Last month, I had the chance to attend sir Dodong Cacanando’s seminar titled Entrepreneur’s Journey to Fruitfulness. It was a 5-week seminar conducted through Zoom online meetings every Saturday night.
Prior to this, I already bought and read all the 3 books of sir Dodong Cacando and watched over the many videos on his Youtube channel.
Sir Dodong is also an Engineer just like me. We think in similar ways. We analyze things in detail to find out how they work.
If you’re not familiar with the story of sir Dodong Cacanando, he is a former IT corporate guy who uprooted himself and his whole family to move to Bukidnon after “hearing a voice” tell him to go. In 20+ years, he built his farm called Moriah Farms from a barren land to now contain a thriving forest, a huge plantation of high-value crops like lettuce as well as a growing livestock of pigs, goats, sheep and more.
His core teachings is based on the belief that the bible can be used as a guide to doing business. His work as a farmer allowed him to study the ways of the plant, and how the same principles that help a plant become fruitful can also be applied to building a profitable business.
Today, I’d like to share with you a few of the things I learned from his seminar.
Right definition will result to correct actions
One of the things that sir Dodong emphasized was the importance of really understanding what entrepreneurship is.
Today, some of those who teach entrepreneurship do not even have a single business in their name. They have been trained in theories. They lack real-world experience. How can you teach something you have not done so yourself? Unfortunately, most of the great entrepreneurs don’t have time to teach you. They are too busy running their own businesses.
A lot of people are confused nowadays. They think entrepreneurship is all about taking a huge financial risk for a potential profit. That’s what most books say. This idea is incomplete. According to sir Dodong, the word “Entrepreneur” comes from the French word “Entreprende,” meaning “to undertake, to manage or to take care of.” To take care of what exactly? To take care of what you have already.
This is one of the foundational pieces that I learned from sir Dodong’s seminar.
Often, we look for “greener” pasteurs. We think our job sucks so we look for other jobs to apply to. We think our business is too stressful, so we look for other opportunities that are “easier.”
The reality of business, is that there’s no “easier” business. All businesses require hard work and dedication. Nothing can replace that.
This reminds me of the saying, “the grass is greener, where you water it.”
It is not wrong to aspire for greater things, but you have to start somewhere. And that somewhere is where you are right now. Start with what you have, what you know, what you can do of the things in front of you.
Business can only grow with a problem
If you’re like me, I hate dealing with problems, especially when it comes to people. I’d rather stay in my corner and mind my own business. Unfortunately, when you are in business, you will always have to deal with other people whether you like it or not. They are your customers, suppliers, employees, fans, bashers, and more.
The good news is that every problem brings with it an opportunity. Dealing with the problem yourself gives you the chance to convert the knowledge and experience you gained on how you solved it into an ability. Your ability, may it be in a form of a new skill or a new improved character, is like unlocking a new superpower!
Opportunities come to those who are ready.
This is one of the things that struck me. I used to think that we should look for opportunities. You don’t like your job? Go and apply somewhere else. You don’t like your boss? Go and find another boss. Your business is not working? Find another business. Perhaps, your new job, or new boss or your new business will finally work.
The sad truth is that it will not solve your problem. As the saying goes, “things don’t work unless you do.” The thing in common is you. The things you look at will only change, when you change how you look at those things. Perhaps, you thought you were scolded by your boss because he hates you. But, maybe he sees potential in you and training you to become his successor. Isn’t the same job you prayed for fervently some time ago, the same job you hate right now? What changed?
In the past few weeks, the situation in our country has improved and the economy is slowly trying to get back up. Most of the restrictions are now being relaxed. A lot of people are now going out. Even traffic on EDSA is back! I’d take the problem of traffic any day instead of dealing with the COVID pandemic.
Businesses are hopeful that they too will be able to recover. More and more are allowed to operate. I’m hoping it continues to improve. I am praying your situation continues improve. We all need the good news that we can get. Cheers!