Happiness

 

We are finishing up our course this week. If I was to do one final lecture about this course, I would do it about “making money for the right reasons.” Throughout the course we have been warned about money and the greed and lust that can come with it if your heart isn’t in the right place. We need to always follow the 6 steps from Jim Ritchie and to always make our goals to help serve other people. That should be our motivation for everything we do. And if we have money to help other people, than use that money for good.

If you were to begin your entrepreneurial journey, I would tell you to have a purpose. What is your purpose? It should be to support your family and to help your community. I would caution you to not let the money get to your head.

One interesting thing I learned this week was about our overall happiness. People think that we will be happy once we have money and a big house. But we learned that that is not always the case. Having a big house and lots of money would be nice, but it won’t increase your happiness. Humans have a baseline of happiness that you’re born with, and it doesn’t deviate too much from that. We were shown a graph of America’s happiness and the increase of wealth. Humans stayed at a consistent 30% of happiness even though Americans on average got richer. We also learned that if you buy a bigger house or a new car or whatever…your happiness only lasts for about 3 months and then you go right back to your baseline of happiness. Then you start wanting the next big thing in your life. So it’s better to find internal happiness than to use your money to find happiness.

King Midas

I finished the book “Hero’s Journey” by Jeff Sandefer and Rev. Robert Sirico and wrote my book report on it. It was an interesting book, written in an interesting format, but looking back on it for my book report was good. I was able to organize it on paper better and saw the benefits of it. It gave stories of really hard situations and how people overcame their challenges. I had never read the story of King Midas before; I had just heard about the gist of it. But it was interesting to read that he had wished for gold to leave his daughter. So, it wasn’t entirely selfish, maybe just a little misguided. He didn’t realize the implications of his wish. Everything turned to gold. Everything. Even the special things, like a handkerchief that his daughter had hemmed for him. Also, food, which I wouldn’t have even thought of. He couldn’t even eat or drink because it turned to gold the instant it touched his lips. His daughter came running to him when he burned his mouth, and she herself turned to gold. That made King Midas very repentant. The stranger who gave him the wish, said he could undo everything if he went to the river and filled a pitcher of water. King Midas didn’t hesitate and ran to the river and couldn’t fill his pitcher fast enough to sprinkle his daughter. As soon as the water hit her, she turned back to herself. Together, she and King Midas went and undid everything he had touched.

That story touched me because money really isn’t the objective. It’s about the relationship we make along the way. It also teaches us that there is always a little bit of good in people. King Midas was not so far gone that he wanted the whole world to be a lump of solid gold.

Are We Not All Beggars?

 In this week’s reading we read about the purpose of a business. Was it to make money or to make people’s lives better? According to Charles Handy, most American’s see top executive business owners as the bad guys. “Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.” Nobody trusts the guys at the top. It’s always for their own personal gain, according to one study, the CEO makes 400x his employees’ salary. Trust and integrity don’t exist at the top.

We have been reading about how a company’s employees are categorized as costs, not assets. But that is not right, our employees help make the company. I like this quote from the reading this week, “We inevitably come to the conclusion that a group of people get tother and exist as an institution that we call a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately – they make a contribution to society, a phrase which sounds trite but is fundamental.” I have always loved working in an environment that felt like family. People thrive at their job when they feel loved and appreciated. Not like some disposable number or as competition.

Mr. Hardy goes on to talk about the poor. It was quite fascinating what he did in a 3^rd world country. He interacted with the poor and saw that they had potential. He asked the banks why they didn’t loan the poor money and they told him that they weren’t creditable. He was shocked and started doing his own experiments and loaned the poor people $27. He discovered that the people he loaned money to were able to pay it back just as promised. He opened his own bank just for the poor. He was saying how the big banks were losing money because they only focused on the rich. But the poor is an untapped resource that people are starting to realize can contribute to society and actually be looked at as people.

 

What Are You Willing To Sacrifice?

 

In class this week we talked about how to balance work and family. I might be at a disadvantage because John works and I don’t really need to be the sole bread winner. We read two mini cases this week, one was about our daughter having a dance recital and we promised her that we would go. An hour before the performance we get a call from our biggest client saying that they need us NOW, and if we don’t show up then they will find business elsewhere. I wrote in my discussion board that I would have gone to my daughter’s dance recital because family comes first. That is on my “I will not” list. I will not sacrifice my family for money. I read the other responses on the discussion board and one man said that he would have reminded his clients about his hours of availability. I really like that because it was professional, and it is a good rule to live by.

