Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple and Pixar Studios. His fist story is about his life. His young single mother put him up for adoption, but would only sign the papers when his adoption parents promised that he would go to college. When it came to the time of his college, he dropped out. Seeing that he was draining his parents money on college classes that he could find no interest in, he could no longer see the value of it. He fought to make ends meet, and eventually got into a calligraphy class, which was the spark that created Apple.

He was successfully making money in business with Apple productions, and then all of a sudden he was fired. At 30 years old, he was free to go into new things. He created a new program called Pixar, and Nex. Pixar is one of the most successful animation studios ever. Apple bought Nex, and he was back working in Apple.

A year ago, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The doctors told him to go home and get his affairs in order. However, when they examined it more carefully, they were relieved to find that it was a simple enough cancer to cure. When faced with death, he was able to realize that he still loved what he did.

This man has had many close calls, and took a lot of risks. He remained hungry for adventure, and kept dreaming big. He lived like life was running out and never gave up or settled for anything.

Three Key Statements:
"Trust your gut. Even if it will lead you off the well-worn path. You'll understand it when you look back."
"Keep looking. Don't settle."
"Don't waste your time living someone else's life."

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They already know what they want to do. Everything else is secondary."

SHARK TANK!

Entrepreneurship class today was very interesting. We watched an episode of the popular show "Shark Tank". This is a show where entrepreneurs bring in business ideas, present them to investors, and wait to either being shot down, or supported under conditions. A man named Todd Wilson came in with what was left of a failing business in the food industry called Mr. Todd's Pies. He knew his information, and he recognized the potential in it. He was asking for $460,000 and he was willing to give up 10%. The biggest interest spark was when he informed the investors that he had McDonalds interested in selling his product.

The offer he took, was indeed the $460,000 but he also gave up 50% of his business. It was an offer worth taking for him. He wanted to see his business grow more than anything. He wanted to be personally successful - not just making wads of cash. This company was something he believed in and put his worth on. It made sense for him to actually go for the offer.

I would have asked for about 35% and I would have invested the full amount. He knew his facts, and he knew his information. He was passionate about his product, which means he knows how to sell it. I would have faith in Todd Wilson and *Mr. Todd's Pies.

Secrets Of Success - John D. Rockefeller.

John D. Rockefeller was an American industrialist. His success in the petroleum industry defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, he founded the Standard Oil Company and ran it until he officially retired in 1897. As the need for Kerosene and gasoline grew, Rockefeller's wealth and prosperity soared. He became known as one of the richest men. He is often regarded as the richest person in history.

Someone worth over a billion dollar's advice should definitely be heeded. So what are his secrets to success? Well it all starts at a young age. Rockefeller's father taught him that he should always make the best of any deal. He also taught him to keep a record of every penny he spent and saved. Even at an early age, Rockefeller displayed an excellent mind for numbers and detailed accounting.

Rockefeller continued to account for every penny he spent and saved far into his career. His organization and accounting skills plus his ability to see past a deal into the best result, thrust him far into the world of business success. He was able to use the money he had made for medical research and for hospitals to be opened. Even though many would say he had success on his own strength, Rockefeller once stated "God gave me money". I guess he saw that none of his accomplishments would be possible without the grace of God.

It is extremely important that we take all advice from people who have had immense success above us. We can still see the evidence of Rockefeller's success today, and his advice is worth taking to heart and applying.

Destined for Success...

Today in Entre-101 class a Entrepreneur named Mike Kind came and told us how he got started into business ideas. One thing he said was to be original in our thinking and try to make a good idea work. He told us to dream big and believe in ourselves. As normal as advice as this is, it made me actually stop for a second and ask "Do I really believe in myself?" I had to think whether or not I really could foresee success for my future. I decided I better start getting more excited about not only dreaming big, but getting creative about what I actually want to accomplish by the time I'm old and decrepid. I want to be able to set a good example for my kids and my grandchildren - to live a life destined for success.

5 Words: One Person - Me.

There are 5 words to characterize me:

Dynamic - I am energetic and effective in what I do - I love striving for excellence.
Active - I am a very active person who enjoys pushing my body to its limit.
Born Leader - Leading comes naturally and is easy for me. I slide into that role, even when I don't mean to. Others look to me as the calm and composed leader of the group long before I recognize it.
Artistic - I enjoy singing, writing music and lyrics, and I enjoy other creative writing such as poetry and short stories. I love expressing myself and what I love about life in works of art.
Relational - I value close relations with others. Loving and caring for others comes naturally to me. I am faithful to maintain these relationships and hold these in high value.

Knowing these 5 greatest strengths will help me immensely in the future of my career and interests. <3

Strengths

"...Who Am I?"

Typing in the website www.oneishy.com I completed a personality test and to my surprise, the test proved that my dominant personality type was Phlegmatic - the introvert, the watcher and the pessimist. As I read down the key strengths of this personality type I was pleased to read that I was a calm, cool and collected character who mediates problems, avoids conflics and is good under pressure. I apperantly do not get upset easily, and I am easy to get along with. I also have high levels of compassion and concern. However, the weaknesses of this side of my personality is that I am fearful and worried easily. The results also say I am indecisive. All these things were true of me. I was actually very surprised with how legitimate the results were to me.
My secondary personality type was Choleric - the extrovert, the doer, and the optimist. I found this highly entertaining, because I can never actually find the balance of whether I like being around people all the time or not, or whether I am optimisitic or pessimistic. (I guess I'm both!) Strengths of being a Choleric person include being a born leader and able to handle a lot at a time. I am dynamic and active, and I have a need for change. I delegate the work, I insist on production and I make the goal. I also thrive on opposition and excel in emergencies. Weaknesses to manage for this personality type are impatience, bossyness, and anxiousness. I give answers too quickly and I get impatient with poor performance. I am also convinced that I can do everything better then everyone else.

One may look at these areas and cringe at the weaknesses to manage, but one way to grow from reading these results is not to ignore, nor dwell on the weaknesses, but develop your areas of strength the most. One would be wisely advised to manage the weaknesses, but to work with your strengths the most.

Instead of seeing that I'm an impatient, indecisive and anxious individual - I recognize that I have huge potential to be strong leader, who can resolve conflicts and oversee big projects and excel in finishing work properly.

How to kill the entrepreneurial spirit

In his article "How to Kill the Entrepreneurial Spirit" Larry Farrell confronted the issue of having an uneven excitement and enthusiam between the product and the consumer killing the results of the even the newest most exciting products. Farrell stated that "Entrepeneurs by necessity have an inseparable vision of customer and product." This makes sense because you have to connect the two. The process must be one that is not only thought up, but carried out effectively. We can't start a job, and not finish it. We have to put our heart and soul into something we believe in, and we have to also be willing to make sacrifices for it. We must make sure that we have the perfect balance of leadership skills and qualified employees who are good at what they do - not only getting excited about a product, but seeing it pull through.