Celebrate Your Life (July 21, 2021)

 Just like every beginning, there is always an end. This week concludes the class on the course "Introduction to Entrepreneurship". I am several inches taller for participating in this course. So many principles and ideas related to being successful have been extensively dealt with in this course. Because of this course, I am ready to take the entrepreneurial journey again. I am better prepared to take that journey and I am ready to be successful at it. Because of the benefits of this course, I have started another business journey. So far, I have tried to apply every principle shared in this course in starting this new business. I have not just learned, I am practicing as well. It feels good that way. Below are some questions I intend to address:

1. If you had one final lecture to share with a group of students on what you have learned from this course, what would you share?

    If you are interested in knowing what your mission on this earth is, If you are interested in discovering what your true purpose is, if you want to know what your natural gifts are, If you want to live a life of true meaning, independence, abundance, and be a change agent for the world, taking the entrepreneurial journey is the likely best option to make all of these come true. This is what I will share.

2. What would be your last bit of advice to someone wanting to begin the entrepreneur journey?

One of the greatest secrets to your success in life is this: "Know thyself." The entrepreneurial journey will take you there. Begin that journey now!

3. What words of advice, direction, or caution would you give him or her if you had only one chance to give your own last lecture?

The entrepreneurial journey is not an easy journey. It is not a straight journey. There are lots of rough surfaces along this road. Not everyone can take it, because it is not meant for everyone. It is risky, meaning you will take a lot of risks. It is time-consuming. It is effort engaging. It is energy-sapping. It takes faith, a lot of guts, commitment, persistence, perseverance, longsuffering, endurance, to get through the journey. That being said, it is the most rewarding effort man has ever experienced. The blessings and rewards of this journey far out weight the challenge. The entrepreneurial journey is worth every step you take. Take it! Start that journey now!

A Journy Of Gratitude (July 17th 2021)

 Nobody is an island. No entrepreneur can make it alone without the help of others. The success of an entrepreneur will depend on working well with others. An entrepreneur will need to carry gratitude in his heart always for the help he gets from deity and fellow men. The lesson this week is titled "A Journey of Gratitide." Particularly I am impressed by so many truth explained by President Thomas S. Monson in his talk titled, "An Attitude of Gratitude." He took the context of his talk from the Bible, the book of Luke chapter 17. It reads:

In the book of Luke, chapter 17, we read:

“And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

“And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

“And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

“And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

“And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

“There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

“And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Luke 17:11–19.)

President Monson said 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.

President Monson mentioned 6 personalities we should show gratitude to.

1. Mother. Our mothers deserve our undying gratitude for bringing us into the world and teaching us our first lessons of lifel

2. Father. We should show gratitude to our father, ever willing to sacrifice his own comfort for that of his children. Daily he toils to provide the necessities of life, never complaining, ever concerned for the well-being of his family.

3. Teacher. Gratitude to our teacher. Our teacher not only shapes the expectations and ambitions of us; the teacher also influences our attitudes toward our future and ourselves.

4. Friends. . Our most cherished friend is our partner in marriage - our husbands and our wifes.  We should show gratitude to them for being there for us.

5. Country. We should acknowledge gratitude for our country - land of our birth.

6. Jesus Christ. even supremely—let us reflect gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where does my spirit go when I die?

Showing gratitude for all of these will bring us to the position where more can be given to us to continously bless ourselves and others.

What's A Business For? (July 10, 2021)

Why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy? 

Virtue and integrity are very vital to an economy because that is what capitalism thrives on. Capitalism is an economic system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. A capitalist market relies on rules and laws. Those rules and laws in turn depend on truth and trust. If truth is concealed or trust eroded, the market becomes unreliable. If the market is unreliable, ordinary people will find other places to put their money - into their houses, maybe under their bed. If this happens, the market will empty and share prices will collapse. That then means the economy has collapsed. The great virtue of capitalism – that it provides a way for the savings of society to be used for the creation of wealth–will have been eroded. 

According to Charles Handy, what is the "real justification" for the existence of businesses?

According to Charles Handy, the "real justification" for the existence of businesses is not just to make a profit. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better. That “something" becomes the real justification for the business. To illustrate this further Handy gave an example using food. He said: "We need to eat to live; food is a necessary condition of life. But if we lived mainly to eat, making food a sufficient or sole purpose of life, we would become gross."

What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why?

One of the solutions Handy proposed that could help promote truth and trust in the economy is America’s new requirement that chief executives and chief financial officers attest to the truth of their company's financial statements. He suggested that if this new requirement pushes accountability for truth-telling down the line, some good may result. This will make the chief executives and chief financial officers not be encouraged to cook the books of their companies, making the company more attractive than it deserves. The public may start having confidence in the marketplace and leaving their money in shareholdings.

He also suggests that it seems only fair that dividends be paid to those who contribute their skills to the growth of a company as well as to those who have contributed their money. That way employees have a say in their company and will give their all to enhance its growth. The public will be willing to invest in such a company knowing that everyone, both employees and shareholders are stakeholders in the company. Truth is promoted.

Attitude On Money (July 3rd 2021)

The article titled "Attitude On Money" was an interesting one. I have always loved how money affects the lives of people. People responded differently to money, including myself. For example, I asked my dear wife what her attitude on money was. Part of what she told me is this: "I believe we should respect money in order for money to respect us. We should not ball it up in our pockets, making it all wrinkled up. I like my money to be straight and neat and well arranged in my wallet. If we physically wrinkle up money, money will stay away from us. I believe money should be spent and not just saved, since we would not be taking it with us when we die." Looking at her perspective, that made me smile. 

