Half-way Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a skill. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?

Honestly, this class seems like a bunch of busy work to get us into the habit of taking action. I think this is a good and bad thing. Bad in the sense that it’s difficult to organize from a time management perspective with working a 50+ hour a week job and taking two other classes (possibly my own oversight for taking on more than I could handle) which are only test based, meaning I have to stay diligent about keeping up with them while navigating the busy work of this class. As far as the busy work being good, it’s definitely a lesson taken from everyday life: You are always going to have little fires to put out (these assignments) on a daily basis that can easily distract you from the larger, more important things. I would say that I’ve already learned this lesson and didn’t necessarily need to re-learn it, but I suppose it is a good skill for others to pick up on during their time in college.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

To be frank, numbing myself to the expectations of this class has gotten me through. I’ve turned it into a routine when I get home from work each day and it is my top priority where I don’t think about it – I just do it and get it done with.  Prior to this class, I was already pretty tenacious, and I think the only thing the class has done for me is reminded me that I’m still capable of prioritizing my workload.

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

1) Pay attention to your other classes: Read 7 Habits of Highly Effective people and learn how to schedule your day and your personal mission statement. You’ll learn about the Important/Urgent grid and where we need to operate as opposed to where we currently operate. It will teach you to align your perspective with your ultimate goal rather than the little obstacles in the way on a daily basis that really aren’t that important. It is easy to let your other lectures go unnoticed until you’re cramming the weekend before the test (especially if you’re working full time like I am). Get ahead of your schedule and own it rather than letting your schedule own you.

2) Don’t think about it – just do it: It’s easy to psyche yourself out over doing the assignments (cold approaches for customer interviews, finding entrepreneurs that you would like to mentor you, etc). Don’t think about all the things that could go wrong – just approach them and get their feedback whether it’s positive or negative.

3) People don’t care about you, only what you can offer: This probably sounds harsh, but you need to check your ego at the door. These assignments aren’t about you – they’re about the customer and finding value to provide to them. They don’t care if your rent payment is due – they need value in order to trade their money (which is essentially their time).