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.