Posts
"Oh the Places You'll Go," said Dr. Suess. The places you'll go indeed.
"you have brains in your head," he says, "You have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself, any direction you choose. Your on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
The famous words penned by the most famous children's author of all time. So much wisdom packed into a little kids book. Oh, Gavin, the places you will go! This is not the end of an era, nor is this a means to an end, this is the beginning of a lifetime. I have confidence in my knowledge, my skill, my faith. Sure nothing is happening right now, but no matter, it's time to drop your head and plow through, or as the Dr. put it...
"And when things start to happen, Don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along, you'll start happening too."
"oh the places you'll go."
Have a good night everyone. Go read a Dr. Suess book to put your tired and overworked minds at ease.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
I can still laugh...
Man, rough week! Who would have known this would be so hard. Full time student, three jobs, and outside consulting work and a wonderful wife back home to take care of. There is literally not enough time on earth for me to get everything done. I had an early morning class at 7 this morning and was struggling to stay awake. Client consultation meeting today, it's an interesting company. I have consulted for quite a bit of companies, Grocery store chains, hotel management company, a large university, and now a local energy bar company. For all you organic, outdoorsy types...or even those jonesing for a handmade, healthy snack like mom used to make, check out Kate's Real Food.
Even amongst the trail of stress I leave as my wake I am still alive and I can at least laugh at a few things...
Have a great rest of the week everybody! Talk to you all soon!
Have a great rest of the week everybody! Talk to you all soon!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
A Steady Upward Course...
As I was sitting today I was thinking back to a rather famous speech that was given here at BYU-Idaho by Henry B. Eyring, former president of the school before back in the 1970's that was asked to come and speak and here. Due to the religious nature of the school he spoke very moving words, words that come from a man with a vision for this school. Because of my job I have sat in meetings with some of the "higher ups" at the school and have been able to catch a glimpse of the vision of the school and where it is, and where it will be in the future. There are grand plans for this University. This is truly a great place to attend school. As a soon to be graduate I can say that the things that Henry Eyring says is true. I have been taught to be efficient, to be industrious with very little, and to lead instead of follow. I'll tell you what (and I am getting good at this due to the fact that I am applying for jobs right now) Give me limited resources, give me a short amount of time, and give me unfavorable market conditions...and I say no problem, because for 4 years I have been trained to be efficient with little resources, to use time wisely, and to make things happen despite the conditions of whatever industry you work in. I can do these because of BYU-Idaho. Read on for a few excerpts from the speech or click here for the full manuscript:
"The people who serve here have found a way to make changes—great and rapid changes—that will enhance, not replace, the best of what the school has always been. Because of that, I can with confidence make you a promise. When you return in some distant future, you will find great innovation has become commonplace, and yet, amidst all the changes, the school will have retained and enriched the basic characteristics that blessed your life.
"There is a responsibility to be prudent in the management of the resources, and there are places where we need to improve. If there is an example of 'use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without,' we are that place. If we ever lost that, we would be in trouble. So we need to be careful what we ask for.
"From that example, I make a prophesy. Now listen carefully. From that example they—you—will become life‐long teachers in their families, in the Church, and in their work, and they will bless others wherever they go by what they have learned about innovating with scarce resources and treating all they have as if it were the Lord's.
"You can imagine the joy of an employer or a Church leader when such a graduate arrives. The graduates will be at personal peace by having kept the commandments. They will be natural leaders who know how to teach and how to learn. They will have the power to innovate and improve without requiring more of what money can buy. Those graduates of BYU‐Idaho will become—and this is a prophesy that I am prepared to make and make solemnly—those graduates of BYU‐Idaho will become legendary for their capacity to build the people around them and to add value wherever they serve.
"We will have a spiritual outpouring, because of your faith and the faith of the faculty and those who lead here, that will lead us to be legendary in terms of our capacity to teach and to learn and in our capacity to innovate without needing the resources that others have to have in order to be the remarkable contributors you're going to be. And that's going to follow you everywhere you go. I hope I live long enough to someday meet some employer who employed one of you and says, "Where did that come from? I've never had such a person. Why people just flock around that person. And they want to follow. They don't have to be led; they're seeking to go where that person wants to go. And they come up with new ideas. I don't know where that comes from. They seem to find a better way, and the budget doesn't go up. I can't understand it." And I'll smile and say, "Well, come with me to Rexburg." And I may not be able to show it to you, and I may not be able to prove it to you, but you'll feel it. There will be a spirit here, I so testify, because of the love of God for all of His faithful children. And those blessings will be poured out here in rich abundance."
Come visit Rexburg, and see how we are changing to the world of business and education through disruptive innovation. You won't regret it.
"The people who serve here have found a way to make changes—great and rapid changes—that will enhance, not replace, the best of what the school has always been. Because of that, I can with confidence make you a promise. When you return in some distant future, you will find great innovation has become commonplace, and yet, amidst all the changes, the school will have retained and enriched the basic characteristics that blessed your life.
"There is a responsibility to be prudent in the management of the resources, and there are places where we need to improve. If there is an example of 'use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without,' we are that place. If we ever lost that, we would be in trouble. So we need to be careful what we ask for.
