The Last Lecture

This journey will be hard, challenging, difficult, and tiring. But this journey will be rewarding. The true success won’t come from the balance in your bank account, but it will come from the wealth of knowledge you have required at the end. 

First things first, do something you LOVE. Don’t do something for the money.

From my first post on this blog, “One of my favorite videos this week was the one of Kawasaki where he says that if you don't do something that you love that you will end up miserable no matter how much money it makes. He mentioned that he can't promise that lots of money will come but he can promise happiness in work.”

Happiness doesn’t come from money. It comes from the people you are surrounded by and the way you spend your time. 

Second, have a vision of what you want your career to be like.

Think of what you could do with what you love. You don’t have to have this amazing vision immediately! Let it simmer in your mind for awhile. Over time you will truly know what it is that you want to do! 

"If you want to be an entrepreneur and you want to be a leader a vision that scales and that is compelling is a part of leadership. You have to compel people with the why."  - Sheryl Sandburg

Use this vision as your constant motivation in your career.

Third, understand that all of your opportunities will be a learning experience. 

You will never stop improving. The great thing about a career is that you never get out of this “permanent beta” mode. 

“Everything is always a work in progress because nothing ever becomes perfect. Especially in this era where technology advances so fast. There is no end to improving yourself because humans are made to be imperfect and that's what makes life meaningful.” 

A part of understanding that you will always be in permanent beta mode is that you will have weaknesses. 

“MASTERY is overcoming our natural weaknesses and accomplishing something grand. Something no one else could do unless they put aside those natural weaknesses and worked hard.”

It’s a great feeling when you do something amazing. What makes it so amazing is that you overcame a weakness to accomplish this! You learned and improved! 

Fourth, set some standards. 

NEVER ever sacrifice values for personal gain or power. We have been commanded to be honest in all of our doings. The gospel brings about true happiness and if we follow it’s guidelines we will be blessed with more than we can ever imagine.

Determine that your family comes first. Set aside time to do things and talk with your spouse and other family members. Families are the most important unit on this earth.

Fifth, GO AND CONQUER.

You’ve got what it takes. Anybody can do great things if they set their mind to it. 

Career Paths and Choices

In the corner video this week, Stan Christensen says that instead of being a specialist you should be a generalist. He says to put yourself in a position to take advantage of great opportunities when they come up. By being a generalist we can have a variety of skills instead of being really great at just one or two things.
Christensen says to not freak out about the first job after you graduate. Do things you love instead of focusing on building your resume. In the long run, when you are at job interviews, you will be able to show your true self and describe your passions. You also might surprise yourself and meet some great people that ultimately end up being your future business partners in a world-wide successful company.
Ted Zoller says that there are several paths to success. Learn something to build yourself up as an entrepreneur at every single job you take on. No matter what company you end up at, LEARN. You don't have to know everything about everything when you get your first job, or for that matter your 10th job.
Be pretty good or adequate at several things and keep your options open. Explore the things you love and work hard. The key to actual success lies in the passion behind your career.

Vision and Opportunity

In one of the ecorner videos this week, Sheryl Sandburg speaks of the visions of companies like Apple, Google, and Starbucks. She wanted to be a member of companies and teams that had a vision.
Near the end of the video she says," If you want to be an entrepreneur and you want to be a leader a vision that scales and that is compelling is a part of leadership. You have to compel people with the why."
Sandburg worked for these companies because she saw this vision. She saw that their vision was going to change lives and the world as a whole.
These businesses were successful because they had a vision and they advertised that vision.

In the other ecorner video Larry Brilliant says that we live in a time of much opportunity. He states that in his time he's never seen such young and successful people create something out of nothing.

In my eyes I see vision and opportunity as a power couple. Apple defied the odds with their vision of personal computers. When they started it was unknown to have a computer to yourself, let alone a teeny hand held one! But now they are known as the top company for phones and computers. They voiced their vision and created a worldwide successful company. Not only did Apple have a great vison but they CREATED opportunity where there wasn't any.

I think in our careers, no matter what they are we should have a vision. It brings purpose behind every action in our careers.

Where Happiness Really Comes From

Randy Komisar tells a story in his video about how he discovered that wealth isn't happiness. He was a big CEO for a company and was making lots of money. But at some point he stopped and realized he wasn't happy at all. So he gave that up and ended up doing something that actually made him happy even if it didn't make him a lot of money.

