March 30th Week 12

I enjoyed the videos this week.  Especially the one about avoiding the wrong job.  I think I really needed to hear that.  I have been really worried about finding the job that it right for me.  But in the video I realized that I have been worrying about finding the right job at the very beginning.  I want to be able to walk right into my lifelong job.  But in reality I might go through a couple different jobs before I even come across one that helps me know what I want in the end.  And really my job that I love might just be a mom and nothing else.  I just need to remember to continue doing the things that interest me, and not just the things that will earn the most money, or what is hot, or what my family or friends think I should do.  Like Stan Christensen mentioned, if I do things that I like to do, those type of people are who I am going to attract and I will have opportunities with those type of people instead of with the people that I don’t even really want to associate with.  So right now I am teaching piano and it is a dream job of mine, but I want to do something else to.  So to be able to find a job in that I now know that I just need to do it and not worry too much about who will judge or what will happen.  I just need to do what I love!

March 18th Week 10

Money is a big thing.  It's important to live from day to day, and it's nice to have for vacations, nice things, etc.  In my opinion money should be a very important thing, but it shouldn't come first.  Things like budgeting and being frugal should be at the for front of people's mind, but things like spending your whole life just trying to get rich, or going into debt to get a fancy car, or even getting a fancy car and not going into debt are things that shouldn't matter so much.  The biggest thing that is connected to money is pride.  If people could strip the pride off of those dollar bills we would live in a better world.  I really think that if we put God first he will help us gain money without the pride.  But if all we do is seek for riches of the world that pride is still going to be attached to those riches.  I really do agree with the statement that money can make a good man better but it can also make a bad man worse.  If riches of the world is top priority there is going to be no service or happiness involved.  It will be all about power and that is where Satan gets a really good grasp on people.  If we seek for the riches of heaven first, so putting others and God first, then the riches of the world is going to come from the help of God and Satan won't have that grasp on us, we will already have those service skills and habits mastered.  I could go on and on about this topic.  Real progress and happiness with money only comes when God is first.
Making decisions before the fact really stood out to me today.  It reminded me of some Sunday lessons I had in Young Women' when I was a Laurel.  We talked about deciding now what our standards and values are.  Would we go see a rated R movie or not?  What was our limit with dating and getting close to a boy?  What would we do if we didn't feel comfortable at a friends house?  etc.  I decided what my core values were right then so that later if one of those situations happened to me I knew exactly what I was going to do and it was a lot easier to stand my ground.  I hadn't thought about how important that is in business until this week.  We need to decide on our values in our business now.  If it gets at the office how am I going to spend time with my family?  Am I going to work on Sunday?  How often am I going to go to kids' activities, and what if something important comes up during one?  When will we go on vacations?  It is important to decide on these things before they happen so that it is harder to be dissuaded from them.  And I think it's important to make a decision about something before there is something looming over your head waiting for you to make that decision.  At that point you never know what you are going to do.

March 7th Week 9

I really appreciated this weeks videos and reading.  Especially the video "Think Big"  I was struggling this week with being mediocre.  I have been feeling like I'm just not great at anything.  I can do some thing well, but not great.  For example, I'm good at playing the piano.  I can teach it to little kids and beginners.  I am good at photography, I can take some good pictures and know how to edit them.  But in both those aspects I'm not great.  I can't teach anyone in an intermediate level on the piano because that's where I'm at.  I and I can't really take any amazing, perfect quality and lighting pictures.  I was thinking this week that I will just always be stuck there.  But after watching the "Think Big" video I realized that it's my choice to be great or not.  I just need to spend some more time learning about what I want to be great at.  I really liked how he said that it is just as easy to be good as it is to be great.  So that has inspired me to figure out ways that I can be great in the things I want to be great in and not just have to stick to being ordinary and good at my passions.  

March 4th Week 8

This weeks readings and videos really got me motivated to do something.  Whether in business or just improving my lifestyle and values.  Jim Richie said something that made me really think.  "Leaders cause things to happen."  That is so true, and definitely something I really need to work on if I am going to be a leader.  

My husband and I have been thinking about a type of business we might start at one point when we feel it's right and talking about how to be great instead of good, and how to get people to trust you has really given me something to think about.  I know a lot of people that have businesses, or even just in their families there is great potential there but they are stuck at good because they don't have the three things that Jim mentioned in his video.  I really hope I can make my family good to great and not get stuck in the 'good' rut.  

I also liked the video about trust.  I had never thought about having to trust customers and people before they would trust you.  That is something I really need to work on.  But as I thought about that I can see it in my piano business.  I trust that my students will pay for their lessons, and in turn they trust me to do the best I can.  So though I've never thought about that before I do agree with it because I have experienced that many times in my life.

