Targeting the Prize

A recent episode of The Office reminded me of a corporate leadership conference I had to attend several years ago – you know, the kind where various gurus take the stage and give the be-all-you-can-be spiels meant to motivate and “maximize potential” and such. 

In starting things off, the keynote guru defined the most important step to achieving career goals: “Targeting the PRIZE”.  Or in other words, to “succeed”, we need to openly declare where we want to end up.  Sorta like Covey’s ‘begin with the end in mind’, except this particular guru was quite sure he invented the idea from scratch.  Nice.

And so, with his whiter-than-white Fortune-100 smile, he cajoled each member of the audience into stating his or her most sought-after title, position, or role.  Then one-by-one, the obvious answers came out with way too much enthusiasm: “CEO!”, “Company President!”, “Chairman of the Board!”, “Chief Counsel!”, Woohoo!”, etc, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah.

Though stated with much less fanfare, I felt my answer was also obvious: “Dad”. 

NY Times Ad Defends Mormons

Based on my reading of the New York Times over the years, I firmly believe that finding a pro-Mormon message in their Op-Ed section would be like finding Frosty the Snowman in Yuma, AZ in August.  But as profit is still the motive (if not the reality) over there at Times Square, they’ll print anything if the right amount of cashola is on the table.  

And thank goodness – at least in this case.  Regardless of their motives, I really appreciated this message on full display last week - particularly as the ad was paid for entirely by non-LDS donors.  You can read more at http://nomobveto.org/.

I don’t know much about the Becket Fund, and I’m not a big fan of some of the signers of the ad, but the message is spot on, and I’m very glad they ran it.  The last line is a bit over the top, but tame compared to much of the anti-8 mud-fest.

Take Courage

Sigh.

Olivia Takes a Look at Bolivia

A recent exploration of the Bloggernacle* brought me to a site called LDS Cooperative, and one of the posts there caught my eye: “Can you be a Mormon and Wealthy?” by Kate Kelly. 

The principles recounted in this essay truly inspired me, and after reading it several times, I resolved to giving more and giving more often.  I would encourage everyone to give it a read and think about ways to help those in need.  (Hey that rhymes.  Sweet.)

Continuing my exploration, I also found at LDS Cooperative a link to Kiva.org, an excellent non-profit, person-to-person microcredit organization.  With my desire to help others rekindled, I signed up (for free of course) and began looking over all of the profiles of people who are looking for a leg up.  I found the experience both humbling and invigorating.

Kiva is a very bare-bones website.  There’s no-over-the-top marketing compelling people to lend, Sally Struthers doesn’t jump out of the screen and cry all over you until you pull your wallet out.  It’s really just a basic interface that lets you make loans from your Paypal account to people all over the world who are trying to build up their businesses – farmers, tailors, merchants, construction workers, mechanics, etc. – each with a very basic profile of their situation and needs.  There’s no return on investment at Kiva, and there’s no guarantee of repayment either (although repayment rates are generally above 99%).  But read Kate’s essay and you will understand that ROI should not be the goal, and that’s fine by me.

So, for family night last week, we sat down with the kids and looked over a huge map of the world.  We talked about living conditions in various places and some of the basic reasons why some countries are very poor.  We then dialed up Kiva and looked over some of the profiles from South America, Africa, East Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, etc..  And when the kids made their choices we marked on the map the countries where our loans were going.  Olivia chose a tailor in Bolivia who needed money to buy a new sewing machine to keep her business running and Audrey chose some ladies in Uganda who want to open a clothing store. 

The lesson was very simple: we should always be looking for opportunities to help others, be they across the world or right next door.  This was a very good experience for all of us and I am looking forward to continuing it for years to come. 

jph3

* FYI – ‘Bloggernacle’ is a term that refers to the many LDS-themed bloggs out there.  But beware, some are good, some are not.

Happy Earth Day

Whenever I hear the song of a bird
Or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face
Or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose
Or walk by a lilac tree,
I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world
Heavenly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see
The color of butterfly wings.
He gave my ears that I might hear
The magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart;
I thank Him rev’rently
For all his creations, of which I’m a part.
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

Oftentimes it’s the simplest things that make life beautiful.

