Week 14: Celebrate Your Life

This class has been informative and has led to quite a bit of introspection and thought. I've thought a lot about the advantages to entrepreneurship, as well as the costs. I've also thought a lot about the risks of not pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities. I would hate to reach an old age and realize that I had always wanted to do something entrepreneurial, however never made the time or taken the chance.

I really enjoyed the weeks where we were challenged to look at ourselves and to take an honest appraisal of our talents, our abilities and our desires. I enjoyed the week we read about Randy Pausch. An excerpt of his talk was required reading, however I enjoyed it so much that I watched his entire last talk online. It was very inspirational. I also added his book to my wishlist on Amazon, and am hoping someone will get it for me this Christmas. I loved his enthusiasm for life and his willingness to meet and accept a difficult and unexpected change to his journey when diagnosed with cancer. His story caused me to reflect on what I want to do with the time I have left. It was also inspiring to hear about achieving his dreams, though some of them seemed far fetched and improbable.

Another valuable week for reflection was when we focused on the 3 most important questions for any entrepreneur: 1. Have I contributed anything meaningful? 2. Was I a good person? 3. Who did I love and who loved me? I answered these questions at the time, and I've thought about how I'd like to be able to answer them in the future. I think these answers to these questions will change throughout our lives. I plan on continuing to ask myself these things and give myself opportunities for course correction.

Another enjoyable aspect of this course was reading the cliff-notes version of The Sever Habits of Highly Effective People. This is a book that has been considered a classic for years, yet I've never read it. It has been added to my reading list. I really appreciated the 4 quadrants of time management. I often think about trying to tackle my tasks while in quadrant 2 to avoid them entering quadrant 1, where work is done in a rushed fashion-which is not ideal. There have been many times in my life I've worked out of quadrant 1 for the majority of my time. It creates stress and the work is often suboptimal due to time constraints. I've made an effort to accomplish tasks earlier, before they become emergencies.

All in all this class has been helpful and beneficial. It's given me much to think about and I think has pointed me in the right direction. No it's time to go forth and do!

Week 13 - A Journey of Gratitude

Throughout the week I've thought about gratitude. We talked about the link that gratitude has with joy in a recent Sunday school lesson. Interestingly, joy and gratitude seem to go hand in hand - there is a very strong link. Having gratitude may often require some thoughtfulness and effort on our part. When we have a heart filled with gratitude the world around us looks so much better. Even though two people may have identical circumstances, if one finds a way to feel grateful for what he does have, rather than dwell on everything he doesn't, he will find joy within himself.

It's caused me to reflect on some of the things I'm grateful for. I'm extremely grateful for a body and mind that work well. I see so many people who are not whole in body and/or mind who struggle in life. Some people have mental health disorders that lead them to have poor decision making, which in turn leads to further pain and suffering. Take for example the problem of homelessness. The vast majority of people who are homeless have mental health disorders which make it extremely difficult or even impossible to function as a productive member of society. I'm grateful that I was raised with goodly parents who taught me, nurtured me and taught me.

I'm also extremely grateful for the many avenues of learning we have available to use today. The internet and technology make so much possible. Instant communication with family and friends, instant answers to most questions, driving directions, a camera available at any time, etc. Modernest technology is a miracle, and like any tool can be used for good and for evil, however I'm very grateful for the good.

Week 12: Becoming a Change Maker

This week a video that stuck out to me was titled "A new breed of entrepreneur". In the video that speaker talked about that fact that many entrepreneurs become successful financially at a young age. Rather than retire and live a life of luxury they decide to focus their attention and efforts on solving problems faced by the entire human family. Things like poverty, lack of education, hunger, poor healthcare, underserved populations, environmental concerns. All of these issues are probably too big for any one person to solve, however some entrepreneurs will throw themselves into trying to solve these issues.

