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Our
Weekly Letter for January 24, 2001
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Hello
everyone,
We just returned from our Dancin' on the High Seas competition on the
Carnival Cruise Lines M/S Fantasy and had a wonderful time! We are looking
forward to cruising next year out of Galveston in March, 2002. Mark your
calendars now!
Here is a great thought for the day:
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"Resolve says, 'I will.' The man says, 'I will climb this mountain.
They told me it is too high, too far, too steep, too rocky and too
difficult. But it's my mountain. I will climb it. You will soon see me
waving from the top or dead on the side from trying.'" Jim Rohn
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We have two more great events this weekend with our Kansas Spectacular in
Olathe, Kansas, with over 60 teams, as well as the Curtain Call Dance
Classic
in The Woodlands, Texas. Watch soon for contest results to be posted
within
a week following each event. You can also view weekly schedules on our web
site. Make sure that you have Adobe
Acrobat Reader in order to open the pages.
Below is a story passed along to me by Jaclyn Reed from Kansas, one of our
staff members. It reminds us of how resilient we must be and how obstacles
should not slow us down. I hope it inspires you as it did me.
Have
a great week, and please stay in touch.
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Joyce E. Pennington
President, CEO
American Dance/Drill
Team®
800/462-5719
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us about articles or subjects you would be interested
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Past
Weekly Messages
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SHAKE
IT OFF AND STEP UP!
This parable is told of a farmer who owned an
old mule.
The mule fell into the farmer's well. The water wasn't very deep, so the
mule could stand on the bottom. The farmer heard the mule praying-or
whatever mules do when they fall into wells.
After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the
mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble
of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what
had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in
the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical. But as the farmer and his
neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back a thought struck
him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt
landed on his back he should shake it off and step up. This he did, blow
after blow of dirt hitting his back. "Shake it off and step up...
shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up" repeated to
encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the
situation seemed,
the old mule fought panic and just kept right on shaking it off and
stepping up. It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted,
stepped triumphantly over the wall of the well.
What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him, all because of the
manner in which he handled his adversity. That's life. If we face our
problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic,
bitterness, or self-pity...the
adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the very
real potential to benefit us. Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember, amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic. |
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