Last lecture

In learning about being an entrepreneur there are many important things to consider and to apply so that you can be successful and happy. Dreaming is very important. If we dream we are always looking for something that we think is out our reach but still strive to reach them. In doing this we are always growing and learning. It's important that we don't focus only on finding our calling in life. Though we may not all have a calling, we are all given talents and we are encouraged to expound on those talents while seeking and learning new talents at the same time. We also need to be a life long learner and why that is important. By always learning we never become obsolete and we can always work and do what is needed of us. Something else that is very important is being invested in what you are doing, or having skin in what you are doing. I have had jobs where I was not invested in the work nor the company and it was very difficult to perform well at that job. I have also had other jobs where I did take a personal interest in what I was doing and where the company was going and I found those jobs to be much more enjoyable. I think in becoming and entrepreneur it is important to manage your time because it can be very easy to let your job consume all of your time. If this happens your relationship with family and your happiness can suffer because you will begin to neglect your hobbies and doing what you enjoy.

Something else that is very important is to be able to apply gospel principles to real life so that we can truly live the things that we are taught. Though we are taught to be in the world and not of the world, work, school and in other social settings are a necessary part of our daily lives and I think it is important that we learn to apply gospel teachings to everyday life and not just gospel specific things. Something that rang true with me was that we need to set rules. We have to set rules for ourselves in what we are doing so that we have time for everything that is important in our lives. I think setting rules goes back to self-mastery because we will be working for ourselves and we are only responsible to ourselves to follow our own rules. I also like that we were told to always make time for family and church callings. I think that it is very true that if we aren’t willing to do the Lord’s work and trust that he will help us in our lives, then we won’t receive as much help with our work as if we were doing our best to fulfill callings.

Week 12

I really enjoyed the talk Attitude of Gratitude. The part that stuck out most to me was gratitude for the lord. I think this one is most important because if we are grateful for the Lord then I think we will be grateful for everything else as well. President Monson explains it as follows, “He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved. Only He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”” I think having gratitude in business is important because we need to be grateful for the opportunities we have and what we do have so that we will never be sad or upset for the work that we have. I think in doing so, it will make finding more success even sweeter because we will appreciate it more.

I also like learning about getting a job that we enjoy. My dad has always told me, "do something you like and you will never work a day in your life." I think this is so important because I know many people who make millions of dollars a year doing something they hate and they are miserable in life. I think it is important personally as well as for your family that you do something you enjoy so you can earn money while being happy doing it.

Week 10

I liked thinking about my position on money. I think money is a necessary thing to have during this life. I also think it is a great thing to strive to have and abundance of as long as you plan on doing good things with it. The way I view money I think has made me more giving. I enjoy helping those in need who don't have enough money for something they need and I have some that I can spare. I really also liked the rules for prospering. Which are,

Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in him

       Rule 2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and                    fast offerings.

       Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self- reliant.

       Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of                    these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the                      Key to Opportunity.

      Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.

      Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or                           those who are held captive.

I also really like the advice that says to never get yourself into a situation where you can't say no. I think this is important because you should always feel comfortable saying no to someone or something.

week 11

This week I really liked reading the talk by President Monson. The part that stood out to me the most is when he said, “I would say to each mother, each father—be a good listener. Communication is so vital today in our fast-paced world. Take time to listen. And to you children, talk to your mother and to your father. It may be difficult to realize, but your parents have lived through many of the same challenges which you face today. Often they see the big picture more clearly than you can. They pray for you each day and are entitled to the inspiration of our Heavenly Father in providing you counsel and advice.” I think in our world of technology we are losing personal communication and relationships are suffering because of it.

I also really liked the video about making it personal and making it work as an entrepreneur. I think it is so important to find something you enjoy doing and that you go after that thing. By doing so you are making work personal. And if you make work personal, you make it important to you and you will enjoy doing that thing. If we enjoy what we are doing we won’t be miserable at work and we will make whatever we are going after work for us.

