Entrepreneurship Journal - Week 4 "My Personal Constitution"

I had a lot of fun with the assignments this week! I feel that the one assignment I had this week that brought the most impact was writing out my own Personal Constitution. To put simply, a Personal Constitution is a declaration of how you will become the person you want to be. It demonstrates different levels of goals, and how I can day by day become a better person. I figured I might as well copy what I typed since I will be referring to this document for a very long time.

Also, I finished the book "the Ministry of Business" this week, and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to read it! It was so motivating and really helped me understand that it is very important to keep God in mind during all your decision making. By using correct principles I can ensure that not only will my business grow, but that my potential and faith will grow as well. What a promise!

My Personal Constitution

I Want to Become:

1.     A trustworthy individual                                                                                                                         In order to gain assets and built a good reputation for myself I must first be able to prove that I am able to keep the promises I make with others. Whether those be business deals, asking for a loan, paying my employees fully and respecting them as team members (not just someone I work with), I must stay true to my promises whether they e great or small. I can be trustworthy to others, as well as myself.

2.     A supporting friend                                                                                                                                 As humans we naturally need fulfilling relationships in our lives. We need people who we can rely on and who can encourage us to keep moving forward even when we feel like quitting. If you want friends like these, you need to be one of these friends yourself. Be the kind of person you would want to put your trust in. Be the kind of person you would trust a business with. Be all of these things and soon you will find others who can aid you through your life so you can accomplish your dreams. I can be the friend people need me to be.

3.     A great team member                                                                                                                                   I’ve always been an independent person who has learned to handle things on her own. Working in a team environment has always been a source of anxiety for me. But in order to start and run a business successfully I need friends, assets, a mentor, and a brigade of those I can trust. It’s easy to assume that as a business owner you need to oversee or complete most of the daily responsibilities of a business and to dedicate every hour to it. This has partial truth in it. While I will be accountable for everything that happens in my business that does not mean that every single task is on my shoulders. There are lots of people who can help you. Don’t run a business solely on your own. You will soon lose the passion and will exhaust yourself very early into your business’s life. I can only survive through the help of others.

4.     A smart, strategic business woman

Not until recently have I understood the true value of knowledge. Of course I knew that being smart was a good thing, but I grew up thinking that school was merely a prison where they forced me to learn. After coming to college and learning that I can study anything I wanted to pursue in life, I soon learned that knowledge is a very valuable tool which will aid me through not just my career, but my entire life. Just recently have I started reading books from the library so I can better prepare myself to   handle the fast-paced world of business. With the knowledge I gain through my classes I will be more logical and more prepared to start my business. I can solve problems and generate wise solutions. 

Daily Goals:

1.     Recognize all of the blessings and tender mercies God has so graciously given me

2.     Try to complete homework in the morning as well as the evening

3.     Study all my courses with diligence and don’t procrastinate

4.     Remember that I am here at this college at this time for a reason

5.     Keep learning daily and don’t be afraid of progression

6.     Read at least one book every week

Short-Term Goals:

1.     Learn more about designing dresses

2.     Progress in my ability budget and stick to it.

3.     Find a job that can pay for my housing

4.     Become more trustworthy as an individual

5.     Don’t complain. Just work harder!

Long-Term Goals:

1.     Owning and operating a Customizable Dress Boutique

2.     Graduate from college/Learn all I can to succeed

3.     Pay off all my debts

4.     Find a companion who will accompany me through all my goals and trials

5.     Become a mentor to an Entrepreneur-in-training when I’m considering retirement

6.     Live a life of integrity and continuous workmanship

Entrepreneurship Journal - Week 3 "The Book Theory"

This week I had an awakening. Well, it technically began last week when I was assigned to create a list of my top three jobs and an entrepreneurial career list for myself.

When I was thinking of the three jobs, I didn't necessarily think of which three jobs I would want the most. Instead I chose three jobs that would be helpful to me the most as I prepare to become a future business owner. Once I thought for a few minutes I realized that I was comfortable with each and every option except for one:

Manager.

Really? Of all things why do I have anxiety of managing?? I deduced that I was not going to be successful in my business unless I got used to the idea of being manager, and got used to it fast.

Next, I remembered that there seems to be a correlation between those who are smart/successful and those who read books. Lots of books. Tai Lopez constantly emphasizes how his success is partially attributed to the fact that he reads a book every day. Wha...? A book a day?! Well, it's true. Many great minds have either read plenty of books or have written a book or two of their own, so there must be a reason as to why books are always associated with the successful.

