March 30th Week 12

I enjoyed the videos this week.  Especially the one about avoiding the wrong job.  I think I really needed to hear that.  I have been really worried about finding the job that it right for me.  But in the video I realized that I have been worrying about finding the right job at the very beginning.  I want to be able to walk right into my lifelong job.  But in reality I might go through a couple different jobs before I even come across one that helps me know what I want in the end.  And really my job that I love might just be a mom and nothing else.  I just need to remember to continue doing the things that interest me, and not just the things that will earn the most money, or what is hot, or what my family or friends think I should do.  Like Stan Christensen mentioned, if I do things that I like to do, those type of people are who I am going to attract and I will have opportunities with those type of people instead of with the people that I don’t even really want to associate with.  So right now I am teaching piano and it is a dream job of mine, but I want to do something else to.  So to be able to find a job in that I now know that I just need to do it and not worry too much about who will judge or what will happen.  I just need to do what I love!

March 18th Week 10

Money is a big thing.  It's important to live from day to day, and it's nice to have for vacations, nice things, etc.  In my opinion money should be a very important thing, but it shouldn't come first.  Things like budgeting and being frugal should be at the for front of people's mind, but things like spending your whole life just trying to get rich, or going into debt to get a fancy car, or even getting a fancy car and not going into debt are things that shouldn't matter so much.  The biggest thing that is connected to money is pride.  If people could strip the pride off of those dollar bills we would live in a better world.  I really think that if we put God first he will help us gain money without the pride.  But if all we do is seek for riches of the world that pride is still going to be attached to those riches.  I really do agree with the statement that money can make a good man better but it can also make a bad man worse.  If riches of the world is top priority there is going to be no service or happiness involved.  It will be all about power and that is where Satan gets a really good grasp on people.  If we seek for the riches of heaven first, so putting others and God first, then the riches of the world is going to come from the help of God and Satan won't have that grasp on us, we will already have those service skills and habits mastered.  I could go on and on about this topic.  Real progress and happiness with money only comes when God is first.
Making decisions before the fact really stood out to me today.  It reminded me of some Sunday lessons I had in Young Women' when I was a Laurel.  We talked about deciding now what our standards and values are.  Would we go see a rated R movie or not?  What was our limit with dating and getting close to a boy?  What would we do if we didn't feel comfortable at a friends house?  etc.  I decided what my core values were right then so that later if one of those situations happened to me I knew exactly what I was going to do and it was a lot easier to stand my ground.  I hadn't thought about how important that is in business until this week.  We need to decide on our values in our business now.  If it gets at the office how am I going to spend time with my family?  Am I going to work on Sunday?  How often am I going to go to kids' activities, and what if something important comes up during one?  When will we go on vacations?  It is important to decide on these things before they happen so that it is harder to be dissuaded from them.  And I think it's important to make a decision about something before there is something looming over your head waiting for you to make that decision.  At that point you never know what you are going to do.

March 7th Week 9

I really appreciated this weeks videos and reading.  Especially the video "Think Big"  I was struggling this week with being mediocre.  I have been feeling like I'm just not great at anything.  I can do some thing well, but not great.  For example, I'm good at playing the piano.  I can teach it to little kids and beginners.  I am good at photography, I can take some good pictures and know how to edit them.  But in both those aspects I'm not great.  I can't teach anyone in an intermediate level on the piano because that's where I'm at.  I and I can't really take any amazing, perfect quality and lighting pictures.  I was thinking this week that I will just always be stuck there.  But after watching the "Think Big" video I realized that it's my choice to be great or not.  I just need to spend some more time learning about what I want to be great at.  I really liked how he said that it is just as easy to be good as it is to be great.  So that has inspired me to figure out ways that I can be great in the things I want to be great in and not just have to stick to being ordinary and good at my passions.  

