Blossoms at Sunrise

“In the cherry blossom’s shade, there is no such thing as a stranger.”

– Kobayashi Issa

From a photography perspective, one of the most exciting parts about living in Washington, DC is the opportunity to take advantage of the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.  As a symbol of friendship, Japan gave 3,000 cherry blossom trees to the United States in 1912 and those trees are planted throughout Washington, DC.  There are only about 3-4 days per year where the blossoms are at full bloom, and people flock to the Tidal Basin to see them. In early April, I took a morning off from work to go to the Tidal Basin and take pictures of the blossoms and monuments.  I arrived at about 5:45am and was surprised to see quite a few photographers already set up and waiting for the sunrise.  I do not yet have a lot of photography experience, but I did my best in choosing my spots for pictures.  It was a perfect morning and a lot of fun!

A Doctor, a Priest, and a Multi-Level Parking Garage

In conversing with a few friends last week, I came to a realization: I enjoy more TV shows that have been cancelled than I do shows currently on TV.  I don’t know why, but I think it comes down to the fact that I tend to find things I like and stick to them, whether that be ordering the same thing at the same restaurant, or choosing to watch the same shows over and over again.  One of my all-time favorite TV shows is The West Wing, a political drama that lasted seven seasons (1999-2006).  I have literally seen every episode approximately 4-5 times.  Pathetic?  Yes.  Worth it?  Yes.

Below is one of my favorite clips from the show.  Leo (the older guy) is the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States and has been through plenty of hard times in life.  One of his employees, Josh, had recently gone through a traumatic experience and Leo encouraged him to seek professional medical help to get through it.  The conversation in this clip takes place after Josh receives that help.

“I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.”

There is something deep, something eternal taught in this story.  Because the man’s friend had been in that hole before, he knew exactly how to get out of it and was willing to jump in and support the man in doing so.  I am a Christian because I truly believe that Jesus Christ was sent by my Father in Heaven, God, to help me get out of the holes into which everyday life causes me to fall.  It is important to know, however, that it wasn’t simply Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection that gave Him the ability to save me.  In reality, it was His suffering in the garden of Gethsemane before His death that enabled Him to care for me and any challenges or difficulties that burden my soul.  In that garden, Christ willingly told God that He would experience all of the pains, difficulties, sicknesses, and trials that each of God’s children (i.e., all of us) would experience during their lives in order to know how to support them in their search for happiness.  There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon (as well as plenty in the Bible) that explains this principle:

“And (Jesus Christ) shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.  And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”  (Alma 7:11-12)

As a lot of you know, I recently moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where I live in an apartment building that has a three-level underground parking garage.  It is definitely nice to have a place to park my car each night, but oftentimes it is a burden to park because, if I am not home by about 8:00pm each night, I need to go to the third level below ground to find a decent parking spot.  Over the last month or so, I’ve noticed that there is only one radio station, WGTS 91.9fm, that works in my parking garage.  Every other station is influenced by static when I enter the garage, and is then overcome by static as I drive farther below ground.  The interesting thing is this – the type of music that WGTS 91.9fm plays is Christian music.  Usually the music has a modern feel to it, but its lyrics are definitely founded on Christian principles.  While all other radio stations stop working, WGTS 91.9fm always works, regardless of which level I am on.  As I drive from the first level down to the second, and from the second down to the third, this music about Christ remains and comes through crystal clear.

No matter how hard life becomes, no matter how stupid we are, now matter how prideful we are, a static-free relationship with Christ is there for the taking if we choose to tune our radios to His frequency and listen.  The depth of the hole in the ground does not change that.  The depth of the parking garage does not change that.  Christ came to the earth and suffered pain and sorrow beyond description because He loves us, and wanted to know how to care for us.  Christ willingly jumped into the deepest of holes because He loves us and wanted to know how to help us out of them.  Christ intentionally parked his car three levels below ground because He loves us and wanted to be there for us when we get to that point.  He is ready and waiting to help, but cannot do so until we’re ready to listen.

