You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to
enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a
finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the
world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.
- Woodrow Wilson
Two years ago, thanks to Big Fish Nation, I wrote a ten-year vision for my life, and founder Lorin Beller Blake introduced me to the above quote from Woodrow Wilson. The exercise of writing down what I wanted was a scary endeavor. But after spending two weeks reflecting on the answer to the question, "If you could have any life you wanted, what would it look like?" I came to a description of my dreams that looked beyond the mundane day-to-day as I knew it and into improving my happiness and the lives of others. Deep down, I think we all want to wake up and go to work doing something we love; in turn, our enthusiasm inspires others to pursue their dreams.
Improve your well-being
Over time, we change, and we refine our vision for our life as we evolve and come to understand ourselves. But, what I've found with my plan for my life is that the core of the positive impact I want to have on others stays the same. I still want to inspire people to take action to improve their well-being and the well-being of their families. As I finish my manuscript for my book due out next spring, I check in on my vision: what's next?
Pursue your dreams
I am impacting families with my ideas and now children too. Take my school events program, for example. I always knew I loved working with school children, seeing their potential and thirst for hands-on learning outside and taught lessons occasionally. But after teaching 1,100 middle schoolers on April 22nd of this year to plant and care for peas that they then took home, I established a formal program to teach school-wide outdoor lessons to 35,000 school children next year. Here is a video of the school-wide event I taught in Washington, DC on June 11th; can you see why I love my job?
Live your best life
In addition to my school events program (Vote after July 1st on www.refresheverything.com), I'm ready to help others pursue their dreams with a TV show called Wish It, Dream It, Do It. My show has interviews with people who are living their best lives and how they maintain their best lives every day, help from experts to start you on your journey to living your best life, and surprise visits to viewers to help get them back on track. I've already gotten a thumbs up from their Casting Director. Now tell Oprah that you want a show to help you make your dreams come true: vote now.
What is important is that we are in tune with whether we are happy with where we have chosen to be in this moment or to do something about it if we're not. Here's to being the change you wish to see in the world!
About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen believes time outside transforms our lives for the better. PJ's Backyard Adventures is the latest project from Rebecca, author of the book 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks), and creator of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in countless media outlets, including USA Today, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, and Family Circle. In addition, Rebecca has appeared on live morning news shows around the country, and is also host of the video series, Get Out of the House, which shows fun ideas for time outside in every season. For Rebecca's inspiring blog and free downloads, visit BeOutsideAndGrow.com.