Mastery & Habits

This was a full week of learning for me.  Not only did I increase my learning in my coursework, but I increased my learning at work and both made me feel good.  I have always liked to learn new things even though the learning hasn't always come from an academic setting.  I suppose that qualifies me as a life-long learner and I like that. 

Here are some of the things I learned from this week's course materials:

"Stand True and Faithful"   Gordon B. Hinkley

No matter how much the world around us changes, we must always remain true to ourselves and those around us and remain faithful in the gospel.  President Hinkley said, "The truths of this gospel are everlasting and eternal.  Philosophies change.  Customs change.  Culture changes.  But with all of these changes, there are gospel fundamentals that have never changed and never will change." 

The current social and political climate in the United States is a perfect example of philosophies, customs and culture changing yet the gospel truths will never change.  That was an important reminder for me this week.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"  Stephen R. Covey

I have never taken the time to read this book so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this summary and listening to Jim Ritchie's overview.  Here are the seven habits:

• Habit 1 - Be proactive
• Habit 2 - Begin with the end in mind
• Habit 3 - Put first things first
• Habit 4 - Think win/win
• Habit 5 - Seek first to understand, then to be understood
• Habit 6 - Synergize
• Habit 7 - Sharpen the saw

The habit that hold the most meaning for me in my life right now is to put first things first.   I struggle with time management and prioritizing my personal and work tasks.  Part of that struggle comes from things outside of my control at work that interfere with my feeble efforts to make lists and prioritize.  But as I practice and implement the four quadrants, I hope to better be able to handle interruptions as they come up and get back on track. 

There were several quotes in this book summary and my favorite was from Albert Einstein.  "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."  I hope to change my level of thinking as I continue to learn and grow. 

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. 

Passionate Opportunities

This week I have had to learn a difficult lesson on my educational journey.  I have been very fortunate so far to have instructors that care about their role as an instructor and care about my success.   This semester, I have ended up with an absent instructor and I haven't known how to deal with that.  It's been frustrating and discouraging and left me questioning several choices.  I finally had to come to the conclusion that I can't change his level of involvement but I can definitely change what I get out of the class.  I might have to spend extra time with a tutor, Kahn Academy, YouTube, and Google, but I will learn the information in this class.  While it's disappointing, I wont let this one teacher undermine my educational path.  This has also made me appreciate even more the excellent teachers I have had so far. 

Here are a few things I learned from this week's material:

"How Do You Find Your Passion & How Do You Pursue It?"  Randy Komisar

Two things stood out to me from this video.  The first was, "Rather than thinking about the passion, allow yourself to think about a portfolio of passions."  I have often struggled to find my passion in life.  But now I can look at myself as having a true portfolio of passions, because there are a lot of things that I love and am good at.   The second thing that stood out was to "Marry your portfolio of passions with the opportunities in front of you."  Now I will consider my passions a portfolio of passionate opportunities!

"A Hero's Journey" Jeff Sandefer

I really enjoyed watching this talk and came away with some great insights. 

What does a Hero's Journey mean?  It means:

• Living every moment of your life like it matters.
• Seeing struggles as adventures.
• Seeing setbacks as lessons.
• It isn't the prize at the end but how the hero is changed in the journey.  

At the end of life, only three questions will matter.

1. Have I contributed something meaningful?
2. Am I a good person?
3. Who did I love and who loved me?

In the quest to find your true mission in life, I liked his suggestion to ask five people what you do you better than anybody else.  Sometimes we forget that others observe us and can offer us insight that we might not be able to see.  I also liked his reminder to have good ethical guardrails and to surround ourselves with people of character. 

One thing he said that really stood out to me was, "Failure seen in reverse will make you stronger."  Last week I had to make a list of fears and make contingencies to face those fears if they were realized.  I think it's easy to allow our fear of failure to keep us from trying.  But jumping in and risking failure definitely provides us with the opportunities to grow and become stronger.  While I would never wish for failure, I know that I can overcome it and end up stronger because of it. 

Fears

This week forced me to do a lot of self-reflection.  Some of this was in conjunction with an assignment and some of it was out of necessity.  Both resulted in decisions that will benefit me in the now and some in the future.  It was a painful and difficult process to make those decisions but I feel like they were the right choices.  