In our case studies this week there was one about missing your daughter's dance recital. You either went to work to deal with a big problem or kept your promise to your daughter and went to her dance recital. I thought about the situation for a little while and was having a hard time thinking of what I would do. But in the end I thought "Well that company isn't worth seeing the disappointment on my daughter's face. If the company can't understand that my daughter is more important than them then I'd rather not work for them." Family is the most important unit on this earth. If it's the most important than it's obviously something to sacrifice for.

I've looked back on my life so far and the thing that has truly brought me the most happiness is my family. There's something about being able to laugh, talk, cry, and spend time with people you've known your whole life and love.

Money and power can't replace relationships and it can't fix loneliness.

"True riches are found in big hearts, not big wallets."-Anthony Douglass Williams

20% Time with 100% Passion

I particularly loved the video, License to Pursue Dreams by Melissa Mayer, this week.

I loved the concept that devoting only 20% of your time to being creative and working toward a dream.

Mayer stated that 50% of Google's new ideas came from when their employees spent 20% of their time creating something they wanted to create.

Honestly, this is genius on Google's part. For one, this would keep me happy in a job if I was allowed at least one day a week to creatively express myself in something I loved. Two, Google obviously hires some amazingly talented people to create things for them. They are genius in giving them the tools and letting them go for it. This really put passion into what they all have created.

If someone sat me down and said "Hey, I trust you and your abilities. So I'm going to give you a great camera, lighting equipment, a computer with all of the necessary Adobe programs, a budget of $100 a month, and a few highly- rated books to learn from. I want you to go create something amazing. If you need anything else, let me know. I only ask that you complete all of your work and only spend one day a week doing this project."

Think of the possibilities! Ideas are already floating around in my mind of what I could do. I'd probably set this day to be Friday so that the whole week I would be motivated to be productive in my work and get the things done that are necessary. It would keep my job exciting and rewarding. I would look forward to that day each week and pour all of my heart into my work.

So what can you accomplish by devoting only 20% of your time to creatively expressing yourself?

Even if you could give yourself only one tool, maybe a camera and one great lens, you could create so much. If you put in 100% effort and passion during 20% of your time there is bound to be great success.

License to Pursue Dreams

License to Pursue Dreams

The Two L's

Leadership and Loyalty. 

A good leader is a loyal one. And not just in that specific aspect of their lives. They are loyal in every way possible in each part of their lives.

I was watching a TED talk about Leadership today. The speaker talks about being an example. Leadership is an everyday thing. He tells a story about how a girl came up to him at his college graduation and said that he changed her life. What he did wasn’t even something most would consider leadership. He had only ever talked to her that one time.  But his example and his ACTIONS were what inspired her to stay in college. 

He was loyal in what he did. He signed up for college and he continued to do it until he completed it. He was a member of a charity board and he continues to participate in that charity today. 

Leadership is about changing lives. Had he not been loyal in what he did he wouldn’t have been that LEADER for her to look up to. 

Leaders are examples. They don’t have to be a president or CEO. They don’t have to be a chairman or manager. It can be anybody. Anybody who is willing to be an example of loyalty. 

A Tough Battle to Face and Putting Trust in the Lord

Everyone has challenges in their lives. 

I think the true test of courage and strength is getting through it.

In our coursework this week we watched a video called "However Long and Hard the Road". I've seen this video several times and each time it gives me motivation to get through trials. The father, though this hardship happened a second time, returned for help. He had to face forward and keep moving. Nothing good would come of him waiting on the side of the road for another car to come by. He had to press through himself.

In our careers there will be MANY battles to face. But we are here to be tested, and part of that test is how well we will handle things. We will meet people we don't exactly get along with, we will have to decide at times whether or not to be true, and more. It will all be some of the most difficult things we will have to go through.

Another thing that is important to remember is that we have to give our 100% even if it's not enough. Because then Christ will make up the rest. That's what his Atonement is here for. 

We have been given so many tools to help us through our lives, whether that be spiritually or temporally. We have the internet, scriptures, prayer, fast forms of communication and more. 

We have the world at our fingertips. Success won't come to our doorstep. We have to put our trust in the Lord and give our all through each and every trial. Because at the end when we see our Savior in the eternities it will all be worth it. 

Mountains and Valleys

You know that feeling you get when you just climbed a mountain and you are standing there at the highest point breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the view? Isn’t that one of the most rewarding feelings?

