Week 2

This week was all about honestly and business ethics! So many things stood out to me during my studies and I am re-dedicating myself to always being honest in my life and dealings with other people. In my previous point of view, I pictured “businessmen” as slimy car dealers who rip honest people off. Obviously this was a terrible perspective, but I am so glad that I have made a full turn around. There are so many great business people in the world today, many of whom are completely trustworthy. I’m blessed to be able to learn about so many examples of what I want to be during my time in this class. “Making a Living and a Life” by Lynn G. Robbins must be one of the best business related devotionals I have read. I loved how he talked about the primary motivations of different sorts of people. The one that I want to be is A: Having a love for God and fellowmen before money. This reminds me of the scripture Jacob 2:18-19, “Before you seek for riches, seek the kingdom of God.  And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good.” If we seek God before riches, we will be taken care of. It may not be in the ways that we expect, but we will be blessed. Lastly, I enjoyed the video by Jan Newman. He spoke about having “skin in the game”. If we do not fully commit ourselves to our business or goals, it will take much longer to succeed. He taught me to always treat money as my own and, very importantly, take risks!

Week 1

It is rare that I have such an inspiring week of lessons as I did this week. In Randy Haykin: The Making of an Entrepreneur, he talked briefly about failing and how it is inevitable. The e-corner video, Treat Life As an Experiment also talked about “fail forward” and learning from your mistakes. This week I have made a huge mistake that has definitely taught me a lot about myself and this class. Being the first real week of classes, I decided to do all of my homework for my Entrepreneurial Journey class on Saturday, today, which it is all due. I really cheated myself. Even though I did take the time to read and watch everything, I didn’t have a chance to ponder the material throughout the week. I seriously regret this because I fell in love with every video and article that I read, and I was so rushed that I couldn’t fully enjoy the things that I was learning. So my first lesson: Leave time to enjoy and ponder the lessons of my own entrepreneurial journey.

As I stated, everything was such an inspiration to me this week. But I feel that I got the most from, “What is your Calling in Life?" - BYU Devotional by Jeffery Thompson. I realized that I should look out for my calling in life, and make whatever calling I hold, the calling of my life. Everyone always says, “Don’t get a job for money”, but I never believed that it could be that easy. We live in a world where we need money. But after this speech, I truly believe that can be happy, successful and well-off if we do what we love and trust in Heavenly Father.

I have a new favorite quote by Randy Pausch, “The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” What an inspiration! I hope to never forget this quote. I’m pretty sure that I am going to frame this. This has taught me to change my perspective about what I can and cannot do. No one is trying to stop me from getting that perfect job, or getting into the best school, they are trying to stop everyone else who don’t want it badly enough.

Week 0

I just finished my first week in the Entrepreneur Journey class and it went great! I especially enjoyed the LDS Perspective section where I was able to read A Disciple Preparation Center and Your Whole Souls as an Offering Unto Him by Elder David A. Bednar. I was able to gain a deeper appreciation for Brigham Young University-Idaho, the curriculum, faculty and peers. I am thankful to have the opportunity to study at this “temple of learning” and will try my best to put their advice to practice as I go through this class. I also benefited from the clip Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow by Guy Kawasaki. I’m pleased that we were instructed to watch this clip early on in the semester because it made me think of why I want to start a business. This made me more certain that I am going into the business industry for the right reasons; I believe in my product and want to share it with the world. Finally, the task that stood out most to me most was the video clip of President Hinckley dedicating the Hinckley building at BYUI. He gave such an inspirational talk and I hope to always remember the guidance he gave to us as students, “There is no end in sight for the good you can do. Do you know it? You are just simple kids. You are not geniuses. I know that. But the work of the world isn't done by geniuses. It is done by ordinary people who have learned to work in an extraordinary way, people of your kind who can do these things”.