Stepping into a New Self

This week I learned some important and hard lessons concerning work, entrepreneurship, and the dangers of desiring to get rich quick and retire early. I was approached by a man around my age while browsing at an electronics store last week. We chatted and discovered some common interests, among them the goal of becoming an entrepreneur. I was excited to meet somebody who wanted to take life and their financial well-being by the horns just like I do. We got to talking about mentors, and he offered to connect me with a mentor of his who was teaching him entrepreneurial principles. Later that week, he contacted me and we set a time to meet up so I could meet his mentor and we could get to know each other. It wasn't long before things began to seem fishy. The mentor and my new friend were using flattery quite heavily before we got down to business. As we spoke, they started talking about their desire to retire as soon as possible, not having to work yet continuing to bring in m...

The principles discussed this week coincided with something that has been on my mind quite a bit lately: habits. A common technique used to turn an action to a habit is to complete it for 21 days. I do not know whether that number was found using research, if it’s a general rule of thumb, or what. I don’t really care. The point is that you have to consistently do something for long enough that it becomes second nature. You don’t have to be reminded to do it all the time. In fact, you will probably feel like something is off until you complete it. That has begun to happen with my goal of writing in my personal journal daily. I do not have to write a note for myself, but I always remember. Of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, it is hard to choose just one that means the most to me. If I were to choose only one, though, I would choose "be proactive". When you have a goal or an action that you want to complete, you should do it immediately if possible rather than procr...

This week I learned a lot about what success we should seek while on our entrepreneurial journey. Or rather, for what reason we seek success. I learned that an entrepreneur should seek to do the right thing and to serve others. My key takaway from the video, "A Hero's Journey" is that above all else, we need to consider who we want to be. If we do not use who we want to be, who we want to love, and what good we want to do as a standard for our success, the entrepreneurial journey may lead to ends which we did not originally desire nor intend to travel to. I should purposefully go about my business with the intent to reach a specific destination. I want to become a person who loves all people. That love will be manifested through my compassion, charity, service, and respect. I also learned that successful entrepreneurs, like the one I want to be, are humble. They seek to learn from others. They do not boast nor flaunt their success, but uses it in the service of his fel...

I learned some great things from my reading of "The Ministry of Business" this week. In part of the reading, James Ritchie shared his "Formula for Success": Get up early Work hard Get your education Find your oil Make your mark Get prepared to be of service Lately, I've been battling with the first task: get up early. It is my goal to retire to bed early and arise early. Adherence to a plan is essential to achieving this goal, and this has been a struggle for me. This is due in part to my neglect to create a plan every day, and also the unforeseen tasks and errands which often arise. I also enjoy programming late into the night which is in conflict with my goal. Maybe I can make programming in the morning a treat. It will give me motivation to awake early. An assertion made in the text is that you must trust yourself before others will trust you. Such trust is one of the foundations of a successful business. It was stated that gaining knowledge wi...

This week I started a course on entrepreneurship to learn about what it takes to be an entrepreneur and whether I am willing to commit to that. Well, I think I am going to get even more than I asked for, and that is exciting! In summary, this week I learned that an entrepreneur has to focus on themselves first in order to be successful in their entrepreneurial journey. One must decide what they want to achieve, what problem they want to solve, and what skills and gifts they can leverage to build a successful business. They must have or work to obtain characteristics of a successful business person. This week I discovered that many of the thoughts and attitudes I have toward my career are reflective of those of an entrepreneur. They shuck safety in the pursuit of an ideal, they embrace and attack opposition, and the good ones want to improve the world rather than exploit it. They need to be passionate about whatever they do, otherwise they will likely fail. A very essential characte...