Week 14: Final Reflection

I have really learned a lot from this class and it felt like we finished strong with this final week's study. As I reflect on what I gain from participating in this BUS 110 "Intro to Entrepreneurship" much of what remains with me has come from the spiritual talks that accompanied our academic study each week. I also found a lot of value in learning from successful entrepreneurs and their personal journey.

We had the opportunity to learn about Tom Monaghan the founder of Domino's Pizza. It was so interesting to discover that in his early success he got caught up with buying tons of worldly treasures but all that changed when he read "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis. Tom said "it had a chapter in there on pride, and I always knew that I had a lot of pride. I mean the biggest sin, I confessed, I went to confession over the years,  is that I was too obsessed with impressing people and I knew that was something I always had to battle. I don’t know if it was because I was brought up so poor or what. And that chapter in that book just hit  me right between the eyes, and he basically was telling me that the reason you work so hard and try to accomplish all you had was to have more. Not just more but more than other people and that hit me right between the eyes that I couldn't sleep that night." 

So he decided to change his life..."I wanted my money to go where it did the most good and save the most souls. I very easily narrowed that down to education, and I narrowed education down to higher education".

The other talk that left me feeling inspired was from President Thomas S. Monson called "Finishers Wanted". My favorite quote from this talk was...

Times change and circumstances vary, but the true marks of a finisher remain. Note them well, for they are vital to our success.

1. The Mark of Vision. It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. We are constantly making small decisions. The outcome determines the success or failure of our lives. That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, to set a course, and at least be partly ready when the moment of decision comes. True finishers have the capacity to visualize their objective.

2. The Mark of Effort. Vision without effort is daydreaming; effort without vision is drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize.

Week 12: A Journey of Gratitude

 The article that had the most impact on me this week was from President Monson called "An Attitude of Gratitude". In this talk he gives us six specific areas that we should show gratitude for...

1. Mothers

2. Fathers

3. Teachers

4. Friends

5. Country

6. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

In an ever darkening world, it is so important to combat this darkness by expressing gratitude. This simple act has the power to bring hope and light into our lives. President Monson said it this way...

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

Week 12: Becoming a Change-Maker

 This week's study had a very powerful article for me, it was called "Microlending: Toward a Poverty-Free World" by Muhammad Yunus. He gave this speech while excepting an honorary doctorate from BYU. What I like so much about this talk was that he spoke about one of the largest problems on earth, poverty. He had come up with a real solution for some of the world's poorest people, by lending them a small amount of money so they could make even more money. I think he has some pretty revolutionary ideas and I gain a lot from his talk. My favorite quote is...

"1 strongly believe that we can create a poverty free world if we want to we can create a world where there won t be a single human being who may be described as a poor person in that kind of a world the only place you could see poverty would be in the museums school children on tour in the poverty museums would be horrified to see the misery and indignity of human beings in the past they would blame their ancestors in a massive way for allowing this inhuman condition to continue my work in grameen gradeen has given me a faith an unshakable faith in the creativity of human beings that leads me to believe that human beings are not born to suffer the misery of hunger and poverty they have much more important things to do than struggle for physical survival."

Week 11: Measuring the Cost

 I really liked the articles we read and the videos we watched this week. We were taught some very useful information on money. From the article "Attitude on Money" by Stephen W. Gibson we learned his view on money and why it should be sought after and how it should be used. I agreed with many of his points and especially appreciated these 6 rules that he shared with us...

So if you want to prosper:

Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in him

Rule 2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings.

Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.

Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters.

Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the Key to Opportunity.

Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.

Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive

Week 10: Dream Big Dreams

 This was a great and challenging week. I learned a lot from the interview with Susan Kofford and follow up paper I wrote on Harvest Massage and Wellness company. I am thankful for the opportunities that this class is giving me. The talk "The Challenge to Become" by Elder Oaks was a wonderful reminder of the power that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to help us become something more. In his opening paragraph Elder Oaks states,

"The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord’s teachings and teachers were given that we may all attain “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something."

In this weeks study of "Dream Big Dreams" this talk helped me focus on dreams that are not just for this world but for the eternities. 

Week 9: Disciple Leadership

 I found this weeks study so inspiring! The things we are learning are really applicable to my life. Reading the talk by Kim B. Clark "Leadership with a Small "L" gave me some profound things to think about. Brother Clark gave us three principle to remember for our lives and especially for leading our families.

Principle #1: Lead by Example

The Savior established this principle when He said, “what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”2  One of the most important things that leaders do is what they do.  In your family, your most powerful influence on your children will be the example of your life.  That example includes the actions that you take and the principles and values that guide you.  Your children will watch you very, very closely.  They will learn from you and follow your example—(eventually!). 

Principle #2: Lead with Vision

The Savior used this principle all throughout His ministry on earth, and He uses it now. On many, many occasions he prefaced a parable with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .”3 and then He would connect a principle from familiar day-to-day life with salvation in His kingdom.  He always held before His disciples, and holds before us, the ultimate purpose of our work and our lives.  He gives us the vision of what we should do in our daily lives and what we might accomplish eternally if we will follow Him.  One of the most important things that leaders do is to help the people they lead understand the larger meaning and purpose of their daily work. 

Principle #3: Lead with Love

The Savior’s life, suffering, and death are testimony of His perfect love for us. Everything He has done for us, He has done because of His great love for His Father and His perfect love for us.  There is a powerful principle of leadership in John’s words about the Savior’s love: “We love him, because he first loved us.”4  Effective small “L” leaders learn to energize the people around them through love in action.

I am thankful for this class and keeping a blog so I have a place to remember each week what is most valuable to me.

Week 8: Over Coming Challenges

 Something we studied this week that had the greatest impact on me was the talk by Elder Holland called "However Long and Hard the Road". He gave us some good encouragement to overcome and persevere. I found this quote to be a needed reminder that...

"We speak about excellence a great deal at BYU these days, and, by definition, excellence does not come easily or quickly—an excellent education does not, a successful mission does not, a strong, loving marriage does not, rewarding personal relationships do not. It is simply a truism that nothing very valuable can come without significant sacrifice and effort and patience on our part." 

In a world that promotes instant gratification we often overlook that, things of real value take time. Elder Holland also spoke of marriage and its importance, 

"No one would wish a bad marriage on anyone. But where do we think “good marriages” come from? They don’t spring full-blown from the head of Zeus any more than does a good education, or good home teaching, or a good symphony. Why should a marriage require fewer tears and less toil and shabbier commitment than your job or your clothes or your car?

Yet some of you will spend less time on the quality and substance and purpose of your marriage—the highest, holiest, culminating covenant you make in this world—than you will in maintaining your ’72 Datsun. And you will break the hearts of many innocent people, including perhaps your own, if that marriage is then dissolved."

Even though this talk was given 40 years ago, it is much needed advice for today!