nfl player walks way from $1M

this was the news headline that caught my attention today.

i clicked on the link and began reading.  this particular passage speaks volumes:

Moffitt, 27, made about $1.5 million before taxes in his 2 1/2 seasons in the NFL.

"I've saved enough. It's not like I'm sitting here and I'm a millionaire," he said. "That's what I kind of realized. I'm sitting here and I got to this point and I was like, what is the number that you need? How much do you really need? What do you want in life? And I decided that I don't really need to be a millionaire.

"I just want to be happy. And I find that people that have the least in life are sometimes the happiest. And I don't have the least in life. I have enough in life. And I won't sacrifice my health for that."

i italicized  the parts that really stood out to me.  notice the words: enough, need, want, happy.

source link

temporal and spiritual self-reliance

the blessing of self-reliance is greater freedom.  it's freedom from debt and servitude.  self-reliance brings blessings of contentment and peace.  as we have greater freedom, we are able to care for ourselves, our family and others.

elder hales, in his april 2009 general conference talk, talked about becoming provident providers.  he addressed his talk to "all whose freedom to choose has been diminished by the effects of ill-advised choices of the past" as well as those who have made choices "that have led to excessive debt and addictions to food, drugs, pornography, and other patterns of thought and action that diminish one's sense of self-worth."

some of the principals he taught were:

- Exodus 20:17 - "thou shalt not covet."  wanting what others want is coveting.  coveting leads to poor choices.  many people go into debt to "keep up with the jones."  coveting leads to mindless choices where we follow the latest and greatest fad.  coveting leaves us poor financially and spiritually.

- i can't afford it - say this often when tempted to go into debt or to commit a sin.  if you are tempted to unnecessarily upgrade, then tell yourself i can't afford it.  if you are tempted to eat too much food or indulge in pornography, tell yourself i can't afford it.

- alternatively, you can say i don't need it.  do we really know the difference between and want and a need?  you want a donut, but you don't need it.  you want to buy a boat, but you don't need it.  you need to buy a boat because the one you use to catch fish to provide for your family is old.  i want a steak dinner, but i don't need it.  i want to play a game on my phone, but i don't need to.  i need to read my scriptures.  these are just some simple examples.

- one of my favorite scriptures is 2 nephi 9:51 which reads wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.  hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which i have spoken; and come unto the holy one of israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted.

some personal stories i learned early on ...

during the summer, especially on days in the mid-afternoon hours when it was hottest and when i was the most bored, i would go across the street to see what my neighbors were up to.  they had lots of entertainment over there.  they had a pool, a trampoline, video games and junk food.  every once in awhile, i would go over there and they'd let me in.  in the cool living room, we would play on the nintendo.  they were really good at video games.  i'd try to keep up, but would usually lose.  after a few hours, my eyes were bugged out and i'd head home.  i'd feel dazed and a bit groggy as i went home.  when i walked it my home, i felt a bit better.  i realized at a young age that playing video games, although fun, it really wasn't satisfying.  i would feel a bit more empty for playing them.

i would sometimes ask my parents for a video game system, but there was no way they'd ever buy one for me.  instead, once a year, we'd go to the grocery store and rent a game system.  i would stay up late friday night and play and play.  after playing and sleeping in the next day, i would have that same groggy feeling ... and i wasn't really satisfied.

on the other hand, there were activities i would engage in that would leave me feeling satisfied.  my dad made me mow the lawn ... every time i finished mowing the lawn, i would feel a sense of pride and accomplishment and i felt satisfied.  one summer, i helped my dad build a fence - upon completing the fence, i felt satisfied.  another project we worked on was the back yard deck.  we built a deck and then planted roses around it.

even when i played basketball and i played hard, i would feel a sense of accomplishment and i would feel satisfied.

of course, another activity in which i often engaged, was reading the scriptures and even memorizing scriptures.  each night, i would get into my bed, open my scriptures and read and memorize.  whenever i completed reading the book of mormon, i felt satisfied.

i think the conclusion here is we all need to pause and consider how we spend our time and effort.  we ought to observe the time when we are coveting and once we notice we are coveting, we need to choose wisely.  remember -  i don't need it or i can't afford it.  these words ought to come to our minds more often.  and once we develop these good habits, we begin to enter the world of self-reliance - both temporal and spiritual.

living a christ-centered life

this guidance about living a christ-centered life is probably more specific about how to live a christ-centered life in this post-modern age.  below are seven ideas for striving to live a more christ-centered life in 2013 and beyond.

