"I have always admired a man like the late Fred Fuller Shedd, who had a gift for stating an old truth in a new and picturesque way.” – Dale Carnegie
Sawdust
I just happened to be walking past the “fishbowl” window glass, behind which Don Dancer was sitting. We locked eyes and smiled at each other. That was my invitation to enter through the office door and say hello.
Don started our conversation by asking, “How are you?”
Then, seemingly, without taking a breath Don continued, “What are you doing to take care of yourself?”
He then talked about the importance of moving-on from one’s past before describing his determination to create his own happy and satisfying future. As he was speaking I could almost see Dale Carnegie’s persona projecting from Don’s countenance as he pontificated about the futility of worrying about the past.
Dale Carnegie wrote, “I have always admired a man like the late Fred Fuller Shedd, who had a gift for stating an old truth in a new and picturesque way. While editor of the Philadelphia Bulletin and addressing a college graduating class, he asked: ‘How many of you have ever sawed wood? Let’s see your hands.’ Most of them had. Then he inquired: ‘How many of you have ever sawed sawdust?’ No hands went up. ‘Of course, you can’t saw sawdust!’ Mr. Shedd exclaimed. ‘It’s already sawed! And it’s the same with the past. When you start worrying about things that are over and done with, you’re merely trying to saw sawdust.’”
Don has stopped trying to saw sawdust! It feels so good to him that he wanted to offer me the same gift. And, he hasn’t stop at that. He’s busy and active in designing a curated life, doing the work of sawing new wood. He’s following a process of gathering, cleaning, and selecting actions and experiences to enable his daily living to become present in a specific, intentional way.
Intention is everything when it comes to creating intended results. Don knows this and schedules personal imaging time weekly.
“I spend time thinking about what I want my future to be,” he explained to me, while emphasizing the importance of this seemingly unassuming, yet essential activity. “The reason you do it on a weekly basis is that creating the life you want is a ‘design-build’ process. It is impossible to visualize everything you want in one sitting, because you learn and build as you go!”
It was time for me to go. So, I thanked Don for inspiring me. And, as I stepped past the doorway to leave I felt the need glance at my reflected-self in that “fishbowl” window glass to see if there was sawdust needing to be brushed off!
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I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as an Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.
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