I should tell you straight away that I am one of those people that all throughout my schooling career (K-12) I never tried to learn outside of my classes because I thought that eight hours of subjects I was being forced to learn was more than enough. Of course I spend hundreds of hours practicing my sewing skill and making floor plans for my businesses, but knowledge like math or reading never seemed to bring me satisfaction because I always got lower grades than my classmates. As the years and schooling passed by I lost my yearn to learn (sounds mighty catchy now that I type it down). 

Back to my point, I did't have a desire to learn topics beyond my classes while in school. As soon as I started college this year I knew that I was going to take classes that were going to be worth my while, and not settle for anything less. After completing three weeks of reading and contemplating the topics offered by my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, I realized that in order to be successful I needed to become familiar with the qualities that make one successful. Some of these include efficiency, collaborating with coworkers/teammates, knowledge of finances, and leadership. I need to learn all of these qualities if I have any hope of succeeding. And what's one of the best ways to familiarize yourself with a topic outside of the classroom? Why, to a read a book about it, I guess. 

To test the theory that knowledge and extensive reading regularly correlate, I went to the library this week and found a perfect beginners book on how to approach productive leadership called "Leaders Open Doors" by Bill Treasurer. I began reading this book instantly after I checked it out! As I started to read it I became very thrilled at the fact that something amazing had occurred: not only was I reading books (I have never been a reader), but I was reading helpful books that have hundreds of teachings hidden in their contexts. In simpler words, I was reading to learn a topic outside the classroom. 

This has never happened to me before! After so many years of grueling schoolwork and endless uphill battles of trying to improve myself, I have finally acquired the desire to learn. This truly is a miracle at work! After waiting this long for a desire to learn I am going to make the most of this desire as I an and not let the opportunity pass me. 

This brings me to new goal I have set for myself: To read one book a week. Not quite the same caliber as Tai Lopez's goal, but certainly a challenge for me nonetheless. I will start with leadership books, then after I become more acquainted with the aspect of leadership, I will begin to read books on management, and so on and so forth until I am familiar with most of the characteristics I will need in order to be successful.

The crazy part is that this sudden desire for knowledge is occurring because my Intro to Entrepreneurship class is motivating me! What a blessing this class has been if my life, and It's only week three!! At the pace I'm progressing, I can't even begin to fathom how much this class is going to chance my perspective and make me a better person than I was yesterday. I can't wait! 

Entrepreneurship Journal - Week 2 "Dreams Do Matter"

This week we were assigned to read an article titled "Transcript of Randy Pausch's Last Lecture". Even though I have never heard of him or his accomplishments before I read the article, it was a neat experience to read his last lecture and learn about not only his successes, but of his failures as well. Throughout the entire lecture he would talk about how he always tried to follow his passions to accomplish his life dreams and goals. 

As a child he visited Disneyland and he knew that he not only wanted to experience what he experienced at Disneyworld, but he wanted to make things like that as well. So he soon got a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon and sent letters of application to Disneyworld thinking that he had everything he needed to be accepted there. Even with his dream, his passion, and his qualifications, we wasn't. 

This in one of the many life examples he gives during his lecture, but this experience stood out to me in a profound way. When I first read this I thought, "Even the Ph.D. didn't work? How did he not just quit?" You would think that if you worked most of your life towards something and suddenly it means nothing, then you would seriously start to doubt whether you took the right course in life or not. But instead of thinking this Randy Pausch moves on and refers to this little occurrence a 'brick wall'. I quote him directly:

"But remember, brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls art there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough." (Randy Pausch, Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams pg. 8)

Randy never stopped trying to achieve his childhood dreams no matter how many brick walls laid in his path. So inspirational. 

My mother has always referred to me as 'the dreamer' out of all her children. This is because I have always had a vivid imagination and many dreams since I was little. One of the first goals I can remember having was that of owning a horse when I had enough money. After my horse back riding instructor jokingly said one day when I was seven, "If you want to spend a million dollars, own a horse!", reality made me realize that I would have to accomplish something like winning the lottery before I could ever own a horse. My fragile little dream was crushed. 

Despite the sudden realization of this and the inevitable emotional devastation that followed, I soon realized that even though owning a horse would be very expensive that didn't mean that I couldn't one one if I ever had the means to do so. To this day I still remain hopeful of owning a horse one day, although it probably won't happen until retirement. As long as it happens some time before the end of my life then I'm content. 

A few years later I had a dream of opening a cafe with my mother where I would sell baked goods and she would sell loaves of her homemade bread. I would draw floor plans, research the prices of all the industrial equipment I would need, and come up with menus for my little cafe that would open on my neighborhood block once the shop on the corner went out of business. This plan seemed like an ideal one for a long time until my mother taught me how to sew when I was thirteen years old. Since I learned how to sew dresses from patterns I switched my dream from owning a cafe to owning a dress boutique. 

