My Mama, the Entrepreneur

This week, we finished an assignment where we interviewed an entrepreneur. I chose to interview my mother, and it was amazing to finally hear the details of her story and get to invest real interest in her life's work. I've always taken it for granted. When I was a kid, I was more irritated by how her business inconvenienced me than how it really helped us. My father decided a few years ago that he no longer had any interest in providing for the family, and that left my mother to carry the weight. She's done so admirably and with a miraculously positive attitude. It was such a blessing to be able to spend that time writing her story.

We learned a lot about pursuing dreams this week and we read an incredible talk called "The Challenge to Become." That helped me a lot to remember that as long as I'm becoming who I need to become, setbacks aren't the end of the world. I'm so grateful for this class and all that it's teaching me.

We also learned about entrepreneurship within companies and that really intrigued me, because I never realized it was possible to have an entrepreneur spirit and still work for someone else. But I learned from my mother that working for someone else can really help you build character and skills. All of this made me wonder what I can be doing at my place of employment to better both the company and myself.

How Much Land Does a Man Need?

This week, we continued to read "A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey." I really loved the story by Leo Tolstoy that was called "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" This story is about a man who is promised that he can own as much land as he can walk the perimeter of by sunset. This man is overly zealous/greedy and walks so far that it becomes late and he is forced to return and therefore makes his land more of a triangle than a square. By the time he reaches his starting point, he has pushed himself so hard that he dies. In the end, the only land he truly needs is enough to be buried in. He tries to take too much and suffers the ultimate cost (death) for doing so. I feel like I can relate to this a lot, because I often push myself so far that my work becomes less valuable and I use up valuable time by needing to recover - more time than I would have taken if I'd simply slowed down and paced myself.

We also learned a lot about the purpose of BYU-Idaho this week and I am so grateful to be a part of this incredible school. I love connecting my spiritual and vocational educations.

We read a summary of the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins and I was very impressed by the principles explained there. I've seen many of those concepts be fruitful at the company I work for, especially the need for the right people. My company is very particular about who we hire and that makes for a great work atmosphere and great productivity.

Don't Become Weary in Well-Doing

This week was truly inspiring! Many of the readings were about enduring hard times, finding courage, and having a vision. I was especially touched by a devotional given at BYU by Elder Holland and his wife. Elder Holland talked a lot about not becoming weary in well-doing. I want to write that on the wall of my bedroom because I so often feel weary and I forget how much strength the Lord will give me if I simply ask for it. I also loved his mention of leaning on our sword and resting a while before continuing to fight. Sometimes we need to rest, but when the resting is over, we need to get back up and keep doing good.

We started reading "A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey" by Jeff Sandefer and Rev. Robert Sirico. What an amazing compilation of incredible literature, words of encouragement, and pleas to be better and do better. I'm so excited to read more of that book and gain more motivation from it. I was definitely inspired to be courageous, conquer my dragons, and accomplish my life's work - whatever that may be.

This class has been such a gift in my life. I'm learning and growing with every week. I hope it's preparing me for the days and weeks ahead.

Sharpening My Saw

This week, we learned about the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. The most meaningful of those habits to me is the seventh: "Sharpen the saw."

I am very guilty of using a blunt saw because I'm too busy or distracted to take care of it. I often feel myself burning out because I'm not taking the time to care for myself - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Covey talks about sharpening our saw in four dimensions: physical exercise, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.

I always feel rejuvenated and positive after taking even a short jog. Exercising in that way brings me a great deal of joy, and yet, it's one of the things I procrastinate against the most. That's strange. I also find joy in studying scriptures and attending church meetings and dedicating myself to my faith, but sometimes it feels difficult to make enough time for those things. I also struggle to make time and energy for church service, even though I know it will bless me.

The dimension that my saw is the most blunt in is social/emotional. I work so hard to remain positive and lift up the people around me, but I tend to take so much water out of my own bucket that I'm eventually scraping the bottom with nothing left to give. I need to rejuvenate my own emotional stores and be more secure within myself so I can form and maintain better relationships.

