How do we gauge success? Self Mastery.

One of the most important take aways that I enjoyed from this week’s studying was that of the principle of self-mastery. According to Leonardo da Vinci, “You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself”. Da Vinci goes on to say that “the height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment… And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others. If we are to achieve self-mastery, we must appreciate the opportunities we have to learn and improve our own individual skills and knowledge. The best way to learn to be a good master, delegator, or teacher, is to learn to master ourselves and our appetites. As we do this, we will have more expertise, experience, and even opportunities to teach and train others.

One of the best ways that we can work towards self-mastery is through practice. I enjoyed reading “Mastery” by George Leonard because it explained the importance of practice and overcoming our “plateaus”. Our plateaus are the areas in which after we have learned and developed, we continually practice and train in order to refine our skills. Leonard encouraged us to enjoy the plateau and make the routines important. As I thought about this I was motivated to change my perspective and look at situations in my life differently. Additionally, Leonard reminded me to “love what is most essential and enduring in [my] life”. After this week, I am more empowered to love the “eternal now” and love the plateaus I am on because those plateaus will provide me with the patience and expertise to progress and move forward into the next stage of my life. I have set a goal to look for the good in the routines and the plateaus and be more grateful for them and what they are teaching me on my path towards self -mastery.

“The height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment… And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others.”

Leonardo da Vinci

“What matters most isn’t the prize at the end but how the hero has changed in the process.”

“A Hero’s Journey”

A few helpful tools that will help mold a person into a hero, have impressed me this week. I have learned about how a person transforms into a hero throughout this life. In the speech, “A Hero’s Journey” we learn that a hero is someone that sees “struggles as adventures and setbacks as lessons and like Sir Lancelot and the holy grail or Harry Potter and Voldemort what matters most isn’t the prize at the end but how the hero has changed in the process”. From this speech, I was motivated to truly take action and become who I am supposed to become as I change my perspective on life and as I “see struggles as adventures” instead of setbacks”. I believe that one of the greatest tools that will empower us in this life is having a willingness to change our perspective. As we see from different perspectives, we make room for new possibilities.

Another tool that we have access to is our own skills and abilities. The book “Mastery” teaches us that we have the ability to overcome society’s norms and downfalls. We have the ability to master our own fears and shortcomings. As we improve ourselves, we can master those obstacles that we think are in our way. In this book we learn that we must be willing to spend time on the “plateaus”. We must enjoy the processes and routines, the practicing that makes perfect. We will feel so much more fulfilled if we enjoy the present and love what is currently the “most essential and enduring in our lives”.

One very important tool is a personal board of directors. This week I had the chance to think about who I would want on my personal board of directors to guide me and give me advice on my life decisions. There are several aspects that should be considered when choosing a board of directors. Think about all of the amazing people alive and dead who could advise you; financially, politically, individually, nutritionally, relationships, education, etc. To name a few of the people I would want on my board of directors, I will start with Warren Buffet. He  knows a lot about the economy and businesses. He is patient and he would help me make wise investment decisions, but also help me stay balanced in all aspects of business, home, and family. Alexander Hamilton was also on my board because he could enlighten me politically and help me know and defend the Constitution. Marjorie Hinckley would be on my board of directors because she would help me keep an eternal perspective and help me remember to always love, serve, and put God first. She would also remind me to be happy, have hope and look for opportunities to serve. I also chose to add Elon Musk to my board because he is very passionate and dedicated about what he does and how he does it. He would motivate me to stay driven and focused and to not give up. Elon Musk’s ability to focus on so many things and run so many businesses inspires me.

Now it’s your turn. Who would be on your personal board of directors and why?

At the end of my life, what do I want to look back and see that I have accomplished?

Throughout this week, I have been asking myself this question over and over again. I have been able to reflect upon my past, current, and future actions, my fears, and my core values.  As I plan for my future and future business aspirations, I addressed some of my major fears. This exercise provided me with courage to dive right into my entrepreneurial journey because it made me realize that even if I do fail, there is always a way back to the “status quo” (or normal life), even if it takes a little longer than anticipated. So what do I have to lose?! I only have experience and growth to gain!

As I thought about the opportunities at my finger tips and set aside my fears, I had flashbacks to my childhood when I had no fears of starting and creating businesses without any experience. From the time I was six, I started my own yard sales, dance classes, lemonade stands, snow cone stands, and when we didn’t have any of those resources at home, I reinvented another idea and even had a graham cracker and milk stand where I actually made $5 (which was huge to me at the time, especially considering the dead-end street we lived on)! Establishing my fears and mitigating the risks encouraged me to really try out my current ideas and pursue my ambitions.

