My Last Lecture

I am not a person of many words; those who know me are aware that it is hard for me to express my ideas in talks or speeches, although I am not afraid of doing it. As I reflected on the lessons I have learned in my life, and pretended this would be my ‘’last lecture’’ a lot of ideas came to my mind. I hope I am able to express them in a way that they can mean the same to you and you are able to take something home from this today by reading this.

As humans we tend to shy away from danger and challenges. We are naturally afraid to fail; however, when we look back at previous stages of our lives we are prone to wonder why didn’t we take more risks, try more things and even fail a little more. Don’t wait until that happens, please. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, but rather learn from your failures. Try, do, and leave the comfort zone.

Don’t be afraid of being yourself. I made the mistake of being too shy and building a barrier around me in High School, trying not to lose face. Don’t waste your time trying to be somebody else, or hiding who you are. You are not here to be what others want. Don’t be afraid to do the right thing and speak out when something is wrong. The world is full of people who stay quiet and accept things as they are. We need more people who are not afraid to be themselves, speak out and act.

Don’t waste your time with Television. Read a good book, watch a documentary, take an online course, visit a museum, and travel to new places.  In 10 years you won’t remember what you watched on TV, but the lessons and experiences you obtain will stay forever.

Now, I think I’ve talked more than enough about the ‘’don’ts’’. Now it’s time for the things I would encourage everybody to do: Dream! Dream big dreams and make them true. Your life is short, so spend it building your own dreams, not your employer’s dreams. Do what you love, start a business, fight for your freedom. You deserve to spend time with your family and live a plentiful life.

Start investing soon. When I was in High School I wanted to do it and everybody thought I was crazy. Today I do it and they still think I’m crazy for ‘’risking’’ my money. Learn; seek for knowledge, try, fail and repeat. You will reap the rewards in the future.

Be grateful; tell your loved ones that you love them every day. Be happy today.

Remember always who you are, a child of a Heavenly Father who loves you. You have a great potential to accomplish. You can do it if you start today.

Take your family with you

A few weeks ago I was reading the Book ''So you want to be an entrepreneur?'' by Jon Gillespie-Brown and I was really impressed by the title of chapter 7: ''Make sure you take your loved ones with you''. I want to give the best to my family and I want to be with them so I need to make sure that I have time to be with them. I must not let my other activities take me away from my loved ones or everything will lose its original purpose.

I got married 8 months ago and I am really happy. Both my wife and I are still going through school. We have set goals and objectives that we want to achieve. We have also decided that we will always dedicate time to each other and to our children.

We are together as a team in all of our plans, and it will be like that forever.

Our current project:

As we are starting to gather material to start our blog about tourism in Mexico, I started a web design course so later on we can create a website. We have also been looking at existing projects similar to ours to learn from them.

How my Journey Starts

I have always wanted to do something big to make a difference. When I was little I dreamed about setting up a zoo that focused on conservation and take care of all the animals; however, a few years ago I did not even believe in the free market! The last couple years have been a transition point in my life and a great adventure. I got back from serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Las Vegas, NV, I got married, I started my studies at BYU-Idaho and I got converted to the free market in the process.

I really think entrepreneurship and economic freedom can solve many of the problems my county (Mexico) faces today. I think we as people are intelligent and capable enough to find solutions in a better way than the government. I want to be an entrepreneur.

As I started in this path a couple years ago I had a complete change in my paradigms, I read a few books and was introduced to new concepts. I also tried and failed in obtaining an income through three network marketing companies and my own little book selling business. However, I am not ashamed of those failures because I have learned a lot in each of them.

I really want other young people in Mexico and the world to realize they can be entrepreneurs and the positive impact they can have on the world so I have decided to start a blog, and then a website, about local entrepreneurial success stories and resources to help those willing to start their own business. I will continue posting my insights and experience in this journal.

There are two most important steps for this project (and any other project!). The first one is actually making the first step from idea to action. The second one is not giving up and continuing through ‘’the Dip’’ (that has been the reason of my previous failures). I will keep you (whoever reads this, and myself) posted on what happens.

Learning how to fish

 

Iceland is a place I am fascinated with. The landscapes are beautiful, their language and Viking heritage is really interesting and their economy is prosperous.

I also admire how the Icelandic people have been able to live  and thrive in such a harsh environment; Iceland is not a tropical island at all!

