I run an identity agency. This means my company creates brands. Logos, websites, and all that jazz. In the “marketing and advertising” industry, the measure of success is how much money you’re charging your clients. He who bills the most is seen as the “top” of the industry. I’ve fallen prey to this mentality at times. It's easy to get wrapped up in it. I would make decisions based on who is going to pay me the most. My marketing becomes about attracting the highest paying clients. My prayers become about bringing in the big fish. Sometimes we ask God to give us wisdom in making business decisions, but we really just want Him to rubber-stamp our plans and desires. Unfortunately, we may not realize the degree to which our desires are influenced by an entrepreneurial culture that glorifies money, power, beauty, and fame. The key to knowing God’s will is knowing God. Therefore, the first step is to learn about His character and purposes. They are usually in direct opposition to the character and purposes of the world! "Keep in mind that our hearts are deceitful." (Jer. 17:9) And we Godpreneurs must lean on the Holy Spirit, speaking to us through prayer and Bible study, to expose areas where we may be rationalizing selfish motives. You may be in the same situation I’m in, chasing after the cultural norms of our industries. But we are called to be different, called to be the light. And if God takes care of the birds in the sky’s, won’t He take care of our businesses…His businesses, really!. Here’s the plan. Stick to the morning bible readings and continue getting to know God every day. Don’t worry about chasing the money dream, it will take care of itself if you do the work God is assigning to you. Godpreneur Rule#57: When you know the character of God, His will for your business will become clearer. Suggested reading: God As He Longs For You To See Him by Chip Ingram. Write any other suggested readings on the character of God in the comments below. #AttractingRightClients #WritingGreatCopy #HiringtheRightPeople

As entrepreneurs, we’re constantly being tempted to go after money, power, beauty and fame. That’s what is portrayed to us by the media, society and culture. Chasing after these things will never bring out your true entrepreneurial purpose in life. Why? Because you’ve made these things your god, and so these things lead your decision making, and therefore they produce your identity. Deuteronomy 32:12 talks about the Israelites being led by God and gives us direct instructions for success when being led through the dessert "The lord alone guided them; they followed no foreign gods." Godpreneurs chase after God and His will for your business life, and the fruit of that is purpose and abundance in the promised land. I chased false gods for 9 years in my business until 2014 when I started letting God be the CEO and personal business coach development trainer and I would allow Him to shape who I would become today. Today, God alone leads me through the good times and the bad (because the bad times don’t stop, they just become more manageable). Be diligent to watch over things (foreign gods) that could be taking the lead in influencing your business. One way I protect myself is by starting every morning off reading the bible, a devotional, and prayer to listen to God as to what He wants me to do that day.  This way I’m being led from the start. #StrengthenIntegrity #WorkLifeBalance #AgencyOwners

My wife and I are not business partners. I wouldn't be able to imagine having to work side-by-side with her at my office to come home then and, still, be together! I'm blessed to have my space. However, I could also see the tremendous opportunity to have my wife as a partner in the business. Like the Bible says, two is better than one. My study of boundaries in business partnerships wouldn't be complete without addressing that some of my readers are in business with their significant other. What I do know that translates across all romantic relationships is that COMMUNICATION is the most important element to success. Statistics show that poor communication is the leading cause of break-up and divorce, and it’s the top reason couples seek therapy. I haven't done official research, but I can only infer, then, that the leading cause of business shutdown of couples in business together is...poor communication. And as I've been studying, poor communication boils down to an inability to assert boundaries. When couples in business together can’t assert their boundaries explicitly, they end up resorting to more conflict-prone methods of communication, like sarcasm and passive-aggressiveness. Husbands and wives working an entrepreneurial venture together often avoid making direct requests in the business relationship out of fear of pushing the other one away. However, this fear is entirely baseless. Studies show that couples in relationship therapy who learn to make clear, direct requests usually show a reduction in the intensity and frequency of arguments. The Bible says "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." Proverbs 25:11 (ESV) Here's a beautiful picture of the value of communication. Words have value, and they must be spoken. They are meaningful when spoken at the right time. Unfortunately, just the opposite is true for sarcasm and passive-aggressive talk. Not only will they hinder the partnership, but they may even destroy opportunities for advancement and success of the business as a whole. The key message is that you have a golden opportunity to set proper boundaries by clearly communicating your needs and your expectations for the future of the business to your romantic partner. Don't be surprised just how receptive your significant other is too honest and direct communication and how willing they are to meet most of your needs in the business. Ideally, setting clear boundaries and expectations will be one of the first things before starting the business venture together. By being honest and upfront about roles and responsibilities, how you expect to be treated in front of the employees, and what you want to get out of the business, you’ll both be spared a great deal of heartache and wasted time in the long run. Unfortunately, many of us prefer to avoid these tricky conversations with our husbands and wives. Most of us never discuss our expectations around things like money, time spent working in the business, vacation time, and the management of people. My wife and I can't be in business together (yet) because we would want completely incompatible things from the business. Right off the bat, conflict-prone topics that should be dealt with before starting the business include how you intend to share finances, how you’ll divide up admin responsibilities, and what your stance is on taking on debt by using credit cards. If you're already in the middle of the business partnership and are just now bringing this conversation up, it’s time to suck it up and have the difficult conversation. You might find it uncomfortable, but uncomfortable conversations save business partnerships. And based on conflicts you've already had, you should already know where boundaries and expectations need to be discussed. The good news is that by inserting a bit of distance and separateness into the business relationship, you may even find that boundaries breathe some fresh romance into your love life. #BusinessPartnerships #MarriedEntrepreneurs

