Signs of Spring: Understanding and Accepting Our Personal and Professional Changes

Signs of Spring: Understanding and Accepting Our Personal and Professional Changes

Darrel Hammon

Spring is magical! While the snows continue to flurry in the mountains, something starts to happen closer to the valley floor. New life springs up beneath wintry dirt and leaves and between old rocks, still shivering from winter. The sun’s rays crest the mountain tops, carefully warms the old rocks and the wintry dirt and the seeds and roots that lie beneath it all.

 Spring is amazingly symbolic of our own lives, especially the changes that we make and the opportunities that come to us. While in real life, spring comes only once per year, we can experiences numerous springs and beginnings and take advantage of the beauty and the newness of it all.

Change can happen often in our lives. Sometimes those changes come suddenly, like a loss of a family member, a loss of a job, or even a loss of something valuable in our lives. It is really how we deal with those changes that will allow us to have incredible spring times and flourishing lives. And thinking about spring and its many beautifies can only enhance our way of thinking and doing.

One of my most favorite spring flowers is the bleeding heart. It comes up early, and when it receives lots of sun, it grows inches every single day until those gorgeous pinkish red heart-shaped blossoms burst into being. When I look closely, I see incredible formations, some flat and others plump, but they are all divinely designed to look like hearts. Some are in clusters, but the ones that totally thrill me are the ones that are lined up on a single vine. So, we, too, must have open hearts to hear what needs to be heard and feel what needs to be felt in order for us to truly fulfill our destinies.

I also think of the crocus. They just pop up when they are good and ready. They don’t care if there is snow, rain, hail, or sleet. They burst through the cold ground, usually the first of the flowering plants in the garden. They are so sturdy. When I see them, I marvel at their tenacity of being the first ones to show their faces. That’s what entrepreneurs are. They are the first ones up and ready to go, no matter what the market seems to be saying. Their byline is “We’re ready! Are you?”

Ah, the beautiful daffodils. They are just plain stunning. If you look closely, they follow the sun, the source of light. For example, this morning when I was walking, I noticed that a huge cluster of daffodils in a neighbor’s yard was facing the rising sun. Now, you could barely see the rays just spilling over the mountains, but every single daffodil had transitioned its gorgeous yellow head toward the light.

In our case, the light signifies new ideas and opportunities. We move toward and focus on those wonderful ideas and opportunities. When we do, we can see them and eventually grasp them and then keep them in the light so they can grow and develop.

Not long after the crocus and daffodils—and sometimes together—come the hyacinths, pinks, whites, purples. They are a bit more solid, stouter than the crocus. Plus, their many blossoms format tight bonds that keep them straight and proud. They truly are a team, working together to make each other look bigger, better, stouter, just like our own teams in the workplace. We just do better and work more efficiently when we work as teams.

Another favorite of mine is the Magnolia tree, fondly called the “tulip tree” at our house. Literally, the branches are bare for a long time, and then the “tulips” also burst forth, hiding the ugly branches that hold their life. All of us possess flaws and challenges in our lives. But when we put forth our best qualities and grow and enhance them, we cover up the flaws. Now, the flaws haven’t gone away, and we still need to overcome them, but our good qualities and capabilities take over and create an incredible aura that attracts people to us.

The flowering trees and flowers are reminiscent of our own personal and professional changes. Each day we can watch these flowering wonders change, from tiny buds on a newly trimmed tree to full blossoms. We are like that, and so are our employees. We watch and we watch and we watch, and then one day: Poof! The blossoms are out and cover the whole tree. The flourish of beautiful colors is absolutely incredible. While it took time to bud and then to expand, it seems that the blossoms happen overnight although they really don’t. They literally have to mature to blossom.

So it is with us. We, too, must learn to blossom, no matter where we might be placed or what job we might have. Our perpetual springs will happen, perhaps not as fast as we will like, but they will happen. The key, then, is to continue watching and nurturing our skills and abilities and capacities, and we will blossom like those spring flowers in our gardens.

And, finally, we hope to understand and accept our personal and professional changes and bask in the growth they afford us.

Perseverance: A Key Leadership Quality

Perseverance: A Key Leadership Quality

Darrel Hammon

Last summer, I spent nine days with a group of young people in the Dominican Republic, ranging from 15-years-old to 21-years-old who were participating in a summer education camp. My role was to introduce them to leadership principles and values. One of the leadership attributes I focused on during my leadership training with the Dominican young people was perseverance, an attribute that is missing in many of the lives of our young people—and even older, mature people.

