* I have been thinking a lot this week about how to make better use of my time, and I had an impression come into my mind that my problem is that I try to do so many things at the same time, which ultimately results with more time I have wasted trying to getting things done rather than actually doing them. This quote kept popping into my head, but I cannot remember what the original source is. "A man who spends all of his time focusing on everything focuses on nothing." I think this is the case for most of us. Here are some quotes that have helped me manage my time better.
PRIORITIZE:
“We realize our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically a problem of priorities. We confess, we have left undone those things that ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.“
– Charles E. Hummel
“One of the greatest resources people cannot mobilize themselves is that they try to accomplish great things. Most worthwhile achievements are the result of many little things done in a single direction.“
– Nido Qubein
“Review our priorities, ask the question; what’s the best use of our time right now?“
– Alan Lakei
"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once."
-Calvin Coolidge
FUTURE:
“The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.“
– C. S. Lewis
“If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find we have lost the future.“
– Winston Churchill
PLANNING, GOAL SETTING:
“What comes first, the compass or the clock? Before one can truly manage time (the clock), it is important to know where you are going, what your priorities and goals are, in which direction you are headed (the compass). Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going. Rather than always focusing on what’s urgent, learn to focus on what is really important.“
– Unknown
LIFE:
"Life is what happens when while you're busy making other plans."
-John Lennon
You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time you must make it.
-Charles Buxton
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
How to treat others
*This quote has been going through my head a lot lately, and I couldn't help but think about its profound message.
"Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
*I had a great experience while serving in Germany that has profoundly effected my life. On a LDS mission one serving is expected to maintain high standards of conduct which are worthy of one claiming to be a messenger of God. We are expected to live in a manner that portrays our message, and radiates the light of that which has brought so much joy to our lives.
At this time I was serving with a "companion" or work associate as some might call it who was not so much interested in keeping these standards of conduct, which greatly effected the success we had. I was really down because here I was dedicating two years of my life to a cause in which I knew was true and of God and it felt like we were being held back due to a lack of obedience on his part.
Luckily, for our help and success as missionaries we are given mission presidents, who have been called to serve as a mentor, counselor, and ultimately to preside over the area in which we are assigned to serve in. As I told my mission President of the struggle I had with my companion he listened patiently. I told him how hard it was to work with this companion (work associate). He responded, "Tell him while writing your next letter that President thinks he is an obedient missionary." I was a little confused, but I followed this wise counsel. Sure enough while writing my next letter to my President I told that to my companion. To my amazement his eyebrows raised a little bit and with an enthusiastic response he replied, "really?" "Oh yes, he thinks your are great," I said. In the next week I noticed a great change in his attitude and his willingness to do the things which we were called to do all because someone thought of him as being someone he could and should become.
This is one of the few experiences I have had which has showed me that if you treat a man as he is he will remain as he is, but if you treat a man as he can be and should be he will become what he can and should be.
"Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
*I had a great experience while serving in Germany that has profoundly effected my life. On a LDS mission one serving is expected to maintain high standards of conduct which are worthy of one claiming to be a messenger of God. We are expected to live in a manner that portrays our message, and radiates the light of that which has brought so much joy to our lives.
At this time I was serving with a "companion" or work associate as some might call it who was not so much interested in keeping these standards of conduct, which greatly effected the success we had. I was really down because here I was dedicating two years of my life to a cause in which I knew was true and of God and it felt like we were being held back due to a lack of obedience on his part.
Luckily, for our help and success as missionaries we are given mission presidents, who have been called to serve as a mentor, counselor, and ultimately to preside over the area in which we are assigned to serve in. As I told my mission President of the struggle I had with my companion he listened patiently. I told him how hard it was to work with this companion (work associate). He responded, "Tell him while writing your next letter that President thinks he is an obedient missionary." I was a little confused, but I followed this wise counsel. Sure enough while writing my next letter to my President I told that to my companion. To my amazement his eyebrows raised a little bit and with an enthusiastic response he replied, "really?" "Oh yes, he thinks your are great," I said. In the next week I noticed a great change in his attitude and his willingness to do the things which we were called to do all because someone thought of him as being someone he could and should become.