One key ingredient that enables you to look back and notice the successes in your life is being able to see that you stayed dedicated to your core values. Core values reflect who we are. The three main core values that I live by are:

1. Put God first in all things.
2. Be honest and integrable.
3. Serve God and others.

As I continue to live by my core values, I hope to be able to look back at the end of my life and see that I helped make a difference in the lives of others and my family.

“Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.”

– Clayton M. Christensen

A personal code of conduct should be engrained into the everyday decisions we make. How we choose to live our lives everyday reflects our personal code of conduct. Our businesses can be greatly affected by our own personal ethics.

Let’s be honest though, I have not really ever written down what my main personal code of conduct is. Throughout this week, I have pondered about my own personal code of conduct and how I choose to live my life.  I have always had standards that I have lived by, but this week I was able to actually write down the six main statements that I will uphold as I live my life and do business with others. I created three “I will always” statements and three “I will never” statements. Here are the “I will always” statements that have come up with:  

1. I will always put God first.

2. I will always maintain an eternal perspective.

3. I will always remain honest and integrable.

The first statement will empower to me do what God would have me do. As I align my will with His will, I believe that I will be successful in whatever I do. I also believe that God wants us to succeed and that God wants us to be good stewards of the opportunities he blesses us with. As I put God first in business, I will be able to be successful no matter, especially in in God’s eyes.

The second statement will allow me to think outside of the box and to think long term. In life and in business, thinking long term will help you see what steps you need to take to achieve your goals. Maintaining an eternal perspective will also allow me to see the downfalls or hardships of life as learning experiences in which I have the opportunity to learn and improve from.

The third statement will enable to me to maintain strong and healthy relationships. It will also help me as I need to make difficult decisions, I will already know that I will choose to be honest and integrable in any situation. I believe that remaining honest and integrable will bless me in all aspects of my life.  

Have you ever thought about how you will actually “shoot for the stars” in your own life? This phrase can definitely be over exaggerated and over used. In fact, before I started reflecting on my own path to shoot for the stars, I had heard this phrase used so many times without any real action taking place from it that I couldn’t help but roll my eyes any time I heard it. However, after pondering and reflecting what my future holds and the limitless opportunities at my fingertips, I now have a greater perspective and motivation to actually achieve what I will call my “stars”, or my end game results.

Bucket lists – One of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing. This week I had the chance to sit down and really think about what I want to accomplish before I die. As I made a list of 50 things to add my bucket list and as I listened to Randy Pausch’s lecture of childhood dreams coming to fruition, I was able to recall fun hopes and dreams I have had from the time I was a child. Items like becoming a mom, serving a mission with my husband, and racing a McLaren P1 on the Autobahn in Germany with my husband were all included on the list. As I continued to brainstorm and really think about what was important to me, I also thought about how I could achieve those things. I was inspired by a few points of Randy Pausch’s counsel. One of the pieces of advice that Pausch gave was to “treat life like an experiment”. He gave the example of the creation of WD-40. The 40 stands for 39 fails and the 40^th time, it finally worked. I needed to hear that! If we treat life like an experiment, we will eventually succeed and as we fail or have setbacks, we will recognize that those setbacks help us grow until we achieve what we set out to achieve. Another piece of advice that he gave was to “lead your life the right way – the dreams will come to you”. Pausch was a great example of this and I think that is why he was able to live his childhood dreams. He took any opportunity that he could and he worked to achieve his dreams and they came true. Dreaming is so important for us to have things to look forward. As we shoot for the stars and make our dreams come true, we will fill fulfilled and have a sense of accomplishment. My mom always says, “if you don’t have a dream, you can’t have a dream come true”.

(Download my Bucket List below and start creating your own!)

Dreams do come true. Our stars are our dreams. One of my childhood dreams truly has been to enable the dreams of others. More specifically, I want to be in a position with my husband where we can serve and uplift others at all times. My star that I am shooting for is to be financially stable and not have to worry about money so that my husband and I can use our money to serve the Lord and others, while of course still having some funds to do other fun things and fulfill other childhood dreams, like going to Germany and driving on the Autobahn. I believe that I can achieve this because my husband and I are both working hard as a team to serve the Lord and to prepare financially for the future. I believe that if our desires and dreams stay righteous, the Lord will magnify and bless us. I know that if we make a plan to shoot for the stars or achieve our goals and then we do all that we can to reach them, we will see wonderful things happen in our lives.