Last Lecture

After everything I've learned for this course, I would say that my parting advice to someone thinking about taking on the task of an entrepreneurial journey is to dream big and work hard. Take other peoples' advice into consideration. Always be willing to learn from others. You'll never know it all. There will always be something new to learn. Prioritize your life. Put the Lord first and everything else will fall into place. Nothing great is achieved without hard work and dedication. Never be afraid to ask for help. Include those you love in your journey; it will strengthen your relationships and you will have more success in the end. Don’t let yourself get so caught up in your work that you neglect the people you love in your life though. It’s important to take breaks and moments to breathe air outside of your business. I have never had my own business, but I have taken on large tasks. The things that have helped me find success in those tasks were my family and hard work. Nothing can replace either one of those things.

 Family is one of the most important things in your life and nothing should get in the way of taking care of them or nurturing your relationships with them. Success without family is empty. There is no point in being on top of the world if you’re there alone. To my point about breaks, I would link it to family. My family has been a great help in keeping me grounded as well as motivated. They believe in me but help remind me to not get laser focused on one thing in my life. When we take on big tasks, it’s very easy to become so focused on them that we forget to take care of those we love and ourselves. We need to remember to do both. My last piece of advice is to establish principles. Know what you will or won’t do. Establish lines of conduct that you will not cross. People will ask you to do a million things and sometimes the things they ask of you are incorrect. When someone is pressuring you to do something, it can be difficult to say no. No matter what the immediate consequences are, stand with your principles and do not let anyone bully you into compromising them. Perhaps more importantly, do not let you convince yourself into compromising on your principles.

Week 12

A lot of this week's content focused on the fact that having a business isn't about making money. Yes, you need money to live but it shouldn't be the focus on your business. You should be keeping your eye on how your business can help others. What can your business do that no other business can to help people? I find this question really inspiring. It's the biggest reason why I'm interested in entrepreneurship. I want to be able to not only live a comfortable life, but to also help people who are unable to fully help themselves, who need that extra hand. If you keep your eye set on that goal, then you can find true success.

In order for an economy to truly function and to function well, its members must be virtuous and have integrity. All of an economy's rules and laws depend on trust and truth. If the members of an economy don't possess those qualities, the economy will eventually collapse. Charles Handy states that the "real justification" for businesses is to use that created wealth to do something more or better than they already are. Two of the solutions he poses are for businesses to value their employees' talents and they need to be more responsible and basically pledge to do no harm. I do agree with both of those things. Employees create a company's culture and if they don't feel valued, they do not put in their best effort. It makes it harder for a business to do no harm when its employees don't care about how their work impacts others and the world around them. Fix the employees' attitudes, and you can then have a company that truly works to do no harm first and that works to truly help others. This isn't just the responsibility of a company though, this is everyone's responsibility as people living on this earth. It should always be, first do no harm.

Week 11

Out of all of the material this week, the financial fitness video with Jim Ritchie has stuck with me the most. Work-life balance is something everyone struggles with no matter if they are an entrepreneur or not, but financial fitness - that is something that draws my attention. I have wanted to be financially independent for quite some time now. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to achieve that yet and I'm okay because that's just not where I am in my life. However, I want to be working towards that goal.

I don't know anything about investing but I'd like to learn more over time and see if that is an option that is right for me. Ultimately, with Ritchie's video, I am left with a motivation to save more than I currently do. I've really latched onto his idea of having a fixed amount that goes into savings each paycheck. I am getting married soon and actually spoke with my fiance today about us doing this and we've both agreed to it. I like the security that savings bring. I'm looking forward to implementing these financial goals and learning more about investing. I want to have a financially secure and independent life.

Week 10

One of the thoughts spurred by this week's work was that as an entrepreneurs we should try to pursue our dreams. We need to make sure we're putting thought into how we're doing it and be smart about that process, but we shouldn't be afraid to pursue dreams. We may not find success the first time around but we learn each time we fail. You don't truly fail until you give up though. Google gives employees time to pursue their own creative pursuits and that has resulted in major success for the company. When you let people dream amazing things can happen, so why not dream yourself? You have to be committed to it though. Elder Oaks talks about being converted to the gospel and it makes me think of being dedicated to your dreams. You need to make sure you balance your life, but don't just dismiss your dreams because they're difficult. Most peoples' dreams are difficult and seem impossible, but quite a few people achieve them because they didn't just dismiss them. They worked hard and pushed themselves, and if we keep the Lord at the center of our lives, we are more likely achieve those dreams we have.