This is one of the few experiences I have had which has showed me that if you treat a man as he is he will remain as he is, but if you treat a man as he can be and should be he will become what he can and should be.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Diligence
In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened Armenia, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes.
In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife securely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.
He began to concentrate on where he walked his son to class at school each morning. Remembering his son’s classroom would be in the back right corner of the building, he rushed there and started digging through the rubble.
As he was digging, other forlorn parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: “My son!” “My daughter!” Other well meaning parents tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying:
“It’s too late!”
“They’re dead!”
“You can’t help!”
“Go home!”
“Come on, face reality, there’s nothing you can do!”
“You’re just going to make things worse!”
To each parent he responded with one line: “Are you going to help me now?” And then he proceeded to dig for his son, stone by stone.
The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off of the school’s debris saying, “Fires are breaking our, explosions are happening everywhere. You’re in danger. We’ll take care of it. Go home.”
The police came and said, “You’re angry, distraught and it’s over. You’re endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!” No one helped.
Courageously he proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself: “Is my boy alive or is he dead?”
He dug for eight hours…12 hours…24 hours…36 hours…then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’s voice. He screamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad!?! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told ‘em that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”
“What’s going on in there? How is it?” the father asked.
“There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here. When the building collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle, and it saved us.”
“Come on out, boy!”
“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, ‘cause I know you’ll get me! No matter what, I know you’ll be there for me!”
In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife securely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.
He began to concentrate on where he walked his son to class at school each morning. Remembering his son’s classroom would be in the back right corner of the building, he rushed there and started digging through the rubble.
As he was digging, other forlorn parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: “My son!” “My daughter!” Other well meaning parents tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying:
“It’s too late!”
“They’re dead!”
“You can’t help!”
“Go home!”
“Come on, face reality, there’s nothing you can do!”
“You’re just going to make things worse!”
To each parent he responded with one line: “Are you going to help me now?” And then he proceeded to dig for his son, stone by stone.
The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off of the school’s debris saying, “Fires are breaking our, explosions are happening everywhere. You’re in danger. We’ll take care of it. Go home.”
The police came and said, “You’re angry, distraught and it’s over. You’re endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!” No one helped.
Courageously he proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself: “Is my boy alive or is he dead?”
He dug for eight hours…12 hours…24 hours…36 hours…then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’s voice. He screamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad!?! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told ‘em that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”
“What’s going on in there? How is it?” the father asked.
“There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here. When the building collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle, and it saved us.”
“Come on out, boy!”
“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, ‘cause I know you’ll get me! No matter what, I know you’ll be there for me!”
Friday, October 16, 2009
Impossible?
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."
— Muhammad Ali
* We are the only ones who can decide whether or not something is impossible. We are the only ones who can set up imaginary limits for ourselves. Nothing is too hard that qualifies it for the term "impossible," unless we say so. After all how many people in the past have said that the things which we now enjoy in this day and age are impossible, and in the course of doing so have been proven wrong? We have so many modern marvels in our day because great men didn't give into the term "impossible." They persisted where others quit, and now what was once deemed impossible is as real and possible as anything else was then.
Some more quotes:
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."
-William Feather
"Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; While others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before."
"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
-Harriet Beecher Stowe
— Muhammad Ali
* We are the only ones who can decide whether or not something is impossible. We are the only ones who can set up imaginary limits for ourselves. Nothing is too hard that qualifies it for the term "impossible," unless we say so. After all how many people in the past have said that the things which we now enjoy in this day and age are impossible, and in the course of doing so have been proven wrong? We have so many modern marvels in our day because great men didn't give into the term "impossible." They persisted where others quit, and now what was once deemed impossible is as real and possible as anything else was then.
Some more quotes:
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."
-William Feather
"Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; While others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before."
