Journal to Success

This week I’ve been evaluating the cost of entrepreneurship.   I’m blessed to be in a position that I don’t have to work outside of the home.   This semester has been a good proving ground for what my strengths and weaknesses are when I have to divide my time between at-home and out-of-the-home pursuits.   One of the papers that we read this week was informative and caused me to reflect – how can I use the experiences that I’m having now with school and family, to determine where my weaknesses are in this new turf?   How will I make sure that my life is in balance if starting a business is in my future? In the paper, Identifying and Exploiting the Right Entrepreneurial Opportunity…for You , it states, “If we are to make full use of our opportunities in life, we must know ourselves – in particular, our strengths and our weaknesses.”   I’ve been contemplating what my strengths and weaknesses are as I divide my time.   I’ve noticed that some of my strengths ...

Charles Handy, in his article What’s a Business For? states, “Markets rely on rules and laws, but those rules and laws in turn depend on truth and trust.” If there is no truth and trust, then the market becomes unreliable and people won’t want to invest in it.   This could make it so that we rely on the governments for our modes of savings and they have not been very good venues in the past for this.   Many executives are no longer concerned about the long-term health of their company.   Instead of being concerned about their customers or employees, they are more concerned with their ambition and how much money they can make.   It says in the article that “one result of the obsession with share price is an inevitable shortening of the horizon. . . companies are mortgaging their futures in return for a higher stock price in the present.”   With many executives now receiving stock options as part of their payment, they are more concerned with making money now than...

Early on in our marriage my husband and I had a paradigm shift in relation to how we viewed money.   We had been married a couple of years and found out that we were expecting our first child.   We felt prompted that I should stay home with our children.   As we viewed the feasibility of this option, we realized that the only reason I couldn’t stay home was because my paycheck was needed to pay off our debt.   It was eye opening to see how money would control the choices we would have to make because we hadn’t taken the time to manage our money.   From that moment on, we decided that we would rather plan and think ahead when it came to money so that it could work in our favor instead of against us.   This was a life altering lesson for us.     In the speech, Attitude on Money, by Stephen W. Gibson he states, “One of the big factors that distinguishes the rich from the poor is their chances for learning” and I feel that our family has seen proof ...

  My big dreams have more to do with who I become than what I become.  As I’ve read and watched these different entrepreneurs, I find myself wondering, - Are my dreams big enough?  As I have pondered this, I realize that money or acclaim are not my destination.  I want to learn and progress through this process.  I want to do something that I love doing while having the flexibility to be with my family and create my own schedule. I want to have a venue that allows my family to learn these life lessons along with me.  I want to gain confidence and learn to better listen to the Spirit through this pursuit. My greatest asset will be for me to listen to the Spirit and follow the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I was reminded of President Dallin H. Oaks talk about becoming.  He said, “In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.”  I will also need to have...

There were many concepts we learned this week that resonated with me.  One of those concepts was being a disciple-leader.  Kim B. Clark described being a disciple-leader as being a call to minister and serve (Leadership with a Small “L”, Kim B. Clark, Brigham Young University-Idaho Commencement, Dec. 2007).  This week I interviewed an entrepreneur in my area.  She really personified this idea to me.  Her husband and her have had several successful business ventures, but the most remarkable to me is that they have followed the promptings of the Spirit to have a large family.  This came at great sacrifice to them, but they put the Lord first.  I was inspired to see their discipleship in the choices they have made with their success.  They are using the blessings that God has given them to help lift others within their realm of influence.  Their example reminds me of the Launching Leaders video entitled, “Achieving Higher Ground”.  Jim Ritc...

Since I’ve started back in school, every semester has had obstacles that I have encountered and had to work through.  Almost all of them came at about the halfway point.  One semester my sister passed away, another semester I sprained my ankle and had a baby a few weeks later, the next semester my family was on a 3 week drive across the country.  This semester we’ve had a month of COVID running through our house.  The point being that there will always be an obstacle.  How can I be prepared to weather and overcome these obstacles? The first way that I feel can prepare me is to expect obstacles.   I can handle anything that I expect – it’s the unexpected that has me scrambling.   Each semester I can make sure that I have a good support system in place. When I do, I can rely on this network to help me through whatever may pop up that is unexpected.   I also need to remember that I’m here on this earth to grow and there is no growth that doesn’t r...