The valleys though aren’t as great. They are flat forever and you are just dreading that hill you are going to have to climb in the future.

In The Dip he uses several different metaphors to explain his point about quitters and winners. I love the cover of the book. A little man about to climb this HUGE and STEEP hill. 

Before the mountain comes we don’t know if we will be able to make it. Sometimes we can’t even see the mountain because of obstructions in our way. We could be lost wandering in circles in the valley. In our careers sometimes we feel stuck with no progression towards the top. And sometimes we don’t know where to go or what to do to get out of it. 

But somehow, we take that different turn, or we keep walking and we find the mountain side. 

And then we work our hardest to climb that steep mountain. And we reach the top.

In high school I was a part of the top choir in my school. My senior year we competed in Seattle, Washington. In preparation we worked very hard. And I can’t even count how many times we were in valleys, personally and as a whole group. But when we performed that piece after all of that hard work it wasn’t even like there was an audience and judges. It was a feeling I won’t forget. When we won the huge trophy we were so excited because all of that hard work had paid off.

The Top of the Mountain wouldn’t be worth it if we didn’t have the valleys and obstructions. We wouldn’t get the same feeling if we were just taken to the top by a helicopter. Because we wouldn’t be able to look down at that mountainside and think, “ I climbed that. And now I’m at the top.” And we wouldn’t be able to look at all those other mountains around us and think, “ I climbed this one, so I can climb all of them no matter how many valleys I have to go through.”

Overcoming the Natural Man

The natural man has many weaknesses.

We are lazy sometimes. We hate having too many responsibilities. We dislike making decisions.

Mastery isn't just receiving a blackbelt in karate.

MASTERY is overcoming our natural weaknesses and accomplishing something grand. Something no one else could do unless they put aside those natural weaknesses and worked hard.

Entrepreneurship is the career of YOU. In order to be a successful entrepreneur you have to overcome your weaknesses to accomplish something big.

Humans are at a constant race to improve themselves. We are built that way. Some people improve their appearance to get places in life. Others go to ivy league schools to get that huge job as CEO at a big company. Some work out at the gym for 3 hours a day to improve their physique. In some way or another each human is working towards some goal.

Each person has their weaknesses to overcome on their own path to self- mastery.

I've found that I'm not the most patient. When I do something I prefer to have the results come immediately. But through my career choice I have learned that I must wait. I have to wait and work hard to get the results I want in the end. In every aspect of my life I have to wait.

I have also found that I am not an attentive person. In order to keep me focused I have to be allowed to do multiple things at once. I can assure you that as I write this I have done several other things in the middle of it.

Now these things can be good things. Because I'm not so patient I work harder to get the results faster. Because I am not very attentive I've become pretty good at multi-tasking and keeping calm in hectic situations.

Self Mastery is a lifelong journey or LEARNING.

What is SUCCESS?

When I was little I always thought that being rich and famous was the only way to be deemed “successful” and “free”. But boy was I wrong!

In our first reading from this week it states: 

“Success is usually earned by persevering and not becoming discouraged when we encounter challenges. Paul Harvey, the famous news analyst and author, once said: “Someday I hope to enjoy enough of what the world calls success so that someone will ask me, ‘What’s the secret of it?’ I shall say simply this: ‘I get up when I fall down.’”

 “Entrepreneurial success isn’t about money; it’s about freedom. The goal isn’t to make more than you need, it’s to spend less than you make. Because that way your free time belongs to you.”

Success is not being a billionaire. 

Success to me comes from being able to provide well for my family. Success is the trip to London that I can fully pay for without going into debt. Success is being able to take a day off. Success is having freedom. 

It’s more than being rich.

To earn this success we have to work hard. We have to get up when we fall. We have to be in permanent beta mode.

But my success will not come all at once. It will slowly build and form. 

Life Decisions and True Happiness

It’s so hard to make decisions, especially at this time in my life. You have so many questions when it comes to making that choice. Will this support my future family? Will I be happy doing this everyday? What kind of money will I have to have for all of this schooling and education? 

There are so many unknowns. But a quote from The Start Up of You really made me think.

"Many failures in results can be chalked up to people trying to keep their options open ... To move forward in your career, you have to commit to specific opportunities as part of an iterative plan, despite doubt and despite inconvenience" because "great opportunities almost never fit your schedule."  

