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End of the Semester

Well it has arrived - the end of the semester. It sure has flown by. I have learned so much this semester about entrepreneurship. My top take-a-ways are: 1. Entrepreneurs needs to be tough and thick skinned. It is not for the faint of heart or the easily discouraged. Not all business ideas work out and you cannot take it personally and be discouraged about moving forward with a new idea. Only a small, select few great ideas ever come to fruition to a full blown company and if you give up after one failure you will never get too far. 2. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Because of what I said above I think each person needs to evaluate for themselves if they are the type of person who can weather the ups and downs of starting and running their own business. Not everyone is cut out for the stress and demands required to run a successful company. It's okay to decide that it is not for you. Being honest with yourself is important in determining what type of career future is bes...
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Week 13

It is hard to believe this semester is drawing to a close. It has flown by! This week was a great one in terms of content. It was great to reread President Monson's talk on gratitude. He always has such wonderful things to say about being grateful. President Monson is such a good example of someone who was always grateful. He reminds us to be grateful to our parents, our teachers and our Heavenly Father. Life can be overwhelming and sometimes we get caught up in wanting and expecting more instead of sitting back, enjoying and giving thanks for all we already have. I know I am guilty of exactly that. This week has been helpful in keeping me focused on being grateful. I look forward to applying the things I've learned in this class to my life. There are some entrepreneurial things I would like to pursue and this class and given me more confidence in starting something. Reading about Randy Haykin was great as well. He had a lot of helpful advise for those looking to start out o...
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Week 12

This has been a good week. I've accomplished a lot personally and scholarly. The material this week was interesting because it focused a lot integrity and business. Sometimes it seems like that aspect gets lost in the search to make money. One article, What's a Business For, talks about the importance of honesty and integrity in business. It suggests that if companies are not trusted people will not buy from them or invest in them. Instead they will find other places to put their money. They will eventually turn to the government for financial interests. It also suggests that the reason for the existence of businesses is to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish alone. It suggests that a company needs to associate with a cause to give it meaning and be charitable. I agree with this because it had to be about more than just bringing home a paycheck. There needs to be meaning and reason for going to work each day. When we are focused on giving back an...
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Week 11

Another week has come to a close and I see the end of the semester in sight. The semesters always seem to go fast and that is one thing I really like about BYUI - just when you've had enough and feel like you can't do it anymore it comes to an end. This week we learned about the costs of being a business owner. It was interesting to hear what some classmates thought about the mini cases where someone had to choose work over family. For me some things were cut and dry but others had a completely different view of things. In reading Attitude On Money by Stephen Gibson I thought many of his thoughts reflected my thoughts on money. Money itself is not evil and doesn't make a person evil. It is the worshiping of money that creates a problem. When we put too much emphasis on money it can be problematic. We all need money as part of life. Wanting to make a lot of money isn't a horrible goal; only if it's your only goal and everyone and everything else suffers because of ...
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Week 6

Memorial Day and week 6 equals a light week in the assignments. I am in the process of moving and packing and this week was a much needed break to help get some of those things done. Moving across the country is hard work! This week we read articles/talk and watched videos centered around self mastery. This is an essential skill to learn - one that we are constantly striving to perfect and one that helps us in all aspects of our lives. The talk we read by N Eldon Tanner was given in 1975 but the principles are still as relevant today. He suggests 2 things to help on our journey to self mastery. The first is to determine our course and the second is will power. We must first know where we are going and what our purpose and objective are. If we don't know this it is too easy to flounder and lose our way. Will power is a little different. It is a constant trying to overcome carnal desires and live to be more spiritual and Christ-like. Sometimes will power goes against our very natur...
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Week 10

Week 10 is in the books. This semester is flying by. I've been so busy but I'm glad I decided to take a couple classes this semester. Without  this time that forces me to sit down, I wouldn't take a break all day. This has been a blessing in disguise - I actually look forward to doing my homework so I can sit and take a "break" without feeling guilty. We had another week of great videos and talks. One of the things I liked most about Taylor Richards video was that he didn't even know where he was ranked in his industry. He was busy running his company and not focused on where he stood among his competitors. He was so surprised to learn that he ranked 11th the first year. This is a testament to drive and commitment to his business. He spends his time invested in it rather than what anyone else is doing. I also really liked Elder Oaks talk this week - Challenge to become. It reminded me to strive for more than I am and continue to grow and learn and reach new ...
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Week 9 is finished. It has been quite the week. I started it in North Carolina and ended it in Utah. It's been a long, busy, emotional and exhausting week. I enjoyed re-reading the disciple leadership again. I read it in Pathway and really enjoyed it then and again this week. I love the idea of the lower case l leadership. We need more people who quietly lead by example. The world only needs a few leaders at the top level but many at the lower levels. There is only 1 bishop in a ward but it takes many people to make it run smoothly. We need to just notice what needs to be done and do it instead of waiting around to be told what to do. I also liked the videos this week. The idea of trusting others and then they will trust you is interesting. I never thought of it like that before but I think it is spot on. Sometimes we need to trust first and be open before others can trust us. We tend to want others to trust us before we are willing to give our trust to them. I loved this concept...
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