In today’s teaching, the recognition of personality types has become more prominent. Some training is Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholy, or a Sanguine.

These categories highlight the strong, the composed, the list makers and the people who always have a smile.

Another school of thought are the Creators who develop knowledge, the Refiners who find flaws in those ideas, the Executors who show how to do it, and the Advancers who make decisions and get the ideas going.

Going back even further, we recognized another personality type.  The great teachers Carmelita Davis and Jerry Allbright, from Kansas City, taught the Chameleon Principle. They taught that when you met someone, to make them feel comfortable with you, you take on their personality and be as they are. Laugh with them, be quiet with them and mirror their best qualities to make them feel welcome.

As for me, I find that the Empire Principal Personality Type works best. J. Clair Woodbury taught me this.  When you meet someone, instantly find out what you like about them and build an Empire on that quality. It could be their smile, their mode of dress, or something they said to you. Mrs. Woodbury did not know a stranger and I have found that using her Empire Principal has opened up a whole sphere of hospitality for me.

In today’s world, often times people are more careful than ever when greeting or meeting others. We are sometimes filled with fear or held back by caution. A good dose of common sense is good to possess, but our greatest tool is a genuine smile and a friendly greeting. An old saying is: “A gentle answer deflects anger”. Sometimes people are so surprised with a happy smile and a warm greeting that they feel right at home instantly.

Ok, what about when someone comes into your work place who is angry, or you receive a harsh phone call?  Remember, don’t take it personally. Nine times out of ten they are not mad at you, but angry at something that happened earlier. At that moment, we have the opportunity to make or break their whole day. At that instant, we have the ability to turn the whole situation around to the positive.

Homework:  Try a day of smiles… and see what happens!!!

Next Week: The solutions are within us all along.

With Sincere Thanks,

David Earl Woodbury

I was sitting at the beginning of mass. 2002 was a year of great losses and I was numb with life’s changes. I stood from the pew and went to someone who looked like they were in charge and asked, “Do you need some help?” I was handed some song sheets and asked to stand at the front door and hand them out. That moment changed my life.

I stood at the front door and said “Welcome” to many who entered the doors. I smiled and greeted many, many people that I had never met. Afterwards I was asked, “Can you be here for the 5:30 Mass?” I was hooked.

The first Christmas after my parent’s death and my partner’s death, I was panicked about the holidays.  I was accustomed to spending Christmas at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki, and now I was alone. What was I going to do?

Well, I went into service and started helping others. That Christmas I served at 7 masses.  I said, “Merry Christmas”, hundreds of times. And to my great amazement, I saw many sad faces.  I saw dark eyes, lonely eyes, eyes with sadness and pain.  I found as the night passed, and the next morning of masses, that I was changing.  I perceived that I was not so bad off.  There were others aside from myself in need of a smile, a kind word, and a friendly greeting.

Walking home that afternoon, I was happy and felt blessed. I had my health, my dancing, my home, and now a new way to deal with grief…giving service.  Since that first day, the man I spoke to, Daniel Schwala, has become my life’s mentor.  He is the best example of hospitality that I have ever known.  He knows how to greet others, always remembers everyone’s names, and is the master of introductions. He is a true steward of the great gift of hospitality.

Now, after about 10 years of service, my life has changed in a wonderful way. The world of hospitality has become my new life.  In ballroom dancing, I have found a new energy of making others happy through performing and dancing. I try to emulate Dan Schwala through my greeting of others, introducing new friends and dancers, and remembering their names.

In today’s fast-paced world of texting and Facebook, we are often times more disconnected than ever before.  The personal touch is vanishing into the world of LED screens and Wi-Fi. For me, I want to keep the old fashioned face-to-face greeting alive and stay hands-on. I hope to be the face of Arthur Murray Studios and a good steward of hospitality for the rest of my life.

Next Week: “The Four Personality Types”

Very Sincerely,

David Woodbury

Closing the Back Door….

Many years ago I was writing a book about the ultimate commitment. The title was about Closing the Back Door, and the book was about making lifetime commitments. I was practicing commitment in my life at that time and truly believed in “Closing the Back Door” to indecision and needless change.

Then, I experienced some of the greatest losses of anyone’s lifetime. Parents and partner and family, health and business. It seemed as if my whole life turned upside down in a very short time. Where my life was planned, successful, secure and full of love and blessings, suddenly a whirlwind of change wiped all that out.

What did I do?  How did I cope? How have I made it to a happy and continued successful new life full of family, service, health, and dancing? And, how am I able almost a decade later to revisit this topic regarding making ultimate commitments? I have realized at 55 years of age that life is sure to change, we can count on that. Yet, once again, I have made new life commitments. I have once again closed the back door and made the ultimate home and family commitments. I have rededicated myself to a life of faith through service. As for dancing, I’m not going anywhere. There are still a lot of great dancing years ahead for me.