That's the kind of life I think I'd really enjoy. Once yourself and your family are cared for and supported then you could really focus on what you want to accomplish without having to worry about supporting yourself financially. That seems like it would be so freeing. In an ideal world you could support yourself while working on your passion, however I don't think that's the case for me. I can't think of a way to financially support my family while working on a dream. However I do think that I'm moving closer to that point. With more hard work and some time and luck, I think I can get there.

Week 11: Measuring the Cost

A talk by Stephen Gibson titled "Attitude on Money" caught my attention this week. One of the things that he discussed was whether money was an evil thing. I think that many of us are raised to think that money itself is evil, however Stephen Gibson points out that money itself is neither good nor evil. It is what is done with it that makes a difference. You could make the same point with rockets. Are they used to destroy cities, or are they used to explore space? Are guns evil? The gun itself is not, but evil people may use it for evil purposes. Same with cars. Most cars to accomplish work, however some people have used cars as weapons to cars harm. What about social media? The internet? There are many examples. The point is that money itself is not evil. It is a tool that can be used for good or for ill. Money is extremely powerful. Money management is something that kids need to be taught.

In our family, each of my children have 3 jars. One for spending, one for savings, and one for tithing. My kids get an allowance. Each week they place 10% in their tithing jar. They put 50% of the remaining money in spending and 50% in their savings jar. The lesson that my wife and I are trying to reinforce is that a portion of every paycheck should be made to work for you. This is a principle I learned from The Richest Man in Babylon. I'd like the children to understand that a portion of their income should be placed in their long term savings. I'd like them to develop the habit. Hopefully it will be ingrained from a young age, and they'l; reap the rewards later in life.

One of the 6 rules of money that Stephen Gibson pointed out was "Think about money and plan how you can become self reliant". I love the idea of retirement planning and setting and achieving financial goals. I believe that the earlier in life one makes and commits to a specific and well thought out plan, the more likely they'll reach a point where they can comfortably retire. All the while maintaining an emergency fund for unexpected expenses along the way.

Week 10: Dream Big Dreams

One of the videos we watched this week talked about the approach that Google takes to encouraging and nurturing creativity. Google recognizes that any company must be innovative to continue to push boundaries remain the leader in its field. And no type of company requires continual innovation more than a technology company. The field is rapidly changing and companies have to be responsive to remain at the top of their industry.

Google had practice the 70/20/10 model since it's early days. 70% of its projects are dedicated to its core business. 20% is related to its core business and 10% or unrelated. They try to promote of culture of "yes" rather than "no" to promote out of the box thinking. One of the videos stated that google engineers are encouraged to dedicate one day a week to a project they are interested in.

This got me thinking about creativity in my own life. I don't think of myself as a creative person. However, I wonder if the reason I'm not creative is because I rarely try to be creative. I wonder what would happen if I would dedicate some time to creative pursuits. I could use this dedicated time thinking about problems in my work place, and ways to solve them. I enjoy doing some graphic design and could come up with all sorts of fun icons, powerpoint backgrounds, infographics, etc.

I think creativity is the essence of most businesses. You're offering something that people can't get elsewhere, or else you are offering it at a lower cost or for some other reason you outperform your competitors. Problem solving takes creativity. I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to try and dedicate some time to creative pursuits and see if anything productive comes out of it.

Week 9: Disciple Leadership

The topic of the week is leadership. This came at an opportune time for me. I've recently been asked if I'd like to take over leadership of the trauma committee at my hospital. This committee does have some important functions. We review all the trauma cases that come into our emergency department and try to analyze how our trauma systems work, and how our systems can be improved. When lives hang in the balance, it feels like a weighty responsibility. The physician who has been leading the trauma committee is stepping down, and leaving big shoes to fill. He is well loved by everyone, he's a solid clinician and surgeon who is very well respected around our hospital and around the community.