"From that example, I make a prophesy. Now listen carefully. From that example they—you—will become life‐long teachers in their families, in the Church, and in their work, and they will bless others wherever they go by what they have learned about innovating with scarce resources and treating all they have as if it were the Lord's.
"You can imagine the joy of an employer or a Church leader when such a graduate arrives. The graduates will be at personal peace by having kept the commandments. They will be natural leaders who know how to teach and how to learn. They will have the power to innovate and improve without requiring more of what money can buy. Those graduates of BYU‐Idaho will become—and this is a prophesy that I am prepared to make and make solemnly—those graduates of BYU‐Idaho will become legendary for their capacity to build the people around them and to add value wherever they serve.
"We will have a spiritual outpouring, because of your faith and the faith of the faculty and those who lead here, that will lead us to be legendary in terms of our capacity to teach and to learn and in our capacity to innovate without needing the resources that others have to have in order to be the remarkable contributors you're going to be. And that's going to follow you everywhere you go. I hope I live long enough to someday meet some employer who employed one of you and says, "Where did that come from? I've never had such a person. Why people just flock around that person. And they want to follow. They don't have to be led; they're seeking to go where that person wants to go. And they come up with new ideas. I don't know where that comes from. They seem to find a better way, and the budget doesn't go up. I can't understand it." And I'll smile and say, "Well, come with me to Rexburg." And I may not be able to show it to you, and I may not be able to prove it to you, but you'll feel it. There will be a spirit here, I so testify, because of the love of God for all of His faithful children. And those blessings will be poured out here in rich abundance."
Come visit Rexburg, and see how we are changing to the world of business and education through disruptive innovation. You won't regret it.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Another semester...Or last...Either way.
Well, so starts my last semester as a college student. Who would have thought that I would be graduating college. Well, let's not put the wagon before the mouse, or however the saying goes, I still have the rest of the semester ahead of me. A whole semester of homework, work, job hunting, and just about everything else!
I was always under the impression that as you got closer to graduating that your schedule would get better...HAHAHAHA, that is what I have to say about that. My schedule this semester is terrible, check this out:
I was always under the impression that as you got closer to graduating that your schedule would get better...HAHAHAHA, that is what I have to say about that. My schedule this semester is terrible, check this out:
- ESS 201
- B 250
- B 499A
- B 499B
- COMM 310
- COMM 316
Well, here it is, I feel like I just tossed the dice at the craps table. Let's hope that after 4 years I have been able to learn enough. Thank you to everyone who has gotten me thus far. Namely my parents who have worked and sacrificed to put me through school. My wife who has seen me through the good times and the stress. The rest of my family who has provided their support.
If anyone is interested in making the long trek to Idaho for graduation, click here for the dates.
Friday, January 6, 2012
regrets...
Regrets...There are no words to adequately describe what it feels like to regret something. When you feel it, you just know it. But there is just no way to adequately describe it. I have regrets. I think everyone has regrets. I don't know if it is just the time of life that I am in or if it is just maturing into my older years that has gotten my internal tumblers to calm down enough for me to actually reflect on what I have done...and in many cases not done in my life!
It is a painful realization to have come to, but one that is necessary nonetheless...there is absolutely only one thing that I can do to curb not only past regrets, but future ones as well, get off my butt and do something about it! There are two types of pain when it comes to regret. There's the awful, nagging pain of opportunities lost, never to come the same way again. Then there is the equally painful, yet such different pain of regrets in the current, regrets you can do something about, but are just so terrified of fixing it! What if...what if...what if... there will always be what ifs.One must stand and do, with courage and determination or all you will do is regret your whole life.
Sure there are things that I regret, but assuredly there are things that I don't regret. My wonderful wife Kara, My choice to attend school where I did, My mission, My membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and many more things.
Most assuredly during this time of reflection and starting a new year we must look to our successes, or triumphs and other things, but we especially look to our regrets. After all, Albert Einstein once said that Insanity in it's purest definition is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. As I look to my regrets I will do my best to not repeat them. This is my biggest challenge in life, but one I am up to.
Sorry for all those who bothered to read this, this is really a hodge-podge of thoughts thrown together.
It is a painful realization to have come to, but one that is necessary nonetheless...there is absolutely only one thing that I can do to curb not only past regrets, but future ones as well, get off my butt and do something about it! There are two types of pain when it comes to regret. There's the awful, nagging pain of opportunities lost, never to come the same way again. Then there is the equally painful, yet such different pain of regrets in the current, regrets you can do something about, but are just so terrified of fixing it! What if...what if...what if... there will always be what ifs.One must stand and do, with courage and determination or all you will do is regret your whole life.
Sure there are things that I regret, but assuredly there are things that I don't regret. My wonderful wife Kara, My choice to attend school where I did, My mission, My membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and many more things.
Most assuredly during this time of reflection and starting a new year we must look to our successes, or triumphs and other things, but we especially look to our regrets. After all, Albert Einstein once said that Insanity in it's purest definition is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. As I look to my regrets I will do my best to not repeat them. This is my biggest challenge in life, but one I am up to.