 

The Utah Jazz: The One True Team? *

I got a kick out of this article.  I especially thought it was funny that the Deseret News pointed out that the Jazz went on a 27-11 run after President Monson tapped Jerry Sloan on the shoulder.  HA!  And, I Gotta hand it to any guy who wears a suit and tie to a Jazz game, too.

* [Editor's Note: The title change reflects Donna's fine suggestion in the comments] 

 

Proud To Be 100% Mormon

And for the record, I am also 87% Orthodox Quaker, 65% Sikh, 55% Hindu, and 37% Neo-Pagan. 

At least that’s according to the Belief-O-Matic Quiz at beliefnet.com.  A fun (but obviously not that much more than fun) little run through a series of online questions designed to assess (read: label?) your beliefs about God and such. 

And, thank goodness I have a dash of Taoism in me, cuz without it, I could not adequately explain my love of ‘wu wei’ (“non-action“) and therefore excuse my love of sitting on the couch watching the tube-o-rama all day.  That IS what they mean by ‘passivism’ right??

Anyway, check it out.  See what you end up with.

Cheers,
jph3

PS:  Here’s the grand tally:

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (100%)  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (92%)  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestant (90%)  Orthodox Quaker (87%)  Jehovah’s Witness (87%)  Bahá’í Faith (82%)  Seventh Day Adventist (79%)  Eastern Orthodox (75%)  Roman Catholic (75%)  Orthodox Judaism (73%)  Sikhism (65%)  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (64%)  Liberal Quakers (64%)  Islam (58%)  Hinduism (55%)  Reform Judaism (54%)  Secular Humanism (54%)  Unitarian Universalism (48%)  Jainism (46%)  Mahayana Buddhism (43%)  Theravada Buddhism (43%)  New Thought (37%)  Neo-Pagan (37%)  New Age (33%)  Scientology (31%)  Nontheist (19%)  Taoism (13%)

A Bit o’ Wisdom

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.

         John Adams – US President, 1797-1801

Why Mothers Matter

When I was kid I was deathly afraid of the dark.  Worse, I was always quite certain that vampires, trolls, evil ninjas and other boogie men were hiding in my small, dark closet, poised to spring out and attack the instant I lost my nightly battle to stay awake. 

Sometimes (ok, like, every night) that battle was just simply too fierce to fight, like when the house creaked in a unique way or when an animal stirred outside my window.  It was those times when my instincts cried out, “Mom!!” 

Then, without fail, relief came.  Every time. 

Eventually, I defeated those silly boogie men.  But the battles in my life were just beginning, and they quickly moved from that small, dark closet into the real-life challenges that most kids face.  And just like before, so many times did my instincts cry out, “Mom!!”

Then, without fail, relief came.  Every time. 

Fast forward some 30 years or so.  Alas, it appears those darn boogie men have survived and are now poised to spring out of my son’s small, dark closet.  It’s like I hear my own shaky voice calling from JJ’s room as he struggles to fight that same imaginary battle. 

As a rough and tough father, my first response is to FIX THE PROBLEM – provide a nightlight, play some music, or maybe just tell him to buck up and be brave.  Sigh.  What a looser I am. 

But then, thankfully, the inspiration comes to consult with my wife.  Her response: “What did you need most when you were a little boy?”  And then it all comes together.  Despite already recognizing the fact that I experienced the same emotions as JJ, it took a wise mother to connect the important dots for me.  As is usually the case, it takes a wise mother to direct the focus inward, away from the surface issue of my need for resolution, and towards the needs that really matter most – the needs of a small child, scared to death of the unknown, desperate for some small bit of relief.  Relief that comes without fail.  Every time.

It is very clear to me that, for so many reasons, mothers really, really matter.  And they matter to me now just as much as then.  I am so lucky and grateful to have been raised by a loving, wise and dependable mother.  And I am so lucky and grateful that my children will be as well.

A little boy once wrote, “The worst part about being a kid is going to bed.”  But he forgot to add that the best part about being a kid is having a loving mother who will be there when the boogie man comes.  Without fail.  Every time.

jph3