Master of Fate

Hey guys!  Here's another post!  This was published on the Inspiration Lamp Post website yesterday (titled 2 Roads: How Decisions Determine Destiny).  Go check out all the other awesome stuff on there!  And don't forget about ILP's Lionheart Mentoring seminar this Friday!

 A long time ago, a man was walking along a forest path.  He followed it faithfully, but he was eventually forced to stop.  For there, just before him, the road split.  He could no longer follow the road, but had to choose the direction in which he traveled.  He had never before been thus confronted, and having no frame of reference to help him, he decided upon the road to the right.  His journey commenced.

This path proved dark and treacherous.  He slipped on wet moss and tripped over rocks and roots.  Often the sound of an unseen animal startled him.

By the time he again walked in sunlight, he was wild with fright.  The sight of the familiar sunny road calmed him, but his anger was strong against the mile of darkness in which he had traveled.  He shook his fist at the shady trees, cursing the path.  He gave no thought to the choice which he had made.

 He began walking again, and before long, he came to another parting of roads.  He again chose the path to the right, giving very little thought to the matter.  He had forgotten the consequence of his previous decision.  His choice was made without consciousness.

This path, too, was inconvenient.  Though bathed in daylight, the dirt was muddy and stuck to his shoes.  Occasionally a thorn bush or animal blocked his way.  Fatigue overwhelmed him as this stretch of road seemed to never end.  Finally, however, the path became more firm, and his way cleared.  Again, relief swept over him; and again, he blamed the road for his troubles.

How often do we think like this man did?  We make decisions every day.  Do we realize that?  Do we take responsibility for our situations, recognizing that our choices brought us to where we are?  It’s important that we are aware of the power we possess in agency.  Sometimes we don’t know what to choose, at first; but after experiencing the consequence of a choice, we can choose how we let that affect us and our choices in the future.  Now, back to the man’s story.

The man again continued on his way.  But this time, his thoughts were on what he had experienced along this road.  He pondered the first decision he had made, and the resulting situation.  He then realized that his second decision was very similar.  He stopped abruptly as he came to a startling conclusion.  He could have learned from the first experience.  If he had thought about the consequence of the first situation, he would not have made the same mistake.  Shaking the dried mud from his shoes, the man decided to test his theory.  He hurried along the road until he came to another fork.  Overjoyed, he raced onto the road to the left.

The man was so pleased with his discovery that he jumped over the rocks on the path and scampered up the little hills that he came upon.  He ran his hands along the bushes that crept onto the path.  He listened to the birds sing and laughed at the animals that watched him pass by.  When he tripped over an occasional root, he merely got up and kept going.  His happiness could not be dampened.

Have you noticed what changed?  The path itself was not any easier.  There were rocks and roots and bushes in the way; there were still overhanging trees and lurking animals.  The one thing that changed was his outlook.  And that was his choice.


 Life happens; no question.  There are so many things about your road that you can’t control.  But you decide how Life’s happenings affect you.  You are free to follow any path you choose.  You can even make a new road!  Your circumstances, good or bad, cannot be blamed on or credited to anything or anyone else.  Yes, there are occurrences over which you have no power.  You can’t prevent the waves in the ocean; but you can decide whether to surf them or be pulled under.


 You control the direction of your life.  You are the master of your fate.

CEO and Seventeen Years Old

      This article is being posted on the Shaking Brains website on Monday!  Don't forget to check it out!

Jacob Hansen lives in Bountiful, Utah, and is a full-time student at Brigham Young University in Provo.  He is currently working toward a degree in Entrepreneurship and he plans to continue on to Law School in the near future.  He is the CEO and co-founder of Inspiration Lamp Post, an organization with a website and blog meant to motivate and inspire excellence.  He is a talented writer and public speaker with a fair-sized audience on his website.  While his occupations are great and commendable, the most extraordinary thing about him is probably the fact that he is seventeen years old.  

From early childhood, education has been an important part of Jacob’s life.  He feels that the nature of his childhood education has been a great blessing and advantage “custom built to fit [his] needs.”  He grew up under the private tutelage of his parents, a situation commonly known as home-school.  

