Invest In Yourself

Over the past semester, I was fortunate to be enrolled in the Entrepreneurship 375R Lecture Series class. This class focuses on helping students be motivated and driven to embark on the entrepreneurial path by inviting entrepreneurs from different backgrounds to share their stories. Throughout the semester, we were favored to hear from 13 entrepreneurs as they shared their success and failure stories, inspiring us to make a change in our lives. Several things stood out to me:

1. Find a good mentor

Kalin Uluave , an entrepreneur himself, emphasized the importance of having a mentor in starting anything in your life. He said, "Find a good mentor... look at how they care for themselves and their families, how they balance their life out, look for opportunities to learn from them...". At some point, these people were just like you and I: unsure of how to navigate yourself through the hurdles and barricades of life. However, with much experience, they have learned their way around it. Some of them are still learning, but that is the beauty of life. It is that we are all still learning and by making connections, we teach each other things that we may not ever be able to learn from only books and videos.

2. Follow your dreams and passion

Many may advice you to study something practical in college or that passion cannot bring you far. On the contrary, Felix Tai , the Executive Chef for the Polynesian Cultural Center, advices otherwise. He encourages everyone to follow their dreams and passion in a sense where you are consciously taking the initiative to get yourself into it by joining webinars, reading books and learning more about how you can turn those dreams into a reality. Passion is an emotion to be acted upon and when you do, those "experiences can enhance your passion" as Felix Tai says.

3. Cherish and make the best out of your time in college.

If you are in college, this is for you. 4 years will be up in no time and when that time is up, you will wish you had taken advantage of the resources you were freely given. Your college years is a critical period in your life where much learning and growth happens. However, you would not want to rob yourself of growth so, utilize those resources and activities carried out on campus whether it may be advice from professors, leadership trainings, competitions or career events. It will be of much benefit as you continue on your personal learning path. Your college years are years freely given to you FOR YOU to invest in yourself because YOU are your BIGGEST investment.

Ultimately, we were blessed to be given a life to live. Therefore, we ought to live every day as though it is our last. Learn from others, serve and make an impact wherever you go. This lecture series has inspired me to step up in the entrepreneurial world and to work on turning my dream into a reality. My fellow BYU-Hawaii friends, regardless of your goals in life, start investing in yourself now.