Walking the Solar System
By Chuck MacDonald

On Saturday, April 9 people traveled the breadth of the solar system in a single day. No, the starship Enterprise was not involved. But it was made possible through the efforts of visionary engineer Stan Lebar. Move over Mr. Spock!

Local residents made the journey on Saturday without even leaving Anne Arundel County. This surprising feat was accomplished by the third annual "Planet Walk" organized by Friends of AA Trails. The highlight of the event was the dedication of the Stan Lebar Plaza, located on the west side of the B&A Trail, just south of Aquahart Rd., behind the Harundale Plaza shopping center. Lebar founded Friends of AA Trails some 16 years ago. He was the guiding force behind the creation of a planet walk along a 4.7 mile segment of the B&A Trail. The plaza is the location of a sculpture of the sun, representing the center of the solar system; Pluto, the furthermost planet from the sun, is represented by a sculpture located at the Earleigh Heights Road Ranger Station. In between are 10 informational stations representing the planets of the solar system, each spaced a proportional distance from the sun.

Elizabeth Wyble, president of the Friends of AA Trails presided at the dedication, welcoming representatives of Anne Arundel Community College Astronomy Club, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and AA Parks and Recreation. "In addition to serving as president of Friends of AA Trails, Stan became the Planet Walk Chairman and oversaw the construction and completion of the sun site. We dedicate this site to the memory of our beloved friend Stan Lebar; may this plaza serve to help stimulate interest in the subject of space and our solar system."

Elaine Lebar, who was married to Stan for 61 years before he passed away, shared some comments about her husband. "Stan was the consummate visionary; but he also was a man who made dreams happen." Her husband was an engineer for Westinghouse who spearheaded the development of a hand held video camera that astronauts took with them to film the first moon landing in 1969. Elaine quipped about her inventive husband, "He was the classic right brain, left handed engineer, and I was a left brain, right-handed musician. We were completely different, so we got along fine."

Unity Gardens was recognized for its $1,000 donation to the Friends to install a native garden adjacent to the plaza.

Following the dedication, park rangers and docents from NASA, Anne Arundel Community College and several astronomy clubs were on hand to provide information at the various stations along the Planet Walk about the solar system in general. Anne Arundel Community College hosted multimedia presentations and hosted an evening star gazing party at the ACC observatory. NASA/Goddard Space Flight lecturers presented information that evening at the college.

The B&A Trail, the location of the Planet Walk, was completed in 1990. An estimated 1.5 million people visit the Anne Arundel County Trails each year.

For more information about the Friends of AA County Trails, visit the web site at www.friendsofaatrails.org, or call Elizabeth Wyble at 410-695-1137. The group will hold its annual meeting at 7pm, April 26 at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park.

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

Publisher of SUCCESS Magazine

The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. What's most interesting about this process to me is that, even though the results are massive, the steps in the moment, don't feel significant. Whether you're using this strategy for improving your health, relationships, finances, or anything else for that matter, the changes are so subtle, they're almost imperceptible. These small changes offer little or no immediate result, no big win, no obvious I-told-you-so payoff. So why bother?

Most people get tripped up the simplicity of the Compound Effect. For instance they quit after the eighth day of running because they are still overweight. Or, they stop practicing the piano after six months because they haven't mastered anything other than "chopsticks." Or they stop making contributions to their IRA after a few years because they could use the cash--and it doesn't seem to be adding up to much anyway.

What they don't realize is that these small, seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical difference.

SMALL, SMART CHOICES + CONSISTENCY + TIME = RADICAL DIFFERENCE

After that excellent beginning, Hardy goes further:

Right this moment: pick an area of your life where you most want to be successful. If you want to get from where you are to where you want to be, you have to start by becoming aware of the choices that lead you away from your desired destination. Become very conscious of every choice you make today so you can begin to make smarter choices moving forward.

To help you become aware of your choices, I want you to track every action that relates to the area of your life that you want to improve. The magic is not in the complexity of the task, the magic is in the doing of simple things repeatedly and long enough to ignite the miracle of the Compound Effect.

Just track one habit for one week. Pick the habit that has the greatest control over you, that's where you'll start. When you choose to make even the smallest course corrections consistently over time, you'll begin to see amazing results. But don't expect immediate fanfare. Chances are no one's going to notice them anytime soon. And yet, eventually their compounding effect will result in an exceptional payoff.

Forget about willpower. It's time for whypower. Your choices are only meaningful when you connect them to your desires and dreams. The wisest and most motivating choices are the ones aligned with that which you identify as your purpose, your core self, and your highest values. You've got to want something, and know why you want it, or you'll end up giving up too easily.

Your life comes down to this formula

YOU ... CHOICE + BEHAVIOR + HABIT + COMPOUNDED = GOALS

(decision) (action) repeated action) (time)

The book concludes with helpful strategies for eliminating bad habits, techniques for installing good habits and getting momentum on your side. The author also advises to occasionally interrupt your routine. Otherwise life gets stale. He also emphasizes focused time with the important relationships in the family including time with the spouse and children.

An important concluding thought from the author is:

"I don't want you thinking of the rhythms you can do for this week, month or even the next 90 days. I want you to think about what you can do for the rest of your life. The Compound Effect -- the positive results you want to experience in your life--will be the result of smart choices (and actions) repeated consistently over time. You win when you take the right steps day in and day out."