Journey of an Entrepreneur

Liselle Lo

COEN3A

11/29/16

“The Journey of being an Entrepreneur”

Gurbaksh Chahal is a successful writer and entrepreneur. He started being an entrepreneur when he was 16 years old. He also dropped out of high school but through endless passion, motivation, and hard work he accomplished on becoming one of the most successful people. After the talk with Chahal I realized that being an entrepreneur would not be a walk in the park, it will be a rollercoaster ride that will have a lot of ups and downs. So it’s up to you if you scream or enjoy the ride. It is true that the 3 keys to be a successful entrepreneur is to have ambition, discipline and knowing your purpose. The first thing that hit me is what he said about “it’s never too late to live your dream” I know I’m still young but sometimes I forget to think and ponder on how I can live my dream in the near future. Also as a student I should already think of what I will do in the future and already work on it because time is important and I don’t want to waste time. I also like what he said about “fear is your worst enemy. Risk is your best friend” which will be true when I become an entrepreneur in the future I need to take risks but of course it should be calculated risks. Also he said “whatever you’re doing it must have the right foundation morally and ethically” which means in doing business in the future I must build it with the right foundation that is morally and ethically correct because if you lack these qualities you wouldn’t earn clean money or have a good reputation in the business world. I also learned that to be an entrepreneur you have to adapt to change. Chahal was once not as confident as he is now he also started as a shy boy but he learned to adapt to change and went out of his shell. I admit I am a bit shy and not that out going but to be an entrepreneur I need to conquer these challenges and be open to change. The road to success is a very hard one, with many problems that act as barriers that we should overcome. “We’ve entered a major inflection point of our time, in which it becomes harder for companies to survive if they do not innovate fast enough.” He said which means we need to innovate what is already present for us entrepreneurs to succeed. For example: Kodak. Kodak didn’t innovate part of the digital revolution, which mean they just didn’t keep up with the trends of society. He also said “take the blinders off and look around” and I relate that to my personal travels. For me travelling is like opening my eyes to the world. Whenever I travel I not only experience the different cultures but also encounter and see different innovations. There are a lot of innovations that are present in other countries that are not present here in the Philippines, which will also be a good business opportunity for me.  Overall I learned a lot from the talk of Chahal. I will keep in mind and remember what I have learned and apply it in the future.