Family

My brother received his mission call today!!  It is quite an exciting moment for our family!  He hasn't opened it yet, though, so I can't tell you where he is heading yet!  I drove home so I can be there when he opens it up.

Anyway, with the thought that my brother is going to be gone for two years, I have been thinking about family and the importance they have in our life.  All growing up my parents tried to create an environment where we all support each other, extended family included.  We always get together for the important things that happen in each other's lives.  If the extended family lives close, like one of my uncles does, we get together for the not so important things, too, just to show support.  I love the atmosphere that exists when we are together and how we all want to be together for life events.  That is the exact spirit that I want to pass on to my kids and family when I have them/one.

I'll let you know next where where my brother goes!!

The Little Things

Earlier today I went on a date.  I have been listening to a lot of Frank Sinatra recently and it made me feel slightly more classy.  So I wanted to act a classier.  I decided that I was going to bring flowers for her.  But not just any flowers... some apple roses!  Take a look!

I felt a little awkward bringing flowers on the first date, but I figured that it was socially acceptable at one point in time, so I was going for it! it turns out that she loved them!  She told me that she had never received anything like them and really, genuinely appreciated them.  I felt pretty good about that.

The point I am getting to here is that people still appreciate it when you take the time and give a little extra thought to do something nice for them.  So take the time out of your busy schedule and do something nice and thoughtful for someone!

Strengths and Weaknessess

For my Organization Behavior class we had to watch any movie and look for any OB concepts in them.  So I, along with my group, decided to watch the move Moneyball with Brad Pitt.  Watching this movie while looking for these concepts changed the way I viewed it.  The main thing that stuck out to me was that Billy Beane played to each of his player's strengths and let them know what they were.  He took a team of "nobodies" and made them one of the best teams in the league.

I was thinking about this and how I could apply it to my life.  I was talking with one of the guys in my group about each of our strengths and weaknesses.  As we were talking we agreed that to succeed in life that it is vital to know what your own strengths and weaknesses are.  If you are able to acknowledge your own weaknesses, you will be able to partner yourself with others whose skills compliments yours, making you an effective team.  Evaluate yourself, ask others who know you what yours strengths and weaknesses are and analyze them.  You may be surprised at what you find.

Don't Get Angry Unecessarily

This last week I had an interesting experience happen to me.  I let my friend borrow my car for a date and when he parked it, he parked in a (not very well marked) handicap spot.  My car ended up getting towed.  I wasn't sure how to exactly go about talking to him about it because I wanted to keep his friendship, but I also wanted him to pay for the fee.  As I was going about this I swore that I wouldn't let other people borrow my car because of the headache it was causing me.

He ended up being very reasonable and took ownership for his error.  He paid the fine.  We talked for a while after we had settled the bill.  It turns out that he needed to talk just to relieve some stress and I was able to help him out.  If I had been upset and not willing to approach it in a decent manner, I could have lost a friend and not been able to help him feel better.