My Entrepreneurial Journey

 Fears This week, I learned to deconstruct my fears. I have many unrealistic fears in regards to my cake business. Every time I make a cake, I have this fear that the person I make it for will be sorely disappointed. They'll think of me as a fraud. They'll demand their money back, tell everyone they know how terrible the cake was, and make the neighborhood hate me.  It's always a relief when customers share with me how much they loved their cakes, or post them on FaceBook and tell everyone they know how amazing the cake was. Over time, I'm starting to believe that my customers really do enjoy my cakes. But man, it takes a lot of guts to advertise and sell my cakes! My other fear is that I'll fail miserably at a cake. It will look terrible, or taste gross and I'll have to give it to the customer, in utter embarrassment--disappointing them on a special day in their life. I avoid this by starting my cakes well in advance, practicing new techniques, and watching a l...

 Aligned with God As discussed in his book Launching Leaders, author Steven Hitz teaches that true life success occurs when our values and character are consistent in every role and circumstance we are in. We should treat our family with the same respect and dignity we treat our co-workers or neighbors. We should be as patient and forgiving with fellow drivers as we are our friends. We should be the same person in any situation we find ourselves in. One way to do this is to align our character with God. God has high expectations of us and is a great measure of our personal character. If we intentionally take the time to decide what morals and values will bring and keep our lives in alignment with God, we will be able to apply these values to any situation we are in. I don't swear in front of my kids, and I won't swear in front of chatty friends at book club. It's just not who I am. The values I have chosen for myself are: 1.       I will always stay true to...

Randy Pausch was able to achieve so many of his dreams because his goal wasn't to succeed at everything. His goal was to try. He taught that we should live our life choices as experiments—going into it with the expectation of “trying it out and seeing if it works”. So many times in life, people won’t try something because they’re worried they’ll fail. Last week we learned to be aware of the risks associated with potential failure—if the risk is minimal, try it! If you’re likely to lose your home or family, it’s definitely not worth the risk. I love Randy’s philosophy of just trying things out to see if they work.    The first time I did a triathlon, I knew I wouldn’t do great. My expectation was to finish the race, and if I did well, that was an added bonus—after all, just DOING a triathlon is quite an accomplishment!   Over the last five years, I have put more effort into striving for challenging experiences. I have taken on huge challenges in an effort to grow, enjoy th...

 Why a Journal? An entrepreneur's journal is a lifelong resource . It's a roadmap of where I've been, where I hope to go, and where I wish I hadn't gone. I'll use it to develop my vision , determine my course , and set short- and long-term goals to get there. I'll use it to make note of things I want or need to learn . I'll record helpful insights and inspiration , as well as resources that inspire and motivate me. I'll include book reviews when I take the time to study literature that guides me in my life. I will refer back to it often when I need to re-ignite the flame of my dreams, remember why I'm doing all this hard work, and keep me focused on my destination. I'll find the strength to continue when I reflect on my accomplishments and the things I've learned from them. I'll read my painful experiences and the lessons gained from them.  Categories book reviews, 10-year plan, 5-year plan, education plan, education goals, pe...