My Hero's Journey: Chapter 14 (Final)

  So, my final entry!  For this “last lecture”, I’ve been instructed to share my thoughts and advice for those wanting to begin the entrepreneur journey.  I find it difficult to do that, given the small little fact that I’m not actually an entrepreneur.  So I’m going to direct this advice more to myself, and maybe I will look back on this at a latter date.

  So, you want to be an entrepreneur, eh?  I don’t have much first-hand experience to offer you, but I’ve read enough books and watched enough videos to discuss the topic, at least on a theoretical basis.  What makes an entrepreneur?  I think there are a lot of misconceptions about being an entrepreneur.  I’ve gotten into the habit of watching Shark Tank when it comes on.  It is an enjoyable practice to examine the strengths and weaknesses of each entrepreneur’s sales pitch.  What looks incredible at first glance can quickly degrade into a quibbling mess.  Even when one’s pitch has been picked to pieces, and found to be lackluster at it’s core, the entrepreneur doesn’t give up.  They’ve put years of their life into this moment, and they believe in their vision, their pitch, their business.  At times, I see this as foolish optimism - the idea isn’t very good, why push through on a foolish errand?  At other times, their belief is something to be admired.  How many of us sit on the sidelines of our own lives, content to let the moments slip through our fingers, too uninspired or lacking in hope or motivation to seize opportunities?  

  This phenomenon is incredibly fascinating.  The balance between optimism and pessimism is perhaps best illustrated in the life of these individuals.  When I ask myself, what does it take to be an entrepreneur, this is the basis of thought that I frequently return to.  It is about the balance, I believe.  Look at the temperature of the human body: 98.6 fahrenheit.  What a precise measurement!  Fall just a few measly degrees below, and you’ve got hypothermia.  Rise a little too far, and heat stroke’s your new roommate.  Being an entrepreneur is like finding your 98.6 degrees, where optimism and pessimism exist in perfect harmony, where one does not mislead the other.  

  You’ve got to have a great idea, know your market, believe in your idea, accept feedback, don’t be so optimistic that you become infatuated with an idea that’s stupid, and don’t be so pessimistic that you turn your cheek to opportunities for small and twisted roads that could become the long and hard, but ultimately worth it, road to success.  There is a reason that many entrepreneur’s fail, and I believe it comes down to finding this balance.  It is elusive, coveted, the holy grail of the business world; but it exists, there to be found for the adventurer, the explorer of the modern world: the entrepreneur.   

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 13

  The readings for this week reminded me of the vital role of dealing with risk and failure.  As I’ve had more life experiences, I’ve come to realize that failure is a tricky, misleading word to use.  I used to walk into situations thinking, okay, I will either fail or succeed at this task.  You can choose to look at things that way, and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but there is a better way of seeing it.  If we look at every experience as an opportunity for growth, even in seeming failure, there is a hidden truth to be discovered.  The most startlingly beautiful truths remain concealed until we make the effort to find them.  

  We crack open geodes, the most unassuming of rocks, to reveal their hidden crystals.  Lotuses begin life in the depths of the mud, and grow until they break the surface to unfurl into brilliant, pink-petaled flowers.  The natural world is abundant in hidden treasures that must undergo a process to be discovered, whether through internal or external forces.  We can experience a similar blossoming effect when we trust that even in tough circumstances, there is something great within ourselves to discover.  By embracing this phenomenon, we can find our potential and deal with difficulty in such a way that we find strength and beauty in the most difficult of experiences.  

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 12

 Reading “What’s a Business For?” this week raised a few points of thought for me.  

  Virtue and integrity.  Virtue is behavior that shows high moral standards.  Integrity is the quality of being honest and possessing strong moral principles.  These are such important themes in all facets of life, including in the business world.  In 2002, according to the article, a Gallup poll found that 90% of Americans felt that those who run corporations could not be trusted to look out for the interests of their employees.  It would be easy to blame these top players for this general sense of insecurity in the country.  Yet, they are playing by the rules of the game.  The new rules, that is.  A huge part of success in our economy is shareholder value.  Increasing productivity and long-term profitability are only two options to make this happen.  Mergers are another, which, in the end, usually don’t add much value to a company.  If the slow road to growth is pursued, that growth will be tenfold more worthwhile, because it will have been achieved organically, through a problem-solving, creative process.  

