Nate Shepherd

Last night my two oldest and I had the amazing privilege of going to see The Phantom of the Opera here in Detroit. The show was incredible, I cannot say enough about the amazing singing and orchestra that just blew you away. The sets and all that goes into the design of those sets are incredible. The time and effort people put into designing them to move and work and flow so easily is just a clinic in running an operation. We expect excellence from a Broadway caliber show and last night I saw it delivered.  I did not see the back of the house and the chaos that ensues or the countless hours of practice and rehearsal that delivered the show.  But I know the audience saw the perfection that was on stage and heard the amazing voices and music as it was meant to be delivered. Once it ends there was huge amount of applause to celebrate what was just put in front of us on the stage. Even afterwards we along with 50+ other people waited in the cold to get autographs from the actors. ...

     Well it has been two weeks since I started my new crazy kinda scary adventure to leave my comfort zone at ZF and start work at a new company after 13 years with my previous employer. It has been interesting as I try to learn new products, (who knew how complicated a shock and suspension system could be!), understand new systems, and understand new people/organizations.      I am grateful for this new opportunity and the people I am working with many have 25-30 years of experience at this company and seem to be doing well. While day 1 and 2 were not what I was expecting I am trying to take control of my learning and growing path as I build relationships and understanding for my future.      Life is a curious journey we all take as we move through it and the different roles we have as we work on our personal growth and connections to provide for ourselves and others, and to help make an impact on the world around us. Whether it is in a com...

 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 ...