The idea of networking is very interesting to me. I think mostly because it isn't something I do on a regular bases or ever really thought about before. Most of the other concepts we've learned in the class I've had some experience with or at least though about, but with this one I haven't. Except that when I think about it more I start to realize that networking is something you do naturally. You're networking every time you meet a new person. That really the best way to be a good networker is probably to just be a friendly person and then people will want to help you and want to talk to you.
The more I think about it the more I realize how much networking I actually do. One main example I can think of is that my grandparents are State Farm agents and through them I've been able to meet a few amazing people. Because I was able to meet these people when my school had an auction I was able to call Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple and Amanda Brown, author of Legally Blonde and get signed copies of their books. These connections are important because it helps you get opportunities you couldn't get by yourself.
I think I haven't been as good at networking since getting to college as I was in high school and maybe that's why at first I didn't really think that I networked. I feel like networking in college is harder because in high school who I relied on to help me network were by parents and my church. Here though everyone at church are also college students and you don't have easy access to your parents connections. I realize that if I want to network here I have to start getting involved in the things like BYUSA and start talking to teachers and making connections with them. Because honestly, a lot of the connections I make here are gonna end up being the ones I use throughout my life.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Public Speaking
If there was anything that I dislike more than I dislike conflict it would be public speaking. Whether it's a talk, a prayer or a presentation for class I get an overwhelming amount of anxiety over public speaking. Some people are naturals at it. They get up there and are super personable and it's like they were born to public speak. Not me. I'm like a robot when I get up there. And not even a good robot. I'm a broken, out-of-date robot that stutters when speaking and says uhm a lot. Although I try to avoid public speaking as much as possible there are always gonna be teachers or employeer who want you to give an oral presentation. This is why I have to work really hard at public speaking.
During the class lecture the thing I took away most was that you have to start with a creative introduction. I know that I personally always start with the "Hello, my name is Madison Fosse and today I'm going to talk about...". I think that if you can come up with a creative introduction it will set the tone for the rest of your presentation and give you more confidence. Also, it makes people interested in what you're about to talk about. Another point I think is really important is having stories in your presentation because they show that you put time into your presentation and have personal interest in the topic.
The part of public speaking I think I need to work the most on is flow. I tend to talk really fast as is and when I get up in front of an audience I talk at a super speed. Because of this I think my brain doesn't always go as fast as my mouth is and I end up loosing my train of thought a lot. This leads to an extreme amount of uhms in my presentation to try to figure out what I was about to say. What I have to work on is slowing down when I talk. Because even though I practice the speech, once I start talking really fast I can't remember what I was going to say. In all, I just need to work on public speaking in general, but I know that if I practice I could get good at it.
During the class lecture the thing I took away most was that you have to start with a creative introduction. I know that I personally always start with the "Hello, my name is Madison Fosse and today I'm going to talk about...". I think that if you can come up with a creative introduction it will set the tone for the rest of your presentation and give you more confidence. Also, it makes people interested in what you're about to talk about. Another point I think is really important is having stories in your presentation because they show that you put time into your presentation and have personal interest in the topic.
The part of public speaking I think I need to work the most on is flow. I tend to talk really fast as is and when I get up in front of an audience I talk at a super speed. Because of this I think my brain doesn't always go as fast as my mouth is and I end up loosing my train of thought a lot. This leads to an extreme amount of uhms in my presentation to try to figure out what I was about to say. What I have to work on is slowing down when I talk. Because even though I practice the speech, once I start talking really fast I can't remember what I was going to say. In all, I just need to work on public speaking in general, but I know that if I practice I could get good at it.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Ethical Leadership
This week we have been learning about ethical leadership. This is one of those concepts that I never would have thought of if I hadn't taken this class, but now that it has been brought to my attention I realize that it is a big deal. I think, at least leadership wise, the main thing that makes a person ethical is their motivation. A great, ethical leader's motivation will be to help people and the WANT to do the right thing. A leader can still do the right thing but can do it for the wrong reason. If your motivation is to always do the right thing, though, you consequently will also be trying to do the most ethical thing.
