Guest Speaker: Erik Hanberg

It has been a while since Erik has given his talk and I am now just getting to writing a blog post about him. One of the things that really stood out to me from his presentation was the moment where an epiphany dawned upon him in the area of entrepreneurship. While he was running a non profit theater, getting paid hourly, he realized that the there was a potential to earn a lot more money if he were to own the business and run it himself. This change in mindset is what sparked Erik on his life journey to be self employed. While Erik did take the initiative to set up his own theater, the business ended not doing so great but still, his determination to make it as an entrepreneur was not undermined.

Erik started to write and wanted to be a published author. I remember clearly the story he told us about how as a child, he wanted to write a book and so he did. He had a lot of troubles trying to finish the book but once he did he was proud of the fact that he could finish something he started. As a kid, it is really hard to stay focused so I applaud his ability from such a young age. That really struck a chord with me because learning to finish something I started is a skill that I am working on right now. When I wanted to build an iPhone app, I would start it but would not see it to completion either because I get bored or unmotivated. The traits that Erik exhibited as a kid is the kind of traits that all successful people share and I need to change this about myself. The fact that he invested lots of time into perfecting his craft is admirable. I can relate to practicing something to get better. Ever since I started coding in college, I have been putting so much time into my craft in order to obtain mastery. And I am no where near where I would like to be but its motivating too see someone keep writing.

His writing pays off too. While he invested a lot of time into writing, he is earning money from the first book that he published to this day. I would love to have passive income coming in every month. I need to figure out how I can do that with my skill.