Book # 35

Starting From Scratch

Secrets from 21 Ordinary People Who Made the Entrepreneurial Leap

By Wes Moss

I am being wishy washy. I read this book and although it was okay, I wasn't going to blog about it. So I took it back to the library, and then the next day I changed my mind. So I went back to the library and took some notes. There is not a lot but maybe it will give you an idea of whether you want to read it or not.

The author talks about the HUNT. 

First, you "HARNESS WHAT YOU HAVE. Embark on an internal, 2 part process of self discovery. First identify your inherent skills. Second, figure out something tangible that you love: a product, industry, or trade you are proud to be associated with. Put them together and you've got a business venture."

Second, you "UNDERESTIMATE YOUR OBSTACLES. Practice the learned trait of optimism. Define a vision and mentally bypass the multitude of things that can go wrong or stand in your way so you can focus on your own personal and all-important vision."

Third, "NOTICE YOUR NETWORK. Engage in a process of external recognition. Find those around you who can assist you in realizing your vision, and utilize the leverage that others provide in reaching your particular goal."

Fourth, then you must "TAKE THE FIRST STEP. Develop a bias toward action. This step provides the catalyst that makes any entrepreneurial dream or vision turn into reality. Without it, there is no HUNT."

My favorite story was about Susan Flores, founder of the Barefoot Cafe on the Providenciales Island in the Turks and Caicos chain. Heck if I know where that is....somewhere in the Caribbean. I guess if your going to work reeeeeeally hard on starting and running a business, then you might as well make it somewhere nice, eh?

What I really learned from this book, is that I am not entrepreneurial material. At least not right now. I am still in the mom phase and I don't want anything to interfere with that. Maybe someday I will feel passionate about something else enough to give my life to it, because basically that is what each one of those 21 people did.

Until Next Time :o)

Book # 31, 32, 33, 34

Faith of Our Fathers

By N.C. Allen

Book # 1: A House Divided

Book # 2: To Make Men Free

Book # 3: Through The Perilous Fight

Book # 4: One Nation Under God

I've wanted to read this historical series for some time because I wanted to learn more about the American Civil War. But I like to read series all at once and you need time for that and so the Christmas holidays were perfect. 

I don't want to tell a lot about it. Just a few things I learned and my impressions about the books. First of all, I don't remember a lot of history from school. For some reason I thought the civil war was a lot longer, like 10 years, but it was only 4. That's good because it was the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilian casualties. 

One thing that caught my interest was the riots that occurred in New York City and in a few other northern cities, when it became apparent that one of the goals of the war was to free the blacks from slavery. For many poor northerners, going to war against the south was okay to restore the union, but freeing the blacks was NOT a good cause, especially if those newly freed blacks came north and took all their jobs. The reason that interested me is because when I read another historical series, this time on the revolutionary war, it was also New York City where the people thought differently than many of their fellow countrymen. In that series, I was surprised to learn that not all "Americans" supported the revolutionary war. Many wanted to remain under the rule of the British Empire. They simply would have been satisfied with equal representation in Parliament, which is how it all started anyway. New York was full of British spies and sympathizers, and the British military set up headquarters there. When the British lost the war, many of those supporters moved to Canada. I never knew that. Not a really profound thing to write about, but at the time I wondered if there were some Canadians who wished that their ancestors had swallowed their pride and stayed put.

I liked the series and I learned a lot, but I found some of the story line forced and unconvincing. But it was great holiday entertainment nevertheless.

Until next time :o)

Book # 30

One on the Seasaw

The Ups and Downs of a Single-Parent Family

By Carol Lynn Pearson

It is obvious by the subtitle why I chose this book. I wanted to see how it is for another woman raising her children on her own. Or if I was crazy all by myself.....

.....NOPE!

Carol Lynn Pearson was well known in the 80's as an LDS poet, play-write and author. She wrote "Goodbye, I Love You", which was the story of her marriage and divorce to her gay husband, and of her care for him as he suffered and died from AIDS.