“Has one of you ever had the feeling you are walking alone down a dark tunnel that gets ever more depressing? No one seems to care? Life gets more and more complicated, and discouraging?
If you have had such feelings of depression, turn around—literally turn your life around. The other end of the tunnel is filled with light. No matter where you have been or what you have done, that light is always available to you.”Richard G. Scott
Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ
“Trust in the Lord,” April 1989 

Dumb is Forever

My Grandpa Hammon and I have quite a few personality traits in common, but there are two primary traits that dominate our lives: (1) we are driven by logic, and (2) we are easily frustrated by those who lack logic.  When my Grandpa and I interact with someone who just doesn’t seem to get it, someone whose actions are simply illogical, we both think of a saying that pretty much sums up the situation: “Dumb is forever.”  Face it – some people are dumb and will always be dumb.  It is very rarely at any fault of their own, but it is what it is.

I once had a roommate who was a big fan of Harry Potter and he decided to host a Harry Potter-themed Halloween party at our apartment.  It was clear to me that he was really excited about the party and committed to making it a success.  To drive home the Harry Potter theme, my roommate wanted to make our living room look like the Great Hall from Harry Potter by making the ceiling look like a night sky with floating candles hanging below it (picture below).  One day, my roommate used sticky putty to attach black sheets of paper to the ceiling, one at a time.  To make the candles look tall, he took individual sheets of white paper and wrapped them around the small, shallow candles.  In order to make it seem as if the candles were floating in midair, he separated a string into its individual strands and then connected them to both the candles and the ceiling.

Harry Potter movie’s depiction of the Great Hall, the scene my roommate attempted to recreate.

Once he had made some progress on recreating the Great Hall, my roommate called me into the living and excitedly told me to take a look.  The first thing I said to my roommate was, “Does this not raise any red flags in your mind?”  I could tell that my roommate had no idea what I was talking about, so I spoke up again and pointed out to him that he had wrapped small candles in paper, and suspended them below a ceiling of paper using strands of a string.  An open flame, wrapped in paper, suspended below paper, held up by strands of a string.

Dumb is forever, my friends, dumb is forever.

Looking back, however, it is easy to understand why my roommate did what he did and I can’t really blame him.  He was throwing a big party for a lot of people, and he idealized in his mind what it would be like.  There they would be, all of his closest friends, chatting and laughing together for a few hours in a room that reminded them of a story from their childhoods.  In order to make that vision become reality, my roommate did whatever he could, including wrapping small candles in paper and suspending them below a ceiling of paper.  Forget logic and anything else that may get in his way – he was on a mission to throw the ideal Harry Potter party.

In all honesty, I’ve done exactly the same thing and I imagine that you have as well.  Don’t get me wrong, I have never desired to throw a Harry Potter party and I’m not dumb enough to surround an open flame with paper.  What I am saying is that I always tend to envision and idealize things I think I want in life and then do everything I can to get them.  Then, if I get them, I realize that they do not at all match my preconceived ideal.  Oftentimes those things just turn into a cheap, crappy candle suspended by some cheap, crappy string.

Overlooking that which we have and idealizing that which we don’t is simply dumb and will forever lead to unhappiness and a lack of fulfillment.  We have what we have, we are who we are, and that is plenty for which to be grateful and allows plenty of room for self-improvement.  We all have the ability to become something more, something better, but we cannot afford to wait for the ideal scenario to come along before we make that happen.  We need to proactively improve ourselves right now – not hold out to make changes once the perfect circumstance.

Otherwise, we will just be dumb.  Forever.

