Last Lecture

          Starting your own business can be the most rewarding thing that you will ever do, but it will require everything that you have to give.  You will be able to choose your own schedule, but you will need to work much longer than your typical eight to five if you are to be competitive, at least for the first few years.  There will be no boss to tell you what to do, but you will need to become that boss for yourself.  Have the self-discipline to make reasonable goals and to stretch yourself. 

Remember that you are only as effective as those you surround yourself with.  Find a good team, and work with them to reach your goals.  You can be a genius in your field but not do as well as an average person surrounded by above than average team.  Having a good team helps with problem solving, brain storming, building an effective personal and business network and maintaining order in your company. 

Before you start your own business, remember that you must choose something that you are passionate about.  If you choose to do something just for the money or for any other reason, when the going gets tough, you will lack to motivation to go forward.  Your passion to bring something to the world or change the world for the better will help you give 110%, and make critical decisions for the success of your company. 

Remember when challenges come, they are not obstacles in your path, but your springboard towards it.  Many people will try and go around the springboard or under it without seeing it’s potential for their own lives.  Challenges are places in your path so that you can solve them and learn from them.  This is the path to enlightenment and a personal education that lasts a lifetime.

            Just as important, gratitude in the business world is your source of happiness.  Most business people believe that to achieve satisfaction in the world of business you must make it to Silicon Valley or be the head of a fortune 500 company.  This is not true.  On my mission in the Dominican Republic, some of the happiest business owners I met were Haitian street vendors.  They always had a smile on, even though they were in the streets with their fruits in the hot sun.  When they were at home, they were happy with the family.  They had next to nothing.  They had a small house, little food, and no commodities, but they were grateful for what the Lord has blessed them with.  If you want to start your business, found it on principles of gratitude, perseverance, passion, networking, and sacrifice.  If you do this, you will not only be happy, but you are more likely to be successful in your endeavors in the end.

gratitude in business

This week I have been thinking of what makes someone happy.  Is it their circumstances?  Maybe their financial position?  Is it family or friends that love and support them?  Is it fame or accomplishment?  I think that these things have the same potential as sticks have to burn but without a flame, they are of little good.  This flame is gratitude and humility.  There are countless americans who hate going to work.  They spent their early adulthood preparing for the perfect career.  They dreamed of what it would be like when they landed that perfect job.  Many of them work hard to achieve these dreams, but even if they make it, they find themselves ever yearning for something else.  In a world that pushes instant gratification and instant accessibility, we have become impatient, restless and greedy.  This age is an age of opportunity and endless possibilities.  There is plenty of things that bring us happiness.  We don't need to have everything, maybe it is best not to.  We just need to see what the Lord has blessed us with and be thankful.  Be thankful for your clunker of a car that gets you to and from work every day.  Be grateful for that eight to five that allows you to provide for your family.  Be grateful for a roof over your head, food to eat, and police officers that will pull you over if you are going to fast.  Life is full of blessings, it all depends on how you want to see it.

Debt, its purpose, and its slippery slope.

We live in a world that seems to thrive on debt.  Most educated individuals go into debt to get through school.  Most people get loans to purchase a car or a house.  Most have multiple credit cards that are used constantly.  It seems that we live in a society that teaches "if you can't afford it now, you will tomorrow."  Debt has its purpose.  It allows people to invest in things that are necessary, but are unreasonable to pay upfront.  Like in most things, the adversary uses these tools to deceive and to enslave.  He tempts us by rationalizing wants as needs, or making interest seem harmless with small introductory rates that eventually grow to unbearable levels.  We are counseled to avoid debt at all costs.  Purchase a used car with cash if you can before investing in a new car.   Learn to be frugal with the financial blessings that you are given and the Lord will bless you with more.

This week has taught me that earning money and being successful alone can bring much unhappiness to an entrepreneur.  It is essential that I create a balance between business and everything else that I hold dear like, family, religion, friends and recreation.  I cannot afford to fall into the rut of seeking success no matter the cost.  There are people that make it to the top with that mindset, but they do so alone and lonely.  I must set time aside for family away from work.  Providing for my family is one of my basic responsibilities as a husband and future father, but it is not my only responsibility.  It is not designed to be easy, that is why happiness is so desirable.  It is through sacrifices made for the right reasons that happiness is achieved.  Sometimes you have to make the decision to lose money in order to balance your family life, but it is never the other way around.  Family takes priority because it is the source of true happiness, a happiness that is designed to last forever.  Entrepreneurship is all about making wise investments of everything, your time, talent, resources, and ideas.  I think that it is about time that we all commit to our families as well.

