FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY...OR NOT!

Oh how I hate quizzes and tests. I missed two questions on the quizzes because I didn’t pay close enough attention and accidentally selected the wrong answer…I think I was glancing at the one question and then scrolled and selected the answer for the other question. I don’t really know what I did, but I KNEW the answers. I’ve never been a good quiz or test taker and I’ve never really understood why. Oh well…water under the bridge, right?

This week, I LOVED the video by Jim Ritchie. In it he talked about how we should pay ourselves first and how to invest so that we can become financially independent. OH how I wished I had learned these lessons in my youth. If I had, maybe money wouldn’t be such a miserable part of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I love money. I think it is a great thing. I think having money would be a spectacular part of life. The things I could and would do with money! The people I could help, if I only had money. But, unfortunately, money and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it and it seems to hate me because it avoids me like the plague. Or maybe it is not really avoiding me so much as I am not very good at managing it? Yeah…I think that is more than likely the REAL problem. I am grateful for lessons like this week’s lessons because they have taught me a little bit about what I’ve been doing wrong all my life. I hope I can start making the changes necessary in order to have a love/love relationship with money and thus, be able to help others better. 

I think your view of money can help or hinder your life. I think when you fixate on money and will do ANYTHING to get money, you are setting yourself up for trouble. Thankfully, I am not one of those types of people. I will work hard, but my integrity is more important to me than money, so I won’t ever steal or rob others for my own personal gain. I answer to a Higher Authority and that helps keep me in check. I also think if you don’t pay enough attention to money, you are setting yourself up for trouble and a pretty difficult life. The key seems to be a “middle of the road” attitude toward money. It’s important for providing the basic necessities of life and can be used as a tool to help others, but it must be controlled and managed or else it will control and manage us! I am reminded of the saying, “You can buy anything in this world with money” and who said that. I never want to have that be my motto!

I think the rules for prospering are pretty important rules to live by. They are: 

Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in him

Rule 2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings.

Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.

Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the Key to Opportunity.

Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.

Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive.

These rules are wonderful guidelines for life, not just money. When we put the Lord first and keep His commandments, everything will work out. Faith is one thing we must all have to be truly successful…in my opinion.

(B183)

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

What really struck me this week was my desire to make a difference in the world around me. I think it has been there all along, but in watching the Acton Hero videos of Catherine Rohr and Corey Bell, this desire was reconfirmed within me. Here is what I learned from them:

CATHERINE ROHR – “Within 1 month I took action…” This is what struck me about Catherine Rohr. She saw a need and immediately made movement toward filling that need. She knew if she could make it through the time of opposition that she could make a difference. I really relate to that. I have that exact same feeling about my business. I know I am going to face a lot of opposition and struggles in creating it, but I also know that I was Divinely inspired to create it and therefore, I can make it happen, with the help of the Lord. Just as Catherine seemed to find a “Divine calling,” I believe I have too.

Another thing she said that really struck home with me was when she said, “I feel like I was built for this. I have a background of getting knocked down and getting back up. I had a lot of resolve and when I commit, I commit and I’m not going to back down. And challenges and obstacles hurt, sure I got depressed after that, I questioned, but there was never a moment of doubt in my mind that I did the right thing. I knew that I was doing what I was supposed to do. How it was all going to turn out, I didn’t know, but I didn’t feel like I needed to know the outcome. All I needed to do was be faithful to this vision one day after another.” THIS is exactly how I feel about my business. I have no doubts.

I also felt that the reason she has been so successful is she prescribes to the idea of surrounding herself with great mentors, staying close to them, picking their brains about everything in her life and that circle of counselors have helped her tremendously. I love what she said about America being a place of 2^nd chances and we need to give everyone those chances. I want to help others learn and grow. Catherine Rohr is an example of who I want to become!

COREY BELL – The founder and CEO of TriFusion learned at a very early age that he didn’t want to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps of manual labor as a brick mason. He realized that was not where he wanted his life to go. Corey is a man of principles and has shaped his company to reflect those values. I think this is critical for all businesses. Just like with JetBlue, values are an integral part of a truly good and successful business.

