The Last Lecture

This journey will be hard, challenging, difficult, and tiring. But this journey will be rewarding. The true success won’t come from the balance in your bank account, but it will come from the wealth of knowledge you have required at the end. 

First things first, do something you LOVE. Don’t do something for the money.

From my first post on this blog, “One of my favorite videos this week was the one of Kawasaki where he says that if you don't do something that you love that you will end up miserable no matter how much money it makes. He mentioned that he can't promise that lots of money will come but he can promise happiness in work.”

Happiness doesn’t come from money. It comes from the people you are surrounded by and the way you spend your time. 

Second, have a vision of what you want your career to be like.

Think of what you could do with what you love. You don’t have to have this amazing vision immediately! Let it simmer in your mind for awhile. Over time you will truly know what it is that you want to do! 

"If you want to be an entrepreneur and you want to be a leader a vision that scales and that is compelling is a part of leadership. You have to compel people with the why."  - Sheryl Sandburg

Use this vision as your constant motivation in your career.

Third, understand that all of your opportunities will be a learning experience. 

You will never stop improving. The great thing about a career is that you never get out of this “permanent beta” mode. 

“Everything is always a work in progress because nothing ever becomes perfect. Especially in this era where technology advances so fast. There is no end to improving yourself because humans are made to be imperfect and that's what makes life meaningful.” 

A part of understanding that you will always be in permanent beta mode is that you will have weaknesses. 

“MASTERY is overcoming our natural weaknesses and accomplishing something grand. Something no one else could do unless they put aside those natural weaknesses and worked hard.”

It’s a great feeling when you do something amazing. What makes it so amazing is that you overcame a weakness to accomplish this! You learned and improved! 

Fourth, set some standards. 

NEVER ever sacrifice values for personal gain or power. We have been commanded to be honest in all of our doings. The gospel brings about true happiness and if we follow it’s guidelines we will be blessed with more than we can ever imagine.

Determine that your family comes first. Set aside time to do things and talk with your spouse and other family members. Families are the most important unit on this earth.

Fifth, GO AND CONQUER.

You’ve got what it takes. Anybody can do great things if they set their mind to it. 

Career Paths and Choices

In the corner video this week, Stan Christensen says that instead of being a specialist you should be a generalist. He says to put yourself in a position to take advantage of great opportunities when they come up. By being a generalist we can have a variety of skills instead of being really great at just one or two things.
Christensen says to not freak out about the first job after you graduate. Do things you love instead of focusing on building your resume. In the long run, when you are at job interviews, you will be able to show your true self and describe your passions. You also might surprise yourself and meet some great people that ultimately end up being your future business partners in a world-wide successful company.
Ted Zoller says that there are several paths to success. Learn something to build yourself up as an entrepreneur at every single job you take on. No matter what company you end up at, LEARN. You don't have to know everything about everything when you get your first job, or for that matter your 10th job.
Be pretty good or adequate at several things and keep your options open. Explore the things you love and work hard. The key to actual success lies in the passion behind your career.

Vision and Opportunity

In one of the ecorner videos this week, Sheryl Sandburg speaks of the visions of companies like Apple, Google, and Starbucks. She wanted to be a member of companies and teams that had a vision.
Near the end of the video she says," If you want to be an entrepreneur and you want to be a leader a vision that scales and that is compelling is a part of leadership. You have to compel people with the why."
Sandburg worked for these companies because she saw this vision. She saw that their vision was going to change lives and the world as a whole.
These businesses were successful because they had a vision and they advertised that vision.

In the other ecorner video Larry Brilliant says that we live in a time of much opportunity. He states that in his time he's never seen such young and successful people create something out of nothing.

In my eyes I see vision and opportunity as a power couple. Apple defied the odds with their vision of personal computers. When they started it was unknown to have a computer to yourself, let alone a teeny hand held one! But now they are known as the top company for phones and computers. They voiced their vision and created a worldwide successful company. Not only did Apple have a great vison but they CREATED opportunity where there wasn't any.

I think in our careers, no matter what they are we should have a vision. It brings purpose behind every action in our careers.

Where Happiness Really Comes From

Randy Komisar tells a story in his video about how he discovered that wealth isn't happiness. He was a big CEO for a company and was making lots of money. But at some point he stopped and realized he wasn't happy at all. So he gave that up and ended up doing something that actually made him happy even if it didn't make him a lot of money.