The New Man

“Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth. Some, as I have admitted, are still hardly recognizable: but others can be recognized. Every now and then one meets them. Their very voices and faces are different from ours: stronger, quieter, happier, more radiant. They begin where most of us leave off. They are, I say, recognizable; but you must know what to look for. They will not be very like the idea of ‘religious people’ which you have formed from your general reading. They do not draw attention to themselves.  You tend to think you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you. They love you more than other men do, but they need you less…..They will usually seem to have a lot of time: you will wonder where it comes from. When you have recognized one of them, you will recognize the next one much more easily. And I strongly suspect (but how should I know?) that they recognize one another immediately and infallibly, across every barrier of color, sex, class, age, and even of creeds. In that way, to become holy is rather like joining a secret society. To put it at its very lowest, it must be great fun.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I’ve met one of the new men to which C.S. Lewis refers.  I was in my first two years of college and I attended an LDS (Mormon) congregation composed of single students between the ages of 18-30 years old.  There I had a bishop (the Mormon equivalent of a Catholic priest), Tony, who changed my life and the way I view Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.  Here I am, a few years later, and I have still never met a man as close to C.S. Lewis’ description as he is.  I was in a religious class on campus one day when my teacher incorporated the above quote into his lesson.  As I read the quote, I felt a divine prompting from what I believe to be the Spirit of God that told me that Tony fits into the new man category.  It is hard to point out what is different about Tony, but something is.  He always seemed to have time for anyone in need and his demeanor is just as Lewis described: stronger, quieter, happier, and more radiant.  He is one of the most sincere followers of Christ that I have ever met.

In the Mormon faith, we attend church weekly and partake of the sacrament in remembrance of the body and blood.  We believe that at baptism, we make covenants, or promises, to take upon ourselves the name of Christ.  In essence, we commit to accept Christ as our Savior and live according to His teachings.  Understandably, every single one of us make mistakes and come up short.  The sacrament is meant to help us renew our promise made to the Lord at baptism on a weekly basis.  We repent, or recognize and ask forgiveness for our mistakes, and commit to be better, to try again.

Too often, we go to church on Sunday and repent of bad things we did and good things we did not do.  As we are about to partake of the sacrament, we think to ourselves, How did I mess up this week?  What did I do wrong?  What Tony taught me about the Atonement is the necessity to use each week to be better – not to simply do better.  If we focus on how we can actually become more like Christ, we will naturally do better things.  Concentrating on only our actions does not lead to fundamental, enduring change.  Instead, doing so leads to a temporary fix and little actual progression.  For permanent change and real progress, we must change our nature in order to be more like Christ.

Thank goodness for the period of my life where I learned this key lesson from Tony, a true disciple of Christ and someone who fits C.S. Lewis’ description of the new man.

Sweatpants.

I, ladies and gentlemen, am a recovering sweatpants-aholic.  It all started in elementary school, when I always seemed to only own stiff, uncomfortable jeans for me to wear.  But I, being my own man, refused to resign myself to a stiff, uncomfortable existence.  In a rebellious pursuit of comfort, I decided to wear sweatpants every day – and I mean essentially every day.  The memory is very vivid: I owned three pairs in three different colors – black, navy, and heather gray, each with a USA olympic emblem sewn into it.  I felt patriotic; I felt athletic; I felt free; I felt like a man.

I’ve been teased before about the fact that I specify that the third pair was a heather gray, but I am only able to do so as a result of the painful and traumatizing realization that one cannot pee his/her pants when wearing heather gray sweatpants without others noticing.  It is impossible to hide it.  I’ve owned sweatpants with various shades of gray since then and many of them would be much more useful in hiding an embarrassing stream of urine running down my leg than heather gray.  To all children or young adults who are seeking pee-hiding apparel, or to all elderly citizens who are simply losing their grip, avoid the heather gray.  Trust me.

My Mom, being the smart, effective parent that she is, routinely exploited my SPP (sweatpant passion) when it came to my personal disobedience.  Most of her efforts to teach me obedience sounded a little something like this:

Mom: “Jeff!  Did you  ________?” (insert “take out the trash,” “clean your room,” “empty the dishwasher,” or any other routine chore that Moms everywhere ask their children to perform)

Jeff: “…No.”

Mom: “What?!  I’ve asked you three times to do it!  Why isn’t it done?  If you don’t get it done by the end of the day, I’m going to bag up your sweatpants!”

Jeff: “…NO!!!!!!!!!!!”