#1 - less is more.  our calendars are over-scheduled with practices, school events, church events, meetings, tv shows, movies, video games, smartphone apps, the internet, dates, engagements, camp outs, parties and the list goes on and one.  our calendars are particularly full in the months of october, november and december.  just this month, our local ward carried out five activities over 4 weeks.  there were no activities in september or august.  if we are gong to center our life on christ, we must push back against the tide of activities that sap time from our meditation, scripture study and communing with god. (read o be wise by elder ballard).

#2 - manage tech in your life.  we are always on our phones, tablets and computers.  just as we fast from food and water, we must fast from technology more often.  abolish tech from your kitchen dinner table when dinner is served.  read a book instead of playing the latest and addictive game.  limit your time using social media, playing games, watching tv and movies.  rather, go on a walk, exercise more, meditate and commune with god more.

#3 - develop integrity.  do you know what integrity means?  it means being honest, having strong moral principals and being morally upright.  it means being in a whole (complete) state and undivided.  think of a piece of wood or a slab of cement.  if it has cracks or rot, it does not have integrity - it will break at the weak point when it experiences stress.  but if the piece of wood or cement slab has integrity, it is strong throughout.  we need to develop our integrity and moral people.

#4 - repent.  as part of developing your moral integrity, we must all repent.  to do that, we need to understand what christ taught and then we must compare our life to his teachings and then determine where we are weak.  and where we are weak, but must turn that weakness into a strenth (ether 12:27).  if we are weak in honesty, then we must develop the attribute of honesty.  repentance and discipline must go hand in hand.

#5 - study the life of christ.  if we would have our life centered in christ, we must know who he is; what he taught.  make studying the scriptures a daily habit.  study the new testament; especially the gospels.  study the book of mormon and note those sections that speak and talk of christ.  listen to and read the general conference talks.  note all the words that speak of christ-like discipleship.  learn the attributes of christ and develop them in your life.  there are numerous resources on the teachings of christ ... if you seek, you shall find.

#6 - make and keep covenants with god.  christ was baptized to covenant with god that he would follow him.  we too should enter covenants with god.  you can do this by being baptized and regularly partaking of the sacrament.  you can even enter the temple to make additional, specific covenants with god.  once you make those covenants, do all that you can to keep them.  as part of those covenants, promise to serve others.  serve by paying tithes and offerings, giving service, helping others, counseling and teaching others and by simply loving.  if you fail to keep any covenant you've made, see point number 4 above.

#7 - come unto christ.  in summary, to make your life centered in christ, then come unto him (see john 14:6).  the prophet ameleki in the book of mormon has some very wise counsel, "i would that ye should come unto christ, who is the holy one of isreal, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption.  yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and prayer, and endure to the end; and as the lord liveth ye will be saved." (omni 1:26)

was this helpful?  what other ways can you strive to live a christ-centered life in this post-modern world?

Sacrifice, Desire and What's Most Important in Life

Sacrifice & Desire

A few years ago, I came accross an article while searching LDS.org and found a reference to a book by James Allen.  The book was entitled after the Proverb: As a Man Thinketh.

You can read that entire book and many other books by James Allen by referencing the link to the James Allen Library.

Much of the book As a Man Thinketh is very quotable.  But there is one quote that I read and recite almost every day.

It goes: "The man who shrinks from self-crucifixion can never accomplish the object upon which his heart is set ... the sole and supreme use of suffering is to purify; to burn out all that is useless and impure."