In our case studies this week there was one about missing your daughter's dance recital. You either went to work to deal with a big problem or kept your promise to your daughter and went to her dance recital. I thought about the situation for a little while and was having a hard time thinking of what I would do. But in the end I thought "Well that company isn't worth seeing the disappointment on my daughter's face. If the company can't understand that my daughter is more important than them then I'd rather not work for them." Family is the most important unit on this earth. If it's the most important than it's obviously something to sacrifice for.

I've looked back on my life so far and the thing that has truly brought me the most happiness is my family. There's something about being able to laugh, talk, cry, and spend time with people you've known your whole life and love.

Money and power can't replace relationships and it can't fix loneliness.

"True riches are found in big hearts, not big wallets."-Anthony Douglass Williams

20% Time with 100% Passion

I particularly loved the video, License to Pursue Dreams by Melissa Mayer, this week.

I loved the concept that devoting only 20% of your time to being creative and working toward a dream.

Mayer stated that 50% of Google's new ideas came from when their employees spent 20% of their time creating something they wanted to create.

Honestly, this is genius on Google's part. For one, this would keep me happy in a job if I was allowed at least one day a week to creatively express myself in something I loved. Two, Google obviously hires some amazingly talented people to create things for them. They are genius in giving them the tools and letting them go for it. This really put passion into what they all have created.

If someone sat me down and said "Hey, I trust you and your abilities. So I'm going to give you a great camera, lighting equipment, a computer with all of the necessary Adobe programs, a budget of $100 a month, and a few highly- rated books to learn from. I want you to go create something amazing. If you need anything else, let me know. I only ask that you complete all of your work and only spend one day a week doing this project."

Think of the possibilities! Ideas are already floating around in my mind of what I could do. I'd probably set this day to be Friday so that the whole week I would be motivated to be productive in my work and get the things done that are necessary. It would keep my job exciting and rewarding. I would look forward to that day each week and pour all of my heart into my work.

So what can you accomplish by devoting only 20% of your time to creatively expressing yourself?

Even if you could give yourself only one tool, maybe a camera and one great lens, you could create so much. If you put in 100% effort and passion during 20% of your time there is bound to be great success.

License to Pursue Dreams

License to Pursue Dreams

The Two L's

Leadership and Loyalty. 

A good leader is a loyal one. And not just in that specific aspect of their lives. They are loyal in every way possible in each part of their lives.

I was watching a TED talk about Leadership today. The speaker talks about being an example. Leadership is an everyday thing. He tells a story about how a girl came up to him at his college graduation and said that he changed her life. What he did wasn’t even something most would consider leadership. He had only ever talked to her that one time.  But his example and his ACTIONS were what inspired her to stay in college. 

He was loyal in what he did. He signed up for college and he continued to do it until he completed it. He was a member of a charity board and he continues to participate in that charity today. 

Leadership is about changing lives. Had he not been loyal in what he did he wouldn’t have been that LEADER for her to look up to. 

Leaders are examples. They don’t have to be a president or CEO. They don’t have to be a chairman or manager. It can be anybody. Anybody who is willing to be an example of loyalty. 

A Tough Battle to Face and Putting Trust in the Lord

Everyone has challenges in their lives. 

I think the true test of courage and strength is getting through it.

In our coursework this week we watched a video called "However Long and Hard the Road". I've seen this video several times and each time it gives me motivation to get through trials. The father, though this hardship happened a second time, returned for help. He had to face forward and keep moving. Nothing good would come of him waiting on the side of the road for another car to come by. He had to press through himself.

In our careers there will be MANY battles to face. But we are here to be tested, and part of that test is how well we will handle things. We will meet people we don't exactly get along with, we will have to decide at times whether or not to be true, and more. It will all be some of the most difficult things we will have to go through.

Another thing that is important to remember is that we have to give our 100% even if it's not enough. Because then Christ will make up the rest. That's what his Atonement is here for. 

We have been given so many tools to help us through our lives, whether that be spiritually or temporally. We have the internet, scriptures, prayer, fast forms of communication and more. 

We have the world at our fingertips. Success won't come to our doorstep. We have to put our trust in the Lord and give our all through each and every trial. Because at the end when we see our Savior in the eternities it will all be worth it.