I think that it is really difficult to define what exactly is and isn't ethical. For every person the definition of ethical changes and it also changes depending on the situation. In many cases you only have a split second to make a decision and you don't have the chance to even figure out what decision is more ethical. For an individual what makes them ethical is a little different that what it is for a leader. Although motivation is important, for the individual it is their personal values and if they follow them that make them ethical. It is these values too that in those split second decisions will help you to make ethical decisions, especially if you know before hand what your values are. So, I now want to present what I guess you would call my personal ethical code based on my values.
1. I value family above everything else. So, I will make decision that will bring me closer to my family. Also, I will strive to always put my family first.
2. I also think that trust is important. I can not expect others to trust me if I do not act trustworthy. I will choose now to not break promises and not break people's trust. I will always be honest so that people learn they can trust me.
3. My third value is happiness. This means to me and to others. When making a decision I will try to make the one that makes the most people happy. I will also always remember do unto others as you would have done unto you, and remember that other's happiness is just as important as my own.
4. I will never make a decision that compromises my spirituality. This one has no if ands or buts. It is absolute, because spirituality is eternal and not worth compromising it for any earthly decision.
5. It is important to have stability in ones life, especially once you have a family. I will make decisions that let me lead a stable life and I will make decisions so that they will not compromise anyone else's stability. If faced with a decision that could potentially ruin someone else's stability, I will try to find another option.
6. Humanity is something I have always been big on. We have to remember that every single person around us is also a human and deserves to be treated as so. I think that this in general means that I will not make any decisions to purposefully harm someone.
7. Endurance is also important. You have to make decisions that will help you to endure to the end. So, I will always strive to endure and to help others endure.
8. Finally, I value respect. I don't think that you can get anywhere in life if you do not respect others and gain the respect of other. Respect is what allows us to act humanely towards each other and find a common ground. I will always respect others in my decision making and respect others decisions.
I think that it is really difficult to define what exactly is and isn't ethical. For every person the definition of ethical changes and it also changes depending on the situation. In many cases you only have a split second to make a decision and you don't have the chance to even figure out what decision is more ethical. For an individual what makes them ethical is a little different that what it is for a leader. Although motivation is important, for the individual it is their personal values and if they follow them that make them ethical. It is these values too that in those split second decisions will help you to make ethical decisions, especially if you know before hand what your values are. So, I now want to present what I guess you would call my personal ethical code based on my values.
1. I value family above everything else. So, I will make decision that will bring me closer to my family. Also, I will strive to always put my family first.
2. I also think that trust is important. I can not expect others to trust me if I do not act trustworthy. I will choose now to not break promises and not break people's trust. I will always be honest so that people learn they can trust me.
3. My third value is happiness. This means to me and to others. When making a decision I will try to make the one that makes the most people happy. I will also always remember do unto others as you would have done unto you, and remember that other's happiness is just as important as my own.
4. I will never make a decision that compromises my spirituality. This one has no if ands or buts. It is absolute, because spirituality is eternal and not worth compromising it for any earthly decision.
5. It is important to have stability in ones life, especially once you have a family. I will make decisions that let me lead a stable life and I will make decisions so that they will not compromise anyone else's stability. If faced with a decision that could potentially ruin someone else's stability, I will try to find another option.
6. Humanity is something I have always been big on. We have to remember that every single person around us is also a human and deserves to be treated as so. I think that this in general means that I will not make any decisions to purposefully harm someone.
7. Endurance is also important. You have to make decisions that will help you to endure to the end. So, I will always strive to endure and to help others endure.
