My Last Lecture

Many of us are privilege in life.  We are given talents to help us to become better and help us to better humanity.  How do we use these talents?  Over the course of this semester I have read and listened to many entrepreneur's journey.  The talent I believe they gave the world is jobs, security, ideas, and products that people wanted.  These men and women were fearless and never let the naysayers win.  They fought the fight so they may leave a legacy.

  

My greatest hero in the world of business is Walt and Roy Disney.  Everyone knows about Walt Disney because of his charisma and passion.  Not many men or women then or since could match his drive.  But he could not have been successful without his older brother Roy.  The two were a combination that could not be reckoned by.  Roy was there to make sure the business was sound and to protect his younger brother and Walt was there to keep Roy alive.  What I mean by that is Walt was always keeping Roy on his toes never allowing him to rest.  Roy did outlive Walt long enough to help see his brother's dream of Walt Disney World come to life, then he died two months later.  These two made a company that would stand the test of times.  Every company needs a Walt to come up with the ideas, the entrepreneur, and every company needs a Roy the person behind the curtains helping to keep the show going without one you are not able to perform the greatest business.  

I am fortunate I have a brother like Roy who keeps our business together.  I am like Walt I am the entrepreneur, I see things that he cannot see.  He trust me to not go too crazy on business ideas.  It is funny even that the age difference between Roy and Walt is the same as my brother and mine age.  I am not saying I am anything like Walt, but he is a good man to exemplify in the business world.  We need more people like him to create and imagine things the world has not yet seen.

I believe in the next steps in our lives we need to always learn and be courageous. We can't always live behind the books we have to go and seek some adventures, if not those opportunities will be seized by someone else and that is when regrets comes in.  

We must pursue and when the world says, "that is the end of the line", you get out and start forging a new path and let others follow.  We will get cuts and bruises but the pioneers of old did not just sit home and wait for the railroad, they went on foot and cart.  They knew there was a promise land for them and adventure was waiting for them.  Don't let people say "stop" unless you want to!  

Gratitude

It is crazy to think that I have been writing in this journal for the last 13 weeks.  It has been a great experience to do this.  I have discovered a lot of who I am on this journey to be a true entrepreneur.  It has been fun to learn what I have learned and how to apply what I have learned. 

This week I was doing some reading on being grateful and how it does open doors for people.  I was taught by my parents to always be polite and courteous to people, even when the other person is not nice to you.  I have been in sales for my adult life and I have used this principle on a regular basis.  I have seen people open up when I said “thank you” for taking the time to talk with me.  Also being grateful is not limited to customers, it goes to employees, family, and even to God.  When you have a grateful  heart the doors of heaven open to you and blessing are bestowed upon you.  I know when I have demonstrated my gratitude my heart is full and my mind is clear to help me to do better in business.  

Charity never faileth...

On the road to greatness we sometimes forget where we came from and who helped us get there.  I learned this week to be truly successful we need to remember all those that have come before us and to look at how we can help those are coming behind us.

If we only search for profit and forget to give back we are taking away what was not really to be taken.  The Lord gives us blessings, they are given to us for a time, but we should pay it forward. We need to show charity.  In the scriptures charity is the pure love of Christ.  I think that charity is a means to find true happiness.  I am not speaking that money or profit is bad, but if we have to sacrifice ourselves to the dollar then we have become the slave to it.  If we cannot find happiness in the service to man then we have truly lost ourselves.  I have witnessed in my life as I have strive to increase sales and profitability of our company and show kindness to my employees and give personally, the Lord increases my capacity for more wealth.  Money is good when you use it for good.

I listen to an Elder in my church named Elder Gay.  He has lived a successful life, but his early life with his wife was meager.  He learned how to make money by starting a business while going to school.  What made me surprise was that he was grateful that the business was successful enough to hire people.  He wanted to give people a job so they can have money.  I feel when we have a life of looking to improve peoples lives the Lord does open the windows of Heaven to bless us monetarily and wisdom.

