Personal Balance

This week we learned about finding balance in your professional and personal life. 

    In a video featuring titled, Balancing Your Life/Your Career Successfully with Randy Komisar we learned:

•    Life is a challenge... Love what you do
•    Set Priorities... Seek what you love
•    Pay attention to what is important... family 

    Keep a group of people who really know you close... These people will help to ground you throughout your life. 

Acton Hero: Cory Bell

Cory Bell had great advice to share. I will sum up his advice as:

•         Write a vision plan for your life.
•         Everything is possible if you want it
•         Give back- make an impact on the world. 

Surviving the Entrepreneurial Life: Work and Family

    Meg Cadoux Hirshberg talked about balancing work and family while undertaking an entrepreneurial dream. She talked about including your kids and spouse.

Kids:

•     Share your work with your kids by talking with them about your work.
•     Take you kids to work with you occasionally.
•     Spend casual time with your kids, not just games and recitals. Spend time relaxing with them. 

Spouse:

•  Stay connected with your spouse by doing things that make them feel special. (Whatever that is for your specific partner.)
•  Attend  company meets with your spouse, even if you are not working at the company. This gives you talking points together.
•  Travel with your spouse if possible.

    Starting a company can be all consuming, if you include your children and spouse in the process you will have a better work and family balance. Including and sharing will increase your family's ability to tolerate your long work hours as you start a new business.   

    My favorite address this week was from Thomas S. Monson. His address came from an Ensign message titled, Formula For Success. In this message we are given three admonitions on how to lead a successful life. They are:

1. Fill your mind with truth.

    Seek knowledge out of the best books. We have so much available to us in the form of learning. We must continually be growing if we are to reach out eternal potential. 

2. Fill your life with service.

   We each have  the opportunity to serve our family. We also need to remember to give back to those around us. We are taught in the Book of Mormon, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). Christ lived a life of service, if we want to be like the Savior, we too must serve our fellow man. 

3. Fill your heart with love.

    When we fill our hearts with love, we are able to serve better. Love will increase our desire and ability to help those around us. When motivated by love we are able to accomplish many many things we thought impossible. 

The final thoughts from Thomas S. Monson that I found very important were:

Be Prepared, Be Productive, Be Faithful, and Be Fruitful!

Dream Big

This week we are focusing on dreaming big.  We read and watched several videos that encouraged us to dream big and then reach for your dreams. Several of the messages made an impact on me. 

    License to Pursue Dreams-- Marissa Mayer addressed an audience describing the concept that Google implements called 20 percent time. The concept is basically work four days a week on Google work and on day 5, work on whatever you want to work on. This is a very interesting concept. Many people believed that Google was wasting 20 percent of its productivity. However, Mayer mapped out Google's product launches and found that 50 percent of the projects released came from the 20 percent of time. She surmised, "It turns out if you take really smart people, give them really good tools, they build really beautiful, amazing things that are really exciting, and they do it with a lot of passion and momentum, in such a way that you actually see two and a half times the output of what you would expect given the time." This is really amazing! I can understand this because when I have a passion for an idea, I am willing to work harder and longer without even realizing. 

Think Big-- Taylor Richards addressed a group of people and said two things that were interesting to me: 

1. Do not over underestimate yourself. You can do it, you can accomplish the goals and dreams that you set and if you involve the Lord, you can do the impossible, you can do amazing things you can do great things. Just like it says in good to great, it's a whole lot more fun to do great things than to just be good.  Or to just be mediocre. And it's no harder to be great than to be good.  

2. Pursue your goals and dreams. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. And involve the Lord, you can do great things.

Richards told a story about making the top 100 as a boat dealership. He was not trying to be a top dealership in the nation. He was striving for excellence every day and loving what he did for a living. In the beginning of the countdown he was underestimating how well he compared to others in his field. Richards learned during the countdown that he had been underestimating his team. They were ranked 11 in North America. This teaches me that if I try to just do my personal best, I can shine above the competition. 

Trust and Leadership

 

In my learning this week I read a portion of a paper that was called, A Message to Garcia. A big takeaway from this paper was the idea that,” if you want to be entrusted with important tasks, you have to get the job done.” People will gain trust in you when they see that you are not all talk and no action. The application story was very interesting. Here is the story:

 “It was 1899. President William McKinley needed to deliver an urgent message to General Calixto Garcia, the leader of the insurgents in America’s war against Spain. But Garcia was lost somewhere deep inside the mountain vastness of Cuba. “There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia if anyone can,” someone told the president. So McKinley summoned Colonel Andrew Rowan. Rowan took McKinley’s letter, “sealed it in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle and in three weeks came out on the other side of the island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia.”

