Deep and Not-so-deep Thoughts

Finding Passion at Age 50

While watching a video, “Passion vs. Money” by Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures (http://ecorner.stanford.edu/videos/269/Passion-vs-Money), I found myself wondering, what am I am passionate about? As we get older, cross off bucket list items, and find ourselves in the grind of providing for our family, I think we can lose our sense of adventure and passion. How do we get it back? What if we never had much to begin with? Is starting another business something I could be passionate about? What about continuing my education past a bachelor’s degree? What about serving a mission with my wife. These are all some of my over 50 goals. But sometimes I wonder whether these are goals I can be passionate about. What have I been excited about in the last 10 years? Building a treehouse was great.

Truth

Another theme this week was being true. I really appreciated the strong testimony of President Hinckley when he said, “The truths of this gospel are everlasting and eternal. Philosophies change. Customs change. Culture changes. But with all of these changes, there are gospel fundamentals that have never changed and never will change.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/04/stand-true-and-faithful?lang=eng) When all else seems mixed up, dark, and disturbing in the world around us we have the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ to hold to that are firm and reliable.

So you want to be an entrepreneur?

So you want to be an entrepreneur?

That is a great question. One of the videos this week addressed the question succinctly when the speaker said, if you are going to be an entrepreneur and you are single, stay that way. While being an entrepreneur and having a family can happen, it takes discipline and a conscious effort. Another speaker described how he found a balance by setting out rules that he followed. Some of his rules were to be home for dinner with his family every night and spend time with them on the weekend. Another speaker mentioned that you need to work smarter, not harder and that those who were successful with their own business ventures did not necessarily work 18 hours a day to achieve that success.

Self-mastery

 

The other area of focus this week was self-mastery. I really enjoyed some timeless wisdom from N. Eldon Tanner in his talk “Success Is Gauged by Self-Mastery” where he said, “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.” While I am not a boy, I can look back and see where self-mastery has been key to obedience to gospel commandments and principles and important to achieving goals and success. One thing I have learned in life is that self-mastery is a daily struggle. If I didn’t have my goals and righteous desires in front of me I might just lazily waste my life away. The urges to succumb to the natural man are strong and persistent. Keeping an eternal perspective is one way I counter those desires. Nothing great was ever earned or achieved without self-mastery, discipline, hard work, and persistence.

Who do you Admire?

Who do you Admire?

This week we put together a personal Board of Directors, dream team style. As I looked at who I admire, leaders in history, and those who have influenced me, I realized my list was a reflection of my values, virtues, and principles I hold dear. Still, those who I chose don’t all have identical values and some are flawed, but aren’t we all? One of the things I feel that is important when you choose who to surround yourself with is not that you pick people who are just like you, but that you pick people who can complement, encourage, and drive you to be your best.

Here is my Board:

Chairman – Jesus Christ

            I would think this is an obvious choice as someone who can give you guidance and direction. Not only is he perfect, he knows me perfectly. He also loves me and I have faith that he has my best interests at heart. He only wants the best for me and knows what learning and growing experiences can help me to be like him. I am reminded of these sentiments as I think of the Savior as the Chairman of my Personal Board, “Think of those early disciples who walked and talked with the Savior during His earthly ministry. Imagine the thanksgiving and reverence that must have flooded their hearts and filled their minds when they saw Him risen from the tomb, when they felt the wounds in His hands. Their lives would never be the same!” (O How Great the Plan of Our God! by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency)

Director – Brigham Young

            He would make a fascinating member of my personal board. I am a very curious person as it seems Brigham was as well. I enjoy speculating on the mysteries of God and asking a lot of “how” and “why” questions. I think he would be very interested in today’s social, economic, and political issues. He seemed to have a grasp of these social constructs as it pertained to his day, and the complexities of them in our day would surely be fascinating to him. He was also a great proponent of being industrious and I would like to learn these principles from him and see how he balanced those with spiritual precepts.

Director – Abraham

            Another fascinating spiritual giant who could help me understand the priesthood, sacrifice, obedience, and the power of covenants. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am part of the family and posterity of father Abraham and an heir to his blessings and promises. I would think that as premortal beings, we were somehow associates and to have that privilege in this life would be a great blessing as well. “Father Abraham recognized the value of this grand key as he recounted his experience: ‘I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, … and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.’ (Abr. 1:2)” (The Key of the Knowledge of God, James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency)

Director – Charlie Huff

            My father, mentor, and the most influential person in my life when it comes to integrity and work ethic. From him I learned the value of hard, honest work, the value of time and money, and eternal principles and the plan of salvation. While having his own faults and flaws, he has been a role model for me in my life. I value his knowledge and wisdom.

Director – Steve Jobs

            Who wouldn’t want a successful businessman, innovator, entrepreneur, and visionary like Steve on their Board? I think I would enjoy his perspective on life. I appreciate when he said, “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other opinions drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Director – James Madison

As a staunch constitutionalist, I appreciate the courage, vision, and wisdom of our founding fathers. As a key part of the drafting and writing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights I honor and value his knowledge and experience in creating a form of government most applicable to a telestial world in line with gospel principles. “What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_madison.html)

Director – Bono

            To add some color and creativity to my board, Bono would round it out. I have been a U2 fan for years and appreciate his musical talents and his sincere desires to help people all over the world. I would place him in charge of charitable events and efforts. “To touch is to heal, to hurt is to steal. If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel.” (Lyrics from U2 song, “Mysterious Ways”)

Time Management Real Life Lesson

This week was an incredibly full week as I came off of a great spiritual weekend of instruction, counsel, and guidance from prophets and apostles in our Semi-annual General Conference. What an outpouring of wisdom from modern-day prophets and apostles and the inspiration I so desire for my personal and professional life. As I finished “The Ministry of Business” how correct principles magnify business success by Steven A Hitz with James W. Ritchie, I was reflecting on how the Lord truly is interested in all aspects of our lives. The scripture that recurs many times in the Book of Mormon came to mind where the Lord promises, “For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land” (2 Nephi 4:4) and “men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25) What a blessing it is to have inspired guidance, learning, and knowledge imparted to us so freely.

As far as being a difficult week, it was because I let an assignment in another class suck up my time and distract me from my other classes. In that class, we had a business management simulation where each hour represented a day in a factory and we had to manage the orders coming in and purchase capacity on machines. I found myself glued to my computer, waiting for the next day to see how our team’s decisions and strategies were playing out. It was addicting. I found myself putting off other important assignments until the last minute. Looking back, I see how I managed my time poorly and allowed myself to become fixated on this one thing. This was a good lesson for me to learn and look to avoid repeating in the future with school or even in my career or business.