Reading Reflection No. 1

Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald's, Ray Kroc 

1. You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised me the most about Ray Kroc was how determined he was and how easily he was able to convince people that they needed something that he offered. 
• What I admire most about Ray Kroc was that he was a go getter, but he always stayed honest and humble. He did not like to take advantage of people and wanted to provide products that were  beneficial and affordable. My favorite quote was that he loved was “In business for yourself, but not by yourself" (pg. 110). 
• There was not much I did not admire about Ray Kroc, but I did not like that he went about marrying another woman after only knowing her for a short period of time. That showed that he did did not have patience when it came to his personal life. He wanted his personal life to have the success he had with his businesses. 
• Kroc did encounter many difficulties and failures. He had many difficulties with agreeing with Henry and failed at the real estate business. However, he kept on going. He did not let anything or anyone tear him down.

2. He is a motivator, a humble person, a caring person, he accepted failure and never let it hold him back. He was a hard worker who truly cared about what he was doing and loved every second of it. 

3. One thing that was confusing to me was how the company was doing really well but they had no cash flow. Is it that their money was all tied up in expanding the business? 

4. The first question I would ask him is: What motivated you the most to keep following your dreams? I would ask him this because sometimes life really knocks you down and achieving your dreams can sometimes feel impossible. I always wonder how someone stays so focused on their ultimate goal in life. The second question I would ask him is: What is the thing you think made you so successful? I would ask him this because I feel that it would be something I can implement in my own life. I don't believe it was one thing that made him so successful, but I do believe one thing took precedence. 

5. I think he truly believed to get what you want out of life, you have to work hard. He believed that you have to take chances, trust your self and others. You cannot play it safe. If you do, you won't be happy with the life you have. I do share his opinion of hard work. I think if you know what you want out of life you have to go and get it. No one is going to get it for you. You have to work hard and continue working hard even if you fail multiple times. At the end you will be rewarded.