I’m one of those entrepreneurs that has bought into the mentality of “nobody can do it better than I can.” So when someone did or handled something differently, it was often less trouble for me to just go ahead and do their task for them! The problem with this is that I’m enabling my employees or contractors to ‘slack’ if I continue on like this. They will know that I’ll come in to fix things up, so they perform with such expectations. The bigger issue comes from my reading today in proverbs: PRO 18:9 says “One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.” So not only am I wasting time doing work I shouldn’t be doing, I’m also putting my employees in a vulnerable position of being a slacker. Although it may require more from us as entrepreneurs, we are doing our employees a far greater service when we resist doing something they need to do for themselves. I’ll admit that most of the times I take over a project or task, its my own fault because I didn’t give enough training, instruction or deadline. We are serving our employees best when we are pouring into them, teaching them our “secrets” and spending extra time with them when we notice they did something we would have done differently…not just taking over the task. I need to redefine what it means to serve our employees. God instructs leaders to teach their followers how to handle responsibility. Let's serve our team by teaching them how to be the best. #SharpenLeadership

On a previous blog I pointed out that we can bring God into our businesses if we can make a habit of asking for His help in business decisions. But let’s talk about motive. If I ask you for $50 to help me go on a medical missions trip, you might help me out.  I’m going to help others out, and that feels good to you. But if I ask for $50 to go play golf, you’re going to look at me funny.  You’ll be thinking “dude, go pay for golf yourself.” The motive for the money was different, so it changed your response. In James 4:3 we read: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3) I used to want to make a lot of profit in my company so that I could buy nice things, live in a nice place, drive a nice car, take tons of trips, and eat out a lot.  Those were my motives. I even created a Vision Board of all of these material things and would look at it constantly! But those aren’t motives at all.  Those are REWARDS for hard work. Motives are things that would please God, therefore he would grant them to us. For example: -Getting out of debt -Paying for children’s college -Spouse not have to work -Tithe more -Support a charity If you set your vision and motives on things that would please God, then the rewards will follow with profits that God will bless you with. Changing your motives changes your money. I went back to my vision board and changed up the order of things. I created a rewards column because I want to visualize my rewards, but the first columns were my motives for profits. #FindingMyPurpose #WorkLifeBalance #SharpenLeadership

All you have to do is ask? Well, if you believe in the Bible…then YES! MAT 7:7-8 says: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” The law of attraction is very real. I know some aren’t comfortable with that law because ‘The Secret’ hijacked it and removed God. But the reality is that its God’s very own law and promise to us. So what business should you start? Ask God. He created you from before you were in the womb. He had plans for you already. So why would you waste any time trying to figure it out on your own? If you need help with this, take my Entrepreneurial Vision Experience. Who is going to help me? Seek counsel. When I was looking to move in a new direction, I prayed for counsel to surround me. All of the sudden, courses and teachings started appearing on Facebook that weren’t there before. Who will buy my service? Knock on doors. This is where you’re going to get your money. Most people think they need a loan to start a business. Nope, you just need ONE person to give you cash, check or a credit card. Then you start. My first business (The Creative Complex) started when I collected $500 from a drywall contractor to make their website. I didn’t even have a business account yet, but I told them to make the check out to The Creative Complex. Then I went and opened the account and deposited the check and got to work. It’s that simple. If you start by asking God, then the seeking and knocking will be revealed as a result of the first, and you’ll have a business in which you’re fulfilling God’s vision for your entrepreneurial career. #WhatBusinessIShouldStart

I need money. I need money to pay for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, etc. My business needs money. It needs money to pay my employees, overhead, cost of goods sold, etc. Although I need money, I’m careful not to LOVE money. Instead, I choose to focus on loving what money can do in my pursuit of loving God and loving others. For us entrepreneurs, the difference between needing money and loving money comes down to the question of “what master are we serving?” Our hearts are like a love tank. There’s only 100% amount of love in it. God designed it for us to give all the love to him, and then he’ll show us how to distribute the 200% return back that He gives us. We were designed to love others with His love. No doubt that we need money for our businesses to grow. But money flows from God to those business owners that will understand its great uses, and manage to put it to great use. In our capacity as business owners, we were designed to love God and love our employees, vendors, and clients. That’s all we got in the tank, that’s all we can handle. But the enemy wants us to think we can love both God and money. The world culture creates a desire in our flesh to pursue money more than God. But the truth is that we can’t fully surrender to Christ and still love money. The bible says “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord]." Matthew 6:24 AMP You need to understand that money isn’t evil. You need it to grow your business and help more people with your service or products. But your technical focus should be on learning how to manage more people and profits, and our love focus should be on God. The Bible (and many movies you’ve seen) shows you exactly what happens to entrepreneurs that give their love tank to money: "But those who [are not financially ethical and] crave to get rich [with a compulsive, greedy longing for wealth] fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction [leading to personal misery]." 