What doe we give up...

Do we give up our values for the benefits of profits?  I was able to read and listen to some entrepreneurs and their experiences of success.  I keep on thinking of people like Bernie Madoff and Jeffrey Skilling of Enron and think what were they thinking of before they got caught?  Did they have morals and values to guide them in their journey?  I believe they did and they probably followed those morals for a while.  Then I ask myself what made the change in letting go of their moral and values?  Are we vulnerable like them when we are faced with big payoff, IF you can make it?  Is it a sudden change or does it come little by little like a flaxen cord wrapping around and before you know it you are bound?  I have come to believe that if you don’t have the values up front and reinforce them periodically then we are doomed to what success can bring.  The world teaches that values are of the way side and no one should mind if you bend your morals or values for progress. 

I don’t believe we have to give up our morals for success.   I don’t believe that money, power, or fame corrupts us. It is ourselves that are corrupted and those objects or ideals are just that. With money, I could do a lot of good.  With fame and power, you are able to influence people in a good way and help people rise.  The world has been made and broken on those who have chosen to stick to morals and those who do not.  

Are we converted...

I have found that conversion is a strong part to our success in our business.  I had an opportunity to read a great article by one of my leaders of my church.  He talks about conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As I was reading it I was impressed to discover I was thinking how I can apply this principle of conversion in the business world.  He brought in the religious side about testifying and that some would confuse testifying and conversion is the same but it is not.  He went on to tell if we are truly converted to our religion then we need to live it. 

I took this principle and I wanted to apply this idea to the business world and how does it apply?  I figure the best way to show you are converted to your business, product or idea is how do you live your life.  If you just sell (testify) of the product, then later you buy another product similar then you are not converted.  I think of Nike or Apple and those people who work there.  At Nike if you are not wearing Nike you are shun on, if you are wearing another competitors apparel then you will be asked to go home and change wardrobe to fit the culture. 

I believe in my product at my family business, when I talk about it I smile about it.  I truly believe my product is the best nursery stock out there.  With my daughter business, I am always talking about the product to my co-workers and having people look at what my daughter has created.  I feel the entrepreneur we have to be converted to whatever product or idea we are selling.  If we don’t we will not be successful. 

Like what my leader exclaimed, we need to go and do.  If you are converted then go and produce, sell, and promote your product.  

Our Plateaus

This week I realize the ability to keep focus is not the easiest thing to do.  I feel we plateau in life very often.  How do we overcome this plateau?  What do we do overcome these feelings of despair, tiredness, frustration, or even plain laziness?  This week was a week where I could not get excited to think like the entrepreneur that I know I am.  I couldn’t get the flow back where I could spend hours thinking of ideas or making previous ideas better.  I want my drive back.  I do not want to take side seat to life.  I have always felt that my life was destined to be the driver, the leader, the instigator to everything I do. 

One of my weakness is not letting people take the driver seat.  Maybe this week was a week to help me to realize that down times can help put perspective in life and how I want it go.  I know when I am really driving on the road I don’t always get to enjoy what scenery has to offer.  When I get to be in the side seat I get to have more time to enjoy what God has given to me.  Life is what you make of it, I want a good life, so I need to work for it even if life throws me a curve ball.  The life of an entrepreneur must never let life take you down.  Take the plateaus that are given as time to reflect and practice the previous lesson learned and perfect those aspects of business. 

An Entrepreneur challenge

What does it take to be an entrepreneur?  I wrote a little about this in the first blog, but doing research and reading since then.  I have come to conclude what an entrepreneur is and that is perseverance.   I bet each one of us on this journey have asked ourselves why am I doing this?  We are the heroes to the journey of business.  We go to battle each day to make sure our product survives, that our employees are paid, our customers are happy.  We will never let ourselves fail in life.  If we fail in business we pick what is left and start a new.  We are  like the pioneers before us and we forge a new path to great lands.  There is much opportunities out there to be taken. 