“Can’t does not exist”…what a brilliant attitude! He said, “Entrepreneurship is about eliminating the word “can’t” from your vocabulary. I agree! If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen.

Corey also talked about seeing where he wanted to be and finding a way to get there…another great thing. Convincing his wife that he needed to do this was probably his greatest achievement. That is truly something difficult!

I related to his quote about the graveyard being the richest place in the world because it is full of dead dreams and riches that never happened. Those people died with a lot of what if questions. I don’t want to live and die in the “what ifs” of my world. Corey said, “If I believe I can do it, I’m going to try.” That is the way I want to live my life…trying! Guy Kawasaki said, “It’s almost better to fail at something grand than to succeed at something marginal. Just go for it.” I believe Corey subscribes to this same ideal and so do I!

I love that he is concerned with not just taking from the world, but finding a way to give back. “Our number one value is that we’re people of character, passion, and intelligence.” I wish more people were like that! He wants to live his life so it makes a difference and that we are all called to be people of impact. I too want to leave behind a legacy of caring and to leave a positive impact when I am gone.

In my studying of the talk by Elder L. Tom Perry entitled “United in Building the Kingdom of God,” I found this same principle to be the heart and soul of this talk. Isn’t it interesting that three people of presumably three different faiths all have the same goal? I also find it to be no coincidence that they are all three very successful people. Why is that? I believe it is because the Lord wants us to help and serve others and when we have a desire to do His will, He blesses us. Period. That’s it. Pretty basic, right?

Well, I can tell you right now that I KNOW Howling Heart will be a place of sanctuary and refuge from everyday life and, in the event of an emergency; we will be there too! I pray that I find the courage, strength and wherewithal to bring this dream to fruition! I know with the Lord on my side, I can do anything. He will not let me fail because He has called me to this. It is my passion. It is my calling. It is my dream to make a difference!

(B283)

MY EMOTIONS HAVE A FINGERPRINT?

WOW did I enjoy Brother Ritchie’s video this week! I am going to purchase the book, Your Emotional Fingerprint by Woody Woodward and read it. I want to learn about my emotional fingerprint. To be quite honest, I’m slightly terrified of what I might find. I’m hopeful though that it will better help me to understand myself because to be quite honest, I confuse the heck out of me! I really do want to get to know myself better and in turn, I think that will really help me when we open our business. As a matter of fact, my daughter will be reading this book when she gets home from her mission! She doesn’t know it yet, but she will. We both need to understand our core and who we are if we want to make our business a success!

The video really struck a chord with me. I’m not sure why. I watched it twice and I’m probably going to watch it again. I truly understood, felt, and related to the Old Cherokee tale. So much so, I’m going to reiterate it here so I never forget it. The story goes something like this:

(I found this picture online when I did a Google search for the story. Tarasarthouse is the rightful owner of this and I am simply borrowing it for my personal use, as a reminder of this amazing story.)

Which one do I feed? Which one do you feed? This is a tale as old as time. This is the good versus evil fight we all face. I’m a firm believer in the idea that negativity breeds negativity and positivity breeds positivity. I know whenever I am around negative people, I can usually feel them pulling me down. 

This reminds me of another lesson I’ve learned this semester and that is to surround yourself with people who are better and smarter than you because they will help carry you and pull you up to their level! I want to feed the light, the good side. I want to be who is joy, happiness, benevolence, and all the other parts of the “Good Wolf.” In order to succeed in life and in business, I feel we must all be the “Good Wolf.” 

I am SO grateful for this week’s lesson and for the wonderful insights I have received because of it. This program, these courses, this University – BYU-Idaho, ARE divinely inspired and I am grateful to be a part of them! There is nothing about this week I didn’t enjoy!

I loved Elder Oaks talk entitled, “The Challenge to Become” from the October 2000 General Conference. If you haven’t read it or listened to it, I exhort you to do just that. You will be better for it. I know I am. Then go get the book Your Emotional Fingerprint and read it. I will be! Get to know yourself and you will have a much more fulfilled life. That is the real lesson I learned.

