Daily Gratitude: “You cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”

Dolly could have accepted her fate of poverty. She could have just stayed in her 1 room (or 2 room depending on who you read) cabin staring out at the world wishing and hoping for something better.

You can too.

But Dolly wasn’t satisfied. She wanted more. She wanted to be that lady she saw on the street corner every time she got to go to town. Did you know that’s why she picked her look. She thought that woman represented success so she vowed she would look just like that woman when she “made it”. She had a role model. The woman may have been a “lady of the night” but Dolly didn’t know. She didn’t even know what that meant.

But she had something to aim for. She had a goal.

She didn’t just sit back and whine over her misfortune. She decided to do something about it. She had a goal. She was going to Nashville.

And she did. She took action.

She didn’t just stay with Porter Wagoner. She knew she was being stifled. She knew that to be what she wanted, she had to get away.

It was hard but again she took action. To further her progress towards her greater goal.

She then began to give back. Little gifts became massive gifts. Just like the snowball that is tipped over the top of the mountain and eventually becomes an avalanche. Dolly’s gifts were definitely avalanche material

And the rest is history.

Notice the simple (but not necessarily easy) steps.

She had a goal.
She took action.
She kept taking action.
She gave back.

You can do this too. What’s keeping you stagnant? What’s holding you back? Stop standing and staring.

Daily Gratitude: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

I’m still on Dolly because I think if we all modeled our behavior after hers, this world would be a better place.

Often people look at someone who’s a success (like Dolly) and they sit back and sigh, thinking the successful person is so lucky.

Luck rarely has anything to do with the success of someone like Dolly Parton. Sure there is luck sometimes- like being at the right place at the right time. But 99% of the time it’s about hard work AND giving back. Too many times people forget that second part.

Dolly never forgot it.

She never forgot to be nice to everyone around her. Everyone! How much effort does that take?

Her starting the Imagination Library is a perfect example. When she started making enough money she started sending books to children anywhere from birth to age 5 so that they could learn to read. She didn’t send 300 million books to several countries around the world in the beginning. She started small, in her home county and area. And as her wealth grew, the organization grew and so did the number of books. She started small but with a purpose. She was honoring her father who couldn’t read or write.

But she was also honoring the children. She knew many of them had or could have dreams. But she also knew that the way to reaching most dreams is hidden in books. So she wanted to help kids learn to read so they could reach her dreams.

This is just one way Dolly will live forever. She’ll live in so many hearts for all that time.

What little bit of good can you start with today? Can you smile at someone and sincerely find out how they’re doing? I didn’t say just ask. I said inquire. You know people generally will simply respond with “ok” even when they aren’t. Do you want to do a little bit of good? Dig deeper. Take more time. Care.

Be like Dolly. Bruce Lee said be like water. I say also be like Dolly!

Daily Gratitude: “The measure of a life is not what you consume, but what you contribute.”

I’m sure there are better quotes to commemorate the life of Dolly Parton but this sums up her iconic 80 years. This woman contributed so much that many of us don’t even know about.

She was an amazing musician yes. But did you know she wrote over 3000 songs?

Her appearance took over and when people criticized or made fun of it, she joked – “people think I’m just a dumb blonde. That’s ok because I know I’m not dumb…and I’m not blonde”. Or, “it takes a lot of money to look this cheap.” She knew what she really was – deep inside. And that’s what she showed us with her philanthropic deeds.

One of the doctors who worked on the Covid vaccine said her gift of one million dollars toward vaccine research at Vanderbilt sped up its creation or production 10 times.

Have you ever heard of her Imagination Library? Her daddy couldn’t read or write and she wanted every child to be able to reach their dreams. She knew that would be facilitated via books. So, she sends books to kids all over the world and over 300 MILLION books have been distributed. It was her passion almost as much as singing was.

This woman was an astute business woman too as you can tell from all her business ventures.

She loved people and she loved her husband. I personally believe she died from a broken heart and she was ready to be with Carl.

Find me someone who didn’t and doesn’t respect the phenomenal Dolly Parton. May she rest in peace.