The Power of an Idea

I always was a self starter.  An idea sneaks in…..then, wham! I’m off and running.  Take Monday, for example.  I was quietly listening to a CallerLab clinic about being a “rainmaker”, someone who makes things happen. I got through about 10 minutes of it and had an idea.  I have been asking the clubs up here to re-start the Lavender Festival that had been going in Sequim until the preferred caller got sick. The original coordinators didn’t want anyone else so the event had folded for the last 4 years or so. Everything had closed down.

But Monday……..I knew that it was ME that had to start it. Not someone else.  ME! The recording was turned off, a caller was contacted and penciled in, the venue checked out and penciled in, a few friends contacted and the event became AN EVENT!  And it took no more than an hour.

Now the flyer is almost completed. The potential cuer is contacted. My clubs are on board. And we are on the way! Stay tuned for the event to be announced! What fun it will be.

Never underestimate the potential of an idea who’s time has come!

Leadership…..its triumphs and tragedies

Leadership is a wonderful position to be in.  It is also the scariest.  It has the potential to bring great happiness or great distress.   Progress or destruction.  Who we chose to follow will alter our lives for good or evil.  And those who follow us will be lifted up or torn down.  What a great responsibility.

If there are two leaders in a group causing division and distress, what can be done?  I have seen and heard what happens if left unchecked.  The group falls apart and something that is loved is ultimately destroyed.  Today I heard of another group that is going through this and it breaks my heart.  I have no answers.  We cannot control other people, no matter how hard some try.  We love these people.

But leadership demands that you put yourself aside and work for the betterment of whom and what group you are leading.  But I see pride and the stubbornness attached to their actions.  And since the organization is all volunteers, I see no way to stop it.  We can’t take away their paycheck.  We can’t fire them.  We can’t control them.  So all we can do is stop following them.  Love them, yes.  Accept them, yes.  Follow them, no.

So……we have a meeting tonight.  And since I am a caller, I cannot vote.  I will have to see what happens and then make my choice to follow or not.  As a leader myself, I have to choose who I am willing to follow.  Especially as I watch the club fold under the pressure….and I know way more than I want to.

I know there are many others out there with the same problems.  And I would love to hear how you have managed to save the club.  Or suggestions that you have seen work.

Before we run out of time

I just went to the Memorial for a dancer that passed away last week of a stroke.  I had seen her on Sunday.  She was happy.  She was getting her pain managed.  She was looking forward to being able to dance again.  She had been alone for 10 years and had just remarried.  Her life was looking up……but she was gone on Tuesday.

I was forcefully reminded of 2 things. 1) You never know when your time will be up.  And 2) You never know when someone else’s time will be up.

In the months that I had known her, I had talked to her about improving her health only one time.  As a health coach, that is not a good track record.  Why had I not spoken up?  Why did I leave her unsupported or uninformed about her options?  If I had been a little more bold, could I have helped her dance with us for a few more years? In this case I will never know. And it saddens me greatly. We have lost a friend and a square dancer….neither can be replaced.

So, that leaves me with this question.  What am I going to do with my time……before my friends or I run out of it?

Fun Gifts

I am getting ready to call a dance so I am getting in the spirit of the evening: singing the songs that I am going to be singing, creating and checking the choreography for my new round dance, developing a train theme and getting my playlist lined out.  Preparation is the “work” part of calling and cueing to me…..OH, but it is still so much fun.  Actually calling a dance is too much fun to say that it is work.  I love this part of my life!  Square dancing is one of the best things to have happened in my life. What a gift I have been given and this is a gift that I can give to my friends.

What is the gift written into your life that you have the most fun with?

Why I love Square Dancing

 

How do I love square dancing!  Let me count the ways.

1.  I am making friends all the time.  These are my favorite people besides my family.  Anywhere I have gone across the country, I am walking into a hall full of future friends.

2.  Making snap decisions over and over helps keep my brain engaged and helps ward off Alzheimer’s.

3.  Dance music can be from any genre.  I have danced to everything from classical, old barn style, bluegrass, modern, country, rock and rap.  I am rarely bored by the music selection.  Our bodies vibrate with the sound of music and good music is healing.

4.  Dancing is good exercise.  I don’t know how many calories are burned, but I am energized and alive after an evening of dancing.

5.  I love the dresses.  I like both the full and the prairie skirts.  There is nothing like being in a room full of people all decked out in their colorful, matching costumes.  And I like the trend of not requiring these at local clubs so people can dance without as much of an upfront cost.