We have a joke in my family about lectures. I’m notorious for giving my children lectures. Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don’t. That is human nature.
If I was to give my last lecture based on what I have
learned this semester in my entrepreneurship class, the first piece of advice I
would offer would be, take this class. I
don’t think I learned anything earth shattering in this class, but I did learn
to evaluate my life, my values, my dreams, myself in a systematic way which has
caused me to understand myself better.
There have been moments of doubt whether I’m cut out to be an
entrepreneur, but then I realized that our entire life is about being an entrepreneur
– making something better out of our lives than what we started with. One may not start a business to be an
entrepreneur, but one can make an impact on the world. The principles learned in this class will
help each one of us make a positive impact on the world.
Another piece of advice I’d offer based on taking this class
is carefully choose your partners in life.
This includes your eternal companion, your work companions, your play
companions, your business partner. One
person in your life could possibly wear all those hats, but you may have a
plethora of people to fulfill these roles in your life. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (or any Christian organization for that matter) we are taught
to help others, not shun others, not put others down. So how is this to be accomplished if we
surround ourselves only with the best? As
in the instructions given on the airplane prior to take off, one is told to put
one’s oxygen mask on first and then help others. We each need to have our “oxygen mask” on
first before we can go out and help others.
This means make sure our personal foundation is sure, we have a great
support structure of companions and then we can go out to help others. Just because we go into a place to help
others, does not mean we need to take on their negative life choices. Through our personal foundation and those we
choose to surround ourselves with who reinforce our personal foundation, we can
then go in with our oxygen mask and lift up the weary and downtrodden.
One last piece of advice I would give is ask questions. This is not the same as questioning something. I believe President Dieter F. Uchtdorf says
it best, “Doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith.” I have faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ
and those He has appointed to lead the Church.
I have faith in chosen mentors and principles. I may not understand everything a mentor
shares or a principle taught, but I know the foundation is sure. I keep asking questions until I
understand. My journey of understanding
may give me a different perspective to the truth than those who taught me. Then I will have added to the conversation
that makes each principle stand the test of time.
This will probably not be my last lecture, but it is my last
lecture for this class at this time. I’m
sure as I review and use the principles I have learned I will have other
conversations about them.