February 22nd week 7

Elder Holland is so great.  It was fun to hear so much from him.  The Mormon message about the car breaking down is one of my favorites.  It gives so much hope.  Whenever I feel down or like I'm not going to make it out of a challenge or trial, I just have to think about that video.  "Don't you quit, you keep walking, you keep trying.  There is help and happiness ahead."  That is going to be very helpful to me in any future businesses I try to do, and even just in my every day life.  Right now because I am a piano teacher sometimes my students hit a plateau and get discouraged.  It is helpful for them to remind them that they will get it, it is just around the corner.  So what I learned this week really doesn help in every aspect in life.  Not just business.  I am excited to learn more about values and qualities and skills needed to be a entrepreneur.  I'm excited to learn from the interview how to best become one.  And how to be someone that people can trust.  I learned this week that I can accomplish anything I want to if I really want to and put my mind to it.  I don't have to get discouraged, though sometimes I might.  I just gotta keep going.

February 20th Week 6

I really enjoyed this week's readings and especially videos.  In Guy Kawasaki's video he mentioned focusing on passion more than money.  I have always agreed with that statement.  While money is important the the welfare of our future families and whether we will starve or not (extreme) enjoying life is more important.  I have never thought about the career I want to do with my first interest being how much money I will earn from it.  My thought process about what careers I want to choose has been, "What do I enjoy doing most? What am I good at?"  And recently I've added, "What could I lose track of time doing?  And what would be the most fulfilling career for me?"
So far what I have come up with are piano and photography.  I started a piano teaching business and every time I teach I feel fulfilled because I am helping someone learn what I love.  I also love teaching because it is so much fun to see my students grasp a musical concept.  It's the same with photography, though that is more of a hobby.  I can lose track of time taking pictures of flowers, landscapes, and even people I am discovering.  Even though those aren't the most money making careers out there I will be happier pursuing what I love and not what gains the most money.  My job doesn't feel like a job, it feels like I'm going to play.  That's a good feeling.

February 9th Week 5

This week and last week’s reading of the Mastery book have been very inspiring to me.  I have found the book very interesting, and very beneficial to me.  It has helped me realize that I really need to work on some areas in my life that are not being controlled by me, but by the natural man.  (One of which is sleeping in too much).  While reading the talks and articles this week I have been learning how to best achieve self-mastery, and I have become excited to do so.

In N. Eldon Tanner’s talk, “Success is Gauged by Self-Mastery” He quoted Plato: “The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.”  I totally agree with this statement.  And after reading and watching all the articles, book, and videos I have gained a stronger opinion of that statement.  “That natural man is an enemy to God” Mosiah 3:19.

In the next couple days (since it takes sometimes a long time to master things) I am going to pick three things I need to master.  One will be spiritual, one will be physical, and one will be mental.  I am going to work on these three things until I feel they are mastered.  In order to accomplish my goal I am going to ask my husband to help me come up with things I need to improve on, and I am going to try and find a mentor for each aspect.  Hopefully I won’t be a dabbler, obsessive, or a hacker, and can actually master all three.

February 6th Week 4

I really enjoyed the case study this week.  It made me think about my business and what I am going to do when my baby comes this summer and my family grows and is going to need more of my time.  I have a piano teaching business, and a photography business.  They don’t take up every hour of my day, but they take up the same amount of time a part time job would (plus some extra thinking and stewing over keeping track of income, and what I could do to find more people).  Plus I have school full time.  In a couple months I am going to have to sacrifice something and I don’t know what that is going to be.  Whether it be some piano students, or some school credits, or my whole photography business.  I’m kind of in Mills’ position.  Though I’m not really thinking about making my businesses much bigger, just a few more customers.  I want to have a few more customers, but if I do that will I just need to down size later?  This case study helped me think about that, and it helped me realize how important my family is to me.  So I will probably wait to find more clients until my family is a little older.  Then I can start again.  For now I am just content until I start spending more time with my piano students than with my kids. 

I  really liked the Hero’s journey video.  It was very inspiring.  I liked the learning how to learn part.  My mom and I have always been believers of love of learning.  If you don’t love learning you won’t learn anything.  But I think learning how to learn adds to that as well.  If you love to learn, but don’t really know how to learn, you aren’t going to learn anything.  Or if you do it will be harder.  I think that is something I need to work on.  I still and learning how to learn.

January 29th Week 3

Deconstructing fears was a good thing for me this week.  It helped me gain the courage needed to stop thinking and start acting.  Because if all I was going to do was think about starting my photography business and not start it, I needed to just drop it.  Facing my fears helped me feel like if something went wrong I could easily back out and try something different that works better.

