What would you do?

This week we had two “mini” case studies that made us think about potential real life scenarios that could occur in the life of an entrepreneur. I enjoyed thinking about these scenarios because it helped me solidify what matters most to me. Over the course of this semester I have come to the conclusion that true failure for an entrepreneur is a failed family. I always struggle a little when hearing about a successful entrepreneur who has been divorced but in the end their business was successful! Wrong priorities. But to one extent or another we will all face similar scenarios in our lives and I feel a large part of knowing what to do comes down to setting standards beforehand. The youth are told they only have to make the decision not to do drugs once, because once that decision is made it is not even an option anymore. I feel this is the same for all of us. I only have to make the decision once to keep promises to my children (and only make promises when I truly mean it).

Another topic I appreciated was the attitude towards money. It was nice to hear from an LDS perspective someone encourage us to be successful and be profitable. Then what it really comes down to is how that money is used. I don’t think it is any accident that the greatest examples of rich people are typically those that came from humble beginnings. They realize there is more to life and they are more giving with the money that they do have.

Dream Huge!

I remember as a missionary listening to an EFY song called Dream Big. I really don't remember the words but I remember feeling inspired to do my best. Taylor Richards takes it a step farther in a video we watched this week where we are encouraged to Dream Huge! In the video he explained how they were selected for the top 100 of a specific type of company. His initial thought was “I’m in the top 100! I could have quit right there and been thrilled to death.” To their own surprise the first year they reached number 11. That is huge! And the next year they were number 6. Imagine if they had settled with being okay as number 100. Where you settle is where you will end up. Taylor encourages us not to underestimate ourselves. This can be very easy to do especially in the pessimistic society we live in, be we really were meant to achieve incredible things. “You can do it, if you involve the Lord you can do great things. It’s a lot more fun to do great things than to just do good things.” The reason this inspired me so much is for the simple fact that at times I think I limit myself. I want to be successful but when I see the people that have been incredibly successful I never can imagine myself being where they are. I have to keep in mind that with the Lord I can accomplish many great things.

Going along with this is a quote that hit me in the article Heart of Entrepreneurship. “It’s much easier and safer for companies to stay with the familiar than to explore the unknown.” We are all victims of the comfort zone. The most successful people are those who are brave enough to leave their comfort zone. In fact they even find it fun! I want to expand my comfort zone as I learn new things and have new opportunities I want to take those chances to do great things!

 

 

Execute!

A coworker of mine took this course last semester and it is always fun for me to come to an assignment that he had talked about. This week it was about the ability to execute. I have a feeling this was one of his favorite topics, he talked about it quite often and still talks about it. As discussed in A Letter for Garcia the ability to execute is an incredibly valuable attribute that most do not quite have or understand. I agree that this is a great attribute, but I do struggle a little when the conversation turns to complaining about people who do not have this ability. First off it is typically a hypocritical conversation, and while the article argues that this is a very old problem and that modern excuses are not to blame I have to disagree to an extent. Many people receive mixed signals throughout their lives. Students are excellent examples. A student will have many teachers throughout their life, each teacher will manage their classroom a little different. Because of this it is natural for students to become very good at clarifying what exactly is being required. The teacher finds it annoying, but the student finds it just as annoying when a teacher doesn’t clearly define expectations. It is easy to sit in the seat of the task giver, you already know what you want (or what will be acceptable), and if that task giver isn’t fully competent the tasks they assign may very well be confusing. I once wrote a paper thinking I knew exactly what was expected only to have it given back with a big D+ written in red on the cover page. I was baffled! As I read the comments I came to the conclusion that my understanding of the teacher’s instructions were quite different than the teacher’s interpretation and sadly there was nothing I could do about it.

Nevertheless! I still stand by the idea that this is a great attribute to have, I just feel like there needs to be a certain level of “knowing your audience” to be most effective at implementing this attribute.

Keep Moving Forward

My thoughts today focus on the short video we watched titled “You can do anything.” Meet the Robinsons is one of my sister’s favorite movies. For me it is a fun movie, but the thing in the movie that hit me the hardest was the main characters motto “Keep Moving Forward!” Since I saw that movie I have tried to apply that motto to my life. Never give up on your dreams. Taylor Richards emphasizes the importance of never giving up as he applied this idea to the gospel. If we are able to involve the Lord in our goals, He will guide us and give us the opportunities to succeed. It has been very interesting to see the path my life has taken since returning from my mission. All of my plans prior and during my mission have not played out because other thoughts and paths have opened and I have no doubt it has been through the guidance of the Lord. I feel like I am where I need to be and I am doing what I need to be doing. I really don’t know exactly what the future has in store but I will continue doing what feels right and I don’t doubt it will work out however it is supposed to work out.

Next Taylor Richards talked about the importance of not underestimating ourselves. A coworker of mine lately has talked a lot about the idea of limiting beliefs. Essentially it is when we limit our capabilities by telling ourselves we cannot accomplish something. I want to make sure I am not limiting myself by underestimating my abilities.

