Week 14

I have learned a lot over the thirteen weeks of this semester. Many inspirational ideas of what kind of person I want to be and also what to avoid. I have learned things about myself that give me a clearer picture of where I want to go and who I want to be.

Some of what we read and discussed would crossover from business to personal, while some things were strictly business. What I found to be the most life changing for me were the more personal.  When thinking and sharing these concepts with my family I have come to learn about what is important to me and what direction I believe the Lord wants me to go.

Along with these thoughts have been others about what I would share or have shared with anyone who would listen. How about I put it as if I were writing a list to me but for twenty five years ago.

 

You need to learn how to work, remember to teach your daughters early about how good it feels to accomplish something and to do it right the first time.

You need to get at education. I know you started having a family right away but it is important to learn how to do something, anything so if you need it you will be ready.

Family is always first.  The world is ever increasingly busy and distracting. You will live during a time a great advances in technology and innovation in everything.  These things are amazing and can make your life better in many aspects but do not allow it to distract you from what is the most important thing here on earth, Your FAMILY!

Remember to ask Heavenly Father to be with you in every decision you make and to guide you on how to be successful.  By being successful I mean not just financially, but in relationships, spiritually and in your community involvement. He will help you know where you are needed the most and what would benefit you the most.

Money is not everything!  You need to live to serve but this should not guide everything you do. You cannot take it with you. Debt is very BAD do not do it!

Find your oil.  Find something you love to do and share it with others.  We live in a nation and at a time when you can be or do anything you have the desire and drive to do.  Find it and do it. 

Do not allow others to control your life now or in the eternities.  Every decision you make affects tomorrow and the next day and the next day.  You need to be in charge of where you are going and how to get there, not your friends or peers on even a boss, You are in charge. 

Make a commitment to go to the temple every week and to read something uplifting every day!  Find the time, make the time, it will be worth it.

Last but not least, Never forget who you are.  A Daughter of God who is loved unconditionally and will always be loved no matter what.

Week 13

This week it was difficult to get through all the readings and videos. It is my busy time for my job and I work 50 plus hours a week.  I did learn some things from Randy Haykins article and reading a few insights on the discussion board.  He was a planner and patient, and I believe he also paid attention to his gut feelings.  This is an excellent example of someone you would want to be your mentor. 

My favorite was the talk by President Monson, then Elder Monson.  “An attitude of gratitude”.  I feel extremely grateful for everything I have been blessed with in my life.  We live in a country where you can become anything you want as long as you are willing to work hard and envision it.  We also live in a time when technology, medical and business advances are amazing.  If you have the knowledge (or at least the desire to learn), the drive and people who will help and believe in you the possibilities are endless.  I am grateful I was blessed with goodly parents and especially a wonderful mother who in her own small way helped our family financially.  And last be by far not the least, but the best, living in a time when the priesthood has been restored and the true gospel of Jesus Christ is here on the earth. 

Week 12

When you do not trust the individuals who are in charge of running most of the big businesses why would you want to invest your money in those companies? With virtue and integrity in place you know those in charge will act with honor at all times; But when you lose faith in an entire way of “business practices” does this not undermined the very core of our economy? Why would you want to work for, support, shop or be a part of a business you regard as untrustworthy or unethical?

In the article it states, “The purpose of a business, in other words, is not to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better. That “something” becomes the real justification for the business.” We are commanded to build up the kingdom of God.  When we are given the resources to do this, the “something more” starts happening.  The purpose of business should not just be the bottom line, it should also have a vision or a purpose for good.

Charles Hardy says, “Better and tougher regulation would help, as would a clearer separation of auditing from consulting. Corporate governance will now surely be taken more seriously by all concerned, with responsibilities more clearly defined, penalties spelled out, and watchdogs appointed. But these will be plasters on an open sore. They will not cure the disease that lies at the core of the business culture.”  These are just some steps to take but would not change the nature of the beast.