8. Finally, I value respect. I don't think that you can get anywhere in life if you do not respect others and gain the respect of other. Respect is what allows us to act humanely towards each other and find a common ground. I will always respect others in my decision making and respect others decisions.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Motivating Others
Motivating others is an interesting topic, because you don't realize how hard it is to motivate others until you start thinking about it. It's one of those things that comes naturally to some people and for the others you have to work really hard at it. I'm one of the people that it does not come naturally to.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Decision Making
Ok I'm really bad at decision making. I'm very indecisive and if I can I will leave the decision up to other people. I guess the biggest reason, that I'm bad at decision making is the fear of consequences. At least that's what stuck out to me the most, because I over analysis every consequence that could come out of a decision. The problem is if I can find even one bad consequence that could come out of it I don't want to make the decision. So, I guess the next thing that stood out to me was what Tamara said about leaders being risk takers. Because if you're a risk taker than you have to overcome the fact that there might be some bad consequences. So, my new goal is to be a risk taker and not focus on bad consequences.
The other thing I probably need to work on is limited time. As I've probably talked about before, I have a tendency to procrastinate a lot. And after the lecture I started to realize how much procrastination effects my decision making. When you don't leave yourself enough time, you severely decrease your ability to make decisions and it in general makes your life harder. So, now my second goal is to procrastinate less so that I can have more time to make decisions.
The other thing I probably need to work on is limited time. As I've probably talked about before, I have a tendency to procrastinate a lot. And after the lecture I started to realize how much procrastination effects my decision making. When you don't leave yourself enough time, you severely decrease your ability to make decisions and it in general makes your life harder. So, now my second goal is to procrastinate less so that I can have more time to make decisions.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
One Fish, Two Fish, Green Fish, Blue Fish
So this week we learned about balance and time management. I feel like every time we have a new lesson afterwards I'm like "Oh, I'm really bad at that". And that's basically true for this one too. I'm not very good at time management. I procrastinate a lot and don't always spend my time in the wisest ways. I like to be social and will usually put off doing homework to hang out with my friends. Also, this will lead to sacrificing sleep to do homework. In the end it's a bad cycle where I should have just done my homework first.
Now, in our labs on Monday we talked about how sometimes when you get a lot of information you have to just try and take a fish, or one particularly important bit of information, away from it. I want to talk about the fish that I caught this week. The first one is to spend more time in Quadrant II. We learned about how there are four different quadrants: Important and Urgent, Important and Not urgent, Not important and Urgent, and Not important and Not Urgent. Quadrant II is Important and Not Urgent and it is a very good quadrant to spend you're time. Things in this quadrant usually have to do with keeping you're life balanced, like reading your scriptures or sleeping. They may not always seem like they need to be done right away but they still need to be done. I know that I have a hard time staying in this quadrant because I never feel like I have enough time to do the smaller important things. Also, in this quadrant are assignments that have a deadline that is far away. My problem is that I will usually leave these assignments alone until they have moved into the Important and Urgent quadrant. I feel like my Important and Urgent quadrant is always very full, but I can change that by spending more time in quadrant II. So, my new goal is to spend most of my time in quadrant two and hopefully it will make my life more balanced. I got an app on my computer that is like a calendar that will help me see when everything is due and hopefully help me plan ahead for when I should do things.
Now, in our labs on Monday we talked about how sometimes when you get a lot of information you have to just try and take a fish, or one particularly important bit of information, away from it. I want to talk about the fish that I caught this week. The first one is to spend more time in Quadrant II. We learned about how there are four different quadrants: Important and Urgent, Important and Not urgent, Not important and Urgent, and Not important and Not Urgent. Quadrant II is Important and Not Urgent and it is a very good quadrant to spend you're time. Things in this quadrant usually have to do with keeping you're life balanced, like reading your scriptures or sleeping. They may not always seem like they need to be done right away but they still need to be done. I know that I have a hard time staying in this quadrant because I never feel like I have enough time to do the smaller important things. Also, in this quadrant are assignments that have a deadline that is far away. My problem is that I will usually leave these assignments alone until they have moved into the Important and Urgent quadrant. I feel like my Important and Urgent quadrant is always very full, but I can change that by spending more time in quadrant II. So, my new goal is to spend most of my time in quadrant two and hopefully it will make my life more balanced. I got an app on my computer that is like a calendar that will help me see when everything is due and hopefully help me plan ahead for when I should do things.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
What's Gonna Work? Teamwork!
