Week 7 - MOVING FORWARD WITH A DRIVING PASSION

From the talk of Gordon B. Hinckley, “Stand True and Faithful” I found this quotes very interesting:

“We believe in being true. How very important it is to be true to ourselves. Each of us has a thing we call conscience. We know the difference between right and wrong. We do not have to be instructed concerning what is good and what is evil. I think we know that. We know when we have done the wrong thing, and we suffer pangs of conscience. We know when we have done the right thing, and we experience a sense of happiness. To be true to ourselves means being an example of righteous living in all situations and circumstances.”…

“He wants His sons and daughters to be happy. Sin never was happiness. Transgression never was happiness. Disobedience never was happiness. The way of happiness is found in the plan of our Father in Heaven and in obedience to the commandments of His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”…

“He invites us to come unto Him. He has said to each of us, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7).

Pray to the Father in His name. None of us can really make it alone. We need help, the kind of help that can come in answer to prayer.“…

“You are so very important. This work is so much the stronger because of you. Whenever you step over the line in an immoral act or in doing any other evil thing, the Church is that much weaker because of what you have done. When you stand true and faithful, it is that much stronger. Each one of you counts.”

From “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People” by STEPHEN R. COVEY this were the insights that stood out to me:

“… no matter how much a person works on their attitude, they won’t change if they don’t change their perceptions.”…” The character ethic taught there are basic principles of effective living, and that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they integrate those principles into their personal character.”

“The seven habits embody many of the fundamental principles of human effectiveness. They represent the internalization of correct principles upon which enduring happiness and success are based.”

“The 7 Habits are a new level of thinking - a paradigm shift based on a principle-centered, character-based inside-out approach to personal effectiveness.

“Proactive people are highly responsible. Proactivity means to subordinate impulses to values. Reactive people are swept away by the heat of the moment. Proactive people are driven by values that are both well thought out and internalized. It is not what happens that is important. It is our response to whatever happens that makes all the difference. Often, the most difficult circumstances become crucibles that forge our character and develop hidden reserves of strength. What matters most in life is not what happens to us, but how we respond to whatever happens. Our basic nature is to act, not to wait to be acted upon. We have the ability to take the initiative in any situation we are in. Everyone either waits to be acted on or takes responsibility for their own course and make the appropriate decisions. Being proactive doesn’t mean being pushy, aggressive or insensitive. Rather, proactivity means to control a situation from the inside out. Or in other words, to affect positive change, stop focusing on the immediate circumstances and instead consider your response to the conditions that exist. Do that and you have removed the power of anything external to affect you.”

“A particularly effective way to get into the habit of beginning with the end in mind is to write your own mission statement, philosophy or creed. This should focus on what you want to be (character), do (contributions & achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based”

In Passion vs. Money, Guy Kawasaky states that “whatever you build, it's about passion, and less about money. Your goals should be about changing the world, or making the world a better place.” He also talks about his experience growing up thinking that money was the most important thing in life. He advises students to study abroad and to spend as much time learning as possible.

Jim Ritchie gives us a summary of the seven habits of highly effective people from the book of Steven Covey:

1^st Be proactive (proactive people ≠ reactive people)

2^nd Begin with the end in mind

3^rd First things first

4^th Think win -win (but not at the expense of others)

5^th First seek to understand, then to be understood

6^th Create synergy

7^th Sharpen the saw

Which of the 7 habits has the most meaning for you and why?

I cannot say that of these seven habits one has more meaning to me than other. From what I have read and that made sense to me, the development of all these seven habits is what leads to success. We cannot do one of these habits and let other equally important behind if we want to achieve success. But the development of these habits is a process.

However, there were two that stood out most in my mind. The first “Be proactive” and the fourth “Think win – win”: Be proactive because man has the ability to be an acting agent and not only be the person that gets the action. I believe that great entrepreneurs understand very well this concept; and Think win-win because both parties benefit from this relationship.

Week 6 - So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurial Journal - Week 6 – “So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?”

There were some topics that stood out to me this week:

In the talk “Success Is Gauged by Self-Mastery” by N. Tanner, we can read that this life is a preparation to build up the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father. It is a process of personal growing and it will be necessary to magnify our callings in this earth, be a light to others.

I enjoyed what Plato wrote: “ The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile”.

