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.