Week 9

I really enjoyed the readings this week. I liked that it talked about how important it is to stay current on technology in your business so you don't fall behind and get beat out by someone else. we also read that we much exploit all of our resources whether they are people, technology, or anything because the resource pool is vast and we need to exploit it as much as we can to help ourselves excel in the entrepreneurial world. This goes back to the importance of networking because networking can provide a wealth of resources that otherwise wouldn't be available to us. I also liked the talk by Elder Oaks because it talks about how it matters what we become not what has happened. I think this is applicable in life and in business because we need to learn from our mistakes and move forward with our live so that we can always improve and become better. I also liked reading about how entrepreneurs aren't just opportunistic but they are innovative. Often times we must come up with cost effective non conventional solutions to a problem and that takes a lot of innovation to come up with those solutions.

Week 8

This week I really liked watching the videos because they talk about how you should treat other people. In the business world I think it is very common to mistreat people. I have worked in many manager positions and customer service positions and I have seen how common it is for people to mistreat one another. I think it is common for upper management to mistreat employees and lower management because they think they are the boss and they know everything, when in reality it is important to listen to those who are in the store fronts and lower management then you are because they are on the front lines and often see things that upper management doesn’t.

I also liked reading about how it’s important for a company to trust its customers. One example I have of this in my life is buying a gun from Sportsman’s warehouse. The paper work was filled out incorrectly so I had to return the gun so they could sell it out to me again and fill the paper work out correctly. While in the store I was joking around and talking with the guys behind the gun counter while we fixed the problem. As we were doing this the manager walked up to apologize for having me come back in and had one of the sales associates ring out a box of ammo for me for free. I wasn’t there throwing a fit or angry, rather I was there having a good time and they still gave me free ammo. This act alone has made it so I will always go to sportsman’s warehouse first. 

Week 7

What I really enjoyed about this week in class was learning about how we need to keep pushing forward even when things get tough. I like when Elder Holland said that no matter what we must keep pushing forward. He said that we must do that in all parts of our lives. I think this is very applicable to business because as we have learned this semester, there will be a lot of hardships and struggles as entrepreneurs. During those hardships we will want to give up and throw in the towel, but as Elder Holland taught, things will get easier and we will achieve our goals because nothing great in life comes easily.

I also liked the story about the guy whose mom put him on the roof when he was a kid and said he couldn't come down until it was fixed. He realized that his problem wasn't fixing the roof, it was figuring out how to get off the roof. He realized that even though he didn't know how to fix a roof, he could find someone who did and could help him. I think he later applied this to his life in his networking. He understood that he didn't need to know how to do everything, he just needed to know people who knew how to do the things he didn't.

Week 6

This week I really liked learning about how many successful business people agree that business and economy needs to be based off of high morals such as trust and virtue. I have seen many times in my life owners or higher ups in businesses do things or make deals that weren't honest or moral in many ways. Though these deals may have worked out in the beginning, they usually fail and I have seen them take down the entire company because someone was greedy and wanted the deal at that time. I liked the article What's Business For Really where it talked about virtue and integrity in business. Virtue and integrity are so vital in an economy because it is what keeps the economy going. If we lie, then the trust that was once there can never be the same. The trust that existed in a corporation, once broken, can never be the same and the company will for ever be effected. I think that if businesses will operate on principles of honesty and integrity they will in the end become very successful businesses in the sense that they will change the world around them for the better while at the same time making a profit. I think a good example of this is Chick-Fil-A I think that this company is based on strong and good principles in that they provide educational support for their employees and donate money to many charitable organizations.

Week 5

 I like the quote by Plato, “The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.” This quote reminds me of a teaching a read taught about fasting by Joseph Smith. He taught that fasting brings the body into submission to the spirit. I think that if we haven't been able to master ourselves that there is nothing viler because we have succumbed to the natural man. I enjoyed this lesson because it talks about balancing family life and work. It has always been one of my goals to be able to leave work at work and be with my family when I am at home. I thought it was very valuable to hear in the videos how other entrepreneurs have balanced their work and family lives. Something that rang true with me was that we need to set rules. We have to set rules for ourselves in what we are doing so that we have time for everything that is important in our lives. I think setting rules goes back to self-mastery because we will be working for ourselves and we are only responsible to ourselves to follow our own rules. I also like that we were told to always make time for family and church callings. I think that it is very true that if we aren’t willing to do the Lord’s work and trust that he will help us in our lives, then we won’t receive as much help with our work as if we were doing our best to fulfill callings.