1 Timothy 6:9 AMP Business people kill for money, get divorced over it, destroy partnerships and burn bridges because of it. But when we stop giving it the power we’ve given it and start focusing our attention on what God wants us to do with the money, we begin to see that it’s more important to learn how to love our people and manage the profit. In order, to bring in more people to love and serve more clients with your products and services. We Godpreneurs understand that the greatest commandment is that we would love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all our soul, all of our strength, and all of our might. We put God first in our businesses and He gets all our love. Godpreneur Rule:  God is the CEO, our only master, and we choose not to let money into our hearts and take His place. Let’s pray: Father, search my heart and show me where I love money and the material things of this business world. I confess that I see success on social media and in culture and I often want to serve that master. Let the power of Your Spirit and the wise sayings of your Word free me from the shackles of Money so that I can freely follow you in full, true love. Amen! #BusinessBibleStudy #MakeMoreMoney #SharpenLeadership 5 Lies of Money and Business Instead of reading the blog posts, take the video course!  I personally teach you the method.  You get: Workbook 5-Video Teachings Access to dozens of courses in the Godpreneur Academy! Heard of the Godpreneur Academy? Grow Your Business, God’s Way! Bible-Based Video Courses for Entrepreneurs Putting God First In their Businesses Click here to create a Free Account

We Godpreneurs have in seizing risky opportunities is that big risks equal big returns, and we have a God that created heaven and earth and has us in the palm of his hands. I’ve got a few clients that are millionaires. A couple of them are total jerks. I mean, these are ruthless guys that you don’t want to be around if they’re having a bad day. These guys are also pretty flashy. They drive nice cars and live in expensive houses with golf courses in their backyards. They pick up the tab at any restaurant, and have no shame in sharing their net worth at the country club with all the other good old boys. I’ve been conditioned my whole life to NOT be like them. I’ve been told that if you’re like that, then you’re not the right person. So guess what…I instinctually don’t hang out with them much, and shy away from being like them because I’ve been pre-conditioned to think that money will turn me in to that. We Christians often hold too many negative thoughts about wealth. We’re afraid that somebody would only like us because of our money, or even worse, that wealth could turn us in to bad people – like my millionaire clients. Or maybe we’re afraid of the work and responsibility associated with wealth. We know that the Notorious B.I.G. taught us “More Money, More Problems,” which is right, in many areas. There’s a lot more responsibility when you handle more money, that’s for sure. Somehow, we Godpreneurs have been taught that righteousness and wealth can’t co-exist. It’s a thought that’s widespread in the Christian community …but not amongst millionaires! See, millionaires understand that to get rich, you also have to like money. And I believe God wants us in the same mindset as millionaires and their money. We must change our minds from negative thoughts to positive thoughts. It reminds me of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a master (likely a Millionaire) who left his servants (likely inferior) to manage some of his investments while he was away. One of the servants took some risks, invested the money, and doubled his return! The other servant hid the money so he wouldn’t lose it. When the master returned, he rewarded the servant that took the risk and penalizes the servant that was too afraid to do something with it. If you only see the obstacles blocking the path to wealth, and feel plagued by past entrepreneurial failures, you’re missing a lot of chances to make money. Like rich people (or people poor people that think like rich people – like servant number 1), you must sense good opportunities and business’ potential profits. Like the good servant, you must be prepared to take calculated risks, and always optimistic that you can earn back your money, even after you’ve lost it. We are Godpreneurs and made in God’s image. The bible says: “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." Jeremiah 32:17 NIV The advantage we Godpreneurs have in seizing risky opportunities is that significant risks equal big returns, and we have a God that created heaven and earth and has us in the palm of his hands. Our wealth will grow if we optimistically jump on opportunities and give potential obstacles the cold shoulder. Remember I told you about my two Millionaire clients that are ruthless and flashy? I don’t see them that way anymore. I see them from God’s point of view. They have been entrusted with great wealth and are helping so many families by supporting their salaries. They have great products and services that are of tremendous value to the marketplace. We must like rich people because we want to get rich. We must see them the way God sees them. We need to remove judgmental, negative feelings. Our deprivation stems from mistrust and envy that we non-millionaires have been holding in against millionaires. If we despise rich people (like our parents or significant others may have imparted on us), we will instinctively never become one of them. We’ll never want to associate with rich people who could give us valuable advice about being financially successful. Imagine if all of us Godpreneurs adopted a Millionaire way of thinking – a positive view about money. If we value what we’d like to have ourselves – in this case, wealth, we’re more likely to achieve it. Godpreneur Rule – Learn to admire rich people and become like them when we don’t begrudge them because of their money. #MakeMoreMoney #FindingMyPurpose