"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
-Harriet Beecher Stowe
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Edison's perserverance
"Thomas Edison devoted ten years and all of his money to developing the nickle alkaline storage battery at a time when he was almost penniless. Through that period of time, his record and film production company was supporting the storage battery effort. Then one night the terrifying cry of "Fire!" echoed through the film plant. Spontaneous combustion had ignited some chemicals. Within moments all of the packing compounds, celluloids for records, film, and other flammable goods had gone up in flames. Fire companies from eight towns arrived, but the heat was so intense and the water pressure so low that the fire hoses had no effect. Edison was sixty-seven years of old- no age to begin anew. His daughter was frantic, wondering if he was safe, if his spirit was broken, how he would handle a crisis such as this at his age. She saw him running toward her. He spoke first. He said, "Where's your mother? Go get her. Tell her to get her friends. They'll never see another fire like this as long as they live." At five-thirty the next morning, with the fire barely under control, he called his employees together and announced, "We're rebuilding." One man was told to lease all the machine shops in the area, another to obtain a wrecking crane from the Erie Railroad Company. Then, almost as an afterthought, Edison asked, "Oh by the way. Anybody know where we can get some money?"
* Virtually everything we now recognize as a Thomas Edison contribution to our lives came after that disaster.
* This reminds me of a quote by Martha Washington where she said
" I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances."
My mother is a great example to me, who has taught me all growing up that "everything in life can be taken as a positive experience."
- One example I thought of was riding a bicycle. I don't know how it was for you, but I clearly remember how many times I fell down as my mom pushed me across the front lawn my first time without training wheels. With all of my screaming she kept on pushing me along. Time after time I fell down, but she continued to work with me until I finally could do it myself.
After 16 years I can still ride a bicycle, and I have learned to pick myself up when I fall. :) Nothing really becomes a part of our lives until it becomes a matter of experience, and experience involves trial and error.
* Virtually everything we now recognize as a Thomas Edison contribution to our lives came after that disaster.
* This reminds me of a quote by Martha Washington where she said
" I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances."
My mother is a great example to me, who has taught me all growing up that "everything in life can be taken as a positive experience."
- One example I thought of was riding a bicycle. I don't know how it was for you, but I clearly remember how many times I fell down as my mom pushed me across the front lawn my first time without training wheels. With all of my screaming she kept on pushing me along. Time after time I fell down, but she continued to work with me until I finally could do it myself.
After 16 years I can still ride a bicycle, and I have learned to pick myself up when I fall. :) Nothing really becomes a part of our lives until it becomes a matter of experience, and experience involves trial and error.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Finding Happiness
"Having an understanding of who we are is of first importance, and without it we lack the basis of a solid foundation upon which to build our lives."
* I think we all have occasion at some point in our lives to ask the question why am I here? Do I have a purpose to fulfill or was I born for this short time only to die and pass on? I know this question hit hard for me during a rough period of my life. I was 17 and going through a lot of life changing experiences. I was struggling, and even started to wonder if I was of any help to anyone, or merely a bother. I came to the point where I started to occupy a lot of my time wondering if there was something more to life than what I was experiencing.
As I went through the day trying to find things to fill an empty hole which I had in my soul, my efforts seemed to bring little success. This emptiness resulted in feelings of hopelessness and despair which I did not understand the reason for until shortly thereafter. I often felt that it was easier to just pull the sheets over my head and sleep rather than to face this never ending feeling of emptiness. I felt worthless and my attempts to find happiness seemed to avail nothing. I searched for something that would bring me peace, however I found nothing that could take away these depressing feelings.
I had one option which I didn't fully know at the time would effect my life so profoundly. Prayer would change my life forever. My parents growing up had taught us at a young age to pray. I had had occasion to see the benefits of this firsthand as a child, but the memories and experiences had dimmed over time to the point where I had almost forgotten them completely. I was taught that there was in fact a God who hears and answers our prayers. A supreme being who governs all that we see, and who has the answers to all of life's great questions. Someone who sincerely cares about our well-being and wants us to succeed and be happy.
