Week 5

I really enjoyed this weeks readings, here are the highlights.

A DESCIPLE PREPERATION CENTER Elder David A. Bednar Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional August 31, 2004

A disciple is one who follows or attends upon another for the express purpose of learning (Oxford English Dictionary On-Line, second edition, 1989). Please note that a disciple both follows and learns, as the following scriptures highlight:

Discipleship demands the total transformation of a person by putting off the natural man and becoming a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord (see Mosiah 3:19). A disciple is one who loves the Lord and serves Him with all of his or her heart, might, mind, and strength.

The word preparation implies the process of making or getting ready; the previous putting or setting in order for any action or purpose (Oxford English Dictionary On-Line, second edition, 1989). And one of the common uses of the word center connotes a point from which things and influences originate or emanate (Oxford English Dictionary On-Line, second edition, 1989). Taken together, these three words, disciple preparation center, suggest to me a place in which followers of the Master learn and are set in order and are made ready—and from which their influence flows into the world.

What is it that makes this campus such a powerful Disciple Preparation Center (DPC)? Let me suggest three factors that contribute to the spiritual strength that is available here. (1) This institution of higher education is a temple of learning; (2) this institution will be located next to a holy temple, even a House of the Lord; and (3) this institution is surrounded by strong stakes of Zion.

Factor #1: BYU–Idaho is a temple of learning.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2-3)”

Interestingly, in both the holy temple and in temples of learning, a significant personal commitment is linked to the learning process. Consider, brothers and sisters, that in the House of the Lord we come under covenant and bind ourselves to act in all holiness. In a similar way, students who are admitted to study and learn in the temples of learning make a commitment to keep the commandments of God and to abide by the university honor and dress codes. Thus, covenants and commitments expand our education in the House of the Lord and in the Church’s temples of learning.

Factor #2: BYU–Idaho will be located next to a House of the Lord.

At the time of his call to become the fourteenth president of the Church, President Howard W. Hunter issued an invitation for “. . . all members of the Church to establish the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of their membership and the supernal setting for their most sacred covenants” (Howard W. Hunter, The Great Symbol of Our Membership, Ensign, October 1994, p. 2). Brothers and sisters, temples are holy; temples are sacred places for learning about and entering into eternal covenants; temples are places of peace and of revelation. Temples are eternal links: between heaven and earth; between past, present, and future; between the living and the dead; between time and eternity; between husbands and wives, parents and children; and between men and women with Christ. It is in the House of the Lord that things of the earth are joined with the things of heaven.

President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught: Every temple that this Church has built has in effect stood as a monument to our belief in the immortality of the human soul, that this phase of mortal life through which we pass is part of a continuous upward climb . . . and that as certain as there is life here, there will be life there. That is our firm belief. It comes about through the Atonement of the Savior, and the temple becomes . . . the bridge from this life to the next. The temple is concerned with things of immortality. We wouldn’t have to build a temple for marriages if we didn’t believe in the eternity of the family. We build it so the family may be eternal. All of the ordinances which take place in the house of the Lord become expressions of our belief in that fundamental and basic doctrine. The temple therefore becomes the ultimate in our system of worship and therefore is of great and significant importance to us. (Gordon B. Hinckley, Inspirational Thoughts, Ensign, April 2002, p. 3)

Several years ago, Elder L. Tom Perry visited our campus and was asked the following question by a faculty member: “Elder Perry, what do you see as the looming storm clouds on the horizon about which we should know so we can better teach and prepare the young people of the Church?” With no hesitation his answer was, “Worldliness.” The next question: “What can we do, Elder Perry, to best help the young people combat worldliness?” His answer: “Help them prepare to worship properly in the temple.”

“I have come to better and more fully understand the protection available in the temple and through our covenants. I have come to better and more fully understand what it means to make an acceptable offering of temple worship. There is a difference between church-attending, tithe-paying members who occasionally rush into the temple to go through a session and those members who faithfully and consistently worship in the temple.” _ Elder J. Ballard Washburn

Factor #3: BYU–Idaho is surrounded by strong stakes of Zion.

Please consider that during your tenure as a student at Brigham Young University–Idaho, you also are a member of a stake of Zion. We have on this campus at the present time more than 70 wards organized into 7 stakes, and the protection promised in the verses we just read applies specifically to you. Additionally, in the surrounding city of Rexburg and in the neighboring communities of Southeastern Idaho are additional strong stakes of Zion. Truly we are blessed to reside in an area of such spiritual stability and strength.

DPC Lesson #1. A disciple’s faith is focused upon the Son of God.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

DPC Lesson #2. A disciple recognizes that faith in the Savior is a spiritual gift and appropriately seeks for that gift in his or her life.