When doubt comes into our lives to prevent us from our destination, we must remember why we started in the first place.  If we let doubt in then failure will come right after.  I believe our journey through to success must be made each day when we wake up and psyche ourselves that today is going to be a great day and that it is a gift from God, that is why it is called the present.  

I am about to start a business and I need to believe and persevere that it will be a success.

Practice makes Perfect

As the phrase goes "Practice makes Perfect" is truly what I am feeling this week.  When reading the book "Mastery" by George Leonard he emphasize to the road of mastery you must be willing to put the practice in to make yourself your self-master.

I ask myself often these days what do I want to be a master of?  I want whatever I am mastering to be something of worth.  To be the best yo-yo person is not what I say would help my eternal progression.  Then I realize I want to be the best disciple of Christ, husband, father, and friend to those that need it.  I have the list in order of priority.

I know many say the same thing and we cannot all be the best, but we can master ourselves to be the best person to whom it may concern.  My Savior knows me well enough that if I am doing my best He will accept that.  My wife, if she see I am total committed to this relationship, she will only say I am the best.  As for my children, I teach and love them as they should be then they will put me as the best.  As for a friend, I will be the friend they need me to be not what they want me to be.  There is fine line between the difference.

How am I going to achieve this.  It will be by practice.  Each day I have been given the same amount of time as anyone else.  I will put my effort where it really matters.  I will try to humble myself to realize I am not always right, and learn from those people to whom I want the relationship with.  Once I understand them I can see them as my Father in Heaven sees them.  Once I have completed this I become the master.

In the order I have put my priority, will be like domino affect on the next person.  If love my Savior as I have been commanded, my wife will see that.  My children see how much I love their mother, they will respect me.  My friends see what kind of person I am to my family and to my Savior they will respect me.

I figure when the home is safe, the rest of your life will be safe.  You can tackle anything that comes to you.  When there is strength in the home, no force can take it down.  However, if we wing ourselves from what is important then evil will creep in and destroy what is most precious.  Then your life will crumble and peace will not be with you.  You will no longer be the master, but a slave to the circumstances that occur.  This all comes from practicing what you dearly want.  Then perfection will come.

Journey that Never Ends

This week was monumental for me in my professional life.  I was officially made the COO of the company in my company.  It is nothing glamorous, but put me into a position that I need to step up my game.  When I came into the family business, I thought I was always going to be in sales.  I do love sales, it is my passion.  I feel that I am good at it, but now I have to look at production.  I am in the nursery (plants) business.  Our product does go all over the US and Canada.  It has been fun to know the customer and see how their business run.  Now being in production I have to look inward.  

I am excited though.  I like the managers we have.  They are very capable personal and have deep passion to see this company succeed.  It has been fun to talk to them about what they think the company should be like.  It is great to hear perspective within the company.  My years here have been expose to what people thought of us from the outside.  

Continuing from last post about mastering oneself.  The journey you take in life is never over until the day  you die.  You may be given curve balls and obstacles to sway you from what you had deemed to be the path we wanted to go down.  The most exciting thing about life is there is nothing certain.  It is our job to adapt to the changes and become something better, instead letting life control you.  

The Path to a Jedi

     When I think of Mastery, I think of Star Wars and the Jedi.  When Yoda was instructing young Luke Skywalker he told him to unlearn everything he has learned to clear his mind.  What good advice when it comes to mastering ourselves.    In order in our lives to better ourselves we must be ever vigilant in becoming better and removing the personal obstacles in our lives that enable us to become great.

     This week I learned about perseverance from James E. Faust.  When he said about persevering in the church and doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do, Heavenly Father will open doors to making things happen in our lives for our benefit.  As we are persevering we come to know our Lord and Savior better and gives us strength when times get harder.  James E. Faust also stated that when we you fall down get up.  The strong will not allow a fall or stumble get in the way to obtain the best prize in this life and the next life.

