There's a new Q&A with Dolly Parton in Southern Living magazine. And here's my takeaway: The world would be a much better place if she were in charge and could be everyone's role model.

Why? Well, you have to read the story. But I will tell you that if we all just followed her example these 13 ways, it would be a change for the better.

Have more front porches:

"I think people just always used to gather on days like today when it's too hot to be in a house. You get outside and sit on your porch. That's where you do your biggest dreaming."

Make people feel comfortable:

"People feel like they've known me so long because I've been around a long time. I'm really like an aunt or a cousin or a person you've grown up with -- like somebody in the family. So I think they feel comfortable with me."

Take your home with you:

"I take my favorite pillows, I take my favorite cups, my coffee cups -- you know, the little things. I always try to make everything feel like home. But I think (home) is just where you feel like you can settle down, where you feel comfortable and feel safe."

Treasure your past:

"It's from my humble beginnings. In America, all things are possible, and dreams can come true. All of those little pieces of your past, they're all important. That's why I'm so thankful I can write songs. I can capture all those memories in my songs and keep those memories alive. ... Some people want to get away, to move and get out and don't even want to be reminded, but that's not me. And the older I get, the more sappy I get about my childhood."

Take pride in who you are:

"I mean we were really Hill. Billies. To me, that's not an insult. We were just mountain people. We were really redneck, roughneck, hillbilly people. And I'm proud of it. Because when you're that poor and you're not educated, you fall in those categories. But I'm proud of my hillbilly, white trash background. To me, that keeps you humble. That keeps you good. And it doesn't matter how hard you try to outrun it. If that's who you are, that's who you are. It'll show up once in a while."

Be eternally emotional but always optimistic:

"Nobody is happy all the time. I'm a very sensitive person. I'm a songwriter, so I have to live with my feelings on my sleeve. I have to not harden my heart because I want to stay open to feel things. So when I hurt, I hurt all over. And when I cry, I cry real hard. And when I'm mad, I'm mad all over. I'm just a person. I like to experience whatever the feeling is and whatever I'm going through. But I have a good attitude. And I was born with a happy heart. I'm always looking for things

to be better."

Pray a lot:

"You gotta just know what it is you want. And you've got to pray. I pray a lot. I pray that God will show me what to do and will guide me and lead me. And I try not to answer His prayers. I try to keep myself wide open to recognize what it is that I'm supposed to know and to see."

See beauty in everyone:

"I see beauty in all kinds of people. There are some people who physically are not beautiful. But the way they are, the way they treat people, they become beautiful, and you forget all about (their looks). To me, when I talk about not being a natural beauty -- I'm not. Trust me when I say: In the mornings, I gotta get up and paint on stuff. Those people who wake up and they're just beautiful, they're just born that way. Well, that ain't me. I gotta work for everything I've got."

Be open about your beauty secrets:

"I never would have said I did (plastic surgery) if I hadn't got caught at it. But I wasn't gonna lie about it! And I thought, 'Well, you know, what the hell?' After so much time, after you get older, it can help people. I'm not being the poster child for any of that, but people know you do it. If they ask me, I just say 'Yeah, whatever. And I ain't done yet!'"

Love what you do:

"I've loved the work as much as I've loved the success. I mean, I love to work. I LOVE what I do.

Persevere:

"I'm the little engine that did. I always say that 'I thought I could, I thought I could' and 'I think I can, I think I can, and I still think I can.'"

Learn how to pack a really good picnic:

"My husband loves those little Cornish hens, and I fry them. I take 'em and fry 'em, and I make potato salad, and I make homemade green beans. So if I'm making a real picnic, like Mama and my aunts used to back home, I'll make like a whole special treat for us to have a basket of homemade stuff that I love."

Live the fairytale:

"Once upon a time ... the fairy princess continued with her life, and now she's doing her life story as a musical. I want to continue with that while I'm still alive and can do that. I would love to make some more records. I'd love to do some TV. I'd like to do some producing. I still want to have a cosmetic company of my own. And so this fairy princess has a lot of dreams to still come true."