…fixing our mistakes before we make them.

Well, Hindsight truly is 20/20. Now, I try to think before I take actions or make decisions. “It’s impossible to unring a bell, once that bell has been rung”. Once words have been uttered, they cannot be taken back. For my own quick mouth, I have found that at times, silence is truly golden.

Perhaps, it is learning from our past experiences as we grow older. Now, I truly think before speaking or making a decision. Those times of contemplation are precious moments in my life. I think now that I can see deeper into the future to see what the repercussions will be from my actions and I am able to make better life decisions.

Every moment of every day can be a new beginning for us all.  We only have to say, “I’m starting fresh RIGHT NOW!” and then beginning anew. Take a stand, learn from the past, forgive ourselves and forgive others and move on to a new day.

Next week I’m writing about the key moments that opened the door to my new and present life.  I found the answer to a happy and peaceful life. I found the missing ingredient in all my life’s experiences that forever changed me and has altered my present and my future. Tune in.

Next Week: “Do you need some help?”

Very Sincerely,

David Woodbury

Ron Christy is a world champion in Country Western and West Coast Swing, as well as a traveling Coach and Consultant for Arthur Murray. Just in time to coach you for Diamond Star Ball in March, or styling and overall social dancing help.

Coaching Lessons will be available on Tuesday the 7^th and Wednesday the 8^th. The West Coast Swing Master Workshop will be held on Wednesday the 7^th at 7:45pm.  

Closing the back door, fixing our mistakes before we make them.

Happy New Year! I wish you all a great 2012 full of Health and Fitness, and especially, while dancing throughout the year with Arthur Murray Dance Studios! This is our 100^th Anniversary…. so Let’s Celebrate!

Ever wish you could go back and change something? A harsh word said, a thoughtless action, a bad decision. Have you ever been driving home and said, “Oh, I wish I could take that back”, or, “I could have handled that differently”. I think we have all had those moments of enlightened regret over some of our life’s decisions and actions.

Solution…what if we could take a moment and think about our words and actions BEFORE, rather than after, they happened? What if we first took a deep breath, paused, and thought of our words before they were uttered? An old verse reads: “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” Also it is said: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

What may be the result of saying the right thing at the right time? “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.” I must confess that I have at times an acerbic tongue. My tendency is to be quick to anger and even faster to speak. Yet, with all my soul I am trying to practice the perfect mathematics of having two ears and one mouth, and to listen twice as much as I speak.

Dancing is a great tool for this technique.  In dancing, we must know our patterns which are polished through practice. We must know how to move with a partner and connect with them.  Dancing requires us to know what we are doing AHEAD of time and how to put our patterns together in an appealing way. We must also know how to change steps in mid-stream depending on the other dancers on the floor, varying music, or just moving to a new dance all together.

What if we could live life this way? Having partnership and connection at the front of our thoughts and a smooth delivery that is well thought out.  Ballroom dancers have it made. We know how to maneuver across the ballroom using floor craft, showing the style and character of the dance, while we are presenting our partner and pleasing our audience.

World peace… I would like to be asked to teach a ballroom dance lesson at the United Nations. I would teach everyone how to greet a partner, invite them to dance, guide a partner onto the floor, and thank them at the end. I think we would all have happier and more peaceful lives if we used the partnership and connection of ballroom dancers.

Next Week: Closing the Back Door!

Very Sincerely,

David Woodbury

We’re going into a new year, a new beginning, even the start of a new life. Health and Fitness through Dancing is my theme for 2012. After a fantastic year of health, fitness, weight loss, lots and lots of dancing, I’m ready to step forward into a fantastical new realm of excitement and fun in the upcoming 12 months!

Looking back upon 2011, I write in amazement over my 40 lost pounds and the stamina I now have.  The staff danced a marathon of 9 lessons this past Sunday.  Afterwards, I felt I had energy to spare and I walked out with a spring in my step. There were a lot of tired feet around, but we were all in good shape from hours of dancing and performing.

Looking into the future, I have written down my goals.  I want a better weight for myself. I plan to continue to improve my dancing and dancing skills, and perform ballroom dancing even more.  As for food, this year I’m making friends with food and nutrition.  We need to eat so it might as well be nutritious, delicious, and good for us.

For exercise, I want to run a half marathon (13.1 mi.), continue swimming, and running regularly. For my dancing, I love being able to dance like a 20 year old. I want to stay proficient in all the dances and keep my dancing skills fresh and strong. Keep Moving, that’s my motto for 2012!