Perseverance is really the ability to just keep on going when things get really tough. (Also see Webster’s definition at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perseverance). Or like I usually say: “Just do the do, no matter what!”

I have noticed over the years that this attribute is missing in many people. Why? Learning how to persevere and actually persevering through a project is a challenging and sometimes daunting task. It takes a ton of effort. Just ask Madame Curie, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Andy Andrikopoulos. Most of us know who the first three are, but probably most people don’t know Andy Andrikopoulos.

I first met Andy when I served as President of Laramie County CommunityCollege. During the first few months on the job, Andy and his beautiful and ever gracious wife Barbara invited me over to their home. They just wanted to visit and become acquainted. They were incredibly nice to me. At the end of the conversation, Andy said, “Call me if you need anything.”  Now, there are people who just say that phrase in passing, and there are people who truly mean that. I learned that Andy’s words are not merely words; rather, they are what he is.

By most standards, Andy is extremely successful. He has been the owner and operator of A.G. Andrikopoulos Oil and Gas Properties since 1960. His company has oil and gas assets in almost 20 states. Plus, he and his wife give much of themselves and their resources to their community. But he wasn’t always successful.

I learned that when Andy was a senior in high school, his principal told him he wasn’t college material and not to waste his time by going. Andy didn’t listen to the principal because he had already decided he wanted to go to college, and he knew he would do whatever he decided to do, including graduating from college.

So, when fall came around, he went to the University of Wyoming and ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in business. It wasn’t easy because in those days, there was very little financial assistance for average students like Andy. But he put his hand to the educational plow, trudged forward, worked hard, never gave up, and ultimately graduated.

After graduation, he decided to pursue an interest in the oil and gas industry–not exactly the kind of industry that seemed a sure bet. And the way the story goes—and this is where all of us should take good notes—Andy had had an economic interest in some 770 wells that never produced. Think about that: Andy drilled 770 wells without even a drop of oil or gas. Disappointing. Disheartening. Disconcerting.

Now, I suspect, that many of us would have become discouraged and quit after drilling a dozen or so. Maybe even a 100 and walked away, our heads down, thinking that we were failures. But not Andy. He kept going and finally hit a producing well–#771.  Within a couple of years, he was able to develop 75 producing wells.

For Andy, it just took perseverance and remarkable determination. He didn’t give up, no matter what the obstacles were. In his case, the obstacle was nothing: nothing in the wells. For some of us, the obstacles in our lives almost seem insurmountable. Amazingly, we have the ability to overcome obstacles, sometimes with a little—and maybe even a lot of—help from our families, friends, colleagues, and our own mindset of perseverance.

 The key to perseverance can be taken from the Andrikoloplos’ well story. Our wells should never run dry because we as leaders are continuously filling them up with our history of doing, our determination and perseverance, and our diligence to just do the do. Simultaneously, we need to be filling our wells with our continuous giving of ourselves; our willingness to help others; and our financial, spiritual, moral, and emotional giving to those who need it.

Neal A. Maxwell, a renowned educator and Church leader, once wrote in his book Of One Heart: “Sometimes we draw the things of the world so close in our line of vision, we obstruct our view of the bigger picture.”

Being persistent doesn’t allow us to lose sight of the big picture, no matter what those obstacles—large or small—may be. Granted, we may be disappointed with our progress, but our determined perseverance will push us on to the victory.

Parents + Schools + Students + Businesses = a Phenomenal Partnership

Parents + Schools + Students + Businesses = a Phenomenal Partnership

Darrel Hammon

Some time ago, I visited with a high school principal who told me parents were not generally supportive of their children in school. By that he meant, I suspect, that they did not come to school to help their children as much as he would have liked them to.

Part of the challenge is parents are busy. In many families, both parents work and are unable to spend the amount of time they wish to be with their child at school. Granted, some junior and high school students would rather have their parents stay as far away as possible from the school as possible.

So, how can businesses help? 

Former Secretary of Labor, Lynn Martin, once wrote: “Are the schools and workplaces in my community adequately preparing the workers of today and tomorrow? If not, what am I going to do about it?” 

I have a few ideas.

Continue your vigorous participation as a business supporting education. Historically, businesses have been wonderful supporters of education at all levels. Your donations—real money or “things” from your businesses—have been extremely helpful in extending the school’s budget. Without some of you, schools would not be able to function as well as they do. Although money is important, students need to understand there is a direct correlation between work and school.

