So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur...

This week had very great lessons to be learned. As I was watching the videos and reading the assignments, I wrote down a couple of things that stood out to me the most. As I reviewed my notes, I noticed that they all described what it is to be an entrepreneur. Many people want to start-up a company or to be an entrepreneur, but yet do not realize the demands and sacrifices that come with it. Additionally, majority of these people usually tend to want to do start-ups for wrong reasons, pursue of wealth, prestige, and unfortunately end up unsatisfied and unhappy. As stated by Wences Casares, “entrepreneurship is a calling that chooses us…it is inescapable.”  With this said entrepreneurship is not for everyone.

For those of us who feel like this is what we are meant to do, we have to be aware of the demands entrepreneurship requires, and learn to adapt and assume all of our responsibilities as a whole. In reference to time, Casares states that “time is our most valuable asset.” Entrepreneurship will require a lot of our time. With this in mind we need to realize the costs, or the other things we may be giving up for this, like family time. For this, in his video The Entrepreneur and the Family, Steve Blank suggested to “set rules” if we have families or to stay single if you are single. He says that, start-ups can consume all of our time and it is important to make sure we are managing ourselves appropriately between all of the responsibilities we may have with the allotted time we are have.

All of these are things that need to be taken in consideration when considering being an entrepreneur. It is possible if we are in it for the right reasons, and if we learn to discipline, and master ourselves. When we learn to do this, we will learn to find more balance in our lives, and be successful people, spouses, parents, and entrepreneurs.

Again, this week brought great insights about becoming an entrepreneur, which I am grateful because they have caused me to ponder on my decision. I am looking forward to the additional insights I will gain to help me in my entrepreneurial journey. 

Inspirational Quotes

This week for my journal entry, I figured I would do something a little different. Instead of writing the lessons I learned from readings and videos, I decided I would write down some of the quotes that stood out to me the most, that I feel will serve as inspirational quotes and guides in my entrepreneurial journey. The quotes that I pondered and reflected a lot this week were:

“It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time. If you give in to the “just this once… you’ll regret where you end up. You’ve got to define for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe place.” –Clayton M. Christensen, How Will You Measure Your Life?

“Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.” –Clayton M. Christensen, How Will You Measure Your Life?

“The metric by which God will assess [our] lives isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives [we] have touched.” –Clayton M. Christensen, How Will You Measure Your Life?

“The question is not one of managing time, but one of managing ourselves with the time we have. Each minute is a little thing and yet, with respect to our personal productivity, to manage the minute is the secret of success.” –Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Little Things Are Important

“Do what you love. You’ll be better at it.” –Francis Ford Coppola, from Do What You Love by Tom Kelly

“Success is not necessarily just about working hard. It’s about making the right choices, the right decisions.” –Jeff Hawkins, Effective Choices, Not Longer Days

These quotes serve as a reality check. They help me focus on my goals and priorities. With so much going around, and with everything that we are taught, it is easy to loose touch of what our true purpose in life is. We tend to mix up our priorities and devote a lot of our time into things that deviate us from what is really important to us. I hope to use these quotes as inspiration and daily reminders to reflect on what is important to me, help me to make the right decisions, and make sure I am using my time wisely. This will make my life more meaningful and help me be successful in my journey into the entrepreneurial world. 

Honesty goes a long way.

Always do the right thing. This should be simple thing to do, right? Not exactly! In her talk, True Blue, Through, and Through, Sheri L. Dew stated that, “living with integrity isn’t necessarily easy, but it is far easier than the alternative.” This statement speaks volume in regards to the importance of ethics not only as a personal trait, but in the professional aspect.

From the readings and videos this week, I learned the importance of ethics. Some lessons that stood out to me as important lessons to consider in my entrepreneurial journey were, always strive to do the right thing and treat people the right way, never compromise your honesty, integrity, and character, be honest in all your dealings, and keep your word at all times, never do anything dishonest because it always comes out, and no profession is exempt from Satan’s influence.

These are all great principles that we as people and businesses should strive to have. These principles are not new to me, because these are similar to the teachings of the LDS gospel. We are told to always be honest and true in all our dealings. When we do so, we gain others respect and trust. More people will want to work with us. Employers and others will actively seek for our values because we will prove that we can be counted on.

On the other hand, when we are not honest people, we will have little success. People will take us less serious and label us as incompetent people.

One key thing to always remember is to always be honest, because even though we may sometimes feel like no one is paying attention, or no one will know there is always someone watching. The truth will always come out, so it is always better to make and live an honest living.