“From playing bagpipes to reading novels to building forts in my backyard, I was given freedom to follow my heart,” he says.  Because of that freedom, Jacob has always been passionate about education and finding his purpose.  He attended several weekly classes at a nearby private school for four years, then he took personal charge of his education and became involved with a close-knit peer-support group at the age of fifteen.  He relates, “I firmly believe that everyone has a unique purpose to live here on earth, and at that time I was highly determined to discover my own.”  He received advice, studied, and reflected, and eventually decided that college attendance would be the most beneficial decision for his future.

Having no desire to wait four to five more years for that, Jacob started preparing for and applying to various colleges.  In the fall of 2015, at sixteen years old, he began attending BYU as a full time student with his sights set on law school.  “People often ask me how I was able to get to college at the early age that I did and how I manage to do so well while I’m there,” he says.  “I can only speak from my own experience, but I believe that academic success is not determined nearly as much by your own knowledge as by your attitude towards learning and your mastery of basic study skills.”

Hard work and a passion for learning has carried Jacob far when it comes to success and living up to his potential.  He states, “I think the purpose of education should be to enable one to live his/her purpose.  While I will never stop learning, I plan on continuing to attend formal schooling only as long as I need the opportunities and information best presented in that environment.”

Jacob understands that education doesn’t only happen in the classroom, and he finds learning in any situation.  One aspect of his education has been a fondness for writing.  “I have always enjoyed writing,” Jacob says, “and after finding success in a national writing competition, Celine Wardrop (my friend and writing buddy) and I decided it was time that we start sharing our ideas with the world.  We named our joint blog Inspiration Lamp Post.”

Inspiration Lamp Post started out with two teens who just wanted to share their ideas with the world.  But with Jacob Hansen, “just” doesn’t cut it.  He continues, “In the spring of 2015, an idea was sparked inside each of us.  We looked at the world and saw a society of teenagers who were tragically failing to live up to their potential, and so as 16-year-olds we resolved to do something about it.  Shortly thereafter, a movement was born.”

The mission statement of Inspiration Lamp Post says, “Our mission is to create a culture of excellence among teenagers.”  Inspiration Lamp Post has already begun to fulfill that goal.  Teens have been inspired and motivated and lives have been blessed and enhanced because of this organization.

How is it possible for Jacob to do everything he is doing and has done without any problems?  It’s not.  Just like anyone else, Jacob has trials.  He says, “I have often thought that things like inexperience and a lack of resources were legitimate obstacles in my life, and they have surely made things more difficult.  But more than anything, the number-one greatest challenge that I have faced is the belief that I cannot do what I dream.”

A lot of people tend to be held back by feelings like this, but not Jacob.  He goes on to say, “This belief has killed more of my success than a thousand years of failure ever could, and so I fight it every day.  Every day, sometimes hourly, I remind myself that I am capable of enormous goodness.  That I was BORN FOR GREATNESS.  That I CAN.”  

Jacob recognizes that he is not the only one who got him where he is right now.  He says, “My success in all my endeavors I attribute, above all, to God and the personal relationship I have with Him.”

Jacob trusts that God is behind everything, but he still passionately believes in hard work. “If there is one thing I have learned, it is that when you take action, doors will open.”

As incredibly amazing as he is, Jacob isn’t the only one who can do great things.  You, like Jacob, have a mission in this life.  You possess the potential and capability to fulfill it.  You can push past the feelings of doubt and inadequacy.

"Never consider your age to be a limitation, because it isn't.  Ignorance, fear, and pride are limitations, but fortunately none of those qualities are intrinsically attached to being young.  So stop feeling discouraged and go hunt down success—the path to changing the world is a long one, and there is no better time to start than today."  

~Jacob Hansen

Rise Above Your Limitations

      This is an article that was posted on the Inspiration Lamp Post website.  Click here to read this article (titled If You've Said This Once, You've Said It Too Many Times) and all the other wonderful stuff on there! (I'm serious--it's VERY inspiring...)

“I can’t do that.”

 How many times have you heard or said that sentence?  If you’ve heard (or said) it once, that’s one too many.