I have to admit I feel taking the lead of this committee will be a challenge for me. I'm rather new to the committee myself. The article of "Leadership With A Small l" stood out to me. The savior led the way by example. He also led with vision. He knew where he wanted to lead his disciples to. And He led with love. I'm going to try and remember these principles and step up to the challenge of leading this trauma committee. I'm going to do my best to make a positive impact on the trauma program at my hospital, as well as reinvigorate everyone involved with the committee to look for ways to improve.

Week 8: Overcoming Challenges

Entrepreneurship can be a long and challenging road. Even a lonely road. One thing that every entrepreneur can count on is challenges. One of the key attributes that an aspiring entrepreneur must have is the ability to overcome challenges. Problems are guaranteed to arise in the day-to-day operations, with your customers and also in terms of "big picture" decisions. 

There was a talk given by Elder Jeffrey Holland relating the story of him trying to move his family across the country, but having car trouble before making it very far. This story struck a chord with me, as a few years ago I had the experience of moving my family across the country for graduate school. I distinctly remember that morning waking at 4AM and getting myself, my wife and my 1 year old son into our moving truck. I felt like I was driving a train because it was the longest Penske truck the had (though I didn't request such a large truck) and behind that was a car trailer with our Chevy Malibu.  We pulled out of the church parking lot and headed east on I-80. Our emotions were a mix of fear from the unknown, excitement about a new beginning and the apprehension of failing, wondering if we could really pull this off. I think persistence is what got us through medical training. There were challenging times and good times, but through it all we continued to move forward and eventually succeeded. 

I enjoyed the quote from Elder Holland concerning the most valuable things in life. They generally require sacrifice, persistence and great effort to obtain. 

"Though nothing in our lives seems to require the courage and patient long-suffering of those early Latter-day Saints, still almost every worthwhile endeavor I can imagine takes something of that same determination."

My goal going forward to is have the persistence and dedication to overcome challenges and obstacles as they arise. 

Week 7 - Moving Forward With a Driving Passion

The focus of this week is to move forward with a driving passion. I really like this title. I feel that there is a time for preparation and there is a time for action. I think it is easy to get caught up in "analysis paralysis", where one gets stuck contemplating opportunities and never actually moving forward with an idea or investment opportunity.

This week for study we read a summary of Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I've never read this book, but may be adding it to my wish list on Audible-because I enjoyed reading the summary. I particularly liked the 3rd habit, putting first things first. The heart of effective time management is to spend the maximum time possible doing important jobs in a non-urgent atmosphere that increases your efficiency. He has 4 quadrants, with quadrant 2 being where we want to concentrate our time the most. This is time spent doing important things on a non-urgent basis. This is doing things like preventative maintenance, relationship building, creative thinking, planning and recreation.

Each of us wears many hats in our professional and personal lives. I'm a father, a husband, an emergency physician, a member of the trauma committee, a minister, a ministering secretary, etc. Since starting this class I have made a list of each of these roles and kept it by my bedside. There are times when I've become too focused on one or two roles, and neglected the others. Suddenly something will come up and it will be a quadrant 1task, done on an emergent basis at the last minute. To try and prevent this, I've begun reviewing this list each night before bed a thinking about what I need to do for each of them. That way, I am more mindful of deadlines and things that need to be done ahead of time.

Another quote I enjoyed from the summary is closely related to habit 3, but actually comes from habit 2, beginning with the end in mind:

It’s easy to get so caught up in climbing the ladder of success that you fail to make sure the ladder is leaning against the right wall. It’s easy to be busy without being effective, to score many hollow victories at the expense of critical events. We may be very busy, we may even be very efficient, but we will only be truly effective when we begin with an end in mind.

I really like this thought. I think it perfectly summarizes something I struggled with in medical school. For a while, I was so sick of studying hour after hour for days, weeks and months at a time that I allowed unimportant things to take precedence over more important tasks. I was elected to student government and allowed those less worthy tasks to take the place of my studying, and my grades dropped because of it. I still passed everything just fine, but rather than earning A's I began getting B's and C's. I hope to not repeat that mistake in other areas of life. I spent way too much time in quadrant 1 because I wasn't making time to accomplish my priorities.

