April 6, 2013

Time flies on wings of lightning;

We cannot call it back.

It comes, then passes forward

Along its onward track.

And if we are not mindful,

The chance will fade away,

For life is quick in passing.

'Tis as a single day.

(Hymn 226, Improve The Shining Moments)

I have come to realize how true these words are. We have now been in Ukraine over a year. We have been blessed to be here and are enjoying the things we do here. But in retrospect there are many things that I would have liked to accomplish while we were here that I haven’t and time is now running out. You must take every advantage of every opportunity when it comes or time moves on and there are so many other pressing things to do that you can’t go back. Pressing things or just distractions, that is the real question. So set your goals, decide on ways that you can accomplish them and then based on how bad you want to reach that goal, you can do it.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers sites the following, “In one study conducted by psychologist K. Anders Ericcson done at the Academy of Music in Berlin, three groups of violinists were studied. The first group had star pupils, the second had good students and the third had students who would probably never play professionally. The groups started out at the age of 5 and in the beginning they all practiced roughly the same amount of time for the first few years. Around eight years of age the difference in commitment to the craft started to become obvious.

Here are the numbers of hours per week and by age practiced by those who would go on to become stars:

• 5 years old =  2-3 hours
• 9 years old = 6 hours
• 12 years old = 8 hours
• 14 years old = 16 hours
• 21 years old = 30 hours

By the age of  twenty-one  the elite violinists had each practiced a total of 10,000 hours. The study then went on to look at professional pianists and found the same to be true. By the age of twenty, the amateur pianists had logged a total of 2,000 hours of practice while the elite pianists had reached the 10,000 hour mark. He puts forth the premise that to be an expert in your field requires a devotion to one’s craft for at least 10,000 hours.

Gladwell also points out something quite fascinating and worth remembering. In his study, there weren’t  any ‘naturals’ or prodigies who effortlessly mastered their instrument. He also did not find ordinary people who worked hard and never made it to the top. Gladwell goes on to give other examples like the Beatles, who before making it big, had logged more than 10,000 hours of playing on stage in four years while similar bands had only a fraction of that experience. Bill Gates, who through serendipitous opportunities, had logged in more than 10,000 hours of programming by the time he dropped out of Harvard in his first year thereby giving him an enormous advantage over other developers at that time.

What does it take to be the best? Aside from opportunity and access, it seems that being the best requires us to do what most of us have known all along, work hard. If you believe Gladwell’s conclusion, you also know that hard work can now be measured in terms of the amount of time you’re willing to devote to becoming the best. There are no shortcuts.

This study was referenced at our ward conference last week. Pres. Pohilko, after citing the 10,000 hour rule, compared it to studying the gospel: “If you study the scriptures sixty minutes a day it will take 27 years to have a proficient knowledge, 30 minutes a day it will take 54 years and 15 minutes a day……..life is too short to learn the gospel the way we should.” We decide how much time, and the Lord has promised that “it will be given to you.”  How bad do we want to have this knowledge. I like this 10,000 hour rule and I think it can be applied in a lot of areas of our lives. But I am so old and now I am wishing I could go back in time and make some changes in the way I approach my goals. I could have done so many things so much better. So make every minute count and your regrets will be few. 

We have had some wonderful experiences these last few weeks. One thing we have learned for sure is that you can’t let the weather paralyze you, and that when you are working against adverse conditions the greatest blessings come.

 

Gary has had some windows of opportunity open in some of his projects here which would never had come had he not been working hard against all odds, weather included. The hand of the Lord I am sure was the reason, but had he not been working he wouldn't have seen it. 

I have also had some life changing experiences and have come to realize how important all of God’s children are. I have learned to appreciate what handicapped accessible means after taking 3 hours to make sure a handicapped woman got home safely. I have learned to appreciate having a temple an hour away as I have visited with people that have traveled from Vladivostok which is  nine hours by plane to Moscow and then twelve hours by train to get to Kyiv, bringing with them a spirit of joy and happiness and hundreds of family names.  I have learned to appreciate all the genealogy work done over the years as I have helped someone here find that she is the only one of her family that is now listed in her family tree and knowing how much time will be spent adding her family members. I have learned to appreciate my good health and the blessing of being on a mission as I have heard about the trials of others.

And now some pictures from happenings of the past weeks.

A little snow doesn't keep these people away from their religious duties.

Path to monastery

The sidewalks are cleared on Khreschatyk

Gary heading into the office 3-25-2013

Alex Kikhno clearing out a place to park

Walking baby a little more difficult these days

Starting to thaw...

Here comes the sun

Watch your head.....

Steven's baptism

Gary, Marcia and Jay Stuart

Helping the handicapped

With Luba after our 3 hour walk home

Natalya and Mia--this cat not only understands, but speaks Russian - honestly

Friends from Vladivostok

Natalya's birthday dinner

Sunrise at the temple 3-3-13

Quote for the week is by Elder Neil B. Anderson:

            "I witness that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He suffered and died for our sins and rose the third day. He is resurrected. In a future day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is the Christ. On that day, our concern will not be, 'Do others consider me Christian?' At that time, our eyes will be fixed on Him, and our souls will be riveted on the question, 'What thinks Christ of me?'"

Temple and Patron House 3-3-13