions, the voice that likes to encourage, motivate and inspire.

Through this process of trading in my ticket of performance I also was able to understand my story, the one that starts with, once upon a time there was this little girl who longed to be heard and ends with and when she grew up, she found her voice.

Through this process of trading in my ticket of performance I also was able to put dimensions to my dreams, the ones hidden deep with in my heart that were being hidden behind all the things I believed I couldn’t do.  The dreams of helping others find their voice, know their story and live out their dreams as well.

Today I will do as Coach Wooden has suggested, I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.

What can I do?  I can listen well, ask great questions and pause on purpose through the process of helping people discover their voice, know their story and live in their dream, this I know I can do.

What can you do?  Please feel free to a leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.  Remember, your voice, your story and your dreams point to the things you can do.

Cris


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