VIVA LA VIDA!  

 

 

 

 

By: Dr. Charlotte Jones-Burton and Delvin A. Burton 

 

   

 

 

Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Charlotte Jones-Burton and Delvin A. Burton, All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the authors and their publisher.

This book is dedicated to our ancestors who have instilled in us the values that guide our lives. 

Table of Contents  

1. Introduction 2. Live Life! 3. What Gets Left Behind? 4. What Gets Done? 5. Realizing and Understanding Our Values 6. From Values to Vision 7. Living a Fulfilled Life 8. Getting Back on Track 9. How to Live Your Life

 

Introduction  

Living a fulfilled and impactful life can be a challenge these days

with so many distractions and activities vying for our time. We find

ourselves increasingly busy, overscheduled and often glued to our

electronic devices. Juggling a wide range of competing priorities

can make us feel overwhelmed and stressed. Despite devoting a

great deal of energy to so many activities, we do not necessarily

engage in pursuits that matter.

We, Delvin A. Burton and Charlotte Jones-Burton, have developed

a strategy for living an action-packed life with both MEANING and

IMPACT that we want to share with others who are striving to live

a fulfilled life. In this book, we plan to provide you with a few

lessons we have learned over the two decades and our system for

prioritizing what gets left behind and what gets done.

Live Life! 

“Viva La Vida” translated into English means “Live Life!” “Life is for

the living” was a common saying that I, Charlotte, heard my mom

repeat when I was growing up. It was not until the last 10 years

that I developed an appreciation for this advice and began to

understand how to apply it in my own life. In a world with so many

distractions, so many obligations, it is easy to simply check things

off a “To Do” list and forget to actually live life. My mom taught

me and my husband, Delvin, how to live an active life … fully … no

regrets … with meaning.

My mom was a perfect example for us because she always did what

she needed to do and did not wait for the future. She did not live

in the past. She maximized every day to its fullest potential, and

her life was an inspiration. In a short 53 years, she was the first

in her family to attend college, she raised a daughter who became

a doctor, she was an entrepreneur who owned a technology

business, and she gave her time to serve and mentor others.

Indeed, she gave us a clear view that doing what matters is more

important than just doing lots of things that neither excite you nor

contribute or add value to others’ lives.

We want to share our knowledge and experience of how to achieve

fulfillment and stay on track with the things that really matter in

your life. Often, we find ourselves stuck in the past or focused so

much on the future that we don’t appreciate what we currently

have. Many of us either need to learn or be reminded how to live

in the present and how to make the most out of today, because we

only have one life to live.

But how do we decide what matters and how to prioritize? Now

more than ever because of all the distractions that exist, it is

important to have a system for living a life filled with pursuits that

make a difference and avoid living a life filled with meaningless

activities.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to

change the world. --Harriet Tubman

What Gets Left Behind?  

Our days are hectic from the moment we open our eyes to the time

we go to sleep. Like many households, we both work full time and

have an active child. There is always something to do and not

enough time to do it. We are very engaged in our community, sit

on various boards, and have volunteered at our son’s school. From

time to time, we ask ourselves “Why are we doing this?” and at

times it’s easier to answer than others.

We were very involved in our son’s school during his primary

grades, with Delvin serving as PTO co-president. Along with a

group of other parents, we sponsored a mega fundraising event

that consumed many, many weeknight and weekend hours. The

event was a big success and when it was over, we were proud to

have been involved, knowing that our actions had meaning. The

money raised provided classroom libraries and grants for special

projects designed to impact students directly. We had served our

purpose, and the “why” question was easy to answer.

We wish all of the activities we become involved in would have such

an impact and produce a similar sense of fulfillment. But each of

us individually and collectively have had our share of “misses” even

after devoting a lot of time and effort toward what we thought was

meaningful. And after many “misses,” there are some things that

we know we should have left behind. For instance, when our son

was a toddler he was involved in a play group. The moms started

a book club which was an extension of the play group. The book

club cycled through a few books before I, Charlotte, realized that I

was the mom exerting the most time and effort to organize the

club. While I enjoyed our social gatherings and the book

discussions, I did not think our gatherings were making a

difference on the lives of others. I was not fulfilled. After this

realization, I stopped investing time to this group.

As an educator, I, Delvin remember feeling a lack of fulfillment and

a sense of being at odds with a new job that I accepted as a

technology teacher at a ‘No Excuses’ charter school. Soon after

the school year began, I realized that I had concerns about some

of the practices that were imposed on the students in an effort to

improve their performance. Having served as an administrator in

another school system, I had a clear understanding of ethical

leadership practices. After witnessing questionable practices by

the charter school leaders, whose values conflicted with my ethics

and educational philosophy, I decided to leave my position before

the end of the school year. I realized that the drive that I had in

my previous teaching and administrative positions was being

extinguished in this environment.

Looking back it seems obvious that we would have done more of

the substantive activities that left us feeling fulfilled such as the

school fundraiser and fewer activities we want to leave behind,

such as the moms’ book club and teaching at the charter school.

And now it is obvious. These experiences and the lessons learned

from them serve as a guide. And now, in a matter of moments,

we can decide what to take on, what we will do (with passion), and

what will fulfill our lives!

