Week 5 – The Lord and My Family

Each week we are asked to reflect on what we have learned, and what we are excited to accomplish in our lives. We had really great talks to refer to this week, and each one of them mentioned either being our best selves, and, or our family priorities. In his talk “Success is Gauged by Self-Mastery” Elder N. Eldon Tanner reminds us what is important. How we chose to live our lives in the present has eternal consequences. He said “Narrow is a very meaningful word. Often people accuse us of being narrow-minded if we are following the straight and narrow path, which certainly does require self-restraint and self-denial. We must realize and be prepared to accept the fact that it confines us, restricts us, and limits us in certain areas. But let us fully realize that it does not fetter or shackle mankind. On the contrary, it is the way to emancipation, independence, and liberty” (Tanner). How grateful I am to have read this talk, to be reminded that sometimes I have to make a decision to forego something which I might enjoy here, but will be blessed by the outcome in eternity.

In the videos we watched this week, family and not sacrificing them for our goals of Entrepreneurship was stressed. Steve Blank shared that he and his wife set rules for their family, and they stuck to them. If we don’t do this, we could easily lose sight of what is important. I am saddened sometimes when I think back to my sons early years. I took a new job and quickly promoted up through the ranks. With each promotion additional responsibilities were added, as is typical. I would bring work home with me, or would even “run to the office for a short while” on a Saturday or Sunday, only to look up and realize a whole day had gone by and my son was growing up in my absence. My son is now a man of 21 who has a great work ethic, but I am even more proud of the fact that he puts his family first. It may be in small ways, but it’s in ways that count and are important. I am grateful that I realized the mistakes I was making, and although I lost valuable time with him, I didn’t lose all of it. I made sure I stayed focused at work, even if I had to go in a little earlier each morning, so that I could set aside the evenings and weekends for my family.