Speeches
Taking The Reins of Your Life with Entrepreneurs Corbin and Kara Church
On Nov 8, the campus community gathered in the Knight arena to hear entrepreneur Corbin Church, founding partner of Ensemble Capital and managing director of iHub Innovation, and his wife, Kara, speak about embracing failures and taking advantage of life’s opportunities.
“If we change our mindset on how we think about failure a little bit, it will make such a difference,” Corbin said. “As entrepreneurs, failure is a part of daily life. My successes would not have happened if the failures didn’t exist. What if I had been too afraid to go after those chances? I never would have gotten to where I am now.”
Referencing the movie “We Bought a Zoo,” Corbin shared that exercising 20 seconds of courage can help to overcome the fear of failure and lead to new opportunities. He then invited those in attendance to exercise 20 seconds of courage over the weekend and continue to use it throughout their lives.
“If you haven’t already, make decisions for your life starting today. Own it. Because if you don’t, someone else will project your path for you,” said Corbin. “You’re on the doorstep of life. What do you want to do with it?”
“Be present and take advantage of opportunities,” continued Corbin. “The best advice I could give you today is to put your phone away and pay attention to the world. Be present.”
Having founded multiple companies, Corbin noted that true happiness doesn’t come from material possessions or wealth but from quality relationships developed with family and Heavenly Father, emphasizing the protection found in holding strong to faith.
“I have so many questions, but I look back on my path and at where I am, and I look at my happiness, and I know what contributed to it,” said Corbin. “One of the biggest pillars of that happiness is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whichever faith you belong to, embrace it. Don’t let go of it.”
Highlighting the connection between being vulnerable and finding new opportunities, Kara showed through her personal experience that being vulnerable demonstrates bravery, not weakness, sharing that being an entrepreneur provided her with the opportunity to become a more outgoing person.
“My mode of operation is an introvert, and I’ve been thrown into an entrepreneurial world since I married Corbin,” Kara said. “So I’ve had to practice. I’ve had to learn how to get out there and show up in a place where I might not know anybody and do these hard things. I’ve practiced my whole life, and practice is the key.”
The event featured a musical number of “London Trio No 1” performed by William Hughes on the violin, Annalisha Staples on the cello, and Kamryn Meyer on the piano. It ended with the traditional singing of “Love One Another.”