                Elder James E. Talmage: “Though within the reach of all who diligently strive to gain it, faith is nevertheless a divine gift [and can be obtained only from God (see Matthew 16:17; John 6:44, 65; Ephesians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 12:9; Romans 12:3; Moroni 10:11)]. As is fitting for so priceless a pearl, it is given to those only who show by their sincerity that they are worthy of it, and who give promise of abiding by its dictates.  No compulsion is used in bringing men to a knowledge of God; yet, as fast as we open our hearts to the influences of righteousness, the faith that leads to life eternal will be given us of our Father. (The Articles of Faith, p. 107)”

President Joseph F. Smith also has taught:

Faith is always a gift of God to man, which is obtained by obedience, as all other blessings are. (Gospel Doctrine, p. 212)   faith does not come without works; faith does not come without obedience to the commandments of God. (Conference Report, October 1903, p. 4)

DPC Lesson #3. A disciple’s faith in the Savior and spiritual preparation dispel fear. Brothers and sisters, we live in troubled and turbulent times.

I conclude with a teaching by the Prophet Joseph Smith that I consider to be the latter-day disciple’s mission statement:

. . . the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done. (Statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Wentworth Letter, written March 1, 1842. See History of the Church, Vol. 4, p. 540)

A Message to Garcia Will You Deliver It? Action Foundation for Entrepreneurship excellence

Do you long to hear your name called when time is short and the stakes are high?

The Rarest Skill of All: The Ability to Execute

The ability to execute is more valuable than education or talent, because it is far rarer.

“My heart goes out to the man who does his work when the ‘boss’ is away, as well as when he is at home. And the man who, when given a letter for Garcia, quietly takes the missive, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer, or of doing aught else but deliver it, never gets ‘laid off,’ nor has to go on strike for higher wages. Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals. Anything such a man asks shall be granted; his kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town and village—in every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such: he is needed and needed badly, the man who can carry a message to Garcia.”

A World of Underachievers

The Curse of the Average Organization

“You, reader, put this matter to a test: You are sitting in your office—six clerks within call.

Summon any one and make this request: ‘Please look in the encyclopedia and make a brief memorandum for me concerning the life of Correggio.’  Will the clerk quietly say, ‘Yes sir’ and go do the task?  On your life, he will not. He will look at you out of a fishy eye and ask one or more of the following questions:  

·         Who was he?  

·         Which encyclopedia?  

·         Where is the encyclopedia?

·         The ability to execute is more valuable than education or talent, because it is far rarer. If you have ever managed or been trapped in a dysfunctional organization, you understand Hubbard’s lament…  

·         Was I hired for that?

·         Don’t you mean Bismarck?

·         What’s the matter with Charlie doing it?

·         Is he dead?

·         Is there any hurry?

·         Shan’t I bring you the book and let you look it up yourself?

·         What do you want to know for?

 And I will lay you ten to one that after you have answered the questions, and explained how to find the information, and why you want it, the clerk will go off and get one of the other clerks to help him try to find Garcia and then come back and tell you that there is no such man.”

Tempting as this may be, it is impossible to build an effective organization without delegating important

tasks to talented and capable people. It’s the only way to make a grand vision a reality.

Woody Allen said that 90% of life is “just showing up.” If so, the most important 10% of life is execution. Far too few people do either consistently. But if the ability to execute is so valuable, why is it so rare? Why aren’t more people self-starters who can stay on task until the job is finished?

People in their late teens and early twenties often have a misconception about life. They believe that their greatest challenges will come from unforeseen events and external circumstances. This turns out to be untrue. The greatest challenges always come from within.

Unforeseen setbacks do occur, often at the worst times. You’ll come across a few saints and wise men and women who have mastered external and internal challenges. But far more often you’ll come across people who are lost, not living up to their potential or just plain evil. That’s the real world.

You have a choice… you can choose to start developing the attitudes, habits and instincts so your name

will be called when success hangs in the balance.

Developing the Right Attitudes, Habits and Instincts

1.       Accept the mission and get started.

2.       Be curious.

3.       Immediately sketch out a plan.

·         Vision: Objective

·         Strategies: What are the ways you could achieve this objective?

·         Projects: What big things need to get done to accomplish the objective?

·         Tactics: What do I need to do today to make progress on a project?

4.       If you need resources, don’t be afraid to ask.

5.       Enlist help when needed.

6.       Report back and show your work.

7.       Underpromise and overdeliver.

8.       Expect to make (small) mistakes.

9.       Put results before schmoozing

10.   Replace the voices in your head with positive action.

Seeking a Hero’s Journey: Perspective and Inspiration for the Long Haul

Practice the steps below to hone your talents and develop a sense of “calling,”

1.       Begin to see your life as a “calling” toward a Hero’s Journey.

2.       Develop your gifts and talents into a discipline. Become world-class at something.

3.       Find a “deep burning need” you care about.

4.       Surround yourself with good people and worthy role models.

Moving From Individual Action to Building a World-Class Organization

Take the following steps if you want to attract the right people and harness all your energy toward a world-changing mission.

