Decisions.

Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed- the courage to say no, the courage to say yes. Decisions DO determine destiny.

Conversational Turn-Taking.

Conversational Turn-Taking, a skill upon which we can all likely improve. When we talk, we should take turns. 

Learn more: https://conversational-leadership.net/turn-taking-in-conversation/

Faith.

To perform any work requires that we have faith in the ultimate result of that work. No farmer would plant unless he expected to reap; no builder would build, unless he expected one to inhabit; no speculator would invest, unless he expected to increase his means; no journey would be attempted unless there existed hope of reaching the destination.

So, likewise, no commandment of God would be obeyed unless there existed faith that certain blessings would follow obedience.

Relationship Arrogance.

Relationship Arrogance is prioritizing relationships based on a forecasted return on investment. 

While Relationship Arrogance is as infectious as the cold, it can be dangerous because some of the greatest opportunities often come from the least likely of sources.

Utah - Happy and #1 Economy!

We know Utah has the #1 economy in the nation, but we are now officially ranked the happiest state in the nation according to WalletHub!

Read the full report at:

https://wallethub.com/edu/happiest-states/6959

Artificial Intelligence is moving FAST!

What are your thoughts about the arrival—and impact—of chatty new AI machines?

Article: https://magazine.byu.edu/article/i-chatbot/

Charity Never Faileth.

This chapter was part of our family reading yesterday and the brief video below contains some of Paul's teachings, the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, only 13 verses. I hope you enjoy it too! (3 min. video)

Read chapter 13 here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/1-cor/13?lang=eng

Health & Food.

We have a food industry that pays little attention to health and a health industry that pays little attention to food. Why is that?

Are you an Ambivert?

Any other “ambiverts” our there?

Introverts constitute a bigger market than you might think—in part because they’re sometimes hard to identify. Some introverts are actually outgoing and even comfortable in crowds, but they get energized by retreating and by focusing deeply on a subject. 

Extroverts, in contrast, derive energy by interacting with friends and strangers alike; they’re typically assertive, go-getting, and comfortable with conflict. 

Ambiverts are an introvert-extrovert combo.

One simple practice.

What one practice, if followed consistently and with discipline, would help you have better health, energy, and inspiration?

Go to bed early and get up early.

If you do, your body and mind will become rested and then in the quiet of those early morning hours, you will receive more flashes of inspiration and insight than at any other time of the day.

Self-Determination

Self-determination theory is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people's choices in the absence of external influences and distractions.

This theory suggests that all humans have three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—that underlie growth and development.

5 Choices In Our Life - Nick Saban

Nick Saban is the head football coach at the University of Alabama. With seven (7) National Championships, Coach Saban is arguably the greatest and most dominant college football coach in history. 
 
A few years ago, Coach Saban delivered a 50-second speech in a press conference that has since become famous. He talked about the 5 choices we have in our life.
 
Here’s what Coach Saban said . . . 
 
“We have 5 choices in our life. We can be bad at what we do. We can be average at what we do. We can be good at what we do, which is probably God’s expectation for whatever ability he gave us. Or we can be excellent. Or we can be elite. And everybody has a choice as to what they want to do and how they want to do that. But if you’re going to be excellent or elite, you got to do special things. You have to have special intensity. You have to have special focus. You have to have a special commitment and drive and passion to do things at a high level. You have to have a high standard all the time. It doesn’t matter what God-given ability that you have – that probably can make you good – but without the rest of it, I’m not sure you ever get excellent or elite.”
 
Something else that Coach Saban constantly preaches to his players, over and over again, is that they do not focus on their desired outcome. Rather, he tells them to focus entirely on doing their job and focus entirely on the process.
 
Coach Saban tells his players that if they do their job and focus entirely on doing their absolute best on the process, the desired outcome will take care of itself.

What kind of soul will you have?

One of Socrates' most enduring teachings was:

It is better to suffer wrongdoing than to do wrong oneself.

Socrates’ argument for his position is simple: surely suffering injustice is terrible, but what is worse is the corrosion of soul that takes place when one commits injustice. In other words, being unjust is far more damaging to the moral structure of a person’s character than enduring the slings and arrows of injustice.

