It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live

Cross-posted from my Google+ account.


As you might imagine, I love the Hairless (Harry Potter) series.  I particularly relish listening to Hairless, as read by Jim Dale.  The other night, I was listening to the first book, again, and heard the part where Harry is met by Dumbledore, standing in front of the Mirror of Erised, gazing longingly at his deceased family.  Dumbledore encourages Harry to live in the present, giving the quote of this post's title:  "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

I love what a modern-day prophet had to say on this subject, as well:  "We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. 'This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,' the Psalmist wrote. 'Rejoice and be glad in it.'"  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng

Or, as another modern-day prophet quoted from The Music Man, a few years ago, “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/finding-joy-in-the-journey?lang=eng

I hope we can all find and accept happiness and joy in life, now, rather than consistently telling ourselves, as Harry does, when tiredly searching for a solution to breathing under water in the Goblet of Fire, "In the next book . . . the next one, . . . the next one."  We can choose to be happy, now!

How will I measure my life?

Cross-posted from my Google+ account.

People who value influential business theories almost by definition value what Prof. Clayton Christensen has to say.  Ever heard of "disruptive innovation"?  The man essentially invented the theory:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_innovation

In short, the take away from his message (and I strongly suggest investing the whole 19 minutes and 31 seconds) is essentially that, as finite human beings, we often want to achieve profitability here and now, yet that's frequently how great companies fall - they fail to plan long term.  See Lucent, Xerox (re: GUI), AOL, IBM (as a computer maker), etc.  Next, he points out that, as finite humans, we necessarily measure success in aggregate terms (profitability, ROI, how many people someone manages, his "net worth," etc.), yet God, who knows and comprehends all things, measures success in individual terms.  Thus, how we interact with and impact individuals will matter most to God and, consequently (if we accept God as perfectly good), ourselves.

Prof. Christensen's theory is in perfect harmony with what the religious leaders, prophets and apostles, of his church, +The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  (or +Mormon.org) have declared for generations (since Adam, really):

"No other success can compensate for failure in the home" and "the most important . . . work that you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home."

Of all the titles God enjoys and exemplifies, He asks us to call Him Father

This is now one of my favorite Mormon Messages, probably because, as a father, it hits so close to home for me:  I feel like I understand my relationship with our Heavenly Father so much better, now I have an opportunity to raise "children of my own."

Although I'm often oblivious to video-graphic elements, I loved the angles, effects, and symbolism running throughout this video and really hope you watch it.  I'm confident you'll love it.



Cross-posted from my Google+ account.