Plan to Achieve Success

In response to your letters:
Cora, don't forget to work on the little things, because the little things will often make the biggest difference. Be willing to take one step backwards to take 2 steps forward, and you will progress. always envision where you will go in the long run, and you will make it there.

Afton, Enduring to the end is one of the biggest things that we've been working on with less actives. Many times they forget the importance of persevering through the struggles, but as they persevere, they will receive blessings.

Kirkham, Not once did they ever consider firing me except for maybe when I first started there because it took me a while to get everything down. Connor left baskets in and the other guys I was working with did as well. One of the most important things to remember no matter what you are doing is to strive towards perfection and do what you need to do to get there. You may not feel very inspired, and you may feel lazy, but you need to do all you can to reach the highest point possible. It's good to hear that Connor is planning on going on a mission though. It'll be a good experience for him that will definitely change his life.

Mom, thank you for writing every week, even more diligently than me. I'm looking forward to Mother's day, but I still don't know much of what is happening, although I will let you know as soon as I find out. THe whole mission is preparing for the new mission president, so it may not be until a few days before that I can tell you when i'll be skyping. It will probably be on skype though, and that's one thing I can tell you for certain. If there's anyone that wants to join in the skype call, and if you want to include people then go ahead and do that. I would like to include grandparents, as well as most family, and maybe a few others as well if i'm aloud too. I'll check specifics though. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. Don't forget to clean the trumpet ( just make sure all slides and valves are working, and if anything is stuck, just take it to Dr. Kammerrer, i'm sure he can help).
I think right now the thing i'm missing the most are hugs from you. It can be tough at times, but I need to keep pushing on and i'll make it through. Also, I did get the package, it came last week, and almost all of the candy is gone because we ate it. I'm surprised it took so long to get here. Thank you for it by the way.

everyone
As I push on through the struggles of mission life, I can be certain of one thing. You must be willing to plan to achieve success. Success comes through time as you endure to the end and want to be successful. At times, you may want to be negative and quit right where you are but that is when it matters the most. I have met people who quit at the hardest time, and they can't even do the simplest things they used to do actively. If you want to achieve the highest level of success you must push towards that level, you must do everything that you need to do to achieve that level, you must act at that level until it comes naturally. You will never naturally be able to automatically be able to just do it, but you must work at it until you can. Pushing onward and upwards is what you must do. It's what you must strive for in every aspect of your life. You must think actively of what you can do to change the way you act naturally, until the highest level of success is natural. I wish that I had realized this before I came out, but there's nothing I can do about it now. I must push forward towards what my goals are and forget what i've done wrong in the past, and strive for the future. Striving for the future does not mean that you must forget the past, but that you need to learn from mistakes of the past, and never ever repeat them. I know that I am doing what I need to be doing at this time, and as I push on, I can reach my goals.

Love,
Elder Dooley