This week I hope to figure out how I can move on beyond the contemplation phase and take actionable steps forward in starting a business.

Week 6 - So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?

This week as I reflected upon the material a story came to mind.

My wife went to Hawaii as a teenager with her family. I've never been. All through medical school we talked about celebrating graduation by going to Hawaii. That time came, and we decided we needed the money to help us move to a new house in Oklahoma for residency. We decided to wait. All through residency when times got tough and we didn't get to see each other as often as we would've liked, we looked forward to going to Hawaii after residency. That time came, and my new job needed me to start the day after I got done with residency. There just wasn't time.

About a year later I decided I needed to make this trip happen. I looked online for tickets and found what I thought was a great deal for airfare. I just wasn't sure I should actually put money down without thinking it through a while longer. A couple of days later I made my decision and went to book the tickets - the price had gone up substantially!

Silently I kicked myself realizing that my lack of decisiveness literally costed me hundreds of dollars.  Throughout the readings this week we learned about understanding the industry we'd like to start a business in so that we can recognize opportunities when they come along. I do not want to make the same mistake that I made booking airfare. When I recognize a good deal or a good opportunity, I'm going to jump on it. Of course I'll do my due diligence, but I intend to not lose out on opportunities because of "analysis paralysis", where I'm so busy analyzing that I miss the opportunity altogether. I realize that in a competitive market, speed makes a big difference.

Being an entrepreneur will require just about anyone to get outside their comfort zone. That's part of what makes it challenging and exciting.

Week 5 - Skill, Character or Luck?

This week we watched a talk the asked 3 critical questions that each entrepreneur should ask themself.

1. Have I contributed something meaningful?

We're often taught the money is the root of all evil. However in Timothy 6:10 the verse states that the love of money is the root of all evil. I view money as a way to bless the lives of others. If you have a lot of money, and you have your priorities straight, having money should mean more free time. That gives you the opportunity to find ways to serve and to contribute in a meaningful way. Many philanthropists contribute money to causes they believe in. Many more people serve in quiet ways without much fanfare. I do think I've contributed to my family's happiness. I'd like to now find ways to contribute to the happiness of my neighbors, ward members and community.

2. Was I a good person?

My goal is to be able to say I treated the people around me with respect and appreciation. In my line of work I often give orders to nurses whose job it is to carry them out. I do try to make a point to thank my nurses for a job well done and look for opportunities to compliment them on their work. The question of whether or not you're a good person is answered in the thousands of small interactions a person has with others each day.

3. Who did I love and who loved me?

This question really helps me focus on what is most important in life. Happiness and joy come through relationships. Your relationship with yourself. Your relationship with God. Your relationship with your spouse and children. I think reflecting on this question helps me remember that while I have to work, I should put my relationships first.

My hope is that by reflecting on these questions from time to time I'll be able to keep my priorities straight. One day I'll be old and reflecting on my life. I hope that I'll be able to answer these questions in a way I can be proud of.

Week 4 - How Will You Measure Your Life

This week we finished the book Launching Leaders, we also read a talk by Joseph B Wirthlin I liked about focusing on the small things as well as Clayton Christensen on how to measure your life. We also took some time to analyze our fears.

During the fear analysis worksheet, I realized that I have one fear that dominates over all the others. I fear, more than anything else, that I will someday get old, look back and regretfully wish I had started a business.

One of my core values is to "Be anxiously Engaged at Living a Good Life". What this means to me is that I seek out opportunities to experience as many good things as this world has to offer. I want to taste new foods, I want to see other parts of the world. I want to see as many historical sites as I can. I want to hear new kinds of music and experience life in a different country. I want to try flying, diving, waterskiing, bicycling across a country, backpacking, fishing, etc. Variety is the spice of life, and I'd like to make my life pretty spicy.

