My Last Lecture

So, you want to be an entrepreneur. If I could say only one thing to you, it would be this: you are a hero, so live like one. Thankfully, I have time to expound on that.

Being an entrepreneur is so much more than being your own boss and crossing your fingers that you'll be rich someday. Being an entrepreneur is more than one brilliant idea and enough luck to carry you to the finish line. Being an entrepreneur is about being brave enough to step out of the box and create something new that will do good for the world - maybe even change it. Being an entrepreneur is about being willing to sacrifice your comfort, your resources, and your time to pursue a passion that may or may not take you anywhere ... simply because you love the thrill. Being an entrepreneur is about having the desire and need to create something amazing.

Take a moment and ask yourself why you're here. Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? Why do you think you have what it takes? What are you willing to give up to see your dreams come true? When I started my journey, I had no idea what my reasons or intentions were. Being an entrepreneur sounded good, so I decided to give it a shot, but I had no deep understanding of what it meant and no commitment to the lifestyle it entails. I've since learned that this pursuit isn't for the weak, and it's definitely not for anyone with a weak will or lack of motivation. You have to have a reason to be here, or life and greener pastures will see you to the front door. I guarantee it.

If you're here for the sole purpose of making money, stop right there. You need to have pure intentions, or you will never find the fulfillment that all of us seek. Being a true entrepreneur, a true world-changer and a hero, requires the intent to gain resources for the sake of helping others. It requires the intent to create things that will benefit those around you. It requires the understanding that you're here to take a little more money from the big guys and give it to the little guys, because you know what it feels like to be a little guy. If you only have your sights set on being a big guy, with a lot of money and no desire to share, you won't help the world at all.

As far as your hero's journey goes, let me promise you that it will be difficult. This is not an easy path. You will have many days when you're discouraged beyond consolation and terrified out of your wits. You will have to make difficult decisions that test every resolve and value you've ever set for yourself. It will be vital for you to write a code to live by and to stick to it. It will be vital that you shoot for dreams in the stars and never let them out of your sight. You will need allies who can help hold you in place when you start to drift, and who will hold you up when you want to give up and fall. You will need mentors who have been where you are. You will need to let go of any preconceptions you had about time or money. But despite all of the difficulties and trials that this path will bring, it is absolutely worth it.

All of you are starters on this journey, and I plead with you to also be finishers. We need more finishers in this world. We need more entrepreneurs. We need more brave warriors. We need more heroes.

Choosing an Industry is Hard

This week, we learned about several entrepreneurs and their paths to success. It's interesting that none of them began their careers by starting their own business. First, they went to school, or worked for other people, or both. They gained experience in their respective fields, or at least gained enough knowledge to know what the needs of customers were, and only then did they dive in to the risky stuff. When I interviewed my mother a few weeks back, I was especially curious about how her traditional career benefited her in her entrepreneurial endeavors, and it was definitely significant.

This makes me think about what I'm doing now and what kind of career it's preparing me for. A lot of our learning this week was about choosing ventures that fit your passions and your life. I'm still hesitant about entrepreneurship because I don't have an idea or an industry to settle in, but all of the signs point towards an obvious answer: natural health. I grew up using natural remedies and learning about these things. My current job gives me a lot of exposure to natural things and the people who use them. I have an idea of what customers are like and what they need. I'm planning to learn more about reflexology and I feel like that aligns with my passions of natural health and working closely with people, being able to talk to them.

I look forward to learning more about myself and how to be brave enough to take the steps towards being a business owner. Even if I only focus on my writing for a while, I know that I'll be guided in the right direction. I want to help people, so as long as I keep my eyes open, I'm sure I'll see the best ways to do that.

Consecration

Wow. This week gave me a whole new perspective on the purpose of business and on the purpose of my life in general. Our material this week included a lecture by Elder Robert Gay entitled "Entrepreneurship and Consecration" and I learned so much from that. This is one of my favorite thoughts from him: "Beyond making ends meet, whether you have little or much of this world's goods will never be a fundamental factor in your personal peace and happiness. But rather, it is your attitude towards wealth that will be critical." I agree that as long as we have sufficient for our needs, it's not the having that will bring us joy, but the giving.

As the title of his talk suggests, his main point was the importance and power of consecration. He read a heart-wrenching letter written by a girl in Africa who went through horrific things and that reminded me of how much need there really is in the world. I often feel so sheltered from that. There are so many people who are less fortunate than I am, even if I don't consider myself prosperous. I make do and that's more than so many can say.