I’m telling you, that woman knew where to strike when she needed to make a point and teach me something.  Sending me to my room would be fine, but not terribly effective.  Preventing me from playing with my friends would be understandable, but I knew that restriction would eventually fade away.  Instead, she chose to threaten interference with one of the most intimate relationships I have ever had.  Looking at it now, that was the smartest and most effective move she could have made.  Pure genius.  After a sweatpant threat was put on the table, I was always sure to complete the task she had given me in order to protect my sweatpants.  I became more protective and appreciative of my relationship with my sweatpants after one of Mom’s teaching moments.  Upon avoiding a tragedy that could only be compared to death itself, my sweatpants always felt softer, warmer, and more comfortable than ever before.

Lesson Learned: God must love sweatpants too!

As odd as it may seem, my SPP and its accompanying disciplinary drama has taught me a valuable life lesson: it turns out that God, too, loves sweatpants.

The things in life that we hold most dear are almost always the things that we take for granted, and they are almost always the things that we only seriously care for when we run the risk of losing them.  As Dieter F. Uchtdorf (a Mormon leader and someone I believe to be an Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ) said in a recent speech, the things that matter most (friends, family, serving others, etc.) will always lead us to the Savior, Jesus Christ, and to God, our Heavenly Father.  They love us, want to help us, and are more than willing to do so if we are willing to listen.

Throughout the Bible, we read about Prophets, or representatives, whom God has chosen to speak for Him.  Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others are all examples of periods of time when God chose to have a spokesperson on the Earth through whom He could guide His children.  God gave these Prophets the necessary permission and authority to be His representatives, and I believe that authority is called the priesthood.

As crazy as it may seem, I believe that through time, God has used my Mom’s sweatpants tactics in His relations with mankind.  When people on Earth listen to and act on a Prophet’s advice, that authority remains on the Earth.  But as soon as God’s children become prideful and decide to ignore and reject that advice given to them from God through His chosen Prophet, it is time to bag up the sweatpants, or time to remove the priesthood from the Earth.  After Jesus Christ was crucified, His Twelve Apostles were responsible to maintain Christ’s church through God’s authority, the priesthood.  The people rejected the Apostles’ teachings and persecuted them until all had died.

God had demonstrated a willingness to help His children on the Earth by giving to them Prophets, but the people didn’t listen.  As a result, God bagged up the sweatpants that is a Prophet’s authority.  Without that priesthood authority, God’s true teachings (doctrine) were corrupted and changed by mankind, and that is why so many churches exist on the Earth today.  Nobody had God’s guidance and authority to be His spokesperson.  Essentially, for thousands of years, man has been trying to find different ways to cope with stiff, uncomfortable jeans.

I strongly believe that, once again, God has chosen to give sweatpants, or the authority to have a Prophet, back to His children on Earth.  I believe that Joseph Smith was chosen as the Prophet of modern times and that through him, God brought back the pure truth that existed during Christ’s time.  I even believe that there is a Prophet on the Earth today, Thomas S. Monson, who is God’s spokesperson for our lives.  In my personal life, I am doing my best to take care of the sweatpants with which God has entrusted us.  I make an effort to demonstrate my willingness to listen every day by acting on Prophets’ advice and by working to change who I am in the pursuit of becoming more like Christ.

Who knew that God loves sweatpants as much as I do?

For more explanation of LDS Church organization, click here.

For more explanation about God restoring His pure truth to the Earth through Joseph Smith, click here.

Capturing Light, Capturing Darkness

A few months ago, I felt that I should try to develop a new hobby that is artistic and creative in nature.  I spent a significant amount of time this year with a good friend, Garrett, who is an animation major and has more than enough artistic ability.  Interacting with Garrett helped me to gain an appreciation for the eternal perspective that art can provide.  Because I am a very analytical, logical person whose thinking resonates with economic principles, I’ve never really been able to view life from this artistic perspective.

So, I decided to pick up photography, a hobby my Dad has had my entire life, as well as a few good friends of mine.  I love beautiful landscapes and I want to learn how to best capture them when seen.  My Dad, brother, and I recently went on a photography trip to Page, Arizona, where we spent a substantial amount of time navigating our way through slot canyons in the pursuit of the perfect shot.  It was the first real opportunity for me to use my new DSLR camera.  It amazes me how a camera can capture such beautiful images with so little light.

