Day 11
First Chapter
Visitor
We had one of our graduates,
Jose Uriel Flores, come and speak to us today. He came on his own dime and took
time away from his growing business to come and speak to the graduating class.
His presence was inspirational, his words motivating, and the Spirit of
camaraderie which he expressed allowed for all of the students to feel like
they now belonged to an already existing legacy. Jose spoke about how the Rules
of Thumb have transformed his business. And,
when I say transformed I mean he took his budding business, which had generated
about $150,000 MXN pesos ($13,000 USD) the year before, and within three months
(January 20 to April 21) he had tripled his gross sales and had more than
300,000 MXN Pesos ($27,000 USD) in savings. The students were in awe and shocked—they
couldn't believe such growth in such a short amount of time. I am so thankful that we had this amazing
young entrepreneur come and motivate this new generation of students.
Chapter
Today we founded the first Chapter of Puebla:
President: Sergio
Navarro
1st Counselor: Samuel
Teoyotl
2nd Counselor: Carlos L. Rojas
Secretary: Samuel De
Hoyos
This Chapter has nearly 50
members now and I am certain that their meetings every 6 weeks will be a perfect
remedy for being left “alone” after the course. Now, they know they have a
family and a kinship with their neighbors. Now, they feel that they have a
network and a place they can go and learn from one another. I truly believe
that the Chapter system is going to be the key to success for the Academy. I am
excited for the day when we have national Chapter meetings via satellite from
the Academy Hub. I can see our graduates from the North helping and convening
with our graduates from the South of Mexico. I want that to happen. They want
that to happen. We all know that it can happen and it takes a daily, concerted
effort.
Testimony Meeting:
I want to take this moment to
share with you all that our students have a strong faith in the Savior. They
live according to the commandment which they believe to be from Heavenly
Father. They believe that integrity, honesty, charity, hard work, and
cleanliness in all things are crucial for success. They believe that they
should pray to the Lord as if all their success depended on Him, but work as if
all of their success depended on themselves. They have grown in faith and
understanding. The Rules of Thumb which are often times contrary to the
dominate culture of Mexico has been overcome, not that the culture is wrong, but
the students recognize that they must expect more from themselves. No longer
are they complacent with mediocrity. No longer do they believe that only
certain individuals can have wealth. Fatalistic mentalities have subsided and
optimistic mentalities have been born. No longer do they want to be
entrepreneurs by necessity, rather, they now have become optimistic
entrepreneurs. The difference is simple: necessity entrepreneurs do what they
do to survive, opportunistic entrepreneurs do what they do because they see the
vision, the possibilities, the new horizons.
Last Day Comments
I want to share my love, admiration,
and gratitude for the wonderful team that Steve Gibson has helped put together.
Each member has unique qualities and talents that made for a great two weeks. I
would like to share what those are, specifically, so that you all are aware of
these talented men:
Matt Gunn is a man that has no guile in his heart.
Everything he does he does because he truly wants what is best for the other
person. He puts himself last and everyone else first. His heart is pure. His
soul visible. He loves the people here in Mexico even though his mission was
with a different “pueblo” (Ecuador). I have appreciated his insights—he has the
ability to tie every principle we teach into a gospel principle and I believe
it is because of this that Alberto De Hoyos said, “I don't know if I learned
more about the gospel or about business!” I attribute that experience to Matt
Gunn's ability to help me remember the spiritual side of this training.
Lars Hamilton is the kind of man that any mother
would love for her daughter to marry. He is detail oriented, has a huge heart,
and carries an incredible spirit. He sees what needs to be done and then he
does it. He is visionary, optimistic, and intelligent. The greatest personality
trait Lars possesses is that he has no clue how wonderful he is. I have enjoyed
working side by side with Lars each day since my arrival in Mexico. Lars is a
tall man, but he never made me feel inferior. He supported my ideas and offered
other ideas as well. When I forgot to do something, or simply didn't get around
to it, I was always impressed to see that Lars was always on the ball, getting
things done, and doing them with precision.
I will end this
day with my simple testimony. God lives, He loves these wonderful people. He
wants them to progress. I have been uplifted and felt honored to be with these
wonderful people. I truly believe the following: "The best way to liberate
the poor is grassroots capitalist development."
And, "The greatest of all
acts of charity is to teach the poor how to escape from the prison of
poverty." and "The societies that successfully raise up the poor
begin with a set of sound economic principles (The Rules of Thumb), and nurture
the required habits and practices” (Developing cultures: essays on cultural
change - Page 191). I believe in the mission of the Academy. I have seen it
change lives. I am blessed to be a part of it. Thank you all for your help. The
students wanted to make sure you all knew how appreciative they are for this
great opportunity. Lastly, they felt that since the Academy for Creating
Enterprise arrived to Cebu, Philippines ten years prior to the Cebu Temple
Dedication, they are excited for the same thing to happen now in Puebla!