There are 2 elements in self-mastery:

·         Determine our course or set the sails, so to speak, of moral standards

·         Willpower, or the wind in the sails carrying forward.

It is an important decision to follow our decision and carrying forward, to be engaged in those causes. It requires self-discipline and self-control.

From “So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?”, I learned about the 3 areas of knowledge:

1.       In-depth-knowledge of the competitive structure of an industry and a network of contacts within the industry

2.       The skills to run the daily operations of a small, rapidly growing company

3.       The ability to raise money

The secret is to choose a position in which we can develop industry, work step by step to gain knowledge and take notice of people who might be partners.

The three general guidelines for aspiring founders: Screen opportunities quickly to weed out un-promising ventures.  Analyze ideas parsimoniously. Focus on a few important issues. Integrate action and analysis.

External changes can provide great leverage for creative and nimble entrepreneurs. Personal preferences determine the types of ventures that will enthuse and fortify an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs must be smart enough to recognize mistakes and change strategies. Perseverance and tenacity are valuable entrepreneurial traits, and must be complemented with flexibility and a willingness to learn.

From the videos, I enjoyed most the third one that talks about the importance of being loyal to God and to our family. We must be aware of our challenges and serve our family, and in our callings at church. We must strive to be a light to the world, and to our family.” Be virtue, honesty and integrity.”

Week 5: Mastery: Skill, Character, or Luck

This week there were some topics that stood out to me:

From Perseverance by James E. Faust: “What are you looking forward to learning and experiencing? What did you learn from the readings and videos this week? Be sure you comment on the key takeaways from the 22 minute video "A Hero's Journey" in this journal entry.”

From Perseverance by James E. Faust: “Perseverance is demonstrated by those who keep going when the going gets tough, who don’t give up even when others say, “It can’t be done.””

 From the “Are Successful Entrepreneurs Born or made?”: “So in the end, what made them different from others who hadn’t been as successful and fulfilled? They had stayed the course. Day after day; year after year.

Other would-be-entrepreneurs might have been even more talented, but they became bored. Hopped from industry to industry. Tried to get rich quickly. Relied on “who they knew” to attract opportunities and favors rather than mastering a skill. Tried to take advantage of others instead of doing what was right.

The entrepreneurial heroes in front of me loved the great game of entrepreneurship. So they showed up, every day, in the same industry, with the same people. Through trial and error, successful and failed decisions, they made tiny deposits of industry expertise, business knowledge, and trust which built a web of assets that made running a successful business much easier and served as a formidable barrier to competitors.

Are successful entrepreneurs born or made? Are entrepreneurs blessed with a rare gene or shaped by their parents and childhood? Turns out, these aren’t even the right questions.

Entrepreneurs become successful, one small investment at a time, in a never-ending process. Because entrepreneurial success isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. A journey taken one determined step at a time, in a way that builds lifelong treasures.”

From “How Do You Find Your Passion and How Do You Pursue It?” by Randy Kosimar “What are my values? What I care about?... The biggest issue is not choosing between right or wrong. That’s easy. The hardest thing to do in life is to choose amongst right answers. It’s the issue of optimization…So, the issue in my mind is to make a decision based up on a set of right answers as they marry up against what you really feel here about them. And then do them.

From “Most Entrepreneurs are Not Rock Stars“ by David Friedberg, The Climate Corporation: David Friedberg offers metrics comparing the possible rewards and chances for success between working for an existing company and starting your own venture. He also explains the advantages and caveats of trying to make impact from inside larger organizations.

From a Hero’s Journey by Bryan Carter:  When he was a young man he wanted to change the world and asked himself “Do I really have what it takes to be succeed? And I were successful would I lose my souls in the process? The answers can be found in this statement: “You have a very special mission on this earth, a mission that would succeed beyond your wildest dreams but only If you have the faith and the courage to find entrepreneurial calling. You are worried about the wrong things and for some of you that mean that you are going to miss the opportunity of a life time.

What is that mean to choose a hero’s journey? It means to live every moment of your live like it matter. Because it does. It means to live if you have an important mission, because you do. It does not matter the prize in the end but how the hero is changing in the process.

As teacher, Bryan Carter promise to teach his students how to learn how to learn, learn how to make money, and learn how to live a life of meaning. Learn how to learn is the most important: Learn to listen, learn to ask questions, learn to make my points, try not to be the smartest person in the room.