The world is full of distractions and attractions.  If we are not careful, we can be easily led astray from our real goals - our deepest desires - what's most important to us in life.  If we are not careful, useless and impure things can creep into our lives.  If they already have, then we must shift our focus and then maintain our focus on our desires.  It takes commitment and sacrifice.  To shed our lives of useless and impure things will take sacrifice, but we will be the happier for it as we purify ourselves and maintain focus on what's most important.

What's Most Important

The author of a blog I read recently wrote a post entitled On Remembering What's Most Important.  His post was spot on.

Last year, I spent several months thinking about what is most important to me in my life.  I wanted to think about and document what I want my life to be.  I used a mind map (Mind Manager) to brain storm and then refine my thoughts.  Next, I created a scorecard in Excel to track my daily, weekly and monthly performance.  With these two tools, along with my weekly journal, I keep a sufficient focus on the things that are most imporant to me.

As is often the case, when I see myself beginning to drift from the path, I simply review my mind map and scorecard more regularly and my course is corrected.

The mind map has since morphed into my "to do" list, but it still has retained the core of my desires in life.  But now, all the big, medium and daily goals are tracked.  I read another blogger's post about this "to do" list (link here) which is based on Personal Kanban.

In the spirit of sharing, I wanted to pass along these nuggets and lessons I've learned over the past year.  They have been extremely helpful for me and I've seen a large improvment in my life and search for happiness.

"Things that Matter Most"




we can learn about life by studying nature

 Going back to the minimalism theme - as I read President Uchtdorf's talk this morning, various statements and quotes he made drove home the idea that less is indeed more.  This is a subject I am very keen and sensitive about.  I really think that people are happier when they stop and think about what is important in their lives and then direct their focus on those specific things and ignore the rest.

President Uchtdorf's talk does a fantastic job summarizing what we should all be doing.

Here are a few of the quotes that stood out as I read his talk.

it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions.

focus on the things that matter most.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, in a recent general conference, taught, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families."

There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions.

Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

He then teaches us four things that should be at the top of our list - the things that matter most.

We should develop our relationship with: 1) God & Jesus Christ, 2) Our families, 3) Our fellow-men and 4) Ourselves

The wonderful thing about the Church is that it is set up so that we can focus on these 4 things that matter most. If we read our scriptures and pray every day as we've been counseled and commanded time and time again, we will develop our relationship with God and Jesus Christ. If we hold FHE and eat dinner together and play games and spend time with our spouse, children and extended family, we will develop our relationship with our families. If we perform our hometeaching duties and we participate in church activities, we will develop better relationships with our fellow-men. And if we find and develop the talents God has given us, we will develop the relationship with ourself.

I center my goals around these areas and then I try to work on each of these areas a little bit every day. As I focus my energy on these areas, I find joy.

Christmas and Minimalism

I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf's Christmas Devotional talk last night. He talked of those who lived in the Savior's time and didn't even know He was the Messiah. Much like "those whose hearts were closed to the Spirit" could not see Jesus in His day, many of us today do not make the time let alone take the time to seek the Christ.

My favorite quote of the whole devotional and perhaps the most important lesson for me was, "Some are so caught up in the details of running their lives, that they don't make time for much else."

When it comes to our testimony of the Savior, all of us need to ask ourselves what we can take out of our lives to make room of Jesus. Is there an hour or even a half-hour TV program we could "delete" from our lives to give us the time to study the scriptures? Do we really need to spend an extra 45 minutes at work reading and answering email? Could we use that time to meditate and pray? Each of us has unique lives and situations and so everyone will not have the same temptations. But regardless of who we are, we can all ask the question, "are we taking and even making the time to learn of Jesus?"

What can you not do today in order to make time for prayer and scripture study?

Lehi: Minimalist

Continuing with the minimalist thread, while reading El Libro de Mormón today, I read this verse: "And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness." (2 Nephi 2:4).

Lehi only took what was truly important.

We were asked on more than one occasion in Seminary, what we would take with us if we had to leave our home. You find out quickly what is essential. The rest becomes a list of things you can start minimizing today.