This book is stories of her children and of her life raising them on her own. My favorite chapter was the one titled "On the Seesaw". She compares being a single parent to "riding the seesaw all by yourself, taking some real hard bumps and running around a lot to hold down someone else's end as well as your own. But it's also sliding down the slippery slide by yourself, going as fast or as slow or as often as you want....Every time I start feeling terribly sorry for myself, something happens to remind me that there are worse things than being a single parent. Sometimes one of them is being a married parent." She then describes what the up side of being a single parent is to her.  Much of it reflects how I feel.

This is what the up side is for me, Elise...Raising my sons the way I want to. Having more peace in my home without the old bull to butt heads with the young bulls. Having the closet and the dresser drawers to myself. Sleeping in the middle of a king size bed, with all the pillows.  Spending the money and my free time the way I want to. Keeping house and making the meals the way I want to. I don't have to answer to another adult in my household.

Carol describes the downside very eloquently--"A single parent knows that the next shift is never coming in...the yard, the laundry, the empty refrigerator, they're all up to you...no matter how tired you get or how much you'd rather be on a beach reading, you have to keep going, going on empty, and trying not to let the kids see just how empty...Couples can feed each other energy, fill each other up. A single parent dips down into the solitary well until it is dry, dry, dry..." She then describes those who have helped fill her up. She told about the men in her ward who painted her house. When they finished she said, "Twenty men on one Saturday is not as good as one man on twenty Saturdays, or fifty-two Saturdays or years of Saturdays. But it is next best, a wonderful next best."

So the downside to me, Elise, oddly enough is some of the same things that are the upside. I like raising my sons the way I want to but I don't always KNOW how to do it. I don't  like being the solitary "bad guy". When you are a couple, you make a decision and  ideally, stand together, support each other. When you are alone, you stand alone and that can be intimidating against 5 sons who don't like your decision. I like sleeping alone because I am a light sleeper, but sleeping alone means ALWAYS sleeping alone and the deprivation that goes along with it. I hate being responsible for everything. And I hate it when I have to let something go, simply for my sanity's sake. I hate driving home from up north and the kids are all asleep and there is no one to talk to. I hate not having someone around who loves my kids as much as I do. I hate going to the temple alone. I hate not having someone around to tell me when I'm out of control. I hate having to wait until a movie comes on DVD because I don't want to go to the theater alone. But the worst is NOT having another adult around to answer to. Someone to make a better meal for -- the kids really don't care. Someone to clean the house up nice for -- the kid really don't care. Someone to keep in shape for -- the kids really don't care. Someone to put on makeup for -- the kids really don't care. You get the idea...

Despite all that, I'm not really complaining. I have it easy, compared to some single parents. I don't have to work out of the home at this point. I have helpful, obedient children. I have a nice home. I live in a great town with great people. I have loving, supportive friends and family. We are all healthy. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and that brings me a lot of peace. What more could I ask for? 

Until Next Time :o)

Book # 29

Stories From the Life of Porter Rockwell

By John W. Rockwell and Jerry Borrowman

John Rockwell is the great, great, great grandson of Porter Rockwell, and the other author's ancestors were friends and business partners with Rockwell, so they were both interested in telling these stories from his life.

It was interesting because they are pretty honest about this man; didn't try to pretty him up, and even shared some of the stories that anti-mormons and his enemies told about him. But despite that, it was obvious that Porter Rockwell was an impressive man.