I often get so obsessed over different areas in my life that my relationships suffer. I push myself too hard emotionally and then I'm constantly crying on the shoulders of the people I want to be happy with. That's why I'm going to focus on this seventh habit, sharpening my saw, so I can be truly successful both on the outside and the inside.

Self-Mastery

I've been most touched by two things this week:

1. There was a talk by N. Eldon Tanner in our readings this week called "Success is Gauged by Self-Mastery." In that talk, President Tanner shared this quote by Plato: "The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile." This hit me hard. We can take on a lot of worthwhile endeavors and change the lives of a lot of people, but the life we need to change most, or the person we need to change most ... is ourselves. I've struggled so much with myself this week, especially with my fears and insecurities. I've had such a hard time being able to visualize success. I need to conquer myself - my weaknesses, my worries, all of those natural things that are preventing me from pursuing the life I want.

2. In the book Mastery, I learned that "man is a learning animal." The book says, "In this light, the mastery of skills that are not genetically programmed is the most characteristically human of all activities." We were made to learn. Our purpose here on earth is to learn, and we've been given incredible bodies and especially minds to help us do so. Anything is possible because we are designed to learn and grow.

I also learned a lot this week about the importance of prioritizing family over business, as well as overcoming feelings of inadequacy. It seems that truly anyone with enough determination and a good idea can be an entrepreneur. That gives me a lot of hope.

Meaning and Mastery

I am learning so much about myself! I love that. This week has been a great lesson in courage, perseverance, and hard work.

We started reading Mastery by George Leonard and I was enthralled by the concepts described in the first chapters. Leonard talks a lot about how our society is fixated on the idea that we should have one climax after another - that we should keep experiencing highs and never plateau. He shares his own experiences with learning to embrace the plateau, which is a normal and vital part of progress. He emphasizes that we need to learn to love practice and find joy in simply doing what we love.

We also listened to a lecture called "A Hero's Journey" by Jeff Sandefer, which was quite profound. He taught us that a hero's journey is all about you and not at all about you. I think that's pretty typical of any hero - you have to be good enough to be completely selfless and serve. He also talked a lot about the importance of living a life of meaning, and that when we grow old, that's what will matter most. He said that when people over the age of 60 are interviewed, they will all voice similar opinions that only three things matter: Did I contribute something meaningful? Am I a good person? Who did I love, and who loved me? Those three questions bring everything we do into perspective. Am I working to contribute something meaningful? Am I becoming the person I want to be? Am I loving the people around me and allowing them to love me? I'll definitely be pondering those things this week.

Finally, we studied a woman named Erica Mills and her journey as an entrepreneur, which was very inspiring. Erica faced a lot of difficult situations and not only made the best of them, but used them as opportunities to grow and become better. I was very inspired by her example.

Faith, Goals, and Fears

This week was really amazing! I learned so much about myself. I finished reading "The Ministry of Business" by Steven Hitz and James Ritchie. That taught me so much about the connection between faith and business, and also a lot about ethics and the importance of self-awareness. My favorite part of the book (and class this week) was the assignment to write myself a personal constitution. I chose and prioritized my foundational values and then wrote about what kind of person I want to become. I also set a few goals that I've really needed to set.

One of my other assignments was an exercise called "Deconstructing Your Fears." In that exercise, I wrote down four of my main business fears, how I can avoid them, and how I'd act if they happened. In reflection, I was asked to answer these questions in my journal:

1. If you pursue your calling with discipline, intentionality, and the help of fellow travelers, what are the chances that your worst case scenario will really happen? Highly doubtful. Many of my biggest fears are completely ridiculous.
2. As you look at your list of fears, what themes emerge? What is at the core of what you really fear? Financial ruin? The judgment or disapproval of others? Physical harm? Endangering the ones you love? Embarrassment? The only theme I see is that three out of four leave me going full-time with my employer instead of pursuing my own dreams. I suppose I'm afraid of halted progress.
3. What is the risk of taking no action – not following your calling? How do you plan to deal with fear when it pops up on your entrepreneurial journey? The risk is never finding the best way that I can help people. That also includes never finding the best fulfillment for myself. I plan to deal with fear by leaning on my faith, my covenants, and all of the principles that I've learned in this class. I will try my best to never get discouraged and to work hard instead.