Last Lecture

I am writing my last blog related to my Intro to Entrepreneurship class.  My final post is to be one of advice.  Advice….I still feel like I’m not in that position.  But I’ll try. 

In reviewing what I’ve learned about myself in this class, there are many things.  Number one is that my motivation for owning my own business is all about family.  Greater access to my grandchildren, opportunities for travel and the possibility of my daughter taking over one day and having a small income to help her family.  Although I am passionate about my skills and talents and want to share them with others, I have no illusions about my goals.  My goal is not to build a multi-million dollar business.  It is not to change the trajectory of the world.  But it is to help the trajectory of my family and to provide opportunities for women to make connections with each other.  These are things I believe CAN change the world in a very small way.  Connection through creativity.

My advice to others seeking their way toward owning a business is to see the big picture.  Develop the whole person.  Although life gets busy, I can guarantee you won’t do a better thing than to be what God intended you to be.  That doesn’t mean just some high-powered, financially successful, intelligent person.  It means learning to love others unconditionally.  Going out of your way to help those within your sphere of influence.  Only a handful of people get the chance to be world renowned.  Be renowned within your community or your home and family.  Kind, loving, open people attract good.  Even when circumstances are difficult, this type of person’s goodness shines through and success follows. 

I can testify that in the final hours of life, the thoughts that come are not those of material success or what others have done to us.  What will matter is what we’ve done for others and our relationship with the Savior.  And time to develop those things is now.

I am blessed to be in the later side of life.  Not too old, but not young.  I have seen many things and among all that I know, the eternal nature of the family and the blessings found in the temple of the Lord eclipse any other activity or pursuit.  I have a favorite quote on my refrigerator:  

“If you want to go fast, go by yourself.  If you want to go far, go with your family.”

I testify of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of His love for us.   All that I am or ever hope to become is because of His love for me.  In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

An Attitude of Gratitude

This week, one of our readings was a talk from President Monson, called An Attitude of Gratitude. Find it here.

What does this have to do with business?  There are many who are great people and yet fail in business.  But, reading and recognizing those who are truly great in business, I find that nearly all of them exhibit some from of gratitude.  When you live your life with gratitude, which I think means recognizing forces other than your own, it draws others to you.  Our attitudes become about "us" rather than "me."  In the case of those who believe in God, it is about recognizing His hand in our lives.

Gratitude is not passive.  When we recognize others, we see their strengths and their needs. We draw from their strength and we help meet the needs of others, realizing that there are always those whose needs outnumber our own.  Gratitude creates humility.  It helps us realize that we cannot do it alone.

I think of one of my mentors.  He is a strong leader, very capable.  He shared that the only reason he is successful is because he has been lucky enough to have great people around him.  I know that he would be successful, regardless, because of the kind of person he is.  But how wonderful that he recognizes his "team" and their importance.  His gratitude and humility has drawn good people to him and built success within the organizations lucky enough to have him.

What's a Business For?

Reading an article by Charles Handy, entitled “What’s a Business For?” we are schooled in the rampant fraud that has occurred in the near past and that profit has become the word of the day. No big surprise! The American public already mistrusts the world of big business--which I equate with Wall Street.  So few leaders of these large companies take a long view of things, instead falsely inflating profits through less-than-ethical accounting practices, selling their stock when they leave and giving no care to those who follow behind.  In this article, we learn that the purpose of business is to be an “active agent of change.”  By working collectively within a business and with other businesses, progress is made.  Handy suggests that businesses need to go beyond the mere idea of “doing no harm” and be proactive in setting the trends for doing good.  Companies must also begin to value its human resources and build a sense of community.  This article was written in 2002 and I now see many companies taking up these charges.  Many start-ups and those who had small beginnings but are now much larger are attractive to investors and employees because of their decision to give back.  They also seem to value their staffs, providing many fringe benefits which go above and beyond medical insurance.  These companies work hard at creating a difference between their culture and the culture of big business.  My children, in their 30’s, who hate the term “millennial” but nevertheless belong to that generation, are making conscious choices to seek out careers which allow them to have full lives outside of their work day.  They and their friends saw their parents giving their lives to companies who abused them and took them away from their families.  As 15 years have passed since this article was written, it is amazing how his suggestions for improvement have really worked.  There is more to be done, but companies who have worked at making progress in things like the environment and caring for human resources have, indeed, become successful and their pattern is being copied by many.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad World of Business?

The focus of our week of entrepreneurial studies can be summed up in six words; "watch out what you wish for!"