I go through times where I feel alone, down on myself, discontent with the direction of my business, and it affects my writing. I lose motivation, I miss a few days of writing, and I take a break from the journey I’m on. My feelings of unhappiness and low spirits usually come from a combination of home life and business life. Something at home is out of sync at the same time as something in my business took a turn for the bad. For a short time, what it feels like is that something has sucked the life out of me, leaving me paralyzed and blind. We Christian business bloggers all go through times where we feel lost in the wilderness during a thunderstorm. It could be related to the blogging side of our life, our personal life, or our other revenue-generating businesses. How do we get out? How can we stay positive, even when everything around us is falling apart? Jesus has an answer. He says we need to “have life.” The bible says: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV) The enemy doesn’t want your writings to be published. Why? Because your blogging is going to help many entrepreneurs draw closer to God. He doesn’t want you to be doing what God’s called you to do. So what can you do to combat the enemy’s attacks? You have to hold on to God’s promises and keep your eyes on the Lord. In the middle of the storms you face not only as a blogger but as someone who also has a personal life and a business to run (or job to perform), you can latch on to God’s promise of mental peace, which in turn will give your physical body the strength to persevere and endure the storm. When the mental state is safe, then the physical body can keep walking in the wilderness season you’re in. On this journey, you think you’re alone on; God promises to bring life to your walk with Him. I keep a Google Doc on my phone of promises in the bible that I find comforting as an entrepreneur. If you want a copy of them, leave a comment below, and I’ll message it to you on Facebook. Want to know something crazy? It’s in these seasons of being alone that we can do our MOST spiritual growth and get the BEST content for our blogging! Why? Because it is only in the solitude of the wilderness that we can recognize our need for God and His perfect plan for our life as bloggers. When Jesus told us to have a life to the full, it means being firmly rooted in the Word and not being distracted by the latest fads in business and blogging. This is the key to living the life that God intended for us… to the FULL! #ChristianBloggers #BusinessBibleStudy #GodpreneurAcademy Keys to Successful Christian Blogging In this course, I'll give you some keys God taught me about how to write a successful Christian blog. Heard of the Godpreneur Academy? Grow Your Business, God’s Way! Bible-Based Video Courses for Entrepreneurs Putting God First In their Businesses Click here to create a Free Account

Hi Godpreneurs, As I connect with more of you on my Twitter and Facebook, it’s obvious this Coronavirus craze has been taking over our entire attention span and resources as business owners. It has turned many of our business plans upside down. Amonst my own inner circle of Christian business owners, we’ve gone from insecurity to fear, then panic, helplessness, recalibrating, and finally to damage forecasting and praying for this to pass already! However, if we live in fear, we could miss out on all the BENEFITS that can come from this season of retreat. The biggest one is that, overnight, the entire world went to ONLINE EDUCATION. And now businesses were forced to have a REMOTE working strategy, which was already beneficial even before all of this. Also, many new opportunities for collaborations are popping up as there’s a new sense of urgency to come up with creative solutions to run their businesses. Even through all the challenges of the Coronavirus, as Christians, we don’t live in the spirit of fear. The Bible says, "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7) What if God wants to use this time for the business world to rise up to new levels of love and self-control? It seems like overnight, most of us have been given back one of our most valuable resources – time. What if God wants us to draw closer to him in order to develop better time management habits so we can step closer into the business He created us to do? Time is a wonderful gift from God if you know how to use it wisely. Take the #QuarantineTimeChallenge I’ve launched a campaign to inspire Christian entrepreneurs worldwide to take this #QuarantineaTime to re-start, re-build, and re-engineer the Business God Created You to Start! During this time, let’s discover what you could do with all this season of time God as given us in order to jumpstart your business ideas: 1. Launch Your Personal Website Check out www.alexmiranda22.com. It’s basically my online resume. I believe all entrepreneurs need one of these, regardless if you plan on becoming a personal brand later. I think this has become as necessary and fundamental as a business card. Essentially, it’s an online business card. You can go to www.wix.com/templates/personal-brand and see that there are so many you can choose from and have yours up and running in no time. This is a fabulous opportunity to stop for a moment and document your entrepreneurial journey and ventures. This will motivate you to carry on. 2. Finally, update your portfolio, case studies, and client spotlights I know I’m not alone when I say that I could be doing a much better job at showing off my client work and spotlighting client success stories. It frustrates me to no end that, even as a branding agency, I do a terrible job at keeping up with my portfolio. I’m sure you’ve also been looking for some spare time to update your website portfolio. Me and my team are going to look through all our folders and uncover every project we’ve been working on lately, freshen up our portfolio design, and pack into it all the experience that we’ve have gathered. Regardless of your industry, if you take time to document your case studies, you’ll be opening some new doors for your business. Remember that every case is a story. You should give a background, what the challenge was, and how you came alongside to bring success to your client. Here’s a good example Doctor Transformational Success Story Branding Agency Case Study 3. Offer to help, NOT SELL. Here’s how. The other day I sent an email out with ideas for my clients on things they can be doing while under #QuarantineTime. I wasn’t selling anything. In fact, my email said “reply to me and I’ll help you brainstorm ideas for your business.” I've seen other coaches offer free 20-minute strategy sessions. And I've seen some companies open up their online courses for FREE during