 We all have limitations.  We’re mortal, and there are some things that are truly unattainable.  Example: flying by just flapping your arms.  That really can’t happen.  There is not a single person--past, present, or future--who is capable of that.

 But we sometimes look at simple challenges as impossibilities.  The fact that we don’t currently possess the ability to do something, or it will take us out of our comfort zone, doesn’t mean that we can’t.

 I wasn’t born with many natural talents.  For a long time, I was convinced that I wasn’t exceptionally talented at anything, and I just accepted it.  Being great just wasn’t my thing.  I left it to the “talented” people.  Then when I was about eight years old, I discovered my gift for writing, especially writing poetry.  I had a gift!  I had a talent after all!  I knew immediately that I was good at it, and that became my focus.  I wanted to be the best writer I could, and I knew that if I worked hard enough, I could one day be the best ever.  Now, eight years later, I have greatly expanded and improved my ability in that regard.  The problem with that is that I had never really tried--or stuck to--anything else.

 My sister was born a performer.  Drama, music, dancing, you name it.  She has a wonderful ear for remembering and writing music.  For years I would write song lyrics and then pass them on to her without even attempting to write a melody, because I thought that since it didn’t come naturally, I “couldn’t” do it.

 Then I decided that I didn’t need to depend on her to finish my songs.  I sat down at the little electric piano in my room and wrote a melody to my latest song by myself.  It was hard and took a lot longer than it would have for my sister, but I learned something that day: I really could do it!  My limitations were created only by my mind.  Finding that I was capable freed me in a way.  All of a sudden, I could add guitar chords and harmonies and I even arranged a song and added a violin part (I don’t play violin).  Who knew?  It took me sixteen years to learn that I could do anything, as long as I put in the effort (anything except flying with arms, of course).

 Moral of the story: when you think you can’t, the reality is that you won’t.  It’s your mind that puts obstacles in your way, and you have control over that.  You have the power to choose to ignore the doubts and excuses.  Rise above your self-made limitations, and you will soar.

Sympathetically Yours

      This was posted on the Shaking Brains website just this morning!  If you would like to, you can click here to read it and all the other inspiring stuff written by some wonderful teens!

Dear Friends,

This is from a normal, patched-up, immature, short-ish, average-looking, sixteen-year-old girl.  I’m nothing extraordinary or unusual.  I have good days and bad days, and I deal with problems in every single one of them.  I like to talk (what girl doesn’t?), and I giggle and fan-girl just like you would expect a teen girl to do.  I have friends and people I wouldn’t exactly call my “friends”.  I have interests and hobbies and certain things I don’t particularly like to do.  I have responsibilities.  I have little joys and pleasures.  I have problems.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I understand.  I bet if I told you how much I hate it when my little sister leaves my bedroom light on, you would totally get it.  I bet if I described my love for the smell of rain, you’d tell me you feel the same way.  I bet if I said that I tend to feel awkward talking to people I don’t know (especially cool people: I don’t want to embarrass myself), you would feel my pain.  And I’m sure that if you talked about the certain way you eat your pizza, or your unique way of tying your shoes, we would both laugh and agree.  Because I get it; I completely understand, and I probably do the same thing.

You know, I have a New Year’s resolution to have a better fitness plan.  We know how well that will work out, right?  

See? You just laughed (or at least smiled) at that sentence--I can tell.  Why?  Because we all know.

We all have our quirks and differences; to a degree.  No one is exactly like you, because we’re all made up of little bits of everyone else.  You will never meet someone with whom you have every single thing in common, but you also won’t meet someone you aren’t similar to in any way.

I have some interesting little things I say, such as “funsauce”, “don’t die”, and “I’m confuzzled”, which I have picked up from various friends of mine.  And recently, I’ve had some friends telling me that I sound “exactly like” their sister Aubrey* when I say those kinds of things.  Aubrey* is currently serving an LDS mission, and I’ve never met her.  Yet she says the same things, and her family has told me that I even act like her sometimes.  We both like doing fancy stuff with hair, and we both enjoy writing (like neither of us can live without it).  Funny, right?  Someone I have never even seen in person is so much like me.  I’m sure you know, or at least know of, people who are very similar to you.