  This all leads back to the question of why virtue and integrity are so important to an economy.  As my example above illustrates, companies play by rules.  If those rules are rewritten, so does their behavior.  When virtue and integrity are the rule writing executives, among other qualities, they will construct a system that in turn creates more mindfully growth oriented businesses.  Until we make that a priority, however, we will have a very difficult time in making these ideals a true reality in the marketplace.  

  According to the author, Charles Handy, the real justification for the existence of a business is to make a profit, so that they can create something more or better.  This fact is important to owners, but useless to investors.  

  Handy offers a few changes that need to be made in the economy.  First, businesses need to take best practice into their own hands, before waiting for the law to tell them so.  By taking charge in areas such as environmental and social sustainability, businesses take a stand for what is right.  Through giving to the community, they cultivate a culture that is based on virtue and integrity.  

  Second, in order to sustain and care for their human assets, businesses need to determine ways to protect people from the demands of their jobs.  As it becomes more strenuous for individuals to balance the role of work, personal, and family, businesses are in danger of running a work force composed of stressed, robotic humans that have lost their spark for their jobs.  When businesses see themselves as communities, they will care for their member’s individual needs.  This benefits all parties.  I cannot agree more with the truth of these solutions.

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 11

 After reading the article “Attitude On Money” it actually made me feel a little better about my thoughts concerning money.  I want money to do good things with it.  In and of itself, money is not inherently evil.  It’s how we use it that determines its nature.

  My attitude towards money is: I want to earn it to both fulfill my dreams and make a positive change in the world.  It’s been a fantasy for a while now to own a beautiful Victorian in San Francisco.  I visited for the first time yesterday, and it was astoundingly out of the world.  All the houses were so charming and full of personality.  And the city itself felt so vibrant - life on every street corner.  

  However, San Francisco is a very expensive place to live because of all the tech people.  Everyone is telling me that it’d be impossible to live there given my “prospects”, but I refuse to think that way.  I look at my dreams in a realistically optimistic way.  I refuse to back down from a challenge.  Instead of thinking, can I make this happen or will I make this happen, I put forth the ideology of I will make it happen.  I just have to figure it out, but once again, that’s part of the fun of the obstacle.  Money is a big part of that.  I don’t lust after money, but I need it if I want to live in my dream city.  

  

  I believe this way of thinking is a healthier take on money.  I never want to become stingy with it, but I do want to be disciplined.  I’m not saying I’m immune to greed, but as long as I keep my eye on fulfilling worthy goals, I think I’ll be okay.  I by no means seek to live lavishly, but I want to reach inside myself and see my visions become reality.  Seeing the world.  Living in a beautiful city.  Doing it with my family.  And making the world a better place in the process.  That’s what I want.  (As well as a massive book collection, but that’s another story…)

  There are several rules, so in the interest of brevity, I will select one to discuss.  I especially thought that taking advantage of chances for learning to avoid ignorance was important.  When I lived on my own for the first time, it was very difficult to watch my spending at the grocery store.  I learned to become a savvy shopper - taking time to price compare, look at the brands, etc.  There were products that I desired more, but was willing to compromise to save in the long run.  It’s so important to know the worth of money, and it’s through these experiences that we learn that.  It’s tough, but true.  

  

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 10

  As part of this course, I have the opportunity to read, “A Field Guide for the Hero’s Journey”.  Each chapter is divided up according to a different step of the hero’s journey, and within each chapter is a selection of stories, parables, poems, and speeches that relate to that particular step.  Although it wasn’t the assigned reading for this week, there is a passage from chapter 2 (Who am I, and Who do I want to become?) that I’d like to discuss, as it left an impression on me. 

  

  An Aesop fable, the Mouse and the Lion is a short story about a mouse who is caught by a lion.  The mouse begs to be let go, promising that he will never forget it.  The great lion, “tickled at the idea of a mouse being able to help him”, freed the mouse.  Some time later, the lion was captured by a group of hunters.  The mouse happened across the path and, noticing the situation, proceeded to gnaw away at the rope that restrained the mighty beast.  The mouse said, “Was I not right?  Little friends may prove a great help.”  