     I also enjoy this week’s exercise on who do we want our personal advisory board.  I have chosen mostly people that I have admired in my readings over the years.  The only person who made the list that is still alive is my wife, the rest are profound people in the history of the world.  Their legacy lived on because they made an impact in the lives of millions.  I would like to have those people on my board so when I leave this mortal world, that I have left a legacy.  I am not saying I want to have millions mourn my death, but I want people to know that I was good.

     To master ourselves is a lifelong journey and must be enjoyed also.  Take the failures and say to ourselves that we an education.  Life is too short to regret and too long to not live it.

Does Fear hold us back?

I believe fear is what causes the future to not be bright.  We look at ourselves and feel in inadequate for greatness.  If we plant ourselves in solid foundation of our self constitution .we can conquer our fears.

This week I was privilege to look deeper into myself and do a self evaluation.  It is not easy to be honest with myself.  I had to know what I really wanted.  Also see what I am also most fearful of.  We don't want to see what we are fearful because it shows us our weakness.  We are fearful because facing our weakness will mean work.  The work to make our weakness to be not weakness will requires diligence and discipline which is hard to do when the world is saying be yourselves and don't let anyone tell you what to do.

If we choose to conquer the weakness and pursue the diligence to be a disciple to our constitution then I feel our fears will dissipate.  Our passion will overshadow the demons of fear.  Our worse case fears will not be as bad as it seems because we have evaluated the exit strategy if our adventure does go south.

I feel my fears are mostly based on disapproval of those that I love most.  I am expressive person and I want people to like me, but if I choose some of things I want to do, then I feel I might lose the approval of those that I feel is closest to me.

When the time comes to meet our maker we ask ourselves what is the legacy I left behind?  Most of us do not want to regret.  My advice in that is don't let fear let you down a path of regret.  Babe Ruth stated, "Don't let the fear of striking out stop you from playing."  I feel that is good idea, let yourself strike out because you will learn.  Don't fear failure, but embrace when it comes.

I am teaching my child to not fear failure.  I believe she will grow more if she does.  Give more, play more, love more, trust more.  The list can go on, do not let your fear let you stop growing.

How strong are we?

     I have been running my family business with my brother for over 13 years.  I have seen many nursery fall during the recession, some that have been around for over 50 years.  What made them fall?  Why could a nursery not make it through this recession and survive the other 4 in the last 50 years?  I always thought businesses became stronger as they got older, but I think even time will chink the armor of age for a business.
    I keep coming back to the reason our company has survived the many years, 50+ years.  My father claimed that we should have been bankrupt at least twice.  My father always said the reason from not going into bankruptcy was because he paid his tithing and he followed the Lord.  Many in the business world would question our standards as being old fashion.  If you really think about it, the Lord teachings are in line with good business practises.  Treat your customer with respect and understanding, the Lord would say "love they neighbor as thyself".  Be honest in your dealings with your customers and vendors.  That screams hard core Christian values.
   I am in sales and I am owner, so basically everything that I sell has my name on it.  I want to go to bed each night saying to myself, "Did I do what was right in my life today", that includes my professional and personal life.  I have built my name in the company that is fair to my employees, customers and vendors.  If I have that philosophy I know I will be successful.  Even if the business does go down, which I know it won't, I can say I was always honest and the Lord knows it.  I guess this is why I love business so much, I can live my religion at work.  I am glad that I can set the standards for how the company operates
   I appreciate this week's lessons on keeping to our core values and ethics.  I like that if we have good business ethics we will have success.  Strong businesses are strong because the know who they are and are not ashamed of it.

A Child's Dream

         Did you ever dream about becoming an astronaut or being a professional baseball player?  I remember going outside throwing the baseball at the side of the house to work on my glove skills and begging my mom to take me to the batting cage to improve batting.  Then one day I stopped dreaming of being that baseball player and dreamed of another dream.  I guess the nice thing about being a child, the world is still conquerable.  