The reading and videos pointed out all the pitfalls that come when you choose business as a major and have a desire to be successful.  It seems that this particular field entices people to turn into something they never considered.  The pressures of keeping up and getting ahead of the game are tremendous and there is always a cost involved.  In wonder how many actually are able to play the big game and yet keep themselves on the right track.  Some of the businessmen I've read about have been able to do that, but by the time I'm learning about them, they're through many of their battles and have made good decisions which have led them to come out the other side safely.  We don't learn about too many who have lost their way, unless they are involved in a large scandal.

I ask myself the question, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad World of Business!"  I am!  At least the way it was presented this week.  It is so easy to get discouraged and decide this isn't for me.  But then I think about my own particular business goals and my personal situation and my own skill set and I begin to be hopeful again.  I have never had the desire to play with the big boys.  I am looking at a small creative business that can add income to my senior years and perhaps give my daughter's family a boost.  And that's okay.  Not everyone who becomes an entrepreneur is looking to hit it over the fence.  I want to be happy, moderately financially successful, and enjoy my family and church.  And I believe I can do that if I can just focus on my path, not the big, wide world.

License to Pursue Dreams

In one of our videos, Marissa Mayer, an executive at Google, talked about the Google's "20% Time." This 20% is time that the company allows its employees to work on their own creative projects, during their work week.  She said it doesn't exactly work out to one day a week, but maybe the time builds up and someone takes a week, or someone else takes a few minutes every hour, to let their brain work on creative projects that interest them.  Although criticized, Marissa told the audience that a majority of new creative Google projects come out of this time.

So I need to take that seriously.  We are all busy.  I am busy.  But I need to work on spending more of my time on creative projects.  Last year, I didn't attend the summer session of school.  During this time, I kept my studio clear and my paints out.  Even if I could only paint for 5 or 10 minutes, the time I spend was rejuvenating.  It is so easy to become enmeshed in work, church and family things and forego things we don't think are entirely necessary.  But creativity is, at least to me, entirely necessary.

Those who see themselves as entrepreneurs also need this 20% time to refuel and work on things that capture their interest, away from everyday business concerns.

Good to Great

A couple of the things we read in class this week referred to one of my all-time favorite books, Good to Great, by Jim Collins.  There are many concepts involved in this book, all worthwhile, but the one I'm stuck on today is this:  Good is the Enemy of Great.

As I listened to Jim Ritchie talking about this book and its concepts, along with sharing his thoughts about great leaders throughout history, both men and women, I ask myself if I have the capacity to be great?  What does greatness look like for a 56-year-old woman who works a full-time job, works as a consultant for two entities, has a large leadership position at church, is a part-time (but feels like full-time) online student at BYU Idaho and has family responsibilities?  Do I need to be concerned about making a difference in the world that will draw attention and put me into the halls of glory with those Jim Ritchie mentioned?  I struggle with this all the time.

I want to be considered great by my family, but not in the way the world might look at greatness.  At times I feel great pressure to "perform."  But to me this is not reality.  When I pray to be an instrument in the Lord's hand and then look for those opportunities, I think I am on the right track.   When I teach my grandson to understand service, I am hopeful that I will feel a sense of greatness. When I am in the temple or doing family history work and think of those who went before me, I desire them to feel that I am performing a great act of service.  

I do believe that we are great in small ways and that those things matter to our Heavenly Father.  I have always prided myself on being the kind of person on whom others can rely.  I am a self-starter at work and others know they can count on me for both knowledge and action.  But, truthfully, the act of holding my dying son's hand, reassuring him that there is another world beyond this one, is the type of greatness I'm more interested in.  Jackson didn't care that my co-workers depend on me and, at that moment, I didn't either.

Small things matter.  We can be considered great through small things.

Stones in the Road

Part of this week's reading is A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey.  I love this book.  One of the chapters is about meeting difficulties and learning from them, as well as the value of working hard.  The book is a compilation of different inspirational stories, some true and some fables or fiction. 


As I was reading the "Stones in the Road" chapter, I thought about a trip my daughter took in her early 20s.  Emily had worked and saved enough money to achieve a goal--backpacking Europe.  Because none of her friends shared the same goal, she went by herself.  She researched the hostel system and rail travel.  She created a route to see all the countries she wanted to visit.  She got the perfect backpack and a silk sleep sack to use in the hostel beds.  She culled her wardrobe and bought what clothes she needed.  She bought a one-way plane ticket to London, where she would begin.  She was ready.  She was prepared.