Because taking photos is a time-consuming process (one shot can sometimes take 30 seconds, simply because the camera’s aperture needs to let in a certain amount of light before it can adequately capture the image), I had a lot of time to ponder the difference between light and darkness.  I could not help but connect the artistic components of light and darkness with the spiritual application of the same.

These are a few of the photos I took while on this trip.  Paired with each photo is a verse of scripture (taken from the Bible, Book of Mormon, or Doctrine & Covenants) or a quote from a Mormon leader given during the LDS Church’s biannual general conference.  Click on a picture to open a slideshow of all of the pictures.

Please comment with insights that come to mind when you see these pictures and/or read these passages.

[ Refined Through Experience ] “As you live a pure and virtuous life, you will be refined by your life’s experiences, and as you trust in the Lord and draw closer to Him, He will make [your] hearts as gold.” Elaine S. Dalton, LDS Leader “Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord,” April 2009

[ Waves of Fair Colors ] “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.” Isaiah 54:11

[ Tunnel of Light ] “Has one of you ever had the feeling you are walking alone down a dark tunnel that gets ever more depressing? No one seems to care? Life gets more and more complicated, and discouraging? If you have had such feelings of depression, turn around—literally turn your life around. The other end of the tunnel is filled with light. No matter where you have been or what you have done, that light is always available to you.” Richard G. Scott, Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ “Trust in the Lord,” April 1989

[ Narrow is the Way ] “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:14

[ Unique Color ] “We build…unity and share our unique colors through benevolence: individual acts of kindness. “Bring your unique color into the lives of others with your smiles, your kind words, or a note of encouragement.” Mary N. Cook, LDS Leader “Remember This: Kindness Begins with Me”

[ Things as They Really Are ] “It is a great blessing to have light in our lives—a light that helps us see things as they really are, light that illuminates our understanding, light we can follow with confidence and perfect trust.” Margaret D. Nadauld, LDS Leader “Follow the Light,” April 1999

[ Light for Darkness ] “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20

[ Burden’s Shadow ] “‘Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey towards it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.’ … Hope sweetens the memory of experiences well loved. It tempers our troubles to our growth and our strength. It befriends us in dark hours, excites us in bright ones. It lends promise to the future and purpose to the past. It turns discouragement to determination.” James E. Faust, Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ, quoting Samuel Smiles “Hope, an Anchor of the Soul,” October 1999

[ Things as They Really Are ] “It is a great blessing to have light in our lives—a light that helps us see things as they really are, light that illuminates our understanding, light we can follow with confidence and perfect trust.” Margaret D. Nadauld, LDS Leader “Follow the Light,” April 1999

[ The Storm Did Cease ] “And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.” 1 Nephi 18:21

[ As They May Become ] “We must develop the capacity to see men not as they are at present but as they may become…” Thomas S. Monson, Prophet of the Lord, Jesus Christ “See Others as They May Become,” October 2012

[ Tunnel of Light ] “Has one of you ever had the feeling you are walking alone down a dark tunnel that gets ever more depressing? No one seems to care? Life gets more and more complicated, and discouraging? If you have had such feelings of depression, turn around—literally turn your life around. The other end of the tunnel is filled with light. No matter where you have been or what you have done, that light is always available to you.” Richard G. Scott, Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ “Trust in the Lord,” April 1989

[ Vanquished Darkness ] “Light dispels darkness. When light is present, darkness is vanquished and must depart. More importantly, darkness cannot conquer light unless the light is diminished or departs.” Robert D. Hales, Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ “Out of Darkness into His Marvelous Light,” April 2002

[ All Things ] “Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things…” Doctrine & Covenants 88:12-13

[ Refined Through Experience ] “As you live a pure and virtuous life, you will be refined by your life’s experiences, and as you trust in the Lord and draw closer to Him, He will make [your] hearts as gold.” Elaine S. Dalton, LDS Leader “Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord,” April 2009

[ Rich Gratitude ] “Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God’s love.” Bonnie D. Parkin, LDS Leader “Gratitude: A Path to Happiness,” April 2007

