Becoming

Starting with a quote by da Vinci "You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself...the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment...He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others." Part of our mortal journey is to be able to obtain self-mastery. My favorite part of this quote is " He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others. " While I found this important in entrepreneurship, I also related it to another topic, but first, a principle taught by Wences Cesares is that "entrepreneurship is a calling that chooses us - it is inescapable." When I read this, I automatically think of fatherhood. We are all commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. So if we cannot first obtain mastery over ourselves, then who are we to guide a child to do the same? We are to create not only families, but functional f...

     This week's big theme was "Perseverance" hence the title. I really enjoyed the reading that was within this unit because it brought to my mind some of the things that I had been wondering about. Some were in regards to missionary work while the others dealt with serving my friends to the best of my ability.      This last week, I had a job interview at a restaurant named Wingers to be a cook for them. As I was meeting with the General Manager for my interview, we got onto the topic of integrity and entrepreneurship. I told him my aspirations for my future and halfway through the interview, he tells me "Now I hardly ever go out of character, but I read a book called Millionaire Minds and it talks about integrity like you brought up..." Long story short, we got to talking about some of the principles that we've learned throughout our readings. I believe that because of our common ground, I was offered the job tonight.      I truly apprec...

     Well it is the fourth week of school and I'm starting to realize some very important things about myself, especially thanks to my entrepreneurship class. Some things that I truly desire and prioritize are affecting what I had originally planned for my business. Before, I desired to open up my own bakery, but the more I go through my studies and am contemplating the future of my life and of others, I don't think that the food business is what I am meant to do. Each day I have a longing to help those around me, not just mentally/spiritually, but also physically. While creating my bucket list, one of the things that surprised me that came to mind was that I wanted to go to a developing country and give medical attention to those in need of it. It would be hard to do that when my knowledge is limited to making the perfect cinnamon rolls.      This may go along with my personal constitution assignment that I will be focusing on next, but one thing that Jim...

Remember     What is the definition of remembering? Well to put it easy, it is to have a recollection of something. So why is it important to remember? The answer may be self-evident, however it may be different for everybody. For me, it is important to remember because when confronted with a challenge in life, it is imperative to know who loves you, that you're going to be okay, your personal code of conduct, and most importantly, that God will bring you through whatever he places in front of you. I found something interesting while in one of my Priesthood leadership meetings: In 3 Nephi 18:11, it states many times to "remember" or "in remembrance of..." To remember, you first must know . You cannot remember without first knowing. "Always remember me." You know your Heavenly Father. He knows you. Remember that.      In addition to remembering to remember, one scripture that was in the reading got me thinking. John 10:10 "I am come that they...

This last week has had a lot of repetition in it. Over and over again I have been learning about what my "unique talents and abilities" are and how to utilize them to the best of my ability. The first thing that caught my eye was when I was reading Jeffery Thompson's talk titled "What Is Your Calling In Life". He stated that John Calvin argued that God endows each of us with particular talents and gifts, and that it is our calling to discover these gifts and to seek out ways to use them in the service of our fellowmen. This immediately made me think of my patriarchal blessing and so I re-read through that a few times and I saw something that I never understood before. I'll keep that to myself. However, I will share that some of my spiritual gifts I have known about already, but I have just been undermining them because I deemed them of little importance. I teared up when I started to realize how much of a fool I have been. God brings to pass great things t...

I've been apprehensive to write on here, I'll admit. Sometimes I am unsure of what is exactly appropriate content for this blog, but nonetheless, here is what I have to write. Within this first week that I've been back at college, I have come to learn and remember so many things. For example, I am realizing just how important the people in my life are. I used to be fairly independent and only saw people as a hindrance to my growth. I was that guy that hated group projects because I seemed to be the only one that worked on it. Where I'm at today in my life, couldn't be any further from what I once believed. Without the people in my life, I most definitely would not be as knowledgeable as I am today. Lately, I have seen how blessed I am to be surrounded by people that are so compassionate and enjoy my friendship. It is actually quite interesting, once I was able to comprehend it, that these are all such extraordinary people that have no problem helping others no matte...

Starting-Up, Finding Purpose, Accountability, Thanks, Learn Lessons Learned -Before I write, please do understand that I've never written my own blog before, so if it seems very amateur-like it's because it is. That being said, for one, I never expected to do all of the readings nor watch the videos for this last lesson, but I did and I am grateful that I have. I actually took six pages worth of notes. I have a feeling that this class will impact my life for the better and better guide me not only through figuring out my own business, but also figuring out myself. As mentioned in one of the readings "The start-up is you."  -One thing I really appreciated was when I read "Your Whole Souls as an Offering Unto Him". Last semester I had a lack of motivation for completing assignments and that led to me being on academic warning. "Never again" I told myself and what Elder Bednar said only strengthened that choice. "Diligence implies a tenac...