{"id":10884,"date":"2022-06-04T09:45:57","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T13:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/?p=10884"},"modified":"2022-06-04T10:24:53","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T14:24:53","slug":"the-evergreen-journal-17-put-your-best-foot-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/the-evergreen-journal-17-put-your-best-foot-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evergreen Journal #17 – Put your best foot forward"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Evergreen Journal #17\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Put Your Best Foot Forward<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n

A Future Goal Becomes a Present Reality.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you intend to do with this degree?\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0My art professor looked directly at me as she posed this question.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to be a college professor!\u201d I smiled as I declared my intention for the future. It was a bold statement, but I did not know what an enormous and far-reaching goal it would be. I had no idea what the next decade of my academic pursuits would be. I just knew I was headed in a specific direction, and I had faith I would arrive at my intended goal someday.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was vaguely aware that my journey to success would require more than a decade of full-time studies before I reached that lofty goal. But this was my Plan A, for my life.\u00a0 I had no other plan.<\/span><\/h3>\n

I had committed to following Plan A!<\/span><\/p>\n

I believed it was the only plan for me. However, the journey was an ambitious one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many stories and lessons learned along the way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many miles and experiences between that day and the one I want to tell you about now.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

At this moment, when I am writing this article today, I am focused on a specific day when I reach my goal. In the\u00a0 ELEVEN\u00a0 years between the time I set my dream, I earned three degrees in Fine Art and English. Now, I was prepared for the next step of Plan A. That part of my plan required another leap of faith. I believed God would direct me to the college or university he prepared for me.\u00a0 I would be the teacher I had planned to be many years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I reached the final step of Plan A,\u00a0 I was teaching in a college classroom. <\/span><\/h3>\n

I was a full-time tenure-track professor of fine art and humanities.<\/span><\/h3>\n

I also planned what my reward would be well in advance. <\/span><\/h3>\n

I envisioned myself teaching and lecturing in college classrooms. I kept that picture in my mind all of the years as I prepared myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had taken every course in Art History that two universities offered. I did those courses because I was hungry to learn art history. From my first day in an Art History lecture, I was captivated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I did not earn a degree in Art History. Instead, I kept my focus on painting and English. But the Art History foundation was crucial to understanding the historical context of the two disciplines I pursued. My passion and love were always fine art and poetry \u2013 both.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0In the late spring of 1996, I was offered a tenure track position at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Previously, I led some discussion groups in the Humanities program to help out while another professor was on Sabbatical. As it turned out, the other professor retired earlier than she anticipated. So at this time, I interviewed for the full-time position.<\/span><\/p>\n

The process went through all the steps of interviews with several other highly qualified teachers from across the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was my heart\u2019s desire to get this position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, I made it through the process of discussions and lectures and was offered this position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The golden nameplate on my office door read:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lynda J. Lambert<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Professor of Fine Arts and Humanities<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I walked onto the stage as a new full-time professor.<\/span><\/p>\n

I planned to officially present my Art History lecture for Humanities,<\/span><\/p>\n

I focused on the information I was about to deliver during the next fifty-five minutes. I had a lot of ground to cover in this lecture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would coordinate the materials with the photographic images I displayed on the large screens at the back of the stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

At last, I lived the reality of the goals I had set so long ago. Finally, I was there in person, just like I imagined I would be, as I studied and worked my way through the process of making a future dream become my present reality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, but you must be wondering what I wanted as a reward for this completed goal?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I kept the intended reward a secret from almost everyone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, in my imagination, as I saw myself teaching in a college classroom, I was always wearing a lovely new pair of Ferragamo shoes!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crocodile-embossed Ferragamo shoes.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0I promised myself. I would buy these shoes to wear on my first day as a tenure-track professor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I often thought about how my new shoes would feel. I could see myself standing in front of an audience and showing slides of great artworks through the ages. I saw myself helping students learn about the world\u2019s history by looking at paintings and talking about the people who created those artifacts. Of course, I would be smiling as we looked at all the artwork, too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn my first day of teaching, I will be wearing Ferragamo shoes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mission accomplished.<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

In my next article, I will speak more about the reward I selected – the Ferragamo shoes!<\/i><\/p>\n

I’ll give you the\u00a0 _\u00a0 what, where, when and why\u00a0 _ I selected a pair of shoes as a reward for achieving a goal\u00a0 that took me over eleven years to attain.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Behind every successful woman is a great pair of shoes.<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Unknown<\/span><\/h2>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

I want to remind you that YOU WERE BORN TO WIN, but to be the winner you were born to be, you have to have a clear plan to get there.<\/em><\/p>\n

~from Born to Win<\/span><\/em>, by Zig Ziglar. Page 37. Get the book\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BONUS:<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\u00a0 Read Lynda’s\u00a0 April Newsletter for the SCOOP on what she has been doing for the past three months – Read it NOW.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Author

Photo of Lynda McKinney Lambert+<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h4>\n

You my also like to read:\u00a0 The Evergreen Journal #16<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

“Put Your Best Foot Forward.”\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Read it Here.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American Author, Lynda McKinney Lambert is back with some good advice for goal-setting and planning the rewards for each time you meet a goal. Lynda describes a goal she set for her career and how she rewarded herself for this achievement. Can you guess what she rewarded herself for reaching a goal that took her 11 years to achieve? HINT: Behind every successful woman is a great pair of shoes! <\/p>\n Continue reading →<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trusting-god"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Stepping-Out_TEJ_17.jpg?fit=1707%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gbwn-2Py","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10827,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/the-evergreen-journal-16_all-about-shoes\/","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":0},"title":"The Evergreen Journal #16 – It’s All About the SHOES","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"May 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"American author, Lynda McKinney Lambert provides another article on goal-setting and finding success. What do you see when you are looking at a pair of shoes? \"To wear dreams on one\u2019s feet is to begin to give a reality to one\u2019s dreams.\" - Roger Vivier, Designer What is the DREAM\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "#Trusting God"","block_context":{"text":"#Trusting God","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/category\/trusting-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-bella-zhong-3782789-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-bella-zhong-3782789-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-bella-zhong-3782789-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-bella-zhong-3782789-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13619,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/the-evergreen-journal-48\/","url_meta":{"origin":10884,"position":1},"title":"The Evergreen Journal #49 – A Goal of Fifty – I Can Do It!","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"December 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"he Evergreen Journal # 48 \u2013 A Goal of Fifty . I Can Do It. The Evergreen Journal #49 \u00a0 \u00a9Lynda McKinney Lambert, December 30,2022. All rights reserved. \u00a0 \u00a0 Lynda's Note: Throughout the months and seasonal changes of 2022, I continued to explore the word, Evergreen. 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