[ Details of our Lives ] “Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives.” Thomas S. Monson, Prophet of the Lord, Jesus Christ “Consider the Blessings,” October 2012

[ Joyful Friction ] “Friction, or resistance, is an interesting phenomenon. Without this force, a person or vehicle could not move about, or if already in motion, could not be stopped except by collision. Simple things like nails, screws, and bolts would not stay in place; a cork would not stay in a bottle; a light globe would drop from its socket; a lid would not stay on a jar. The law of friction or resistance that we think of as only applying to science seems to find application in our personal lives. We came to mortal life to encounter resistance. It was part of the plan for our eternal progress. Without temptation, sickness, pain, and sorrow, there could be no goodness, virtue, appreciation for well-being, or joy.” Howard W. Hunter, Prophet of the Lord, Jesus Christ “God Will Have a Tried People,” April 1980

[ Narrow is the Way ] “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:14

[ Light Cleaveth Unto Light ] “For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; bwisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things.” Doctrine & Covenants 88:40

[ Luminescence, Color, Life ] “I tried to imagine the glorious panorama the brilliant sun would create. As I watched this magnificent scene in reverence, a window formed in the clouds; the glistening rays of the rising sun broke through the overcast sky, transforming everything with its luminescence, its color, its life. It was as if the Lord wanted to share an additional blessing, a symbol of the light of His teachings that gives brilliance and hope to everyone it touches. Tears of gratitude formed for this wondrous world in which we live, for the extraordinary beauty our Heavenly Father so freely shares with all who are willing to see. Truly, life is beautiful.” Richard G. Scott, Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ “Finding Joy in Life,” April 1996

Low-End Disruption in Our Personal Lives

Clayton Christensen and myself, April 2013

Key takeaway: The process through which companies disrupt pre-existing industries provides valuable insight into how protecting the “rebar” of our personal lives will prevent spiritual, behavioral, and moral disruption.

As a business strategy student at Brigham Young University, I have become increasingly familiar with Clayton Christensen‘s work as an academic, innovator, consultant, economist, and role model.  The work that first put Christensen on the map was that about low-end disruption, as explained in his book, The Innovator’s Dilemma.  Below is an explanation of low-end disruption as an economic principle, followed by a few thoughts as to how that principle applies to our personal lives.  It is definitely a lengthy post, but one that has been on my mind for a few months now.

Low-end disruption explained

Low-end disruption occurs as companies disrupt a given industry through innovation around low profit-margin goods.  An example that Christensen uses to illustrate disruption is in the U.S. steel industry.  Imagine Company A, an incumbent that has been in the steel industry for years and, frankly, has gotten pretty good at manufacturing steel.  Over time, Company A has improved to the point where it can offer four products (ascending in quality): rebar, angle iron, structural steel, and sheet steel.  Rebar is the lowest quality of the four and Company A makes the least amount of money off of it.  Say, for example, Company A makes $1 profit for every piece of rebar, $5 profit for each angle iron, $10 for structural steel, and $20 for sheet steel.  Obviously, if Company A had a choice, it would rather sell more sheet steel than rebar because it would make more money that way.

Now imagine that Company B enters the steel industry today and is starting basically from scratch.  The first product that Company B learns to develop is rebar because it is of the lowest quality and requires little specialized equipment.  Because Company B starts manufacturing rebar today, it can take advantage of modern technology to make a lot of it at little cost and in a short amount of time, whereas Company A may still be manufacturing rebar as it did 20 years ago.  Company B starts to sell a lot of rebar and Company A notices that it is losing rebar customers to Company B.  At this point, Company A has a decision to make.  Is it going to (a) try to find a way to destroy Company B, (b) try to find a way to better manufacture rebar and compete with Company B, or (c) let Company B have the rebar market.  Because Company A only made $1 in profit for each piece of rebar, it decides that fighting for rebar customers is not worth it and chooses option (c) – to let Company B take complete control of the rebar market.

