“You have not one, but four lives to live – a four-fold opportunity to grow. A body, a brain, a heart, and a soul – these are our living tools. To use them is not a task. It is a golden opportunity to grow.” - William H. Danforth, 1931

A little over 75 years ago, a man named William H. Danforth wrote a little, relatively unknown book for his friends, family, and colleagues entitled I Dare You! In it, he outlined a plan for a “four-fold life,” a balance between one’s mental, physical, social, and spiritual capacities. He dared individuals to be “bigger than they are” by stretching themselves in these four arenas. In turn, he said that we could live a fuller, more purpose-driven life.

Founder of both the American Youth Foundation (AYF) and the Ralston Purina Company, Danforth believed fervently in making things happen. Through developing a positive outlook and a desire to share one’s strengths with others, especially through service, he felt that a person could live his very best life. And he emphasized that it all begins with getting our personal lives in balance.

Given the current state of affairs in our country, I think it’s very interesting that Danforth wrote his book in the midst of the Great Depression. It was published in 1931 when so many Americans were in dire straits – jobless, penniless, hopeless. Times may not be as bleak as they were back then, but I think that we are in a similar state of disillusionment and fear. A lot of us are not so sure where to go from here.

Although he doesn’t speak directly to parents in his book, I am touched by Danforth’s writings more now that I am a mom than when I first encountered his philosophy 15 years ago at a summer camp operated by the AYF.

Although my personal copy of his book was rather dusty when I recently retrieved it from my bookshelves in the basement, I think that it has resurfaced in my life at just the right time. As Danforth wrote:

“The day of protecting your present possessions is gone. From now on you are not going to worry about holding your job. Put the worry on the fellow above you in holding his. From this day onward wrong things are put on the defense. You have marshalled right things for the attack. Your eyes are turned toward your strength, not your weakness. Henceforth you will wake in the morning thinking of ways to do things, rather than reasons why they can’t be done.”