Do it with passion or not at all. --Author unknown

What Gets Done?  

So, how do we determine what to do? It starts with identifying

what matters, what things we value. We have to think about our

values like they are an internal GPS system. Our values reside

inside of us and can help guide our decisions. They are our beliefs,

our ideas about what is important, and they compel us to do certain

things over and over again, even without noticing that we are doing

them.

What are the things that we care about and would not be a

complete person without? These values need to inform our vision

for our lives. What do we want to do in the next year or next five

years? What are the things that we need to take into account so

that we can create an action plan that is grounded and based on

our values? We need to identify these things because, in the end,

the things that matter are the things that are linked to our values.

Our values must inform our vision and action in order to live a life with meaning and impact! --The Burtons

Realizing and Understanding Our Values 

What do I value?

Delvin

There was a defining period in my life when I realized that for me

to excel and be in a place where I felt good – in a “zone” -- my

work needs to be connected to my values. These values are

service, learning, and teamwork.

From elementary school on, my family encouraged me to become

a doctor. Both of my grandmothers were nurses and were the

closest to “professionals” in my family. They saw a career in

medicine as my path to success. Eager to please my family, I

enrolled in pre-med courses during my first year of college, but I

was not enjoying or doing well in these classes. However, there

was something different that I was passionate about: an

afterschool tutorial program in an underserved area in St. Louis for

which Charlotte and I volunteered. Serving as leaders for this

program and seeing the benefit that tutoring brought to the kids

was very rewarding. I thrived during this experience and it led me

to pursue education as my major. Education, instead of medicine,

was a natural way for me to serve others. The field of education

has been a meaningful path for me. Thus far I have had a positive

impact on classrooms, schools, and a district. I have been involved

in initiatives with impact at local and national levels. In my current

role I am blessed to be able to inspire and support aspiring school

leaders. I help school leaders identify who they are and what their

values are. Rather than pursuing a medical career because others

saw it as my path to success, I am training transformational school

leaders to make an impact in underserved communities. Serving

others who in turn serve underprivileged communities brings me

great fulfillment.

What do I value?

Charlotte

I was asked this question by a coach a few years into my first job,

and initially, I was unsure how to answer it. After the coach guided

me through an exercise with several questions, I was able to

pinpoint my values. Working with others (community), serving

others (service), having fun (adventure), and doing good (making

a difference) were all things that were at my core and that I could

trace back to my childhood.

As my values became clear, I began to look at my workplace and

realized that my job was not satisfying or fulfilling. I love to

collaborate with people, but I was working in a very competitive

environment, which made me uncomfortable. I could see that I

was not honoring my values in my professional life, my confidence

was shrinking, and I was not bringing my best self to work. Armed

with this new clarity, I began to imagine a work environment where

I could thrive. I needed to make a change.

Leaving that job became a defining moment of my life. I identified

my values and developed a vision and this informed my action.

Finding a new company with an environment that aligns with my

values has enabled me to maximize my contributions and have a

positive impact at work.

Both Delvin and I have had defining experiences in our lives that

have helped us to be cautious when asked to get involved in

projects, activities, or initiatives. There are a lot of activities that

others believe we should do. During our young adult years, our

peers and family were primary sources of advice. But just because

those whose opinions we value and trust advise us to follow a

“proper direction,” it may not be the best fit for us as individuals.

We may have a different path in our life that is more closely aligned

with our values and thus has more meaning and impact.

Sometimes you need to ask yourself: Am I just getting by or am I

thriving? Are the activities that I am involved in reflective of my

values? Am I happy with how I am living life at home and how I

am living life at work? Does my personal life – the choices I make

and the actions I take - reflect my values? Does my workplace

compliment and/or honor my values?  

From Values to Vision

Visioning is the active process of thinking about what we want to

do in the short and long term while focusing us on the things that

really matter to us. As we decide how to spend our time, we

remember the lessons learned from the many groups and activities

we have engaged in. We remember that we feel positive when our

values are reflected in the things that we do. Therefore, we

develop a values-based plan.

When we have clarity about our values, we can develop a vision

that enables us to thrive. We are purposeful about visioning and

commit to doing it at least once a year. Our vision, our plan, comes

from first, understanding the core principles that drive us and then

defining the goals we want to achieve (and sometimes,

determining how we can attain them as well).

Because our lives are so busy and we want to be mindful about

what we become involved with, one to two times per year, we

create a couple’s vision and individual visions. This process

involves in-depth discussions and reflections. We document our

vision on paper clipping pictures/words from magazines, creating

a vison board. The board becomes a road map. Each picture on

the board represents an action or activity that we want to do.

The vision board is a visual representation of where we are and

what we want to achieve. It is both inspirational and aspirational.

There have been times when we have dreamt of something but we

were not sure of how to make it happen. An example of this

occurred during our 2014 end-of-year visioning when Delvin came

across the statement “Be your own boss.” He cut these words out

and pasted them on his board that was displayed in our master

bedroom. There is no doubt that seeing this vision board often,

influenced our decision to purchase a franchise in the fall of 2015.