this time, offering a 2-month coupon. Since many people will be restructuring and rethinking, now is a good time to HELP your customers think outside the box. Get on social media or open up a mass email and invite your clients and prospects to take advantage of you. Get on the phone, jump into some chats, and keep engaging! Even if you don’t see how it could turn into a sale, now is the time to SHOW SOME LOVE. When we love and serve others, we’re being like Christ. When we’re like Christ, we make ourselves BLESSABLE by God. And when we’re bless-able, God is able to do MORE through us and He’ll provide more too! 4. Redesign Your Website, Business Processes, or Services Don’t like your website? Not happy with how you handle customer orders? Need to re-think your service offering? All of these things affect your BRAND IMAGE, and now is a perfect time to work on those. My company will be redesigning our website over the next month. I’m also pressing play on some initiatives to launch some new products. Spend some time redesigning or re-engineering your business. Do something NEW that you’ve always wanted to do. 5. Time to Learn What You’ve Always Been Telling Yourself to Learn For me, I’ve always known that I need to learn about Facebook ads. It’s just been eating me alive for YEARS that I haven’t gotten into it. This #QuarantineChalllenge is going to be when I finally dive deeper into them. You’ve got some books stacked up. There’s a couple of online courses you have bookmarked. Now you have the time to sit down and learn. I suggest digging deeper into topics relevant to your industry. Sharpen your toolkit. PRO TIP: Jump on LinkedIn and share with the business world what you’re learning. People will start to see you as an expert. 6. Teach and Share Your God-Given Knowledge I started www.DailyGodpreneur.com because I was studying the Bible for everything about entrepreneurship and blogging about my experiences. My desire to SHARE KNOWLEDGE is what’s helped me build up the following I have. This #QuarantineChallenge is your opportunity to invite others into conversations with you so you can show them what you’re capable of. Do you know how to coach mom’s into helping their babies fall asleep? Then share your knowledge! Do you know how to cook a healthy meal for your kids? Then share your knowledge. Are you a Facebook ads guru at your job? Then share your knowledge. Share cases studies or projects you’ve been working on. Talk about what God has been showing you on this journey. Give insight into things you’re researching. Let others know about the books you’re reading or TedTalks you’re watching. 7. Start a Blog, Write a Book (I’ll Show You How) I have over 650 blog posts written at www.DailyGodpreneur.com. The reason I have so many is because I figured our a formula. Have you wanted to start a blog or write a book? This is a perfect time to get that going! But writing a book is such a huge task! However, writing it section by section is not. The formula is 3 blog posts become 1 chapter 3 chapters become 1 section 3 sections become 1 book If you do the math, that’s 27 blog posts becomes 1 book. Cool, right? Watch my free webinar here where I go into a little more detail. 8. Organize the Entrepreneurs of Your Church My church switched to an ‘online church’ model because of the Coronavurus quarantine. This means all the ministry’s have also moved online. Think about putting together an online mastermind of other Christian entrepreneurs where you guys can all share your experiences. Get with the business owners of your church and share tips of what’s working now. Let’s all feed off of each other. This is a time to make new friends and connections. Even though we can’t see each other phtlysically, we have zoom! We can still collaborate. Start building more community. Now is the time…now more than ever! 9. Build a Community by Launching a Contest or Challenge When the quarantine started happening, I got with my team to launch the #QuarantineChallenge out of nowhere. I had never done anything like it. It was totally out of the blue! What can you come up with to get community involvement? I’ve seen so many things popping up where groups are coming together for so many reasons. Launch a contest or start a Facebook or LinkedIn group. When this is all over, the community will always remember you for leading and giving the way you did. 10) LAUNCH A NEW BUSINESS! What if this is the moment for you to finally launch your coaching business? What if now is the time to start your consulting firm? What if you could FINALLY start your freelance graphic design career? There are so many possibilities! Join the #QuarantineChallenge to finally start the business God created you to start! Click here. This is a time to THINK INSIDE THE BOX of what God has created you for. Now that you’re in the box, focus on your calling. I want to help guide you. Join me at the challenge. And please take care. Alex Miranda #LaunchingMyBusiness

I’ve had a branding agency since 2005. In branding, I’m supposed to help an entrepreneur uncover what business they were born to do and then help them bring that business to life through logos, websites, etc. Helping an entrepreneur shape their vision towards what they were “born to do” may seem like a simple set of questions to ask, but it’s a much deeper spiritual experience than meets the eye. In order to guide someone towards their calling in business, I act as a “mediator” between God and the client. I’m trying to channel what I feel the holy spirit wants of this person, and then positioning the message such that it motivates them to say “yes, that’s exactly what I want to do!” And because this is the awesome job I get to do weekly, whatever the bible has to teach about purpose, calling, vision, and identity, I pick up on and study it deeply. What I’ve come to discover is that having integrity is a critical piece of my life that I always need to be working on if I’m going to be the best “mediator” between God and my clients. Why? The Bible says in Matthew 5:8, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God” (NLT, second edition). In the business world, we don’t refer to people as being pure in heart, instead we do use the word “integrity.” To “see God” in business means 5 amazing things for your business life: 1.Entrepreneurs with pure hearts get to experience the presence of God in every meeting. Have you ever been in a meeting and something just didn’t feel right? Someone without integrity would ignore that “feeling” and push through the negativity to get the deal signed. You and I both know those deals always end up in some kind of disaster. Why? Because God was trying to warn you from the