Blog Number 6

Something that I have been thinking about this week comes from the talk “Success Is Gauged by Self-Mastery.” It wasn’t even pertaining to entrepreneurship directly, but it is a principle that, if I can live by, will bless my endeavors as a business owner. N. Eldon Tanner explained in his talk that some people have the attitude that just one cup of coffee, just one beer, etc. won’t do any harm. But he explains that if you never do it once, there will never be a second. If I am being honest, there probably isn’t any long-term harm in drinking a cup of coffee once, but after that first time, are you sure you aren’t going to do it again? This same principle applies to the business world. If you never put you integrity on the line, not even once, there will never be an opportunity for you to do it a second time. Once I graduate school, I want to keep my integrity completely intact. I don’t ever want to put it on the line, not even once. That kind of self-mastery is what prepared President Kimball to be the prophet. I do not want to be the prophet by any means, but if I can control the natural man within me, and become a “Master of self”, I know that the Lord will direct me in my own life. I don’t know exactly what that all entails, but I do know that I can have faith that I will always be in the right spot in my life. From what I have seen in the world of business, there are many temptations that go along with becoming an entrepreneur. I have heard of people stealing ideas, lying on financial reports, using their new power to bring down other businesses, and the list goes on and on. I want to say that I will never fall into one of those snares, but I can never be too careful. That is why this talk has been on my mind this week, because I need to start now. If I build a strong foundation now, it will be easier to always keep my integrity intact.