Week 9- Gratitude & Ethics

I already talked about this once back in Week 2, but “The Man in the Arena” is a huge inspiration to me, as in is the book “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown. She inspires me in more ways than I can count, and so did the readings from “Hero’s Journey” this week.
     I loved the question at the end of Chapter 1 about “How does gratitude help on a long journey?” For me gratitude is absolutely essential in my life. It helps me to stay present, focused and helps me keep my anxiety in check. I actively practice gratitude every single day and it has made all the difference for me. Gratitude can help you see how far you’ve come and even when you are discouraged and have a long way yet to go, gratitude can make the path easier. Gratitude is my JAM!

     I also loved the question at the end of Chapter 2, which was “What do you love doing so much that you lose yourself in it? “ This also helped me to refocus on my “dream big”/entrepreneurial goal.

     And because I did my entrepreneurial interview this week, I was greatly inspired by that and her stories and ideas. I feel empowered to chase after my dreams. And she taught a lot about ethics within her business and that was really interesting. I learned a lot there and I plan to write about that in my paper.

Week 8- Getting Tough

Because I do not consider myself an entrepreneur quite yet, I had fun applying the lessons from this week to my regular life. We all experience tough times and this had some wonderful ideas on how to keep going. But thinking about just business…

     I got a lot out of our readings from the book “A Field Guide for the Hero’s Journey”. I loved the idea at the end of Chapter 6 about memorizing something that brings you joy to recite during tough times in the future. That is something that I feel could be useful in all aspects of life.
      And in Chapter 5 the question at the end about asking 10 people if they would quit working if they won the lottery really got me thinking about that. I think I would still want to work a little, especially if I had grown a company from nothing. But I also would really enjoy spending all the time I wanted with my husband and kids and traveling to fun places. That is a really interesting thought.  
     But by far my favorite thing I read this week was in Chapter 8. He talked about making a promise not to invest the profits from his first successful business sell for a year. This was like a revelation to me. I am a big budgeter and I love the idea of if you did come into a large sum of money (in your personal life) to sit on it for a year. I can’t even imagine how much money you would save on ridiculous and unnecessary things. I was so excited when I read it, that I told my husband immediately. That is our plan now if we ever do come into a large sum of money. Anyway, that was by far my favorite idea from this week!

Week 7- Habits

I really liked learning more about the 7 Habits this week. My adorable son is in elementary school, in second grade, and they learn about these habits at his school. They sing adorable little songs and have cute videos and it’s really fun for them. I am often jealous that he is growing up knowing these strategies because I really believe they will help him be a more successful person. Also because it’s something I didn’t have growing up and even now as an adult. So I loved learning more about them. 

     Up until today I would have said that my favorite habit was “Think Win/Win”. But that is solely because of what I have seen my son do with it. He is the oldest and often the leader of my children, but occasionally, he is also the annoying big brother. However, more than once I have seen him break up a fight over a toy or help one of his siblings by saying, “Let’s think win/win” and figuring out a way for all of them to be happy. Hearing him do this and solve problems this way makes me so grateful for this program and his school for teaching it.

     However for me personally, I think the one that I need to work on the most is Habit #1 – Think Proactive. I am often irritated by small things that go wrong in my life; when in reality that is quite silly. I know that things will always go wrong, be them big or small, and that only I can choose my reaction to these things. I believe in reacting instead of being reacted upon and I believe that I can choose to have a better attitude and make things run smoother. I have done it on occasion and I know it’s possible, but for me it’s a matter of making it a habit and a way of life. This is definitely the habit I will be focusing on for myself as a goal!

Week 6- Time

I really appreciated all the suggestions and ideas for how to manage time and family. This is something that I often struggle with currently. Right now I do (technically) run my own small company and I have a hard time balancing all my responsibilities.

