W08 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

This week, I have been dealing with some Amazon listings that have been flagged. We received 2 customer complaints that we were selling used products as “new” because the items were received in packaging that was opened or damaged. I know for a fact that we don’t sell anything used. Being accused of something like this made my stomach turn. Now I have to present my case to Amazon. In order to do this, I have to acknowledge the root cause of the issue and then describe what measures are being taken to prevent it from happening again in the future. Just the idea of having to present a case and defend ourselves over something like this has continued to feed into my negative thoughts of selling on Amazon. I’ve always been afraid of losing it and what that loss would mean to the business. Here’s the thing; I can choose what I think. I can tell myself positive thoughts or negative ones. I can say, “Here we go again, getting closer toward a permanent suspension of our selling privileges”. Or, I can choose to tell myself, “We are going to fix this issue and ensure that it doesn’t happen again by taking additional quality control measures during our packaging process. We will have higher quality standards because of it, which will help us no matter what marketplace we sell our products.” I have found that praying helps me to think more positively when situations like this arise. It kind of sets the tone for how I will continue to think about my circumstances. I know that Heavenly Father wants me to succeed and so knowing that, I can't help but feel more hopeful that I will make it through any issue that I'm facing.

“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” - Albert Einstein


I have found this statement to hold true 100% of the time. There have been so many instances in my personal and professional life where I have been tried and tested and have come out better than I was before.


In this week’s study, I read a bit from Acton Hero David Carrington. He talked about cancer being a major crisis that he faced. When diagnosed, he took it as an opportunity to reassess his priorities in life. He rebalanced his life portfolio.


Finding opportunities within a crisis can only be accomplished with a positive mindset. This is something that I am actively working toward achieving. Instead of being flustered when a wrench is thrown into my plans, I want to be someone who calmly allows for the situation to penetrate my mind. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, particularly negative ones, because it only makes it more difficult to get through that situation. There is always an opportunity for growth and improvement in times of trouble. Oftentimes we can think about what got us in trouble to begin with and then do what we can to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

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