I know this is super silly, but since I am the oldest and have younger sibling, kid shows are always playing at my house and I know the theme songs for must of them. Now, when I think of teamwork the first thing that comes into my head is the Wonder Pets theme song. The lyrics I think of are What's gonna work? Teamwork! What's gonna work? Teamwork! We're not to big and we're not to tough, but when we work together we got the right stuff! I know these lyrics may seem very silly, but to me they accurately represent what teamwork is. I know that I am never the biggest or the toughest, but luckily that isn't what teamwork is about. Teamwork is about working together, just like the wonderpets said.
Teamwork has actually been something that I've always though I was good at. I'm good at trying to make everyone feel like equals, which in a group I think you need to be. I am also usually more than willing to pick up the slack if someone is struggling or isn't putting in enough effort. I like teamwork because I feel, if done right, it will build people in a group and can form great relationships.
When it comes to dysfunctions of a team, I think my main one is fear of conflict. As I've said before I hate conflict and will basically try to avoid it at all costs. In a group setting I can be very compliant because I don't want to even accidentally start a conflict with someone. However, this definitely makes it so my ideas don't often get heard because I either don't say them or don't stick up for them. I know this is something I need to work on, so that I can strengthen the groups I'm in.
Finally, I think that were my group in this class falls is Forming. I think that we are all in the initial stage where we're not really sure where we stand with each other and still haven't gotten to know each other that well. Everyone in the group is still very polite to each other. I don't think that it is bad that we are still in this stage, since we haven't actually worked together that much yet. Plus, I think that after we get to know each other we will definitely move to the other stages. Right now we are still getting to know each other, but I think that we're all really good and teamwork and are going to make an awesome group!
Teamwork has actually been something that I've always though I was good at. I'm good at trying to make everyone feel like equals, which in a group I think you need to be. I am also usually more than willing to pick up the slack if someone is struggling or isn't putting in enough effort. I like teamwork because I feel, if done right, it will build people in a group and can form great relationships.
When it comes to dysfunctions of a team, I think my main one is fear of conflict. As I've said before I hate conflict and will basically try to avoid it at all costs. In a group setting I can be very compliant because I don't want to even accidentally start a conflict with someone. However, this definitely makes it so my ideas don't often get heard because I either don't say them or don't stick up for them. I know this is something I need to work on, so that I can strengthen the groups I'm in.
Finally, I think that were my group in this class falls is Forming. I think that we are all in the initial stage where we're not really sure where we stand with each other and still haven't gotten to know each other that well. Everyone in the group is still very polite to each other. I don't think that it is bad that we are still in this stage, since we haven't actually worked together that much yet. Plus, I think that after we get to know each other we will definitely move to the other stages. Right now we are still getting to know each other, but I think that we're all really good and teamwork and are going to make an awesome group!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Conflict is Positive
This lecture was actually really interesting and during it I kept thinking about how it applies to my life. When we took the test in class I found that my personal approach to conflict is Compromising and my secondary one is Accommodating. I scored in the high range in compromising so I'm going to answer those questions.
The first question is whether I concentrate so heavily on the practicalities and tactics of compromising that I sometimes lose sight of larger issues. I personally do not think that this is true. I find that in compromising I'm usually pretty assertive. However, this is only is a work/school setting. In a personal setting I am a lot less assertive and when compromising I won't compromise my standards but I will usually let the other person get their way more.
The second question is does an emphasis on bargaining and trading create a cynical climate of gamesmanship? I have definitely never felt this way before. When I compromise it is usually a good thing and everyone feels pretty happy about it. I feel like when I compromise we are usually trying to make everyone feel like equals so the bargaining isn't the main focus of the compromise.
So, I find that I am actually really awful at conflict resolution. In a business/work/school setting I'm honestly not that bad at it. I find it easy to work with groups in a setting like that and that I don't have problems coming up with resolutions. However, even though I scored in compromising and accommodating I think that in my personal life I am very much avoiding. I hate having to confront people and I would rather pretend that the problem hasn't happened then try to talk to the person about it.