The assignment that forced me to self-reflect was "Deconstructing Your Fears."  I had to list my biggest fears associated with a particular action, in my case, starting a business.  I then listed some strategies to overcome those fears and a way to recover should those fears become realized.  Below are my fears.

Here are some observations:

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?   

Anything is possible, but the likelihood of my worse fears being realized are greatly reduced as I seek the help of others, create a solid plan, and have the support of those who matter the most.

2. As you look at your list of fears, what themes emerge?  What is at the core of what you really fear? 

I believe that the core of my fears comes from disappointing people around me and disappointing myself.  As I learn more about myself and my abilities, the only way I can disappoint myself or others is either by not giving forth my best effort.  As long as I give 100% and continue to progress, I will be successful.  

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 of taking no action is by default a failure.  While it seems safe to not take a risk or to put yourself out there, it also guarantees no chance of success.  As these fears creep into my though process, I have to remind myself that it's okay to be scared.  It is by overcoming our fears that we learn and grow the most.  I am ready for that growth.  

The other situation that required me to self-reflect and make some difficult choices was my educational path.  As I have taking classes toward my chosen degree of Business Management, I realized that it wasn't really what I wanted to do.  I didn't really have a desire to dive deep into financial accounting, statistics and economics.  While I want to be a business owner, I have no desire to run a corporation and determine preferred stock dividends.  This realization has led to a change in majors and course of study.  The end goal is still the same...get a degree.  

This week has been exhausting with all of the self-reflection and decisions that were made, but it was a good one.  I feel good about my choices and the discoveries I have made.  

What happened to January?

I looked a the calendar today and was floored to realize that it was January 26th!  January is typically a slow month but I have had so much going on with school and work that this month has literally flown by.  I have decided that the more strongly I pursue my educational endeavors, the crazier my life seems to get.  I suppose that this is my own version of a refiner's fire.  I need to prove to myself just how badly I want this education and I need to get used to the crazy in my life if I ever want to start my own business!

Through all the craziness of the week, there were some things that have been helpful.  Here are a few things I learned from this week's materials:

"Why Are Ethics Important?"  Frank Levinson

The thoughts he presented are easily summed up in one simple phrase, "Never compromise on ethics."  There is always a right way and a wrong way to do things.  As I look back on my time with my current employer, I'm amazed at how many times I have seen questionable ethics at play.  They are never really blatant wrong doings, but more like simple compromises.  It is possible to see how those simple compromises can lead to outright unethical behavior.  I have promised myself that I will never compromise my integrity or personal ethics to advance my career or my business.  

"Action Hero Ken Zolot"

It was really interesting to listen to this interview with Ken, a successful entrepreneur and educator.  The information he shared that I found to be most useful was the list of questions that a successful entrepreneur should ask concerning a new business endeavor.  

• Who cares?
• Why do they care?
• Who are these people?
• What are they going through in their lives?
• What is the real problem you are solving?

As I have contemplated the idea of starting my own business, I am often left wondering where to start.  I feel like this list of questions is a great starting point as I try go decide the direction to take.  This list definitely coincides with information I recently heard on a business podcast called, "Business Boutique."  It was explained that today's average customer doesn't care why you're in business, they want to know what problem you are going to solve for them with your product.  This confirms that I definitely need to create a product a service that will help my customer's lives.

"The Formula and Happiness" Jim Ritchie

This six part formula that Jim presents is so simple that it doesn't seem like it would produce results, but I know otherwise.  Here are the six simple steps:

1. Get up early.
2. Work hard.
3. Get your education.
4. Find oil.
5. Make your mark.
6. Prepare to serve and give back. 

I have worked on parts of this list at different times in my life and can definitely tell that working those steps can lead to success.  Right now I am working on getting my education.  I wish I would have completed this step when I was younger, but it is never too late to learn.  My husband and I are currently working on making our mark so that we can prepare to serve and give back when the opportunities present themselves.  

This week has taught me more about time management than I ever thought possible.  After returning from my work trip, I found myself with a late start to my weekly school tasks.  I have found myself waking up early and staying up late this week to get it all done.  It's been difficult but worth it, even if I didn't realize what the date was today!  I am enjoying my classes and being able to immediately apply what I've learned into my current job.  I am definitely looking forward to learning more!