Have you ever searched your name on the Internet?  (Believe me, you’re not the only one.)  Did you see how there actually were results?  Again: you’re not alone!

Have you ever tripped over something (like a chair) and dropped your folder (full of papers) while walking in front of a bunch of people?  Same.  (I did it on Wednesday.)

Have you ever said something really stupid in front of your crush, or someone you’re trying to impress?  Me too.  (I can’t even count the number of times I’ve done that…)

Have you ever laughed so hard that your face turned red and blotchy and tears were pouring out of your eyes and you fell off your stool and you had to basically crawl to the bathroom where you gagged on your laughter because you weren’t breathing and you found that your cheeks were covered with mascara and then when you walked back you found your friends looking at you with wide eyes like they thought you were the weirdest person they’d ever seen?  Hopefully you’ve never had to experience that… (That was Thursday.)

I hope this has been evidence that we all do dumb, embarrassing things sometimes.  When those things happen to you, and people laugh, please know that most of them aren’t laughing because they don’t like you or they’re trying to be mean.  Most of them laugh because they understand and have probably done that very thing.

I hope this has also been proof that people understand what you’re going through.  We all disagree with other people sometimes.  We all have friend problems.  We all have jealousies and get offended occasionally.  We all go through it.  So don’t feel like no one understands.  Don’t think you can’t talk to anyone about it, because chances are, they need someone to talk to just as much as you do.

A friend of mine says that “what is personal is universal,” meaning that you, unique as you are, aren’t going through anything alone.  I may not know you, whoever you are, but I bet we’d get along just fine.  Because I understand.  I know.

I wrote a poem several months ago for a contest (I didn’t win, in case you were wondering).  I’d like to share it here.

We All Go Through It

Happiness or pain,

Sunshine or rain,

Everyone around you goes through it.

Alone or with friends,

For a while or to the end,

Look around-- we all go through it.

On others you can depend,

For we all understand.

Go lift someone up-- you’ve been through it.

Look around.  Notice others.  They’re human, just like you.  The struggles people deal with are there so other people have the opportunity to help.  So don’t deny others the privilege of helping you with your problems, and don’t hesitate to take the chance to do the same for someone else.  Knowing that there’s someone who understands helps us have confidence in who we are.  It helps us know that we’re not alone, and fewer people are judging us than we may imagine.  I hope you know that there’s at least one person on earth who understands: and that’s me.  But I think you’ll find that most people do understand.  So go on with the confidence that you are you, and we know how it is.  

I understand, and don’t you dare forget it.

Sympathetically yours,

~Patty

*Name changed

Troyanda

One dew-covered morning in the summer, a small bud was found at the very bottom of the pink rose bush in the corner of the garden.  The proud roses strained their stems to look at the glistening new addition to their happy bush.  A name for this beautiful bud was the first topic of discussion.

“She’s going to be gorgeous,” Rosa said, “I can tell.  So we should name her after me.”

Rhosyn laughed.  “That’s been your vote for for every bud that has bloomed this summer.  I say we should name her Blossom. I’ve always loved that name.”

“Troyanda,” a quiet voice said.  It was Kufufuka, the oldest and wisest of the roses on the bush.  She was the one the others turned to when they needed advice, and she had always overseen the naming of the buds.  As you can guess, the name stuck.  No other suggestions fit quite so well.

Troyanda grew quickly.  As the days went swiftly by, the little bud swelled with the evidence of silky pink petals ready to emerge.  She drew constantly from the warmth and nourishment of the sun.  She listened to music of the birds and the chatter of the squirrels.  She made friends with the beetles and worms and sang into the wind in the warmth of the afternoon.  And one by one, she watched as her friends on the bush were plucked and carried away.  She had been taught well, and she knew that the reason for the roses was to be taken and loved by those who saw them.  She wanted more than anything to be like her friends and live up to her purpose in the garden.

But there at the bottom, no one saw her.  She had narrowly escaped being crushed by his boot as the gardener commented on Rosa’s beauty.  Troyanda was beautiful, too, but no one took the time to look for her.  She could only look on sadly as her friends left her to live their dreams.

