You, from God's Perspective + Character As Your Ceiling + A Fail-Proof Philosophy
Amnous Newsletter #75
Discipleship
“To effectively serve others we must see them through a parent’s eyes, through Heavenly Father’s eyes. Only then can we begin to comprehend the true worth of a soul. Only then can we sense the love that Heavenly Father has for all of His children. Only then can we sense the Savior’s caring concern for them.”1
Dale G. Renlund
On Monday, my son will be born. I’ve spent some time reflecting and preparing for that moment. I’ve tried envisioning who he really is. He isn’t just a cute newborn. In my arms, I’ll be holding an eternal being whose real identity isn’t from this world. Someone who willingly, eagerly, and excitedly chose to follow Jesus Christ and come to Earth. Someone who God has given a specific purpose and mission to accomplish in this life. Someone who is deeply precious to Almighty God. Someone with His DNA.2
President Eyring once told a story about himself and his son. These are his words: “I remember once a seven- or eight-year-old son of ours jumping on his bed hard enough that I thought it might break. I felt a flash of frustration, and I moved quickly to set my house in order. I grabbed my son by his little shoulders and lifted him up to where our eyes met. The Spirit put words into my mind. It seemed a quiet voice, but it pierced to my heart: ‘You are holding a great person.’ I gently set him back on the bed and apologized.”3
This is how God feels about you.
You are a great person. You have His DNA, potential, and possibilities. He loves you with an intensity, depth, breadth, and purity impossible to comprehend.
You are everything to God.4
May you let this truth distill upon your soul, engraven itself in your mind, and settle itself in your heart. And may it lead you to glorify God.
Leadership
“Your talent is your floor, your character is your ceiling.”5
Cori Close (National Champion UCLA Women’s Basketball Coach)
This is a modern rewording of an ancient maxim: Character is destiny.
What do you believe? Do you believe that character is destiny?
A recent Pew Research study found, “In nearly all countries surveyed, more people say that others in their country have somewhat or very good morals than say their compatriots display somewhat or very bad levels of morality. The United States is the only place we surveyed where more adults (ages 18 and older) describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad (53%) than as good (47%).”
Woof.
Why is that? How is that? Only US citizens think the majority of their neighbors have bad morals.
I think there are a lot of potential reasons. An obvious one would be the political climate we live in today. The national political landscape provides extremely visible displays of character breaches almost daily.6 Consistent character breaches breed public distrust. Thus, the results of the poll.
Unfortunately, it is a temptation to tolerate, justify, or look past poor character in leadership when the leader is satisfying some desire of ours. A non-political example could be the owner of a sports franchise who looks past a player’s abuse of others because he helps them win games. This happens in every arena of life.
As those who care about disciple-leadership, what we are concerned with is how Jesus, the perfect leader, feels about character. Now, let’s pause. If after reading that sentence alone, you already are squirming uncomfortably or preparing to play some mental gymnastics to be at peace with your justifications, don’t feel guilty. Recognize that we all do it. Also recognize that that isn’t a reaction we want to have. We want to be like Christ, and Christ, “rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth”7, however uncomfortable or inconvenient it is.
In his exceptional book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey starts by contrasting primary and secondary greatness. Secondary greatness refers to exterior leadership skills: skilled communication, charm, charisma, etc. Primary greatness, however, refers to character strength. He writes, “Eventually, if there isn’t deep integrity and fundamental character strength, the challenges of life will cause true motives to surface and human relationship failure will replace short-term success. Many people with secondary greatness lack primary greatness or goodness in character. Sooner or later, you’ll see this in every long-term relationship they have, whether it is with a business associate, a spouse, a friend, or a teenage child going through an identity crisis. It is character that communicates most eloquently. As Emerson once put it, ‘What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say.”8
Jesus taught clearly on the importance of character.
The Book of Mormon teaches, “For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water.”9 Similarly, Jesus taught, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”10 In other words, what you do reveals who you are.11 His mouthpiece on the earth echoed Christ’s teaching by saying, “My dear brothers and sisters, how we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters.”12
Jesus taught, “For what shall it profit a man though he should win the whole world, if he lose his own soul?”13 In other words, what matters to the Lord more than any accomplishment, achievement, honor, objective, milestone, dignity, mission, ambition, agenda, attainment, proficiency, triumph, success, outcome, veneration, or ANYTHING else, is your soul. Or, in other words, your character.14
Mental Performance
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”15
Napoleon Hill
President Nelson once asked, “What would you do if you had more faith? Think about it. Write about it. Then receive more faith by doing something that requires more faith.”16
Another way to think about this idea is: What would you do if you knew it were impossible to fail?
I listened to a song recently that had some lyrics that moved me. The artist describes it as his fail-proof philosophy.
(Some) truth(s are) hard for me;
Like the second time I got cut from the junior varsity;
Fightin’ back tears, I promised to switch gears;
And said to myself, “Whatever you do, you won’t do it partially”;
From this day forward, I move with a new ferocity;
Ferrari coupe velocity, a fail proof philosophy;
Success is in the effort, so if I tried my hardest;
I’m at peace knowin’ God ain’t deal it in this group of cards for me;17
In the end, moving towards your goals, mission, and purpose as if it were impossible to fail is the only way to live the life that God intends for you.
Why?
Because God speaks to us through our desires, strengths, and gifts. Those—in concert with the Holy Ghost—are compasses pointing you where you should go.18
If you act as if it were impossible to fail, you’re much more likely to accomplish things that truly matter to you and God.
If you act as if it were impossible to fail, work as if it were impossible to fail, and then fail, you can know with surety it just wasn’t in God’s plan for you. And that brings peace, too. You’ll also come to learn that there really is no such thing as failure (at least not how most think about it).19 What doesn’t bring peace is feeling like God wants something for you, or having a dream, not working as hard as you can for it, not accomplishing it, and then always wondering whether not accomplishing it was due to God having other plans or your lack of effort. Don’t open yourself up to those kinds of regrets.
Through God’s Eyes. Sermon by Dale G. Renlund
CS Lewis wrote, “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship … It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”
My Peace I Leave With You. Sermon by Henry B. Eyring.
You Matter to Him. Sermon by Dieter F. Uchtdorf
This is non-partisan; it happens on both sides. The concerning thing is when somebody refuses to acknowledge it happening on their side. Unfortunately, this is a very common occurence.
1 Corinthians 13:6
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Book by Stephen R. Covey.
I have to include the ultimate masterclass of a treatise on character given by Richard G. Scott. It is a must read.
Moroni 7:11
Matthew 7:20
Peacemakers Needed. Sermon by Russell M. Nelson.
Mark 8:36
To cap off this section, to follow Jesus, you have to actively work on building the strength of character. You also have to care about that in those who would lead you. The Lord said, “Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil” (Doctrine & Covenants 98:10).
Think and Grow Rich. Book by Napoleon Hill.
The quote was also the motto of my second mission president, Val Stratford.
Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains. Sermon by Russell M. Nelson
Heaven’s EP. Song by J. Cole
By the way, J. Cole’s point of, “Success is in the effort, so if I tried my hardest; I’m at peace knowin’ God ain’t deal it in this group of cards for me” is doctrinally sound. If you try your hardest at something God wants for you, you will accomplish it. “The Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7). You can substitute the word commandments here for callings, missions, or purposes.
Two of my favorite concepts to help you discern your purpose and mission are The Hedgehog Concept and Ikigai.
Another great perspective on failure.