It's funny because in the couple a days before the lecture a big conflict was starting to form between another girl in my ward and myself. I'd been think about how I needed to talk to this girl and how I really didn't want to when we had the lecture. In the last week I have been basically avoiding confronting the conflict, because I really can not see any bright side at the end of the tunnel if I talk to her. However, now that we have had a lesson on conflict I realize that if I just keep putting of the issue it is just going to get a lot worse. Even though I really don't want to talk to her, I now realize that I have. I haven't yet, because I'm not sure what exactly to say to her, but I plan on it and now I feel a little better prepared for the conflict. I am going to try to remember that conflict can be positive and that hopefully working things out will be better than avoiding it.
The first question is whether I concentrate so heavily on the practicalities and tactics of compromising that I sometimes lose sight of larger issues. I personally do not think that this is true. I find that in compromising I'm usually pretty assertive. However, this is only is a work/school setting. In a personal setting I am a lot less assertive and when compromising I won't compromise my standards but I will usually let the other person get their way more.
The second question is does an emphasis on bargaining and trading create a cynical climate of gamesmanship? I have definitely never felt this way before. When I compromise it is usually a good thing and everyone feels pretty happy about it. I feel like when I compromise we are usually trying to make everyone feel like equals so the bargaining isn't the main focus of the compromise.
So, I find that I am actually really awful at conflict resolution. In a business/work/school setting I'm honestly not that bad at it. I find it easy to work with groups in a setting like that and that I don't have problems coming up with resolutions. However, even though I scored in compromising and accommodating I think that in my personal life I am very much avoiding. I hate having to confront people and I would rather pretend that the problem hasn't happened then try to talk to the person about it.
It's funny because in the couple a days before the lecture a big conflict was starting to form between another girl in my ward and myself. I'd been think about how I needed to talk to this girl and how I really didn't want to when we had the lecture. In the last week I have been basically avoiding confronting the conflict, because I really can not see any bright side at the end of the tunnel if I talk to her. However, now that we have had a lesson on conflict I realize that if I just keep putting of the issue it is just going to get a lot worse. Even though I really don't want to talk to her, I now realize that I have. I haven't yet, because I'm not sure what exactly to say to her, but I plan on it and now I feel a little better prepared for the conflict. I am going to try to remember that conflict can be positive and that hopefully working things out will be better than avoiding it.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Communication
Communication is hard. I feel like everyone might be talking about this, because it was the most memorable part of the lecture. However, throughout this week that thought has particularly stood out to me. I've always thought that communication was hard and known that I'm not fantastic at it, however I never really thought about why it was hard till this week.
This week, I felt like I had an unusually difficult time communicating with the people around me. Which was ironic because I had just listened to the lecture about good communication. I felt like I couldn't get people to listen to what I was saying, understand my points and be cooperative. And all week, all I could think was why is communication so hard. So then I started to think about what I must be doing wrong and what I need to change to communicate better.
First, I realized that standing by yourself is hard. One person trying to communicate to a large group can be really frustrating. However, if you can even have just one person to back you up it becomes easier. When I tried to persuade people to do the things I wanted or listen to my ideas I started trying to find at least one other person to be outspoken with me. I found that if someone else was vocalizing the same thing as me it became a lot more powerful.
The second point I focused on was trust. I generally think that most people trust me. This week, however, I found out there was a couple people that didn't. It wasn't that I had done anything specifically to lose their trust, I just hadn't gained it yet. So, this week I also tried to form closer bounds of trust with people. I think that if people don't trust you they won't listen to your ideas and you can't communicate with them. So to be an effective leader you have to be trustworthy and that's one of the things I'm now trying to work on.
