My Entrepreneurial Journey

30 October 2021 I studied a summary of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey in class this week.  A few of those habits stood out to me. “Put first things first.”  I should focus on important but non-urgent tasks. For example, family and faith are the two most important aspects of life.  If I keep my focus on essential things that last forever, I will find my purpose and spend my time working on my goals.  I learned some time management goals that go with this habit.  1. Identify the key roles in my life.  2. Select goals in each of my roles.  3. Scheduling.  Set aside time to achieve my goals each week.  4. Adapt daily.  If I implement these goals, I believe I will see progress in every aspect of my life. "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." I need to work on this with my family and with my seminary class.  I always think about how I will answer or help someone instead of focusing on what...

23 October 2021 I enjoy learning all the different aspects of becoming an entrepreneur this semester.  I especially like the emphasis so many entrepreneurs have to focus on what matters most in life – our families and serving God.  Jan Newman's video, "Loyalty to God and Family," was a good reminder for me to do my ministering and to be loyal to the Lord and my family.  Jan always accepted callings to serve in the church, and it blessed him. So likewise, I have seen blessings in my own life.  Each calling has given me strength, new abilities, insights, compassion, and a stronger testimony of the Savior and His gospel.  Accepting callings, no matter how busy we are, provides us far more than we give. Steve Blank talked about making time for our family.  He suggested setting rules in our families to preserve the most critical relationships in our lives.  I visited his website to read "Epitaph for an Entrepreneur," and I enjoyed all his advice to pr...

  16 October 2021 This week, my key takeaways from "A Hero's Journey" are the three promises Acton makes to its students. First, they will learn how to learn, next, make money, and finally live a life of meaning.   Yes, I want to contribute to my family's financial security, but I love the promises of learning how to learn and live a life of meaning more than making money.   Learning how to learn is vital to me.   Learning can be a struggle, but I liked what the speaker emphasized in the talk about learning.   It mainly focused on listening, asking questions, and seeing what I could learn from everyone.   I have a grandmother who taught herself how to wire a house, then wired her home as well as her neighbors when electricity came to their tiny rural Colorado town.   I hope I follow her example and learn new things that will benefit my family and everyone around me.   The emphasis to always be learning was something that spoke to me this week....

  9 October 2021 This has been a crazy week!   Finishing "Launching Leaders" and writing a book report has taken most of my time. However, I have had other assignments, seminary, appointments, a minor remodeling project and have been preparing to pick up my son at the airport this coming Monday as he finishes his mission. I can't believe I am finally completing my last assignment for the week!   I have been recommending “Launching Leaders” to my family and friends.   I love the book and will be revisiting the concepts I learned many times in the future.   It is going to be an invaluable resource for me moving forward in my life. I have talked to my husband about having three savings accounts, as Steven Hitz suggests in Chapter 8: Financial Fitness.   I'm hoping to implement that financial practice in our lives.   We already practice some concepts: paying a tithe, saving for a rainy day, and having a   savings account for unexpected expenses....

 2 October 2021 What did I learn this week?  Many things, but there are a few things that stuck out the most in my studies.   First was a quote from Greg McKeown "If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will." ("Launching Leaders," Chap. 2 pg. 68) This quote hit me hard.   I have learned through my life that it is okay to say, "No."   It took me many years to understand that I could not, and should not, say yes to everyone and everything.   I have learned that when I feel uneasy, uncomfortable, or "sick-to-my-stomach" after committing to something, I have made the wrong decision.   The Spirit has let me know that I need to make a course correction, and I am miserable until I follow the promptings I receive. I also love the advice to make God my constant reference point and my co-pilot.   I don't always make essential decisions with God as my co-pilot.   So many times, I go solo, and I'm not very good at it.   Making Go...

25 Sep 2021 I've heard of Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, but I have never read it before this week.   The instructions for our assignment were to skim through the actual transcript.   I read the whole thing!   I loved it.   Unfortunately, my enjoyment didn't translate to my quiz results. Nevertheless, I loved how Randy made his childhood dreams come true!   I believe he could do that because, as a child, he saw men walk on the moon, and he realized that anything was possible.   He was inspired and didn't let anything get in his way.   Randy spoke of some of the obstacles that came up when he was pursuing some of his dreams.   He called them "brick walls." But, he said, "Brick walls are there for a reason. ...the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough."   He demonstrated that belief by finding ways through or over the "brick walls" that came when he was pursuing what he wanted. Randy said we shouldn...

 18 Sep 2021 This week has been overwhelming, exciting, discouraging, and enlightening.  I have had doubts about this new adventure as well as excitement to learn new skills and knowledge.  As my week and assignments progressed, I have felt better about my choice to learn about entrepreneurship.   As a 53-year-old grandmother beginning my educational journey in earnest, I often wonder, "What was I thinking!"   But each class I complete, I feel a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.   I am proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone and improving my future.   A few things have stood out to me this week.   Pres. Bednar's talk, "Your Whole souls as an Offering to Him," spoke of Sacrifice and Consecration.   I am sacrificing a lot of time to obtain an education, but I need to consecrate that education to "a sacred purpose."   That spoke to me.   If I keep that focus throughout my college career, I can find what the L...