Consecration

Wow. This week gave me a whole new perspective on the purpose of business and on the purpose of my life in general. Our material this week included a lecture by Elder Robert Gay entitled "Entrepreneurship and Consecration" and I learned so much from that. This is one of my favorite thoughts from him: "Beyond making ends meet, whether you have little or much of this world's goods will never be a fundamental factor in your personal peace and happiness. But rather, it is your attitude towards wealth that will be critical." I agree that as long as we have sufficient for our needs, it's not the having that will bring us joy, but the giving.

As the title of his talk suggests, his main point was the importance and power of consecration. He read a heart-wrenching letter written by a girl in Africa who went through horrific things and that reminded me of how much need there really is in the world. I often feel so sheltered from that. There are so many people who are less fortunate than I am, even if I don't consider myself prosperous. I make do and that's more than so many can say.

Elder Gay taught that the purpose of business is to rescue those who are in need. It isn't about gaining wealth for our personal use or hoarding, but gaining wealth/resources for the sake of giving aid. I was a little astounded when I realized a simple truth: if so many people weren't fixated on having luxurious and ridiculously expensive things, if they were humble and didn't need to look better than everyone else, there likely wouldn't be much poverty in the world. If the wealth of the world was distributed evenly and no one took more than they needed, everyone would be better off and share in the abundance.

I finished writing a novel this week, and because of this talk, I was inspired to include the principle of consecration in my story and I felt like it was such a profound message. The world needs to hear more of it. I felt a little ill listening to the stories that dear girl in Ghana told, but I think we need more of that. I think if we were all aware of the unsettling horrors that happen to those who are poor and needy and disadvantaged, if we heard things that made our skin crawl a little more often, we might be more motivated to do something about it. I definitely feel motivated. It isn't right that so many people in the world, our brothers and sisters, are suffering so much when we live in our beautiful bubbles here in America.

We also read an article called "What's a Business For?" from Harvard Business Review and we were asked to answer these questions here in our journals:

Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy? I admit, a lot of this article went over my head, but I definitely got the impression that there's a lot of deception and dishonesty about how much businesses are worth. It also seems that, again, a lot of people are hoarding profits for themselves. It sounds like a lot of companies make poor choices in order to raise their worth momentarily, and that they don't put much thought towards the future and the consequences of their choices. The article talks about the "American disease" and how it's affected Britain. It seems that focusing so much on business and profit messes up the economy, especially in the areas of health, education, and transport. We've certainly had our fair share of economic struggles and crashes in America. Clearly, being honest and having the right motivations can help keep an economy balanced.

According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses? To quote the article, "The purpose of a business, in other words, is not to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better." The "real justification" is the big picture. It's what gives the business a heart, and not just a pocketbook. It's the motivation to do and become something. Hopefully, it's the desire to serve those who are in need.

What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why? Handy proposed that we stop working our executives and employees so hard, because having their jobs feel like an all-encompassing calling will drive them away and will wear them down. I agree with this because I know I do better work when I'm less exhausted and less tired of the same old routine. We all need some time to rejuvenate. I'm sure all of our businesses would profit from having more fresh, positive employees who feel like they still have fulfilling lives outside of their occupations.

Handy also proposed that, in his words, "We should, as charitable organizations do, measure success in terms of outcomes for others as well as for ourselves." If we stop focusing so much on numbers (profit for ourselves) and start focusing more on the good we're doing, business will be drawn to us because the world is all about charity these days. The rising generations, mine included, want to see more people trying to make a difference. We want to see more businesses becoming human and caring about the individual.