Social Entrepreneurship

What is Social Entrepreneurship? From what I understand and learned this week, social entrepreneurship focuses on serving and helping the less fortunate. The goal is to make the world a better place. In an article we read this week it mentioned that the world has had a perception of the work force: there are laborers and there are entrepreneurs. In the article it stressed the importance of understanding that we are all entrepreneurs. 

It is essential that if you get involved with social entrepreneurship that you don't focus on solving the problem, but being engaged in solving the problem. It is close to impossible to solve the problem on your own and fixing everyone's problems. If we want to make a difference in the work we'll have to engage ourselves in a good cause and take one step at a time. We learned about a couple of people that started up a hybrid company, which is a profit and social entrepreneurship company. There was a guy by the name of Blake who went to Argentina and saw that there were a lot of kids running and walking around without any shoes. He also saw a popular shoe style there that was relatively cheap. What he ended up doing was creating the shoe known as Toms which is similar to the popular Argentine shoes. Every pair of Toms shoes that were bought, another pair of Toms were donated to kids in Argentina and other kids around the world who were less fortunate. 

This type of entrepreneurship is what I'd like to eventually end up doing. I love the concept of making profit, but also donating something that is needed throughout the world to the people that need it. That is my goal in life, to make a difference in someone's life. 

At the end of class today we went over a few things. Something that was quoted really impacted me; "Living on purpose is the only way to live." We then went over self-reflecting questions like, what was I born to say? Who was I born to serve? What was I born to create? I continued writing: "Create your purpose: Start where you are with what you have. Make something of it. Never be satisfied." That was said by George Washington Carver. These statements and self-reflecting quotes gave me the motivation to starting thinking of where I'm at right now, where I'm going to end up, and what I'm going to do in order to make a difference in the world. I'll continue to have those questions in mind as I develop skills, characteristics, and Christ-like attributes. 

Formula for Success

Growing up I enjoyed the blessings of a father who didn’t lack much in money. Looking back I realize he spent his money on others, including me. He used his money to serve the people he loves and cares for. For example, my dad spends his money on traveling so that others can experience different cultures, learn history, and in large part, be aware of what is out there and how you can grow from those places and experiences. He would also buy not only his children braces but also our friends who needed them but couldn’t afford them. He has been an example to me all my life. Because of him I want to use my talents, time, and money to serve other people.

Whether I have money or not, I know that I will be used as an instrument in the Lord’s hands to serve my brothers and sisters. The formula for success given by President Monson is key in understanding that money isn’t everything and life is so much more than financial success. He said, “First, fill your mind with truth; second, fill you life with service; and third, fill your hear with love.” I know that if anyone were to follow this formula of success and not worry about money, everything will fall into place and the life of that individual will be happy and complete by the time his or her life is done on this earth.

Money for me is something that will be convenient and beneficial for those in my reach of service. But. Like I said earlier, if I don’t have a lot of money to spend on others, I will still use my time and talents in other places. I want to love the people I’m around and I know that if I truly want to love them the way Heavenly Father does, I will have to lose myself and focus on the one.

BECOME

The theme I got from this week was to become. Become what? Become the leader, become the entrepreneur, and become the person that will make a difference in the world. How is that possible? There was a question posed to the class that goes like this, "What does 'success is not a solo project mean?'" As I thought about that I started thinking about all the people that have helped me get to this point in my life which I consider successful and blessed in so many ways. I first thought about my parents. Without them I wouldn't have the fundamental standards and principles I rely on every day. I then started thinking about my friend group. My friend Jake, who got me into videography has helped me become who I am today. I look at the small things that others do for me that they may not every recognize. For example, the other day I was contemplating which camera I should buy out of a few select cameras I was looking at. They are all expensive and so my decision was extremely important to me. I spoke with this one kid who took the time to sit down and talk with me about a camera I was looking at. He told me everything I needed to hear. He gave me advice on what I should buy. He opened my eyes at the possibilities I could take advantage of if I were to consider this camera. I knew he wasn't trying to sell it to me because first of all it wasn't going to benefit him in any way whether I bought it or not. Second of all I've seen him work and interact with people and I know I can trust him. I recognize that experience with him for those few minutes in helping me become a better videographer. Why is becoming a videographer so important to me? It is because I want to make it my career. I want to become the best I can be so that I can provide for a relatively large family and still have extra to help other out financially. The more I look into my future, the more I observe my present surroundings, and the more I observe the more I realize how blessed I am to have people around me that help me become and reach my full potential. So to go back to the question presented earlier, what does success is not a solo project mean? I would not be here without the few people I mentioned and more. They are the ones that build me. They are the ones that lift me up. They are the ones that inspire me to be my greatest. They are also the ones that give me challenges to conquer. Success is not a solo project.

Loyalty

This past week we focused on loyalty. What does it mean to be loyal? To whom are we loyal? It is so important that we are loyal to our co-workers, employees, boss, and clients. We have to look at our responsibilities and magnify our determination to work hard and effectively. As I put myself in each of these positions, I would want to receive loyalty from all ends. Imagine a company that was trustworthy and you know that the company wouldn't let you down. There would be no second thought of returning, it would be an obvious decision to go back to them again and again.
We had a guess speaker, Neal Cambell. He is the owner of Idaho White Glove. He spoke with us about how they "advertise" his company. He said that they don't spend any money on advertisement except the ad in the news paper every once in a while. The real way they are able to get more clients is through word or mouth. How is that possible to achieve that without advertising your company? It is because those would hire you know that you are trustworthy, easy to work with, you will work hard and bend over backwards to get the job done and then some, and they know that you will be consistent in your ability to get the job done. Neal Cambell focused on the concept of doing good quality work and how that separates them from other competing companies.
Hearing from  Neal Cambell was very refreshing. He said that the biggest misconception about starting a business is that you need everything to be perfect before starting it. He said that when you start your business and throughout the next few months is when you learn the most about what your business is all about and what the majority of its potential can be. He said to not be afraid to make mistakes while starting a business because that's how you will learn the most. For me, that was so good to hear because I think that would be a huge reason I wouldn't start a business, I would think it needs to be perfect before starting. Now I know that I just need to do everything I can to prepare and then just go for it, expecting failure and a massive learning curve. I appreciated Neal Cambells discussion.

