My Entrepreneur Journal

This week was a great reminder about how we have to make sure we pay attention to the most important things. I think that in our quest to realize our dreams, our life can become a nightmare. This is something I have seen repeatedly. When I was 18, I had the opportunity to live in the Silicon Valley at the height of the .com boom. I lived in a very rich area with many extremely well educated and extremely wealthy people. I got a first-hand view of the fact that money cannot buy happiness. Luckily the family I worked for had a lot of experience with money and the pitfalls it can bring, so they were not facing the challenges that many others were facing. For someone who had grown up in farming communities in Idaho, I always thought that the answer to life's problems was money. I am ever thankful for the opportunity I had to learn otherwise so I could set my priorities.  There are times when we all have to face difficult decisions between work and family. I think that it can be a ch...

It was great to take the time to reflect on the interview I was able to conduct. I feel like this interview was the best part of the semester so far. This is something I gained a lot of insight from. I feel like the person I picked to interview was great at relating his successes and failures in a very real way. One of the biggest things I am taking away from this is that appearances can be deceiving. From the outside looking in, the person I interviewed seemed like he had never had a problem in the world. He makes his success seem relatively easy. After our discussion, I realized that this was not so. He was someone who thought he wanted one business and that morphed over time to better fit his situation. He was able to succeed in something he did not even set out to do initially. This came from bumps along the way that would have caused many people to quit. One of the best things he taught me was that you cannot wait until you know everything to get started or you never will. I think...

I can't believe another week has come and gone. This week we were able to learn more about leadership and how to be a good leader. I think that this is key to being an entrepreneur. If you are going to start a business that is successful, you are going to need to use the skills you have to lead others because you cannot do it alone. From being able to secure financing, to helping people that work with and for you to see your vision and figure out how to execute it, you need to have good leadership skills. That can come in many different formats. Elder Bednar reminded us that we have to make sure that we are being a good leader in ways that I think echo what we should do in our business lives as well as our spiritual ones. The fact that you can be a powerful leader and that people can have confidence in you, without having a huge ego is key. Elder Bednar taught that real leaders are humble and teachable. I think that this type of leader is great in the working world and not just t...

This week offered a lot of encouragement! I was excited by the talk and video from Elder Holland. He always offers sage advice and wisdom. One of the best things he talked about was when he offered the advice to just keep moving. He shared personal experiences that help you to understand that no matter what it looks like from the outside, no one gets an easy ride. It takes a lot of work and effort and a lot of putting one foot in front of the other with small progress. Rarely do we get to where we are going in grand steps. I also enjoyed the videos. The 5 Why's by Eric Ries was a really great idea. I think that using that technique is something that can help any entrepreneur. I was excited about the prospect of the interview. I spent time contemplating my options for entrepreneurs, but finally decided upon one person. I was able to spend time thinking about interview questions and the purpose of the conversation. This conversation is meant to be meaningful, so I wanted to make su...