Family Time

I really liked that this week's lesson materials included the importance of spending time with our families.  This week I found myself needing to make some difficult choices and the determining factor for those choices ended up being time with my family, so this week's content couldn't have been timed any better. 

Here are some things that stood out to me from this week's materials:

"Success is Gauged by Self-Mastery"  N. Eldon Tanner

I really enjoyed reading this talk by N. Eldon Tanner and found it interesting that his counsel from 1975 was very relevant and applicable today more than 40 years later.  I liked his simple explanation of the important elements in self-mastery.

"The first is to determine your course or set the sails, so to speak, of moral standards; the other is the willpower, or the wind in the sails carrying one forward."  He goes on to say that, "Character is determined by the extent to which we can master ourselves toward good ends." 

I could easily identify which element I always fall short on and it has something to do with having trouble finding my willpower when I'm trying to master a difficult thing.  I suppose that I need to spend a little more time on discovering my winds when I set out to master a piece of myself!

Another thing I really liked from this talk was the simple reminder to "Be a hundred percenter."  While he was referencing home teaching, I think this is a good motto to have in every aspect of life, especially when pursuing a business endeavor.  If you aren't willing to give everything one hundred percent, there is always a fissure for failure to creep in. 

"Loyal to to God and Family"  Jan Newman

I liked the advice given in this lecture by Mr. Newman.  He explains that your approach to business shouldn't be to run and grow your business at all costs.  That approach will lead you to compromise yourself, your family and your devotion to Heavenly Father.  He explained that there are two things you should never compromise on:

1. Never compromise your loyalty to the Lord.
2. Never compromise your loyalty to your family.

No matter how many businesses we create and impressions we leave in the world, our greatest legacy will be our family and our service to the Kingdom of God.  As a result, we should always have a willing heart & mind and never be too busy to take a calling in the church. 

"The Entrepreneur & the Family"   Steve Blank

This was a short video with a simply yet powerful message to "Make rules or the start-ups will take over your life."    Mr. Blank shared some of the rules he and his wife set for their family in order to make sure that his start-ups didn't steal valuable time meant for his family.  Here are some of his rules:

• Dinner every night at 7:00 pm with the family.
• Put the kids to bed together with his wife.
• Spend weekends with the kids.

While these rules and guidelines ensured time with his family, it didn't mean that he wasn't working.  Sometimes his kids would go to work with him on the weekends and sometimes he would work for several hours into the night after putting the kids to bed.  The main thing is that he determined that family time was important to him and he set rules and guidelines to make sure that happened.