Yesterday we had a guest speaker and his big thing was implanting ideas in other people's heads. This can happen without us even thinking about it, like through product placement as Jeremiah said when they put stuff in movies people will buy it if they see people in movies using it. We also do it when we see our parents do stuff like I said the example that I don't really like would be smoking, there was that commercial awhile ago where the little girl and her mom are shopping and they both have a cart and everything the mom put in the cart the girl did, then when they were checking out the mom asked for a pack of cigarettes and so did the daughter. We also do stuff when it is more obvious like advertising on TV, if we see stuff and they say all this stuff to make it seem amazing we will go buy it. This is one problem some people in our society today have, they believe everything they see on TV or read on the internet. People wonder why they are in debt, it's because they buy stupid stuff that they don't need. We can't believe everything on the internet or TV, we have to use our brains. So next time you watch a movie or are thinking about buying something you see on TV think if it is really necessary.

10 Questions

1. Who has made a significant impact on your life? What qualitites would you like to mimic? First off would be my parents because they are always there for me and my siblings no matter what. Second would be Michael Jordan because he never gave up after he was told he wasn't good enough and didn't make his high school basketball team.
3. What or who would you be willing to lose your greatest possession for? My family would be the first thing I would trade anything for. I couldn't live without them, they are very important to my life.
Those are just two of the questions I answered but they show a lot about me. Those pretty much sum up what I am about, which is my friends and family.

Prioritites

The last couple days we have been doing a packet about our priorities. We learned about 20/80, which is working on your first 20% and they will eventually accomplish the other 80%. I think that this can be a good thing if you have to get something done fast so just fix what people can see and work on the rest later. I think this is bad because not everyone has the same prioritites, so what if you don't agree with each other. Just because something is important to you doesn't mean it is of equal importance to everyone else. Find out your prioritities but be careful when working on them so you don't offend people.

This week we worked in groups on various activities. Through these activities I learned that I speak what I am thinking. This can be a good and bad thing. It can be good if I use it in appropriate situations and for the benefit of my group. This can be bad though because I might use it in a time when it is not necessary and when I should keep my thoughts to myself. What did you find out about yourself and how can you use this for good?

My Core Values

Like I said in my other blog, we have been talking about core values and how to identify our core values. Here are my Top 5 Core Values. My number one core value is my family because they are always there for me and I want to make them happy. My second core value is my faith because it helps me make the right decisions and leads to a path that will be the best for me and those around me. My third core value is my friends because they are there for me and help me make decisions by knowing who I am and what is best for me. Fourth would be getting and keeping respect because you can't go through life having no respect for yourself or others having respect for you. My fifth core value would be trust because you won't make it very far in life no matter how good you are at what you do if you aren't honest and are trusted.

Core Values

This week we have been talking about core values and how they are important in who we are and the decisions we make. There was a quote on the VoiceThread and this is what it said, "When one bases his life on principle, 99% of his decisions are already made." This is very true because if you do base everything you do on a principle you will never have to make your own decisions on anything because that principle will state what you should do in all situations and make the decisions for you. Make a list of your core values and live by those and not on something that someone says.

Pursuit of Happyness

         This week we watched the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness". I guess when I watched it before I didn't really think about why it is spelled with a "y" instead of an "i", this time when I watched it I looked for reasons why this would be how they spelled it. Watching the movie a little bit closer made me realize that there is a lot of symbols in the movie that if not looking for them wouldn't of stuck out to me as important.
         The first thing that stuck out to me was the rubiks cube that Chris solves in the taxi. Him solving the rubiks cube after the man he was riding with told him he wouldn't be able to do it but Chris insisted that he could. He did end up solving the puzzle and this shows that he doesn't give up and is very determined to achieve and overcome anything that gets in his way.
         The second symbol that I saw was how they spelled happyness with a "y" instead of with an "i" at the daycare. This is important because it gets you to think about your own happ"I"ness and instead about why you want to get that happ"Y"ness. If you think about what is important to you and why and work to get there you will be more determined to do it because you know why you want it. The thing that was important to Chris was his son having a good life and their happiness and that drove him to get a job even though he seemed like nothing was going to get better. He could of given up and that would have been easier, but instead he decided he wasn't going to give up and got that job.

Position

I was reading John Maxwell's blog about the 5 levels of leadership. The first level is position, your position is the foundation for your leadership. If you are in a position of leadership you probably got noticed by someone above you as a person with good leadership skills. Position: It's a Great Place to Visit, But You wouldn't Want to Live There. Use your position to your advantage and get people to follow your cause before you overstay your welcome.