Meeting 1: Temple
Yesterday I did my first 20 minute exercise in speed reading. The first step was to calculate words per minute (WPM) baseline.
Baseline - 244 Words Per Minute
I then did 6 exercises for a total of 11 minutes of reading.
New Speed - 350 Words Per Minute!
I had a meeting in LA this morning and took the advice from a friend
to check out the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica for lunch.
I'm about to dig into my salmon.
And then write out some goals while enjoying California's brutal winter.
Tyler Jorgenson
I am excited to see the movie Invictus. In it Nelson Mandela gives Francois Pienaar a copy of the poem of the same title, but in actuality Mandela gave Pienaar a copy of Teddy Roosevelt's speech The Man in the Arena. The most quoted excerpt is below:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
As I prepare to write resolutions for 2010 I will reflect on the dust and sweat and blood of the last decade. When 1999 came to an end I was in a small apartment (we called them 'flats') in South Africa. We weren't sure if computers were going to crash and all mayhem break lose when Y2K hit, but we all made it through just fine. Over the past decade I have done a lot of things. I returned home to California in 2001, went back to school, bought a restaurant, got married, sold a restaurant, started a career in mortgage banking and real estate, started a family, invested in real estate (won some, lost some), moved a few times, graduated college, started a business or two, closed a business, made good friends, lost loved ones, went on a game show, traveled, and on and on. It's been a busy decade of my life, and I have learned much.
Sometimes in the arena of life we achieve greatness and are privileged to feel the thunderous applause of the crowd and other times we may stumble and be met with boos and disdain of onlookers. The approval of the crowd is a fickle friend and one who lives his life thus seeking will be met with an empty reward. As I prepare for this next decade I commit to live my life boldly and in the pursuits of worthy causes.
In light of my post on the poem Invictus I now present another response written about 100 years ago.
"The Soul's Captain"
by Orson F. Whitney
Art thou in truth? Then what of Him
Who bought thee with His blood?
Who plunged into devouring seas
And snatched thee from the flood,
Who bore for all our fallen race
What none but Him could bear--
That God who died that man might live
And endless glory share.
Of what avail thy vaunted strength
Apart from His vast might?
Pray that His light may pierce the gloom
That thou mayest see aright.
Men are as bubbles on the wave,
As leaves upon the tree,
Thou, captain of thy soul! Forsooth,
Who gave that place to thee?
Free will is thine- free agency,
To wield for right or wrong;
But thou must answer unto Him
To whom all souls belong.
Bend to the dust that "head unbowed,"
Small part of life's great whole,
And see in Him and Him alone,
The captain of thy soul.
Merry Christmas! During this wonderful time of year I am reminded of who I have to thank for my unconquerable soul.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
"Man radiates what he is, and that radiation affects to a greater or less[er] degree every person who comes within that radiation” - David O. McKay
This has long been one of my favorite quotes and is the thought that comes to mind whenever I consider personal development. We've all seen the fruits of this concept in our lives, the smiling waitress that cheers up a gloomy table in an instant, the charismatic friend who can change a rooms mood just by being present, and even the 'Debby Downer' who can suck the wind out of the fullest of sails in the bat of an eye.
Yesterday I visited the Newport Beach LDS Temple because I felt my own radiation lessening. I needed to reflect, repent and recharge. I had a wonderful experience and felt a renewed focus to live my life in a way where others benefit from being around me. As a mortal man I make mistakes and the past couple of years seem to have had an extra load of trials and tough experiences. I know, however, that these can be a source of growth and learning and that the choice is mine.
A good friend reminded me through his example the proper level of priority Temple worship should be to an LDS businessman. That same friend then shared this video on his blog today.
What a great example of elevating your influence in the world around you!
"He who every morning plans the transactions of the day and follows out that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life. The orderly arrangement of his time is like a ray of life which darts itself through all his occupations. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incident, chaos will soon reign."
Chapter two is the story of Arkad. Arkad was the average young man, born with no inherent physical advantage or silver spoon, who learned the secrets to becoming rich. Bansir and Kobbi from the inquire of Arkad as to his unsurpassed wealth.
"Wealth is a power. With wealth many things are possible... And, when I realized all this, I decided to myself that I would claim my share of the good things of life." - Arkad
I enjoyed the preceding quote because Arkad did not sound pretentious or arrogant. He talked about how with wealth one could build temples for the Gods and how it takes hard work to become wealthy.
Aha! moment #1
"I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep. And so will you" - Algamish (Arkad's mentor)
This is where the saying that you hear at financial workshops comes from, "Pay yourself first."
"Wealth, like a tree, grows from a tiny seed." - Algamish
Algamish was a rich man whom Arkad struck a deal with to be mentored by. Algamish mentored Arkad slowly with one principle at a time.
The three laws of successfully handling wealth:
1. Pay yourself first (save a minimum of 1/10th your income) and live on less than you earn
2. Seek advice from those who were competent through their own experience to give it
3. Make your gold work for you. Invest your savings wisely.
Aha moment #2
"Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared." - Arkad
"Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain or try to save too much." - Arkad
Arkad understood the importance of moderation. Living in Southern California there seem to be more people to the extreme of not saving enough than the contrary but Arkad reminds us that 'Life is good and rich with things worthwhile and things to enjoy.'