Inspired

This week I've had the opportunity to do a little dreaming as I created a bucket list for myself.  As I have gotten older, I don't really take the time to dream about things as much as I used to.  But it was a nice break to think about my travel dreams and life long goals that I have yet to realize.  After reading this week's material, I was reminded that I should take more time to think of the things I want to do instead of just thinking of all the things I have to do.  

Below are some things that stood out to me from this week's reading material:

"Treat Live as an Experiment" Tom Kelley

I really liked the suggestion that we should be willing to take risks in life and to be willing to fail.  Sometimes I am so afraid of failing or doing something wrong, that I allow it to hold me back from even trying.  I really like the idea to "fail forward."  Often times I think about failure as a setback or similar to taking two steps backward, but failure really does push you forward. 

It was interesting to learn about the origin of WD-40.  I had no idea that the name of this product directly correlated to that unsuccessfully number of failed attempts at bringing this product to market.  

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I've heard many references over the years to this lecture. but I had never taken the time to read it.  I found his experiences to be inspiring and his insights to be profound.  He spoke a lot about his childhood dreams and then about how to enable the dreams of others.  I liked what he said in regards to experience, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."  It's so easy to look at a situation going in an unexpected direction as failure and a sign to give up, but how else do we gain our experience?  

He spoke about brick walls and the obstacles they represent in our lives.  "Brick walls are there for a reason; they let us prove how badly we want things."  He went on to say, "Brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough."  I believe this is how he achieved so many of his childhood dreams.  He wanted to achieve those dreams so badly that he wasn't willing to let those brick walls dissuade him in the least.  I particularly enjoyed learning to what great lengths he went to in order to realize the dream of experiencing zero gravity!  

At the end of his lecture, he gave a list of pointers that I think is worth mentioning:

• When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.
• Show gratitude.
• Don't complain.  Just work harder.
• Be good at something, it makes you valuable.
• Word hard.
• Find the best in everybody.
• And be prepared.  Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity.

"It's not about how to achieve your dreams.  It's about how to lead your life.  If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself.  The dreams will come to you."  

This was another busy and stressful week.  I had to go on a trip for work to a trade show and that threw a wrench into my school workload for the week.  But as I sit on a hotel room doing homework, I can't help but feel inspired.  I have had the opportunity to attend several classes the last two days that have motivated me to implement changes in my workplace.  I've also had the opportunity to meet so many business owners from across the country and hear about how they got started and how their businesses have evolved.  Walking the show floor has exposed me to results of hard work and creativity. 

Even though I have struggled this week to get everything done, I am grateful for the opportunity to go attend the trade show this week.  It has inspired me to keep working hard and striving to achieve my business dreams.  

W01 - Overwhelmed

This has been an extremely stressful week for me as I have combined the challenges of starting a new semester of schooling and all of the new year projects that I am in charge of at work.  Regardless of the challenges that I am juggling, I am extremely grateful to learn from this class and consider it a significant first step in my long term goals of owning my own business one day.

Below are couple of the things that stood out to me from this weeks learning materials.

"The Start-Up of You:  Executive Summary"

The main thing that I loved about this summary was the synopsis of Chapter 2 which explains how to develop a competitive advantage.  This is a challenge I am currently facing at my current job.  Our business is trying to figure out our competitive advantage in today's constantly changing retail market.  It is stated very simply in the first sentence, "Differentiate or die."  

The ability to differentiate is something that has held me back from starting my own business for several years.  It's overwhelming when I think of the current players in the market I would like to enter and I generally conclude that there will be no place for me to compete or improve the space.  But this small section of reading reminded me that I don't need to be better than everybody else.  I just need to find my niche and be better in that one spot.  

"Living Life as an Entrepreneurial Hero"

This article reminded me that the path to business ownership is a journey and an adventure.  It's not going to be easy and most likely will be quite difficult.  I figure that as long as I'm doing something that I love, the difficulty of that journey can't be any worse than the drudgery of working for somebody else feels at times.  I liked the simple reminder to "dream big but start with small steps."  This is how I have to approach life and it only makes sense that it is applicable in a business setting.  

"Life is too short to put up with jerks."  The best line ever!  I think this will be my new mantra.  Not only do I seek to eliminate jerks from my working life, but I don't ever want to be any one else's jerk.

As I complete the first week of this semester, I am looking forward to diving further into self-discovery as I pursue my long term goals of owning and operating my own business.