(B183)

MESSAGE TO GARCIA

FROM GOOD TO GREAT

          This has been an interesting week. In the reading “Message to Garcia,” I tried to figure out which employee I was…I was disappointed at what I discovered. I’m not who I want to be. The good news is…I can become who I want to be with some effort on my part. The fact is, are any of us REALLY who we want to be or do we not all desire to be something more? I know I do. That is part of the reason I am attending college at almost 50 years of age!

In Carly Fiorina’s video entitled Leadership and Capability, she talked about those people who had stopped learning and growing, how they became stagnate. That is who I was prior to my daughter’s mission. I was lazy and content being lazy and unhappy – though I told everyone that I was happy. I had become fat…I mean…FAT and I just didn’t care anymore, until Aerika’s challenge. She told me that while she was gone on her mission, she wanted me to finally do something for myself because I had always been focused on helping her. She wanted me to grow and progress. She wanted me to do these things while she was doing them on her mission, so when she came home, we would have more to discuss and share with one another. I resisted for a time, but then the BYU-I Pathway program kept being thrust before me and soon I realized there was a reason for that!

Not only was college about to be in my future, but so also was weight loss. I decided to try to lose 100+ pounds while my daughter was gone and surprise her when she got off the airplane. Well, due to circumstances beyond her control, she came home from Argentina about 4 months after I started my weight loss attempt. I was down 35 pounds and felt good. During the 4 months she was home, I gained…40 pounds! WHAT??? Yep…very frustrating and unsettling, but I was not about to give up. Once she was gone again, about a month later I decided to try again. I am down 67.5 pounds now. I started September 29, 2014 and today is June 19, 2015. I’ve not done as well as I wanted, but I’m still working hard. When I pick her up in 7 weeks, I hope to be down at least 10 more pounds (truly I would like to round that to 12.5 pounds for a total weight loss of 80 pounds before she gets home). I still have a long way to go, 63.50 pounds to reach my FINAL goal, but I will take this as a battle victory, a small win on my way to winning the war.

From college to weight loss, I am no longer the person Carly was speaking of. Now I am the “vibrant” middle-aged woman. It feels good! I have dreams now that I never had before. I feel hope for a bright future and that’s new too. I’m on my path from good, running toward great. I’m running toward our dream of owning the Howling Heart B&B and Campground, along with the Howling Heart Wolf Sanctuary. I now believe it is possible!

I believe I can become a great leader for our organization because I’m already on the path there. These classes have really helped me grow and I am becoming someone I am proud of. I’ve learned that it is super important to surround yourself with people who are better and smarter and wiser than you are because, by so doing, you will learn by osmosis and eventually, you will become like them! THAT is who I want to be. THAT is the example I want to be to my daughter and future heirs. I want them to see that an old lady like me could and did make the changes necessary to go from good to great!

(B183)

IF YOU WANT GREATNESS AROUND YOU...

I have always believed if you want to be great or a failure then surround yourself with like-minded people and that was confirmed with this week’s studies. I think that comes from the way I was raised. My daddy used to always tell me, “If you lay down with pigs, you’ll come up smelling like a pig!” You can’t argue with that! I think that holds true in everything we do. Successful people surround themselves with people who are better than they are; they surround themselves with people who are even more successful than they are.

Another great lesson learned this week is once you find great people and hire them, treat them the way they want to be treated, care about them, care about their families, take good care of them and they will take good care of you! I have rarely, if ever, heard of someone who has been treated fairly and compensated justly for their work, suing their employer for any reason. Why is that? I think it is because loyalty has been formed between the employee and the employer. There is a bond, so to speak, formed when the employer treats the employee like a valuable team member. When this occurs, most people will be loyal and stay with that company, as long as the job holds out. THAT is the employee I want to have. I want people who want to stay.

I am still gathering clothing together for my $100 challenge. Man do I have a lot of clothing. I am trying to organize it and make sure everything is clean and nice before taking it to the consignment store. I feel if it looks nice, I will get more money for it. Clean and smelling fresh will bring more money than dusty and dingy! At least, that is what I’m hoping for!

I guess my biggest takeaway this week is if you want greatness around you, be great yourself and hire people who are better than you! Until next time…keep reaching for the stars…

B 283