beginning, but impure hearts came to the meeting table and didn’t allow for the presence of God to dictate the outcome. For me, I need that presence of God if I’m going to “feel” my way through helping a client understand what business God created them to start. At the same time, the Holy Spirit can help me guide someone AWAY from something I’m not feeling right about for them. 2. Entrepreneurs who have integrity get to feel the power of God when transacting in the marketplace. God is so powerful, but when you are depending upon your own strength, you are losing the greatest source of power in the universe: the One Who created the universe. If today you’re facing an uphill slope, why not set your sails to catch God’s power because you and I are surely going to need it. For me, when I help someone uncover what they were born to do, I need the power of God to help us push through to launching the business because every type of force of resistance will come about to try to derail the brand coming to life. Think about it – I’m helping God help someone else draw closer to God through their business and bring a product or service to the marketplace that will help God’s bigger plan for the world – we’re about to be TARGET #1 for destruction. I need the power of God. 3. Entrepreneurs with pure hearts get to know the PURPOSE of God for their business lives. This is my favorite byproduct of integrity because I’m all about knowing my purpose in business and helping entrepreneurs find theirs. In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” When your heart isn’t pure and your integrity is cracking, it’s impossible for God to have 100% of you, so your spirit isn’t fully in tune with your purpose. You might still know your overall purpose, but calling is your day by day, minute by minute present walk. 4. Entrepreneurs who have integrity get to live in the peace of God. This one is so good! Have you ever found someone’s wallet on the floor and immediately turned it into a lost and found? That feeling you get is the peace of God. Or remember a time that you decided “ok, I’m going to knock out these 3 proposals in 1 hour,” and you did it. That’s because when you accomplish something you intended for, a peace comes over you because you’re being honest and true to yourself. That’s the peace of God when we have pure hearts. 5. Business men and women with pure hearts experience the pardon of God. What’s awesome about the concept of a pure heart is that if the impurities are called out and purposely removed, we can get back to a place of integrity. This is all possible because God pardons and wants you back in your purpose – God’s purpose for you here on earth. You do, however, need to repent of the lack of integrity and ask God’s forgiveness. Asking God for forgiveness involves the confession to God of whatever is throwing off your integrity: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Do you want to be one of those entrepreneurs with a pure heart? Do you want to have squeaky clean integrity? It’s impossible for us to have 100% pure hearts, but we should run our businesses with the intention to lead with integrity. In the next posts were going to explore ways to level up our integrity in business so we can experience the most God has for us. #WorkLifeBalance #StrengthenIntegrity

LinkedIn has a built-in notification that lets me know when it's someone's work anniversary or if they landed a new job. From this notification, I can easily congratulate them on their accomplishment. I do this every Monday; it’s on my calendar. It's a very simple, easy way to develop the habit of celebrating others. I'm also keenly aware of who is celebrating me and my posts. I see who likes, shares, and comments. I'm paying extra attention to THOSE individuals, going to their posts, and finding opportunities to engage with and celebrate them. We all have an internal desire to be celebrated, appreciated, and liked by others. This isn't about narcissism. This is by design. The Bible says "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11) God designed us to celebrate each other. There are plenty of difficulties faced in business that will need to be overcome, so there has to be a counter-balance in place. That's where encouragement comes in. As you grow your influence on LinkedIn, you need good people in your network, and you need to be a good person in someone else's network. As a Christian entrepreneur, you might be the ONLY word of encouragement in a person's life that day, week, or even month! Our LinkedIn relationships should not be a stressful part of our day. Yes, sometimes there will be times where we "challenge" someone or someone who might hold us accountable for something we said or did, but celebrating and encouraging each other should be the OVERALL theme. Receiving and giving celebrations is the most underutilized, most powerful secret sauce to building relationships on LinkedIn. It's important that we choose relationships that appreciate our worth and who support and encourage us, and we do the same for others. This brings me to my next point: we have to block abusive relationships. To read more articles on LinkedIn, click here. #AttractingRightClients

My key to THRIVING during this pandemic was staying PRESENT in my work - my purpose and calling. God brought me clients that only came because they had time during the quarantine, assigned uniquely to me because I was qualified and in my zone of genius. As we all launch into this unknown and unchartered territory of reengaging in business post-quarantine, uncovering and launching the business God created us to do is of the highest importance. Our relationships with people, and the solutions our products and services provide, are of the utmost urgency! What if you don't know what to do? Pray. Your God is faithful even in the middle of disasters. He still speaks and directs your business dreams. Godpreneur, what is God asking you to launch in your present NOW. Not when the dust settles, and the economy improves, but TODAY. That "shoulda, woulda, coulda" feeling of that product or service... that's the work God wants you to LAUNCH NOW! It might not make sense, but that's what launching into the unknown with God is all about - faith. God hasn't changed His mind about your calling in business just because the world's future is uncertain. A calling from God isn't subject to the things of this world. Here are two important things to consider that will help you launch into the unknown during any crisis or challenge. Ask God to Do His Work Through You I was playing golf with my friend Julio, and he said something profound. He said, "God laughs at our plans." I stayed