It has been a great week to think about what I want to accomplish in life. I still don’t have the answers, but I am trying really hard not to limit myself.

Honesty is the best policy

This week I have thought a lot about the real impact honesty and good work ethics can have on a society and an individual. President Hinckley in his talk “Stand True and Faithful” explains that we cannot be our best without living righteous lives, and that is exactly the same for a business.

Honesty leads to trust. In the reading “What’s a Business For?” I thought a lot about trust once again both on a personal level and also on a business level, and the reading takes it to an even greater level, our whole economy. I think of my time as a missionary and having a conversation with an individual who explained to us how they are planning to store up an armory and not using banks to hold their money when they didn’t need to. This man has lost trust in our society.  

At work a new position became available and my manager explained that in his pie chart of what the employee needed to have 40% of the chart was trust (and it was the biggest of all pieces). He said if he cannot trust this employee he would not be comfortable giving them the responsibilities. 

Changing topics…

I started and finished reading “The Dip” this week. First off it was short, and second off I really liked it and wanted to keep reading. One thing that I have thought about quite a bit is the importance of sticking with goals. Seth Godin focuses on quitting things that are hindering us, and also sticking with things we determine to be valuable. If there is something we truly want to do, then we need to make the commitment to do it and set goals to achieve it. I am finally at a point in my schooling when I can see an end date (for my Bachelor’s at least). So much of my time has just been signing up for classes semester after semester and not really thinking about my end goal. Now that I see it I am more motivated and more involved.

Priorities

The videos watched this week from Jan Newman, Wences Casares, and Steve Blank were really interesting and insightful. These videos caused me to think a lot about the idea of priorities in life. If we are focused on things that don’t really matter we won’t find true happiness. Jan Newman talked about how people try and cram and keep everything in their lives even as life gets very busy. This is when we have to looking at what really matters. In my life I strive to focus my time between 5:30pm and about 7:30pm on my family on weekdays. It doesn’t matter how much I have to do, if I cannot have that time with them then is what I’m doing really that important? Obviously it doesn’t always work out, but I try and compensate at other times if this occurs, and at times it also means much later nights but that’s okay. The Mentor Session this week hit on the idea of one reason for becoming an entrepreneur is to be able to manage your schedule more so than when you have a structured job. While I do think this can be a benefit it is not a guarantee and the book admits that this does take some time. This can be scary because I know of families that have crumbled apart due to the stress and long hours that are being focused on the work aspect of life while the family importance was left behind. In a business we need to be thinking about our priorities as well. The Mentor Session talked about how when people have money as their main goal they are not as successful. A question I need to ask myself when considering a business venture would be, why do I really want this business to be successful? That question can have more than one answer, but if those answers only focus on things like money then it probably isn’t a good path to take.

A Hero's Journey

I really enjoyed listening to Jeff Sandefer's speech "A Hero's Journey" and that is what I will focus on in this post. As he started he talked about his concerns and struggles at the college age not knowing if he could truly be successful. These are thought's I have had as well, it is interesting growing up and thinking that these adults who work every day. In your mind (or at least my mind) I felt every adult knew exactly what they were doing and that the professional world was just perfect. Now that I am entering that world I am realizing it was not that simple. It is somewhat scary but also somewhat encouraging. This is my journey now, and Jeff gives some simple but powerful pieces of advice that I need to focus on.

1. Live every moment of your life like it matters, because it does.

A week or two ago I went to lunch with a senior level manager. The manager I report to in turn reports to this man. We talked about my path and what I want to accomplish. He gave me some advice that I relate to this advice given by Jeff. He told me that if I have a goal to be at a certain level in a certain position in five years, then I need to start working at that level today. Sometimes it is easy at work, home, or even school to simply go with the flow. I can go to work, do my job, and leave and be successful. I will have earned my paycheck, but I won't be preparing myself for the future.

2. Live as if you have an important mission, because you do.

I feel that every one of us has an important calling in life, the biggest question for me is, what is that mission? I have been given personal instruction and advice indicating that I can do much in this life to help many people through my professional efforts. Nothing indicated what it is I am supposed to do... I have thought about this for the past eight years and still don't know what I am supposed to do. However I have seen the Lord's hand in my journey. I have said it multiple times but I would not be where I am if I followed my own path, and I love where I am at.

3. What matters most isn't the prize at the end, but how the hero is changed in the process.

To me, this is a result of following the first two pieces of advice given. I think of myself on my mission and also the many missionaries I was able to work with. The Spencer Peacock who flew home to LAX was not the same Spencer Peacock who arrived at the MTC two years prior.

Lastly I really liked the perspective given when Jeff said these are the three questions anyone over 60 will ask to see how influential they have been in this life.

Have I contributed something meaningful?

Am I/Was I a good person?

Who did I love and who loved me? 

It is very easy to get so involved in the many things going on in life that we forget to step back and remember what matters most. Jeff provided some excellent insight and needed advice to help all of us focus on what is most important and also what will help us achieve the most.