When Emily arrived in London, she was sick from the air flight.  She embarrassingly vomited in public more than once.  She found a hostel and made arrangements for the next week.  She wasn't sure this was what she thought it would be.  She discovered that the lower luggage racks on the trains were usually filled and she would have to heft her gear to the top racks.  She is small in stature, so this was a challenge and she sometimes had to ask for help.  As she faced new things, more than once she thought maybe she should just get that return ticket and come home.  But she kept telling herself that she could do it and that it would all be worth it.  About a month in to her trip, I met her in Italy.  We took the train and she not only hefted her own gear, but mine into the upper racks.  She understood the metro system perfectly.  She had picked up a few words of Italian.  She was a different person.  Just before my week-long trip was over, she decided to make a detour from her scheduled trip to Greece.  She wanted to see the Hagia Sofia and the ruins at Ephesus, so Turkey was inserted into her itinerary.  This meant leaving me at the hotel and taking a 46-hour bus ride through many countries not very friendly to the United States.  I can tell you that I've never prayed so hard in my life!  Was this the same girl who was sick and unable to lift her luggage above her head in London two months earlier?  She built not only physical muscles but mental and emotional ones, as well.  By persevering, she became the world traveler she wanted to be.  This would not be her last trip. 


Emily finished up her trip on a Greek island, soaking up the sun and reflecting on what a fantastic experience she'd had and how she'd built courage and been changed forever.  I am thankful she learned what she is made of, as it has helped her in becoming a wonderful wife and mother to our grandsons.  She can help instill perseverance and a love of challenge in them.

7 Habits

Our focus in class this week has been Mastery.  Mastery over self seems to encompass the principles we studied.  But more specifically, mastering self so that we can focus on passion.

Stephen R. Covey is always involved when mastery is discussed.  Many years ago, when my now-husband, then-fiance, were dating, we read Covey's book Spiritual Roots of Human Relations aloud together, alternating paragraphs.  It was a great start to what would be our greatest passion--beginning a marriage and family.  Covey resonated with me then, as he does now.   I've previously read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and embraced, to the best of my ability at the time, the principles within this book.  Of the 7 habits, it is difficult to pull out just one to share.  I'll pick two here....Habits 2 and 7.

Habit 2 is Begin with the End in Mind.  I've always felt that an urge to plan for the future.  This is a bit more than that.  It is visualizing where you want to be and how you want it to feel.  If you can do this successfully, you will make decisions that make a difference.  When you see yourself as successful, whatever that means, all your choices are important and are just a bit easier to make.

Habit 7 is Sharpen the Saw.  Sometimes when I am working in the kitchen, I will have trouble cutting with one of my knives.  Then I realize it must be dull and I pull out the sharpener.  We are no different.  Sometimes, when participating in routine tasks, no matter how smart we are, we can't see that our skills are a little older, our communication is not as good as we'd like, we are farther away from God than we used to be or we are just out of shape.  Everyone, no matter their level of understanding of communication and mastery, needs to be reinvigorated!  This could be done through education, it could be going to a retreat or taking time out for family or faith.  Now matter how clear and glistening water traveling downstream once was,if it pools and becomes stagnant it is of no value.

I personally find that focusing on learning new things helps me tremendously in all areas of my life, not simply the relatively few moments I am in the pages of a book or watching a talk or video. I am invigorated and reminded of the opportunities all around me.

Skill Building

One of the principles and ideas that caught my eye this week was using your career and job choices to help you fill gaps.  If you pay attention, you can use your job choices to fill in areas of least experience.  This got me thinking about my own choices in career and school and what I've learned and what I still need to learn.

My first job as a teenager was working for an OB/GYN as his medical assistant.  Being just 17, I learned a lot of things about physiology that I had never known.  I was asked to do things that were new to me and sometimes scared me.  But I did them and I learned that I could do hard things.  I learned to listen to directions and observe the unspoken things.  I learned that some employers are very self-centered, having their own ideas of what is "best" or "right" which may not be in agreement with my own thoughts, but they were paying me and I needed to respect them.  I really did learn a lot about the world of work in that little office.

I worked through a few short-term jobs in college and early in my marriage.  I learned that I had the drive to do whatever it took to help myself and my family earn a living.  Getting up at 4:00 in the morning to call substitute teachers was NOT a favorite, but I was proud of my strong sense of duty and my sticktoitiveness! While doing these jobs, I was learning about myself and what I was made of.

