EA's Journey - One Class at a Time

Week Ten DREAM BIG I have to say this week's readings and videos were not my favorite. Really kind of dull, like this blog =).  Entrepreneurship to me means a private business. But we learned this week and it makes sense that even if you work for someone else creating for them makes you an entrepreneur. I thought of my husband who works in the tech industry before he entered management he created products and obtained patents for his ideas doesn't that make him an entrepreneur? (It has actually happened since he became a manager too just not as often.) Or does it? He created something but he did not have to get his own funding, he did not have the risk that an entrepreneur, as I thought of them, does. If his idea doesn't take off he already received a bonus and a plaque no other rewards are coming either way. Well, enough of debating with myself. The book "7 Secrets That Will Transform Your Life" by Woody Woodward sounds very interesting. Do you...

Week Nine A Message to Garcia -  A powerful short analogy to show people how important they can be and how important it is to do what your boss asks you to do. But more importantly, be known for doing what you say you will or whatever you are asked (within reason, of course). A synopsis of the story is that an urgent message needs to find someone that is extremely hard to find and the letter writer who wants to get the letter to Garcia is told to give it to Rowan. Why Rowan? Because he is known for his quick action to get things done. He doesn't ask a lot of questions or give excuses as to why the task cannot be accomplished. He just gets it done.  The whole piece instructed the reader to be like Rowan and went over the details of how to go about that task. This post is not nearly as exciting as the story so you should be sure to read it yourself. Good to Great. What a great thought! Why do we stop at good? When we can continue on and be great. This applies to eve...

Week Eight Over Coming Challenges When challenges come our way and they will come, how should we react? If we are prepared we shall not fear. Challenges make us stronger and well, they challenge us to see what we are made of. Who will we turn to? How will we treat others as we power through them? Will we rely on the Lord?  Some challenges are personal like death or illness and still affect our business. Some are because of the business, lack of startup funds, employee problems or errors, or legal issues. The reasons for the challenges are endless. How we handle them can be life-changing to us or to those we work with. As an entrepreneur, we are sure to be challenged. I think expecting challenges helps us be prepared - kind of like the Boy Scouts. Education, determination, faith, and a family and friend support system will also help.  Because of my lack of inquisitiveness,  The Five Whys are sure to be helpful to me. A problem tracked down from its roo...

Week 7  "Moving Forward With a Driving Passion "       The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People  by Stephen Covey- summary  Picking a Habit that means the most to me is a little tricky because of the way they build on each other and the excitement I felt as I read each habit. As I pondered this question I thought back to when I felt the most excited and had the Biggest aha moment (because there were many of them) and I chose Habit 1 - Being Proactive. It is not in my nature to be proactive. It is in my nature to blame, justify and react. Though, at my age, I have made improvements, as I read I could see how much further I could still go and it was exciting. I want to be a confident 55-year-old woman and I don't want to waste too many more years working on it. I want it now. Well, I can choose that now and then choose to make my actions in line with a confident 55-year-old woman. I can act and be responsible for my actions not react.  I...

Week Six   So Why Do You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?      Wences Casares a technology entrepreneur and CEO of Bitcoin, as well as other endeavors, said this about being an entrepreneur, we don't choose to be entrepreneurs we just are. He said this while speaking to a group of business owners, so I am not sure if he means everyone who thinks they are an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur or just everyone in that room is. I am going with everyone who thinks they desire to own their own business or start a start-up or people who want to work for themselves.       I don't know that I necessarily want to work for myself but for many years business ideas come to me and I research them for a couple of days and decide what the necessary steps to proceed might be but then fear sets in and I talk myself right out of it. Once, I went so far as to make a prototype, contact my entrepreneurial friend for some help, get professional pictures taken of t...

Week Five The Power to Become A Hero's Journey The statement was a little confusing, "It's all about you, but it's not all about you."  Hmm, I have pondered that and listened to that statement and Corey Bell's explanation a couple of times to figure out what he meant. I believe "it's all about you" is referring to there is only you and it is up to you to become something. You have the power to become whatever you want. Whatever you can grow into. And the second part, it's not about you is referring to don't let what you become be all about you. Be someone who gives back, be someone who cares about others.  Later in the talk Corey shares these questions to help us: Have I contributed something meaningful?  Was I a good person? Some other tips he gave to help keep us on the right track: Live EVERY moment like it matters Learn how to learn, listen and ask questions Learn how to make money Learn how to make a ...

Week Four How Will You Measure Your Life? Clayton Christiansen from the Harvard Business School asks three good questions for one to consider as they live their life or find their career and happiness. They are: "First, how can I be sure that I’ll be happy in my career? Second, how can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse and my family becomes an enduring source of happiness? Third, how can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail?" As he mentions, the third question seems kind of strange but as I thought for a minute I could think of examples I know of where that exact thing did happen. Just deciding to make a wrong choice one time can put you on a destructive path. While studying this semester I have come to know how IMPORTANT CHOICES are. I don't think I realized just how many choices we make each day. Some things I wouldn't really have classified as a "choice" but more something that had to be done in there, there is a choice.  I lo...