I think we really have to put our trust in the Lord. We have to stay in tune with the spirit so that he might help us with decisions that might make us doubt ourselves. When we have so many decisions to make that will take us down different paths we should turn to our Father in heaven for advice. 

After we make our decision we really have to remember to keep our priorities in check. Happiness in everyday life will come from balancing our lives. I think it’s important to remember that family comes first before everything. That's where our true happiness will come from.

Three Things of Importance

I learned three things doing the assignments this week. 

1. NEVER sacrifice your values and ethics to gain money and power. Just don’t do it. In one of the videos the guy mentioned that eventually the truth will reveal itself. And it will. We have been commanded to be honest in all of our doings. The gospel brings about true happiness and if we follow it’s guidelines we will be blessed with more than we can ever imagine.

2. If you want something, chase it. Magdalena Yesil dreamed of coming the the United States and studying technology. She sacrificed so much when she left her country to pursue her dream. She had no idea what she was doing when she came here. But with her determination she fulfilled more than she could have ever imagined.

3. Everything is a learning experience. Magdalena never stopped learning from every situation she was in. I should be looking at every experience and seeing what I can learn from it. We are on this earth to be tested and to see what we can learn. Our knowledge is something we can take to the eternities with us so it obviously should be something very important in our lives. 

Hard Work and Self Evaluation

The Start Up of You is seriously one of the best books I've read! I'm not even kidding! Usually I just get rid of books I have to read for classes but I think I'll make my brother read this before he graduates high school!

The Start Up of You has really taught me some great lessons that I can apply to my professional life and my business. It has inspired me to change a few things within myself and my business. For one I've learned a lot about developing a competitive advantage. That chapter has been one of my favorites so far. I've felt for awhile that I needed to evaluate something and change it but this identified it for me! I needed to be different than the rest and highlight that in my resume and how I run business. I also need to build up a professional network of colleagues.The questions at the end of each chapter are great tools that I will definitely use frequently!

I loved the "permanent beta" part in the book. Everything is always a work in progress because nothing ever becomes perfect. Especially in this era where technology advances so fast. There is no end to improving yourself because humans are made to be imperfect and that's what makes life meaningful.

This week's assignments have been great so far. I loved the Randy Pauch lecture. It's totally inspiring to see someone who really has a great work ethic and has got that far. It makes things seem so much more possible for me as long as I keep working hard.

I'm looking forward to improving myself using the tools I've learned already and the tools I have yet to learn! I'm also looking forward to reading and listening to more inspiring videos and learning from people who have achieved so much.

Introducing Me

Hi! I'm Kristy Patterson and I attend BYU-Idaho.

Ever since I was 13 I've wanted to run my own photography business. The Christmas where I got my first camera sparked a passion for photography that I didn't even know could exist. It became more of a necessity than a hobby.

I'm pretty sure the need to "be my own boss" runs in my family. My dad currently owns three businesses, my mom, my sister, and my dad help run each business to keep them thriving. My grandpa also ran his own cabinet making business for many years. So you could say it's in my blood!

One of my favorite videos this week was the one of Kawasaki where he says that if you don't do something that you love that you will end up miserable no matter how much money it makes. He mentioned that he can't promise that lots of money will come but he can promise happiness in work.

When I saw this class on the course catalog I knew it would be a perfect fit for me. I know from watching my parents that it's really tough to run a business. It takes hard work, passion, time, energy, and sacrifice.

On the first page of The Start Up of You it states "All humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded DNA, and creation is the essence of entrepreneurship." Being artistic, I think that everyone has some kind of creativity in them. Some express their creativity through actual art, some through movement, others through writing, and so on. Creation comes in MANY ways.

After reading and watching some videos I've learned that entrepreneurship isn't always about starting your own company. It's about providing, making your own way, taking opportunities, creating, improving and being YOU. There's more that I can learn in this class than just starting a business.

I've learned so much through the years watching my parents work hard building businesses. My dad has been such an inspiration to me because I can see how much heart he puts into what he does. He truly loves what he does. I've seen them succeed and fail. And there is so much to learn through those experiences that I can use in everyday life, not just my career. But they are only one example of inspiring entrepreneurs.

I'm looking forward to learning more about myself, finding opportunities, inspiring myself and others, and finding inspiration in the readings, videos, and my peers as I continue my journey as an entrepreneur.

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