So there’s the question, what kind of soul will you have? What kind of person will you be? Will you do whatever it takes to get what you want? Or will you accept even great suffering in order to do what is right? Everything else in your life will flow from your answer to that question.

Where could we find a clearer instantiation of the principle that it is better to suffer injustice than to commit it than in Jesus crucified? Sinless, blameless, he nevertheless took upon himself all the sin of the world: hatred, cruelty, stupidity, violence, institutional corruption, betrayal, denial—all of it. But rather than lashing out in answering violence, he said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do.”

I read this today in the speech delivered on May 13, 2023, at Hillsdale College’s 171st Commencement Ceremony, The Most Important Decision in Life, by Bishop Robert Barron.

Here's a look at the 15 U.S. cities with the biggest economic output.

 

Can A Machine Deceive You Into Believing It Is Human?

Great article: https://hum.byu.edu/00000187-7173-d436-a1e7-fff779370001/spring-23-magazine-01-deans-message-but-can-it-make-you-cry-pdf

Excerpt: "Most universities are currently engaged in discussions about the possible negative and positive impacts of AI content generation on the classroom. People weigh in on both sides, some seeing it as a tool to help students self-critique, while others see it facilitating cheating or depriving students of crucial fundamental writing and thinking skills. All are concerned about the fact that generated content can convincingly represent lies as truth. 

 The idea of the Turing test—can a machine deceive you into believing it is human?—will ever haunt us, but we must remember that the test is not of the machine but of the human. Can we be deceived, or will we soon note the absence of a distinct human voice in the digital conversation? Have we come to know another well enough to read his or her soul—or note its absence—between the texted lines of a crowdsourced appropriation? 

 If we allow a machine to write for us, we bypass the chance to grow through writing, which, in its most glorious moments, can be a kind of revelation. Sometimes, especially when we are writing journal entries for our own reading, or letters or talks to move others, we may find ourselves following a train of thought that is not of our own making, one that leads to a better place where we learn new truth. This thoughtful, creative mode of writ- ing trades prompts for promptings, and rather than being relieved of an onerous task, we instead find ourselves trans- formed through writing that can, and does, change our very souls.

Engagement.

Getting Things Done.

The key to effective time management can actually be summed up in three distinct and powerful sentences: 1. Determine what you need to do in order to accomplish a particular objective. 2. Choose to do what needs to be done to accomplish that particular objective. 3. Understand and embrace the fact that by choosing to do what needs to be done to accomplish a particular objective, that everything else we could be doing must give way to what we actually choose to do.

Life Engineering.

The word “engagement” describes the energy you have for the things you do and the journeys you’re on. Over time, that energy will ebb and flow. Sometimes you’ll feel highly engaged, and other times, you’ll feel disengaged. Disengagement can be small, like lacking motivation to do something specific. It can also happen at a larger level, like becoming disengaged from a long-term goal or objective. It can even happen on a macro level, like becoming disengaged from work, in a relationship, or with life itself. Prolonged disengagement can be catastrophic to the outcomes and objectives of your life that really matter.

Your ability to sustain energy in the things that matter most is critical to long-term success. We sometimes call it grit, perseverance, tenacity or “stick-to-it-iveness”! But because disengagement happens slowly, by degrees and over time, you tend to not notice it until it’s too late or until a lot of damage has been done. With LifeEngineering.com you can now regularly measure your level of engagement in the aspects of your life that matter most! You can know how engaged you are, what’s driving your engagement, what’s creating disengagement, and most importantly, what you can do about it!

Debt.

Every day, the federal government spends more money than it takes in. It makes up the difference by borrowing money. So every day, the government's debt increases. As an individual, or as a business, how long would you allow this to occur? You couldn't, and neither should our government! Why are we allowing those in D.C. to continue this financial disaster in this great country?

Dignity.

“Never take a person's dignity; it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you.” ~ Frank Barron

We Need Your Address (If you'd like to receive a wedding announcement).