Finally, I think that largest part about why communication was so hard for me this week was optimism. I wasn't having a fantastic week and that meant that I also wasn't in a fantastic mood. People like to be around optimistic people, because feelings are contagious. I realized that my feelings this week were less than optimistic. I was communicating a bad attitude. Another part of communication is body language and I realize now that my body language was sending all the wrong signals. I realized that if I wanted people to listen to me I needed to be optimistic, because otherwise people weren't gonna want to be around me as much.
In all, I think I learned a lot more about communication that I thought I would this week. Having a bad week with communication really engrained the subject into my mind and now I think that I'm going to be able to be a more effective communicator or at least try to be. Because as John Powell said "Communication works for those who work at it".
This week, I felt like I had an unusually difficult time communicating with the people around me. Which was ironic because I had just listened to the lecture about good communication. I felt like I couldn't get people to listen to what I was saying, understand my points and be cooperative. And all week, all I could think was why is communication so hard. So then I started to think about what I must be doing wrong and what I need to change to communicate better.
First, I realized that standing by yourself is hard. One person trying to communicate to a large group can be really frustrating. However, if you can even have just one person to back you up it becomes easier. When I tried to persuade people to do the things I wanted or listen to my ideas I started trying to find at least one other person to be outspoken with me. I found that if someone else was vocalizing the same thing as me it became a lot more powerful.
The second point I focused on was trust. I generally think that most people trust me. This week, however, I found out there was a couple people that didn't. It wasn't that I had done anything specifically to lose their trust, I just hadn't gained it yet. So, this week I also tried to form closer bounds of trust with people. I think that if people don't trust you they won't listen to your ideas and you can't communicate with them. So to be an effective leader you have to be trustworthy and that's one of the things I'm now trying to work on.
Finally, I think that largest part about why communication was so hard for me this week was optimism. I wasn't having a fantastic week and that meant that I also wasn't in a fantastic mood. People like to be around optimistic people, because feelings are contagious. I realized that my feelings this week were less than optimistic. I was communicating a bad attitude. Another part of communication is body language and I realize now that my body language was sending all the wrong signals. I realized that if I wanted people to listen to me I needed to be optimistic, because otherwise people weren't gonna want to be around me as much.
In all, I think I learned a lot more about communication that I thought I would this week. Having a bad week with communication really engrained the subject into my mind and now I think that I'm going to be able to be a more effective communicator or at least try to be. Because as John Powell said "Communication works for those who work at it".
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Vision
I guess that the first part of my vision for my life is for it to be happy and fulfilling. I want to be educated and finish college and then have some sort of career. Also, I want to live worthily so that one day I can find an eternal companion and be sealed in the the temple to them. Along with this, I want to be a wife and a mother and I want learn to fulfill these roles to my outmost potential. I must live in an enriching environment all my life so that I will always be challenged. Always be actively engaged in good causes and be able to impact people lives. Also, focus on small and simple things to make a difference. I want to learn to be patient, confident and more charitable. Finally, always be a missionary.
I have a lot of parts to by vision, so I tried to make a goal for each individual aspect of it. One of my goals is to choose a good major, because that is necessary and will help me finish college. Then, graduate with honors because that will help me get a job and then have a career. Going to church, reading scriptures and praying will help me live righteously and worthily. This and only dating righteous men will help me find and eternal companion and if we are both righteous we will get married in the temple. I will look to the example of strong women in my life to teach me how to be a good wife and mother. I'm not sure what goal will help me to always live in an enriching environment. To be actively engaged in good causes and impact peoples lives I will be very envolved in my children's school. Also, I hope to have a calling that will help me achieve this. To learn to be patient, confident and more charitable I have to start living that way, because even if I am not originally those things if you act like you are eventually you will become that way. Finally, to always be a missionary I will serve a mission, but also help the missionaries in my home ward by tracking and looking for investigators. But, also by just being an example of the gospel and caring for people can I be a missionary.