As Troyanda’s petals opened and spread, the last of her companions departed.  She was alone.  No one visited the rosebush anymore.  Her petals wilted and started to fall as the leaves of the bush began to change color.  One morning, she awoke to find a crisp frost covering her like a blanket.  The sun melted it quickly, but it left her petals blackened, broken, and full of holes.

During this time, Troyanda found that she really wasn’t alone.  She was the trusted guardian of a squirrel’s precious nuts.  She sheltered the home of a family of pillbugs, and every night, the beetles, worms, and sparrows gathered to hear her sing in a voice as gentle as her ways.  All the creatures in the garden loved her, but Troyanda wasn’t happy.  She often thought about the summer days when she was beautiful, and how wonderfully different her life could have been.

Soon leaves began to fall, leaving all the trees and bushes in the garden just bare skeletons.  The gardener came again.  Troyanda envied the leaves that were fortunate enough to be taken away.  For two days she watched with mournful thought of the coming winter.  Such thoughts occupied her mind in the afternoon of the second day.  She was imagining snow, cold, and death when six words hurt her like no image could.

“Well, hello there, you ugly thing,” the gardener said.  “You’re as brown as the dirt.  It’s no wonder I didn’t see you before.”

He carelessly snapped Troyanda’s stem and lifted her up to the mouth of his black garbage bag.

Troyanda looked at the sun for the last time, the words that had shattered all her dreams ringing through her mind.  She tried hard not to cry as she dropped into the darkness forever.

Out of Troyanda’s sight and even further from her thoughts, a little family of pillbugs had crawled out of a small hole in the soil.  A squirrel joined three sparrows on a bare gray branch above, and a large number of beetles and worms could be seen scattered about the garden.  They looked on in silent indignation.

That evening, the creatures gathered as usual, but not to hear Troyanda’s songs.  For a while, a thoughtful stillness reigned over the group.  No one knew what to say, for none wished to voice what they all were thinking.  An emotional beetle finally spoke up.

“I remember...” she began, and the night became a reminiscent journey down memory lane.  They spoke of the kindness of their faithful friend.  They cried over her smile that shone through the pain in her heart.  They admired her courage and selflessness, and each vowed that they would never forget the humble flower that had possessed nothing except a caring heart, and had forgotten her dreams to give the only thing she had left.

A somber ceremony was held that night as the moon rose between the mountains.  To this day, if you come to the rosebush under the walnut tree in the back corner of the garden,  take a magnifying glass.  You will see the word “Troyanda” written into the lowest branch, carefully cleaned and sheltered by those who have not forgotten the great gift that had been given all those years ago.


Remember-- you may not feel important. It might be that you feel inadequate. You might think that because you aren't what everyone thinks you should be, you aren't good. Just know that if you work to do and be the best you can, you will touch lives in a way you otherwise couldn't have. You have your own unique purpose, and you don't have to be like everyone else. You are special; live up to your individuality. It is who you are.

Parable of the Sonflower

The Parable of the Sonflower

by Patty Morford

  Once there was a small flower. She was fragile and afraid of everything, but her greatest fear was that she wouldn’t be able to do everything all the other flowers expected of her. In the back of her mind, she worried that she had been planted in the wrong garden.  She never felt that she blended well with the colors of the other flowers.  From her place at the edge of the patch, a well secluded corner, she could see the other garden beds, and envied the situation of similar little flowers.  She always felt unfortunate. She disparaged over the stormy days, and never appreciated or even noticed when it was sunny. To her, existence was a burden.

  Then one day, a group of other flowers were planted near her. She watched them, noticing how comfortable they seemed with themselves. They invited her to join their group.  Hesitantly, the small flower tried to connect and be more like these wonderful flowers.  As she became familiar with them, she realized that they were normal flowers, like her, with only one difference: they were confident, always working to improve themselves.

