The Beginning

I want to start off this blog post by saying "Hello and Thank You!" Thank you for taking the time to read the thoughts of someone that you either know well, or that you have never met before. I hope that as time goes by and I continue to write in this blog that you will feel a connection with someone who is willing to admit that he is as imperfect as anyone and that the greatest part about this life is finding ones purpose.  That is the purpose of this blog, to have you join me in my journey of "Discovering Me" in the hopes that it will help you to discover, well, you!

The most difficult part of a blog like this is trying to figure out how to begin.  I decided to start with what sparked the journey, and what I chose to do with that information.

After having recently picked up my family and moving from California back to Utah to pursue a career in Real Estate, we were introduced to a company, and more importantly, a way of life that was new and exciting for us, and we made the decision to partner with this company.  Things were at the point financially where I had a lot of free time on my hands and was spending it lazily around the house.  I had everything that I had hoped for in a lifestyle, FREEDOM, and I was going to take advantage of that.

I also need to take a second and explain that I married a person that is about 5 miles ahead of me in every aspect of our lives.  She is incredible. I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am at without her.  She is a crucial part of this story because a few months into this lazy lifestyle, she had  a sit down with me....and she asked probably the most profound question I have ever been asked.  "Mark, what are you going to do with your life?"  No words have struck a man the way that those 10 words struck me.  The only response I could think of was, "What do you mean?" She responded. "What productive thing are you going to do for the world?"

I have never felt so emotionally, mentally, and spiritually exposed before.  I genuinely believed that I had made it! That we were exactly where we wanted to be, that I was LIVING THE LIFE! Then, in a moment, my whole life felt as though it had no purpose.  I felt as though what I had deemed to by my successes were actually potential cataclysmic failures.  My wife wasn't rebuking me, she was just telling me in a subtle way, "Mark, there is more good that you can do then just sit here with your family...SO DO IT!" President Gordon B. Hinckley once stated, "Do not destroy your effectiveness."
That is what my wife was trying to get me to avoid, destroying my own effectiveness.

That was the moment that had me looking into the proverbial "mirror."  What was I going to do with what I have been given to bless others?  Why am I content with being complacent and not moving forward?  What is it that I cannot see for myself yet my wife is able to see? And most important, how are you going to change that?

Since that moment with my wife, there have been a myriad of words, thoughts, and actions that have opened up a pathway to true happiness and growth for me.  That is where this blog is going to take us, through my journey.  The thing is, journey's aren't meant to be traveled alone.  So, my dear friends, may I pose to you the exact same question:

What are you going to do with your life? What are you going to do to become the good in this world?

I challenge you for the next week to take a look at where your life is headed, and ponder and pray about where it SHOULD be headed.  Write down any and all thoughts that may come to you.  In my next post I will talk about the first step that helped me start answering these questions and the thoughts that started that step.  I am excited to share with you these steps that I have been taking, and the steps that I will take, in order to find and fulfill my purpose.  I hope you join me in this journey, and PLEASE, leave comments about things that you have done, moments you have had, and successes you are experiencing!

May we always look to lift!