     Often it seems that some of the easiest things to let go would be church responsibilities… It is technically volunteer work… But I am often reminded of two things that give me great comfort and direction. The first is this quote: “When we obey the commandments of the Lord and serve His children unselfishly, the natural consequence is power from God- power to do more than we can do by ourselves. Our insights, our talents, our abilities are expanded because we receive strength and power from the Lord.” (Elder Richard G. Scott, “For Peace at Home” April 2013) And with that many personal testimonies of people I respect who have told me about putting the Lord first and church responsibilities first and then finding the time to accomplish everything else they need to do. 
     The second is the famous story about “The Empty Pickle Jar” (Link: http://www.gratitudeseeds.com/lessons-on-life-the-empty-pickle-jar/) The story there is of course that if you fill up your time with the most important things first, then the smaller things can fill in the empty spots.

     So basically, in order to have time for everything, you first need to prioritize the most important things and give them the appropriate time and attention. For me, that is first my family and then the Gospel. I will be implementing some of the rules that Steve Blank talked about to ensure that I have adequate time for my family!

Week 5- Follow Your Bliss

I have really enjoyed reading the Mastery Book so far. It is clear to see how in order to have the kind of drive to “master” something you have to really, truly, deeply enjoy it. When he talks about his Aikido practice as being so calming and enjoyable that he can do one move over and over and over for hours, it is clear to see his passion for it. I can see how to be an effective Entrepreneur you would have to have that passion and that drive for mastery in your company.
     It has really made me think about what I do that I have that amount of passion for. What would I do as an Entrepreneur that would bring me that much joy and fulfillment? What would I be so excited to be doing that I wouldn’t mind the tedious or monotonous parts of?
     In my whole life, besides being a mother and wife and the joy that my family brings me, the only thing I could do for HOURS on end and feel completely satisfied with has been dancing. It’s the only thing that I’ve found that amount of peace in as George Leonard describes while practicing his Aikido.

     I’ve never thought of myself as an entrepreneur and I’ve never had that desire. But after this week I can see that my ‘big dream’ is where my focus should be and I can see the entrepreneur spirit in trying to get that started. I feel really good about wanting to start that in my area and not for the fame or money, like the videos mentioned, but because it would bring me happiness and joy.

Week 4- Dream Big

I really got a lot out of creating a ‘Personal Constitution’ and ‘Deconstructing My Fears’ this week.  
     Writing a personal constitution (even though I want to reflect on it for a while and possibly change some things) really helped me to decide what I value most in my life and where I want to place my efforts. It was nice to choose what is most important and recognize which things in my life are not important at all and that maybe I can let some of those lesser things go.

     Any time I ever think about my big dream (running a performing dance group for adults), a million reasons why I shouldn’t do it immediately pop into my head. Which is why deconstructing them was so nice. It was actually really therapeutic. Writing them down, made me realize how silly some of them were and what the very easy solutions to others were. It was really nice to take the big scary problems and break them down into simple solutions.
     I also really enjoyed the chapter in “The Ministry of Business” book we finished last week on Financial Fitness. I have spent a lot of time this week thinking about ways to grow our “Independence Account” and I have spent time revamping our budget so that we are paying ourselves first each paycheck. It will take some time to get used to it, but I’m really excited about these new financial goals we are working towards.

Week 3 - Inspiration

This week we read a case study about Magdalena Yesil, which was hugely inspirational to me.  I was so impressed by her love of learning, determination to succeed, how she conquered every new thing she was up against, and how she has changed the internet that I love so much today.  She is incredible and a huge role model for me.  I would be very interested to read more about her and possibly reading some of the books she’s written.  I am awestruck by how much she accomplished with a little family at home.

     I also really enjoyed learning from Frank Levison about how they didn’t have the budget for horses in the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movies.  When you see the movie, and the “horse coconuts” you just assume that was all planned as a big joke, because it’s hilarious.  It’s amazing what brilliant innovation is born out of necessity.  I read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and he talks a lot about this.  When you are hungry you work harder!  I love that idea because it’s a way to look at a misfortune or hard time and see the good in it.

     And in my reading of The Ministry of Business this week I really enjoyed learning about “The Formula”.  There are definitely some areas that I need to work on improving and I’m going to focus right now on getting up early and working hard, and obviously my education.  I can really see how the formula will be beneficial!