Alvaro Loran Entrepreneurial Journal

The speech "An Attitude of Gratitude" by President Thomas S. Monson Stood out to me because I believe that it is very important to be grateful no matter your circumstances. I believe our current world is filled with challenges and a lot of the time negativity. Almost anytime I go on social media I find myself getting caught up in the negativity of the world. President Monson's talk reminds me how important it is to create an attitude of gratitude in our lives. The talk especially focuses on acknowledging are blessings and not taking our blessings for granted. One of the stories President Monson highlights is the story of the 10 lepers. He talks about the leopard who expressed gratitude and the leopards who did not express any gratitude. When reading this story I thought how could be cured like that and not express gratitude. However, I realized that there are multiple times in my own life when I take the blessings I've been given for granted. It's very easy to go ...

According to the reading, both integrity and virtue are vital to the economy in multiple ways. One of the most important ways trust is important is in financial transactions. When businesses and individuals have a mutual relationship of trust they are more likely to do business with each other and grow the economy. Virtue is also vital to growing the economy because it helps a business to grow, be financially stable, and have a good reputation. Even in today's economy with so many businesses most people double-check the standard of quality and see if a company is trustworthy before purchasing anything. According to Charles Handy, the real justification for a business is not only to make a profit but also to have a bigger value. According to the reading businesses real justification should be to accomplish something important. Instead of a business only seeking for financial gain Handy believes businesses need to create a change that helps improve others’ lives. One of the first sol...

After going through this week's materials the reading "Attitude on Money" by Stephen W. Gibson stood out the most to me. I really resonated with the message of this reading as I also believe balance when it comes to money is very important. I think too often people tend to assume money is either good or bad. I personally believe that like the reading said that it's most important what you do with the money as opposed to how much you have. It's easy to say money is evil however we all need it in order to survive. On the opposite side, it's also easy to say money is all good. However with this assumption in mind if someone spends all the money on negative items that only hurt others and themselves that can't be seen as good. I believe someone's view of money can significantly impact their life. If people only see money as the goal of becoming an entrepreneur it's very easy to get overwhelmed and think that if they don't make money immediately the...

As a future entrepreneur, the video that stood out the most to me from this week’s material was Elder Oaks' talk on “The Challenge to Become”. Sometimes when I think about owning my own business I get focused on how I will make money and become successful. When I watched this talk I realized I need to focus more on who I want to become. One of the things that stood out the most to me was Elder Oaks' focus on progression. I know especially for myself I tend to get overwhelmed when I focus on trying to get everything right the first time. I really appreciated how Elder Oaks focused on progression instead of perfection. This helped me to realize I only need to focus on the things within my ability to do. I also appreciated how Elder Oaks talked about the importance of knowing your values and following them. I want to make sure as an entrepreneur I have strong values. I feel like that is what has been lacking at my past jobs. I feel like sometimes I just go through the motions with...

The speech on transitioning from good to great really stood out to me from this week's study materials, especially as a future business owner. It was very interesting to me when they talked about how being good can be the enemy of becoming great. This reminded me that even if I'm comfortable with where I'm at I need to continuously work harder and focus on learning. This made me realize that I need not settle for being good and instead be all that God intended me to be. The speeches focus on how important it is to have a great product also stood out to me. With how consumer-based society is it's very easy for others and myself to forget that products should hold true value. This includes both monetary value and important value. These themes make me realize that I will need to focus on high quality and high value in my products so that they actually meet the needs of my target audience without just being another thing to buy. I also really liked how this speech talked ab...

From this week's readings, the thing that stood out the most to me was the video you can do anything. As someone who plans to own their own business in the future, this video really made me think about the fact I truly can do anything. I especially appreciated the fact that the speaker talks about the story of Nephi and the importance of pushing forward even through difficulties. The speaker's focus on the importance of pushing forward really spoke to my soul. I know that when I start my business there will be plenty of challenges that I'll need to face as well as overcoming my own self-doubts. This video is a reminder to me that good things never come easy. Like in the scriptures when Nephi has to push forward despite his brothers and his family fighting against him at times. It's very important to me that I realized that everyone needs to face obstacles but that doesn't mean that their progress will be stopped. I know as I start my own business that I can do what ...