At this point in my life I was humbled enough to once again pray. My burdens and hardships had brought me low, and I could not go any further on my own. Was it true that someone really had the answer to why I am here? That he could help me find my purpose in the whole scheme of things? As my plea cry for help was made, I received a feeling that I couldn't brush off as one merely made up subconsciously to answer my own question. This feeling was one I couldn't, nor can to this day describe in words alone. God had answered my prayer by assuring me that the things which I had been taught by my parents were true. At this point I knew it, and later experiences would confirm this to the point where I could not deny them.
I have had many experiences following this one where I have come to know for myself that there is a god, and that we do have purpose in life. He wants us to be happy, to be successful, and to find out for ourselves that all this is true. He is not going to force this knowledge on us, but instead is standing there with open arms ready receive us when we are ready to make an effort to sincerely seek him.
I can't help myself but to share this knowledge this understanding of who I am with everyone who will listen. Something inside me jumps every time I have the chance to tell it, because I want everyone to experience firsthand the joy and happiness that it brings to know who you are.
I just wanted to share this, and invite anyone who reads this if they haven't already to find your purpose in life. Come to know for yourselves that there is more to life than just this short time that we live and die. There are answers, and I challenge you to sincerely search for them. I would be more than happy to talk more in depth with anyone who wants to. I just want to help in some small way to share with others this joy that life is full of.
If you want to contact me, my email address is: jared.r.barker@gmail.com
* I think we all have occasion at some point in our lives to ask the question why am I here? Do I have a purpose to fulfill or was I born for this short time only to die and pass on? I know this question hit hard for me during a rough period of my life. I was 17 and going through a lot of life changing experiences. I was struggling, and even started to wonder if I was of any help to anyone, or merely a bother. I came to the point where I started to occupy a lot of my time wondering if there was something more to life than what I was experiencing.
As I went through the day trying to find things to fill an empty hole which I had in my soul, my efforts seemed to bring little success. This emptiness resulted in feelings of hopelessness and despair which I did not understand the reason for until shortly thereafter. I often felt that it was easier to just pull the sheets over my head and sleep rather than to face this never ending feeling of emptiness. I felt worthless and my attempts to find happiness seemed to avail nothing. I searched for something that would bring me peace, however I found nothing that could take away these depressing feelings.
I had one option which I didn't fully know at the time would effect my life so profoundly. Prayer would change my life forever. My parents growing up had taught us at a young age to pray. I had had occasion to see the benefits of this firsthand as a child, but the memories and experiences had dimmed over time to the point where I had almost forgotten them completely. I was taught that there was in fact a God who hears and answers our prayers. A supreme being who governs all that we see, and who has the answers to all of life's great questions. Someone who sincerely cares about our well-being and wants us to succeed and be happy.
At this point in my life I was humbled enough to once again pray. My burdens and hardships had brought me low, and I could not go any further on my own. Was it true that someone really had the answer to why I am here? That he could help me find my purpose in the whole scheme of things? As my plea cry for help was made, I received a feeling that I couldn't brush off as one merely made up subconsciously to answer my own question. This feeling was one I couldn't, nor can to this day describe in words alone. God had answered my prayer by assuring me that the things which I had been taught by my parents were true. At this point I knew it, and later experiences would confirm this to the point where I could not deny them.
I have had many experiences following this one where I have come to know for myself that there is a god, and that we do have purpose in life. He wants us to be happy, to be successful, and to find out for ourselves that all this is true. He is not going to force this knowledge on us, but instead is standing there with open arms ready receive us when we are ready to make an effort to sincerely seek him.
I can't help myself but to share this knowledge this understanding of who I am with everyone who will listen. Something inside me jumps every time I have the chance to tell it, because I want everyone to experience firsthand the joy and happiness that it brings to know who you are.
I just wanted to share this, and invite anyone who reads this if they haven't already to find your purpose in life. Come to know for yourselves that there is more to life than just this short time that we live and die. There are answers, and I challenge you to sincerely search for them. I would be more than happy to talk more in depth with anyone who wants to. I just want to help in some small way to share with others this joy that life is full of.
If you want to contact me, my email address is: jared.r.barker@gmail.com
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