trust and the "go and do" attitude

There are two characteristics that can help the run of the mill businessman shine.  The first, is their ability to display trust in their workers and especially their clientele.  They can do this by training their workers how to do the job right, and hold them to that expectation; not by hovering over them, but by micromanaging and judging their results.  You are not running a business to counsel and build up the weak workers but to run with the strong ones.  If you have a worker who needs constant direction or prodding to do an honest job, then they are not the champion that you seek to build up your team.  The second point is practicing and seeking a "go and do" mindset.  If there is a challenge placed before you, be a yes man and don't delay or delegate the responsibility.  People want to hire and work with individuals who are self sufficient and know how to get a job done despite the circumstances.  These are the most valuable types of individuals one could have work for them.  The trick is, the more you develop these talents, the easier it will be to identify and hire these types of people.

overcoming challenges

In the business world, there needs be challenges to overcome.  That is true for life as well.  Challenges play a huge role in growth, intellectually and spiritually.  Unfortunately, many view challenges as something that is simply in the way of what they want to achieve, an annoying pest that never goes away.  People who carry and support this mindset simultaneously surrender their chance at learning and progressing.  In order to take a difficulty, invest in it, and turn it into a strength, it requires a series of characteristics.  Humility allows us to listen to those who we can learn from.  These could be family, friends, and mentors, but it they could also come in the form of setbacks, mistakes, and disasters.  The truly humble can take the worst of experiences and invest in its memory, rather than haunt themselves by it.  It also takes a fair share of persistence to learn from challenges.  Thomas Edison failed hundreds of times before making a successful light bulb.  Can you imagine what the world today would be like if he never persisted?  There are many challenges that cannot be overcome with one attempt.  You cannot deem something impossible to attain if you give your 110% one time and fall short.  Go through your attempt and find shortcomings, analyze and prepare for another run. 

Mastery of Self

If you think about it, any problem you face should be solvable if you only learn to master yourself.  What does it mean to master yourself?  It means not letting other people, things, emotions or addictions make your decisions for you.  It means having complete control over achieving what you want to get out of your life.  Thinking of ways that we could accomplish such a task reminded me of an experience that we had in the mission.  Our mission president would counsel us to make the white rule handbook part of our daily scripture study.  At first, I didn't understand, I thought it was even a little silly.  We know what a missionary should and should not do, why must we go over it again and again?  The truth of the matter is that if it is constantly in mind, we constantly have our guard up against temptation that could have otherwise caught us unaware.  Likewise, we must constantly study the commandments found in the scriptures, and make a personal code of things that you would like to live by.  Make personal goals and keep track of them.  Second, you must fulfill your obligations that you make.  Keep your covenants as well as your word.  Go to church and your church meetings.  be honest to others as well as to yourself and the Lord.  Lastly, always include Him in your life through prayer and fasting.  Who could be a better watchman than He who has seen everything, created everything, and knows you and your circumstances better than you do.  Why would you shut Him out of your plans and goals?  Do these things and you will notice the difference in your life.

The Start Up of You

The Start Up of You was an inspiring book that had a large focus on expanding and treasuring your personal and professional network.  "I" to the power of "we" means that your efforts are multiplied exponentially with the support and alliance of others.  LinkedIn is a great tool for our efforts of networking more efficiently.  It is a social network, like Facebook, designed for professionals.   LinkedIn expands and solicits that network actively, even when you are active doing something else.  If used correctly, it will do the job searching for you even when you are not currently searching for a position.  I got my job that I am in now through the friend of the friend of my uncle, so I am a firm believer of this concept of networking, and I am excited to take advantage of LinkedIn and the network that it will help create for me.

May 10th, 2014

Integrity as a business way of life is a plan for success.  Especially in a world that is ever lacking of this unique but precious virtue, businessmen and women who are found with this quality are more likely to be invested in than those who have years and years of experience over them.  Leaders who lack this quality are like shady ice cream men.  Kids may be enticed by the concept and the idea, but much wiser and wealthier adults are hesitant about investing in them or letting their kids near them.  You don't want to be a shady ice cream man in the business world.  If you establish trust with your team and especially with your customers, you will do fine, even if your idea isn’t the next Internet.  The beauty of it all is that you will be able to live with yourself after all is said and done, you will end your careers with no regrets regarding honesty or integrity.  You will develop professional relationships that will open doors to many new opportunities for advancement and expansion so you can achieve your dreams.  These relationships will stay with you and will vouch for you when you need them.  This is why the life of integrity in the business world is so essential.