February 5

Principle:  Work hard, have passion, be a finisher, and be involved.

Spend time doing each of these six inspirements:

1 hour for Apprentice,

1 1/2 hour for Journeyman,

and 2 hours or more for Master level 

1. Experience from President Monson:

Read or listen to the talk by President Monson entitled "Finishers Wanted."

OR you can read highlights from President Monson's talk here.

2. Think about and write about the following questions in your Truth Book: 

• What are some scriptural and historical accounts of those who faltered?

• What are some scriptural and historical accounts of those who finished?
• Why is it so hard to finish? What is the difference between those who falter and those who finish?
• What have I finished? Where have I faltered? Why have I finished and faltered in these areas and what can I learn about myself and improve going forward?
• What are my personal goals for finishing? What areas, things, goals, commitments do I want to FINISH in my life, in the next 5 years, in the next year, today?

 

3. Our guest speaker this week, Amber Watson, talked about her experiences of FINISHING. She used the example of racing in marathons, triatholons, and cycling as a metaphor for being a finisher in life. Write in your truth book some of the things you learned from her, things that you felt inspired about, or things you thought were important that she talked about. What did you come to understand about finishing and how did you want to incorporate them into your life?

 4. How is finishing a race like life?
What character traits did Amber Watson have to have to finish her races? What character traits do we need to be finishers and to be successful in our life? President Monson gave some great ideas in his talk above. Write about this in your Truth Book. 


5. Watch the following inspiring videos about finishing.  
Write principles, lessons, and inspirations you have while watching them in your Truth Book. How can you apply this to your life?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfeJAz3GI60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xIzuyjCcZk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDqwYUe_U7I

 

6. Write one of these quotes/poems in your Truth Book and memorize it:

• “Vision without effort is daydreaming, effort without vision is drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize.” - President Thomas S. Monson
• “The ingredient that is essential in learning to [finish] is consistent effort. In our race for eternal life, pain and obstacles will confront all of us. We may experience heartaches, sorrow, death, sins, weakness, disasters, physical illness, pain, mental anguish, unjust criticism, loneliness, or rejection. How we handle these challenges determines whether they become stumbling stones or building blocks. To the valiant these challenges make progress and development possible.” - Elder Marvin J. Ashton

• “We are constantly making small decisions. The outcome determines the success or failure of our lives. That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, set a course, and at least be partly ready when the moment of decision comes. True finishers have the capacity to visualize their objective.” - President Thomas S. Monson
• Stick to Your Task

"Stick to your task 'til it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.
Honor, power, place and praise
Will always come to the one who stays.
Stick to your task 'til it sticks to you;
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile,
Will come life's victories after a while."

-Author unknown, quoted by President Monson

• Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Success is failure turned inside out--

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

-Edgar A. Guest

January 30

Principle:  Work hard, have passion, be a finisher, and be involved.

 

Spend 1 hour to accomplish the work of an Apprentice.
Spend 1 1/2 hour to accomplish the work of a Journeyman.
Spend over 2 hours to accomplish the work of Master.

If you didn't do the challenge from last week - you still can!

Give yourself BRAIN PROOF!

New Challenge: 

(1) Get connected to your purpose in some way every day.  Start with scriptures and prayer if you're not already doing that.  If so, choose something else you can do that gives you motivation.

 

(2)  Choose 5 goals from your 50 goal list to do this year. Make them specific enough and give yourself a deadline.  Don’t worry about HOW you’re going to do it right now.  In fact, pick some that you don’t know how to do.  Next, add a deadline to finish it by.  Then write WHY you’re doing it.  That's your motivation, and if you have motivation, you're more likely to do it.  If you want to be even more motivated, review these every day.  If things get hard and your brain says you can't, read it again. 

 

 You are all leaders and amazing people!

Now, choose to act like it even more often! 

January 22

Principle:  Work hard, have passion, be a finisher, and be involved.

 

Spend 1 hour to accomplish the work of an Apprentice.
Spend 1 1/2 hour to accomplish the work of a Journeyman.
Spend over 2 hours to accomplish the work of Master.
 

 

Here is the Challenge: 

(1) Write your "50 Goals in 5 years" list.  List 50 things you want to do in the next 5 years.  Write fast and do not make judgments about whether you can or will actually accomplish these things, just write down what you’d like to do. Bring this paper to class Jan 22, and then find a safe place to keep it.  

 

(2) Write your definition of success.  What does success mean to you?  How will you know when you're successful?  Ponder this question and brainstorm some ideas.  Then write a one-sentence definition of what success means to you.  Mine is "Success is listening to what God wants me to do, and then doing it."  

(3)  Email me. Send an email to Sister Christensen at dmchr5@gmail.com that includes your definition of success and that you completed writing your 50 goals list.  

What percentage of you will complete this challenge?  Will it be more than 2% (1!) of you?  I'm betting we'll have a MUCH higher percentage.  (Do you have any control over the percentage of people who completes this challenge?)