                                                  

Become mentors to students. Students are your labor pool. They work for you after school, on weekends, and during the summer. What a prime opportunity for you as a business leader to help them understand the importance of school as it relates to work. Additionally, you may want to hire an intern periodically to learn the trappings of your business. Not only do you get an extra set of hands, but you also are helping students learn valuable workplace and leadership skills they will carry with them to other jobs and situations. Plus, you are simultaneously connecting education to real work experiences. Also, if students do not have the basic skills, it is going to be difficult for them to become your workers of the future.

Provide time for your employees to participate in school activities. Often many school activities are held during the school day, hence during the working day. Many parents complain they have no time to be with their children or participate in their children’s school activities. My philosophy has always been: “Make time.” But I have also said to parents: “Convince your boss you will be a better employee if you are involved in the education of your children. Whether he or she believes you or not is beside the point.” Who are the best teachers or trainers of children? Parents! Research has shown that parents are children’s most important teachers. Thus, involved parents will result in young people doing better in school and employees who are better workers.

Become involved in what many school districts call “Taste of Teaching.” All of you possess certain skills and experiences students need to hear about and learn from. Think about what it would be like if you went to classrooms and share with them what it takes to be successful like you are. What you are doing is demonstrating to students that education is important, that it is relevant to the real world. Every school I know about would love to have business leaders become involved in teaching. If you don’t feel comfortable talking about your business in front of students, let me know. I’ll provide a “business inservice” in how to present your message. If your school does not have a program such as “taste of teaching,” then visit with the principal and powers that be and convince them this would be a good thing because it is.

I have held this philosophy for years: “We can spend as much money as we want on K-12 education, but students still have to go home.” Shouldn’t they go home where the parents are positively involved in education, either helping out at school, attending some sort of school/lifelong learning activity themselves, or being involved as business educators? 

The bottom line is this: Children do better in school when their parents are providing a positive role model by being a part of schools and their activities, and I am not just saying attend the basketball or football games. I mean, attend the spelling bees, debate tournaments, speech, and drama meets, business simulations, plays, and other academic activities.

In essence, businesses can also play an ever-increasing important and integral role in helping parents fulfill their responsibilities as teachers of their children. Imagine what businesses can do if they go to the classroom and participate in connecting school to work. Helping teachers help their students understand that learning is a real-world/workplace concept is an incredible service you could provide.

Just think, your future employees are sitting in today’s classrooms. You might as well help train them now while they are still in school. It’s less expensive in the long run.

“Tenacity and Persistence: How Two-Year-Olds Teach Us”

“Tenacity and Persistence: How Two-Year-Olds Teach Us”

Darrel Hammon

When our oldest granddaughter was almost two-years-old, we spent two week at our daughter’s home in Utah, taking care of her while her mother was at Young Women’s camp. Her father had to work; so, we were able to be with her during the day. I learned a valuable lesson during our week with her. The lesson was tenacity and persistence.

For me, I had to realize that she wasn’t quite two yet. But the little woman was tenacious and persistent! Having tenacity or being tenacious means literally having the persistence to carry through with something. Sometimes there is a conclusion; sometimes there is not a conclusion. But the key is to persist with tenacity.

When we travel, we often bring travel bottles of shampoo and things so that we do not have to carry large quantities of the items. One of those items is a special type of shampoo that I use just a couple times a week. For travel, I put a small amount in a bottle. The bottle I happened to use for this trip was one of those bottles with a safety screw cap that you have to press down and then turn. It is sometimes difficult for even me to open.

Well, my granddaughter found the bottle and tried opening it. She tried and tried and tried, every which way possible. But she was unable to open it—thank goodness. But she was tenacious and persistent about it. When I attempted to intervene, her simple words were “No, Emi do it!” And she was adamant. She was not going to have Grandpa do something she could do on her own—or so she thought. Not once did she ask that I open the bottle for her. She just kept twisting and twisting, turning and turning, the bottle cap, trying with her little might to open the bottle.  She didn’t try for just a few seconds, but her twisting and turning continued for some minutes. Finally, though, she did decide that she couldn’t do it by herself. She placed it back where she got and left. I know if I had given it to her again later in the day or the next day or any day during our visit, she would have tried to open the bottle. That’s tenacity! That’s persistence!

So, where do we learn persistence and tenacity? In the April 2000 General Conference, President James E. Faust said: “President Grant had a favorite quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson which he lived by: ‘That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased.’”

