Solid week Ladies and Gents!
Coming down to the end, I wonder how annoying and repetitive these emails have become for you.
I had the opportunity to be President’s companion for a day! I was pretty nervous at first, but once we got through airport security and on the morning flight everything was a little bit smoother. We had zone training in Cluj and he didn’t think it was necessary to take both me and my companion. It was fun! The flight back was incredible because we talked about his relationships with the Apostles and how he knows all of them so well. Then we talked college football and his life at the U. He told me about his time at Harvard Business School and he asked me . . . "what do you want to be when you grow up?" We had some fun and then talked about some mission things. He then asked me where I wanted to end my mission and I had no idea what to say - It was nuts! He’s basically letting me decide (pressure)! He had some nice things to say and I was appreciative of the hours we spent together.
So back to the conference . . . I taught something that he’s been preaching for the last few weeks. President was busy doing interviews so I covered for him. It’s a cool little concept, kind of hard to put into an email, but when you boil it down it goes as follows . . .
Your life progresses at a decent speed as long as you continue to learn, but the moment you try to teach and serve, your life begins to maximize itself. Unselfish service and hard work will ultimately lead to you learning more, and at a quicker rate. The smallest changes can make all the difference. It only takes 2 degrees or 2 percent to make lasting differences. Example:
In 1979 a large passenger jet with 257 people on board left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, however, someone had modified the flight coordinates by a mere two degrees. This error placed the aircraft 28 miles (45 km)to the east of where the pilots assumed they were. As they approached Antarctica, the pilots descended to a lower altitude to give the passengers a better look at the landscape. Although both were experienced pilots, neither had made this particular flight before, and they had no way of knowing that the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of Mount Erebus, an active volcano that rises from the frozen land scape to a height of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m).
As the pilots flew onward, the white of the snow and ice covering the volcano blended with the white of the clouds above, making it appear as though they were flying over flat ground. By the time the instruments sounded the warning that the ground was rising fast toward them, it was too late. The airplane crashed into the side of the volcano, killing everyone on board.
It was a terrible tragedy brought on by a minor error—a matter of only a few degrees.
Through years of serving the Lord and in countless interviews, I have learned that the difference between happiness and misery in individuals, in marriages, and families often comes down to an error of only a few degrees. - a matter of a few degrees (Uchtdorf - General Conference, April 2008)
President also shared a story about compound interest and a change of only 2 percent in interest rates . . . Ultimately, the difference between 5 percent and 7 percent, compounded over 44 years, results in more than double the income ($10,000 = $90,000 @ 5% or $215,000 @ 7%). Life isn’t about the big changes, but small incremental changes over time.
As for homecomings, I’m hearing guys my age getting home from their missions and the girls my age are getting married! I can’t keep up with all that’s going on, but its nuts. A BIG WELCOME HOME and KILLER JOB to Doug Hintze! I understand he comes home this week so let him know I miss him. Let me know who else is getting home . . . Talon Hatch should be soon, then Blair next month and others.
Remember me? Check out these pics!
Love you all!
Keeg
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