Prayer

This last scroll is very in line with the gospel, and the way we should pray, the only difference being giving thanks before pleaing, and not just praying when we are in need. When Mandino explains that when he prays, he isn’t “calling to a servant to bring me food.” Just President Hinckley explained that God isn’t taking our order. My favorite line in this scroll is the second paragraph of his sample prayer, “I ask not for . . . opportunities equal to my ability; instead, guide me so that I may acquire ability equal to my opportunities.” The biggest thing my first two semesters of college have taught me is how little I know, and really how dumb I am. I am reliant on God for all my sustenance. I can’t do I without him. Opportunities will come, but without divine help, I will only be trampled by them. These opportunities will come sooner than later. And so I have learned that prayer and daily scriptures study should be as much a priority as eating. In order for me to achieve anything that has been discussed in these scrolls, I will need to give an honest effort, and then rely on divine grace to make up for what I lack “after all I can do.”

I Will Act Now

This scroll motivates me a ton. It is a huge key to success. Fear is the determinant of failure. Breaking through the wall of fear is essential to success, and we do it through action. Just reading these scrolls and not putting them into action is a waste; you might as well not read the book and continue on unchanged. Through action we can let influences like this book improve who we are. A line that inspired me says, “Let me act now even though my actions may not bring happiness or success for it is better to act and fail than not to and flounder.” I see this all the time in my own life. Sometimes I fail to act because the fear of failure overrides the drive for success, and so I sit there floundering, walking away with regret. Acting now is a fight. It’s a battle to look for opportunities and take them. It requires jumping out of your comfort zone again and again. It means being comfortable being uncomfortable. Once you get good at acting, then you have to up the number of times you act a day; but then the exhaustion sets in. Then it’s a battle of endurance to happily fight the day away, and lay your head on the pillow with a heart full of satisfaction, and wondering what tomorrow will bring you.  

Multiply my value one hundred fold

This week I have been trying to apply a few concepts I learned from "the Disciple-leader conference I went to last Saturday. The first big thing is 1) Finding serendipity, and 2) becoming anti-fragile. These go hand-in-hand with this weeks scroll, "I will multiply my value one hundred fold." What will I do today to multiply my value? I just barely got done doing the dishes for me and my roommates. It's something simple, nothing to brag about, but it increased my value nonetheless. Even the smallest acts are still fuel in the tank. Service is a huge way to multiply your value. We may have just one grain of wheat, and the wheat may be able to be multiplied if planted, but we must never forget who gave us the grain of wheat in the first place. Anything that I have to give was divinely bestowed upon me, so it is my duty and stewardship to multiply it.
I love the example Mandino uses in aiming for the stars by saying: "Never will I be of concern that my goals are too high for is it not better to aim my spear at the moon and strike only an eagle than to aim my spear at the eagle and strike only a rock." If we are really to achieve our potential and our callling, we can't be content with mediocrity. We should set goals that not  only stretch us, but also require is to call upon our mighty creator for assistance. Dang-straight we should aim at the moon again and again.
"I will announce my goals to the world. Yet, never will I proclaim my accomplishments. Anyone who goes around boasting of their accomplishments will not be able to humbly accept any praise. Someone who wallows up on pride doesn't leave any time for continued improvement. The past is the past. We can't let our past actions define us, whether good or bad. What matters is who we have become in the process. If people wish to praise me, I will humbly acknowledge their kindness, but also knowing that I can never do things alone. I am a make-up of the influences God has put into my life. I'm nothing without Him. Only the wise can receive praise with humility.

Mentors

My mind has exploded with the concept of mentors. The interviews this past week opened my mind to so many different opportunities and wisdom. I found that I know a lot of influential and successful people, and that they are more than willing to talk with me! I was required to do 3 interviews for my entrepreneur class, but I have decided to make a goal to do one informational interview once a week. I interviewed a lawyer, a CFO and an entrepreneur. I have plans to interview a consultant this week and another entrepreneur interview the next two weeks. I don't know why I have never done this before. These men were more than willing to answer any questions and give me key insight that they have found in their industries. It's helping me to see more what my interests are and what they are not. I loved my interview with a successful entrepreneur. He gave me a ton of tips on essential attributes and ethics anyone needs to become a successful entrepreneur. Scroll IV in "The Greatest salesman in the World" left me thinking a lot on what I can do unique from anyone else. I'm not like anyone else in this world. I know I have something to offer. There is something that I can do better than anyone else. I just haven't found what that something is yet. I decided to join the entrepreneur society at BYU I and I hope it will lead me to new ideas and help me to make good connections. I am nature's greatest gift.