For family and faith, I think they both are first on my New Year’s List of priorities. This New Year will be a year of living with a heart of gratitude all year long for all the great things that have come my way. I plan to keep the home fires burning brightly and trying to be a good steward of my gifts of service

For career….I feel that I don’t have work or an occupation, but a life style of music and dance.  Arthur Murray is who I am after 36 years.  I am an Arthur Murray Man through and through. I believe in our Magic Medalist system of teaching and revere our 100 years history and tradition. Have you ever met someone who loved their job? Well, I’m one of those people.  These past years have been a joy and I look forward to the future.

For dance, this is my 2012 creed: KEEP ON DANCING! I plan to dance the rest of my life and to stay healthy and happy. Dancing keeps us young and agile. Dancing and music are the sparks that will always keep us young at heart.

Happy Dancing New Year to you all!

Very Sincerely,

David Woodbury

Here we are in the middle of Hanukkah and almost to Christmas. The amazing year of 2012 is just ahead featuring Arthur Murray’s 100^th Worldwide Anniversary. What a wonderful time we have ahead of us!

As I look back on 2011, I relive the year with a heart of gratitude and amazement. My health returned and I lost 40 pounds. It was a great year of dancing and sharing Health and Fitness through this blog and on Facebook.

Since we are at the end of the year, the true reason for the season is sharing the amazing transformations we experienced throughout the past 12 months. My Reason for the Season is to share my faith, successes, and experiences with others to help and encourage them.

Have there been trials and rough times? Yes. I even gained back almost 10 pounds in September after my Hawaii vacation.  Got all that weight off, but it was rough (and I did not blog about that challenge!). I just kept thinking, “I have so many good blessings in my life.  I have good common sense to appreciate these blessings so let’s move on and make a difference!”

What is your Reason for the Season? Are you happy and feeling good about the past year? Are you full of doubt, regret and uncertainty? Do you feel that you made a difference in 2011? Try this…write down all the great things that came your way in 2011; the wonderful friendships, great moments experienced, the making and achieving of goals.

We step into the precious days ahead with awe and reverence. We celebrate the Winter Equinox and the start of the winter season. The many celebrations of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa bring us together with family and those we care about.

Observe the season with a moment of quiet reflection and mediation. In these special moments, say thank you in your heart for the gift of life that we all share. Thank you  to all who have journeyed with me this past year reading these short essays on Health and Fitness.  From me to all of you, I say “Bless you and Have a Wonderful Holiday Season!”

Next installment: Let’ Begin Fresh in 2012!

Very Sincerely,

David Woodbury

Thanksgiving Day this year we ran a 15K (9.3 mi.) in the Santa Monica Mountains.  It started with the first three miles UPHILL, then we ran into the Garapito Trail for three more miles.  It was like running an obstacle course; slippery, muddy, exposed roots, steep drop offs, creeks, and hairpin curves.  After we left the trail, we proceeded to run UPHILL again on the fire roads. By mile 8, we were at the top. We could see into the San Fernando Valley to our right, then all the way to Catalina Island across the ocean to the left.  Spectacular!

At that point, I realized that we only had just over a mile to reach the finish.  A quiet sadness rushed over me realizing that we were almost finished.  We began to run down the last hill and we could see our car and the finish line. We could now hear the announcer and hear the cheering at the end. Finally, after two and a half hours, we crossed the finish line and received our medal.  We DID it.

Two days later, we ran the Wobble Gobble 5K (3.1 mi.).  It flew by in a moment. December 10th we finished our racing season with the Venice Christmas Run 10K. We ran in Santa hats with several thousand crazy runners.  We started at 7:30 AM, cold in the 40’s just after a lunar eclipse. All the runners in reindeer and elf costumes and all the jingle bells added to the festive feel of the run. We had the time of our lives.

Each mile seemed to fly by on that perfect morning.  I said after mile 3, “Let’s eat up miles 4 and 5!” After that we only had the 6^th mile to run and that was on the boardwalk in Venice along the beach.  We raced to the finish line with a strong effort wishing there was more. It was a glorious event. By the way, afterwards we went to the studio and danced ALL day, ending with a dance party! Whew!

Making it.  Now after a year of blogging about health and fitness and losing 40 pounds, I feel encouraged. I went from weighing in over 250, as high as 255, and now down to 210. I had no wind and now I’m running 10K’s and I can swim a kilometer without stopping. I can dance all day with the 20 something’s (I’m 55) and I still have energy to burn. Yes, I’ve had a good year.

Be encouraged. Remember, it WILL get better in your life, it did for me. We can make changes and turn our lives around.  I know that I have some challenges and hurdles to cross in the future, but now I have a deep confidence that is so strong that I can share it with others. My mission in life now is to share strength, hope, and belief to others through service and encouragement.

Next week: The new year of 2012!

Very Sincerely,

David Woodbury

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