Once I went back to work full time, I attached myself to the world of education.  I was lucky enough to work with people who believed in my skills and let me run with ideas of how to make things better. I have become a trainer, a manager and a business analyst, all in the same job.  As those of us who are more mature often do, I have stayed in the same basic job for over 20 years, but am very happy with my opportunities for learning.  I have built trusting relationships and earned a reputation for being smart and well organized.

As I look to the future, I am thrilled to be highly thought of and to have expanded my responsibilities. However, there are definitely areas in my work experience that are incomplete.  I have very little experience in raising money.  I know how to manage it, but I don't know how to get it.  As I anticipate starting my own business, this will be quite important.  I also have a need to learn more about marketing.  Because I am so close to retirement, it is highly doubtful that I will change careers to fill those holes.  I am very hopeful that these last 12 or so classes will help me fill them.

I see a bright future, well past my current employment.  I am excited to get there and to, hopefully, have more tools in my belt when I do.

A Hero's Journey

This week I watched a video of a talk given by Jeff Sandefer, one of the authors of "A Field Guide to the Hero's Journey," (as opposed to those on a fool's errand).

Mr. Sandefer is an amazing man.  He is a brilliant man, educated with many others who have risen to high recognition in different fields of business.

One of the assignments given to Acton School of Business students is to interview role models, three of which must be over the age of 60.  As one who is nearing that age in a few years.  Those over 60 have all said things similar to the following three questions:

1.  Have I contributed something meaningful?

This question relates to finding our passion.  Never stopping that search.  I feel that I can look back and witness my meaning in life and what I've contributed to.  I have always shared my gifts and talents with others.  If someone has needed assistance, or a meal, or a resource, a lesson, I have done all within my power to help them.  Through this, I've developed skills of my own.  Each time I've helped, I've learned something invaluable or built a bond.  I've been the recipient of the kindness of others.  It is often hard to put my hands on what my "passion" is.  I think my passion is humankind.  I think I am personally expanded by what I gain from reaching out to others.  I hope that others would say I have contributed something meaningful to them.  As I move forward, in an older age, I believe (or at least hope), that I can continue to develop and grow.  I hope I can find new passions and use them for the good of others.

2.  Am I a good person?

This pertains to setting moral boundaries.  What are those things I will never do?  What are those things I will ALWAYS do?  Each of us must make those distinctions.  I have set my own personal ethical guardrails based on the teachings of my parents and other family members, my husband's advice and guidance and the teachings of my church and religious leaders and heroes.  We see many n the world who either never set up those guidelines or have stepped over them.  This often comes slowly, small step by small step until they can no longer even see the line.  I remember hearing a speaker talk about holding tightly onto the iron rod (a staple symbol in my religion, but I think others understand it, as well).  Sometimes, people will slowly loosen their grasp, claiming, "I'm still holding on!"  They they see the soft grass, next to the path and think, "I'll be more comfortable walking there.  I can still hold one with one finger."  Then they are not holding on, but justify it because they aren't far...they can still SEE the rod.  Soon the are far way, thinking, "My friends and family are still holding on, I'm not far, I can run back any time."  You know the rest of the story.

That first step away from our moral guidelines is critical.  It takes great courage and often strength to make the decision NOT to step away, but this is what we'll see when we look back at the end of our lives.  What was that moment of decision, how did I decide, and where did it lead me?  Even now, I look back a lot.  I look at where my decisions have led me--those good and bad.  I know that I will continue to look back but always want to look forward to the ultimate place those things will lead.  I want to be in the right place, at the right time, feeling joyous at those things that will lead me to exaltation.

3.  Who did I love and who loved me?

Who we surround ourselves with is critical.  I was once given the great advice that I should choose my friends wisely, that those around me will help me keep my covenants or will help me break them. There have been times in my life when I haven't chosen wisely.  When I finally awoke to the real wisdom in this advice, my life got better.  My choices to surround myself with a loving family and friends who were going in the direction I wanted to go have made all the difference.  As I look forward to being with my deceased son and daughter across the veil, I am able to make better choices.  I have been able to winnow down my life to those things that really matter.  I know, personally, that the family is the essential building block of eternity and that the hugs of a grandson and the final clasp of a young adult son matter more than anything else in the world.  I have learned the lesson of what matters most the hard way, but I think God that I have learned it.

So, as I head into the next 20 or 30 years, I believe there is much more to learn and do.  I will keep these three questions in mind.

What am I Afraid of?

