Week Four: Mastery, Skill, Character, or Luck?

In a video we watched, Randy Komisar said,“My career only makes sense in the rear view mirror” and it resonated with me. I’m not sure I’d have planned the career I have 10 years ago or 20 years ago. Looking back however, it fits well and is very preparatory for whatever comes next.

With regards to success and being an amazing entrepreneur, David Friedberg said that

0.0006% of entrepreneurs are Rock Stars. He went on to say that your goal shouldn’t be super stardom and mega success because it isn’t realistic. Its so interesting that 0.006% of entrepreneurs are rock stars and the ones we talk about and hear about the most. This means that over 99% of entrepreneurs are just people making a living without amazing success and notoriety. Being awesomely famous and successful shouldn’t be a goal because statistically its not probable. He also mentions that if you get a job at an existing company, you have the chance to make an impact and there are lots of people there and lots of resources there. However, you will be limited by the company’s ideals and plans and limits set for you. To avoid those limits, people become entrepreneurs and make their own rules.

One of my favorite learnings this week came from Jeff Sandefer who spoke at BYU-I and we watched the recording. Jeff talked about living as if you have an important mission, because you do. Live as if it matters, because it does. What matters most is not the prize, but how the hero has changed in the process. Essentially he was saying the money you make is not the prize, but rather how much you grow and learn along the way is the prize.

He had some other valuable thoughts I appreciated:

Learning to learn and learning to listen and learning to live a life of meaning is more important to graduates than learning to make money.

When students at the Acton School of Business were interviewing mentors, the same values were common in those over 60 as they looked back on their lives:

Have I contributed something meaningful?

Am I a good person?

Who did I love, and who loved me?

What problem do you feel you were put on the earth to solve? The answer to this is your calling.

Write a list of “I will not” that are moral boundaries you will not cross. If you do cross those, and you will, stop and re-assess before you go down a long, slippery slope of misery. For each “I will not” write a letter to yourself that you can read in the future when you are considering crossing your moral boundary.

Great joke from his father-in-law: What is the difference between God and you? God never thinks He is you J

People who believe they are lucky, turn out to be the lucky ones. Believe what you can be and do and you will surprise yourself how much you accomplish.

Over this week the main idea that stood out was that your character determines your success. What you won’t stand for and what you work to accomplish and what lines you won’t cross are your most valuable assets. Luck will only get you so far in life. Without skill and character you could flounder and have a life without meaning.