by Deverick Martin It's easy for me to spend time focussing on what I don't want. I spend lots of time searching articles and ads for mistakes, looking for incomplete transactions, and finding solutions to life's little annoyances. It seems quite natural to me to generate a list of what I don't want. What sometimes takes more work is keeping my list of what I do want up to date.
I know that, for me, what was new and exciting a few years ago isn't what's new and exciting today, and certainly won't be in the coming years. Sometimes I catch myself feeling "been there, done that," and building my list of what I don't want. Sure, there are timeless ideas and stories of which I never tire, but there are also always new possibilities that I hadn't considered. When I read Arlene Arnold's interview with Mary Manin Morrissey that appears in this issue, the admonition to "test the dream to be sure it's worthy of you" stuck with me. How often I have run through a checklist of my own inadequacies to test myself to be sure that I am worthy of considering a dream! It is time to put that aside.
My goal is to bring the power of love and goodness into our readers' daily lives.
As I round the bend into the next numerical series of Gregorian calendar years, it is particularly timely for me to reassess my goals and dreams. As someone who wants to walk his talk, I want to dream greater dreams and expand my potential. I want to get clearer about what I want at this point in my life. I have two major goal areas. One is to nurture and deepen the loving, supportive relationships in my life. The other is to find increasing clarity of purpose as I discover more about my own abilities to fill unmet needs in service to humanity.
Times are surely changing for you, too, and likewise, you, as our reader, have interests and needs that are changing. I get plenty of positive feedback from readers, so I know that I am doing lots of things that you like. But are there new possibilities I haven't dared to dream?
Let me share with you what I want and am working hard to create. My intent for The New Times is to provide a medium for uplifting, enriching information while operating with the highest possible degree of integrity. My goal is to bring the power of love and goodness into our readers' daily lives by providing articles that inspire and bless them, as well as to provide the most comprehensive listing of metaphysical and personal growth events, services, and products in our market area. In addition, I want my work to connect people so that unmet needs can be met and people of like mind can unite for their highest purpose.
As part of this, I want to bring our message of authentic living to an expanded readership. There are some simple economics that dictate the level of effort that we can put forth to create each issue and the numbers of copies and pages that we can print. To provide copies to more readers, I need to expand the support that we receive from advertisers and subscribers. To attract additional advertiser support, I need to have clear information about what our readers are looking for and create a win-win energy exchange in which the reader finds what he or she is looking for and the advertiser gets a favorable response.
I have had a survey inserted into each copy of this, our January issue. I hope you'll take a few minutes and fill it out. (If you don't have a copy of the 2000 reader survey, call us at [206] 320-7788 or e-mail us at staff@newtimes.org and we'll send you one.) Your input helps me develop and prioritize my ideas for improving what we do. My staff needs to focus energy on finding the types of services and products that our readers most want.
Likewise, most potential advertisers want to know the characteristics of the typical New Times reader. I know, for example, that there are many readers who pick up a copy of The New Times not to read the articles, but to explore the selection of products and services that our advertisers provide. In essence, your input is the key to our ability to deliver on your expectations. It is a great time to be clear about what you want and to communicate that.
While some of the questions may seem "consumerist" and some are personal in nature, they are only being asked to develop a reader profile and, thereby, to further the mission of The New Times. All responses are completely anonymous. I would have loved to have had another drawing to thank readers for their thoughtfulness and time in completing the survey, but in the interest of confidentiality, I decided it was essential not to do anything that would link a survey response with any particular individual. No names or personal information will be collected, only your anonymous answers to the survey questions. The more thoughtful, honest, and complete your response is, and the more responses we receive, the better able we will be to identify and meet our readers' needs, and that is my highest priority as your publisher. Results will be tabulated by a third party and will only be used at an aggregate level.
If you've enjoyed The New Times, returning your survey is a great way to express your appreciation for our work. If you've been less than satisfied, it's an equally great way to let us know how we could improve. I look forward to creating new pages of The New Times that reflect your dreams, for in doing so, I realize mine.
What Do You Dare to Dream?