Incopetence 6/3/2015

Incompetence is the word to describe this week. It seems like I have woken up every day feeling more and more insignificant. As the days roll by I feel like there are too many things competing for every minute, and I don’t have the productivity points to complete all of them in a day. I wake up and feel the pressure of the oncoming events of the day. Nothing seems to build me up, only tear me down more and more. My thoughts seem to shift all too easily to my many weakness. Although we are given weaknesses to make us humble, constantly dwelling on them is unhealthy and, at times, depressing. I can’t read my strengths very well, and I feel as though my weaknesses well out-weigh my strengths, but it’s times like this when we are most valuable to the Lord. How can I solve this problem? First, I need to re-arrange my personal constitution. I haven’t touched it since I first wrote it around three weeks ago, and I am feeling the effects of it. As soon as I mold my personal constitution, I will begin to assess my goals, both long term and short term. I need to write my goals out more concisely, then I will have a clearer vision on what things I will need to get done in a week, and what things I should spend my productivity points on each day. The hardest thing for me to work in is social time. I can do the work, but when friends are asking to go do something fun, it is too tempting to withstand sometimes. I want to keep good relationships with my family members, but that means making time to call them. Then there are friends that I haven’t talked to in a long time who deserve a quick ring. It all seems to pile onto my shoulders until my knees begin to shake and my legs feel like they are about to give way; but a man is only as good as his foundation. So for that reason, I will focus this week on tuning up my Personal Constitution. 

Use up those Productivity Points 5/19/2015

This being my first semester back to school, it has been a big adjustment mostly with time management. Time easily slips through my fingers if I am not paying close attention. I waste time on assignments if I am distracted. With a job it's hard to stay ahead on homework; but this week is different. This week I have been determined in doing all my assignments early. So far it has been going great, I am accomplishing a lot, but then I find that I am not spending very much time with my friends and not having very much fun. There must be a balance in all things. Each productivity point is precious. The clock is always ticking. I can't become so consumed in homework and my job that I forget to have fun and show love toward those I care about. A quick phone call to a family member makes a big difference. Finding ways to serve people will brighten up even the grayest day. Moments of laughter with friends are precious moments, and many times I find myself so consumed in the task at hand that I don't take a second to look around me at everything that's going on. I don't take the time to analyze someone on the street (without being creepy of course) and wonder how their day is going, wonder how they are doing emotionally and spiritually, show a little interest in my fellow brother or sister, and maybe greet them with a smile or a hello. There are so many things to be done and not enough time to do it, but "decisions determine destiny" (Thomas S. Monson). And "by small and simple things great things come to pass" (Alma 37:6). This week, I will be actively engaged in the task at hand. I will take in all that is around me. I will use my productivity points wisely. "I will live this day as if it is my last."

Priorities - 5/13/2015

I had a big reality check this week. I hadn't gone to the temple in two weeks. I had begun studying my scriptures late at night so I wasn't getting as much out of my studies. I was starting to get lazy with my studies. My homework was still getting done but I was just going through the motions and I wasn't getting much out of it. There were a few things that happened that helped me to realize that I was slowly headed downward, and so I decided to switch things up. "I will persist until I succeed." I'm doing so many things and time is slipping right through my fingers. In "A Journey to Personal Transformation," it explains how we have to be ready for the time when we are thrown into the desert. We have to be willing to put our nose to the grinder. As Og Mandino puts it, "When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full."
I loved the reading "How Will You Measure Your Life" by Clay M. Christensen. He talked a lot about finding your life's purpose. He explained that when he was in school, he painfully set aside an hour a day to read, study, and ponder his life's purpose. It was really hard to set aside the hard studies of econometric to search for something that seems less profitable in the moment, but Elder Christensen made this promise to all the students at Harvard Business School, "I promise my students that if they take the time to figure out their life purpose, they’ll look back on it as the most important thing they discovered at HBS. If they don’t figure it out, they will just sail off without a rudder and get buffeted in the very rough seas of life. Clarity about their purpose will trump knowledge of activity-based costing, balanced scorecards, core competence, disruptive innovation, the four Ps, and the five forces." This is my main goal and drive this week: I have put together the beginnings of a personal constitution. At first I was doing it just to turn the assignment in, but after reading the chapter in "The Ministry of Business, I was sold on the effect that this could have on me if I took some time on it. So I will look over my personal constitution, revise it, and constantly add and change things as I see necessary. I will start out by spending 30 minutes a day on my purpose, and work into an hour a day of finding out what my purpose is in life. I will report back in a week to see what I have found, and to bump the time up from 30 minutes to an hour. 