The other mini case was about a man who was a head football coach in Texas who was offered a job coaching for a bigger school. As soon as he accepted the job his wife filed for divorce stating that he was gone from home too much. This case was hard for me because it was a case of unmet expectations. His wife should have known what kind of life it would be as a wife of a football coach, but also, he seems to love football more than his family. I wrote on my discussion board that I would have quit my job to be with my family.

The response on my discussion board that really touched me was from a woman who said that when her dad died, her mom had to go to work and she missed out on a lot of her kids’ things, but when she was home, she couldn’t take her eyes off her kids. That woman is a hero doing it all by herself, and knowing that she had to work and sacrifice her family time in order for them to survive.

Which Wolf Wins? The One You Feed.....

President Dallin H. Oaks’ talk about becoming hit me hard this week. He said, “In contrast to the institution of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.” I have always tried to better myself and to correct my mistakes. Sometimes I wonder if my efforts are good enough for God and for the Celestial Kingdom. Pres Oaks’ goes on to talk about how in the scriptures it says that we will be judged by the desires of our hearts, but he says, “Other scriptures enlarge upon this by referring to our being judged by the condition we have achieved.” So, we aren’t only going to be judged by the desires of our hearts, but also by the condition we are in. Meaning what kind of person have we become? He continues, “The pure love of Christ is not an act, but a condition or state of being…Charity is something one becomes.” This was so profound to read. It is basically saying that we must become charity itself. We must become the pure love of Christ. No judgments, no anger, no backbiting etc. We must look at everyone with a heart of service and love.

This goes along with what Jim Ritchie was teaching in his lesson this week. He told the story of 2 wolves; one was good, and one was bad. The first wolf had anger, envy, jealousy, lies, ego, etc. The second wolf had joy, peace, love, hope, truth, faith, etc. He asked the question, “Which one wins?...The one you feed.” I had heard this story before, but never put it in context with business. It goes with what we have been talking about integrity and honesty. Jeff Sandefer met Jeff Skilling when he first graduated with his MBA, he was offered a job by Skilling but turned it down to start his own company. Jeff Sandefer watched Jeff Skilling found Enron and knew what was happening to the company and wasn’t surprised when Jeff Skilling was arrested and sent to federal prison. Jeff Sandefer knew that Jeff Skilling had crossed the ethical guardrails into shady territory that led to his downfall. Jeff Sandefer warned us to set ethical guardrails and to never cross them. Ever. Jeff Skilling fed the first wolf, and it cost him a life in prison. It is always good to remember which wolf we are feeding.

Be Willing to Sacrifice Yourself For a Good Cause

 Elder Bednar gave a talk at BYU Idaho about 20 years ago, right around the time the temple was being built. He said that the only other places where a temple was built so close were the MTC’s. So, in other words, BYU Idaho was a Disciple Preparation Center – where we learn how to become better disciples of Christ. “A disciple of Christ is a follower of Jesus who learns of and from Him and lives according to His teachings.” I have been trying to separate voices of the world from the voice of Jesus Christ, and lately I’ve been hearing or reading things like this to remind me that nothing can replace learning directly from Jesus. Pres Nelson at a Canada church devotional said that he would receive many scientific journals, and he would look through them quickly to see if they supported gospel doctrine and if they didn’t, he would throw them out. But if it did, then he would read it. That hit me, because I have been following some groups on Facebook that don’t necessarily lead back to Christ. So, I left those groups and decided that I needed to read the Ensign instead. Now with the reading from this week’s lesson at school, it just confirms what I have been feeling.

Also in this week’s lesson, we watched a video from Jim Ritchie, and he quoted from a book about from Good to Great. Why be good when you can be great? Being a great leader is being willing to sacrifice yourself for a good cause. He told the story of Captain Moroni and the title of Liberty and how he was a great leader and rallied his people to a good cause. They went on to win a battle that seemed doomed from the beginning. He also said that leaders cause things to happen. Captain Moroni didn’t just sit there and let the Lamanites destroy his people, he got up and made something happen. And in return, they were blessed by God and defeated the Lamanites.

Victory At All Costs!