1.       Make the mission clear and meaningful

2.       Set unreasonably high standards.

3.       Align incentives with the few key tasks—the Key Success Factors—for the mission.

4.       Make all employment conditional.

5.       Hire leaders who know how to get the job done too.

6.       Put the monkey on their back.

7.       Take time to coach those who have proved they can execute

The world is overpopulated with planners, procrastinators and political schemers—parasites who prey on a market economy.

Leadership with a Small "L" President Kim B. Clark

Brothers and sisters, it is your destiny to live in a remarkable time.  It is a time of turmoil and great wickedness, but also a time of miracles and heavenly blessings.  With your future in mind, we have sought to prepare you to become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and leaders in your families, in the Church, and in the world around you.

The call to be a disciple-leader is a call to minister and to serve.  It is a call to lead as Christ leads.  It is leadership with a small “L”—the kind of leadership that builds and lifts and inspires through kindness and love and unselfish devotion to the Lord and His work

Principle #1: Lead by Example: The Savior established this principle when He said, “what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” Your children will watch you very, very closely.  They will learn from you and follow your example—(eventually!).

Principle #2: Lead with Vision: In your family this means teaching your children how cleaning their rooms, doing their homework, keeping the commandments, and learning to love each other is connected to exaltation in the celestial kingdom as an eternal family. 

Principle #3: Lead with Love:

As the leaders of your family and faithful disciples of Christ, you will put love into action.  You will care for your children and nurture them.  Every week in family home evening you will teach them to love and serve one another and to keep the commandments God.  You will support them and encourage them and love them enough to put structure and discipline in their lives.  You will pray with them and read the scriptures with them every day.  You will lead them with love.

My dear brothers and sisters, I bear witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is our Savior and Redeemer.  He lives.  He is the great Exemplar of leadership.  He leads us today.  I bear witness that this is His work, His church, and His kingdom, restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Week 4-part 2

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Inevitably, the entrepreneur hero, who was once making tremendous progress, smacks into a wall of resistance. Many people abandon their journey because of setbacks, disappointments, or detours.

President Monson shared a story from his ancestry from his General Conference address titled Looking Back and Moving Forward, where he said that the family immigrated from Scotland, while in St. Louis the family contracted a disease called cholera, both parents and 2 brothers died, the other 9 children had to build caskets for the family members from their oxen pens because there were so many deaths in the area there were not any caskets. The 9 children moved forward on their own and made it to the Salt Lake Valley. He said his great-grandmother Margaret, who was 13 years old at the time. President Monson said, “Others of my ancestors faced similar hardships. Through it all, however, their testimonies remained steadfast and firm. From all of them I received a legacy of total dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of these faithful souls, I stand before you today.”

In Elder and sister Holland’s BYU address titled However Long and Hard the Road, they share about the struggles the saints went through in building the Salt lake Temple. This story really touched me and strengthened my testimony of the love they had for the Lord and the marvelous sacrifices they made to build his house. I will share the most profound quotes, Elder Holland tells us some of the feelings they most likely had, but never quit or gave up. This story is so amazing I am letting Elder Holland tell it here so you can feel the spirit as I did when reading it.

               

On 28 July 1847, four days after his arrival in that valley, Brigham Young stood upon the spot where now rises the magnificent Salt Lake Temple and exclaimed to his companions: “Here [we will build] the Temple of our God!” (James H. Anderson, “The Salt Lake Temple,” Contributor [The Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations of Zion], no. 6, April 1893, p. 243). They just marched forth and broke ground for the most massive, permanent, inspiring edifice they could conceive. And they would spend forty years of their lives trying to complete it.

“A temple would be fine, but do we really need one this big?” But they kept on digging. Maybe they believed they were “laying the foundation of a great work.” In any case they worked on, “not weary in well-doing.”

No sooner was the foundation work finished than Albert Sidney Johnston and his United States troops set out for the Salt Lake Valley intent on war with “the Mormons.” In response President Young made elaborate plans to evacuate and, if necessary, destroy the entire city behind them. But what to do about the temple whose massive excavation was already completed and its 8’ x 16’ foundational walls firmly in place? They did the only thing they could do—they filled it all back in again. Every shovelful. All that soil and gravel that had been so painstakingly removed with those nine thousand man days of labor was filled back in. When they finished, those acres looked like nothing more interesting than a field that had been plowed up and left unplanted.

When the Utah War threat had been removed, the Saints returned to their homes and painfully worked again at uncovering the foundation and removing the material from the excavated basement structure.

During that time, as if the United States Army hadn’t been enough, the Saints had plenty of other interruptions. The arrival of the railroad pulled almost all of the working force off the temple for nearly three years, two decades and untold misery after it had begun, the walls of the temple were barely visible above ground.