5/5/2015
This class has quickly become my favorite! I actually spend time on the readings because I'm anxious to learn. The big thing that stuck out to me this week was the importance of morals and, in particular, integrity in the business world. There are so many successful businessmen (successful to worldly standards) who have torn their own moral standards to shreds. The money must not be the main vision or it will quickly destroy me. It is so easy to slowly fall off track with integrity. It's not just about telling the truth, it's about honor. It's about continual improvement every day to give the world everything you got; to make tomorrow a better day than today. We then bring in scroll 2 in "The Greatest Salesman in the World." What does love and integrity have in common? Everything! They are inseparably intertwined. Someone cannot possess integrity without at least a sliver of charity, and someone who truly loves those around him would never cheat or lie. As I apply these virtues more and more, I will see people through different eyes. These eyes will transform me into the best man I could ever be. I may lose some battles, I may work harder than the competition, but I will go home each night satisfied with the Spirit of the Lord to warm my heart. B-level businessman is not enough, A-level is the only option; the only intelligent way to go. This will present some extreme challenges. Priorities can be shaken up without us knowing. If humility is not exercised it will get out of control quick, and without love I will surely fail. My big goal this week is on love. I will not talk negatively about anyone this week. I will seek to build people up. I will search for the good in every person. When they see my face they will be able to feel my love for them. They will not distinguish me with "just being an RM," but a disciple of Jesus Christ. This will be a big challenge. We as humans are naturally trying to find fault, especially when someone is out-performing us. Loving doesn't mean being a pushover, in fact sometimes love means being bold, it means explaining to someone their weaknesses or correcting someone so they can learn and grow. But I will look past the mistakes of others and observe until I find a praiseworthy attribute. Everyone has at least one. I can't do it in a creepy way, words and questions aren't needed, just observance and unconditional love.

It's good to reevaluate goals the goals I put in my last journal entry, because I need to recommit to them both! I have been observing more, but I haven't been writing down ideas. I asked one of my friends about how I have changed since my mission, but I didn't ask about my strengths.. This week I am resetting the goals and writing them down so I don't forget to work on them. But I can't believe how much I'm learning. My mindset is beginning to change toward what a Entrepreneur really is. I used to think that you just have to out-smart the competition, but according to the intro and first chapter of "The Ministry of Business," that is not the case. A lot of it has to do with what opportunities present themselves and how we act on those opportunities. Business tied in with gospel principles is so powerful. My Mission President once said that while a lot of businessman rely on the arm of the flesh, a disciple relies on God's mercy and grace, and that's what "The Ministry of Business" explains: shifting the praise of success from yourself to God, explaining that God puts the circumstances in our paths to give us success. The trick is finding God's will, receiving revelation, and acting upon it. When I first started these readings they would pump me up to act. I wanted to start my own business on the spot just to experiment! But after analyzing my situation as a poor college freshman, I figured that unless a giant opportunity comes up, it would be best to focus on school so Heavenly Father can continue to teach me more about my calling through school. Sprinting mindlessly with no ideas nor time to commit to a business sounds like a formula for failure.

What am I getting myself into? 4/22/2015

Lessons Learned:

There are some things I learned as  an LDS missionary that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. One of them is that I am a lot weaker than I thought I was. But after reading all the required passages from "Branding yourself," one of the biggest things I have found is this concept: "Yes, I have weaknesses.... but so what?! Realizing weaknesses doesn't make it a permanent tattoo on my character, instead it brings out and buffets the strengths and gifts that I have been given. I just need to focus more on my strengths WHILE being aware of my weaknesses and staying humble.

I have also found how important observation is with trailing questions. One thing I have observed so far that sticks out at the moment is my dad and how he has run his landscaping business. After reading these articles, I have found many traits that my dad has acquired which he has used to run his business successfully DESPITE  his weaknesses. Some of his biggest tools are networking everywhere he goes, and quick recovery after failed attempts. He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He has failed countless times, but one thing I found, is I never found out about the failures until much later on. Why? Because he doesn't give the failure more than a day of thought! He gets up, dusts himself off, and is back at it the next day chowing down on new plans and resources. 

What I haven't figured out:

What the heck are my strengths?? Especially my strengths that will help me to create something, something to provide for my family? I know that I am a hard worker, that is a strength, I'm not afraid to get in the grit and the sweat and the blood... but then how can I apply that strength? Which brings me into my next thing I haven't figured out: Where are there needs? Where are there needs where I can fill, needs that I am currently suited to grapple with head on even in my poor college-student situation? Yes this will come with more experience and observance, but as it said in the article "living life as an entrepreneur hero," it's a heck of a lot better to learn hard life lessons early. I need to find a need and slowly but fearlessly attack it, baby-step by baby-step. Its time to set goals for observance and strength-finding.

New goals: 1) Note at least two things I observe each day appealing to business or my personal strengths, and also note a question to go along with one or both observations.

                   2) Ask some close friends and family about my strengths, write down their response and try to find in myself what they have observed in me.