Getting the job done without being told what to do step by step is a quality that is lacking in today’s society. With the invention of the internet, we are always looking to google or YouTube to teach us or walk us through our next task. The new technology is not the problem in my eyes. If Garcia had GPS on his phone, I am sure he would have used it to traverse the mountains in Cuba. I believe that we need to use our brain along with the technology to “get the job done.”

Another assignment was to watch a video featuring Guy Kawasaki. It was titled, Aspects of Building Trust. Three key points are:

1.     Trust others, then they trust you

·       If you first trust people to do the right thing, they will trust you in return. He equated this to 3 business that have trusted people. Because of this trust in people, they are well trusted by consumers which drives return customers. You as a person or company have to trust in your customers to do the right thing.

2.     Bakers VS. Eaters

·       Eaters see the world as I have to get all that I can. Anything you have takes away from what I have. “I need to get as much of the pie as possible.”

·       Bakers see the world as shareable. “The world is an opportunity to make more pies and bigger pies. Trustworthy people are bakers not eaters.”

3.     Default to yes

·        This line of thinking causes you to ask yourself, “How can I help that person?”  Which is in contrast of the normal thinking, “How can that person help me?” By learning to help others you will be trusting in people and helping them will in the end, help you.

Overcoming Challenges

 

This week I read several rousing talks about overcoming challenges. 

    Brother and Sister Holland spoke to the students of BYU in the winter of 1983. They both spoke about not faltering amid challenges. I was inspired to “hang in there” during hard times. Brother Holland recounted the story of the building of the Salt Lake City temple. The saints were faced with the possibility of war, yet again. They feared the Government soldiers would take over the area. So, they filled in the foundation that had taken them nine years to dig. This had to be devastating to the people. Once the threat of war was over, they had to start the tremendous task of digging the foundation again. This example of overcoming challenges helps me understand that I can be like the saints by doing hard things.

    The Acton Hero this week was: David Carrington. He had some great advice for overcoming challenges. He taught:

1.Come up with solutions that no one else is thinking.

2. Don’t take advantage of other people’s tragedies.

3. Challenges force us to reassess. We can look at our lives and see if we are living with balance.

4. Business should not run your life, instead your life should be running the business.

5. Don’t get so wrapped up in business that you forget why you are in business. Don’t accept customers or clients you don’t really want to do business with.

6. If you understand who you are and what your brand is, and consistently execute that brand, you will be successful.

    I like how simple and straightforward this advice is. It is something that you can implement into your everyday life in many areas not just business.

    I saved the best for last! I love the video, Good Things to Come.(link is below to full video) It is a story of learning patience and perseverance. Putting your pride aside and choosing to do hard things. Sometimes we forget that everyone has hard times. How we respond to these challenges builds our character. I do have faith like Brother Holland, "Don't you quit! You keep walking.You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late, and some don't come till Heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God, and believe in good things to come." 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsXFuG3XkRs 

Exploring the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (By Stephen Covey)and What Habit Has the Most Meaning to ME!

 

• Which of the 7 habits has the most meaning for you?

  I can see value in all of the habits. I think that it is really hard to narrow myself down to the one most important habit. It Covey felt that there was one habit that stood out more than the rest than maybe it would have been the 1 habit of highly effective people. This is not the case. Each of the habits seem to build upon each other like this picture describes. starting with a foundation and then building and growing into an effective person. If I had to choose which habit, I am the weakest at I would choose the habit #5. I think as humans we are looking to be understood first and then we might be willing to try to understand. I think that I could have the greatest personal growth if I implement Habit #5 into my life. I believe that trying to understand others first would decrease anger between those that see things in a different way than I do. Covey explained, “Most people don’t listen with an intent to understand - they listen with the intent to reply. They are either speaking or preparing to speak. They see others through the lens of their own autobiographies. The key to understanding another person is empathetic listening – really trying to understand everything (including the nonverbal signals) the other person is communicating. You listen for feeling and for meaning, for behavior and other signals. You are totally focused on the other person’s point of view, not projecting your own life’s story into their words.” I can see myself in every word that Covey describes. This is why I think that for me personally, the largest growth would come from implementing this habit into my life.  

• Why will the 7 habits help you fill your life with passion and purpose as you seek to achieve both a private and public victory?