“The Temple will be built as soon as we are prepared to use it,” he said (Anderson,Contributor, p. 266). Indeed his vision was so lofty and his hope so broad that right in the middle of this staggering effort requiring virtually all that the Saints could seem to bear, he announced the construction of the St. George, Manti, and Logan Temples.

So they squared their shoulders and stiffened their backs and went forward with their might. But when President Brigham Young died in 1877, the temple was still scarcely twenty feet above the ground. Ten years later, his successor, President John Taylor, and the temple’s original architect, Truman O. Angell, were dead as well

In the writing of one who was there, “The scene that followed is beyond the power of language to describe.” Lorenzo Snow, beloved President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, came forward leading 40,000 Latter-day Saints in the Hosanna shout. Every hand held a handkerchief every eye was filled with tears. One said the very “ground seemed to tremble with the volume of the sound” which echoed off the tops of the mountains. “A grander or more imposing spectacle than this ceremony of laying the Temple capstone is not recorded in history” (Anderson, Contributor, p. 273). It was finally and forever finished.

Brigham Young said, “We never began to build [any] temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring”

I testify that God loves each of us and that Jesus of Nazareth, his Only Begotten Son, came to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5)—bringing a divine form of worker’s compensation, if you will, to you who keep tugging those granite boulders so faithfully into place. I love you and believe in you. This morning I have wanted to encourage you. You are laying the foundation of a great work—your own inestimable future. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?” I pray that your life may be “a monument to Mormon perseverance” “however long and hard the road,” in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The sacrifice that these saints made for 40 years without any instant gratification is awe inspiring and makes you really appreciate the foundation they set for us.

When I first saw the good things to come video it really meant a lot to me because I had an experience where I felt the spirit very very strong about a very large decision I was making in my life a just a short time later mu husband had a prompting to do the very opposite, I trusted that it was from the Lord and I followed my husbands council. It bothers me for a few years and then when I saw this video it gave me perspective of why that may have happened, and I have been at peace with it sense.

Week 4

MOVING FORWARD WITH A DRIVING PASSION

7         Habits of highly effective people

Habit 1. Proactive: Take charge

·         Self-awareness - the ability to control thoughts.

·         Imagination - the ability to mentally create a new reality.

·         Conscience - an inner awareness of right and wrong.

·         Independent will - the ability to act on thoughts.

It is in the ordinary events of every day that we develop our proactive skills. It is in the little things that we show our true character traits. Our response to the little irritations in life will also affect responses to disasters.

Habit 2. Begin with the end in mind: visualize victory.

·         Visualize being at your own funeral. Write a eulogy. What sort of things would you like to be said about you?

·

·         Visualize being at your 50th wedding anniversary. What kind of family relationship do you have?

·

·         Visualize your retirement day. What do people in your industry have to say about you?

Habit 3. Put first things first:

Important and Urgent Activities

Important But Not Urgent Activities

Not Important But Urgent Activities

Not Important And Non-Urgent Activities

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” — Goethe

“Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker & Warren Bennis

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

Habit 4. Think win/win

A frame of mind and heart constantly seeking mutual benefit in business and personal transactions. All parties feel good about decisions and commit to the plan.

Of all the options, Win/Win-or-No-Deal is the most desirable, especially at the beginning of a business or personal association.

There are five dimensions to the habit of thinking Win/Win;

1.       Character: Thinking win/win requires integrity (the value we place on our own principles) on the part of both parties.

2.       Relationships: The Emotional Bank Account is a key to structuring a Win/Win.

3.       Agreements: These give definition and direction to Win/Win. To be effective, agreements should focus on desired results rather than the methods to be followed

4.       Systems: Win/Win can only survive in an organization when the systems support it.

5.       Processes: The essence of structuring Win/Win is to separate the person from the problem.

Habit 5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

                Everyone has a natural tendency to rush in and try to give advice or try to fix things before taking the time to diagnose or try to understand why the other person feels the way they do. The trick, however, is to seek first to understand the other person, then to try and be understood yourself.

When you can present your own ideas clearly, specifically, visually and contextually (in the context of your listener’s concerns), you increase the credibility of your ideas.

“The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of.” — Pascal

Habit 6. Synergize.

Synergy means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, each of the parts combine to create new and exciting unexpected discoveries that were not possible before. It is a creative force of unparalleled power created in the principles of creative cooperation.

Synergy is the true test and manifestation of all the other habits combined.

“We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life.” — Edwin Markham

Habit 7. Sharpen the saw.

Habit 7 is taking time to sharpen the saw. In other words, don’t get so busy sawing that you don’t realize you are using a blunt saw. Take the time on a regular basis to sharpen your saw in the physical, spiritual, mental and social or emotional dimensions.

