Balance and money

One question I have had the entire semester, is how to balance life while being an entrepreneur?  I was grateful for the video of Randy Komisar of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as he discussed balancing life and career successfully.  He stated that balance is more like a swinging pendulum than a static pendulum.  At one time, money, opportunity and power are more important than other aspects of your life.  As one journeys through life, one needs to determine what is more important – other aspects or the trappings of success.  What makes you happy?  Some people are happy making money but one can be happy making money to provide for a family.  Money is not the object, providing for your family is the object.  Happiness comes from attaining the object – so the journey is important.  If the object itself becomes more important than the purpose of the object then happiness is lost. 

What has helped me was understanding that the balance is like the swinging pendulum.  I think I can understand that the object may move the way we attain balance.

We were also asked to answer the following questions:

§  What is your attitude toward money?  I feel money is important to sustain life and to help others.  I like to have enough to do what I would like to do – such as visit my children whenever I want, go on vacations with my husband, provide for charitable organizations, and buy lots of books.

§  How can your view of money affect the way you live?  Sometimes, it has allowed me to work at job and just show up without contributing.  I’m just working to sustain life and as my church contributions are “automatically” part of my budget, I still help others.

§  What rules are recommended for prospering?  According to Stephen W. Gibson in is article, “Attitude on Money”, the rules of prospering are:

§    

Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in him Rule

2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings. Rule

3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.

Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, isthe Key to Opportunity.

Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.

Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive.

Importance and Becoming

This week, I learned about the book, Your Emotional Footprint.  I immediately purchased this book because I wanted to understand what motivates me and others.  I have received valuable insights so far in this class, but this book might be the clincher to my lack of motivation.  I hope so.  I want to move forward with my life and my goals, but there is still something holding me back.  I think I know what it is and I’m struggling with overcoming it.  As I read the first pages of this book (thank you, Amazon Prime!) and Woody Woodward wrote about importance, I’m more convinced this is what I’m looking for.  Not that I need to be important, but I do need to feel that my goal is important – that it will make a difference – that it will help someone other than myself.  I don’t need to the change the world kind of importance.  I just need to know that it is more than making money.  Perhaps, I just need to launch and the importance will follow. 

It was also comforting to hear Mr. Ritchie say that even at his age, he is still learning and becoming better.  I didn’t list that as one of my fears, but I know I want to continue learning and becoming better.  As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I know that life doesn’t end at death and it didn’t begin at birth.  I know that we are always becoming.  I don’t think I’ll ever be bored if I’m always striving to BECOME.

Hedgehog concept

This week I was able to read a summary of Jim Collins, Good to Great.  In this book he outlines six concepts what it takes for a company to transform from good to great.  The concept that I found most interesting was the Hedgehog concept.  “Hedgehogs are relatively simple animals who know just one big thing and stick to it.  Good-to-great companies do something similar – they consistently stick to doing what they do best and avoid getting distracted into new fields of business that are away from their core competencies.”

This is a good concept in theory.  I actually believe it.  BUT, (and you knew this was coming) how does one put this in practice? How does a woman put it into practice?

THE PROBLEM:  I’m a mother.  I wear many different hats.  When I had younger children, I was chief cook, housekeeper, educator, bottlewasher, and taxi driver.  Now that my children are older, I’m primarily in the role of mentor – though occasionally I have to fulfill those earlier roles.  This does not allow for a hedgehog mentality.  Add onto that, I’m a wife (and not a very good one at that).  I also have been blessed with many talents – one in particular, but I’m still capable of many other wondrous capabilities.  For instance, my particular talent is sewing.  I’m truly blessed with this talent.  Yet, my current emphasis of study is Family History with a specific goal in mind.  In order to accomplish a vision, I have with my sewing, I need to put this goal on hold, so I can learn about business.  How can I be a hedgehog?  And let’s add – visiting teaching, keeping healthy, studying scriptures, fulfilling my church calling, maintaining relationships with my extended family and friends, going to the temple.  How can I be a hedgehog?  (And since most of my children are out of the home, I have reverted to chief cook and bottlewasher.)

I don’t resent being a woman or a mother or a wife.  In fact, I love being all three (most of the time), but I do feel the pull of being “I am Woman, watch me roar!”  I want to create this business vision I have.  But can I be a hedgehog?

