Integrity.

When living in intergrity with your core values, 

your success and fulfilment are not subject  to votes, 

to others' opinions, or to chance.

Duty of Mothers and Fathers.

Charity loves her flowers!

"We cannot and we must not allow the school, community, television, or even Church organizations to establish our children's values. The Lord has placed this duty with mothers and fathers. It is one from which we cannot escape and one that cannot be delegated. Others may help, but parents remain accountable. Therefore, we must guard the sanctity of our homes, because that is where children develop their values, attitudes, and habits for everyday living." -M. Russell Ballard.

Imagine a world in which we would...

Consciously trying to acquire humility can be problematic. I remember once hearing that “if you think you have it, you don’t. We should try to develop humility and be sure we didn’t know when we got it, and then we would have it. But if we ever thought we had it, we wouldn’t."

Consider the climate that would exist within a marriage or family—or any organization, for that matter—if through genuine humility mistakes were freely admitted and forgiven, if we were not afraid to praise others for fear they might gain on us, and if all were able to listen as well as we now verbalize.

I think sometimes of what life would be like if we all possessed greater humility.

Imagine a world in which we would replace I as the dominant pronoun.

Think of the impact on the pursuit of knowledge if being learned without being arrogant were the norm.

One wonders how differently even recent world history might be written if its principal participants had yielded to the gentle nudgings of humility.

I like the English author John Ruskin’s memorable statement that “the first test of a truly great man is his humility.” He continued: “I do not mean, by humility, doubt of his own power. … [But really] great men … have a curious … feeling that … greatness is not in them, but through them. … And they see something Divine … in every other man … , and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.”

True humility will inevitably lead us to say to God, “Thy will be done.”

Act and Lead.

"As a society, we've gotten into this state of what I call sedentary agitation - we're often upset about what's going on but not getting up and taking action. The real communicators are the ones who can motivate people to act- and ultimately to lead themselves." -Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, NJ.

Four Ways to Create Your Legacy.

Only by changing the way you live, will you be able to create the legacy you want to leave, says John Maxwell.

Legacies happen when they are deliberately crafted with years of hard work and dedication. Create your legacy with these expert tips:

1. Identify your strengths. Think of your core strengths and then talk to colleagues, friends and family members for their insights. Keep a running list and see which strengths come up most frequently. Often, others see our strengths more easily than we do.
   
2. Think about how you spend your time. Most of us tend to be drawn—either directly or indirectly—to the settings, activities and people that allow us to express our interests. Remember, your legacy should be a labor of love, not a chore.
   
3. Write a life sentence. “A statement summarizing the goal and purpose of one’s life,” Maxwell says.
   
4. Realize your legacy is based upon what you do today. For most of us, it is the days of our lives taken as a whole, that people remember. If you want to be known as a kind person, do something kind every day for the people around you.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day this weekend, I'm going "green."

We know eating green foods is part of a healthy lifestyle. 

Here are a few of the ones I'll be eating:

Velvet Green Cheesecake

Green Cake

Key Lime Pie

Mint Cookie

Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream

7-layer Cake

Famous BYU Mint Brownies

Mint Milkshake

So You Think You Are A Good Communicator? Let's Find Out.

Many people believe that because they can talk, they can communicate with others. Or they think that because they have the gift of gab, because they have no problem talking to others on any subject that comes to mind, they’re good communicators. Often, exactly the opposite is true. The ability to talk is not the same as the ability to communicate.

Probably 99 percent of all the difficulties between human beings, and within organizations, are caused by breakdowns in the communication process. Either the senders do not say what they mean clearly enough, or the receivers do not receive the message in the form in which it was intended.

You’ve heard the saying that God gave man two ears and one mouth, and in conversation, you should use them in those proportions. Truer words were never spoken. The best communicators are excellent listeners. The worst communicators are continuous talkers.

All master communicators have learned to be comfortable with silence. Remember that a person can absorb only a certain amount of information, as ground can absorb only a certain amount of water. If you pour too much water onto the ground, it will form into puddles instead of soak in. A person’s mind is very much the same. If you don’t give someone an opportunity to absorb what you’re saying, by pausing and waiting quietly and patiently, he will be overwhelmed by the continuous stream of thoughts and ideas.

One of the most vital requirements for effective communication, especially with important messages, is preparation. Preparation is the mark of the true professional. The late Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant of the University of Alabama football team was famous for saying, “It’s not the will to win but the will to prepare to win that counts.” In all communications, the will to prepare in advance of talking and interacting with people is the key to achieving maximum effectiveness.

The best communicators do not use a lot of words, but they choose their words carefully, in advance. People appreciate straight talking. Avoid the tendency to dress up your message and sugarcoat it. When you have a question or a concern, or you want something, come right out and say it without confusion or distortion. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel and how much more positively someone will respond to your message.

The ability to communicate is a skill that you can learn by becoming genuinely interested in people and by putting their needs ahead of your own when sending a message or asking them to do something for you. When you concentrate your attention on building trust, on the one hand, and on seeking to understand, on the other hand, you’ll become known and respected as an effective communicator everywhere you go.

“Getting Your Ideas Across” from Brian Tracy. 

*Complete article can be found at: http://is.gd/NYxSqd