week 13


This week we learned about gratitude. What does that have to do with entrepreneurship. Well to me most of business is about relationships. If we are not living a life full of gratitude we are forgetting to thank others for their kindness or service. This may not damage a relationship but it certainly won't improve it. The more we express gratitude to others the better we will be. We can make a difference in the world just by spreading gratitude. 
I have a good friend who is very generous with his money. He likes to give lavish gifts and trips as reward to his employees and even friends. However, when that is returned he doesn't say thank you. At first it wasn't something I noticed but it has become glaringly obvious. It is almost as if he sees the kindness offered to him as inferior to what he gives so it doesn't warrant a thank you. I am not sure. I do know that I want to be the opposite of that! I want to make every person I come in contact know that I am grateful for them. Even the garbage man. Who I am quite grateful for by the way. If people see you as someone who is grateful they will be drawn to you. This is a great thing for friendships and business relationships.
We read an article this week about Randy Haykin, an insanely successful young entrepreneur. I have thought a lot about whether or not the risks of entrepreneurship seem worth it to me. Reading his story and several others this week caused me to become excited about the idea. Up to this point, I have really been on the fence about even considering starting my own business. There are so many excuses and reasons the business won’t succeed but the benefits seem to outweigh the cons. The idea of being able to create a business that could change the world is exciting. That is a bold statement, however I think in order to be an entrepreneur you must be bold. Haykin truly was able to change the world with his projects on Yahoo, AOL and Twitter. His story gives hope to those of us with big dreams.
            My sister has started a service group for kids to serve in their community. We meet once a month and complete a service with the kids. She has a dream to take this group, she calls TeamServe, nationwide. After reading Haykin’s story, I truly believe we can make this dream happen. As I have studied the coursework this semester, I have come to realize that is the kind of contribution I want to make in this world. I want to help my sister create a nationwide nonprofit service group for kids to serve in their local community. Everything I have learned this semester has taught me that if you believe, work hard, and truly want to make a difference in the world, you will most likely be successful. I have learned how to create steppingstones to help me plan my path. Suddenly, it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.
Haykin shares that finding balance between his work life and the rest of the areas in his life is a constant struggle. I feel like I am already navigating that struggle by running my own preschool, raising my children, and taking online classes at BYU-I.  Some say balance isn’t possible and I believe in some ways they are correct. However, I think at different points in our life, our year, month or even day we may focus more on one area than another. However, if we truly set up our guideposts and guard rails and remember what is truly important to us, we can make that balance happen in our own lives. Whatever that looks like for each of us.

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