  The moral of the story is: “If you are convinced that you are a mouse surrounded by stronger and more impressive people, ask yourself, ‘What can I do that these mighty lions can’t do?”  

  I think this is a theme we all face in our lives.  From time to time, especially when faced with higher standards of achievement or excellence in the world, I will wonder what I can possibly accomplish when others are so much more qualified than myself.  At school this past spring, this is exactly how I felt in the engineering program.  Sitting in a room, surrounded by programmers, I felt like the proverbial mouse amongst lions.  Of course, there were beginners like myself, but my own lack of experience in the field was a constant, painful reminder.  I was there to learn, true, but the feeling of inadequacy was unavoidable.  

  As time passed, however, I discovered that it was a common theme among my fellow programmers that they disliked writing.  This is a talent of mine that I have a particular fondness for, so to hear their dislike for the exercise made me realize the value of our individual gifts.  Although I was a mouse in the world of programming lions, they were also mice in my world of writer lions.  Putting that into perspective helped me get through some of my acute moments of amateur programming performance.

  I also had to learn that getting through my programming course was not a matter of accomplishment or failure.  It was about discovering myself, my perceived limits, and pushing myself beyond those limits.  I’m proud to have been a mouse in those moments.  I became a braver one because of it.    

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 9

  This week, one of the readings, titled, “Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap… and others don’t”, particularly stood out to me.  I found myself nodding my head at practically every sentence.  This is one of the best descriptions of a great business that I’ve read.  If I’m in leadership someday, this is precisely the type of company model I’d want to work with.  

  To illustrate a few of my favorite points… great companies put getting great people ahead of strategy, tactics, and even vision.  By putting this first, several benefits will fall into place.  First, the company will find it easier to adapt and change, because the people they attract will be more excited about who they get to work with, rather than what they get to do.  As someone who fantasizes about someday working at places such as Google, Youtube, or perhaps Pixar, I can attest that this is a major interest point for me.  These companies place focus on hiring exceptional individuals with amazing creative capabilities.  By formulating superb teams of people that thrive on working with one another, a powerful, adaptable vision will naturally fall into place.  

  Second, putting great people first will erase the challenge of motivating and managing people, since they will be driven by a personal desire to achieve and “be part of something great.  They will naturally be fired up.”  I love this idea.  If I have personal investment in a company, I will devote my energy and drive to overcome and problem solve through challenges we face.  

  Third, the company will become great because, even with an ideal vision, the wrong people will drag the company down from finding greatness.  Thus, seeking out great people as a priority will see everything else fall into place.  If a company had these motivations at its forefront, that’s the kind of company I’d want to work for.  Even better, if I’m ever in leadership, these are the prized qualities I’d strive to implement into my business’s structure.  

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 8

  This week, one of the videos that stood out to me was Eric Ries, “The Five Whys”.  Although the subject of the analogy is programming and engineering, the proposition is one that can relate to many more situations.  Ties illustrates that, behind every supposed technical issue, there is actually a human problem that caused it.  If one doesn’t find the human problems, aka the root problem, you can’t really make progress.  

  The example Ries uses is when a server crashes.  Upon further investigation, it’s reveled that it’s the fault of an employee who isn’t properly trained in a specific area of code.  He isn’t properly trained because the manager doesn’t believe in training.  What started as a technical issue was actually a human issue.  At each level, you can step in and take action, setting up measures that, upon the revisit of the issue, are immediately brought into play.  This saves trying to figure out new prevention action, and makes it easy for people to build databases that address these questions.  

  This is something I can relate to.  Having finished a programming class last semester, when I was testing a Software Engineering degree, it was amusing/painful to observe the “technical issues” experienced by my classmates.  I knew that, no matter how right yet wrong my programming looked, it was never the computer’s problem, but rather my own.  Nearly every day, someone would complain, saying their program wouldn’t function, and that TestBed (the program that we tested our coding against), was making a mistake.  It was a great experience in the art of accepting one’s own mistakes, and figuring out how to solve them, rather than shrouding them in convenient, yet completely wrong, excuses.