I feel like this week was really centered on having the courage to just do it.  To have the faith to step into the dark even if it's scary.  It has really got my excitement up and motivation going to want to start my other business idea.  And it's helped me feel like my first business has been a success and was a good decision for me.

I really liked the video that showed the three circles of what to look for in careers and business.  One was, "What am I good at?"  Another was, "What was I born to do?" and "Who will pay me to do it?"  This made me think about what it was I really wanted to do, and what made me the happiest.  Not just what would pay me the most.  I came to the conclusion that even though quitting my job and starting my piano teaching business is earning me a little less money, I am so much more happy doing it.  I'm excited to work now because I  don't feel like it's working, I'm just playing with kids at the piano and teaching them what I absolutely love to do.  It also made me realize that I have been waiting too long to start my photography business.  I need to just up and do it and set aside my fears of people not liking my photos.  If I don't try I won't know if I have photos people like or not.  It is something I love to do.  I am most happy when I'm at a piano or behind a camera, so why not try it?  Now because of this week I am determined to try and find some clients willing to try out my artistic style and get going with my photography dream!

January 23rd Week 2

I learned a lot about integrity this week.  I think integrity is one of the most important things as we go through this life.  As we deal with our fellow men we need to be honest and know who we are.  I learned that during life we will be tested and tried and our integrity will either get stronger or fail us.  I know that I always want to have a stronger integrity.  Integrity isn’t just being honest with others.  It is being honest with yourself, knowing who you are, and standing up for that person.  That is one of the hardest things for me, but I’m working on it.  I am a people pleaser and like to do things so others will like me, but really all I need to do is stand up for who I am inside.  That is a big thing I’ve learned this week.  I am going to practice doing that so I can get better and better.  In the case study Magdalena showed integrity all the time.  After switching companies, and making her own.  And because of that everyone wanted her.  Her example showed me how having integrity helps people respect you and want to work with you.  So I am really going to try hard to have better integrity.

January 16th Week 1

So far in this course I am learning that it is important to set goals.  Long term goals and short term goals.  And not just to say you are going to do them, but setting little goals in order to achieve the bigger goals.  That has always been hard for me.  I am the type of person that just goes with flow, whatever comes come.  But I'm learning that there is a happy medium between setting goals and going with the flow.  With no goals your life can't go anywhere.  But when you aren't willing to say you can't achieve a goals when you wanted then life is going to miserable and stressful.

I think Randy Pausch was able to achieve a lot of his dreams because he found that happy medium of goals and going with the flow.  He made a lot of goals with his dreams and accomplished them.  But when he couldn't completely finish all of the goals it didn't stop him in his tracks.  He just made more.
I do think it is very important to dream.  That's where goals come from, and that is what makes us happy.  When we dream we are essentially having a goal in mind.  The next step is just figuring out the details.
It's always been a dream of mine to be able to take really good pictures of flowers or landscape and sell them, or make a calendar of them and sell the calendar.  I dreamed once that I was an amazing temple photographer and my pictures were sold in Deseret Book and Seagull Book.  I would still like to accomplish that dream.  But I realize it is going to take more work than just taking a good picture.  I need to be able to find someone or a company that will buy my pictures.  I would love to be able to be a famous photographer. And I think I can some day.  I just took one step closer to doing that by getting a really nice camera for Christmas.  So I can take some better quality pictures.  Now I have to set a goal of finding where to sell my pictures.  I can do it.

January 8th Introductory Week

I am pretty excited to take this entrepreneur class.  While watching all the videos and reading the articles it made me even more excited.  And pumped up to start new things!  Something that really stood out to me when I was watching the Jim Richey video were his 'friends'.  When he first started talking about having a lot of friends I assumed he was going to talk about networking or getting to know a lot of people in a lot of different fields.  So when he started mentioning a bunch of books I was surprised.  But I agreed with him.  Books really can be best friends and can be the means of so much knowledge.
I also really loved David A. Bednar's talk.  He said a lot of inspirational things in it.  But I especially liked the part where he talked about not taking the easiest path of resistance.  I have heard that a lot, and it really is hard for me to not take that path.  I like to do whatever is easiest.  But after serving a mission, and getting married, and now preparing to be a mother, and getting a leadership calling, I'm realizing and learning that the hard path is the best path.  Because that is where you can learn the most.  That is where you find your weaknesses so you can make them strengths.  And that is where God can help form you into who He wants you to be.  I'm going to try my best to not take the path of least resistance.  Instead I am going to review all the paths I have and ask God which one I should take so he can shape and mold me into a more perfected being.