Week 4

I think that it is very important to be able to apply gospel principles to real life so that we can truly live the things that we are taught. Though we are taught to be in the world and not of the world, work, school and in other social settings are a necessary part of our daily lives and I think it is important that we learn to apply gospel teachings to everyday life and not just gospel specific things. I have worked for a few small companies. I have found in those small companies it can be very hard to persevere because when hardship or financial difficulties hit, they seem to be even worse because the company is smaller. But the upside of working for a small company is that there is a closeness in the company and you feel like you can band together to get through problems. When we learn about being kind to one another, we can apply that to the people we interact with every day, not just those at church.  It is always good to see things applied in a different setting than the one you learned them in because it gives it deeper meaning.

Week 3

 I really enjoyed the principles that where taught this week. I think the topics we covered will serve all of us for the rest of our lives. The principles contained in the book The Start-Up of You will help anyone who applies them further themselves in life and help them to always gain new experiences to constantly improve ourselves. The concept that we are all entrepreneurs is one that teaches that we are all born with the natural desire to create and make things in our own way. Our ancestors were born and grew up making things and creating new ways of accomplishing a task in order to stay alive and eat.
I also liked the videos about doing what we like to do and finding our calling in life. I think it is important to do this because work will be miserable if we don't do what we like. If we do what we like we will naturally do well in it because it won't seem like work. If we can do what we like, what we are good at, and find someone who will pay us for it, I think that is a very good way to become successful in life.

Week 2

I really liked the principle of having skin in the game also. I have had jobs where I was not invested in the work nor the company and it was very difficult to perform well at that job. I have also had other jobs where I did take a personal interest in what I was doing and where the company was going and I found those jobs to be much more enjoyable. I also really liked learning about ethics in business and in our daily lives. I think by being and ethical person you will always come out on top because people will see that you are an honest and good person. Being ethical not only puts us in good standing with those around us, but it puts us in good standing with God. As an employee it is also important to be ethical because your employers will know that they can always count on you to get a job done and they will not have to worry about what you are doing. I think the principles learned in this weeks will not only help us in our careers but I think that these principles will help us in our daily lives as well.

Week 1.

This week has been a great week. I especially enjoyed making the list of 50 things I want to do. I think it helps to make lists like these so that we can remember our dreams and our passions. Like hear in the videos, we will fail many times in our lives at things we try and do, but we must keep moving forward and learning from our experiences. This goes right along with learning about seeking our dreams. Dreaming is very important. If we dream we are always looking for something that we think is out our reach but still strive to reach them. In doing this we are always growing and learning. I also liked reading about our callings in life. Though we may not all have a calling, we are all given talents and we are encouraged to expound on those talents while seeking and learning new talents at the same time. I also learned about being a live long learner and why that is important. By always learning we never become obsolete and we can always work and do what is needed of us. By being able to do all this we will always be able to work and have a job and also become more valuable and rise up in our careers.

Intro week

Week one has been a great learning experience. I enjoyed reading the talk “Brigham Young University–Idaho:  A Disciple Preparation Center.” I enjoyed learning about how special it is that Ricks college became BYU-Idaho and how it is a temple of learning, a place where we can come to better ourselves, our knowledge and become better Disciples of Christ. David A. Bednar said, “Let me suggest that in Rexburg, Idaho, we are in the process of creating not a missionary training center (MTC), but a Disciple Preparation Center—a DPC. In this special and sacred and set apart place, you and I have access to unparalleled spiritual resources that can assist us in developing and deepening our devotion as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The videos by Guy Kawasaki where very meaningful to me. Throughout my life I have been told, “Do what you like; and you will never work a day in your life.” This goes hand in hand with what Guy said about doing what we love and money will follow. The older I become, the more jobs I have, and the more I study in school, the more I realize how true these statements are. So often I have seen friends and family come home from work tired and miserable and wake up dreading going to work that day. I think that if we do whatever we like, then we will excel in it because it won’t seem like work to us because we will be enjoying what we do. This also follows with the other video I watched by him called Passion vs, Money. I will find a job and a career so that I don’t have to work a day in my life and still provide for my family.

I have also come to find that the principles of keeping a journal can be very advantageous in life. One of the ways a journal has been most impactful to me in my life is being able to read back and see where I was and compare it to where I am now. The readings said this gives us an opportunity to reevaluate and re apply past lessons while compiling and even bigger and more meaningful lesson.