Sue Murie on Leadership
I had the opportunity to hear Sue Murie’s thoughts on leadership. Sue is a Student Leadership Coordinator at BYU, and she had some excellent advice for us as college students and as aspiring leaders. Sue told us about several myths about the world of careers. They were:
- Myth #1: The major I choose now will lock me into a career forever. FALSE.
You have the freedom to go where you want in life. If you follow the guidance of the Spirit, you can’t go wrong.
- Myth #2: I have to find my specific “calling” in life to be happy. FALSE.
Use your spiritual gifts in many positions. It’s not a matter of finding that one perfect position, it’s making your position perfect.
- Myth #3: When I find my calling, work will be bliss. FALSE.
Jobs aren’t exciting and intensely fulfilling all the time, even fabulous jobs. Don’t expect to have deep meaning from your work without paying the price for it. That can even make it that much more meaningful.
Concerning Myth #1, I would just like to say that although I am a sociology major, I am exploring career options in a wide variety of fields. I am considering hospital administration, work in the nonprofit sector, social work, and tons of other options. Although some of these are fairly pertinent to sociology and others are not, I am not letting the fact that I am studying sociology lock me into a specific career path. It’s important to be open-minded and to go where the Lord guides you, even concerning careers.
And, just a word about Myth #3: The amount of work you put into something will equal the amount of reward you get out of it. Whether you’re planning an event and work really hard at advertising it, or whether you’re working on making your job exciting, how much you put into it will be equal to the benefit you get out of it (i.e. lots of attendees at your event or an engaging work environment). Along the same lines, I have found this to be very true concerning friendships with people. There are some people that I am not immediately drawn to, but I am in a situation where I need or want to be able to get along well with them. I work diligently to have a good friendship (not a superficial one) with these people, and when I have success, it is even more rewarding than friendships I can just walk into, because I personally worked toward the success of that relationship.
Another thing Sue talked about is the importance of focusing on blessing and serving others rather than boosting yourself up. If we focus on serving, we will be extraordinary in whatever we do. In my time serving in BYUSA, I have truly learned that when we are serving, all other areas of our lives are made better as well. We become kind, loving people who do what’s right, and in that, we are able to progress spiritually and temporally. When we are focused on serving, everything else falls into place.
Brother Neal Cox’s 13 Hints to Career Success
Brother Neal Cox’s 13 Hints to Career Success
- Family first. Don’t forfeit what is most important.
- Prepare before opportunity knocks. Do all you can to be prepared to give service to people.
- Be willing to start at ground level.
- Do more than is expected.
- Invite others to help.
- Try new things. Especially when you see a need for it.
- Don’t value security more than service.
- Leave it better than you found it.
- Don’t measure success by fame or fortune.
- Deflect praise to others.
- If you don’t love it, leave it.
- Don’t fear those in power.
- Sprout deep roots. Wherever you go, assume that you’ll be there forever. Don’t plan your life so far in advance that you don’t enjoy the now. Live in the present and sprout deep roots wherever you go. Do all you can; don’t just be tentative.
Let me talk for a moment about a couple of these hints. First, I’d like to talk about Hint #1: Family first. I have heard a lot lately about the importance of putting the family as the first priority. I heard from J.W. “Bill” Marriott Jr. (not an updated link. google J.W. Marriott BYU April 3 for a better result in the future), Elder M. Russell Ballard, and President Boyd K. Packer about the importance of putting the family first. When you have your priorities in the correct order, with your family at the top of that list, everything else will fall into place. Family, then the Lord, then career, as Mr. Marriott said today. When you have your priorities in that order, everything will work out for the best.
I would also like to talk about Hint #11: If you don’t love it, leave it. I think that oftentimes, people get caught up in the mindset of “I’m in this major because I will be able to earn a lot of money” or “I’m going to be a lawyer because lawyers make a lot of money” or “I’m going to be a doctor because that’s what my parents want me to do”. These are all bad mindsets. You should only do the things you love. I am not a very good example of this — I find it difficult to find ‘my passions’ that people are always telling me to find. However, I did decide to major in sociology because I loved learning it, and not because it would take me somewhere great. In fact, I still don’t exactly know what I’m going to do with my future sociology degree, but I do know that I absolutely love studying it, and so I’m going to keep studying it. I am doing it because I love it, and there’s no other reason. There should be absolutely nothing stopping you from doing what you love. If what you love isn’t going to lead to a career that guarantees a high income, so what? If you work hard enough, you can still live the life you want while doing the things you love.
Brother Cox is an inspirational leader. He has an amazing, unceasing capacity to love those around him, and he clearly exhibits that love. He cares so much about the students at BYU and about people he meets in any situation or capacity. If you ever get the chance to talk with Neal Cox, seize the opportunity! He is an amazing man whom I will not soon forget.
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