Work-Life Balance

This week the material in our class was exactly what I have been thinking about ever since I first started school and declared my interest in entrepreneurship.  I appreciated reading the talks and listening to the videos this week.  It was a great combination of "here is how to do it", and "this is reality".  However, the balance of work and family is I think it is at the heart of my fears as far as starting a business goes.  I am not scared of failure, I am not nervous that I don't know everything and have no business experience of my own yet.  I think these things could come in a reasonable amount of time, normally enough- what I don't want to happen is to have my family suffer in any way.  My family is my highest priority, so for me success in this arena will largely be determined on keeping work and life in balance.  Maybe it's because of my interview with Kim Bensen.  When I had my interview last week with Kim, I could clearly see as we talked, the hand of the Lord in her path, and it gave me great hope that the hand of the Lord is there for me too.  So often I forget and just rely on my own strength and ideas and work.  Sometimes I feel like it all hangs on me and I haven't yet come to the point where He is the first source I turn to.  I guess I am grateful to see this, because now I can start working to change it.  I honestly believe that nothing we succeed at will be worth it if we don't put God first.  I thought I already was, but I can see now, that I still have work to do.

• What is your attitude toward money?

I guess my feeling toward money is less of controlling it and more of being pushed around by it.  Regardless, I see money as opportunity.  Opportunity to provide for the ones you love, and opportunity to bless others.

• How can your view of money affect the way you live?

I think if you view money as the most important thing in the world then you will spend all of your life and energy in pursuit of it, and in the end probably be filthy rich and ultimately miserable.  If you view money as evil, you will probably be poor, and also maybe equally miserable.  As we learned in Stephen W. Gibson's, Attitude on Money talk, "The first thing we need to understand about money is that it is not evil. Money is neither good nor bad. The Love of money or the obsession with accumulating money from others unrighteously, no matter what the method, may be evil, but money in and of itself is neither good nor evil."

I agree with this premise. I think that money can be used for wonderful things and if pursued with the purpose of doing good things with it, it is a worthwhile adventure.

• What rules are recommended for prospering?

Stephen recommends to us the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that states that blessings come by obedience to the laws upon which they are predicated and a scripture in the Book of Mormon which states that keeping the commandments and reading the scriptures are both keys to prosperity.  So the suggestion is to learn the laws of making money, obey them and maybe more importantly to read the scriptures and keep the commandments to keep us close to God and be prospered by his hand.

1. -   Seek the Lord and have hope in him.
2. -   Keep the commandments, temporal, tithing and fast offerings.
3. -   Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.
4. -   Take advantage of chances for learning.
5. -   Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.
6. -   Don't send away the naked, hungry thirsty or sick.