Sharpening the saw involves four separate dimensions;

1.       Physical exercise – Spending a minimum of 30 minutes per day exercising will vastly improve the quality of the remaining hours every day

2.       Spiritual – Renewing the spiritual dimension provides leadership to your life.

3.       The mental dimension – Formal education teaches the processes of mental development, study discipline, exploration of new subjects, analytical thought and expressive writing.

4.       The social / emotional dimension – Centered in the principles discussed in Habits 4, 5 and 6, the skills required to renew the social and emotional dimension require communication and creative cooperation.

“They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them.” — Gandhi

https://content.byui.edu/file/3dda7de4-cd79-4390-9bcf-3cb660c48dd1/1/The%207%20Habits%20of%20Highly%20Effective%20People.pdf

President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Stand True and Faithful”

“We must be true to ourselves in matters of personal virtue. You and I as members of this Church cannot become involved in immorality. The Lord has said by way of commandment, “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” (D&C 121:45). He is saying to us that we cannot even think about immoral matters. Why? Because evil thoughts lead to evil deeds. Then He has said that if we will let virtue garnish our thoughts, we shall stand with confidence in the presence of God. Think of that. He goes on to say the Holy Ghost shall be our constant companion. Our dominion shall be an everlasting dominion. (See D&C 121:45–46.) What marvelous and remarkable promises these are, and they are given to those who walk in virtue.”

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/04/stand-true-and-faithful?lang=eng

Week 3- part 2

There are two important elements in self-mastery. The first is to determine your course or set the sails, so to speak, of moral standards; the other is the willpower, or the wind in the sails carrying one forward. As I said before, character is determined by the extent to which we can master ourselves toward good ends. It is difficult to say just what builds good character, but we know it when we see it. It always commands our admiration, and the absence of it our pity. But it is largely a matter of willpower.

I LOVE this quote, it is so powerful and profound. I truly believe we are here on earth to learn how to control ourselves, but it is more than that, it is not just about resisting evil it is about doing good and becoming and reaching our full potential. We all know people that have used their time and means wisely and seem to have it all figured out and it is easy to admire them.

“If you want to be successful or outstanding in any field of endeavor, it is important that you determine while young to be a great boy, and not wait to be a man to be a great man; and then have the courage and strength and determination to discipline yourself, apply self-control and self-mastery.”

I believe that this is true and we decide to be good and do our best we will be successful in all aspects of life. I agree that we must teach our children while they are young to make and keep great goals they will have a much more pleasant and fulfilled life.

“How important it is that every priesthood holder keep the Word of Wisdom strictly; that he never tamper with tobacco, tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, or drugs; that he keep the Sabbath day holy; that he is honest and honorable and upright in his dealings; that he discipline himself in every way to be sure that he is worthy and acceptable to the Lord.”

The Lord gives us commandments for our good and to protect us. As we keep commandments and keep our promises we are changing our character for good and the Lord can trust us more and we are blessed.  

So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur? In this article we learn that it is all about gaining knowledge and being prepared to be successful. They suggest 3 things you need to know well to be successful.

There are three areas of knowledge that are critical for starting a successful business:

1 In-depth knowledge of the competitive structure of an industry and a network of

contacts within that industry;

2 The skills to run the daily operations of a small, rapidly growing company.

3 The ability to raise money.

Almost without exception, you must be immersed in an industry for years to pick up the nuances.

If the company culture is flawed, almost any strategy is in jeopardy.

Being a money broker may allow (or force) you to wear fancy suits and stay in nice hotels, but money raising knowledge is the least valuable of the three areas of knowledge.

Sources of money come in all shapes, sizes and flavors.

With enough creativity and effort, any job can help you acquire new tools or contacts for one or more of the three skill sets.

Having a partner is a great way of insuring a better chance for success.

Your Partner: Few people have all three types of knowledge, so while you are developing your skill set, catalog people whose strengths supplement yours. This will give you a source of complementary partners when you are ready to go on your own. Two partners with complementary skills, contacts and chemistry are far more powerful than the sum of their parts.

Very few would-be entrepreneurs will get their dream job straight out of school. The secret is not to tilt at windmills, but to choose a position in which you can develop industry, operational and fundraising skills. If you keep your final goal in mind, work step by step to gain knowledge and take notice of people who might be complementary partners, eventually an irresistible opportunity will appear and you will be prepared for the challenge.

By the time an opportunity is investigated fully, it may no longer exist.

There is no ideal profile. Entrepreneurs can be gregarious or taciturn, analytical or intuitive, cautious or daring.

External changes can provide great leverage for creative and nimble entrepreneurs.

Microsoft’s Bill Gates built a multibillion-dollar business without a breakthrough product.

McKinsey & Company grew out of a simple idea: high-quality advice for top managers.

Surviving the inevitable disappointments on the rough road to success requires passion for the chosen business.

Standard checklists or one-sizefits-all approaches don’t work. The appropriate analytical priorities vary for each venture.

Entrepreneurs must be smart enough to recognize mistakes and change strategies.