Week 9

When I think of the word management, I don't automatically think of it as leadership. That's very much what it is though. Being a leader is not the equivalent of being the boss. A boss gives orders but a leader pulls with you. President Clark gave a great reminder of leadership by turning to the Savior. A good leader leads by example, with vision, and with love. When I reflect on some of my past managers I can recognize some of these qualities in those managers who I liked. People like working with and for someone who is willing to help them and who has a vision. One of my least favorite employers got on my nerves mainly because he seemed to not have a vision and did not seem to be leading much. It was frustrating and the business suffered because of it. I think it's really important remember that as an entrepreneur, you're very much a leader and you don't just need something like vision to start things. You need it to help motivate others as well.

Some of the videos this week talked about the type of people you should hire/work with. Not everyone can be a leader, but everyone including leaders needs to be a "nice" person. Someone who genuinely tries their best and treats others with respect and the way they want to be treated. I do think they are probably some of the best workers and, as a leader, respect goes a long ways. If you respect your leader, you put more effort into your work. Leadership principles can be applied in many aspects of our lives and I'm looking forward to learning more about how to be a better leader.

Week 8

Elder Holland's story about how he was moving his family many miles and had to walk the 35 miles back to town for help really struck me. He broke down in the same spot twice but that didn't stop him. As hard as it was to keep going even through the discouragement, he kept walking and going. He didn't give up. Life can be really difficult, especially if you choose to be an entrepreneur. If we learn now to not give up with less difficult circumstances and trials, then it will be easier to persevere when the large ones come along. We will have already cultivated a habit of perseverance.

It's tempting to give up sometimes. I believe that we only ever truly fail when we give up. A few years ago, I lost half of the work I'd done on a novel. I'd already been working on it for a long time at that point and I was half way through a revision when I lost all of that work. It has been extremely difficult to start working on it again, but I've never given up on it. Perseverance is rewarded and I hope, someday, I will see the reward for my perseverance with that project.

I was reading through Mastery last week and it really struck me that I want to master a skill of some kind. I'm not sure what and I still don't know if I want to be an entrepreneur. However, I do know that the qualities that I am learning about in this class have the ability to help me in whatever I choose to do, and I'm looking forward to learning more about those qualities.

Week 7

Of all the seven habits, be proactive was the one that stuck out the most to me. With some parts of my life, I struggle with being proactive. Sometimes I'm better at it than other times but it's something I can definitely work on. When I'm excited to start something new, I'm very good at being proactive, but when I hit that plateau that eventually arrives I struggle with it.

In his talk, President Hinkley talks about getting all the education you can. I struggle with continuing my education sometimes. It’s a lot to handle when you’re already trying to work full time. It’s tempting to just quit going to school and just work, but President Hinkley reminded me that it’s important for us to get all of the education we can now. This isn’t just important for us in the afterlife as we are firmly taught by general authorities and in church curriculum; it is also important for us now in this life. Anything good is from God and you never know what bit of knowledge might come in handy later, especially as an entrepreneur.

I’m excited to start implementing this principle now. I want to start practicing being proactive so that I can develop that habit now when I’m young. I hope to learn more techniques to help me with this.

Week 6

I think my biggest takeaway this week is that, for an entrepreneur, time is your most valuable asset and you have to be able to manage it well. If you want to balance work and family, it's about managing time. If you want to be successful in whatever job your have and maintain all your relationships and responsibilities, you have to develop the ability to manage your time. You make time for the things that are the most important to you. You can't do everything all of the time. You have to prioritize, be disciplined, and purposeful in the decisions you make with what you do with your time and your life.

Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint-of-heart. If you want to do it well, then you have to be in it for the long hall. The odds of achieving success the first time are low. However, if you keep at it, and continue to learn and grow, you're more likely to find that success you're looking for. Wences Casares said that you can't help be entrepreneur. While I firmly believe you can be whoever you choose to be, I think the point he was making is that it takes a certain type of person to be an entrepreneur and, odds are, if you have those qualities, they will keep pulling you towards entrepreneurial ventures.

Learning more about this has been interesting, but I don't know if I want to be an entrepreneur. Part of me does, but it's kind of intimidating.

Week 5

Success does not magically arrive. It is not handed to you but it is not impossible to have either. It requires work though, and perseverance. As the Hero's Journey points out, you cannot be good at everything. You have to specialize in something and focus on that. We need to use our gifts to help others. While we pursue things that we enjoy and we also need to look for ways to help others. The end doesn't justify the means though. We need to make sure we are holding onto to our values while we work towards our success. Success will mean nothing if we don't have the people we love and care about with us there. It will mean nothing if we know that we have lied and cheated our way there. Hard work matters. It teaches are patience and endurance. It helps us appreciate our success. 