I memorized that quote many years ago and quote it often, more so for myself than for anyone else. Over the last couple of years, little Emi has become amazingly more proficient with her fingers, and she can open lots of things, some things her mother wishes she wouldn’t have—like glue and glue stick. Her persistence, her tenacity, will carry her through her entire life, and she will accomplish much.

Our power to do something increases if we keep with it. Often, in our society, people give up way too early before they are able to accomplish a task. Working through something will inevitably help us gain greater insight into that which we are doing. But we must understand a simple concept: being humble enough to accept our weakness and then work diligently on it to make it our strength.

The ancient Prophet Moroni once wrote: “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).

We all possess weaknesses. According to Moroni, President Grant, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, we need to persist in overcoming our weaknesses through working hard, being tenacious, and being persistent. When we do, our weaknesses will become our strengths.

So, we must continue forward like little Emi, twisting and turning and trying to figure out how that cap comes off because it does come off, but it takes a bit of work to do it.

Be tenacious! Be persistent!

Creating Significance

Creating Significance

DarrelHammon

Some time ago, I sat in a meeting and listened to a retired Air Force Colonel discuss the importance of significance. I was intrigued by his insight and his use of the word in a spiritual context. But I would like to extend the meaning to five areas: education, family, community, world, and self.

The simplest definition of significance is the “state or quality of having meaning or importance.”

In order to make the connection to the five areas, I have a few questions to ask you—

Question 1: What significance are you making in education? What you are doing today creates significance. A few years ago, Joanne and I were sitting with a young single mother who said, “I earned my GED, and now I am enrolled in the College. I will make sure my daughters do not drop out of school.” Her oldest daughter, then 16, was an honor student. Do you think she has created significance by returning to school? I do. And she has much more to do. Investment in education will be the best investment you will ever make. I promise.

Question 2: What significance are you being as a member of your family? I believe families are important. For most of us, our families created significance in our lives by pushing us forward, motivating us to do better, and creating opportunities to succeed. On Mother’s Day each year, we celebrate the mothers in our lives and remember our mothers, no matter where they are. Father’s Day is another significant day. If you are a mother, what kind of mother are you? If you are a father, what kind of father are you? If you are a son or daughter, what kind of son or daughter are you being? If you are a brother or sister, what kind of brother or sister are you? You can create significance in your family.

Question 3: What significance are you making or will you make in your community? I believe serving in our communities is significant. There is so much to do and so many organizations that need us to help. When we serve others, we create significance—in ourselves and in others. People are appreciative of what you do.  I even think of international foundations like Ruben’s Shoes, the Dominican Starfish Foundation, and MACILE and what they do to create significance in poor areas in the Dominican Republic. Will you continue creating significance in the community you live in?

Question 4: What significance will you make in the world? Some of you will go out and do grandiose things by the world’s standards. Others will do things that will ultimately create significance that will reverberate throughout history—and often we may not know what significance we have done. And that’s the beauty and the power of significance.

Question 5: And, perhaps, most importantly, what significance will you create by being you? Your example, good or bad, will create significance in whatever you do. No matter whether your job is small or great, your significance, and your importance will create an aura that will touch people in small and great ways. Your mere smile will encourage others to smile. Your kind acts will motivate others to reciprocate. Your reaching out to help others will encourage them to do the same. Everything you do creates significance, and it is up to you what level of significance it will be.

Finally, I extend to you an invitation to create significance knowingly: Write a note to someone who has made a significant impact on/in your life. My preference would not be an e-mail, not a text message, not a tweet, not a Facebook or MySpace message—unless, of course, you do not know this person’s address. An actual letter or card written by your hand in real ink would be preferable. Let them know specifically why they are significant and how they created significance in your lives. When you do this, I sincerely believe you will experience “significance” in your life and in your being. Thanking those who have “created significance” for you and in your life need to know why they have and how they have. You may be the first person who has ever done this, and your mere act will create significance in their lives.

Often, many people just do what they do, not realizing what significance they might create or have created in the lives of those with whom they work and serve. It is when they receive a message from you and me, thanking them that they finally realize, perhaps, what they might have done. In many cases, they will pass it off as being some trivial thing that they remember vaguely. But to us—you and me—what they did truly turned our lives around. I believe that is truly the meaning of significance: when we do something because that’s just what we do to better the world around us. That enthusiasm for doing what needs to be done seeps into the lives of others and somehow changes them, turns their views, and helps them contemplate a new way or a more effective way of living their lives or doing something. They change because we helped them learn “significance.”

Thus, my challenge, each and every day, is to create significance, be significant, and do significant things because you are significant.