Last Lecture

I have learned a lot in this class and have adapted to the knowledge that this life is a journey.  We can be the master of our journey, to act and not be acted upon.  To do so, there are several areas we must be proactive about.  I have outlined those things I have found to be most important principles from this course that I would share with others:

1.     Begin with the end in mind:

·      Did I accomplish something meaningful?

·      Was I a good person?

·      Who did I love and who loved me?

2.     Consider where you are currently:To discover my calling in life, I can consider the following ingredients:

·        Gifts and strengths

·        Joys/passions

·        World’s deep burning needs

3.     Set your priorities, establish a code of conduct, and commit to sticking to it everyday.

a.      Look at each step not as a destination but a stepping stone toward mastery.  Be the person that is NOT:

·       Willing to sit stagnant, doing only the bare minimum

·       Willing to give up when the job seems to be stagnant

·       The one who is looking for the constant high through constant achievement, to the point of burnout

b.     Be the person who is:

·       Willing to work hard every day as they bear the “plateau” because eventually it will be the reason you have muscle memory, and how you have become the master of the skills and talents needed for success.

4.     Think carefully about who you have around you.

a.      Decide to be a good friend before you plan to use others for your personal gain

·       Seek to serve and bless the lives of others

·       Seek to mentor.  Then,

b.     Seek for good mentors, people who can see your potential and add to your knowledge and skills, who can become invested in your own success.  Use their knowledge by asking a lot of questions and seeking to grasp on to their wisdom.  Listen to their advice.

5.     When trials come, and they will, remember where your strength comes from, maintain your relationship with God, so that you know how to rely on him and seek his holy mind and will for your life.

6.     Don’t be afraid of hard work. And definitely, do not give up.
 

Finally, much of what we have studied has had me thinking of a few scriptures that have run in my mind over and over.  This is the one that stands out for me most that sums up the journey:

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Attitude of Gratitude and other helpful hints

This week, the instructions are to respond to the talk, Entrepreneurship and Consecration by Elder Gay.  But that was from last week, and I posted about that in last week’s post.  This week I would like to focus on the talk by President Monson, An Attitude of Gratitude, as well as the video by Ted Zollar on the paths of Entrepreneurship.  I’ll begin with the latter.

Mr. Zollar made a comment that stood out to me, and was something that was a bit of an answer to a prayer.  In essence, I got from that video that I can find happiness and success by starting with another organization before I break off and try to do my own business.  I have been thinking about doing this, but he shows briefly why this is a pathway to success.

In Pres. Monson’s talk, he tells us areas we need to focus on to be and show gratitude for.  They are as follows:

1.      To/for our mothers

2.      To/for our Fathers

3.      To/for our teachers

4.      To/for our friends

5.      To/for our country

6.      To/for our Lord and Savior


He says, “Like the leprosy of yesteryear are the plagues of today. They linger; they debilitate; they destroy. They are to be found everywhere. Their pervasiveness knows no boundaries. We know them as selfishness, greed, indulgence, cruelty, and crime, to identify but a few. Surfeited with their poison, we tend to criticize, to complain, to blame, and, slowly but surely, to abandon the positives and adopt the negatives of life.

“A popular refrain from the 1940s captured the thought:

Accentuate the positive;

Eliminate the negative.

Latch on to the affirmative;

Don’t mess with Mr. In-between.”

From this talk I have learned how important it is in my life to focus on the positives and to look for ways to be grateful rather than get swallowed up by the darkness that reigns.

Lessons Learned

There were several concepts that stood out to me in the talk given by Elder Gay in Entrepreneurship and Consecration:

·        Money is never a determining factor for peace, but the attitude toward money can bring peace

·        God gave man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things

·        Pioneers use adversity as the pathway to accomplishment

·        1 in 10 companies that are doing what is ‘right’ fail (those who seek to maximize profit as top priority, don’t tend to last.  There must be more.)

·        Limited view when money is focus

·        Two purposes to business: to provide for basic needs and to provide for others

·        Talent of men, given by God, is to benefit the whole people, to uplift the masses and rescue them from poverty.

·        Singular priority, awaken among members the need to rescue

·        Leave comforts of home and go to the rescue, Lord is mindful of everyone.  Have I rescued anyone lately?

·        Charge of people of enterprise: let every man esteem his brother as himself

·        The only way to be prosperous in business, is to take care of the poor and needy, and be one.  Keep on the charge to esteem our brother as ourselves.

·        Engage in enterprises that are His will.

Questions and answers regarding, What is Business For?

• Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy?
  
  Markets rely on rules and laws. When virtue and integrity are lacking in a market, the participants lose trust in each other. Virtue and integrity also keep greed in check, and when a market lacks these, it is every man for himself.
  
  
• According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses?
  
  Handy says that we think sometimes that business is meant to make money, but he argues that the real reason is much greater.  He says what it really is, is that a “group of people come together and exist as an institution which 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….We hanker to leave a footprint in the sands of time…”
  
  
• What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why?
  
  One solution he offers is that we ought to measure outcomes for others as well as ourselves.  Does what we do provide solutions that help other people and not just line our own pockets?  I agree with this because I believe that the more generous we are with each other, the more the Lord is generous with us.  If we are selfless, we open the door for the blessings of heaven.
  
  Another solution he discusses is our need to have balance in life and not spend all our lives focused simply on our work, so that we forego all other pleasures of life.  I agree with this as well, and suggest that this is an issue of balance.  When we have balance in our lives, we are more capable, and less quick to burn out.