I think that the 7 habits help you to look at life with an ability to see the good that life has to offer both privately and publicly.  In the summary we read this week it stated, "The 7 habits provide an incremental, sequential, integrated approach to the development of personal effectiveness moving us progressively from dependence (on others) to independence (take care of ourselves) to interdependence (looking after others and combining strengths)." Building a personality with these 7 habits in mind will change the way you look and interact with those around you. This will enable a person to be a pillar in the community. People will want to be around you because of these 7 habits. You will be able to help others to develop these skills into their lives which will continue the cycle of improvement within the community you live. This could eventually grow into a nation of effective people. As you grow you will have passion in your life to go after the lifestyle you desire. You will be able to do this also with a sense of purpose as you have learned to begin with the end in mind and put first things first. Learning to listen to others and progress with synergy. Finally, every day you need to take time to sharpen the saw, or take care of you by exercising and feeding yourself spiritually and physically. 

Tips to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur

 

This week the class received a lot of good advice from successful entrepreneurs. I gained the most knowledge from three speakers. 

They were: 

1. Steve Blank-- The Entrepreneur and Family

2. Jan Newman-- Loyalty to God and family

3.Wences Casares-- Three lessons about what it means to be an entrepreneur

Steve Blank made the biggest impression on me this week. The basic idea I took away from his talk was that you should make rules or start-ups will take over your life. Each person needs to set boundaries that make sense for them during the start-up of the new business. I like that Blank focused his responses on keeping the family together during the busy time of a start-up. His suggested 3 guides to help maintain family life:

1. Set a dinner time.

    This allows you to be home with the family. By eating together every night you     will be able to stay connected with each family members life.

2. Weekends with your kids.

    This is important so that your kids understand that they are as important to you        as your company. "Love to a child is spelled T-I-M-E" said, Dieter F.                        Uchtdorf. Spend time with your children on a regular basis. 

3. Put your kids to bed.

    Taking time to be with your children will be something that you will never             regret. They are only young once and time won't wait on you. Enjoy the special     bedtime routines while they are little. 

Jan Newman also talked about family but included God into his conversation. I think that one of the most important things I took away from his talk was to not let my busy life pull me away from my church responsibilities. Newman said, "always take your church callings." By accepting calling you are being loyal to the promises you made at baptism. You are increasing your level of integrity. By doing this you are increasing your loyalty to your family as well. Being a good example to your friends and family be keeping your promises is a legacy that should be important. 

Finally, Wences Casares had three lessons that he shared. I really liked his comments but can only relate to two of the three. 

1. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle.

    I don't really relate to this lesson, but I am working on implementing it in my            life. I am not a natural born entrepreneur but learning. 

2. Time is the most valuable asset.

    Take the time to look at your life, not in the short-term 2 to 5 years but in the        long-term of 20 to 30 years. What do you want to do for the long-term? 

3. Stick with something for a long time. 

    Here he is talking about sticking with your vision or company. Don't sell your        company too early or too fast. Let the company grow with you. You might have     another great vision that others might miss. Stick with your original dream             before jumping ship.     

When you marry all of these lessons, I found that each one of them is encouraging you to stay true to yourself. Be true to your family. Be true to your religion. Be true to your entrepreneurial spirit. It might be hard, and you might get lost but by setting guides and sticking to them you will have a better chance of keeping all 3 of these important aspects in balance--Family-Religion-Company 

   

A Hero's Journey

 What were my takeaways from the video, "A Hero's Journey"

https://video.byui.edu/media/122201_02_Large/0_7ghlpqpk/26923962

(I have looked all over and cannot find the last name of the person in this video. I did find out that his first name is Jeff because he references writing a letter to himself and says, "dear Jeff." )

In this video he talks about "living every moment of your life like it matters, because it does." This means that we should look at set back and struggles or adventures as lesson we can learn. The important lessons change who we are, making us better people. 

Another piece of advice was to find ten role models. This seems like a huge number of people to me. However, this week in class I had an assignment to choose 6 people to be on my "board table of life."  This was an interesting assignment. I could choose any person, living or dead, to participate as a member. I choose close family and some noted professionals. I could see that even those people would have gaps in knowledge. I didn't choose a lawyer and looking back that would have been a great person to have on the team.  

The guides from Jeff about role models were:

Ask them about

1. Their triumphs 

2. Their regrets 

3. Lessons they wished they had learned earlier. 

Who to seek out

1. Three people your same age

2. Three people who were age 45-60

3. at least three people over 60

These interviews lead to some very powerful insights. The oldest group always said basically the same thing to the students. The most important questions in life were: 

1. Have I contributed something meaningful?

2. Am I a good person?

3. Who did I love and who loved me?

These three questions have lingered with me this week as I have pondered my life. I can see that these three questions can guide me in how I interact and respond with those around me. I can take everyday situations and chose to respond after I think about these questions. I can reshape my answers to help me reshape myself into the person I want to be.