What I'm trying to say is that my life has been very enriched from having a dream of opening up my own shop. I feel that most people I talk to see my dreams as fantasies to give me hope for something better. But I see my dreams as my ultimate life goals that bring me feelings of hope and happiness. To me having dreams gives me a positive outlook on my life. It keeps me going through both the good times and a bad. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make my dreams become reality, no matter how many brick walls try to prevent me from doing so. I don't know the specifics, but I know there are going to be many good things that happen on my journey, but I will also have many trials as well because, heaven forbid, there must be opposition in all things. Even with this I welcome both my blessings and my trials. I intend to treat life as an experiment. An experiment wouldn't be called an experiment if there was so trial and error, and out lives work the very same way. 

Dreams are important. Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams are foolish or unrealistic. With God's help, you can do anything, as long as you set your mind to it and work hard for it. 

Entrepreneurship Journal - Week 1 "I Still Have a lot to Learn"

After reading the articles and watching the videos provided for this week of the course the reading that had the most impact on me was "Living Life as an Entrepreneurial Hero". It was during this reading that I had one of my most prominent epiphanies of the week. This is the thought that I wrote down in my notebook while I was reading the article:

"I feel fortunate because I believe I can be categorized into that group of a select few that have a dream or goal in mind from an early age. I've always wanted to open up a shop. I have been blesses to have this dream from such a young age. Don't waste that dream's potential by standing still and not risking failure or disappointment. Act on your dream now, while it's fresh."

Watching the videos and reading the articles had reinvigorated my want to succeed. There have been times in my life where I feel that I am stuck and can't progress unless and change my situation, outlook or attitude. After I made those few changes necessary I realized that I was often uncomfortable or unfamiliar with my new situation and the future that would follow it. I also realized that when I had adapted to those changes I was challenging myself to learn something new; to reach past my personal boundaries; to progress. 

It wasn't until a few months ago that I realized the importance of adapting to a new situation in order to progress. I worked part-time at a fast food restaurant before I started this year of college, and I disliked nearly every moment of it. It wasn't the fact that it was a minimum-wage job, but the fact that I worked at a place I disliked very much because of the taxing work that offered little in reward other than a paycheck. That gave me anxiety to such lengths that I had never experienced before. After careful reevaluation of my situation, I realized that my attitude was getting in the way of my progression. My goal at the time was to earn enough money for school. Working part-time and moping about it was definitely not an option I wanted to endure.

I then decided to ask my manager for full-time work once I had realized that I would not earn enough money for school at my current pace. However, as the weeks went on I was getting less and less hours every week, and eventually after waiting patiently for a full time week I got a week with only one shift of only five hours.

I was frustrated and humiliated. I had changed my attitude and owned up to working for what I deserved, yet ironically it was that same job that started holding me back. I realized right away that if there was any chance of me progressing further it was to seek elsewhere for employment. I quit that five hour week and didn't think twice about it. 

I did so with such haste because I realized that my goal of college needed to be overlooked temporarily so that I could focus on finding new employment that will benefit not only my college fund but my well-being as well. My first goal: College was set aside to fulfill a more immediate goal: find a job with the hours you need. 

Despite this entire situation and the misfortune of it all, I consider myself to be very fortunate. Why? Because in the next week I found three separate part-time jobs that would help me get all of the hours I needed, and the best part of it all was that I enjoyed each job. Every new job I acquired provided me with a benefit other than money, whether that be personal wellness, friendships, or a feeling of accomplishment. After arranging my jobs without overlaps I wan making 45-50 hours a week and did't miss a single shift. 

A major awakening of determination was occurring inside me. I never though that I was capable of such a difficult feat as three part-time jobs. Yes, many have to deal with many more hours than I had, but the fact that I was willing to work harder than I ever had before gave me hope for my future. Life will always throw curveballs relentlessly at you. Learning how to adapt and change your situation for something better is a large step towards success, and that is what this week's readings made me realize. 

Being an entrepreneur means taking risks and adapting to a world that is changing ever so quickly. As an optimistic future Entrepreneur I hope that the determination I received a few months ago will stick with me as I complete the remainder of this course, as well as the rest of my continuing education. This week's material has motivated me to want to try to reach beyond myself to accomplish something I never thought I was capable of accomplishing: becoming an entrepreneur and following my dreams in the process. I see a bright hope in my future, but there are still many lessons a young adult like me needs to learn in order to be successful and, with luck, keep progressing.