He was a neighbor and friend to Joseph Smith from the time he was 6 years old, and Joseph was about 13. They were friends despite the age gap, partly because they had something in common. They both limped. Porter was there when Joseph began to share stories about the angel and believed in him unwaveringly throughout his life. He was there when the church was organized and was the 9th person to be baptized. He was a fairly normal, peaceful man until they lived in Far West, when his home was destroyed and his family terrorized by a anti-mormon mob, while he watched helplessly from the woods. He decided that he would never allow that to happen again. He began to practice his marksmanship skills and soon became an excellent shot. As Mormon history progressed, he was always at Joseph Smith's side, always willing to help and protect him. At one point, during the Nauvoo period, he was imprisoned for 9 months, charged with the attempted murder of Governor Boggs. He was nearly starved to death. Even after being acquitted by a Missourian jury, he still wasn't released in an attempt to lure Joseph Smith back to Missouri and into their murderous plans. They even tried to bribe Porter with gold and a life of luxury among them if he would only help them to get Joe Smith. But Porter remained loyal. He attempted to escape several times, and would have been successful on one of those attempts, if he had not gone back to help a fellow escapee, who was caught on a fence. Eventually he was released and made his way back to Nauvoo, where he arrived at Joseph Smith's home on Christmas Eve, where there was a party underway. He hadn't washed, shaved or changed his clothing in 9 months and the guests told Joseph that there was a dirty drunk attempting to crash the party. Joseph went to throw him out and discovered that it was his dear friend Porter Rockwell. He was invited to stay and everyone gathered around to hear the story of his long incarceration. Joseph was touched by his faithfulness and endurance, and gave him a blessing right there on the spot. He promised him that "as long as he was true and faithful to his covenants, to the church and to his God, that no bullet or blade would ever harm him. As a token of his acceptance of this promise, he was never to cut his hair again." After that, he became well known as Joseph Smith's personal bodyguard. At the time of Joseph Smith's incarceration in the Carthage jail, he asked Porter to stay behind in Nauvoo, knowing that Porter would be killed if he went with him to Carthage, and wishing him to remain alive to help the church continue on. Which he does. He was in the advance scouting party to the Salt Lake valley. He made several trips back and forth across the plains to help the saints make it to Utah. He traveled throughout the west to make trails and discover places for the saints to settle. He developed and fostered better relations with the Indians. He also became a deputy sheriff, a rancher, a saloon and hotel owner. He had 3 wives (not a polygamist) and had 15 children. One story I liked was when he made a trip to California, on the trail he helped to blaze through the west desert. When he reached the coast, he found the saints, and among them was Agnes Smith, the widow of Don Carlos, Joseph Smith's younger brother. She was recovering from typhoid fever and had lost all her hair. Porter went and had his hair cut, which he hadn't done for about 16 years, and had it made into a wig for her. It was said that he went into hiding for a while until his hair grew back.

There were a lot of tall tales and legends about Porter Rockwell. One being that he was the person responsible for the failed assassination attempt on Governor Boggs of Missouri. There was no proof and it was generally felt that if Porter had tried to kill the Governor, he would have succeeded. There were tales of gunslingers seeking him out to test the legend that bullets couldn't kill him. None of them survived. Legend or not, Porter Rockwell was not killed by gun or knife. He died at age 65 of a heart attack....with his boots on.

Until Next Time ;o)

Book # 28

Before The Dawn

By Dean Hughes

Yep, another Dean Hughes book. I like his books. This one caught my attention because the main character is a bitter, grumpy widow of about 10 years. Reminds me of someone, ha ha... I am going on 8 years and if I keep feeling like I am, I will be just as grumpy and bitter.

Her name is Leah Sorenson and she is called to be the Relief Society president in 1932, just as the great depression is being felt throughout the United States. She lives in a small town in the Uintah basin of Utah, she has a teenage son and daughter, works their farm on her own, and is isolated, anti-social and bitter at the hand life has dealt her. When the bishop calls her to the position, she turns him down, knowing that the ladies will be shocked and un-accepting of her as their leader. But he tells her to pray about it because the call is from the Lord and that she is uniquely equipped to help the women in the ward at this time of economic trouble. She has a dream that night that she will accept the call and there is a woman in the dream that she knows that she will be able to help in her calling, but when she wakes up she cant remember who it is. So she accepts, and when she is announced as the new Relief Society President in Sacrament meeting on Sunday, there is a loud gasp from the congregation, which humiliates her, even though she knew it would happen. She ends up calling an 80 year old woman that she likes, a "snooty" town woman who wanted the position as president for herself, and a young mother to be her counselors and secretary. The story continues as she begins to help the women and families in the ward through their challenges. Every time she helps someone, she wonders if that was the person in her dream. Some she helps with her particular toughness, and others she angers and offends. She has struggles with her daughter, who is embarrassed by their poverty. She has difficulty relating to the women that she has isolated herself from and has judged harshly all these years. She struggles with her pride and her quick and sharp tongue. She helps several families with some insurance money that she has been saving for her childrens' college education but then is devastated when she loses the rest of it when the town bank closes. But by the end of the story, things are going well and the calling has refined her. And she finds out who the person was in her dream. It was a good story.

