Entrepreneur Journal Entry #1 | 4/21/21 | Mecina Juhasz

This journal isn't my first "entrepreneurs journal". I've used journaling over the past two or three years to analyze myself and record life lessons and powerful teachings. I picked up my very first 'self help' book at the young age of seven. It was an abridged, simplified version of the bestselling book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale G. Carnegie. Since then, I have been an avid self-improvement enthusiast and am constantly looking for ways to improve myself and the environment around me. I could write pages and pages about the life lessons I've learned thus far. For the time being, I'll just record two of the most powerful. 

This week in my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, we had several assigned readings and videos to watch. I found them very enjoyable, and similar to other things I'd read and studied in the past. I enjoy the inspirational "You were meant for something bigger!" messages and I become very motivated after reading them. 

For organizational purposes, I'll record lessons learned previous to my class in italics.

Lessons I have learned:

Most of the most valuable lessons I've learned actually came from my parents. My father once repeated this gem of wisdom to me and I have used it often. He said, "A smart person learns from their mistakes, I wise person learns from the mistakes of others." I don't know if that was the exact phrasing, and I'm sure he wasn't the first to say it, but that stuck out to me and the application of that idea has lead me well. 

In class today, we had an activity where we were split into groups and were given pieces that we had to put together into squares. The rules said that we couldn't communicate to each other and we could only give our pieces away, we couldn't take them. I gave my pieces to the student next to me, in the hopes that he would take the pieces he needed and pass the rest on and we would be able to solve it faster. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way. Following my example, several others gave their pieces to him also and he began trying to solve the puzzle by himself. We couldn't communicate or correct him and I had to watch the results of my actions for several frustrating minutes. 

Through this experience, I learned several things,
1) My actions as a leader will be followed by others, and I can't always control the ripple effect from that. Sometimes the resulting effect will be negative and not what I intended.
2) Looking to help others solve their puzzle often leads to help with solving your own. 
3) Communication is important.

Lessons that I am still learning:

There is a lesson that I had to learn the hard way and I am still learning. I tend to be ambitious to a fault and I set lofty goals that I can't reach without perfect self-discipline, a skill that I have struggled to develop for years. I am a perfectionist when it comes to expectations of myself and it's taken me years to realize I need to forgive myself and allow for repeated mistakes and failures. I realized this one day about two years ago, and it inspired me to sit down and write this life motto:

Make Today Count:

-For the person you want to be

-For your future husband, family, and others who will depend on you

-For the life you want to have

-For the person that God wants you to be

This motto reminds me that the little steps matter just as much, if not more, than the little one's and that you need to be consistent in order to make progress. I'm naturally a sprinter, not the type to pace yourself and run marathons. I even take steps two at a time to get to the top faster. 

The assigned readings and videos for this week reflects this lesson a lot. In Chapter 1 of A Field Guide For the Hero's Journey, the stories and poems shared all talk about taking the initiative, and being consistent in the little things. I have found myself taking the first step one too many times and I am actively trying to change that. I need to focus on breaking things down into small, daily efforts that will add up to help me reach my goals.