It’s been a while since I wrote an entry herein; there have been busy times in between, namely the holidays. I look back at the dates and see that after my last entry the play took a lot of time, we rehearsed or performed every night for about six weeks. That whole experience is worth an entry of its own; it was a 42nd Street-like experience.
The planning for 2011 took place during the month of December. It was allowed more time because I wanted to homogenize the dreams and truly use them for developing the strategy and goals for 2011. I now have a certain consistency in the progression of dreams from lifetime to age to present that hasn’t been evident in the past.
I also took the time to flesh out my history, adding three categories that help to describe what was going on at the time. One of these was the car(s) we had; the second was the money situation. These weren’t considered in the past because they’ve never been considered significant items and they still aren’t but they help set the stage for remembering the times past. Aside, there never seems to have been enough money to do everything in a first-class manner. The third memory jogger was the memory or highlight of the year. Granted that there may have been other, better choices made in selecting so I made the decision to go with what came to mind. I can always change it if I think it necessary.
Then with the history file brought up to par, I tackled “Dream for the Present” which became the Dream for the Present in the Performance Evolution tab entitled The Dreams. These came forward to the 2011 Planning tab, in the same workbook, and were used to determine the two main columns in the Endeavors tab, “During the Year 2011 I will_” (Strategy) and “At the End of the Year 2011 I will have_” (Plan.)
Thus I can look at where I am on each of the Endeavors every week throughout the year and be reminded of what I intended for each. This then becomes the determinant of what I will do this week to act consistently and not lose sight of the aim.
It is interesting to note that I have been doing this sort of thing since imagining it in Houston in 1985. I did it on paper and when I became proficient in Symphony, the first version of Office-type software, it was brought along and evolved into what I am using today.
An aspect of my planning efforts is work along the second line, of which I have realized the importance. Where I did it, the results came; where I didn’t the efforts fell short. One of the keys seems to be convinced enough of the efficacy of the desired goal that it can be openly discussed with the right people. Finding those people is another key. There are all sorts of people out there and all of them have motives of their own. You help me and I’ll help you.
When choosing people, I’ve often gone for the more interesting rather than the more sophisticated; the comfortable v. the challenging; those that were near v. seeking out those that would have been better.
There is another aspect that must be considered, it is what is going on in this complex being called me. We are comprised of many personae; each known in the 4th Way as “I”. It is apparent that a few of these are more prominent than others. There is one in this being, the observant I, that is prominent and active. He is an expert at after-the-fact observations of what should have/should not have been. Just like now as this blog entry is being written, he is quick to point out what was and what could be. So, he is an important influence on the shaping of the lifetime.
There are others who take action, who put the being in environments and situations where aim can be achieved; whatever that may be. Often they are cognizant enough to see where an opportunity may exist and then put the being in circumstances where he can take advantage of it. This happens a lot on minor aims as well as major. It is only after the fact that the observing one sees that it has taken place.
A pitfall is the timing of the observing one being in control. When he interferes with an acting one it leads to less than satisfactory results; often to mistakes, false steps, errors, wasted efforts, and disappointment. The challenge is to keep this one in his proper role and allow the others to achieve the aim for which they are striving. The elaborate planning method used/described here allows the observing one to articulate what is desired by the others and then stay out of the way as life goes on. The extant plan is the result of much iteration over time as each of the acting ones make their objectives known.
There is value in the process of articulating dreams, devising strategies, making plans, defining tasks, and accomplishing them. It maintains a certain focus that allows the observing one to step back and stay out of the way of the performers. If the dreams do not truthfully represent the desired results for this lifetime, the performers will still do what they must to achieve their particular aims. The observing one will wring his hands and fret over the lack of results but those results weren’t meant to be. Sort of like a body politic where the president/ leader doesn’t really speak for the people.
So there are two life strategies; one is to let it happen because it will anyway, and the other is to be involved on as many levels as possible as it happens. My choice, as the observing one in this being, is the second because it is more fun and there is a feeling of participation in the big picture.
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