 The ideas he has for changes are some they are doing in Europe. (1) Those who work for a company have a voice or a say in how things might be run, instead of a dictatorship a democracy, and with this a change in the pay incentives.  I agree with both of these concepts.  When employees feel ownership, they are better and happier employees. You are the ones who are making this work or fail.  You are making a difference in something you are a part of.  (2) Turning the business from being just a business into a community instead.  When you feel you are vital, wanted and needed you feel that you belong.  We want those who are the most important part of a business to know they are valued and have a place. 

Week 11

§  I have never thought of money as being bad or evil.  It is necessary for us to have it to live healthy and happy lives.  We need it to buy food, clothes and shelter.  But we can also use it for many, many other things we might deem necessary or just because and that’s ok.

§  If you allow money to be the driving force behind every decision you make you are never going to be happy.  We also need to understand that money does not change how you think it just magnifies whatever your moral conscience already is.  Money can also control you if you do not take control of it.

Suggested rules for prosperity.

"Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in him

Rule 2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings.

 Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.

 Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the Key to Opportunity.

 Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.

 Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive."

I find it interesting that when we help others, think of others, show gratitude, and listen and learn, we are blessed with prosperity.  By giving away we gain not only in temporal but especially spiritually. What a great concept!

I know we need to be prosperous, but one person’s description of prosperity might be completely different from another’s. In the readings and video clips we are told by those who have had the experiences of what it takes to prosper, tell us to try harder to balance your life, that loosing family to succeed at all costs is not worth it. We must choose before we start what our guidelines and stopping points will be and then stick to it. We cannot allow the next deal or client to become more important than everything else in our lives. 

We also need to make sure we are managing our financial resources in a way that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father. We have a responsibility to be self-reliant so we make take care of ourselves but also to be in a position where we can help others if called upon to do so.  How can we help others if all we do is work because we are so caught up or so in debt we cannot stop to listen and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit? 

Week 10

You can do anything if you stick with it.  Don’t quit and don’t stop.  This has been my mantra since I started back to school.  I think this works in anything you do in your life.

One step at a time.  How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.  The same thing applies here.  If you have a goal or a visions no matter how big, you need to break it down to smaller doable steps. Make a list each day and check off what you accomplish then start a new list the next day but add the items you did not complete from the day before.

We need Heavenly Father and faith in our lives every day.  Just because we are busy does not mean we forget why we are here and what we need to do to return.  Never forget.

We should express our gratitude every day to all those who help us and especially an extremely generous and loving Heavenly Father.

Sometimes the school of hard knocks is pretty rough. It makes it hard to trust others but we need to surround ourselves with good people who we can trust.  They can help carry the load and the benefits are unlimited.  It is hard to try to trust again when we have been betrayed but to be a true disciple of Christ we must learn to do it again and again.

I think these hi-lights work well in business but also your everyday normal life. We all face challenges, set goals, and get knocked down a time or two.  The key is to get up and keep going. Don’t stop, don’t give up, and just keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.  You keep your chin up, it will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come. (Elder Holland)

Week 9

What does it take to be a good leader? I ask this question of myself when I look at my family because this has been my life focus.  Did I help them learn what they needed to become good leaders? Do they place ethics and integrity high on the list of what is important in life?  Are they problem solvers?  The questions just keep going. 

I would like to think I have helped them with some of the skills needed to be good leaders.  Each one of my children worked hard and received a degree in their chosen field. We helped some but they did the majority, holding down jobs and keeps grades up to receive their goals.  

They each have had some success in their fields but have also had challenges and trials which has brought the sting of failure. With these lessons they have pulled themselves up again and tried something else or moved on to the next challenge. When I look at them I see successful, beautiful daughters full of life and a desire to be the best they can be.

Does this mean I am a good leader also? I would like to think I have some of the skills needed to lead other on a good and righteous path when called to do so.  I have needed to step up and lead in the past, has it been comfortable?  Not always. With leadership comes great responsibility but also great rewards.  Is it worth it? Yes 

Week 8

            This last week has been a little rough.  My hours at work are increasing which I plan for, but I was also battling a cough which turned into something only treatable with anti-biotics. I was also asked mid-week to speak when one of the speakers could not be there. Let’s just say I was overwhelmed and thought about just crawling into bed and staying there. But without trials where is the challenge to push through and succeed?