Sorry for all those who bothered to read this, this is really a hodge-podge of thoughts thrown together.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
A snapshot of the last couple weeks...
It's been a full couple weeks, with Thanksgiving, lots of Work, and with school coming to a close I am totally spent. I'm ready for a break. If only I got one. It will be a mad rush for the next week or so, Ill get about a week and a half off and then off to the races again. So without giving all the boring details here is a snapshot of the last two or three weeks.
So Back in October I was kind of dumb and decided to play on an intramural flag football team with some friends. I'm getting to old for this kind of stuff at the ripe old age of 25. Be that as it may, we were playing a game one night and I went to grab this guys flag right as he was cutting in towards me, I got the flag but as I pulled my finger away I saw that about halfway up it had a sharp bend at a 45 degree angle. I thought it was dislocated, so I started ripping out on this thing trying to get it back in place. Well turns out that it was broken. It's out of the splint now, but still crooked. The Doctor says, "Well, your not a concert pianist or a violinist are ya?" uhhh, no. "Welp, thats good because your fingers never really gonna be straight again." So what the heck, what would he have said if I said yes?!
Chocolate Milk Vending Machine. 'Nuff said.
We went down to california for thanksgiving an ordered this pizza. I have to say, someone up here in Idaho needs to make a 28" pizza! When it was delivered we were told that we had to support the bottom when transporting it. We didn't understand what that meant until we saw it!
Luke helping me push the quads back in to the garage.
The long version of this story will have to be told at another time, but I'll give you some keywords: 4'11" Bawling Zumba Instructor, an angry mob of out-of-shape Zumba-ites, and Gavin terrified of heights.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Update.
Good Afternoon everyone! My it's been a mighty long time since I have been on here to post! Busy Life! Too busy at this point. I'll give you guys a brief run down on what it is thats going on.
This semester I am taking my last semester of my Senior Business Core, what BYU-Idaho students lovingly...or ominously refer to as "The Emphasis..." Duh Duh Duh... When you have finished all of your classes in Business Management you take a full semester of classes that you want to emphasize in and you break off into three different segments of your choice: Finance, Marketing, and Supply Chain. I choose Marketing. It's 7 classes of hell. They involve alot of statistics and alot of strategic planning classes. It's interesting the misconception people have when they think of marketing, most people think that marketing is advertising. Not at all! certainly marketing gets involved in that but Marketing is really problem solving. It's getting to the bottom of a problem that a company is having and then solving. It's the most diverse facet of business. So anyway...I am dieing as I am going through it all. It's hard to keep up but they design the program that way. They make it so that your head is barely above water the whole time. Although it sounds funny, you learn best that way.
Anyway, so this semester is almost done, and man I am glad. Keep trudging through I guess. I changed jobs, I was kind of traded I suppose you could say between departments. I called up to the Activities department for the University as a Business Consultant for Special Projects. I am one of the first students to be hired into a position like this. I was assigned one particular project but I have several projects I am consulting on. It's definitely different but it's really cool because I am getting real world experience while still in school. Priceless experience. I am working with people that are really smart and really stand-up guys. I'm pretty sure they picked the wrong guy for the job. But I'll show them I will do it. More so than what people think...the school is very performance driven and it will be a challenge to get them the numbers they are looking for, but I feel that after doing this job, it will give me a great segway into working after school.
Well that's all for right now, Sorry for my unorganized thoughts. See you all later.
This semester I am taking my last semester of my Senior Business Core, what BYU-Idaho students lovingly...or ominously refer to as "The Emphasis..." Duh Duh Duh... When you have finished all of your classes in Business Management you take a full semester of classes that you want to emphasize in and you break off into three different segments of your choice: Finance, Marketing, and Supply Chain. I choose Marketing. It's 7 classes of hell. They involve alot of statistics and alot of strategic planning classes. It's interesting the misconception people have when they think of marketing, most people think that marketing is advertising. Not at all! certainly marketing gets involved in that but Marketing is really problem solving. It's getting to the bottom of a problem that a company is having and then solving. It's the most diverse facet of business. So anyway...I am dieing as I am going through it all. It's hard to keep up but they design the program that way. They make it so that your head is barely above water the whole time. Although it sounds funny, you learn best that way.
Anyway, so this semester is almost done, and man I am glad. Keep trudging through I guess. I changed jobs, I was kind of traded I suppose you could say between departments. I called up to the Activities department for the University as a Business Consultant for Special Projects. I am one of the first students to be hired into a position like this. I was assigned one particular project but I have several projects I am consulting on. It's definitely different but it's really cool because I am getting real world experience while still in school. Priceless experience. I am working with people that are really smart and really stand-up guys. I'm pretty sure they picked the wrong guy for the job. But I'll show them I will do it. More so than what people think...the school is very performance driven and it will be a challenge to get them the numbers they are looking for, but I feel that after doing this job, it will give me a great segway into working after school.
Well that's all for right now, Sorry for my unorganized thoughts. See you all later.
