Bonnie Smith
Success

This advice I got from my father-in-law, Landon Mahanay, when I was 19, has stuck with me through every turn in my life! 💕
“Don’t give up what you want most, for what you want now.”
This can apply to so many things in life…
A Happy Marriage
A peaceful home
Healthy kids
Healthy Body
Financial freedom
College Degree
Dreams coming true
This one statement has always challenged me to stop and decide what I truly want most of all and figure out what is getting in the way of that dream/desire/need?
Sometimes it’s as simple as not going on a shopping spree at Walmart so I can one day be able to do full time missions work. Or choosing to wake up early on Saturday and Sunday to work towards my dreams. Or, going to work when I don’t feel like it, or going to bed early on Saturday night so I can wake up for church…
For others it may be realizing alcohol, drugs, laziness or procrastination have been robbing you and your family of a better life.
All of this reminds me of another piece of advice I got years ago that has stuck with me as well…
The challenge to regularly look back over the past week, month or even a year and see where you have spent most of your time and money and there you will find what you treasure the most! We can say our family, our kids, God and our dreams are the most important thing in our life, but when our actions and attitude say otherwise, we must investigate things.
For me, I have found the desire to just check out and disconnect from everything by hiding in a book, my phone, or a movie appears to be the most important thing to me. I so do not want that to be!! So it’s important that I take the time to face the truth of things, which will prompt me to truly reassess my priorities and set my compass in the right direction.
My progress in this area may be slow, but I can see that I am at least making progress, which is way better than no progress at all.
“The goal is progress, not perfection” ~Kathy Freston
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” ~Albert Einstein
“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” ~Benjamin Franklin
“Every morning you have two choices: Continue to sleep with your dreams. Or wake up and chase them.” ~John Maxwell