Life Lessons in Las Vegas

Blog | Destiny Yarbro | October 17, 2016 | 2 min read

I'm sitting in Las Vegas airport after a weekend on the Strip. I have to say, I learned a ton this work trip - I'll get more into that later in this post.

First of all, Rovia put our group in the Venetian/Palazzo hotel - and the extravagance was out of this world! I did enjoy the indoor Italian "streets" (shown above) complete with gondolas going up and down an indoor river.

Our contact at the hotel, Chelsea, told me that the ceilings (below) are hand-painted and the tops of each of the columns in this hallway are gold plated (!!).

The Palazzo was awesome and put me in a King Suite. Can't lie, I'm giddy when I first walk into my hotel rooms because I've never stayed in these kind of places in my life (and probably never will after this job - just being honest ;) )

During the trip my travel group and I went to see the show "Jukebox" by the boys band Human Nature. It was AWESOME. It was engaging and funny (and the best part): absolutely clean so I got to stay for the whole thing! :)

Now, as far as what I have learned in Las Vegas:

The first day was fun but by the time I got into day two and three, things changed for me. It's interesting, because as a member I've never really been around gambling. And as an adult walking through the huge casinos, I was kind of disturbed by the either crazed or discouraged looks in the eyes of all the people around me.

It got me thinking. I'm living like the 1% on this job - luxury all around me - and this is what everyone in the world strives to have. ...and yet it's all so hollow. I guess I realized for the first time ever just how fruitless life is when our whole goal is to "get to the top". More than anything, I realized that I am just SO grateful that this isn't it. Life isn't about gaining empty wealth, it's about so much more than that.

Life is about learning, growing, become more and more like our Savior. Eternity is about learning for eternity and helping others become like our Savior. If we seek for meaning in wealth, power, and prestige, we quickly discover there is no meaning in that.

I love my job - it's been a miracle to be able to do what I love (travel and ASL) for my employment - however, I am learning how important it is to find meaning outside of my hobbies or skills, employment or finances.

I feel like this trip has helped me realize that striving for wealth alone is not worth it. My dad used to tell us about an athlete who, when he won the Olympics, said: "I wish someone would have told me that when you get to the top, there's nothing there."

I guess I learned this week that I want to make sure my priorities are where they need to be. Feeling grateful today for more perspective on what it means to really LIVE.

Happy travels, my friends!

Destiny

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