stuck on that thought. God would laugh either because our business plans are much smaller than what He has for us, or, our ideas are outrageously out of line with His calling for us. But what I couldn't stop thinking about was the fact that we have a plan, and then there is God's plan. We want God to revive our businesses. We've spent weeks in quarantine plotting our return to entrepreneurship; however, we likely prayed for God to restore OUR work, and maybe not HIS work. Leading a God-first business requires us to pray for a God-centered work to be done in the marketplace. It has very little to do with any of our abilities and all to do with work that only God can do. We become vessels willing to carry out the plan. An act of God will reveal your calling to respond. However, with the economy messed up, business revenue down, and our pausing on projects, our businesses could use some life, we might be tempted to ask God to revive some previous version of our business. We need to ask ourselves if asking for God to restore something WE want is in line with the NEW work HE might wish to do. The Bible says "Lord , I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord . Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." (Habakkuk 3:2 NIV) A God-first business owner makes God-centered requests. God is the bigger picture behind business-ownership and entrepreneurship. He's the entire reason for the launch of the products and services, so it's Him that can do all the work! You might be tempted to ask God to revive YOUR previous business. Let me encourage you to pick your head up out of the weeds, look around, and see the BIGGER PICTURE. Entrepreneurship is not about what you want, it's about stewarding God's calling to accomplish His eternal work. Our place in God's plan, our mark on it—is our brand. This is what will give us our purpose and significance. The trick is to ask nothing of ourselves, but instead to let God move in and through our businesses in a fantastic way. Being a Daily Godpreneur is a way we seek His face so we can move into the unknown one day at a time. Successfully launching into the unknown with confidence and excitement requires us to fully embrace that God is the Creator and sustainer of every industry and marketplace. He is supreme, and whatever WE might want pales in comparison to what only HE can do. Imagine if all of us Godpreneurs had the perspective of asking God to do what only He can do. This is the HOPE needed to launch into the unknown successfully. Pray for God to revive HIS work in your business. Choose to Rejoice I'm an optimistic guy. I can find good in any situation. Throughout the pandemic, I didn't get any anxiety, stress, or depression, even though I had lost revenue. Instead, I praised God for the slow down in my life, for bringing me home to my family, and for letting me spend more time with my son. I chose to rejoice, even though everything was chaotic, and the economy was falling apart. When we face challenges in business, we can choose to let the fear overtake us, or we can choose to rejoice in God. It's this very attitude that we need to embrace to have the ENERGY we need to launch into the unknown. The Bible says "yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:18) On the edge of the UNKNOWN that we all face as we re-launch, we Godpreneurs make the only choice that provides peace, freedom, and hope to those in need. We must choose to rejoice. But how will it be possible for us to rejoice when many of us get backed up on bills, business doors shut, and need to start over from scratch? How can we choose to celebrate instead of letting depression overtake us and become another victim of the circumstances, worrying ourselves, too sick to launch anything? The Bible says "Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain!" (Habakkuk 3:19 MSG) For an entrepreneur, this means that God is the business plan, the execution strategy, and the leader through the storm. Putting God in charge of the business plan helps the entrepreneur keep launching into the unknown as if the victory has already happened. God will be the fuel your rocket needs to launch. If you trusted God in your business before, why wouldn't you believe it in the most uncertain of times? For the first time in history, all of humanity sits at the same playing field, holding on to hope day-by-day. Not even the smartest wall street people know what's coming for the economy. However, the promise of God is sure and unmistakable. When God is first in our businesses, we don't launch in fear or terror. We faithfully step into the unknown, making spiritual and business progress despite marketplace troubles - however dreadful things might look. For us, Kingdom-minded entrepreneurs, fear in the face of suffering won't stop us. We have faith over the fear. We have faith in our great responsibility to move forward with Jesus guiding our launch (or re-launch) plans. Father, Son, and Spirit is OUR STRENGTH. #LaunchingMyBusiness

Lust isn’t just for sexual desires, it can be for our desires in business too! Maybe what you crave is dreams of money and entrepreneurial fame. This starts to consume your mind and overwhelm your soul’s purpose in business. Or maybe it’s something material: that 2nd home near Disney, that shiny Ferrari, that sweet RV. You wake up thinking about everything you’ll buy once you figure it all out, and go to sleep with it on your heart. The Bible says, But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. (Ephesians 5:3 NIV) Whatever you lust after in business, it takes every ounce of restraint a God-First entrepreneur can muster to hold ourselves back from plowing headlong after it. Why? Because lust makes even the strongest Godpreneur weak. Let’s all get in the habit of pointing our feet away from the temptation—and turning our eyes away from it. What is it doing on our vision boards anyway? We shouldn’t be putting ourselves in that position. We Kingdom-minded entrepreneurs need to practice common sense and good judgment, know our weaknesses, and shore up our defenses. #StrengthenIntegrity