What is my attitude on money? As far as I am concerned, money is a means to an end. Money is a tool used to accomplish tasks that need to be accomplished. I believe money is essential and important but not part of my top priorities in life. I have goals of traveling around the world to learn about different cultures and how people live. I have goals of building businesses that would make human life more meaningful. Money will help me accomplish those things, but money is not the goal. I believe in saving money and using my savings for investment. I also believe in spending money. I don't believe in hoarding money.

How can my view about money affect the way I live? Because of my view about money mentioned above, I don't chase money. I attract money. To attract money, I set goals on what is important to me which has to do with making life easy for myself and others. My goals will tell me what money needs to do for me to accomplish my goals. Then I seek it out. So I don't go after money. Something I am interested in attracts it. Because of my belief about money, I most of the time spend my money on my needs. I don't change my luxuries or equipment except it becomes absolutely necessary. My wife and children know that.

Some of the rules recommended for prospering according to the article are as follows:

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.

Dream Big Dreams (June 27th, 2021)

The topic for this week's class is "Dream Big Dreams." The social path of entrepreneurship is dreaming big dreams. To dream is part of life, and most times we don't dream big enough. Most of us live below what our full potential is. As a result, we never really discover who we are or what we are capable of. Dreaming big puts us on a pedestal where we can have a vision or a peep of what we are capable of becoming.   

This week's topic delves into the life of an entrepreneur. The journey of entrepreneurship is not the exclusive preserve of some people alone. Anyone can become an entrepreneur if they chose to develop the traits and discipline to become one. 

The things that resonated with me the most this week are as follows:

Entrepreneurs are innovative, flexible, and creative. Do not over underestimate yourself. You can accomplish the goals and the dreams that you set. And if you involve the Lord you can do the impossible. I love that we can do the impossible if we partner with the Lord. If we involve him in what we are doing. We can do amazing things. We can do great things. Don't let anybody tell you you can't do it. If you involve the Lord you can. Dream huge. When I think about the impossible, my mind drifts to the miraculous events associated with some of the great patriarchs of the scriptures; people like Elija, Moses, Joshua, Elisha, Nephi, Peter, Abinadi, Joseph Smith, and many of their likes. These men were ordinary men but did the impossible when they partnered with the Lord or got the Lord involved in what they were doing. They accomplished the impossible. So the impossible is only done when we get the Lord involved in what we are doing. I am hoping to do the same, and may the Lord help me.

Disciple Leadership (June 19th 2021)

This week's topic was about Disciple Leadership. This is a topic that I have always loved. It addresses leadership with the small L. That leadership has nothing to do with a position or title. Leadership has got to do with the ability to take initiative and get the job done.

Entrepreneurial leadership will require you to embrace the ability to lead and execute.

What impressed me most this week is the fictitious story titled "A Message to Garcia." President William McKinley needed to deliver an urgent message to General Calixto Garcia, the leader of the insurgents in America’s war against Spain. But Garcia was lost somewhere deep inside the mountain vastness of Cuba. Someone suggested a fellow by the name of Rowan, that he could deliver the letter. Rowan was summoned and give the letter. Rowan took McKinley’s letter, “sealed it in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle and in three weeks came out on the other side of the island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia.”

Rowan is used as an example of a disciple leader. A disciple leader does not ask questions about what needs to be done. He takes an assignment and gets the job done.

A discipline leader must have the right attitude, habits, and instinct. The secret to developing the right attitudes, habits, and instincts for crisp execution is cultivating a bias toward action. 

Behind every successful business is a good entrepreneurial leader. Learn to embrace the idea that leadership is not a title or a position, but it is the opportunity to be a change-maker every day in one capacity or another.

Overcoming Challenges (June 7th - 12th)

 This week's topic of study was all about overcoming challenges. As an entrepreneur, we would always encounter challenges. I believe it should become second nature for every entrepreneur to encounter challenges and also become second nature to learn to overcome them. Business success has never come easy, and will never come easy. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of commitment, a lot of guts to make it in business. Just like life. Entrepreneurship is life. Business success comes with a lot of opposition. Facing the opposition, not shying away from it brings out the best in us. Our best is plateaued. It solves problems at different levels while we move forward. I am particularly impressed by President Monson's talk entitled "Looking backward, moving forward." He said: "Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties." So, challenges and difficulty are part of the equation of mortal test. So we must expect it, not shy away from it.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "When days are difficult or problems seem unending, I plead with you to stay in the harness and keep pulling. You are entitled to “eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days,” but it will require your heart and a willing mind. It will require that you stay at your post and keep trying." The counsel is, "don't quit! hang in there."

The lesson this week also mentions the only three ways to grow a business. They are:

1. Increase the number of customers

2. Increase the frequency of purchase

3. Increase the average order

These three things will keep a business alive.

 In his book The Politics of Experience, R.D Laing said, "what we think is less than what we know: What we know is less than what we love: What we love is so much less than what there is, and to this.....extent, we are much less than what we are." It is a truism that we are much more than what we profess and show we are. Our challenges are not greater than us. We are far far greater than what confronts us. We would overcome if only we endure, be patient more, persevere, and stay around long enough to see the results. We don't have to face our challenges alone. Heavenly Father is there willing to help every one of us and make our burden lighter. We can turn to him for help if we feel overwhelmed. In the new testament, the savior said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give your rest."