Can good be the enemy of best?

Good is the enemy of Great. That is how Jim Collins, starts out his book "Good to Great" . This concept was spoken of by our High Councilman a couple of Sundays ago. He talked about how we need to choose activities in our lives. We need to choose between good, better and best. We know that the best choice is the one that strengthens our families and builds faith in Christ. We often mistakingly pick good activities that fill up our time and squeeze out the best activities.
I try to get up early a few times a week to make it to the gym. Is this a good thing? Yes. Unfortunately I too often let my early morning hours be taken up with working out. I strenthen my heart and muscles, but I miss strenghtening my faith and testimony by feasting from the scriptures. It is good to get up in the morning. It is better to get up early and work out. It is best to get up early, nourish my spirit with uplifting reading from the scriputes and then work out. If I need to let one slip off my schedule, let it not be the most important things. How are you doing with balancing good, better and best in your life?

Celebrity Birthday!

I had a great birthday today thanks to my wonderful family, Chelsi in particular, and my HR team at work. I showed up at work this morning to my office decked out as you see here. My boss and a couple of my team members did a heck of a job decorating. I had balloons and confetti everywhere! of course I loved it! They are calling me a "celebrity" because I am on that snazzy mailer that I have posted here. They changed the words to "It's My Birthday" just for this, the acutal one says something like $150 off your purchase" That mailer goes to all of our "Buy Smart Club" members. about 3,000 of them. The same picture will be the cover of the BLVD Magazine this year...cool eh....I'm Famous, on the cover of a magazine even!

Just outside my window...

I was sitting in my office two days ago when I suffered a sever case of creativity block. My mind was sludge and my energy was zero. I excused myself from my post at my computer, walked down the stairs, jumped in the car and drove literally 2 minutes from my office. After a brisk 20 minute walk up a hill, I stopped and took in the scenery. What an inspiration! This is why I live in St. George, Utah! The weather was a refreshing 50 degrees, clear clean air, bright blue sky, the beautiful red cliffs lining the base of Pine Valley Mountain. Covering Pine Valley was a light dusting of snow, close enough to enjoy the beauty of it, but far enough away that I don't have to shovel it or drive in it. I spent some time appreciating this surreal moment, then headed back to work with renewed energy, perspective and motivation. Have you taken a moment lately to notice the amazing world around you?

Las Vegas Convention

My first booking at a convention! http://www.src08.org/ If you look at the schedule / Class Sessions it explains what I will be presenting in my classes. I have one on April 1 and one on April 2. I'm excited! "Tame your Team" and "Telephone Techniques That Work". okay, so not as exciting as something like, "Building a better you" or "Get rich in 30 minutes or less", but it's a start!

Do Be Have...and do it SMART!

A couple of thoughts for your new years resolutions. YOU CAN NOT DO A TO HAVE GOAL. Think of one of your goals for 2008. i.e. You want to have a better income. Take a close look at that goal. What will you have to do to have a better income? Well, you have to be more valuable to your employer, or if you are self employed, you have to be more valuable to your customers. You will only be better compensated if you better serve your source of income. Now, what do you have to do to be more valuable, to better serve? Do you need to take a class on computers, leadership, technical training or some other skill that will enable you to be more valuable? Do you need to read a book that relates to your field? Do you need to spend a day picking the brain of someone who is where you want to be? Work through your goal until you have taken it from what you want to have, to what you need to be to have it, and then to what you need to do to get there...and now the next step.

Make it a SMART goal.

Specific -What will I do?
Measurable- How will I know I did it?
Attainable - Do I have the resources, time or talent?
Relevant -Does this support my purpose?
Time table - When will this be reached?

bad example: I will become a better leader.
Good example: I will attend "Leadership Development" this March.

The second example is
Specific - attend a seminar.
Measurable - You will have gone to the class or not.
Attainable - You have the money for registration and you can take the day off to attend.
Relevant - The topic of the seminar supports your purpose, to be a better leader.
Time table- You have a deadline, the day of the seminar.

Good luck at accomplishing all you would like to accomplish this year! I will leave you with an excerpt from "The Greatest Salesman in the World" By Og Mandino regarding habits...I love it!

In truth, the only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success.Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure. Thus, the first law I will obey, which precedes all others is -- I will form good habits and become their slave. As a child I was slave to my impulses; now I am slave to my habits, as are all grown men. I have surrendered my free will to the years of accumulated habits and the past deeds of my life have already marked out a path which threatens to imprison my future. My actions are ruled by appetite, passion, prejudice, greed, love, fear, environment, habit, and the worst of these tyrants is habit. Therefore, if I must be a slave to habit let me be a slave to good habits. My bad habits must be destroyed and new furrows prepared for good seed. I will form good habits and become their slave.- Og Mandino "The Greatest Salesman in the World"

Kiss This!

As my 7 yr old daughter and I began an attempt to build a snowman, we quickly grew weary of trying to make dry Utah powder stick together in a shape resembling a snow man. Being from sunny southern Utah, our snowman making skills are seriously lacking. My daughter's shoes filled with snow and that was the end for her. I was left alone to come up with something out of our big pile of snow...and this is what we ended up with!