Week 3

What an amazing video, I watched the video and typed what I thought were the most important parts, I think I typed almost the whole thing, these are very powerful messages and they have caused me much pondering on who I am and what I would like to accomplish in my life. I am 45 and have contemplated many time my mission. I love the 3 questions he asks and I will continue to ask myself them.

Some of you are here to change the world. I wanted to make a difference with my life but I just didn’t know where to start, do I really have what it takes to succeed? If I was successful that I might lose my soul in the process.

You have a very special mission on this earth, a mission that will exceed beyond your wildest dreams,  only if you have the faith and courage to find your intertumoral calling.

I have been where you want to go

Most of you are worried about the wrong thing and for some of you that means you are going to miss the opportunity of a life time. ‘

The hero’s journey of entrepreneurial

I recognize the truth when I see it. I knew that becoming in the LDS faith.

Paradox the hero’s journey is all about you, but it is not about you at all.

Live every moment of your life like it matters, because it does. Life like you have an important mission, because you do. It means seeing struggles as adventures and setbacks as lessons. What matters most isn’t the prize at the end, but how the hero has changed in the process.

Most people are too absorbed to pay attention to the obvious.

Learn how to learn, learn how to make money, and learn how to live a life of meaning.

Making money is hard but it is not complicated.

Learn how to learn is the most important. Learning to listen, learning how to ask questions, learning to make my points, trying not to be the smartest person in the room.

Learning how to live a life of meaning, lose lessons changed my life

Find great roll models and ask them great questions, find 10 roll models, business people, religious leaders, aunts, uncles, etc. triumphs and regrets, lessons they wished they had learned earlier. 3 interviews 20-45, 45-60, at least 3 over the age of 60. All the people over age 60 will say basically the same thing, at the end of life only three questions will matter

1.       Have I contributed something meaningful?

2.       Was I a good person?

3.       Who did I love, and who loved me?

Have I contributed something meaningful…

Never give up your search for a calling, that special mission where you can find your greatest God given gifts and use them in a way that brings you great joy, satisfying a deep burning need in the world.

I had to become an expert at something if I wanted to succeed. Being world class at something mattered. Find a calling that fits your special gifts.

Ask 5 people that know you well what you do better than anyone else in the world, press for specifics, examples and evidence. You will be surprised what you find, the answers will be consistent and you will discover that your gift is something that you assumed was easy, because it is easy for you, even though it is very difficult for others using God given gifts, doing something that brings you great joy.

Think of the last time you lost track of time doing something, something you would practice merely for the sake of practice alone. Something that could become a lifelong discipline that you are committed to master. If you find where your inner most God given gifts intercept with finding great joy you will be very close to your calling,

The last part of the calling is the most important of all, satisfying a deep burning need in the world.

A calling must serve others, it must matter to you,

What need today calls out to your heart, is there an injustice or opportunity that you just can’t resist, what problem do you feel as if you were put on this earth to solve, there you will find your calling.

Was I a good person?

Setting clear ethical guard rails and making it is easy to stay within them, write down a list of all of your “I will nots” moral boundaries you will not cross under any circumstances, and then when you do cross a boundary, recognize it as a signal that it is time to stop, pause, and reflect before you careen down a slippery slope. Anticipate these temptations and then write yourself a letter, a message in a bottle, at that moment of greatest temptation you can hear a better voice.

Do you know what the greatest difference is between you and God, God never believes that He is you.

Who did I love and who loved me?

Choose your fellow travelers well, it is a trip you only take once. Don’t underestimate the power of extraordinary people. Surround yourself with people of character, you will come to be like the people who surround you. In the real world you will need to choose wisely. Spend much time with your family.

Its not about you, it’s all about you.

Its not about your happiness.

A hero’s journey is not easier than a fool’s errand, you will have even more setbacks and more battles because the stakes will be higher, but you will fight those battles and be more satisfied and fulfilled because you will make a difference.

It all about you because you will using your gifts to change the world it will change you in the process and realizing that you serve a force in the universe that is far bigger than you are.

Somewhere along the way if you chose the hero’s journey you will give up measuring yourself against others, if you are on a fool’s errand there is always someone who is smarter, or richer, or better looking, and you will always be dissatisfied and unfulfilled and looking for another rat race to run. But if you are on a hero’s journey the stepping stone you set will be yours and eventually they will lead you to the gift of gratitude.

Think of someone in your life that you are truly grateful for but have never thanked.

Grateful people actually turn out to be luckier.

Everyone of you will look back and realize that you were worrying about the wrong things.

Being rich is about sending less than you make and so your time belongs to you.

Failure once so feared seen in reverse only made you stronger increasingly and especially if you resist the hero’s call, you will find that your greatest horror in life isn’t failure but waking up at 50 or 60 years old and realizing that you have wasted your life.

