FINAL TESTIMONY AND ENCOURAGEMENT
From the very beginning to the present time, a fundamental question remains to be answered by each who runs the race of life. Shall I falter, or shall I finish? On the answer await the blessings of joy and happiness here in mortality and eternal life in the world to come.
- President Thomas S. Monson
Reflect upon and describe the individual learning experiences you have had in this course. Include any course concepts that resonated with you. Respond to the following questions:
If you had one final lecture to share with a group of students on what you have learned from this course, what would you share?
I would adore introducing the students to the idea of lifelong learning. We need to make it a habit of studying and putting spiritual and secular ideas into practice if we want to become great entrepreneurs and be ready for any opportunity that may come our way. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles' Elder Robert D. Hales preached that "lifelong learning is fundamental to the vigor of the human intellect, body, and spirit." It improves self-esteem and self-motivation. The benefits of lifelong learning include mental stimulation and excellent protection against aging, despair, and self-doubt. We must innovate by learning how to adapt to the always-changing world because of this. We can get to the state Elder Hale listed by doing these steps. I've learned during this course that the more I study, the more I realize how little I know and the more I want to learn.
What would be your last bit of advice to someone wanting to begin the entrepreneur journey?
I would advise anyone looking to start their own business to discover the needs in their community, connect those needs to their interests or passions, and then offer goods or services to fill those needs. As their motivation for starting a business stems from a desire to help solve a societal issue, they wouldn't want to give up when the company started to lose money. They would need to innovate to keep up quality while cutting expenses and altering their business strategy. Whether producing their goods or providing their services, they would also have the love of God and their fellow humans for the benefit of the society whose needs they desire to address.
What words of advice, direction, or caution would you give him or her if you had only one chance to give your own last lecture?
I won't depart from President Thomas S. Monson in offering words of wisdom, instruction, or caution. He cited an unidentified author who counseled us to stick with whatever we are doing until we master it. Because "Honor, power, place, and praise will always come to the one who stays," we ought to be among the few lenders in addition to the beginners. He came to the conclusion that only those who persevered through hardship and worked hard would reap the rewards of life. These are the exact words of an anonymous author:
Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.
Honor, power, place, and praise
Will always come to the one who stays. Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile
Will come life’s victories after a while.
Written by Emmanuel Lartey Hor.
An applied business management student at the Brigham Young University-Idaho
