My Entr'acte

I have heard the saying, "The road to happiness is paved with gratitude."   I have a sibling who seems to never be happy. She is constantly placing the blame of her own actions on others and uncontrollable circumstances. She claims that everything makes  her unhappy. This sibling of mine is particularly difficult to be around right now for me with my cancer diagnosis. In what she feels is a form of empathy, she will claim that she knows what I am going through when she has no idea (and I am glad she does not). However, I cannot tell her that or it will start a fight.   When the suggestion arises that she would be happier if she figured out what she was grateful for every day, she shrugs it off and says things like, "Well, that may work for you, but that doesn't work for me," and then she settles into her victim-hood. This makes it difficult to carry conversations with her and have her get to know me because she gets angry at every little thing and makes ...

Stephen W. Gibson's discussion on the "Attitude of Money" reminded me of some important truths about money. One being that money itself is not evil. Money is a tool. However, how money is used shows the character of a person. How money is used can be good or evil. Money truly reveals the kind of person we are. I have lived in subsidized housing. I have been so poor that I have needed to rely on my parents and my in-laws for housing and care. I know what it is like to not have anything and to be grateful for the programs that exist to give people a hand-up and out of poverty. I also know what it is like to budget properly and make sufficient for my family's needs. Between the two of them, I much prefer the latter. When in poverty, I felt I could not do the things I wanted to do because I could not think about much else other than making ends meet. Now that my husband and I have become more self-sufficient, I am able to give more to others and to help them. In fact, I w...

This week I have been thinking about vision. My husband is under contract to purchase the optometry practice where we both currently work. He is an optometrist and he has wanted to own his own practice since he decided he wanted to become an optometrist. His father is an optometrist and an entrepreneur. He owns his own practice, and my husband has wanted to work with him ever since he knew he wanted to be an optometrist as well. He has been working with his father now for eight years, and we are to purchase the practice at the end of next year. Fighting cancer and dealing with everything that is involved with fighting cancer, we are not feeling comfortable with going into debt to purchase the practice. We do not feel comfortable with purchasing the practice if I am still fighting cancer by the time we are supposed to purchase. So, what does all of this have to do with vision? My husband and I do not really have a vision right now of what it is that we want to do with our lives-...

Stephen Covey's seven habits from his book are (1) be proactive, (2) begin with the end in mind, (3) put first things first, (4) think win/win, (5) seek first to understand, then be understood, (6) synergize, and (7) sharpen the saw. I would say that I am working on all seven of those habits, but the one that has the most meaning to me is the seventh one--sharpen the saw. It is so important to remember to take care of yourself. This can be sometimes seen as a selfish thing, but in reality if you don't take care of yourself, you will have nothing to give to others. I am a personal trainer and a group fitness instructor. I have tried to eat healthy and show love to my body by taking care of it. I have adopted things like meditation and yoga to help to take care of my mind as well. When I got cancer, all of these things have had to either be put on hold or have been interrupted in other ways. I can speak from experience that when these things are interrupted or put on hold, I am n...

Time is such a valuable thing, and it is a concept that is difficult for me to control. I call myself a time-optimist. I always think I have more time to do something than I actually do. This shows itself most of the time when I am about to leave the house to go somewhere. "Oh, I have time to do this one last thing," is what I tell myself before rushing out the door and leaving at the time my appointment--be it a serious appointment like a doctor's appointment or a fun one like a girls' night out. It's something that I have struggled with my whole life. Last year I discovered time-blocking. This was revolutionary to me to set alarms and schedule out my entire day. I own an Apple watch and an iPhone, so I enjoyed seeing all of the colors appear on my calendar. They all showed exactly where I was supposed to be and when I was supposed to be there. I also had time blocked out for the small things I wanted to do like contacting a friend I hadn't talked to in a whi...

Corey Bell spoke about a hero's journey being all about you but not about you--what matters most is how YOU change and what you do for others. He mentioned that in the end of our lives the questions that we will ask ourselves are: 1) Have I contributed something meaningful? 2) Am I a good person? 3) Who did I love? and 4) Who loved me? He spoke of finding five people who you know well what you're good at and asking them to be specific in order to find your calling. Your calling must serve others and solve a problem that only you are able to solve. Corey mentioned writing a list of things that you will never do, and then writing yourself a letter for when you are thinking of breaking your promise to never do something. All of these things are things that I want to implement in my life. I know that being successful in business can make it so you can lose your soul. That is something that has always concerned me about success. There are many who think that it is all about them and...

It seems as though a life full of integrity is almost unheard of. Some people lie, cheat, steal, and bully their way through business and through life. Popular television shows today even showcase the lack of integrity that can be found in a business. Sometimes I don't know if the media is applauding lack of integrity or if they are against it. Frank Levinson of Finisar Cooperation even mentions being fired from a job because someone lacked integrity and blamed him for something he didn't do. I admire Mr. Levinson and his ability to get back up and start something new after being knocked down like that. I don't really know how I would respond to something like that. I don't know if I would have had the courage to start my own company. On the other hand, I may have the courage if the act that got my fired wasn't true like in his case. Another person I admire for his positive personality and view in life is Gordon B. Hinkley. I was quite young when I saw him on te...

I am an unfinished instrument. I am constantly re-vamping and adjusting my life to fit my needs and those of my family and friends. Much like building an instrument, I'm building my life. I don't personally have any experience in building instruments, so I see it as a puzzle. I like solving puzzles. No instrument is the same. I play the violin, piano, and I sing. I grew up with music in my home and music continues to surround me. The dedication to my craft(s) wasn't something I just woke up and had one day. My mother pushed me to practice, my teachers supported me, and once I fell in love with those instruments, I had the motivation to practice perfectly. What is perfect practice? Perfect practice is failing over and over and over again. Perfect practice is diligently fixing that one thing that you can't quite get, and then moving on to the next thing that is difficult. Perfect practice never ends. And so it is with entrepreneurship and with life. I've tried m...