One thing that is clear to me is that success doesn’t look the same for everyone. Success can look different for everyone. We will fail more times in business than we will succeed, that’s why character matters so much. It’s while when asked, an entrepreneur said that skill and luck are helpful, but character matters most.

Week 4

In order to be an effective entrepreneur, you have to know what you stand for. A company's culture can be developed consciously and unconsciously, just as you can become a byproduct or your circumstances or your circumstances a byproduct of you. That doesn't mean things won't go wrong or be hard but know who you are and what you stand for is essential, especially when you're creating your own business or in a position of power. If you lose sight of who you are and what you stand for, your like will eventually fall apart until you are left with the bare remnants of what was.

I think it's interesting that the material focuses on who you need to be as an individual and figuring that out for yourself rather than the logistics of building a business. It's focusing on the qualities you need to be successful, not the business strategies. While I understand the qualities of who you are is important to be a successful entrepreneur, I am looking forward to learning the strategies needed to become one. I am curious as to what the actual logistics are. However, this idea of finding your purpose in life really intrigues me and I find myself wanting to gather all the tools and information I need in order to figure that out.

Week 3

A theme in this week's readings seems to be that you can't separate who you are at work with who you are at home. If you're spending forty hours or more a week at work, then who you are at work is very much who you are a person. Your motives will come through in both aspects of your life. If you are motivated by a desire to serve God and striving to be your best self, then that will inevitably shine through in your professional life. Similarly, the opposite is true. If you are motivated by pride and selfishness, that will be what people eventually notice about you.

Sheri Dew's talk about integrity really struck a chord with me. Since I was a child, my parents have instilled in me the importance of honesty - being honest with others and with yourself. Lying always makes things worse. My parents made a point of teaching us that, so much so that when I accidentally broke my mother's sunglasses once, I was brought to tears when I told her that I had broken something I had promised to be careful with. Of course, my mother was very sweet and forgave me, but Dew's talk reminded me of just how important honesty is. Even in the little things. Even for something as small as some broken sunglasses.

Week 2

I can firmly say that I am a dreamer, so much of this week's readings were inspirational for me - a reassurance that perhaps I have so many dreams for a reason. I have long believed that much of life is about choosing the right dream and after reading and listening to this week's material I am somewhat relieved to find that I was right with that assessment. I'm looking forward to learning more about choosing which dream to pursue and techniques I can use to be successful while I am on that journey.

Randy Pausch is a really great example of what it means to dream realistically. For others, his dreams were unrealistic but part of the reason why he was so successful was because he didn't let the bigness of his dreams scare him and he wasn't afraid to dream big. Dreaming can be very important. A dream is something you can hold onto when life gets you down. It can be motivation for you when there is nothing else there for you. Dreaming can push us to try things we never would have before and to aim for the impossible, not knowing that we are indeed capable of the impossible.

One of my childhood dreams is to be a successful novelist - one as successful as Tolkien. His books are still read and studied to this day. They contain many lessons, some technical as they relate to writing and others ethical. Tolkien's books have played a part in shaping who I am today, and I want to write something as powerful as them. I do believe that this dream is achievable. I think it includes a lot of hard work, and perhaps it sounds a bit presumptuous to say that I am capable of writing something that incredible, but I believe that with enough work and dedication that it is within the realm of possibility.

Week 1

One of the questions that was asked this week is if some days I feel like I was put on this earth for a purpose and other days feel completely lost. I was surprised to hear that question, mostly because it resonated with me as a solid "yes." I have felt that way quite often, which is one of the things that has drawn me to at least learn more about entrepreneurship. I'm not really certain whether or not it's what I want at this point, but I feel like learning about it will be valuable to me and my future.

One of the first lessons I learned about entrepreneurship is to dream big. That's an easy task for me. Sometimes I feel like maybe I dream too big and the only way to possibly tackle any of those dreams is to department from traditional employment at some point. My passions are widely different some each other and sometimes seemingly at adds with one another. I want to be a traditionally published author some day, a dream I have been pursuing for nearly ten years now. Another is to work to help increase the population of exotic animals like tigers. I believe it would be a shame to lose such magnificent creatures. Yet another is to travel and see the world. The more I learn in school, the more dreams I seem to collect. Last year I added a new dream to my list: helping children around the world.

With such conflicting dreams, I knew an English degree wasn't going to help me with all of those; but Business Management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship? To me, that seems like a whole different story and could be very helpful in pursuing anyone or all of those dreams. I don't know how to get to the end of most of those dreams, but "all epic journeys and all paths [...] begin with a first step." I just need to start with one step at a time and I think I'm going to start with the dream I'm closest to, becoming a published author.