My business class assignments this week included one for figuring out not what we want to be but WHO we want to be at the end of the road.  In the book, "The Ministry of Business," we learned about writing a personal constitution.  We were to write it as if we were standing at the end of our life, having become the person we want to be.  My first line is, "I see others as Christ sees them."  It was a great process, thinking about the woman I want to be, looking back at my contributions and looking forward to living in eternity.  It really did help me see what changes I need to make to get to that end.  Eternal perspective is so important.

The other assignment which was quite meaningful was determining my fears.  If one of my goals is to have a successful business, what is keeping me from doing it?  Identifying my passion and my calling should help me feel that success is possible.  But there are still fears.  As I look at them, I see a lack of confidence as my greatest fear.  I worry that I desire perfection way too much.  What if?  What if?  Rather than focusing on what great things could happen, I focus on the worst case scenario.  It feels like the answer for me is to get off the dime.  I plan and plan, but forward movement is difficult.  Because I am the main provider for my family, I fear that I won't be able to support myself, let alone my family.

From the time I was a child, I've had a deep yearning to own my own business and think I'll feel very disappointed in myself and my life if I reach the end and I've never really stepped out and done it!

I wish I had an answer... Perhaps by the time this course is over I'll have a clearer vision of my path.

A Lesson in Grace

Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager.  Nothing more to say--just read it.

http://time.com/4632036/bush-sisters-obama-sisters/

The Formula and Happiness

Our lesson this week was how ethical behavior will serve us well in business.  A video from the Launching Leaders series is what impacted me most this week.  Jim Ritchie, the  host of this series, shared information from two important people.  J. Paul Getty, a renowned millionaire businessman, and Elder David B. Haight, a deceased apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Ritchie put even more weight on his words because of his wisdom from an eternal perspective.  J. Paul Getty's formula for success was:

1.  Get up early.

2.  Work hard.

3.  Find oil.

Elder Haight's advice to Ritchie was:

1.  Get your education.

2.  Make your mark.

3.  Prepare to serve/Give back.

While Ritchie found Getty's formula to be worthwhile for success, he chose to combine them into the perfect formula for not only success, but happiness as well:

1.  Get up early.

2.  Work hard.

3.  Get your education.

4.  Find oil.

5.  Make your mark.

6.  Prepare to serve/Give back.

Jim Ritchie then shared how this formula had enriched him life and the lives of his family.  When speaking of his successful road, he consistently used the pronoun, "we."  The "we" included his wife. The people I've admired in business have almost always been a team with their spouses.  This impresses me.

As I begin this second chapter, I am looking at this formula for happiness and see that I've got a few parts of this down, but need to focus on others.  

Stars & Steppingstones

This week in my Business 183 class, the focus was on where we want to be at the end of the road--begin with the end in mind (Stephen Covey). We read some fantastic articles and talks about how we can find our passion and skills.  A large part was reading the transcript of a speech given by Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon.  He'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had, possibly, weeks to live.  He shared his childhood dreams and how he'd achieved them.  I loved it.  I read it on Sunday after church and it was the highlight of my week.  We only had to skim it, but I devoured the whole thing.  I scribbled in the margins, cried, laughed and pondered.  I thought about him and his message all week.  There are way too many learned lessons to share, but one I really loved was about playing football.  His dream was to play in the NFL.  He never accomplished it, but football became a huge part of his life and helped him develop many other skills.  And he taught me this: 

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted....we send our kids out to play football or soccer or swimming or whatever it is, and it's the first example of what I'm going to call a head fake, or indirect learning.  We actually don't want our kids to learn football.  I mean, yeah, it's really nice that I have a wonderful three-point stance and that I know how to do a chop block and all this kind of stuff.  But we send our kids out to learn much more important things.  Teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance, etcetera, etcetera.  And these kinds of head fake learning are absolutely important.  An you should keep your eye out for them because they're everywhere."

And throughout this speech, he introduces us to head fakes.  While we thought he was trying to tell us about all the fantastic things he did in his life, how he achieved his dreams, in the end he said,

"So today's talk was about my childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and some lessons learned.  But did you figure out the head fake?  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."

Watch this man.  Watch it here.  I'm putting it here so I can watch it anytime I want. 

How was Randy Pausch able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams?
He loved life and other people and he was enthusiastic about everything he did.  He believed in himself and his talents.  And if he didn't have the skills he needed, he worked to get them.  He was kind and he made sure he had good people around him.  Great lesson there.