This week has been very busy with Halloween and kids getting pink eye. It was like my teacher and Heavenly Father knew what was going to happen! In this week’s lesson, we read about not giving up. I have been thinking about lessening my class load next semester and only taking 1 class, but then it would take me twice as long to graduate, which means that it would take even longer for me to start John’s company. I am not sure how I will do it, but I know that Heavenly Father will help me have the time for everything. I have to manage my time better and have faith that it will all work out.

In one of the article’s, Sister Holland was talking to students at BYU about waiting on the Lord. Sometimes marriage doesn’t come right away, but that is the perfect opportunity to better yourself. She quoted her unmarried babysitter who said, “I will have so much more to contribute to my marriage when that time comes. And now I know after getting to know the Lord better that it will come in his own due time!” I couldn’t have said it better myself. During my single years I knew that this was the time to prepare and develop a close relationship with the Lord. I feel like I succeeded, and I was better prepared for marriage. I had had time to refine myself and learned more Christ-like attributes that I knew I would need in a marriage. In return, I have been able to be an example to John on how to be in a healthy relationship (he had never been in a relationship and didn’t know how to have a girlfriend or wife).

Elder Holland was the next speaker, and he took a different approach to the students, he spoke more about not giving up in life. I think his message complimented Sister Holland’s message because they do go hand in hand. Prepare yourself and don’t give up. Better things are ahead. Elder Holland quoted Winston Churchill when he rallied Britain to fight the Nazi’s, calling for victory at all costs! Elder Holland rallied the students in the same way, victory at all costs! Don’t give up at all costs as if your life depends on it! As if your future depends on it!

My future depends on my degree. I must obtain victory at all costs!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I have heard about the book by Stephen R. Covey “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” pretty much my whole life but I have never read it. For class this week, I read a summary of it highlighting the 7 habits. The habits are  

1. Be Proactive – self starter

2. Begin with the end in mind – goals

3. First things first – stepping stones

4. Think Win/Win – everyone benefits

5. Seek to understand, then to be understood (what is winning to them)

6. Synergy – teamwork

7. Sharpen the saw – regroup

All these things equal trust. Trust in yourself and in others. As I was reading this, I realized that I was agreeing with all these points and realized that I have tried to implement all these habits in my life already. I have always tried to think win/win. I hate the feeling of doing something that makes someone else feel bad or that their ideas weren’t valued. I love the sense of teamwork and collaborating all our ideas to come up with something that everyone is happy with. On my mission I tried to always understand people, because once I understood them, I could better teach to their needs.

Something that I noticed while I was reading this was the quote “Reactive people are swept away by the heat of the moment. Proactive people are driven by values that are both well thought out and internalized.” I see a lot of reactive people on social media getting carried away in the heat of the moment. Everyone tends to be a wordsmith to defend themselves, but I rarely see anyone apologizing or being genuinely interested in what others have to say even if they don’t agree. I rarely engage in social media banter because it usually winds up being supercharged with reactive comments. I like the quote from the book, “It is not what happens that is important. It is our responses to whatever happens that makes all the difference.” In the Book of Mormon, when Christ comes to visit, His message is basically “Whatever you do, don’t fight or argue. If someone offends you, just smile and nod. And if they keep doing it, just keep smiling and nodding. Just. Don’t. Fight.” The message from the Apostles and Prophet is basically the same, root out contention and don’t engage in harmful conversations on social media.

So I appreciate reading this summary of the book because it helped pinpoint what I have been feeling and doing pretty much my whole life, and I know now that I am on the right path.

Always Put The Lord First

 Lately, I have been feeling a bit stretched with everything going on. Since Christmas is on Sunday this year, I couldn’t not do something for church. So, I decided to spearhead a Christmas Sunday Musical Program. After I started putting it together, I was wondering why I even started it. It was very time consuming, and I had to talk to a lot of people to see if they’d like to participate. Of course, there were people who said no, or dropped out, which meant I had to rearrange things and ask more people. And I have school on top of all of everything! Right now, it has slowed down a bit because everything seems to be in place.

I was reading in my class today, and a man by the name of Jan Newman gave a speech and he said that in life, you have to crunch things, your job, your family, your calling. Some things get more attention than others. But, he said, “Don’t ever be too busy to take a calling in the church. If you ever tell your Bishop “Hey I’ve got this new company and it’s a lot of work and I don’t think I can be the Scoutmaster….biggest mistake you’ll ever make. Because when you need the Lord’s help, he’ll know where you heart is and it won’t be on his side.”