I think vision and goals are very important. By having them you can give your life and purpose a direction, wile without them you are more likely to stumble and fall or wander aimlessly. On a smaller scale than your life, having a vision and goals makes it so you can accomplish things. If everything is mapped out then you can make a plan to achieve it. Also, the more that you leave to uncertainty the more likely something will go wrong, but if you have a vision and goals it is more likely to be successful. Also, having a vision and goals helps you to be realistic. Especially with the goals, it lets you see what you can possible accomplish and if something isn't realistic you can change your vision and goals so it is.
My final thoughts on visions and goals is that they should not be easy to achieve. Michelangelo said "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Although a vision and goals should be realistic, it should also challenge us to be our very best. If we make a vision that is easy to accomplish, in the end we won't feel accomplished. So, in conclusion I think vision is also about challenging yourself and living up to your potential.
I have a lot of parts to by vision, so I tried to make a goal for each individual aspect of it. One of my goals is to choose a good major, because that is necessary and will help me finish college. Then, graduate with honors because that will help me get a job and then have a career. Going to church, reading scriptures and praying will help me live righteously and worthily. This and only dating righteous men will help me find and eternal companion and if we are both righteous we will get married in the temple. I will look to the example of strong women in my life to teach me how to be a good wife and mother. I'm not sure what goal will help me to always live in an enriching environment. To be actively engaged in good causes and impact peoples lives I will be very envolved in my children's school. Also, I hope to have a calling that will help me achieve this. To learn to be patient, confident and more charitable I have to start living that way, because even if I am not originally those things if you act like you are eventually you will become that way. Finally, to always be a missionary I will serve a mission, but also help the missionaries in my home ward by tracking and looking for investigators. But, also by just being an example of the gospel and caring for people can I be a missionary.
I think vision and goals are very important. By having them you can give your life and purpose a direction, wile without them you are more likely to stumble and fall or wander aimlessly. On a smaller scale than your life, having a vision and goals makes it so you can accomplish things. If everything is mapped out then you can make a plan to achieve it. Also, the more that you leave to uncertainty the more likely something will go wrong, but if you have a vision and goals it is more likely to be successful. Also, having a vision and goals helps you to be realistic. Especially with the goals, it lets you see what you can possible accomplish and if something isn't realistic you can change your vision and goals so it is.
My final thoughts on visions and goals is that they should not be easy to achieve. Michelangelo said "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Although a vision and goals should be realistic, it should also challenge us to be our very best. If we make a vision that is easy to accomplish, in the end we won't feel accomplished. So, in conclusion I think vision is also about challenging yourself and living up to your potential.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
I Want To Get to Know Your Heart
This question may or may not be awkward to you. Let me tell you that asking someone that is pretty awkward. At dinner I asked a guy sitting near me how his day is going. He responded with the typical "Fine, how was yours?". I wasn't sure how this conversation was gonna go any deeper so I just straight up asked him if I could get to know his heart and asked him to tell me whatever he wanted to about himself. He wasn't sure what to tell me, so then I just asked him what his hopes and desires were. This finally got us started on a conversation about how he wants to grow up to be a family doctor. When I asked him why he said it's because he wants to be able to set his own hours, so he can spend time with his family. But what impressed me even more was that he said it was also because when you're a family doctor you get to see your patients from start to finish and you get to watch them grow up. I'd never thought about that before and it really left an impression on me. It was just such a genuine, sincere answer that I could tell right away that he definitely cares about people a lot. Then for some reason I felt impressed to ask if he was the oldest child. With a look of surprise he said that he was and that he had two younger sisters and a younger brother. He asked me how I had known and I honestly couldn't give him a reason, but from the fifteen or so minutes that I talked to him I did get a lasting impression and feel that I got to know his heart at least a little bit.
Also, to be a good leader I really do think that you need to know the hearts of the people you lead. One way to get to know people's hearts is to ask them questions and try to get to know them through talking, however I think that the better way to get to know someone's heart is through the spirit. The spirit prompts and inspires in some of the smallest ways, but often it will give you a simple impression of a person and just that impression lets you see deeper into a person's heart. I think that is one of the things that helps make someone a divine leader. If they are constantly listening for or seeking after impressions of the lord they will be able to very easily see the hearts of those that lead and if they can know the hearts of those they lead then they will better be able to serve them better.
