It has been an enlightening week and I love the opportunities to learn new ways to become a better person. I had the opportunity to write a book report on 'The Ministry of Business' and I am grateful that I am taking this class. This is a great book, and I have learned a great deal from the ideas shared on those pages. I highly recommend this book and I have suggested to my current employer that he should read it. Here are a few principles I loved.

-Know who you are and have the courage to stand for what you believe. Integrity is key in every aspect of life, and though the author faced some trying litigation, he learned to trust the Lord and focus on the only thing that he could control in his life at that time - his personal actions. The process taught him to forgive his enemies.

-One plus God is enough. Hintz shares this insight, “The key is to make and keep covenants with God. When we uphold our end of the promise, we can trust that God- who is perfect- will most certainly uphold his.” (Ritchie, 2012, p. 65) We are never alone and God is the best business partner that we could ever have, so you working with God on your side is enough!

-The Six Step Formula for Happiness and Success. This is an important formula that will bless your life. I have lived it in part and have gained various blessings from doing so but I have pondered over the success that will be achieved if I lived ALL six of those steps? They are as follows, get up early, work hard, get an education, find your oil, make your mark, and get prepared to be of service. This formula has proven very helpful for the author and his mentor and can be incorporated into the lives of anyone willing to make the changes. Personally, I believe that you must get up early and make the most of the day that you been given. A strong work ethic is a blessing in any area of your life and especially helpful when trying to complete your education goals.

To find your oil, you must figure out what you like to do. It is better to do a job that you love, than to go to work each day because you must. It will soon turn into the thing you hate and you won’t be successful and you will not make your mark in this world. You can make a mark in the lives of those around you when you are excited to do what you do. Lastly, remember to give back to help others to learn the concepts and principles that have made you the success that you are today.

-My Personal Constitution. I loved this principle the most, the author defined it like this, “A Personal Constitution is a single document outlining who you want to be and what you are going to do to accomplish this objective.” (Ritchie, 2012, p. 133) I had to look inwardly in search of governing values that I wanted to develop and found that this is a work in progress that takes time to evaluate. Starting with a small number, then prioritizing those values into short or long term goals, then breaking them down into daily tasks that will develop those values within. As you learn, governing values may change but you will become the person that you want to be and find the success and happiness that you seek.

Have you ever wondered why the Lord puts you in situations to learn things? Is there a reason that you are studying this subject at this time? If so what do you think you are supposed to learn? This week I have had the opportunity to reflect on some things that need to change in our family business and also the work ethic of those that I do work with. I had a feeling that I needed to understand the formula for success and the Personal Constitution so that we could apply it into the family business that I work with.

We have meetings with our in house staff this coming week to review their goals for the year, and what we can do to make our business better.

I believe that if I can understand how to put my personal constitution together for myself, I can help them to develop the same for themselves in relation to the business. I also enjoyed the exercise of analyzing and overcoming my fears. This also may be something that we can use with the staff in our next reviews.

Learning is great but I have a feeling that I need to share these ideas with my co-workers, and in turn help them to learn as well!