As I was reading this, I was thinking about my crazy idea to start a choir and put together an hour-long program for church. By myself. I know being the choir pianist or music chairperson isn’t my calling, but it is my calling in life to share my musical talent. And no one else was willing to put this together. I feel like this is my way of showing my love for Jesus Christ, to sing praises to Him for Christmas. I hope that this Christmas program can bring the spirit to everyone who attends church on Christmas Sunday.

Here's the thing too, even though I have so much going on with school and the Christmas program (and I’m even starting to write a children’s book!), and my family, I feel like I have had enough time to do everything. Nothing has been neglected in my life. I feel like Heavenly Father is sustaining me with everything because of my righteous desires.

Perseverance: entrepreneurial success isn't about money; it's about freedom

I started reading the book “Mastery” by George Leonard, and in the first part of the book he talks about how we are all born geniuses, which means we can do things that computers can’t. Then he goes on to talk about how the caveman idea downplays humans. He says, “We are capable of creating complex, well knit social groupings, a challenge which, more than tool making, accounts for the development of the large brain.” (pg 13) It also downplays the human body. If we were to compete athletically against animals, humans would have the overall score. I found this so fascinating because the world tries to tell you that we are animals, but this proves that we are so much more. Humans were designed to think and reason and develop. I have never believed in the caveman theory because I have always believed humans to be intelligent. And this book just proved what I have been thinking all along.

We have also been learning about mastery and perseverance. I read that it takes you 10,000 times to master something. That would be like playing a piano piece 10,000 times before it was mastered. I have been playing piano for 27 years and I doubt I have played anything 10,000 times. But the more you do it, the closer you get to those 10,000 times, and I am still young yet. This is what perseverance is, doing it again and again. The Secret is to stay the course, day after day, year after year. Here is a quote that I like from one of the articles I read in class this week:

“Entrepreneurs become successful, one small investment at a time, in a never-ending process. Because entrepreneurial success isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. A journey taken one determined step at a time, in a way that builds lifelong treasures.”

Another quote I like is:

“Entrepreneurial success isn’t about money; it’s about freedom. The goal isn’t to make more money than you need, it’s to spend less that you make. Because that way your free time belongs to you.”

These are great reminders for me that great success is a lifelong journey…and to keep my focus on people instead of material things. Money comes and goes, but your relationship with people lasts forever.

Core Values

I finished the book Launching Leaders this week and had to write a book report on it. The book was very inspirational and informational. I would recommend it too just about anyone. I was thinking this book would have been very beneficial for me as a young adult. I really had no direction or confidence in myself. This book is like one long pep talk!

The book also talked about how to set up your bank account with one checking account and 3 savings accounts. One of those savings accounts should be for investing. John is so smart; he has already implemented these principles for our bank account. I don’t know if we are ahead of the game, but at least we have something started.

We also talked about core values for our life. All throughout the book Launching Leaders, it talks about aligning ourselves with God’s will. I feel this very close to my heart. I have always tried to do His will and to follow the prompting I get. We watched General Conference this week as well, and I was thinking about how all the Apostles and Prophets were very successful in their careers. I heard them talk and testify of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and I was thinking, every day of their career they put God first. I have met lots of people of prominence and most of them have made me feel inferior and like they were the best. But the Apostles and Prophets must have been more service oriented than a salesman or an academic genius. They probably talked about the Book of Mormon with a lot of their colleagues and maybe even their clients. They most likely did not separate God from their workplace. I was thinking about my future career and if I was going to be like these rich, powerful men who doesn’t care about anyone, or will I try to be like the Apostles and Prophets and be humble and service minded. I want it to be the latter, and that is why my first core value is to put God first. Everything else will follow.

Giving Back

I was reading in the book Launching Leaders this week and read about the formula for a successful business.

 

The Formula is:

 

1. Get Up Early

 

2. Work Hard

 

3. Get an Education

 

4. Find Your Oil

 

5. Make Your Mark

 

6. Prepare to Serve/Give Back

 

I was really impressed by this because I have been thinking about number 6 for a few years now. We have always been the recipient at Christmastime because we don’t make a lot of money and we have a lot of kids. I remember the first Christmas with having a baby and our ward gave us diapers and some money. This has been happened every year for 8 years. The last two Christmases, I have been feeling a bit angry at myself that I am not the one giving. While I appreciate the help, I wish I could do the same for someone else. I have discovered that Christmas is better when I can give back. I started school again so that I can give back. So, when I saw this Formula, I knew I was in the right place.