Hang In and Hang On

This week we focused a lot of our discussion on quitting. Is it okay to quit? Why or why not? The book The Dip says it's okay to quit. Elder Holland, an apostle of Jesus Christ says its not okay to quit. Who's right?
In my opinion, I believe they are both right. Honestly, I think they would agree with each other as well. The Dip is saying that if we aren't progressing, then we have to stop what we are doing and find a better route that will enable us to grow and succeed. Elder Holland is saying don't give up just because the times are hard and it is difficult to pick out the silver lining in the situation. Depending on the situation and the circumstances, it is important to know when it is good to quit and when it is essential we hang in and hang on.
For example, when I was growing up I played three main sports; basketball, baseball, and football. In Jr. High I was the quarterback on the offensive team and the safety on the defensive team. There were a lot of big guys that tackled me, and there also was a lot of big guys I would face and tackle as well. It didn't matter if you were big or small, the way I understood it was that if you have the football you should be tackled. My dad saw that I had no fear and that I would go up against bigger guys without hesitating. He knew that injuries were common in that sport, so he didn't let me play in High School; I had to quit playing football. In his mind, he didn't want me to ruin my chances of playing basketball and baseball, nor did he want me to have bad knees, a bad back, or a bad head when I was older. I quit playing football so that I could succeed in other areas of life and avoid some dangers as well.
I also played basketball in Highs School. There was a lot of politics involved and for a kid in my situation, it would have made sense to just quit and give up, but I didn't. This was a different situation compared to the football experience I had. In this case, I was faced with a proposition. I could give up because I didn't completely agree with my coaches, a couple of the kids didn't want me as a captain, some of the parents didn't like me because of my religion, and I wouldn't participate in some of the religious beliefs the other players were participating in before basketball games. Or I could continue to play, learn what I really believed in, establish standards that enabled me to not give in to peer pressure, grow mentally and emotionally while fighting through the contention of parents and teammates, and develop a leadership mentality that would allow me to lead others in future days.
See the difference? In both situations I either quit or didn't quit because I wanted and needed to grow and continue to develop. So, in conclusion I believe that you have to think things through. Sometimes it will be obvious to quit and do something else that is more meaningful. Other times it will be hard to decipher whether it is better to quit or just hang in and hang on. You decide, but remember to think of how it will benefit you and those around you. Can you come on a better person? Will you grow and develop physically, mentally, emotionally, and/or spiritually? Think of what the consequences could be and start your decision making from there. Everything will work out in the end.

Passion

In class it was said that "passion is what keeps us in the fight." When I heard that, for some reason I wanted to think more about that statement. I thought about what I'm passionate about. A huge passion I possess is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I always look for opportunities to show my faith, change and become someone better, remember my Savior, and in whole: endure to the end. I love to teach the Gospel and when I get the opportunity, I can't help but to bare testimony of the things I've come to know are true. I thought about what else I'm passionate about. Videography is something I love to do and spend my time and thoughts with. I wish to give people hope, inspire the unmotivated, make people aware of certain issues and dilemmas, and in the end I hope to change peoples lives through the power of video.
If I'm not passionate about the Gospel and I face a challenge in life that could make me inactive in my commitment to the commandments, those challenges would win and I would lose. If I'm not passionate about the Gospel, I'lll look for excuses not to go to church. I'll look for opportunities to be offended.
I'f I'm not passionate about videography and someone tells me I'm not good, then I'll be done with it and move on to something I might be better at. If I'm not passionate about video then the next time I accidentally erase all the footage for a video I'm making it will be so easy to give up on that video and maybe even the video world itself.
If I'm passionate about these things then I will keep going and win the fight. If I'm passionate about it then there cannot be anything that will stop me from moving forward. I cannot hesitate to demonstrate my passion for these things, because if I do, then it's as if I never had passion for them in the first place. Passion will be the thing that drives me past those difficult times.

NetWorking

This past week we focused some of our discussions on net-working. I feel that this has been the theme of my week, so I'll focus on the things I learned about net-working.
It was today, actually that I started realizing that this week was net-work week. As I reflected on the importance and how net-working could benefit me, I realized that I could get to know the most bizarre and awesome people through net-working. I spoke with my cousin a couple months ago and we talked about net-working. He owns his own video production company and was telling me about a  video they were doing. They wanted to get a shot with the camera that went through the top of a crowd. So they used their net-working abilities and got a guy that had a zip-line company. They ended up setting up a zip-line and got the shot they wanted. He advised me to get to know anyone and everyone, not those that are just in my major or friend group. That was wise council that I'll never forget.
We talked a lot about LinkedIn and how it could be a great tool for net-working. I've been more interested in using it and modifying my LinkedIn. I'm excited to see the results I gain through using this tool. I have people I want to connect with and hopefully receive more connections through them. This world is so interesting! I can't believe the technology we have to be able to connect with people from all over the world. It's a huge blessing to have the tools and assets we enjoy today. It truly enables us to reach an individual potential that we probably would have never accomplished otherwise.