Nate Shepherd

 I have been thinking a great deal about my mission during the Christmas break. I have been listening to the Franklin Planner Podcast lately and it got me thinking about my personal mission and if I can boil it down to one word and the word that kept coming to mind was connection . So I am going to try to better my connections as the basis for my goals in 2026.  First connection is to God and my Savior Jesus Christ. I will strive to connect more to them through: Daily Study of the scriptures with a focus this year on the Old Testament as well as the Book of Mormon. Regular meditation time followed by morning and evening prayer. I will also strive to have more prayers in my heart throughout the day.  Next is connection to myself and nature. I will strive to gain this through: Doing at least one physical activity every day. Preparing for OCR and other races including 4 spartan races, 1 savage race and in the fall a 50-miler race. I will spend time outside as often as I can ...

 I have over the last couple months rekindled my love for Dan Brown Books. I reread The Davinci Code and the Lost Symbol in preparation for the release of his next novel. I love following the mind of Robert Langdon and learning so much while on a thrill ride of short chapters that leave you saying I have time for 1 more.  While this book does not dive into secret societies, as others have, it does give you a glimpse into another way of looking at the human mind. On this adventure is Katherine Solomon from the Lost Symbo l and it is fun to have two great intellectuals following the path through the architecture of Prague and into the human mind and how it functions. With government cover ups and intrigue it is a fast-paced story line but with a different spin on the intellectual side as it focuses mostly on Katherine's research into Noetic Science and the power of the human mind.  The concepts have me thinking differently about how the mind works and even how God wo...

There are times of change in our lives and while a few personal things are changing for me I have just felt inspired to revamp and review my personal brand and mission. With that it includes getting back into blogging. This blog will capture my personal feeling on a variety of topics from reviews of Books and Movies and thoughts around world events as well as my personal life. My personal mission and my personal values will guide each post. My mission draft is as follows: I live by the principles of; faith, charity/kindness, optimism, and integrity, as I continously learn and improve myself and every organization I am a part of. I work to push myself physically and mentally through daily workouts and participation in physical events.  I am working to learn and improve in the following areas. -Learn Piano -Learn Spanish -Business and negotiation skills -History and American Heritage -Building Relatioships -Astronomy -Gospel Study So come along with me on this journey as we learn fro...

I have always enjoyed reading and one of my goals for this year came from my reading of the gBook "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" By Stephen Covey. And because of it I decided to try and read at a minimum 1 book a month. Due to the Corona Virus and being isolated I have decided to resurrect my Blog and begin my writing with a book review. The Count of Monte of Monte Cristo is a story of trials, revenge, cunning, and so much more. I place it as one of the greatest works of fiction ever written. It is one of my personal favorites and this is my second time reading it. The story tells of one Edmond Dantes the protagonist who is imprisoned, suddenly on his wedding day. He is not told the reason for his arrest and imprisonment. But the reader knows the reason is because of the jealousy and ambition of 3 other men. With out giving away too much Edmond makes a friend in prison, a very wise man who teaches him much during his many years in prison. This man also give...

Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi I have always respected and admired Gandhi as many others have, I'm sure. This book was a amazing opportunity for me to learn a great deal about Bapu (father or leader) or Mahatma (meaning great soul). He truly was someone filled with passion and strength. This book walks you through a lot of his life, his relationships and his pursuit of an enlightened India. He not only firmly believed in nonviolence he also believed in self control of every aspect of life.   I found the information about his fasting to be very enlightening and his passion for sexual control and abstinence very interesting. Gandhi truly lived what he taught and relished in the idea of giving of his personal liberty and body for his cause.  He was constantly being put in prison, beaten on occasion, and verbal abused constantly. Yet he continued on, trying to help the starving masses of India that the politic...

A thrill ride of an adventure that is for sure. This book was one that I couldn't put down and finished in 2 days. The story was just that intriguing. Set in the future when most of North America has been destroyed. We find out hero Katriss living in district 12 having to sneak out of the town boundaries to feed her family.  Their entire world is controlled by "The Capitol". They have to obey so many rules and the biggest part is the hunger games. Where each district must give one boy and one girl to be placed an arena to fight to the death for The Capitol. Their are many rules and nuances to these games but for details get the book. I really did enjoy the book. If you don't like some violence in what you read don't read this. I will say it is not gruesome just sad and filled with death. But if you like a thrill set in an very interesting world check out The Hunger Games.