Experiencing the thrill of success in business is something I'd like to accomplish. I think it would be very satisfying to build something from the ground up. I also think it won't would enable me to be able to do more. To experience other countries and cultures. Having a successful business would also allow me to give more time, more money and more jobs.

I would rather try and fail at business than to not try at all. When I'm old I want to know that fear did not stop me from exploring my limits. Fear of failure is not an acceptable reason to not try and succeed.

Week 3 - Honesty and Business Ethics

The subject we've been studying this week is honest and business ethics. This weeks readings and videos have made me take a long look at myself. I've always considered myself to be an honest person. I think I've done pretty well at being honest. I've never cheated on a test. I've always given back change when a cashier rung me up incorrectly, even when I had to go out of my way to correct whatever mistake was made.

Lately I have struggled with a dilemma however. I bought a couple of new cell phones a few months back. As part of a promotion I was given 2 gift cards. However the process turned out to be a big disaster. The phone lines weren't set up properly, and I felt that I had been purposefully short-changed by the commission-based salesman just to "get the sale". I tried multiple ways to correct this problem however we were repeatedly told, "Sorry, this can't be fixed." So, after several days, I returned the phones for a full refund. When I returned the phones I forgot to give back the gift cards. Months later I found them in my closet. We tried to return them, however the attendant there did not know what to do with the cards or how to check them back into his system.

So for a few months these gift cards (basically free money) have been sitting in my closet. We tried unsuccessfully to return them. The temptation that I have is to keep them and use them "for my trouble". The whole situation turned out to be a big waste of time and stress for me and my wife, it feels like justice that we should be compensated in some way for all our time that these people wasted. We tried to return them, but the store wouldn't take them back. Shredding them feels like taking cash and cutting it up with scissors.

A big part of me still feels uneasy about using these gift cards. As I read about honesty and business ethics, this was the issue that continually came to mind for me. I otherwise have a clear conscience. I think to have a completely clear conscience I'll have to get rid of these cards somehow. As fun as it would be to spend this money, I don't feel it'll be worth it for me in the long run.

The other things that impressed me was the importance of finding a business partner with absolute integrity and upstanding business ethics. It makes complete sense. I wouldn't want to go into business with someone who wasn't completely honest. How do I find someone like that? It seems that most of my friends are employees and happy to work for someone else. How can I find like-minded people that want to take some calculated risks by branching out into a business? How can I find like-minded people who have integrity. Maybe we'll cover that in the upcoming weeks. Maybe there are classmates here at BYU-I Pathways Bus 110 course who would be interested in teaming up with me. I'll have to keep searching.

Week 2 - Creating a Life of Meaning

This week I watched a video by Randy Pausch. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer and told he probably had 3-6 months of good health left. He was asked to give his "last lecture" where he would try to sum up the most important lessons he'd learned during his lifetime.

He listed several childhood dreams on a PowerPoint slide including work as a Disney imagineer, play in the NFL, as well as several others. He went through each dream and was able to accomplish virtually all of them. Some of them were quite lofty.

One of the big reasons Randy was able to accomplish so many of his dreams was because he smartly pursued his dreams, he was persistent, and he approached obstacles with an attitude of overcoming obstacles. His quote is that brick walls are not there to keep you out, they're there to let you prove you want it badly enough. He put that principle into action when he applied to be an imagineer. His employment application was rejected. Years later he was a college professor and reached out to see if he may take a sabbatical year with the imagineers. Again, there were multiple brick walls to overcome however he was able to fulfill his childhood dream. It was every bit as magical as I thought it would be.

Dreaming is an important part of realizing potential. A person who never dreams anything greater than their current situation will not have the motivation or the vision to try and improve. Dreams and ideas are at the heart of the inventions, advancements and innovations throughout human history.

