Celebrating Failure

1.  Just last Sunday I went with the Surf Club at St. Augustine. I never went surfing before, but I wanted to try it, so off I went to the beach with everyone else involved. When it was my turn to go surfing, I had to drag my long board across the sand to get to our starting point. When I finally got in the water, I tried multiple times to stand on my surfboard and failed. My legs were tangled with the leash, the board kept moving away or kept hitting me, and the waves slapped me whenever possible. In my last attempt to surf, I wiped out and fell completely into the water. I'll still be going back to surf some more though. Practice makes perfect!

2. I learned that surfing is a lot harder than it looks! I also discovered that despite the many failed attempts to stand on my board, I want to go back and keep trying. I want to ride the waves and be a part of the surfing community. Surfing is so much fun, and I want to keep doing it. I finally learned that failure is not always a dead end, but an alternative route to reaching success. The more I practice, the better I'll get!

3. At first I got so upset on my failures. I like doing things well the first time, because I want the first time to be the last time. I don't like retrying things. However, as I got older, I came to the realization that trying again will only increase my chances of doing better. Also, me failing at something is not a sign that I myself am a failure too. Because of this class, I am more open to taking risks to achieve what I want in life - although there's a good chance I will still be uncomfortable about it.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1. The biggest surprise for me in the writing were the multiple purple charts used in this chapter. The rest of the chapter was like most chapters in the book before. The only time I remembered this many purple sections was probably in one chapter of the book a few weeks ago.

2. What confused me was the conflict between buyer and seller. It can't always be this dynamic, the seller thinking their business is more while the seller thinks it is less. I wonder if the views have ever been reversed or at least shown in lesser extremes.

3. How can the relationship between buyer and seller by improved? Maybe if this is done, there will be good profit for both sides, not just one Also, are roll-ups good in every situation? I ask this because they seem like a good idea for many occasions and reasons, but I wonder if there are specific cases where it is recommended not to participate in a roll-up.

4. I have nothing at this point to disagree with the author on in this specific chapter.

My Exit Strategy

1. With my business, I intend to keep it longer than five years. After 5+ years in service, I will consider selling it to someone else who is capable of living out the goals of the company and managing it well. The money I invested and saved up from my business I will put to the side for future use, like college funds for my children or emergencies.

2. If I am going to start a business, I need to commit to the enterprise for more than just 5 years. I will gain experience in many areas of life on a number of levels, which will help me later in life as well. I hope with the money I saved I can also ensure financial stability later on in my life.

3. Honestly, this has not impacted my decisions made in my concept at all. This is a goal I intend to complete after achieving success in my business. I don't intend to run my own business forever.