Until Next Time ;o)

Book # 27

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life

by Wendy Watson Nelson

My Mom gave me this book for my birthday. She knows me pretty well. I loved it and it has helped me with some major issues that have been rumbling through my life. I read through it once, and now I am reading it again and actually doing some of the assignments the author suggests. It is a nice size book with lots of pictures. That sounds like a juvenile thing to say, but actually pictures can really get you thinking about more than just the written word can.  "A picture paints a thousand words", right? I am mostly going to copy some quotes from the book and comment on the ones that meant the most to me.

The moment of reflection is the moment when we become aware of that part of ourselves which we cannot see in any other way....The power of questions comes from their ability to invite us to reflect.

Read Alma 5 and select your favorite questions. Then answer them." My favorite question was "Have ye received his image in your countenance? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your heart?" This is something I have thought about a lot this last year. Partly because of a quote I found that I like which says, "Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important". But mostly because of experiences with people that shook me up about who I really am and what I really believe and how my actions reflect those things.

"Are your questions enlivening you, encouraging you, enlarging your life, expanding your vision, enriching your relationships, inviting energy and joy into your life? OR are they depressing you, discouraging and demoralizing you, inviting fear and frustration into your life?

What can I do to learn from this difficult experience? 

     Some advanced variations...

What can I do to learn what I NEED to learn from this difficult experience?

What can I do to learn what the LORD wants me to learn from this difficult experience?   

This one was powerful in my life. At the end of my divorce, the number one thing I learned was that there are worse things than being alone. Which was good for me at that point. However, 10 months later, I finally learned what God wanted me to learn, and that was about forgiveness. It was amazing!

Think about a situation where another person's actions have caused you concern. Often in such a situation you might ask yourself, "Why does he always....Why doesn't she ever....When will they....?" Such questions have no useful answers and only bog us down.....Alternative questions that can actually free your mind and heart and get you moving forward with your own life. "How or why  is that situation a problem for me?"

Four questions to help you solve problems:

1. Could your solution be the problem?

2. Could your problem be a solution?

3. Could your focus on the problem be the problem?

4. Could your problem be the story you tell about the problem?

What story have you been telling yourself and others about you and your life? 

How have you been casting yourself? As the victim, survivor, or the HERO?

What we believe is what we see. Could your beliefs be the problem? Finding our core beliefs can help us solve our problems. What beliefs about yourself hold you captive? What beliefs about another person constrain you? What beliefs about life prevent me from moving forward? What beliefs about love prevent me from giving and receiving love? If I were to believe ______ (insert helpful belief), what would be different?

SEVEN QUESTIONS THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

1.  What is on my pre-mortal list of things to do while on earth?

2.  What is the one question I most need to have answered from the scriptures today?

3.  What are three words to follow for a great life? Her three words were "NOT EVEN ONCE", speaking of things we shouldn't do, not even once, because they can lead to a lifetime of trouble. Also of opportunities you never want to miss.  My three word motto is: 

BE  BETTER  TODAY.

4. Whose agenda is this supporting ...when we relax our spiritual muscles, don't do the spiritual work of asking and seeking, and thus live far beneath our privileges? I really like this one. If we ask ourselves this question before we act, and if we really care, I think it would make a huge difference. 