Illustration: Low-end disruption

According to Christensen, what Company A does not realize is that, in yielding the rebar market to Company B, Company A has sealed its fate.  Just as it took Company A a period of time to develop its four steel products, with time, Company B will be able to develop those same four products and produce them faster, better, and cheaper than Company A does now.  Eventually, Company B will move up-market and destroy Company A.  In deciding to sacrifice even its lowest quality good, rebar, Company A was deciding to sacrifice everything else as well.

Application to our personal lives

I am thoroughly convinced that we need to protect the “rebar” of our personal lives in order to prevent disruption.  The quality of person we can become is largely determined by our ability to prevent spiritual, behavioral, and moral personal disruption.

Spiritual disruption

In my faith, it is common to hear people refer to fundamental to-do’s as “Primary answers,” meaning basic things that we were taught to do while in Primary (i.e., Sunday School for children).  Those Primary answers consist of reading the scriptures, going to church, and saying your prayers.  These activities are ones that many people don’t get around to doing each day because the activities feel like goods with little personal profit.  The reason that church leaders place so much emphasis on these basic activities, however, is because they recognize the value of spiritual “rebar.”  Leaders realize that as soon as we forego these fundamental activities, satan will eventually move up-market to disrupt our true spiritual welfare.  The seemingly low-profit spiritual activities must be cared for in order to protect those spiritual experiences perceived as having higher personal profit margins.

Behavioral disruption

Thoughts lead to actions, actions become habits, and habits determine character.  A former Mormon leader, Spencer W. Kimball, once said, “That voice we call conscience…it directs one’s thoughts. What one thinks may find expression in actions. Since repeated actions form habits, the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing at this moment tend to reveal the kind of a man you will be.”  In a general sense, thoughts serve as the rebar of man’s behavior and character.  It is easy to discount the importance of thoughts because they are somewhat of a commodity-like good.  The fact that we have thousands of thoughts each day makes us view each individual thought as having little worth; we tend to sacrifice thoughts because of their perceived worth (or lack thereof).

The logic chain outlined by Kimball is synonymous to the chain of steel products.  Thoughts-actions-habit-character are equal to rebar-angle iron-structural steel-sheet steel.  When we meet others, we often judge them by their perceived character.  That tendency leads us to view our own character as having the highest profit margin and we focus too much on developing our own character.  What we do not realize is that thoughts determine character.  As soon as we forfeit our thoughts, we forfeit everything else.

Moral disruption

Sexual temptations are more prevalent in today’s society than violence or drugs.  As a faithful Christian, I believe that sex is to be between a man and a woman who are lawfully married.  With this belief as a foundation, it is clear that, within the context of low-end disruption, actual sex is the equivalent of sheet steel.  Just as no steel company can enter the industry with expertise around making the highest quality of steel, sheet steel, nobody first enters the sexual realm by having sex.  At first, one begins to think about sexual things and those thoughts become more intense and more frequent with time.  Immoral thoughts then lead to a curious exploration of pornography, masturbation, etc., which also increases in intensity and frequency as time passes.  Curiosity leads to sexual addictions and a desensitized view of actual sexual relationships.

Yet again, we see that it all comes back to our thoughts.  Thoughts serve as the rebar of morality.  Because of the sheer number of thoughts we have every day, it is easy to justify sacrificing a few thoughts to immoral, sexual things.  As soon as we give up our thoughts, however, satan will move up-market and lead us to curious exploration of pornographic materials, debilitating addiction, and then a desensitized view of sex itself.  It is because I feel that sex is special, even sacred, that I feel a need to protect my thoughts (i.e., my moral rebar).  My sexual relationship with my future wife will be more special if I do so.  It has been said that the greatest thing a man can do to show love to his children is to love their mother.  I have faith that my love for my wife in the future will be greatest if I protect my thoughts today.

Christensen’s insights about disruptive innovation have helped countless business professionals evaluate companies and industries throughout the world, and they have definitely helped me in my academic studies here at BYU.  But it is the application of these principles to my personal life that will have lasting impact.  Thanks to Christensen’s work and what I consider personal guidance from the Lord, I have come to realize the importance of protecting my own “rebar” in order to prevent spiritual, behavioral, and moral disruption.  I firmly believe that doing so will make all the difference.