A Hero's Journey

I really enjoyed watching the video "A Hero's Journey" this week. Although he was talking about being an entrepreneur, I think my "takeaways" can be applied to my life in general, not just to being an entrepreneur:

• You have a very special mission on this earth. A mission that will exceed your wildest dreams if you have the faith and the courage to find your calling.
• If you're worried about the wrong things, you're going to miss the opportunity of a lifetime. Don't look back and realize that you were worried about the wrong things and they don't even matter.
• Live every moment of your life like it matters because it does.
• What matters most isn't the prize at the end but how the HERO (you/me) is changed in the process.
• Learn how to:
• Learn
• Listen
• Ask questions
• Try not to be the smartest person in the room
• Live a life of meaning
• Questions to ask myself:
• Have I contributed something meaningful?
• Am I a good person?
• Who did I love and who loved me?
• Use your gifts to do something that brings you great joy.
• Know what your "will nots"/ethical guard rails are and do not ever cross those lines that you make for yourself
• Choose your fellow travelers well . . . you only take the journey once.
• If you choose the hero's journey, somewhere along the way you'll give up measuring yourself against others.
• If you don't choose a hero's journey, who will? If you don't choose it now, then when?

Some of the other things I appreciated this week came from James E. Faust's talk, "Perseverance." He explains the importance of persevering and says that "perseverance is demonstrated by those who keep going when the going gets tough, who don't give up even when others say, 'It can't be done.'" Sometimes it's hard to do hard things but I love his reminder that as we faithfully persevere in church callings (I think this can be applied to anything good as well), the Lord will open the way and guide us to other opportunities and blessings even beyond our dreams. Our Heavenly Father knows the end from the beginning and is trying His best to help us gain all the blessings we have been promised.

I love Paul Harvey's definition to the secret of success . . . "Getting up when I fall down." Wow! That seems simple enough. As I have thought about why it is sometimes so hard, I think it is because the adversary loves it when we "fall" and he wants us to think it's pointless to get up and try again. For me, it is very important to remember this, especially during the hard times.

One last thing that stuck out to me this week was that of STAYING THE COURSE. Remember what my goals are and keep making progress to reach them.