5.  If I were to pray for and picture the Holy Ghost being right beside me, how would I manage this difficult situation? Here is 5 day experiment.....For 5 days, in your morning prayers, pray with concerted effort, and with the faith of a child, for the Holy Ghost to be with you that day. Then throughout the day, as you encounter any difficult, tempting, or trying situation--right in that moment--pray for and really picture the Holy Ghost being right there with you.

6.  How can I be more of my true self at the end of this experience? .... Life is a spook alley. You never know what is around the bend or hiding in the corners. The Lord expects you to live your life fully---even the unexpected life.  All I can say is WOW. So simple, yet so profound.

     Principle #1:  Remove every obstacle that is preventing you from being your true self.

   

    Principle #2:  Remember that you lived premortally. WHO AM I??? Guess it makes sense that you would have to discover who you really are in order to BE that person.

   

     Principle #3:  You can be your true self only when you are obedient to the Lord and are near to Him.

    Principle #4:  You can be your true self only when you are increasingly pure and leave the world behind. As you come more and more out of the world, you are free to be more of your true self. As you are more of your true self, you will desire to be less and less of the world. Love that quote!

    Principle #5: To be your true self, you need to stay immersed in truth and seek in every way to be infused with light. ...The words spoken in our homes lodge in the walls of our homes, in the cells of our bodies, and in our spirits. Now that is scary!  That's a new way of expressing that thought, "if these walls could talk."

7.  What do I know to be true? How did you learn that truth? When did you learn it? What difference has that truth made in your life? Which truths are important?

D&C 88:40 -- For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own.

In times of stress or fear of hurt or discouragement  or confusion or frustration, speak words of peace and safety and joy and truth to your soul. Beautiful words of worship are filled with power. Words filled with power can bring power to our lives. 

PURITY IS POWER

OBEDIENCE TO THE LORD IS POWER

RECEIVING ORDINANCES IS POWER

MAKING AND KEEPING SACRED COVENANTS WITH THE LORD IS POWER

FORGIVENESS IS POWER

APOLOGIZING IS POWER

REPENTING IS POWER

HUMILITY IS POWER

FAITH IS POWER

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS POWER

If we really want to change our lives, we need to ask god the questions that are burdening our hearts and wearying our minds. We are to ask God--

in faith (1 Nephi 15:11)

in sincerity of heart (Mosiah 4:10

after studying things out in our minds (D&C 9:8)

not asking amiss (2 Nephi 4:35)

that which is right (Mosiah 4:21)

believing that we will receive (Mosiah 4:21)

in the name of Jesus Christ (3 Nephi 20:31)

In conclusion, she says, "I believe that most important question we come to earth to answer is this one asked by the Lord himself: 'Whom say ye that I am?' (Matt 16:15) When we know the correct answer to that question everything in our life changes. 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' (Matt 16:16) The Savior did all that he did so that you and I can change and progress and become more and more like him. There is power in the Atonement to help us change our questions and change our lives!"

This is a part I liked, since I dream often.

"Elusive answers often emerge in the still of the night....What might you discover if you dedicated your sleep to the Lord for 21 days? Try it! As part of your bedtime ritual, create an environment that is conductive to the spirit. You will know what that involves for you as you pray about it. It may involve turning off the TV; watching or listening to something that is soothing to your spirit before bedtime; opening your scriptures and savoring one last morsel of truth before closing your eyes, and then leaving your scriptures open; counting your blessings--or alphabetizing them!-- and expressing gratitude for everything, even for the wretchedly difficult things in your life. Let the Lord know you are serious about dedicating your sleep to Him. Tell Him in your prayers. Let him know you want to learn whatever He would have you learn--even in your sleep. And watch what happens. What might you learn in the morning as you remain quiet for a moment before jumping out of bed? As you reflect to see if there is a dream or two you remember? Is there something you feel impressed to write down on a pad of paper by your bedside? What might you learn about your true self? What might happen as you pray for any and all instructions, directions, protections, and warnings that the Lord may be willing to give you as you sleep--perchance to dream?"

I highly recommend this book!