The Gospel’s Clash With Culture’s Radical Egalitarianism God says interesting things. He never takes one side or the other … it’s always about bringing both sides into unity through Him. One of the strangest things that grabbed me recently was this verse from Romans 12:16: “Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.” What?! “Condescend” is a terrible word in 21st Century Western society. Just read this grotesque definition from Webster’s: “1. Show feelings of superiority; be patronizing. 2. Do something in a haughty way, as though it is below one’s dignity or level of importance.” The mere thought of it makes me uncomfortable. God is telling us to act like pompous, arrogant know-it-alls? This isn’t going to sit well with the grievance industrial complex. I foresee lawsuits and a Twitterstorm of self-righteous indignation. If this is what Paul actually meant, we have a case where Scripture contradicts itself. But Scripture never contradicts itself. Yeshua also told us, “Do not cast your pearls before swine.” Did he mean to say that “some men are pigs, and others are not”? No, because elsewhere He spends entire sermons telling us that no one is excluded from salvation through faith in Him. Just so, there is a context and a framework for us to apply to this command. We must discover what it is. Why “Equality” of Outcomes Is a Myth One look at nature ought to tell you our Father’s attitude concerning equal outcomes. Eagles enjoy the freedom of flight, and wield the power of tremendously good eyesight. They can spot a rodent scurrying across the floor of the forest, from hundreds of feet in the air. But that same bird, hunted by the fowler, would give anything for the gills of a lanternfish, to hide underwater and avoid the bullet of a rifle. His gifts are only eclipsed by his limitations. This would be easier to accept if some human beings could fly, while others could live underwater. But on the surface, we appear to have little difference in needs, from one person to the next. Air, water, food, shelter, elimination, reproduction - on that level, it’s standard formula. Only when we perceive ourselves correctly - as spiritual beings with physical bodies - that our differences and variety become clear. I’ve met people of tremendous gifting in certain areas … and been blown away when they’ve told me, “I wish I had your skill with language.” On my podcast, Influencer Networking Secrets, I’ve spent the last two years interviewing the most brilliant minds I can find, including some very recognizable names in the Kingdom of God. You’d be shocked to learn of the opportunities it’s afforded me, because of the things people sense in me. I can’t perceive what they find so valuable; I’m just being myself. But it doesn’t matter … what’s important is how they feel when we interact. They feel the same as I do, listening to them … “This person has such a depth of knowledge” … “This lady projects warmth and enthusiasm like no one else” … “This guy could kill you as soon as look at you” … “She is an irresistible force” and so on. Spiritually, we are incredibly different. Uniquely gifted, and uniquely limited. Forged and influenced by our heritage, background, ancestry, upbringing, education, surroundings, tribes and experience. There are too many variables. That’s why it’s such a thrill to discover that rare person who thinks the same way you do … at least until you learn that in some ways, they think differently. How To Condescend In a Godly Way Believe it or not, the original “Condescender” is Yeshua Himself. God The Son, the Word Made Flesh, took on full humanity. It was one way He could later tell us, in Hebrews 4:15, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness, for He Himself was tempted in every way.” We also don’t have a foolish God, who lacks the foresight to anticipate sin’s abuse of the merit system. In an equally baffling passage known as the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, Yeshua compares His Kingdom to … a socialist system, where the man who works eight hours a day gets paid exactly the same as the man who works for one! What do you make of that, Mr. Overachiever? God understands - our pride can swim low as a lanternfish, or soar high as an eagle. We don’t have to become strutting egomaniacs, in order to be prideful. We can also swim in self-hatred, unforgiveness and cursing, to avoid surrender, reconciliation, union and intimacy with Him. All very well … but what does it have to do with condescension? I’ll explain by sharing a little dream I have for my podcast. I’m a big fan of Ray Lewis, the Hall of Fame middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens. I love listening to him explain the mindset and strategy behind the game. I’d love to interview him. If Ray appeared on my show, and I asked him about football, he would condescend to answer. Wouldn’t you agree? I’ve never played a game of full-contact, tackle football in my life. I'm a 100% certified armchair cornerback. For all of Ray’s field prowess and force of personality, however, I wouldn’t need him to admit it - there are areas of life where he feels weak, unprepared or incompetent. It only takes a semi-private, 60-minute conversation to discern what some of them might be. I’m not kidding - I have leveraged my “strengths” many a time, for people far more socially prominent than me. This is why I wouldn’t hesitate to ask someone like Ray, “How could I make myself useful to you? What’s the hardest part of being you right now?” Like the Master, I am not a priest of God unable to empathize with the weakness of others - even successful, accomplished, influential others like Ray Lewis. The “completeness” status the world confers on people like him is phony. Ask anyone who’s ever achieved it. I can condescend to anyone - once I know their weakness. That’s the rule of the game, and what makes “Christian condescension” so different from worldly condescension. If you understand God’s design for human interaction - that “we who are strong are to bear with the weak” - it makes for a much more level playing field. And like the Master, I am here “not to be served, but to serve.” Don’t read this and think, “Oh boy, he wants me to join the ushers or parking lot ministries.” We’re talking about caring enough to find out where people struggle, and showing up with your strength. The purpose of your strength, in other words, is to lovingly and tactfully spend it, on behalf of others. And the purpose of your weakness is to know you share in the experience of being human, so you don’t elevate one person over another - especially yourself. #StrengthenIntegrity Paul Edwards wears many hats – bestselling author, podcast host, executive ghostwriter, strategic connector. Hus band, father, older brother to younger men. Amateur theologian, men’s physique competitor, voice mimic, and recovering insurance salesman. A first-generation Spanish-speaking immigrant to the US with African heritage and Middle East combat experience, Paul lived in five different countries and speaks two languages. Paul does two things well: words and people. When he isn’t writing content for clients, you’re most likely to find him building relationships and creating opportunities for his network. Instagram: @thepaulsedwards