Unearthing Alicia

 When I signed up for Intro to Entrepreneurship I didn't anticipate that I'd do much soul-searching or personal development, but I did. I have spent 14 weeks reading about and watching videos of passionate, motivated, focused people telling me what makes them so excited about their job and what they contribute to the world and it's made me look at myself as I never have before.  I have always been a strange combination of feeling small and insignificant while also feeling like I'm the most fantastic and important person in the world. I don't know how to describe it any better than that. I've always felt that I have something special to give the world, but I've never had a clear, driving sense of what it is. What I have had is a fear of failure and even a fear of success should I actually try at something, so I coast along. I was discussing this with a close friend the other day and saying that I'm finally starting to try and push myself and she - being k...

 "D on't do things because you think it's what other people want you to do." - Stan Christensen Have you ever tried to fit in? Have you ever tried to change something about yourself (or your entire self) to fit what you think others want in a friend, significant other, employee, etc? It doesn't work, does it? It's so obvious when I see it in others, but sometimes I still find myself doing it. I like to pretend that I'm totally secure in myself and don't care what others think as long as I'm nice, but part of me is still that shy little kid who was terrified to do the wrong thing.  So what happens when we really do "live our truth" and be ourselves? Are we ostracized and mocked? Sometimes. There are people out there who are so extremely insecure about who they are that they can't handle anyone who is different, and especially those who are unapologetically different. Should that stop us? Never.  Because, the other thing that happens wh...

You may or may not know that this blog is an assignment for a business class called, Intro to Entrepreneurship. We've learned about what it takes to create a business, particularly within ourselves. This week we're focusing on "Becoming a Changemaker" and a critical question we've been asked to anser is, what is the purpose of business? Ostensibly, everyone taking this class is considering starting their own business, but even those who aren't will likely work for a business, and everyone will buy from or interact with businesses during their life.  So, why? That's a terrible sentence, but a compelling question. Does a business exist simply to make money? There are probably some that do, but I doubt they're very successful. One of the first pieces of advice entrepreneurs tend to give is to recognize a need and then find a way to fill it. This helps the company succeed and make money, but it only does so by fulfilling a need in some part of societ...