If you don’t choose a hero’s journey than who will, and if you don’t start now than when?

No matter what happens in my life I know that I was never the master on my own destiny, so when that final day comes, I pray I will not be standing, full of pride, believing that it was all about me, but on my knees fully grateful, longing to hear, well done thou good an faithful servant.

Week 2-Part 2

"Making a Living and a Life" Elder Lynn G. Robbins First Quorum of the Seventy

He talked about Adam and Eve and how Satan di not have a lot of things to tempt them with, it was when they started having children that the competitions began. When we are worried about someone else having more than we do this causing jealously and contention.

“In fact, Satan had very little to work with – there were very few sins with which he could tempt Adam and Eve.  Think about it – if you were the first man or woman what could he tempt you with?  Stealing? – no -- from whom?  Coveting – no.  Envy?—no.  Gossiping? – impossible – think about it.  Living beyond one’s means? – also impossible.  When you reflect on it, most serious sins involve others and would not become a possibility for Satan until the human race began to multiply and he could use competition and comparisons to appeal to the pride of men.”

 This also reminds me of a talk by Elder Holland he said, “Furthermore, envy is a mistake that just keeps on giving. Obviously, we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know! What a bright prospect that is—downing another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment!”

              The Lord wants us to be grateful and be happy for others as well when they are blest. Contention and envy are of the Devil.

                “What you do to make a living, or how many dollars you earn, aren’t nearly as important to the Lord as whether you:   Are building His kingdom including strong and valiant families. Are honest in your dealings with your fellowmen and using your God-given talents in their service;  and if you are filling your life with good works, that positively impact your community and world.”

                Honesty and Integrity are vital to have the Lord’s help and guidance in all aspects of our lives. He uses the example of the 2 banks in the movie IT’S a Wonderful Life and how the big bank was dishonest and many people were suffering because of the wrong doings, the little savings and loan was completely honest and because of this he actually really struggled at times but all involved were blessed in the end for their integrity.

                Sheri L. Dew  “True Blue, Through and Through”

                Today I want to talk with you about a virtue that is just plain smart and that will have as much impact on your happiness, your peace of mind, and your ability to fulfill your life’s mission as any virtue I can think of. It is a virtue that will ultimately make you or break you. It will make or break you as a husband or wife, father or mother, brother or sister, colleague or friend or leader. It will make or break your career. And most significantly, it will make or break your efforts to achieve exaltation. For it will define your relationship with God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.This is a virtue that every man or woman of God must come to possess in increasing degrees. It is a virtue found in every true follower of Jesus Christ. It is the virtue of integrity.”

                She says that integrity is different form just being honest

                 President Joseph F. Smith called integrity “the cornerstone of character” (4 April 1897 General Conference).

Sister Dew shared a story about how she drove a work truck on her farm when she was a child and there was one stop sign, she started by stopping at it every single time and then she starting justifying herself and would only slow down and then she wasn’t stopping at, she ended up getting oulled over and got in a lot of trouble, she said this about her experience, “I learned three things that day: First, that with lightening speed, I went from complete observance to complete disregard of the law. Second, my demise started with a small crack in my integrity. The instant I talked myself into taking a small liberty, I was on a slippery slide into full-scale disobedience. And third, there is no such thing as slightly breaking a law–whether a law of the land or a law of God–because even a slight breach of integrity opens the door for Satan.”

I have always used he analogy of frog soup with my kids, it is so easy to slip a little and justify ourselves and then find ourselves so off course we do not even know how we git there. We must follow the Lord 100% of the time to truly be happy.

Week 2

"Making a Living and a Life" Elder Lynn G. Robbins, October 2010

In fact, Satan had very little to work with – there were very few sins with which he could tempt Adam and Eve.  Think about it – if you were the first man or woman what could he tempt you with?  Stealing? – no -- from whom?  Coveting – no.  Envy?—no.  Gossiping? – impossible – think about it.  Living beyond one’s means? – also impossible.  When you reflect on it, most serious sins involve others and would not become a possibility for Satan until the human race began to multiply and he could use competition and comparisons to appeal to the pride of men.

The acquiring of wealth and material possessions would become Satan’s most fertile ground, tempting mankind with the cunning strategy that this world is our destiny and that anything and everything in this world is available for money.

Appearances can be deceiving.  It may seem that the wicked are prosperous and happy, but we know that “wickedness never was happiness.” (Alma 41:10) Given 20 more years, who do you think the customers will naturally gravitate to, George Bailey or Mr. Potter?  Who will be most successful over the long run with the greatest customer loyalty?

President Ezra Taft Benson taught that Satan did not have a lot to tempt the people with in the early days, as the world was more populated then the temptations started. As we interact with others we will be tempted to have what they have or compete with their abilities. The quote that stands out to me the most is that some people seem to be getting more blessings than us and they are not keeping the commandments, they also seem to be having more fun and are happier, this is especially hard to teach our children when they seem to be going without.  We need to have faith and be patient as we follow the Lord He blesses us with the things of eternity and what we need to be truly happy.