The Word of Wisdom and Minimalism

We studied the Word of Wisdom in Gospel Principals yesterday. As always, it was a very interesting discussion with all sorts of opinions offered. But it remained civil. I've been thinking a lot about it and I've read a lot about the Word of Wisdom in the scriptures, General Authority talks and other blogs and websites. I decided to start tracking all the articles I've read or found on the subject in an effort to capture the full spectrum of WoW discussions.

One of the lessons I came across today was from the Brigham Young manual. His quotes are always so much fun to read ... he was so un-PC! A few of the quotes from chapter 29 stood out to me because they were difinately minimalistic in nature.

Here is the direct link to the lesson: “Chapter 29: Living the Word of Wisdom,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 211. I added emphasis to point out minimalistic comments.

Instead of doing two days’ work in one day, wisdom would dictate to [the Saints], that if they desire long life and good health, they must, after sufficient exertion, allow the body to rest before it is entirely exhausted. When exhausted, some argue that they need stimulants in the shape of tea, coffee, spirituous liquors, tobacco, or some of those narcotic substances which are often taken to goad on the lagging powers to greater exertions. But instead of these kind of stimulants they should recruit by rest. Work less, wear less, eat less, and we shall be a great deal wiser, healthier, and wealthier people than by taking the course we now do. It is difficult to find anything more healthy to drink than good cold water, such as flows down to us from springs and snows of our mountains. This is the beverage we should drink. It should be our drink at all times. … It may be remarked that some men who use spirituous liquors and tobacco are healthy, but I argue that they would be much more healthy if they did not use it, and then they are entitled to the blessings promised to those who observe the advice given in the “Word of Wisdom” (DBY, 187).

The Americans, as a nation, are killing themselves with their vices and high living. As much as a man ought to eat in half an hour they swallow in three minutes, gulping down their food like the [dog] under the table, which, when a chunk of meat is thrown down to it, swallows it before you can say “twice.” If you want a reform, carry out the advice I have just given you. Dispense with your multitudinous dishes, and, depend upon it, you will do much towards preserving your families from sickness, disease and death (DBY, 189).

Do you know that it is your privilege so to live that your minds may all the time be perfectly within your control? Study to preserve your bodies in life and health, and you will be able to control your minds (DBY, 190).

Prepare to die is not the exhortation in this Church and Kingdom; but prepare to live is the word with us, and improve all we can in the life hereafter, wherein we may enjoy a more exalted condition of intelligence, wisdom, light, knowledge, power, glory, and exaltation. Then let us seek to extend the present life to the uttermost, by observing every law of health, and by properly balancing labor, study, rest, and recreation, and thus prepare for a better life. Let us teach these principles to our children, that, in the morning of their days, they may be taught to lay the foundation of health and strength and constitution and power of life in their bodies (DBY, 186).

Minimalism

Last Friday, I came accross a particularly fantastic post at the exceptional blog Zen Habits. The post was about minimalism. Ever since, I've been thinking a lot about minimizing certain things in my life so that the most important can stand out and so I can focus on the most important things.

Today, while I was thinking about how I can minimize, this scripture came to mind:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. - Matthew 6:19-21

Spending more time with family and in serving others is important. Time spent on other things such as hobbies, watching TV and even exercising need to be minimized.

Time spent on shopping and maintaining things should also be minimized. It seems, at least in our home, we spend more time cleaning up, finding and fighting over toys than we actually spend playing with them.

Eating is another big time-consumer. Why can't we eat less? If we eat less, then we don't spend as much time shopping for food, preparing it, eating it, feeling guilty for eating it and then cleaning up after we eat it.

Also, our food storage would last a lot longer if we don't need as much to eat. Wouldn't we be better off humbling our appetites on our own accord rather than having to force ourselves to eat more humbly when emergencies came? (see Alma 32:13-15)

What are some other big time-consumers? What else can you or I minimize today?

Other posts and articles to read:
Establishing our Priorities
Simplify Heart and Home
“Questions and Answers,” Ensign, Dec 2005, 62–64
M. Russell Ballard, “O Be Wise,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 17–20
Dallin H. Oaks, “Good, Better, Best,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 104–8
L. Tom Perry, “Let Him Do It with Simplicity,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 7–10
Walden (wiki synopsis), on-line annotated version