We also learned about a lady named Magdalena Yesil who came from Turkey and pursued her dreams. She was foremost an early-stage analyst but was offered a job as a financier. She struggled to know what she wanted to do, and it was up to us to give our opinion on what she should do. Based off of the case study that we read, she loved being an entrepreneur because of the excitement of something challenging and difficult. I read some of my classmate’s viewpoints for the case study and it seemed like everyone got something different out of it depending on their own life experiences. For me, I could relate to her excitement for something new and challenging. She KNEW she was successful and could do it. She didn’t like being stuck in a cubicle by herself. And boy does that sound like me. I hate being cooped up without much interaction.

Everything about business is what I have been looking for. Numbers, math, dreams, excitement, and giving back. I am excited to keep learning and gaining more information and eventually be like Magdalena Yesil and become a successful entrepreneur.

Chasing Dreams

                    This week I learned about Randy Pausch. He had terminal pancreatic cancer and was given only a few months to live. He gave a lecture called “The Last Lecture” about achieving your childhood dreams. In his somewhat short lifetime, he was able to achieve his childhood dreams because he did not let brick walls stop him. He had big dreams with NASA and Disney as an Imagineer but was rejected. Did that stop him? No! He saw the challenge not as the end of the line, but the beginning for those who fought with everything they had to make their dreams a reality. He fought to make his dreams a reality!

 

                     When I was younger, my only dream was to have kids. I didn’t think about much else to be honest. My mom, grandma, sister, aunts were all homemakers. They had babies for 20 years and stayed home to raise them. I didn’t know anything else. My parents never really encouraged me to think of anything else. I married a man who gave me just that. I made my dream come true and had as many babies as I possibly could as fast as I could. John is a dreamer though and would talk to me about his plans for our future. I was happy for him to have these dreams, but I didn’t really invest much thinking into it because I was elbow deep in diapers. When my last baby turned 18 months, I started feeling sad because I didn’t think I had much of a purpose anymore. Being pregnant and having newborns was my purpose and without it I was feeling lost. I realized that I had accomplished all my dreams. I had didn’t realize that I needed dreams after getting all my babies earthside. So, I was left to wonder what to do with my life. I was only 33 years old and knew I had at least 33 more years to find something to look forward to instead of death. I wish someone had sat me down and told me that there is life after babies, and I need to figure out what I wanted out of that life. Now, I’ve made my husband’s dreams my dreams. I want to be with him for the rest of my life, and what better way to do that then to have the same dream and tailor it to fit us? I have learned that having dreams is crucial to your mental health, and I am going to encourage my kids to think of their dreams for the WHOLE life and then go for it!

 

                        Something that I learned in class this week that I have never done before is make a bucket list. As I watched the clip from the Bucket List, I got emotional because I want to make sure that I live a rich life full of experiences before I die. It was something I needed because like I said before, I hadn’t really thought of my life after babies. I am looking forward to learning more about how to find my dreams.

Week 1: Reflection

Hi there, my name is Leda and I am starting my journey to owning my own business. My husband is a pest control rodent specialist and one day hopes to be his own boss. In reality I will be his boss! I have always wanted to finish my degree and this is a good path for me. We want to be a team and build our life together to be better. We just can't do it without each other! 

John has been working for pest control companies for a few years now. When he was with a national company he would come home and complain almost daily about how dishonest the sales people are. They would exaggerate what they found and would sell services that didn't need to be done. John felt bad whenever he went to their houses to do the service only to find that they didn't need it. 

In class this week we talked about when we get to the end of our lives, what was the most important thing in our lives? 

We were asked to think about 3 questions: 

Did I accomplish something meaningful? 

Was I a good person? 

Who did I love and who loved me?

These questions made me think of John and the kinds of things he ran into in his career. It made me grateful that John has been such a good example to me of integrity and honesty. When I read these questions and started thinking about the ethics that go into selling a product, I had to ask myself would I be 100% honest when hard situations arise? Or would I be like those sales people and exaggerate an issue just to make money? 

These are good questions to live by as someone who owns their own business. Life is too short sell myself short. I want to create meaningful relationships full of honesty and integrity, and John will be a great partner not only as a husband but as a business partner.