There is a great lesson I learned from the attitude they have that I would like to turn into a personal proverb:

“fish when 

the fish are there, not 

when the weather is 

good.”

We are always waiting for better conditions, more money, more experience, more knowledge and fail to act today. 

With that in mind, I have decided to start a personal project now instead of waiting until later. 

My wife and I will start a blog, video blog and website where we share the places that we really love in our country (Mexico) in a way that we provide useful information for tourists. I will talk about the other blog I will start in my next blog entry.

If anybody is reading this, I just want to tell you this: Don't be afraid to act, get rid of that fear. Also remember that knowledge is the key that opens many doors and the sword that defeats many foes. Never stop learning and never stop trying.

I learned this from this article: http://hbr.org/2010/06/the-big-idea-how-to-start-an-entrepreneurial-revolution/ar/1

Riches and Laborers

Matthew 19 tells the story of a young man who had kept the commandments always but who chose his material possessions over the gospel.

The evidence that I find that the Young man decided not to follow the savior is that after the Savior directly invited him to specific answer he decided to go away and did not trust him. He chose his earthly possessions over the gospel.

The Savior promises that those who follow him will ‘’be first’’; he said to his apostles that they would sit in twelve thrones when he sits in his throne in heaven. He promises also that they will receive ‘’an hundredfold’ and have eternal life.

Material possessions are important, but they are insignificant when we compare them with the happiness of living with our families for ever in the Celestian Kingdom. When we put things in perspective that way we are able to make choices that lead us to Christ.

Parable of the laborers

This teaches me that all who serve in the Lord’s Kingdom can obtain the same reward: The Celestial Kingdom. Even those who didn’t have the chance of receiving the gospel early in their lives are able to earn that same reward.

This is a great message of comfort for converts who like the laborers of the eleventh hour were afraid for great part of the day that they were not going to be hired; converts can have the assurance that they can earn the same reward as long time members of the church.

I really like this talk that would answer any question about why they are paid equally and what that means for us: 

Why to continue?

 There are many times when life just seems to get harder and harder. This is especially true when you try to start a business from zero. People almost seem to laugh at you and tell you to get a job. Your first clients want to see your experience, but it is hard to show a story of success at the beginning! You have every reason to quit and try something different.

This week I learned from Jeffrey R Holland a truth that will guide me for the rest of my life: ‘’The best things are always worth finishing’’ as he said it referring to the Salt Lake City temple and all the struggles that people went through during its 40 years of construction.

Nothing that is worth something in this life is easier to obtain. Completing a University education is hard but it is very easy to quit. It is hard to build a business or learn how to trade in the stock market, but the alternative of doing nothing is extremely easy. The secret for success is not to settle for the easy.

At the same time, Seth Godin’s book ‘’The Dip’’ teaches when it is necessary to quit in order to use our time and energy for those things worth not quitting. I have realized now that I need to quit my morning job as an English teacher. At first I was worried about the income I would forego, but I have realized that I am not growing there anymore and I could accomplish much more for my long term and more valuable goals by doing some other things with that time.

http://www.amazon.es/The-Dip-Little-Teaches-Stick/dp/1591841666

http://vimeo.com/28080897

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHKe9EqB5vE

Mastery

Mastery / What for?

Have you ever wanted to be really good at a sport, skill or any kind of ability? I have, and I have failed many times; but George Leonard’s book ‘’Mastery’’ gave me a new perspective of why I have failed and how I can be better in anything I do.

Learning occurs by little moments of improvement that happen every now and then. Most of our time is spent on ‘’the plateau’’ or those long periods of time of repetitive practice in which we feel we don’t improve at all. The secret for mastery is to love the plateau and persevere.

I will start applying that to learning German, playing the guitar, learning about business and becoming an entrepreneur. Mastery is a path that never ends.

Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? What is a business for? What is the reason of doing all these things?

Those are great questions to ask yourself. I want to be an entrepreneur because I want to reach my potential, be free and create something meaningful for society so I can feel that my work was worth it. A business is meant to solve a problem and create value, as well as providing opportunities, rewarding those who take risks and providing for many families. I invite whoever reads this to ask him/herself these same questions and maybe think about business in a new way.

http://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Keys-Success-Long-Term-Fulfillment/dp/0452267560