In Craig's class, we get multiple handouts each week, each pertaining to that week's lecture. I think the handouts are really helpful in the class; 50 minutes of class isn't enough. I'm not sure two hours would be enough. I'll include one of the handouts in this post, but I'll get permission before I post more.
Number 9 on this handout refers to the point of choice. This is an ambiguous term, so I'll provide some explanations. Craig calls the point of choice when you become financially free enough to quit work or work on a volunteer basis, because you have enough money coming in to cover your needs, whether from a retirement plan or from appreciating assets like stocks, bonds, gold, etc. After freeing yourself from the normal flow of life, you have more time to devote to serving others in your own unique ways. Since you already have enough income to support yourself, payment is no longer a factor for whatever you decide to do.
Craig gave an example of the point of choice of a doctor from India who travels to the Himalaya's 6 months out of the year to perform cataracts surgery on people who have essentially lost their sight because of the extreme high altitude. This doctor is able to do this because he lives below his means and has a strong desire to serve.
What you choose to do will be determined by your signature strengths, which are comprised of your specific skill sets, your passions, and what you find meaningful. A good exercise in finding your signature strengths is to do a Venn diagram (are we in second grade again?) of those three areas: what your good at, what you love to do, and what you find meaningful. List activities in each of the three circles, find which activities overlap, and the resulting activities are your signature strengths.
For example, one of my signature strengths is providing and increasing beauty (I look pretty good, but that's not what I mean). One of the ways I can "exercise" this signature strength is through photography. I absolutely love to take pictures; I've taken classes in school and for fun. Also, from what I've been told, I have some talent, and I really find that the world is a better place with a picture or other piece of art that creates more beauty and inspires others.
Using photography as one of the overlap activities, now I can find ways to benefit others with this "signature strength." I could sell pictures and donate the profits or give them to micro-loaning agencies (more on this in a later post), become a social-working photojournalist, exposing injustice and combating poverty and mistreatment through art (this sounds like being a bona-fide hero; cool), or do a multitude of other things. The possibilities are truly endless.
Getting back to the point of choice, there are so many fun and exciting ways to serve, and if you can make it to that point, where you can serve full time because of financial independence, you will find so much enjoyment. I believe that Craig has reached this point, and because of it, he has had many opportunities to do things that most people like him couldn't dream of doing. One great example he gave us was that he went with his two sons to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead on a Friday morning. Most people his age would be at work, and wouldn't have been able to have such a great experience with their kids. I can't wait to get to this point myself; it sounds like a lot of fun.
For reference, here are all 9 signature strengths, but they are building blocks that can be expanded and built upon.
Number 9 on this handout refers to the point of choice. This is an ambiguous term, so I'll provide some explanations. Craig calls the point of choice when you become financially free enough to quit work or work on a volunteer basis, because you have enough money coming in to cover your needs, whether from a retirement plan or from appreciating assets like stocks, bonds, gold, etc. After freeing yourself from the normal flow of life, you have more time to devote to serving others in your own unique ways. Since you already have enough income to support yourself, payment is no longer a factor for whatever you decide to do.
Craig gave an example of the point of choice of a doctor from India who travels to the Himalaya's 6 months out of the year to perform cataracts surgery on people who have essentially lost their sight because of the extreme high altitude. This doctor is able to do this because he lives below his means and has a strong desire to serve.
What you choose to do will be determined by your signature strengths, which are comprised of your specific skill sets, your passions, and what you find meaningful. A good exercise in finding your signature strengths is to do a Venn diagram (are we in second grade again?) of those three areas: what your good at, what you love to do, and what you find meaningful. List activities in each of the three circles, find which activities overlap, and the resulting activities are your signature strengths.
For example, one of my signature strengths is providing and increasing beauty (I look pretty good, but that's not what I mean). One of the ways I can "exercise" this signature strength is through photography. I absolutely love to take pictures; I've taken classes in school and for fun. Also, from what I've been told, I have some talent, and I really find that the world is a better place with a picture or other piece of art that creates more beauty and inspires others.
Using photography as one of the overlap activities, now I can find ways to benefit others with this "signature strength." I could sell pictures and donate the profits or give them to micro-loaning agencies (more on this in a later post), become a social-working photojournalist, exposing injustice and combating poverty and mistreatment through art (this sounds like being a bona-fide hero; cool), or do a multitude of other things. The possibilities are truly endless.
Getting back to the point of choice, there are so many fun and exciting ways to serve, and if you can make it to that point, where you can serve full time because of financial independence, you will find so much enjoyment. I believe that Craig has reached this point, and because of it, he has had many opportunities to do things that most people like him couldn't dream of doing. One great example he gave us was that he went with his two sons to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead on a Friday morning. Most people his age would be at work, and wouldn't have been able to have such a great experience with their kids. I can't wait to get to this point myself; it sounds like a lot of fun.
For reference, here are all 9 signature strengths, but they are building blocks that can be expanded and built upon.
- Feed the hungry
- Clothe the naked
- Heal the sick
- Comfort the lonely
- Liberate the captive
- Educate the ignorant
- Spread truth
- ***Increase beauty***
- Heal or promote families
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