  

  The small flower participated in the things her new group of friends did, and, though at first she was afraid to open up, she soon found herself blossoming into a beautiful bloom, unique and confident.  She no longer hid in her corner, but lit it up with her individuality.  Her new friends helped her learn kindness, wisdom, self-confidence through God-confidence, forgiveness, and charity.  Through building her relationships with her fellow flowers, she came to know and love the One who put her where she was. She found that she was not planted in that garden to blend in and hide, but to stand out and shine as an example to those around her.  And just like she grew from the warmth and strength of the sun in the sky, she built herself inside through the strength and love of the Son, her Savior.  

  

  She learned that when she stays shallow and allows others to block the sun from her, she does not grow, and only breaks down. But when she plants her roots deep in the good soil and only listens to those who will build her up and help her find the sunlight, she blooms into a flower of a color and vibrancy that she never could have obtained on her own.  She learned to depend on the Gardener, and trust that He had planted her where she needed to be, where she could become her best self; a flower of the Son.

 Though small we may be,

And not far can we see,

We know there is Someone who cares.

He has a great Plan

For the welfare of Man,

He hears us in our heart-felt prayers.

We can turn to Him

When our future seems dim;

He'll lead us back into the light.

With help of great friends,

We'll endure to the end;

Together we'll all win the fight.

The End

Purpose

        This is an article I wrote for Shaking Brains, a wonderful company that I love being a team member with!  I hope you like it and you can view it on their website (which I highly recommend; they have some great stuff on there) if you click here.  It will be posted on that website on Monday, December 7, 2015.  (If you're reading this after that date, it's already there.)  Enjoy!

Hey, guys! I’m so happy to be writing for you!  My name is Patty Morford.

I know, right? You’re probably thinking, “‘Patty’? Since when is that a name?”  Trust me, I’ve been called Hamburger or Peppermint (even Cow) countless times.  And you know what? For about a year when I was eight and insecure, I tried to change my name.  I was tired of being teased about my weird name.  I wanted to be called Patricia, instead (that’s my full first name).  That one was still a little odd, and I would have tried my middle name (Evelyn is pretty epic, right?), but by that time I had learned something.

I learned that it didn’t really matter what my name was.  It didn’t matter what anyone thought about my name either.  There was a reason for my name, and people’s words couldn’t change its purpose.  It meant something to me, and I wasn’t about to let myself feel embarrassed about someone’s opinion.

To change the subject slightly: my grandmother is a wonderful person.  She grew up in the home of two former navy personnel who were professionally employed in the medical field.  She was the oldest of three children, the youngest being 12 years younger.  She was so much older than her siblings, and I can’t say that her growing-up years were the kind you would ask for.  She married a military man, this time from the air force.  My grandma’s life has had many difficulties, which definitely built her character.  She could have been negatively affected by her experiences, but she chose to use them to make her better.  She is the strongest, kindest person I know, and I greatly admire and look up to her.  Her name is Patty.

That’s why I’m proud of my name.  My parents named me after the woman who quickly became my hero, and that has such a meaning to me.  I would not wish to bear any other title.  This name pushes me to live up to the honor she built upon it.  I want to be the kind of person that would make her proud to share her name with.  For me, my name is who I am.  It gives me a purpose and a direction to my life.

I’m not saying that everyone’s name means something that deep.  Your parents may have named you after a book or movie character, or thought that your name sounded cool.  But there was still a reason for your name; and apart from that and more importantly, there is a reason for you.

You are not an accident.  You are not a mistake.  You have a purpose. You have a mission.  You can be great. You are meant to be great.

You may have felt that you don’t matter.  That you want to change yourself or even get rid of yourself.  You might feel like being different is a bad thing, and you’re afraid to be yourself.  Well, I’m here to tell you this: forget about it.  Stop thinking that.  You DO matter.  You are the way you’re meant to be.  Becoming better isn’t change; it’s being more like your true self.  Everyone was made individually.  Mankind didn’t originate in a mass production of an identical item; you were meant to be different.  That’s what will make you successful.

Embrace your differences.  Your little oddities and quirks are who you are.  It’s those little things that take you to other places.  You don’t share and interest with someone? That’s okay.  Do your own thing.  If everyone was amazing at the same thing, no one would be.  There wouldn’t been a need for talent if talent was all the same.

Somewhere inside you is a genius.  A path and a purpose.  You.

And you matter more than you will ever know.