            In Elder Hollands talk (not that my little crazy week compared to anything in his example) his quotes and his story give courage and strength to continue.  This is my second year working through this season while continuing my education, it is tough.  I hit a period in the middle and I just want to quit. I’m tired, overwhelmed, stressed and I’m not sleeping well. I cannot seem to shut my mind off at night. Then I am reminded that I can do hard things. With the Lords help I can meet goals and achieve dreams.  I just cannot quit. “Victory, Victory through Him that redeemed us Victory, Victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I’m going to be ok and I’m not going to quit.  Each day is a new day, a day to do better, try harder and to succeed.

Week 7

            Stephen R. Covey states, “Our character is basically a composite of our habits.” He then adds, “Habits are powerful factors in our lives because they express our character and produce our effectiveness.”  

            We all have good habits and bad habits. I think the challenge is to keep the good habits going while breaking or changing the bad ones. I find myself looking back to how I got to where I am.  What changes have I made and what do I need to do to improve? I would like to think my character is good and strong but we don’t always look at ourselves through clean and clear mirror.

             President Gordon B. Hinckley said is his talk to the Young women “Be true to yourselves, my dear friends. Be true to one another, your friends and associates. Look for the good in those about you, and emphasize that good.” Staying true to yourself is one of the biggest challenges we are faced with. It is too easy to allow others to dictate how or what we are going to do. Finding the good in others helps to remove the focus from ourselves and the sometimes selfishness I get caught up in. When I am aware of those around me who might be in need I am looking to help them and losing the self-absorption in my own life.      

Week 6

This week we covered a lot of material pertaining to self-mastering. How do we choose the path and stay on the course. A few thoughts have been on my mind about this.

  I started back to school a few years ago in the Pathway program.  I registered basically out of the blue when the opportunity came.  I have always wanted to get a degree and I decided to give it another shot. In the beginning it took a bit to find my footing. I had not been to school in several years, it was new and intimidating.  But I found my rhythm and everything smoothed out.  I have sense hit a few turbulences but I have not quit, even though the temptation was there.   

 I am no longer a spring chicken, or let’s say I am a grandmother, a young one but still getting up there. My heath has been ok but over the last year I have had to make some adjustments in my life.  These include medicine, diet changes and being very consistent in my exercise.  The medicines and the exercise I have done a while so this was not a problem, the diet on the other hand has been a challenge.  I love dark chocolate. I could eat it every day, in fact I did.  But for the last month and a half, no sugar or chocolate. It was tough in the beginning I will admit but as time went on it just became part of an every day normal. 

Self-mastery comes in different ways and for different reasons but they are good and worth it when they change your life for the better. It is deciding what we must do to become who we are meant to be and then dong it. 

Week 5

            “Do I have the faith and courage to find my entrepreneur calling?”  Will I lose sight of what is the most important thing in my life? How will I stay on track? This week has been enlightening in how to live your life.  “Live every moment of your life like it matters, because it does”, “what matters most is not what the hero wins but what the hero learns in the end”. Living a life of meaning is so much more important than just making money.  What are you willing to sacrifice for money?

            Money is not the most important thing, we need money to live and survive but I know what’s most important is how much money we think we need. Sure I want to earn enough money to be comfortable, but I do not want to sacrifice everything else for it. I want to spend time with my family. I want treat others with respect. I want to look in the mirror every night and know I have made good decisions. I want to be honest, trustworthy, friendly and kind.  I want to treat others how I want to be treated.  This is a lot of I wants.

            Do I know what my calling is yet? Not really. I am hoping as I continue watching and reading about others I will find a little clarity.  

Week 4

            This week the question was certainly the most thought provoking, “How will you measure your life?”  It stirred great reflection and not a small amount of doubt. When you add these three more precise questions I do feel more at ease.

1.    Will I be happy in my career?  For the most part my career has been wife and mother.  Was I happy? Yes, I loved doing it, I still love it even though I have moved on to being a grandmother.  What about the outside the home part. I have had the opportunity to work at a direct selling business which allows be to be creative, meet new people and earn some extra funds when needed. Does it make me happy? Yes, but I now also work for a small CPA firm and I like this as well.

