Moving Along

"Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir mens' blood."


Isn't that a great quote? It is from Daniel Burnham, renowned architect and the principal director of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. I believe in big plans- big dreams, big plans, big goals- I love them all. So what's new? Not very much today. I had a personal appointment this morning which took an hour's drive, so it gave me plenty of time to think. Last night's news about the event planner not working on our Mother's Day event threw me off and caused me to panic because all of a sudden I was all alone with a huge event sitting in my lap. As I drove, I started breaking things down into smaller pieces- thinking about what we have done so far, how to find an event planner and the fact that if I had to, I could do this event by myself (as I've done all the others so far) and it will work out great. I haven't had a dud event yet, but that is also because I've worked extremely hard to make each one a success and was cautious about not trying to do too much. This afternoon, I was calling event planners and as I started speaking with them, I became even more confident about the event. I was listening to myself as I spoke and realized just how much I already have done and what a cool event it is. The event planners I spoke with were very receptive about the event, so I will keep you updated on how things go. There were some planners that we are not a good fit for, but the woman I spoke with who owned the company was very supportive, loved our event idea and recommended other planners who would be a better fit for our needs. I need to find an event planner who will help find financial and in-kind sponsors for the event and assist with marketing- that is our primary need.

I did speak briefly with one person who owns a marketing and public relations company. Her first response after I told her about what we needed was, "It is very hard to find sponsors now." Her negativity was somewhat surprising especially since she works in public relations. Now, anyone with half a brain knows that things are difficult, I'm not arguing that point- I deal with that everyday. However, this is the year of the "yes, we can" attitude. There are still sponsors out there, the world is still revolving, people are still attending events- it may be harder to find, but it is do-able. I don't need people living in a dream world where everything is peachy, but I'm not having people on team Project Smile that are negative. Negativity is a life sucker, it is contagious and accomplishes nothing.

Well, that's it for tonight. I'm going to write my list- tomorrow, I'm off to a local bank that did a collection drive for us. We are doing a photo together for the local paper and I'm picking up the items. Then I'm back to work on contacting more departments, finishing our January newsletter, contacting more planners, working on events and there is some networking research that I need to do. There are probably a few other things that need to go on my list as well, but can't remember right now.

It is so nice to know that people care. A friend called me today after she read yesterday's blog just to check on me and make sure I was feeling OK. There is something so special when people take an extra step and let you know that they're thinking of you. She is already stressed with her own stuff, so to take time out to call me meant a lot. I try to do that for people I know too, sometimes I feel kind of useless though- particularly when people are going through things and there is nothing that I can do to help. From my own experiences, I know that just listening is usually enough- a sympathetic voice on other end of the phone can make a big difference.

Anyways friends, that's it for tonight. It is a few minutes past midnite- I would like to go back and do some more work or read for a bit, but I think I need to sleep- what an early night! Until tomorrow..