Until Next Time  ;o)

Book # 26

Cat's Cradle

By Kurt Vonnegut

I think this was the strangest book I have ever read, and that includes some of the literature I read in AP English in High School. And it definitely wasn't what I was hoping for. It was a case of mistaken identity. I read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury when I was a teenager, and really liked it, and when I saw a few used books by Kurt Vonnegut for sale at our library, I thought he was the author that had written F...451. Nope. Definitely not.

So the book is about a man named John, an author who is writing a book called "The Day the World Ended". He begins by researching the life of a Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the so-called fathers of the atomic bomb. His life becomes strangely twisted into the lives of Dr. Hoenikker's children and the destruction of the world through the invention of ice-nine. 

Although I found the book strangely absurd, there were a few parts that resonated with me. 

The first was when he told of sub-letting his apartment, while he was going to be away, to a nihilist, which word I had to look up. (These were the definitions: Nihilism is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. Morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Knowledge is not possible, or that contrary to popular belief, some aspect of reality does not exist as such. The term nihilism is sometimes used in association with anomie to explain the general mood of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realizing there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws.) How positively delightful!

Upon returning, he found the fellow moved out and his apartment trashed...."he had run up three-hundred-dollars worth of long distance calls, set my couch on fire in five places, killed my cat and my avocado tree, and torn the door off my medicine cabinet....There was a sign hung around my dead cat's neck. It said 'Meow.' ....I have not seen Krebbs since...he served as...a person who steers people away from a line of speculation by reducing that line, with the example of the (person's) own life, to an absurdity. I might have been vaguely inclined to dismiss the stone angel as meaningless, and to go from there to the meaningless of all. But after I saw what Krebbs had done, in particular to my sweet cat, nihilism was not for me. Somebody or something did not wish me to be a nihilist. It was Krebb's mission, whether he knew it or not, to disenchant me with that philosophy. Well done Mr. Krebbs, well done."

In relating that experience to myself, without going into a lot of detail, I will just say that there were some aspects of my life that were similar to my ex-husband's. And once I saw how ridiculous his behavior was, it made me feel strongly inclined to act differently. 

Well done ex-husband, well done!

The next part was so amusing to me. It is pretty long, otherwise I would copy it here. Long story short, John meets a woman on a flight to an island called San Lorenzo. She finds out that he is from Indiana and proceeds to go on and on and on about Hoosiers, famous Hoosiers and how they can be found in charge of things all over the world, and how they must stick together. Then she tells him that he must call her mom. 

"Whenever I meet a young Hoosier, I tell them, "You call me Mom." 

"Uh Huh." he replies. 

"Let me hear you say it," she urged.

"Mom?"

She smiled and let go of my arm. 

(And this is the funniest part and I'm sure that you all know people with recordings like this!) 

"Some piece of clockwork had completed it's cycle. My calling Hazel "Mom" had shut it off, and now Hazel was rewinding it for the next Hoozier to come along.

In telling this next part I find that I'm going to have to explain a bit more of the story, something that I really didn't want to do. San Lorenzo is an island that is a poor, worthless piece of rock in the middle of the ocean. One of the current leaders of the country is a "holy" man who founded their religion called Bokononism. He is writing a book called the "Books of Bokonon." John found a copy of the book, which actually has been banned, and the religion made illegal to practice. He shared the Fourteenth book of Bokonon, which was entitled, "What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?" "It doesn't take long to read The Fourteenth Book. It consists of one word and a period. This is it:    'Nothing'."    Pretty depressing religion, eh?

Last one...

"Bokonon....had written a whole book about Utopias, The Seventh Book, which he had called Bokonon's Republic. In that book are these ghastly aphorisms: 

The hand that stocks the drug store rules the world. 

Let us start our republic with a chain of drug stores, 

a chain of grocery stores, 

a chain of gas chambers, 

and a national game. 

After that we can write our Constitution."

I almost want to read another of his books, just to see if they are all that strange and depressing. But I think I'll wait until I am bored out of my skull and have NOTHING else to do. lol....

Until Next Time ;o)