Elder Gay taught that the purpose of business is to rescue those who are in need. It isn't about gaining wealth for our personal use or hoarding, but gaining wealth/resources for the sake of giving aid. I was a little astounded when I realized a simple truth: if so many people weren't fixated on having luxurious and ridiculously expensive things, if they were humble and didn't need to look better than everyone else, there likely wouldn't be much poverty in the world. If the wealth of the world was distributed evenly and no one took more than they needed, everyone would be better off and share in the abundance.

I finished writing a novel this week, and because of this talk, I was inspired to include the principle of consecration in my story and I felt like it was such a profound message. The world needs to hear more of it. I felt a little ill listening to the stories that dear girl in Ghana told, but I think we need more of that. I think if we were all aware of the unsettling horrors that happen to those who are poor and needy and disadvantaged, if we heard things that made our skin crawl a little more often, we might be more motivated to do something about it. I definitely feel motivated. It isn't right that so many people in the world, our brothers and sisters, are suffering so much when we live in our beautiful bubbles here in America.

We also read an article called "What's a Business For?" from Harvard Business Review and we were asked to answer these questions here in our journals:

Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy? I admit, a lot of this article went over my head, but I definitely got the impression that there's a lot of deception and dishonesty about how much businesses are worth. It also seems that, again, a lot of people are hoarding profits for themselves. It sounds like a lot of companies make poor choices in order to raise their worth momentarily, and that they don't put much thought towards the future and the consequences of their choices. The article talks about the "American disease" and how it's affected Britain. It seems that focusing so much on business and profit messes up the economy, especially in the areas of health, education, and transport. We've certainly had our fair share of economic struggles and crashes in America. Clearly, being honest and having the right motivations can help keep an economy balanced.

According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses? To quote the article, "The purpose of a business, in other words, is not to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better." The "real justification" is the big picture. It's what gives the business a heart, and not just a pocketbook. It's the motivation to do and become something. Hopefully, it's the desire to serve those who are in need.

What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why? Handy proposed that we stop working our executives and employees so hard, because having their jobs feel like an all-encompassing calling will drive them away and will wear them down. I agree with this because I know I do better work when I'm less exhausted and less tired of the same old routine. We all need some time to rejuvenate. I'm sure all of our businesses would profit from having more fresh, positive employees who feel like they still have fulfilling lives outside of their occupations.

Handy also proposed that, in his words, "We should, as charitable organizations do, measure success in terms of outcomes for others as well as for ourselves." If we stop focusing so much on numbers (profit for ourselves) and start focusing more on the good we're doing, business will be drawn to us because the world is all about charity these days. The rising generations, mine included, want to see more people trying to make a difference. We want to see more businesses becoming human and caring about the individual.

Healthy Money Attitudes

This week was awesome! I was wowed by so many of the videos and readings. I've had a really rough few days, and I've been struggling a lot with not feeling happy enough ... which prepared me to be very humbled as I learned that I need to stop looking for greener grass when my life is already awesome. There's a reason I'm going through everything that I am. My favorite quote from the readings?

"Those who have experienced serious adversity earlier in life may be the luckiest. They seem to have more focus, more clarity, and more humility. Research shows the best time to face adversity is in your late teens and twenties. Don’t overprotect your children from the lessons adversity brings.” ("Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness")

That is me, right now. I am lucky to be experiencing everything I am right now because it's preparing me for the many years ahead. I'm learning how to suffer right now because it's allowing me to become who I need to be in the years ahead. That is great. It's really difficult, but it's great.

I learned a lot about the importance of priorities, which we've covered in previous weeks as well. I was impressed by two mini cases that we studied and how well they fit into our previous learning and all of the experiences I've been having lately. I know that I need to put my family and my relationships above myself, above my goals, above my work, and especially above my fears. I've spent the last few days reacting instead of acting, so now is the time to act. I found myself reading the personal constitution that I wrote for myself and leaning on the principles that I chose as my priorities. This class is helping me in life so much.

We read a wonderful talk/lecture/devotional called "Attitude on Money" by Stephen W. Gibson, and I was floored by his contradiction of beliefs that I didn't even know I had. He teaches that God wants us to prosper, and that being poor doesn't necessarily make us better or more humble in His eyes. He wants us to do well so we can serve others. He doesn't want us to suffer. I had no idea I had such a negative view of money until I read this talk.