We did not question whether we were ready and able to “Be our

own boss.” Instead of being distracted with worry or fear, we

focused on evaluating the franchise from a business standpoint.

Within four months, we made the purchase. Including “Be your

own boss” on our vision board made this dream possible, and when

the opportunity presented itself, we had the confidence and

conviction to move forward.

This process of visioning has been one of the most impactful

activities that we do to produce a life that is value based and

ultimately brings fulfillment. So how do we develop our vision? To

learn more about our visioning process visit our website

(www.binspiredp3.com).

Where there is no a vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18

Living a Fulfilled Life  

Our vision boards help us identify and become clear about what

things we will focus on. Clarity about what we are working toward

is a great first step, but not the only step. To make sure we act

accordingly we ask ourselves two salient questions: how do we live

a fulfilled life? How do we decide what actions to take?  

The answers to these questions are reflected in this book’s title:

VIVA La Vida. In addition to meaning “live” in English, “VIVA”

represents an acronym we created: Values Informing Vision and

Action. So how do we live a fulfilled life? It’s simple ... we use our

values to inform our vision and actions.

VIVA = Values Informing Vision and Action

We recently created a company called “B. Inspired” that is

grounded in our values of service, continuous growth, and

leadership. Our vision is to utilize this company to help build the

mental, physical, and social capacity of the communities where we

spend our time. Our mission is to inspire people to pursue

meaningful experiences that magnify their passion, purpose and

potential. 

For us, success is defined by being able to live a life filled with

actions based on our values that have meaning and impact.

Without achieving the level of success you are striving for, you will

impede your ability to live your best life. So the first thing you

need to do is reflect on the things that will satisfy you or will really

make you feel fulfilled. What are the things that help you maximize

your potential? Are you living the life that offers you more or are

you just settling for the things that you have?

Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision

with action can change the world. --Nelson Mandela

Getting Back on Track 

Understanding the experiences that give us fulfillment, will allow

us to take consistent steps towards living the life that is driven by

our values. It is important to create a vision to guide our actions,

track our success in engaging in meaningful activities, celebrate

our achievements and make adjustments as needed.

We may begin on the right track but end up off that track during

the process and sometimes we do not even realize it. Or we may

begin on the wrong track and need to take actions to get back on

track. How can we make adjustments if we are unaware that we

are off track? A car analogy comes to mind. After we drive our

cars every 3,000 miles, we should get our cars serviced. If we do

not get our cars serviced, we could drive them for years and not

realize that the wheels need alignment. Periodic maintenance can

identify and correct minor problems. Similarly, we must

periodically review our values and the activities that we are

involved in. This review process can help us make changes and

corrections if we notice that our actions are not aligned with our

values.

How do we ensure our actions stay in alignment with our core

values? Throughout the year, we check our vision board and

determine if we are on or off track. We can make necessary

adjustments so that we can head toward the vision we planned or

we can adjust the vision based on what we have learned

throughout the year.

Getting off track simply means that there is an opportunity to do

better. Then we have to ask ourselves, “What does doing better

look like? What would help me improve?”  Even when life seems

good, there may be the potential to make minor changes that will

have significant results. 

Often people are aware they have the capacity for something

greater than what they are doing but struggle to determine how to

change course. In order to get to that better place, the first thing

to do is reflect on what you truly value ask “Does the life that I am

living match my core values?” Maybe you do not even realize that

you are out of alignment. 

Ask yourself what is important to you and identify your values. Do

you value adventure, independence, wealth? Or do you value civic

responsibility, stewardship, success? Use the answers to the

reflection questions listed on our website www.binspiredp3.com to

create or revise your vision and then take action.

This process is circular: our values inform our vision and action and

our actions honor our values. We have developed the habit of

asking: Are my values reflected in my actions? Is my vision driving

me to an action that fulfills and coincides with my values? Do I

need to make an adjustment? 

How to Live Your Life 

Grab a piece of paper, sit down right now and write a list of all the

things that you value. From that list, pick three to five things that

are of utmost importance to you. Take the time to identify those

core values. Discover the things that you really want to do and the

things that really matter to you. Then, map out the steps that you

want to take in your personal life, your professional life and even

in your spiritual life so that your values will lead you to your vision.

Form your vision and begin to set up actions for the things that you

want to do in the next 30 days, the next 60 days, the next 90 days

or even the next year. 

Ask yourself what new things you can do that would bring you

closer to the values that you have. If, for example, you want to

be more adventurous in your life, what actions can you take to

make that possible?  

An accountability partner will make this process smoother and

more successful. We incorporate this role into our marriage but it

does not have to be a spouse. Pick someone who will hold you

accountable and help you focus on what you want to do.

Accountability propels us toward our goals because it requires us

to share them. Through sharing, our goals become more defined.

Your goals should be written out so that they become concrete and

real. We commit to our goals when they are written down and not

just in our minds because we see our goals and are less likely to

forget them. 

Now is your time to live your life! Keep in mind to always be true

to the things that you really want to do, the things that you really

value in life. By taking steps and aligning your actions with those

values that mean everything to you, you can achieve a high level

of success and lead a fuller life.