Learn to live a life of meaning: After a series of interviews with people of different ages, people over 60 years essentially said the same questions:

Have I contributed with something meaningful? Am I a good person? And who I loved and who loved me?

About the first question, “Have I contributed with something meaningful?” The secret to lock this question is never give up your search for calling. That special mission where you can find your greatest God given gifts and use them in a way that brings you a great joy and satisfy the dip burning need in the world.

Along the way of our professional journey we will find people much smarter than us and much harder worker, and if we want to be successful we need to expertise in something. We need to find a calling to fit our special gifts.

“Try this experience:

Ask 5 people you know well, what you did better than anyone else in the world. Press for specifics examples and numbers and you will discover your gift in something that you think it is easy, because is easy for you…

A calling must serve others.

Choose your fellow travelers well for is a trip you will take once… It is of most importance to be surrounded of people of character. Because… you will come to be like the people who surrender you.

Spend time with your family. The most special of your fellow travelers.

Paradox: It is not about you, it is all about you. It is not about your happiness. It is all about you because using your gifts to change the world will change you in the process.

Week four

Every week I have learned a lot about business management, and yet there is so much to learn about our attitudes toward business. I hope treasuring all these teachings applying them in my life. I am looking forward to learning and experiencing all that is available for me to learn in this course.

This week I learned:

From "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen it is written: "One of the theories that gives great insight on the first question—how to be sure we find happiness in our careers—is from Frederick Herzberg, who asserts that the powerful motivator in our lives isn’t money; it’s the opportunity to learn, grow in responsibilities, contribute to others, and be recognized for achievements."

"Management is the most noble of professions if it’s practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team…. Doing deals doesn’t yield the deep rewards that come from building up people. "

Francis Ford Coppola : Do what you love. You’ll be better at it.

In earlier lessons we learn the formula for success

 Has 5 points: The first “Get Up Early”, the second “Work Hard”, the third “Get Your Education”, the fourth “Find Oil” and the fifth “Make your mark”.

This week, we have learned about the tri-equation, the Productivity Pyramid and how to make our own  constitution.

W03: Entrepreneurial Journal

“It's often more difficult than it sounds, but it's important to be fanatically ethical when building a company, said Frank Levinson. He believes people understand if it's an ethical environment right away. It is something that people gravitate to, he says, so you just have to build it early and never step off of it.”

Frank Levinson's Top 10 Things You Must Have to Start a Business. These include:
1) Spending everything on a good team and equipment
2) Letting people know the company is in business
3) Raising limited capital
4) Taking stock of a company and determining its needs
5) Being open to opportunities
6) Having a supportive family
7) Targeting mass markets, not just niche markets
8) Having confidence in new ideas
9) Acquiring and selling to real customers
10) Choosing a great partner

"I will never" and "I will always" ethical guardrails.

Many business people lose the foundation that they were based on because they lose their ethical guardrails in their professional path.  I choose these ethical guardrails as my guide lines for the future; if I put them in place now then I can be confident that I will have a peace of mind in the future.

My ethical guardrails are:

I will never

1   I will never put business above important family events.

2. I will never do anything illegal jeopardizing my freedom for any reason.

3. I will never compromise my integrity.

I will always

1. I will always pray for guidance and put love of God first in all daily decisions

2  I will always be honest in all my dealings with all my fellowmen

3. I will always choose what I feel is right.

In "Making a Living and a Life" by Elder Lynn G. Robbins we can read “At the A-level, The Lord established the correct order with priorities as we read in 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 . . .”  At this level the primary motivation is a love of God and our fellowmen.  Of necessity, there is a secondary motivation to earn a living. 

If a love of God and fellowmen is the primary motivation, then the working man or woman will be a kingdom builder and a full-tithe payer. They will have a “zeal towards their fellow men . . . and will be perfectly honest and upright in all things” (Alma27:27).  As a laborer they will be “worthy of their hire” (Luke 10:7).  As an employer they will give a “just recompense of wages,” (D&C 124:121).  They will be a beloved employer and endeavor to help, not only their customers, but also their employees and community. They will have a baker’s dozen mentality with superior customer service. Sometimes this person will even render service at no charge to help someone in need, such as those doctors who travel to Third-world countries to help the disadvantaged.  Their products and services are of the highest quality. 

Those at the A-level aren’t working for mankind, but living for mankind, trying to lift and help others.  In addition to making a living, they are making a life.  “