We were asked to answer these three questions after reading the article:

What is your attitude toward money?

I grew up with a father who had very strange attitudes about money, so when I became an adult, I decided to allow myself some freedom. I often treat myself and spend money on silly things because I can and I want to enjoy the freedom of being able to. I'm careful not to make this a destructive habit, but instead a healthy way of reinventing the 'filters' I've had over my eyes all of these years. I try to put money away for savings, but to also spend enough that more can come back to me. I believe money needs to leave me in order to come back.
How can your view of money affect the way you live?

You can either limit yourself by penny-pinching or learn to enjoy giving a little. God wants us to prosper, but he doesn't want us to stress. He wants us to be mindful, but not overly pessimistic or selfish. He doesn't want us to hoard our resources when we have the opportunity to give. The way we view money is a huge part of the way we view life and the people around us. If we worry about it too much, it will become an idol, and it will prevent us from seeing, loving, and serving others.
What rules are recommended for prospering?

Seek the Lord and have hope in Him. Keep the commandments. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant. Take advantage of chances for learning. (Education is the Key to Opportunity.) Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated. Do not send away those in need.

My Mama, the Entrepreneur

This week, we finished an assignment where we interviewed an entrepreneur. I chose to interview my mother, and it was amazing to finally hear the details of her story and get to invest real interest in her life's work. I've always taken it for granted. When I was a kid, I was more irritated by how her business inconvenienced me than how it really helped us. My father decided a few years ago that he no longer had any interest in providing for the family, and that left my mother to carry the weight. She's done so admirably and with a miraculously positive attitude. It was such a blessing to be able to spend that time writing her story.

We learned a lot about pursuing dreams this week and we read an incredible talk called "The Challenge to Become." That helped me a lot to remember that as long as I'm becoming who I need to become, setbacks aren't the end of the world. I'm so grateful for this class and all that it's teaching me.

We also learned about entrepreneurship within companies and that really intrigued me, because I never realized it was possible to have an entrepreneur spirit and still work for someone else. But I learned from my mother that working for someone else can really help you build character and skills. All of this made me wonder what I can be doing at my place of employment to better both the company and myself.

How Much Land Does a Man Need?

This week, we continued to read "A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey." I really loved the story by Leo Tolstoy that was called "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" This story is about a man who is promised that he can own as much land as he can walk the perimeter of by sunset. This man is overly zealous/greedy and walks so far that it becomes late and he is forced to return and therefore makes his land more of a triangle than a square. By the time he reaches his starting point, he has pushed himself so hard that he dies. In the end, the only land he truly needs is enough to be buried in. He tries to take too much and suffers the ultimate cost (death) for doing so. I feel like I can relate to this a lot, because I often push myself so far that my work becomes less valuable and I use up valuable time by needing to recover - more time than I would have taken if I'd simply slowed down and paced myself.

We also learned a lot about the purpose of BYU-Idaho this week and I am so grateful to be a part of this incredible school. I love connecting my spiritual and vocational educations.

We read a summary of the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins and I was very impressed by the principles explained there. I've seen many of those concepts be fruitful at the company I work for, especially the need for the right people. My company is very particular about who we hire and that makes for a great work atmosphere and great productivity.

Don't Become Weary in Well-Doing

This week was truly inspiring! Many of the readings were about enduring hard times, finding courage, and having a vision. I was especially touched by a devotional given at BYU by Elder Holland and his wife. Elder Holland talked a lot about not becoming weary in well-doing. I want to write that on the wall of my bedroom because I so often feel weary and I forget how much strength the Lord will give me if I simply ask for it. I also loved his mention of leaning on our sword and resting a while before continuing to fight. Sometimes we need to rest, but when the resting is over, we need to get back up and keep doing good.

We started reading "A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey" by Jeff Sandefer and Rev. Robert Sirico. What an amazing compilation of incredible literature, words of encouragement, and pleas to be better and do better. I'm so excited to read more of that book and gain more motivation from it. I was definitely inspired to be courageous, conquer my dragons, and accomplish my life's work - whatever that may be.

This class has been such a gift in my life. I'm learning and growing with every week. I hope it's preparing me for the days and weeks ahead.