It's kind of a chain that to be a good leader you have to serve those you lead, to serve those you need you must know their hearts, to know their hearts you must receive inspiration from the Lord and if you are relying on the Lord then you are a divine centered leader. Thus I don't think that is anyway to be a good leader without being a divine centered leader. And learning about divine centered leaders and doing this service project/activity actually gave me an entirely different perspective of what a true, good leader has to do. And know I know that one of my main focus needs to be being a divine centered and getting to know the hearts of the people around me.
Also, to be a good leader I really do think that you need to know the hearts of the people you lead. One way to get to know people's hearts is to ask them questions and try to get to know them through talking, however I think that the better way to get to know someone's heart is through the spirit. The spirit prompts and inspires in some of the smallest ways, but often it will give you a simple impression of a person and just that impression lets you see deeper into a person's heart. I think that is one of the things that helps make someone a divine leader. If they are constantly listening for or seeking after impressions of the lord they will be able to very easily see the hearts of those that lead and if they can know the hearts of those they lead then they will better be able to serve them better.
It's kind of a chain that to be a good leader you have to serve those you lead, to serve those you need you must know their hearts, to know their hearts you must receive inspiration from the Lord and if you are relying on the Lord then you are a divine centered leader. Thus I don't think that is anyway to be a good leader without being a divine centered leader. And learning about divine centered leaders and doing this service project/activity actually gave me an entirely different perspective of what a true, good leader has to do. And know I know that one of my main focus needs to be being a divine centered and getting to know the hearts of the people around me.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Beginning
I am Madison Fosse. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend. I am spontaneous and a bit crazy. I am a shoulder to cry on. I am a food addict. I am afraid of the dark and being alone. I am a little less than confident. I am awkward, but in a endearing way I hope. This list can give you a good idea of Who I Am. But, what I am trying to become is a leader.
Three years ago I moved from the place I had lived my entire life. When I moved it was really hard to make friends and when I finally did I took a backseat in the group. I definitely was not the leader or the group. What I do instead is be the person people come to. I am a good listener and I try to give good advice. As I said before I am the shoulder people cry on. I listen to people's problems and comfort them.
I act this way, or Why I do, because I like to help people and I kinda try to blend in. By being the shoulder to cry on and by listening to people's problems, I feel like I help them. I like the one to encourage people and tell them everything is going to be ok. And I love when after I talk to someone they come back with a success story. Also, when you listen to other people's problems it's about them not you. The attention isn't on you because you are talking to them.
I must admit, though, in the last year I have begin to come out of my shell a lot. I am more willing to meet new people and be outrageous and outgoing. I have found my circle of friends expanding as I put myself forward more. One thing I love is quotes and I will probably use them a lot. Max Lucado said "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd". I have found that the more I stray from the crowd, the more fun I have in life. One day I do want to lead the orchestra and I can only hope for the best. Wish me luck!
Three years ago I moved from the place I had lived my entire life. When I moved it was really hard to make friends and when I finally did I took a backseat in the group. I definitely was not the leader or the group. What I do instead is be the person people come to. I am a good listener and I try to give good advice. As I said before I am the shoulder people cry on. I listen to people's problems and comfort them.
I act this way, or Why I do, because I like to help people and I kinda try to blend in. By being the shoulder to cry on and by listening to people's problems, I feel like I help them. I like the one to encourage people and tell them everything is going to be ok. And I love when after I talk to someone they come back with a success story. Also, when you listen to other people's problems it's about them not you. The attention isn't on you because you are talking to them.
I must admit, though, in the last year I have begin to come out of my shell a lot. I am more willing to meet new people and be outrageous and outgoing. I have found my circle of friends expanding as I put myself forward more. One thing I love is quotes and I will probably use them a lot. Max Lucado said "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd". I have found that the more I stray from the crowd, the more fun I have in life. One day I do want to lead the orchestra and I can only hope for the best. Wish me luck!
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