Dothan Magazine

Also important to me is the staff here at Dothan Magazine. They’ve put together another wonderful issue, and I am very proud of them for their accomplishments, including a recent ADDY® award for the layout and design of the January/February issue.

We had a great time putting this issue together thanks to the interesting stories we’ve got on the Wiregrass Honor Flight, last year’s massive floods, Dr. J. Paul Maddox and our pictorial showcasing some great wedding-day images by local photographers.

Dothan seems to be on an economic upswing and the community is hard at work making progress in many areas. The cultural aspects are alive and well, based on a glance at my perpetually-busy calendar! I really enjoyed the Dothan Area Young Professionals recent Aces for the Arts fundraiser for the Cultural Arts Center. It was a lively night of socializing, networking and the crowd had a great winning attitude! They successfully raised thousands of dollars for the Cultural Arts after school music programs, which provide classes and lessons for children who otherwise would not be exposed to diverse musical programs. My hats off to the DAYP, for putting the “fun” in fundraiser!

We’re here on this planet for such an agonizingly short time that we should do all we can to make every moment count. Don’t get lost in the 92 percent of life that you can’t change. Just grab a hold of the 8 percent that can yield positive results, happiness and a fulfilled life and charge forward.

Live with passion, show others that you love them, and have fun! As Jones explains in the book, “Your time on this earth is a gift to be used wisely. Don’t squander your words or your thoughts. Consider even the simplest action you take, for your lives matter beyond measure…and they matter forever.”

Until next time, do good!

Then, Jones writes down the figure, 30 percent, explaining, “30 percent of the things we worry about have happened in the past. They’re done, and no amount of worry will change that.” The next number, 12 percent is the needless worries about health or family. The final number, 10 percent, is worrying what people think – which you can’t do anything about, anyhow.

Finally, the character in the book writes down 8 percent on a napkin. He cautions that this is where 100 percent of our attention should be focused – on the 8 percent of legitimate concerns that actually need to be dealt with. If we were to focus our whole self on the tiny sliver of life that truly matters, we could change our perspective, and then change our lives.

This book has really hit a nerve for me, because like so many of my friends, I spend needless time worrying about unimportant things. What really drove the message home for me was the birth of our 9th grandchild on January 28.

This new little boy in our brood is named Camden Jay Liester, and he is such a blessing for my wife and I, as well as the entire family. Like the book’s character, he proved to be a little bundle of perspective (and love!) who has helped me refocus on what is truly important.