March 4th Week 8

This weeks readings and videos really got me motivated to do something.  Whether in business or just improving my lifestyle and values.  Jim Richie said something that made me really think.  "Leaders cause things to happen."  That is so true, and definitely something I really need to work on if I am going to be a leader.  

My husband and I have been thinking about a type of business we might start at one point when we feel it's right and talking about how to be great instead of good, and how to get people to trust you has really given me something to think about.  I know a lot of people that have businesses, or even just in their families there is great potential there but they are stuck at good because they don't have the three things that Jim mentioned in his video.  I really hope I can make my family good to great and not get stuck in the 'good' rut.  

I also liked the video about trust.  I had never thought about having to trust customers and people before they would trust you.  That is something I really need to work on.  But as I thought about that I can see it in my piano business.  I trust that my students will pay for their lessons, and in turn they trust me to do the best I can.  So though I've never thought about that before I do agree with it because I have experienced that many times in my life.

February 22nd week 7

Elder Holland is so great.  It was fun to hear so much from him.  The Mormon message about the car breaking down is one of my favorites.  It gives so much hope.  Whenever I feel down or like I'm not going to make it out of a challenge or trial, I just have to think about that video.  "Don't you quit, you keep walking, you keep trying.  There is help and happiness ahead."  That is going to be very helpful to me in any future businesses I try to do, and even just in my every day life.  Right now because I am a piano teacher sometimes my students hit a plateau and get discouraged.  It is helpful for them to remind them that they will get it, it is just around the corner.  So what I learned this week really doesn help in every aspect in life.  Not just business.  I am excited to learn more about values and qualities and skills needed to be a entrepreneur.  I'm excited to learn from the interview how to best become one.  And how to be someone that people can trust.  I learned this week that I can accomplish anything I want to if I really want to and put my mind to it.  I don't have to get discouraged, though sometimes I might.  I just gotta keep going.

February 20th Week 6

I really enjoyed this week's readings and especially videos.  In Guy Kawasaki's video he mentioned focusing on passion more than money.  I have always agreed with that statement.  While money is important the the welfare of our future families and whether we will starve or not (extreme) enjoying life is more important.  I have never thought about the career I want to do with my first interest being how much money I will earn from it.  My thought process about what careers I want to choose has been, "What do I enjoy doing most? What am I good at?"  And recently I've added, "What could I lose track of time doing?  And what would be the most fulfilling career for me?"
So far what I have come up with are piano and photography.  I started a piano teaching business and every time I teach I feel fulfilled because I am helping someone learn what I love.  I also love teaching because it is so much fun to see my students grasp a musical concept.  It's the same with photography, though that is more of a hobby.  I can lose track of time taking pictures of flowers, landscapes, and even people I am discovering.  Even though those aren't the most money making careers out there I will be happier pursuing what I love and not what gains the most money.  My job doesn't feel like a job, it feels like I'm going to play.  That's a good feeling.

February 9th Week 5

This week and last week’s reading of the Mastery book have been very inspiring to me.  I have found the book very interesting, and very beneficial to me.  It has helped me realize that I really need to work on some areas in my life that are not being controlled by me, but by the natural man.  (One of which is sleeping in too much).  While reading the talks and articles this week I have been learning how to best achieve self-mastery, and I have become excited to do so.

In N. Eldon Tanner’s talk, “Success is Gauged by Self-Mastery” He quoted Plato: “The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.”  I totally agree with this statement.  And after reading and watching all the articles, book, and videos I have gained a stronger opinion of that statement.  “That natural man is an enemy to God” Mosiah 3:19.

In the next couple days (since it takes sometimes a long time to master things) I am going to pick three things I need to master.  One will be spiritual, one will be physical, and one will be mental.  I am going to work on these three things until I feel they are mastered.  In order to accomplish my goal I am going to ask my husband to help me come up with things I need to improve on, and I am going to try and find a mentor for each aspect.  Hopefully I won’t be a dabbler, obsessive, or a hacker, and can actually master all three.