         This last week I was able to listen and read an article about Randy Pausch.  He gave a great lecture about going after your childhood dreams.  He wanted to pursue a few things like doing zero gravity, be an imagineer, win a big stuff animal, and many more.  He went on to tell how he went about achieving these dreams.  He first mentioned his mother gave him the moral encouragement and also his mentors.  These people were giving him the strength when he felt like quitting.  He goes on to say, "Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?"  We need to decide in our lives what kind attitude we want to have.  If we choose to be the "Tigger" we will see the success we want because we have fun doing it.  Then he goes onto loyalty.  Loyalty is a two-way street, we must be willing and ready to defend and protect.  As we create this loyalty we will create friends that will help us down some of these hard road.  Another subject he talks about is the "Never give up" attitude.  If we keep our dreams close to us and say to ourselves on a regular basis never give up, the person you only have to prove in this life is ourselves and at the day we leave this mortal husk we will ask ourselves, "Did I do everything I could do...?"  When we never give up then we will never have to ask ourselves this.

         

       Marty Sklar (Disney Imagineer 50+ years) wrote in one of his books "Dream it Do it".  This man is in his 70s and he is still dreaming.  If a man of that age is dreaming, I feel very strongly that we should always dream.  I believe when we stop dreaming, the world will stop turning.  I am always telling my kids to never stop dreaming.  If want to be the astronaut then do it, don't let anyone say you can't.  Then I ask them, "Why do you think people will crush those dreams?", the would answer, "no idea", I would proceed to tell them those people can't dream or they themselves are scared to live their dreams and want to make people sad like them.  If we do stop dreaming we will never know if we can harness the power of the sun in cold fusion, or seeing flying cars in real use.  The best dream is the one that is being lived and being improved upon.  We should never stop dreaming, if we do then all those men and women who came before us will be crying in Heaven because they will feel their work is for not.

   

     I had dreams of being professional baseball player, then I realize I was not very good at it.  I was ok when I realize that, because my next dream came into my life and I still dream about it.  I know I cannot live that dream at this moment because of my obligation.  My dream is to work at Disneyworld as a tour guide.  It sounds dumb and childish, but think about getting paid to take people around where both parents and child are really happy and the proceed to tell of a marvelous story of a man who wanted to create an "Utopia" of sorts.  I love history and Disney and being a tour guide would be great.  The reason I cannot go after that dream at this time is because it doesn't pay well to support a family of 4 and be able to afford the comforts I like.  When I retire from this job, I told my wife I would like to work at Disney World.  She agreed, and their is my promise to myself. 

        If you feel like stop dream, don't.  If we can't find it, hang out with a kid for a day or two.  We need to always dare to dream the impossible.  I will use Walt Disney - "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them".  Do we have the courage to pursue our dream?

An Entrepreneur's code

In this weeks course I came to a conclusion the entrepreneurs are people from all directions of life and talents.  This next part is a reflection of my feelings of the entrepreneur.

Dear Entrepreneurs,
   We have journeyed many miles, failed at many things, worked harder and longer than most, and yet here we are with no company, no income, and nothing to our name.  Then why do I not feel bad?  Why do I still yearn to seek out another venture, to risk it all knowing that it might fail?  Why am I not exhausted from the endless amount hours I have put into make a product that failed?
    Now I remember why.  I am an entrepreneur.  We have code, nothing official code set by any club or school, but we do live by when we get knocked down we get back and say, "Well at least I failed (fell) forward".  We are the people who make this world a better place, we yearned to have our product be the best and to be successful.  We are willing to sacrifice now for big returns later.  We are the heroes that created i-Pods, Disneyland, airplanes, and even rubber tires.  If you look at these men and women in the business world who created these wonderful things, they have one thing in common they were fearless.  They knew if they failed they would lose everything if not most of everything they had.   The world wants to knock us down because we are the strength that binds humanity together from our ingenuity.  We must never give those people the satisfactions of beating us.
   Remember this quote when you are tired "When you feel like quitting, remember why you started" author unknown.  Please don't give up, we are the future and future would look dimmer if you quit.

Sincerely,
Disney Freak