I'm stoked for my intro
to entrepreneurship class!
A little back story
first. When I was first signing up for classes the first one I tried to get
into was Intro to Entrepreneurship 183. However, as a freshman I was the last
on the chopping block and had to add myself to the wait-list. I ended up being
the 16th of 34 people on the wait-list. I thought there was no way I was going
to get into the class seeing as there were only 24 seats available in the first
place. But for some reason I never dropped the class and continued hoping I
would get in. I dropped 4 places in the wait-list by the time the semester
started and wanted to know if there was any chance in getting into the class. So,
I emailed the professor to just ask if there was any chance of me getting into
the class even though I was something like 13th on the wait-list. I thought
there was no way, but had to give it a shot anyway. He emailed back saying that
I should come to class and he would see if he could get me in if I was a good
student. Before I go on let me just say that I have no idea why I thought this
class would be a good idea. I mean a freshman doing an Entrepreneurship class
when I have an IDS major with a concentration in psychology, a cluster in
education and another cluster in business? That doesn't really fit. But I felt
that I needed to be in that class. So, Tuesday came around and I showed up to
class early to find two girls in the class and a ton of guys. As the class
started to fill it became quickly apparent that there were not enough seats in
the small room. When our professor entered the room, he asked the wait-listed people
to grab a chair from the other room and sit in the back. Let’s just say it was
crowded. There must have been just as many people from the wait-list in the
class as there were accepted students. As I sat in that class I realized that I
needed to take this course.
The teacher was
incredible and the students in the class truly wanted to be there. Unlike other
classes where students were taking the class because it was a requirement or
because they all were planning on going on a mission, or because they were all COMM
majors, these students were all looking to get something different out of the
class. They all had different dreams and career plans. These were people who,
like me, had a plan. And that was quite refreshing.
Though I have only had
one class in this course I have learned a lot, both from in class as well as
from the assignment. I am also looking forward to how to truly make a blue
print for what I want to do. And to learn more about the entrepreneurial world
and how to navigate it.
Here are some notes that
I took while reading or watching my assignment along with that thoughts that I
have about them now;
Living Life as an
Entrepreneurial Hero
"The promise of a
big dream moves heroes to action."
Every entrepreneur needs
a dream, an end point, something to shoot for. Call it a career, a dream, goal,
or a calling, whatever it is you must know Why you are doing it. It’s not
enough just to want to do it. There must be a reason.
Entrepreneurship is a
life of risk, failing and success that is always unsure. It is a life that must
be lived in the growth zone. Which means outside of my comfort zone. When being
an entrepreneur one needs to learn how to fail. To fail quickly, often and
cheaply. And know that failure is ok! It’s the road to success. No one, No one,
succeeds without failing first.
As an entrepreneur, you
have to accept risk, embrace it and learn to live with it as your companion.
Because the world is full of risk, and failure, but "courage to pick
yourself up after you've been knocked to the ground is what makes life worth
living." What is the worth of life without a little risk?
To be truly successful
one has to invest all of their time and energy into learning, growing and
becoming what they want to be.
I have always heard and
known that people need to have mentors and friends, peers, people who inspire
you and cheer you on. But I now have started to realize the importance of the
people that you have in your life. To have a mentor truly is important when it
comes to having a successful life. Also in that same way having toxic people
around isn't worth it, no matter how talented they are, or how connected. Don't
put up with jerks.
I have heard this before
but loved learning it again in a different setting, "it’s not about the
destination, but the journey that got you there". It’s not all about what the
result is going to be, a big part of life is who you become along the way.
The Start Up of You
"Permanent Beta Mindset: think of yourself as a work in progress, invest in yourself every single day."
Why are you better than
others out there? What makes your product, idea or service any better than the
next. You must have something to bring to the table that others don't have.
Something that can catch people’s eyes and attention. Be sure to know your
market. What do people want? Let your customers be your designers and brain
stormers. And if they don't know what they want to learn how to convince them
that they want what you have.
Be realistic, as well as
shoot for the stars. Have big dreams with little steps that fit the environment
of where you are.
Life is about finding
meaning, learning and then about money. Make sure you prioritize them as such.
If you work for money all you will ever get is money and sometimes not even
that. Having a meaningful life is always worth more. It is your identity that
is important and your identity emerges through experimentation, it will never
come from staying in your safe places. An entrepreneur can't hide. Or he will
always stay hidden.
Relationships Matter! Be
social, join clubs, go to conferences, make connections with people. That is
key to success in being an entrepreneur is being a good people person and
making connections. Opportunities are found in people.
Take Intelligent Risk.
Don't be stupid, if you could die, or be homeless for the rest of your life, or
estranged from your family, don't do it. It’s not worth it. But also realize
that there is risk that is worth it. Learn how to read risk in a way that you
can know if it is worth it. "If you don't have to seriously consider the
risk, it’s probably not the breakthrough your looking for." It most likely
is not going to get you far if the fall isn't that far.
Also remember that we
are human and tend to over think everything. The risk is probably not as bad as
you think. Also, unknowns are not necessarily risky they are just unknowns.
Don't get the two confused.
Never stop starting...
What is Intro to
Entrepreneurship?
"Living a life of
meaning is about living with intent."
You will learn what your
strengths and passions are. It is making a blue print for your life.
- Find your calling
- Choose constructive habits, and
make them a part of you
- Select your next step (next
job, class, internship)
- Embrace disciple leadership
Pretty much I have
learned that the life of an entrepreneur is a path of ups and downs failures
and successes, it’s not perfect and that’s ok. Cause it’s not about the job, it’s
about being who you are, and doing what brings meaning into your life and the
life of others. Being successful is about the people you know, asking the right
question and being true to yourself and your calling. You are capable of more than
you can imagine. And when you keep God in all that you do you are capable of
far beyond anything anyone has imagined.
In order to get where
you want to be you have to have a dream right? But not only a dream but a
specific dream, details are good. Take it step by step.
Here is a list of bullet
point of lessons I've learned thus far;
- Screwing up and having someone
point it out is a good thing
- Failing is a part of learning
and growing
- Experience is what you get,
when you don't get what you want
- Brick walls are there to let us
prove how badly we want to get over it
- Dreams are important, Have a
calling
- Don’t loose childlike wonder
- Loyalty is a two-way street
- Relationships are important
- Take note of feedback, and use
it
- When life gets hard, just work
harder
- Be accountable, and responsible
- Have back up plans, because
life happens
- Prioritize learning before
money
- Live your life with intent
One assignment I have
had to do for this class is make a bucket list of 50 things. At first this was kind
of hard for me. I had three things on the list and could think of nothing more I
wanted to do. And then my mom said, 'just think of things you like to do,
things that you wanted to do when you were a kid, you'll come up with
something.' I'm impressed with how many things on my list were things that I
wanted to do as a kid. A few were newer dreams but most really were things that
as a kid I wanted to do, or be. They were dreams that I have had forever and
I've never even taken that time to think about them or write them down. It's
amazing how realistic they look when they are on paper. So, another thing I
have learned.
- Write down your dreams, Or they
are only wishes...
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