We would love to send our son Ammon and Hallie's wedding invitations to all family and friends. If you would like to receive a mailed invitation, please submit your mailing address here: https://ineedyouraddress.com/amandhal/ Thank you!!

Knowledge.

There are five essential roles that I believe knowledge plays in our competitive advantage and sustainable business success: 1. Acquiring Knowledge: Acquiring the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary to make sound decisions and take effective action. 2. Applying Knowledge: Using one's existing knowledge to independently make sound decisions and take effective action. 3. Creating Knowledge: Adapting existing knowledge or creating new knowledge to improve performance and do things that have not previously been done by others. 4. Sharing Knowledge: Increasing the productive capacity of others by sharing one's knowledge, skills and perspective with them. 5. Leveraging Knowledge: Increasing the organization's productive capacity by converting personal knowledge into organization knowledge (i.e. embedding knowledge in the systems, structures, protocols and strategies of the organization) - thereby making it available to everyone in the organization who might need it. Given that knowledge is an organization's only sustainable source of competitive advantage, those people who master these five roles are the people who will make the greatest difference and be in the greatest demand in the future.

Peacemakers Needed.

This past Sunday our family listened to this talk LIVE at our church's semi-annual global conference. 

It was, in my opinion, one of the best and most timely sermons I have ever heard. It was given by 98 year-old Russell Nelson, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is a retired heart surgeon, has perfect pitch, and there's so much more I admire about him that I won't share here. But most of all, he has spent most of his adult life serving others and teaching about our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Regardless of your faith or beliefs, I'm confident you will agree that this was a message we all needed to hear, right now. I know I needed it, and I hope you'll take the time to listen, or relisten, to it. (I just reviewed it a third time: watched it LIVE, reviewed the video the next day, and read it taking notes today). 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/47nelson?lang=eng

You Don’t Need to Be “the Boss” to Be a Leader.

Whether you currently consider yourself a leader, or an emerging leader, there are three actions you can take to hone your leadership skills right now and become a highly respected and influential team member.

1. Devote time to daily growth. When we improve our skillset and become a slightly better version of ourselves than we were the day before, we initiate the process of becoming more valuable in terms of what we can offer and the level of impact we can generate.

2. Discover and embrace your personal strengths. While we all have areas we can improve, when it comes to building influence, your advantage will lie in discovering your strengths and using them to the best of your ability.

3. Improve your ability to connect with people. When it comes to leadership, making genuine connections is more advantageous, and anyone — introverts, ambiverts, or extroverts — can learn how to do this. It all comes down to how we communicate, rather than what we communicate. You can practice this skill by being intentional in your interactions with others — be authentic, and empathetic.

https://hbr.org/2023/02/you-dont-need-to-be-the-boss-to-be-a-leader

8 Traits of Healthy Relationships.

Nothing can bring more joy to life than beautifully fulfilling relationships. The depth of meaning, understanding and appreciation that these kinds of relationships bring is almost unfathomable. And, of course, as many people find out, nothing can bring so much pain as a broken relationship with someone dear to you.

Here are "8 Traits of Healthy Relationships" by one of my mentors, Jim Rohn.

https://www.success.com/rohn-8-traits-of-healthy-relationships/

Fasting.

 

Fasting means to go without. Therefore, fasting doesn't only apply to food, but to anything in your life that you may be using or consuming unnecessarily. It's also not about giving things up completely, but rather gaining control over the things in your life that seem to control you (like cravings or addictions).

Most importantly, it's not about suffering. In fact, fasting is the key to freedom. Once you gain control over the things that once controlled you, going without becomes an empowering and joyful experience.

You can fast from common addictions like alcohol, tobacco, or any other lifestyle patterns you want to change. Doing a dopamine fast by avoiding social media can give your mind a break from processing junk culture and devote more resources to creativity and original thinking. Less distractions = more power.

Remember to take time to be still. Get out and spend time in nature, we need that sunshine and vitamin D. Why not do a social media fast at the same time? Bring your phone for an emergency, but turn it off. It's great time to reflect on what we want more in our lives and what you want less of in our lives.

Resolutions versus Intentions for the New Year.