My Entreprenuer's Journal

  President Monson gave a wonderful talk about Gratitude.   In my post today I wanted to touch on some of the points he talked about. I have always loved the story of the ten lepers and how after the Savior healed them, only one returned to give thanks,“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” (Luke 17) I often wonder if I would be like the one and return to say thank you.   Sometimes I am forgetful and don’t always know how to give thanks to kindness rendered to me.   The other day my neighbor dropped off some mint chocolates with a cute “Merry Christmas neighbor” note.   I have been looking at those chocolates and wondering what to send over in return.   Or should I just a simply say “thank you.”   Sometimes its good just to let others serve you with out feeling obligated to give them something in return.   But we are talking about being grate

  Week 12 Journal entry by Colleen Manley              Based on what you read in the first two pages, why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy?   Virtue and integrity are vital to a thriving economy because when it is present in a free market, people are more willing to invest their money in the stock market.   Charles Handy said,   “Markets rely on rules and laws, but those rules and laws in turn depend on truth and trust. Conceal truth or erode trust, and the game becomes so unreliable that no one will want to play. The markets will empty and share prices will collapse, as ordinary people find other places to put their money – into their houses, maybe, or under their beds.” America has its challenges with Capitalism, especially when big corporations lose the trust of the shareholders and stockholders.   So yes, virtue and integrity are vital to a thriving economy. According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses ?   In the a

  Week 11 Journal entry by Colleen Manley              Thinking about the lens I look through about money brings me to my home I was raised in.   My father was once a successful businessman but lost his money due to following many entrepreneurial ideas here and there.   I can’t even list all of them.   Since my father’s death, my mother says he should have been a schoolteacher or a postal worker so they could have had a steady income and retirement, but this was not in his nature.   He had so much ambition and after his first successful business, which he sold, he went on to other things, never to see success in his entrepreneurial journey again.   He died without a penny to his name. After seeing my father be unsuccessful in his business life, I searched for a man to marry who would give me stability and security.   When I met my husband, he had dreams to become a doctor.   He had such drive and was extremely intelligent, I believed in him.   He did go to medical school and got hi

This week, I was very intrigued by Jim Ritchie who talked about this book called “Emotional fingerprint”.   He said “Your Emotional Fingerprint is a program that helps you develop a blueprint for your feelings and emotions. It helps explain why you respond the way you do to situations in your life. It teaches that becoming aware of your emotional fingerprint or emotional DNA helps a person to make effective decisions, overcome the challenges, and achieve personal and financial goals with more effectiveness.” He also said, “when a person learns what the key driving forces are in their life, they can begin to take control of their future”. So profound!   I wanted to include these in my journal because I don’t want to forget them. I also appreciated his story about the old Indian chief who tells his grandson about the human experience and that inside each of us is a battle going on between two wolves, one is bad and one good. “The evil one— represented anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, r

  This week I enjoyed doing my interview with my brother.   I am 8 years younger so even though I knew some of his business success, I didn’t know all of it.   It was fun talking to him and gaining some real insights into his successes and failures. After the interview I realized how much I learned from him and was sad that I hadn’t asked these questions earlier.   I have 5 brothers and all of them are entrepreneurs.   Now I am interested in all their stories and want to interview all of them because I learned so much from my oldest brother this week.   My second oldest brother is also a very successful entrepreneur.   He and my oldest brother went into business together as young fathers but found the business didn’t support both families, so my oldest brother backed out and let the other brother do the business on his own, but after a divorce he gave the business back to the older brother.   After his divorce, this second brother got remarried then started another sweeping business.

This week I mostly thought about who I would interview.   I decided to interview my brother Joe.   He is such a great guy who has a very wonderful success story.   He did not finish high school because he was a bit of a goof off and his kind of learning just wasn’t sitting in a classroom.   He was very good at sports and was a friend to everyone who knew him.   He went on a mission to Ireland in the late 70’s and when he came home, he worked construction.   He met his wife, they married, and they made a nice life together.    I don’t want to spoil the report I am going to write about how he began his entrepreneur’s journey, but I am excited to tell you more. I really enjoyed the reading.   The action school of business taught me that we need to think backwards.   Start with solutions then look for the problem.   He told the story about Dale Earnhardt and his tragic death.   He created a banner and after a few minutes got 300 orders and he consciously made the decision not to take adv