2.    What about my relationships? This crosses the boundaries from family and friends to work and other outside relationships. I have some great friends, I love my immediate and extended family and we see each other often.  I also enjoy the new relationships I have made working. 

3.    How do I stay out of jail? So far so good!  It is about the priorities in your life. The most important things to me are my relationships and especially with my family, but also friends. When you surround yourself with good people you will be good also.

Reflections are good for us.  We need to look at ourselves in the mirror under direct sunlight.  Take a really good look and hopefully you will like what you see, if not it is time to do some changing. 

Week 3

            Somethings to think about, living life as an adventure or as an experiment.  There is no failure just an opportunity to try something different. Follow your dreams and the money will follow, but I should add the money is not as important as how you live.  You must have goals to succeed.

            Over the next few weeks I am hoping I will learn more about myself and what I can do as I look toward the golden years of my life.  I also like reading about the experiences of others, how they have made the decisions which have changed their lives for the better.

            This week readings I value above everything else. Being “true blue, through and through”. I value honesty. I want to trust everyone, but I know this you cannot always do. I can have integrity and have the same expectation from others. It may not always be easy, and sometimes it will not be enough, but I and the Lord will know who I am and what I stand for.

            I also found the top ten list informative. Somethings you would think were common sense but apparently not so much. I also believe unless you have invested something personal into a business or idea you are not nearly as driven to succeed.  If you don’t have anything at risk then it is not your loss. What better way to push yourself to succeed than by having something at risk you are not willing to lose?

Week 2

Randy Pausch looked at life in a unique way. Everything should be fun, and if it was worth going after then you didn’t allow fences to stop you from achieving what you wanted but still while having fun.  He had a spirit of excitement and energy that just did not quit.  Every challenge was just that, a challenge, something to gain knowledge and experience from, but not to stop you from achieving your dreams.

I know dreams are important. We cannot accomplish anything, invent, build or create anything if you do not dream. When I hear the word dream I think of imagination.  Your imagination can set you free, the possibilities are endless.  I think of Walt Disney with his dreams and how he created a magical world. How through all the pit falls and extremely high fences he never gave up. We need dreams to inspire us to not only achieve, but to also see beyond what we think our limits are. Think of all the many things which would not have happened, been created or discovered if someone did not have a dream.

I do not have many memories from growing up, because of this, I do not remember what my dreams were. I am sure I had some as a child. I do know I wanted to be happy and when I got into high school I wanted to go to college. It is now many, many years later and I have started again on trying to achieve this goal of getting a degree.  Can it be accomplished? Yes it can. I am in a position where I can dedicate time and money to this endeavor with the hope of passing all my required classes and graduating.  Had the Pathway program not been introduced would I have tried again to go back to school, probably not, but everything lined up and here I am today a sophomore hoping to continue until I have my degree.  The other dream of being happy, I have achieved this one. 

Week 1 Where do I Start?

As I reflected on the readings of this week, I thought a lot about my experiences over that last few years.  My daughter and I have a small creative business we have been trying to find a niche for.  We have been actively pursuing this for around 5 years now.  I am an independent consultant for a stamping, scrapbooking, and paper crafting company.  We use these products to create art and other things such as gifts or cards and of course scrapbook layouts.  We also have been trying to find a way to build a bigger customer base for the paper crafting while trying to sell the artwork we produce in different markets.  We have not been wildly successful.  As I read through the steps on how to achieve some measure of success I realized we do some of the steps already, but some we do not.  Two things stood out clearing to me; one is evaluating and changing what you are doing until you find what works for you, which we do after every season. We return, report and evaluate and then make decisions on what to do next.  Two, “Living a life of meaning is about living a life with intent.”  I must have intent and purpose for what I am doing. I love it, and I love working with my daughter but it is not enough to just love doing it. We must have a better plan for what we are doing or we will never find our niche or success. This also made me rethink, is this my “calling”, is it time to try something completely different?