“True Blue, Through and Through” Sheri L. Dew, Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional, March 16, 2004

Here at this institution of higher learning, you’re well aware of the advantages of being smart. Today I want to talk with you about a virtue that is just plain smart and that will have as much impact on your happiness, your peace of mind, and your ability to fulfill your life’s mission as any virtue I can think of.

It is a virtue that will ultimately make you or break you. It will make or break you as a husband or wife, father or mother, brother or sister, colleague or friend or leader. It will make or break your career. And most significantly, it will make or break your efforts to achieve exaltation. For it will define your relationship with God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

Integrity is the foundational virtue upon which all other virtues are dependant. It is the first rung on the character ladder. Where there is integrity, other virtues will follow. Where there is no integrity, other virtues have no chance of developing.

Indeed, anything that lacks integrity is unstable, as any engineer will tell you. A bridge or skyscraper that has structural integrity does what it was built to do. It isn’t necessarily perfect. It could have flaws. But, under stress and repeated use, it does what it was built to do. If, on the other hand, a structure does not have structural integrity, it will at some point fail, as was the case with the world’s first jet airliner, the British-made de Havilland Comet.

You and I live in a world filled with pressure–pressure to accomplish, pressure to get ahead, pressure to conform, pressure to be popular. And so on. None of us are perfect. We all have flaws. How then, under repeated pressure, may we avoid allowing small cracks in our integrity to form so that we can do what we came here to do? How can we stay true blue–to ourselves, to others, and to our Father and His Son?

I really enjoyed this talk, I like how she said that most people think of integrity as just being honest, but it is much more than that, telling the truth is just the beginning of integrity. I love Sister Dew talks about structural integrity, this analogy really makes sense, if you do not have a strong foundation of integrity everything in your life could crumble. We are taught by our leaders to do small things every day and when we look back we will see that we built a strong foundation with structural integrity. This reminds me of a talk by President Uchtdorf about degrees and how the smallest of a degree can turn into miles down the road, we can take this is a negative way to find us way off course or in a positive way by staying on the path to exactness and build a strong bridge of integrity and faith in the Lord and His gospel plan.

Week 1 part 2

I really enjoyed reading What Is Your Calling in Life? By Jeffrey A, Thompson. This is a subject I have thought about often. I am 45 years old and I do not know what my calling is. I do believe that being a wife and mother is my first calling but what I am supposed to do for a job is still a mystery. I returned to school 6 years ago and I just started my last semester, but I do not feel that I have it figured out. I do believe that I have learned a lot. Mostly about myself and I have gained a lot more confidence in my abilities. I really liked some of the questions that we need to ask ourselves about what we want our life to look like and how to get there. I know that I want my time away from home to be of service and lifting and helping others. I want to make a difference for good and to be proud of what I do for a living.

I completely agree that everything in life is connected and that the Lord is in every aspect of our life. I know that work is a very important principle and that the Lord will magnify our efforts as work hard towards a worthy cause. He wants to help us and he wants to bless us to succeed in our professions as we are honest and help others to succeed as well.

Reading these articles especially when they are talking about charting your life when you are certain ages to plan for your future. I am 45 years old and so some of the steps do not apply to me but I can plan for the future and I still have a lot of time ahead of me and I can make each day better than today by following the Lord and great mentors in my life.

Why do you think Randy Pausch was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams?

I believe that he took these dreams seriously and he never gave up on them. He realized that early on that his dreams did not have to be exactly what he thought they would be and except them for what they were. He believed in himself and found people to help him. He took one dream at a time and realized it. He did not take no for an answer, he did not sit back and wait for his dreams ot come to hm, in the meantime he got all the education he could and listened to trusted mentors on his journey and then he went for his dream as if he was qualified to be there. He also knew when to not get too excited and give up what he already had that was tangible and realistic for a dream that might take him away from his profession.

Do you feel that dreaming is important? Why or why not?

I do feel that dreaming is important, I believe that we should always be working toward improving and becoming more. I believe we have a lot of potential that we are not even aware of and if we do not push ourselves towards something bigger and better we will not untap that potential. I also feel that as we serve others and try to make the world a better place we will find out callings and know where the Lord needs us. If we dream to be so much more than we are now, we will better instruments in the Lord’s hands.

Discuss at least one of your childhood dreams. Explain why you believe you can or cannot achieve this dream.

As a child I wanted more than anything to be a mother, I was told at 18 that I had a condition where I may not have children. I decided to put my trust in the Lord instead of doctors and pray for what I wanted most. I had trouble getting pregnant and once I was I had to go on bed rest almost the entire pregnancy to not lose the baby, but because of my willingness to put my trust in the Lord and sacrifice I have had 7 children.