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Week 14: Celebrate Your Life

 I'm finding it difficult to distill all the wisdom from the various sources in this course into one blog post.   One of the major principles that were driven home is that money is simply a tool.  It is never to be seen as the end goal, but a tool to help you accomplish the things that you want most with efficiency.  If you have not taken the time to develop your true character, goals, and guideposts, then money will simply serve as a vehicle to self-destruction quicker and more directly.  If, on the other hand, you have a set mission statement with larger life-goals and a central stabilizing purpose, then money again, will serve as an efficient gateway to those goals.  Though I had earned this knowledge through life experience, it was valuable to have seen it first hand, and to hear it over and over from men and women who had made a lot of money and could say with all honesty that it didn't solve all of their problems or bring them true happiness, by itself.  For that, they ne
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Week 13: A Journey of Gratitude

 I have a quote painted on a wooden plaque and placed above my kitchen sink.  I read it many years ago in the Ensign magazine in an article about gratitude.  It reads "The grateful heart sits at a continual feast."  Though I made the plaque over fifteen years ago, I've never considered taking it down.  The more time goes on, the more profound it seems to me.   If I get into a mood where I'm looking around at all that is wrong in my life: a difficult child, a messy house, not enough money for some of the things I want, my own personal failures, the failures or unkind behavior of others, life can look bleak and paltry.   On the other hand, if I look with eyes that are searching for the rich blessings that are mine, I truly feel that I'm sitting at a feast that God has provided just for me.  I am dazzled by all that is mine: good health, the good health of my husband and children, a large comfortable house, cars that function, relationships full of love and respect,
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Week 12: Becoming a Change-Maker

The two articles I enjoyed the most from the study material this week were the What's a Business For? article, and the microlending talk.  I enjoyed Handy's conclusion that the true purpose of a business, is not to make a profit, the end, it's to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better.  "That "something" becomes the real justification for the business."   I found it interesting to compare and contrast the American style of business with the European model of business.  I also really agreed with the author's conviction that employees should be seen as assets instead of "costs", although the vast majority of businesses treat their employees as exactly the opposite.  I can attest to this first hand, as James's company recently laid off 10% of its employees, not to stay afloat financially, but according to one senior executive, it was to be sure that the company stayed on track to make a 40 million dollar profit.
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Week 11: Measuring the Cost

 I've enjoyed this week's study material, especially the articles and videos on money, and its proper place in our lives.  I started out with a really avoidant type relationship with money.  I just wanted it to be there, but didn't want to spend any effort to understand, save, work on it, or pay attention to it at all.  As you can imagine, this led to all kinds of difficulties.  I learned this type of money profile mainly from my dad, who was pretty irresponsible impulsive with money.  As time passed and I got married, I realized that I married a man who was 180 degrees opposite of that attitude with money.  James is a very careful saver, doesn't make large purchases without weighing carefully the pros and cons, and is pretty much "allergic to spending money."  We had some memorable evenings in the beginning as our two money styles collided.  Over the years, and lots of work on budgeting, and realigning my values on my part, and lots of work on relaxing and re
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Week 10: Dream Big Dreams

      I have had The Challenge to Become recommended to me three times now, and have listened to it each time.  I listen to it, and then get distracted by something each time.  Maybe it's because there are a lot of principles outlined in this talk.  I don't know.  Clearly, it's one that will require deeper study for me.  This last time that I listened to it, I gave it every ounce of my concentration.        I was reminded of the time in my life as a young adult when I was on a path leading away from a life with God.  I had no immediate family members who were active believers.  Nobody seemed to care whether I acted in faith or not.  Then one day I got a phone call from the ward secretary in my parents ward.  They were just looking to reach out to the young adult members who they haven't seen for a while, he said.  Would I mind coming in, just to visit and tell them what I had been up to lately.  I couldn't think of a reason not to, so I agreed.  As I walked into the
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Week 9: Overcoming Challenges

 I recently read the book Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anybody who wants to know more about how to overcome challenges.  The Message to Garcia article really reminded me of this book, as Shackleton and the men that he led and managed were the very definition of men who will "find Garcia".  They stopped at nothing, persevered against unimaginable challenges, and never, ever gave up until the job was complete, and as a result, miracles of human achievement were witnessed.  I was dumbfounded, I was thrilled, my jaw hung open at many points, and I learned so much.  Experiences like these really put into perspective what a challenge truly is.   Somehow stories like these give me more courage and "gumption" to stick out the challenges that I'm faced with in my life.  Although the stumbling blocks in Endurance were much more dramatic, life-threatening, and adventure worthy, I sometimes feel that our moder
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Week 8: Overcoming Challenges

 I have always loved the talk by Jeffrey R. Holland titled "An High Priest of Good Things to Come".  When it was first given, my husband and I watched it with tears rolling down our cheeks.  He was going to school full time, working full time in a call center, I was seven months pregnant with our first baby, also working full time and going to school full time, and we were somewhere beyond the limits of "broke".  His words of encouragement meant so much to us, and the world didn't seem so bleak and scary when that talk finished.   This talk still impacts me the same way today.  Its message can be applied to any situation that brings challenges of perseverance.  My sister is not a believer, but I have often wondered if I should send this talk or video to her when she faces challenges and finds it hard to go on.  I'll have to think some more on that.   One other study topic that really resonated with me this week was the Naive Networking article by Acton.  I h
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