Is dreaming important?
Having dreams takes us out of the mundane of our lives and helps us see that something else is possible.  We've all had dreams.  If we really want something, we'll work hard to develop the tools to get it.  My husband is a high school basketball coach.  One of his jobs was working in a very low socio-economic area.  Our family was the entire booster club.  We kept score, ran the snack bar and drove the boys in vans to the games.  Every year at Christmas time my husband made sure to take the team to a tournament in a different city, far away from the mundane of their hometown.  It was incredible to see their world being opened, even just a little bit, to new dreams.  College?  A job outside the city limits?  Not all of them had the strength or drive to pursue those dreams, but some did.  I've always been grateful to have been a part of that awakening.

What about my childhood dream?  Are they achievable?
I think back to my childhood dreams and I find myself at a loss.  I think that I was the kind of kid who thought I could do anything and so I made my dreams come true as they came.  I lived very much in the moment.  I could be anything day-to-day...an inventor, an actress, a singer, a fashion designer.  I lived in that golden age when your parents didn't worry about you being on the other block or walking a few miles to the store.  My parents allowed me to use any materials I wanted to build a tree house or sew a Barbie dress.  I read books like crazy and became the characters in those books--I fulfilled my dreams while lying on my bed, reading when I was supposed to be cleaning!  I suppose that the one dream I had for a while was to become a nurse, after reading, "Cherry Ames, Student Nurse."  I loved the idea of living in a dorm and working in a hospital ward.  Of course, I was a little squeamish about blood at that time.  I believe, however, that I absolutely could have become a nurse if I'd kept that dream.  When Jackson was diagnosed with cancer, I nursed him for a long time, cleaning his wound, administering medication and helping him with his personal care.  By the time of his death, I was as well-versed in his medical needs as any professional nurse.  I have no doubt that I can do whatever I set my mind to.  I have big dreams for the future, and I know I'll get there.

Act 2 Begins

It's not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.
                                                                                                       --Marcus Aurelius

Today I begin a journey toward what my future holds.  The next part of my future.  I am taking a class at BYU-I on Entrepreneurship.  Not how to write a business plan or how to raise capital.  If I believe the introduction from the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence (AFEE), I will learn to: discover an entrepreneurial "calling;" choose constructive habits and deeply etch them onto my character; select my next "steppingstone job" or begin my entrepreneur career; and, embrace Disciple Leadership by examining "The Ministry of Business."

Who wouldn't want to learn these things?  As a 56-year-old grandmother, I have learned a lot of things.  I may have learned some of THESE things.  But, I think the world can always have a little more good in it and more people who care more.  What IS my calling in life?  This question, as asked by most of the young people in this class, will hold many thoughts of the future.  As I ask it, I know there will be a lot of looking back down the road I've already traveled.  But there are still many roads ahead of me and I am excited to begin this journey.

I have worked in a job to sustain my family for over 25 years.  Many economic ups and downs have kept me in that job, seeking financial security.  I am great at what I do and people recognize my skills.  I know I have made a difference by lightening others loads.  But at the end of the day, it is just a job.  If I leave tomorrow, someone will come into my office one day and say, "hey, what was that name of that woman who used to work here?"  All my life I have been looking for something different but have been afraid of stepping away from security.

Doing something new will require more of me than a secular education.  Building and developing all parts of me will be critical.  The moments of triumph in my life have taught me.  The tragedies have taught me more and allowed the unimportant has dropped away, more and more.  Assessing and refining, no matter how difficult the task, all go into the process of becoming someone who, at the very end of my life, can look back with joy on the great and with wisdom on the difficult.

In the book Good to Great, one of my favorite business writers, Jim Collins, opened my eyes to a huge element of success with his "Hedgehog Concept." As I did some self-reflection, I was amazed that the entrepreneurial path I am interested in taking fits into this three-part concept--the intersection of passion, economics and skill.  The AFEE course introduction modifies this into the intersection of Gifts/Strengths, Joy/Passions, and the World's Deep Burning Needs.  

In the next few years I will move out of the world of the day-to-day, task oriented job and into retirement.  As I do, I want to have skills in place to help me live my life as I determine the following:  Who do I want to serve?  How can I best serve them? How can I increase my joy?  How can I help my family live a better life?  There are a million questions that I need to answer and I hope to build those answers here.

When...people can acquire the skills, the techniques, and the knowledge of these times, and along with it have a spiritual commitment and a solid faith and cleanliness of life, there is nothing that you can't achieve; nothing in righteousness or in reason.
                                                                                               --Elder Richard L. Evans