This lead me to look for business books written by women.  The three books we read for class are all written by men (there is nothing wrong with that, I just need a woman’s perspective on being in business and being a woman – can I do it all?)  According, to George Leonard, I need to pick my instructor carefully.  I was talking about this hedgehog concept with a girlfriend and we couldn’t think of one business book written by a woman.  One of our favorite woman leader, Sheri L. Dew, is CEO of Deseret Books.  She writes wonderful books and gives wonderful addresses.  But, they are not about being a businesswoman.  I think she understands the circumstances of her life allow her to do what a goodly portion of women cannot do.  She can be a CEO because she doesn’t have the inherent responsibilities of home.  (Now, to a Mormon woman, not being married and having children is a difficult situation.  Sister Dew has taken her difficult situation and made wonderful lemonade out of it.  I so appreciate her example.  I would hope someday to be as gracious and thoughtful as she is.)

Back to the books, so I would have to carefully peruse these books. I found an article on Inc.com "60 Great Business and Leadership Books All Written by Women."  I don’t want to read a book on business by a woman who doesn’t believe in family and home.  They are my primary consideration.  I do follow a woman entrepreneur on social media and she has had phenomenal success, but I’m not sure at what cost.  She became a phenomenal success because her motivation was she HAD to put food on the table for her babies, she HAD to provide a roof for their shelter.  I’m not in that boat either. 

Is being a woman of business really as difficult as I’m making it?

Some of my favorite verses of scripture are found in Proverbs 31.  Many know these verses as a the verses that speak of a virtuous woman and her role in life.  I love these verses.  I want to become this woman.  I believe from these verses, it gives "permission" for a woman to have a business (see verses 13-14, 18-19, 24).  I look to women such as Martha Washington and Abigail Adams how they maintained their husbands' farms/plantations while their husbands were being leaders that brought forth this great nation of the United States of America.  I have raised my daughters to consider that they will probably have to help with the financial well being of their families once they are married and have children. 

How is it to be done?

leadership

This week in the entrepreneurship class we learned about leadership.  This is an important principle to understand.  I’ve learned throughout my life the importance of great leadership.

This is not what I want to focus my post on this week though it might be tied in.  This morning I was considering history.  George Santayana is often quoted or rephrased “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  This came to my mind because I was considering those who study history.  Part of my educational pursuit currently is studying history.  What do we learn from history?  We can see with supposedly 20/20 vision what mistakes were made by mankind that caused something catastrophic – perhaps a war, a downfall of a nation, a famine.  Yet, these catastrophes continue to happen.  Why?  We know why wars happen.  We know why nations fall.  We know why famines happen.  Our study of history (or agriculture) has given us “formulas” for why these events happen.  Perhaps, with the study of history we need to couple it with the study of solutions.  How could the war have been prevented?  How could the nation continue to have flourished?  How can we take care of our resources to prevent the famine? 

This is where leadership comes into play.  A leader leads through example, vision and love according to President Kim B. Clark.  A leader should understand the causes, the effects, and the solutions.  Many leaders today are not good examples of being good (or great) people.  They lack vision (and resolution).  And quite often love of others is not their motivator, but love of self. 

What can I do about this lack of leadership?  I truly do not want to be president of the United States.  I’m not particularly fond of the idea of one of my children aspiring to this role.  I can teach, though, in my home these principles of leadership.  That is the great role of motherhood.  I can learn and become educated and then use these tools to teach true leadership – discipleship – in my home.  Once my children leave this place of refuge then they can become leaders in their chosen field as well as in their homes.  This I have tried to do, not without faltering, but I feel I have helped my children along their path of leadership.

The journey

This week we were given the assignment to find an entrepreneur to interview.  I chose to ask two because I didn’t know if either one would answer.  Diane Kroe graciously answered my email request in less than 24 hours even though this is a very busy season for her.  (I looked at her schedule AFTER I made my request and she is VERY busy.)  I’m excited to read her replies.  I have admired her collection for almost 8 years now and even put her on my fictitious board of directors. 

We began reading A Field Guide for the Hero’s Journey by Jeff Sandefer and Rev. Robert Sirico this week.   We began in the middle of the book.  (I checked we’ll be reading earlier chapters next week.)  I read about the hero’s journey before related to literature but haven’t really ever applied it to my life.  The first chapter we read was about stones in the road.  I have a tendency to kick at the rocks and get frustrated.  From this chapter I learned that I can go around them, dig them up, and I think even ignore them.  But, when we dig them up and get them out of our way, we might find hidden treasures under those rocks.  I will keep that in mind as I continue on my life’s journey. 

I also realized that I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to enjoy my life journey.  I’m too anxious to “get there”.  I’m going to blame this mindset on all those trips we took from Oregon to Utah and we didn’t stop along the way – we just wanted to get there and get back.  I remember wishing that we would stop along the way, but I also understood the press to get to our destination.  Now, I need to figure out how to enjoy the journey.  The one journey I did enjoy was home schooling my children.  Thankfully, that was a day by day journey, filled with adventures, hardships, and thrilling moments of discovery.