I Am Grateful...

 

I Am Grateful...

...For the opportunity to look back and see what I have learned along my journey in life. I would like to think I have an entrepreneur spirit. I have spent the past 38 years raising a family and cherish every moment heart and soul. Every day I learn something new. If I had a dollar for every time I learned something I would surely be a billionaire! There are times I think that I can and should take my ideas and turn them into an entrepreneurial venture. This is why I went back to school. It may not necessarily be a venture to make money, but to be confident that as I prepare for a mission with my husband, or help with the family business, or even just managing our home, I can do it more confidently and with gratitude.

I am grateful for the instructors in my life that have been so patient and willing to teach me. One in particular is my mom. My mom was known for her great cooking and warm hugs. Some of the richest people in the world are not known for such valuable gifts. My mom is who inspired me to make bread. Now, I should have learned this skill while living at home, but no, I waited til I was married and thought that I would automatically know how to do it from watching my mom make and form beautiful loaves of bread nearly every week for our family. I remember making it for the first time. It was a sticky clumpy mess and although not perfect I was pretty proud of my first effort. Over the years I would continue to observe and ask questions that focused more specifically on what I needed to do to make great bread. My mom taught me that there was a specific feel and taste to the bread dough and that it took patience to let it proof or rise and release the elasticity in it to make that wonderful chewy texture that you can't get enough of. I learned that you can make the perfect loaf of bread and it can taste awful if you forgot to add salt. Ingredients are flexible but some are essential. You can use different kinds of flour, oils and eggs...but flour, salt, water and yeast or leaven is a must. Now I feel confident that I can make a batch or loaf of bread that is suited for any particular occasion. By it's taste, touch and even smell I can tell if it is missing something. I have learned this from experiencing the sticky messes and failed recipes. For these I am grateful...

What I Have Learned...

• In my studies this week I found that it can take time to frame the right opportunity for you.
• Howard H. Stevenson and Shirley M. Spence, Identifying and Exploiting the Right Entrepreneurial Opportunity....for you (HBS), answers the question "What is Entrepreneurship?" They say, "The pursuit of opportunities is the essence of entrepreneurship." Their definition,"An opportunity as a future state that is both desirable and achievable." Also that "entrepreneurial opportunities begins with an idea that addresses some societal need."(HBS)
• In Chance favors only the prepared mind, by Louis Pasteur, Professor Alexandre Ardichvili and colleagues definition for an entrepreneurial opportunity as "the chance to meet a market need...through a creative combination of resources to deliver superior value." So here it becomes a marketed business venture. Here is where I have an inner desire to be, but realize I have much yet to learn.
• The case study of Raandy Haykin this week was an amazing example of how leadership plays into the success of an entrepreneur. Beginning with hands on experience in actually selling merchandise helped him to see where the industry was growing and where the tech and media could be combined to propel both industries successfully forward. Sometimes it is like that, you see where sharing what you know about one thing combines quite naturally to improve another. (Kind of like a PBJ sandwich:)
• Stan Christen "Avoid the Wrong Job", says to "choose a job ...you think is fun, that you're going to enjoy.""Be a generalist," he says. He also warned against specialization that could become irrelevant.
• In "An Attitude of Gratitude," President Thomas S. Monson reminds us carry with us an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude for our mothers, "our fathers", "our teachers", "our friends", "our country" and most supremely "our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

What I Have Yet to Learn...

• Wow the list keeps growing...I would do well to follow Randy Haykin's advice and remember to "focus "so that I don't "end up with too much on my plate."
• I just feel like I have something to offer the world...I just haven't found what it is:( I am learning to have patience with myself and find the job that is for me.
• How to navigate through Pathway Worldwide. I am still trying to find the form to apply for an internship. Ugh!
• How to be more intentional in my daily plan.
• Time management...

Spiritual Insights...

President Thomas S. Monson "An Attitude of Gratitude," reminds us that the Savior "taught us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. Hie life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved."

Rev. 3:20

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Goals...

• Find out all I can about how to plan and apply for my internship.
• Get my school work done by the end of the week so that I can spend every moment with my family that is coming into town.
• Write a list of things I am grateful for in my journal.
• Remember to have a positive attitude when things get tough.
• Count my blessings!