week 6

This was a great week of learning. I really enjoyed the reading materials this week. The “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven R Covey was very insightful. I haven’t  actually read the whole book, but the summary of it has made me want to. The order that he gave of having some private victories and some public victories was good. There are times that I feel like everything is public, but I can change my perception and focus on those inside behaviors first without feeling judged. It has made me desire to be more proactive. I’m also starting to evaluate my activities so that I can focus more on the second area. My life seems to be mostly lived in the first and third area, so I am looking forward and putting the first things first.

This was just a great lesson for me right now. I needed this reminder that I do have control over much of my life and how I can organize myself to have that control.

I also remember Pres. Hinkley giving his talk “Stand True and Faithful”. It was inspiring then and it still is. I remember feeling like he was talking to me and knowing that God had a plan for me. It was good to hear this again. I’m not a youth anymore waiting for my chance to grow, I am in the thick of it and it is hard. Having this little reminder helps me to focus more on the end that I am striving for, not the struggle I’m in.

The theme of this week’s lesson seemed to be about finding balance in life. I had the thought in my mind that any entrepreneur work that I did would have to consume my life, as Steve Blank put it, ”if you are single and want to do startups, stay single.” But these videos and talks say otherwise. They all seem to say, yes it is a lot of work, but to find a balance. I particularly liked the advice given by Blank in his clip. In his family, they set up rules; dinner at 7:00 and dad put kids to bed. The idea of setting up rules or guidelines for the family is definitely one that I will be using as we start going with a business.

Jan Newman also talked about finding a balance. He brought up that sometimes as we get older and new responsibilities come, we try to crunch things all in and usually it’s the family and the Lord that get crunched. These are things that should not be crunched. We may need to let go of some previous hobbies, but there always need to be time for the Lord and your family in your life. I thought that was very sound advice for anything in life.

I also enjoyed reading Part 2 of  “Mastery” by George Leonard. These chapters gave the instructions for being a good learner and a good teacher. He talks about being a good teacher for those that are not as talented or quick learning as others. I was really touched by this because I have a couple children that are simply slower than the norm and struggle to learn. As I read, I really evaluated my own teaching as a parent. I’m not completely horrible, but there are some areas that I can improve on.  

mastery

I have really enjoyed the readings and video clips of this week’s lesson. I have most enjoyed reading the book, “Mastery”. It’s a simple to read book, but I have never really thought about how to approach mastering a skill before. The author explains it so well that I can see myself in many of the cases. It tells about how the repetition of skills helps us to master it, you can’t just whip through and think that you have mastered something. There are different levels and the plateaus that we have to cross with persistence and dedication. It has made me really think about what I want to do and how much time and energy I am willing to put into it.

There was the clip “A Hero’s Journey” that was also nice to see. He talked about living a life of meaning. Sometimes we think that life is all about being successful and popular, but if there is no purpose behind it then the success is all in vain. He talked a little about his mistake of getting too caught up with success that he neglected his family and ended up with a divorce. I think that his council was for us to learn from his mistake and keep what really matters as our first priority all of the time. I liked that he mentions that our “calling” should serve others. He gives the questions; Did I contribute something meaningful? Was I a good person? Who did I love? And Who loved me? These are great questions to help us stay on the right path in our journey.

As part of our school work, we were supposed to make a "Deconstructing Your Fears" plan. At first, I though it was just ridiculous, but the more I have thought about it the more I have come to see the benefits. By writing down our fears, we can face them and build a plan to address our fears. Then the fears don't seem to be such a big obstacle.
We were also asked to read "The Ministry of Business". One of my favorite chapters was on mentors. Mentors are the teachers and leaders that help us to be successful. A good mentor is one that is encouraging even through trials. These aren't friends that like our products and what not, but are those that will pick apart our projects until they are the best that they can be. They are those that make us strive to do better and be better. I have looked back over my life and found that I have some great mentors. There aren't really as many as I would like to have, but now that I know what to look for I plan to find a few more.
Another chapter of the book was about giving back and helping others around us. It used the poem that read, " You lift me and I'll lift thee and we will all ascend together." This was a great lesson. We can't do it all ourselves. We need the help that others can offer and, in return, others can use the help that we have to offer. By helping one another, all of us improve and are lifted up. There isn't one without the other.

I have to admit that I have had a crazy and stressful week. My thoughts were not very focused on school as I was trying to figure out how to manage family accounts and make ends meet. I started the week off with food poisoning. Then my husband went out of town to find work and I ended up with a flat tire and a flat spare tire, unable to get home when the kids got out of school.
Each night I came to the computer to do my studies and read about this wonderfully successful women, Magdalena Yesil. It was hard to not be jealous of her. She made it look so easy. Everything that she did worked out and here I am feeling like a failure. But as I was reading through some comments made by classmates, one comment really stuck out; nutritious experience. Not everything really did simply work out for. She got jobs, but didn't always enjoy them. Instead of just being unhappy about it, she studied and learned all that she could. Yesil made her experiences count for something. From each one she grew, learned and became a better business person.
This is something that I would like to do as well. We can't always decide our trials but we can learn from them. They can be a nutritious experience instead of a poisoning one. I would like to remember this as I make my way. I can learn all that I can from each transition in my life. There is always more to learn.