One of my childhood dreams was to be able to take my own family boating. I grew up with my father taking us to Lake Powell, Pineview, Delta reservoir, and many other places. I learned to waterski when I was 6 years old. To this day I absolutely love the feeling of getting to a lake early, smelling the odd combination of the boat's vinyl, sunscreen, and the lake. Feeling the crisp morning air and the anticipation of getting out on the water. My father taught me to waterski when I was 6. I remember watching him hitch up the boat, launch and trailer the boat, tow the boat and back the boat down the ramp. I remember watching him slalom ski behind the boat making it look so effortless and fun. These were some of my absolute best memories growing up. I always wondered if I would ever get to the point where I'd be able to do all the things that he did. Would I be able to know enough to tow, launch and drive a boat safely? I watched him intently for years trying to prepare myself for the day I'd take the boat out by myself. I dreamed of giving my own wife and kids similar wonderful memories.

This past summer I fulfilled that childhood dream. Our family hit some brick walls these past 10-15 years. My dad lost his job and was forced to sell the boat and for years I was hundreds of miles away attending medical school and residency. Nobody in the family owned a boat for many years. This past year we saved our money, we were able to pay cash for a truck to tow the boat and a we were able to buy an old ski boat very similar to the boat I learned to ski on. I took my own family waterskiing. I taught my wife to slalom ski, I gave my kids tube rides. The kids got to ride on a ski trainer, I suspect they'll get up next summer on skis when we have more time to practice. Looking forward to many more fun summers!

Week 1 - Intro to Entrepreneurship

This week in class we watched a video called "Do What You Love". Guy Kawasaki tells an engineering class at Stanford, "I know this is a cliché, but you should really truly do what you love". I've heard this advice countless times and am not sure I can agree... There can only be so many people who make a business out of things that many people consider hobbies. We can't all be bakery owners, woodworkers, football coaches, professional snow skiers, etc because we need people who do the unpleasant jobs. We need doctors who will work on holidays and weekends missing time with their families. We need soldiers who are deployed to war zones when there is conflict. We need linemen who will go out into blizzards to restore electric power. How are we all to do what we love when so many people love the same jobs and so few people love the hard jobs? A 2017 Gallup pole says that 70% or Americans hate their jobs. Is it realistic to think that everyone in this class can get a job they love?

Is it possible to choose something and then fall in love with it because you become an expert in that thing? Most people love what they are good at. It gives us a purpose. It is something that makes us unique from everybody else. Do we love it because we're good at it? Or is it the opposite? Maybe we get good at things because we loved them first, and were therefore able to dedicate the time to get good at it?

Many of the videos stressed the importance of utilizing your professional network. I absolutely agree this is true. When I wanted to move back to Utah I realized that the job market for my field was very competitive. I went out of my way to meet some people. I sent several applications and emails. This got me into a stack of resumé's 30 high. My wife and I prayed that we'd find a way to differentiate ourselves. We were speaking with our friend in Oklahoma and mentioned my job search. This sweet lady was a cousin to the physician in charge of hiring for this position I wanted. She happily provided me with his contact information and put in a good word for me. A few weeks later I accepted to job. What a blessing having a network was!

Another strong emphasis seemed to be picking the right friends. I also believe that the people you surround yourself with have an enormous influence on you. That is one reason I enrolled in this course was to associate with like-minded people. I have very few friends that have an entrepreneurial mindset. It's time to expand my network to include those people. That is an outcome based goal. Those are only good when broken down into manageable steps. First I'll ask the few entrepreneurial minded friends I have currently if they have suggestions on me meeting some of their business partners or other contacts. I will also look into entrepreneur clubs in my area. I will bring up business ideas with friends in casual conversation and see if they show an interest.

I'm very much looking forward to this course. I believe it's going to help me be introspective. I think it's going to help me determine what my strengths and weaknesses are. I also think it will be motivating. That's the strongest feeling I had after completing the readings and videos. Motivation.

On a side note, I learned how to correctly spell entrepreneur this week. That's a tough word to spell!