Money, what is it good for?

In this week's blog, we are asked to think about our relationship with money and respond to a few questions.  First, we were asked to read an article, Attitude on Money by Stephen W. Gibson.  The questions we are asked are as follows.

First, what is your attitude toward money?

When I think of money, I do believe that we need to be very aware of it in our lives.  If we are the breadwinner or not in our families, we need to make sure we know where we are at and where we are going.  Money can be used for a tool of great good.  The love of money is evil, not money itself.

The next question is how can your view of money affect the way you live?  I believe that if we are afraid of money, or don't choose to be smart, we can limit our ability to provide for our families, limit our potential, or especially limit our potential to eventually give.

Finally, what rules are recommended for prospering?  In the article, there are a few given.  The two that really stood out to me were Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant and Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated. I think these two rules who the importance of having a good relationship with money.  It is how we can become self-reliant and it helps us understand blessings and how they work.

I know that through a proper relationship with money and knowing how we can use it to give, we can become closer to our Heavenly Father.

Mentors

Through my business classes, I have the excitement of stepping outside of my comfort zone and getting great ideas to try. In my Business 100 class and now my B 183 class I have had the chance to interview mentors or entrepreneurs.  These last few weeks I have had the opportunity to interview two men I look up to.  Tom Campion and Dave Stevens.
Both of these men are successful business men and have taught me lessons.  It is wonderful that in this world there are people who are willing to show compassion and help others.  When the business world is painted, sometimes it's shown as a land of greed and winning and losing.  These men taught me that through great partnerships, we can build great things!
So many times we give up when we are down.  We cannot give up.  We must keep trying.   I was listening to a podcast the other week and they were interviewing one of the founders of Airbnb.  He shared a story of how Chris Sacca, an investor in such companies as twitter, uber, and kickstarter, not only didn't invest but told them they shouldn't do the business.  He was sure that someone would get killed or raped in one of their houses that were being rented and they would get sued or worse.  Now Airbnb is now valued at around 30 billion dollars!  Good thing he didn't listen!
We must keep moving forward.

Week 9

This class is really flying by.  It has been such a great experience so far. I really enjoyed our topics we learned about this week. It focused on building great teams and building trust with others.  I know in my personal life, I can focus on my own integrity and how I act.  It can be harder to find others that feel the same way.  Frank Levinson of the Finisar Corporation shared in a video said that they hire nice people.  Even though that probably sounds silly, he shared how people getting along is extremely important.  Being nice and kind to one another can help build workplace trust and relationships.  They also focused on not overworking their people.  No 100 hour weeks, although they do work hard.  This helps keep talent and allows them to still function in the community and in their families.

Guy Kawasaki shared in a different video about trust.  He stresses that in order to receive trust, we must trust first. He shares examples of amazon allowing you to return books up to 5 days even if you have read it, Zappos return policies (paying shipping both ways without question), and Nordstrom.  The organizations trusted their customers and received trust back.  I also loved his example is there are two types of people in this world.  An eater or a baker.  An eater sees a pie and takes from it (eats it). It's a zero sum thing.  A baker can create more pie, knows it is not a zero sum game.

I continue to enjoy these lessons and know that building a business with ethics and trustworthy people can lead to greatness!

Week 8

What a wonderful week I've had.  I have really looked to the future and focused on the good things that can come into our lives if we focus with the end in mind and have faith.  So often we let things like worry, fear, and caution drive us. If we want to do things that are great and exciting, we must sometimes take risks.  We must take leaps of faith.  We must be bold.  We must take the hero's journey.

This brings me to a great book we started to read this week. A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey has been a great book to start this week. It helps us realize who we are and more importantly who we can and need to be.

I have continued to get up early this week.  It has been a little bit of a struggle, but still well worth it.  I have gotten so much done lately.  It helps me be ready to go early in the day and have a lot of energy.  Pairing that with exercise and a good ketogenic diet has also really helped me focus.

I know as I focus on what is right, true, and powerful, I will be successful, and so can you!