For me, the worst part about being an entrepreneur is the times when I’m suffering from not knowing where the next contract is coming from,  no money to pay the bills, and total loss of clarity and focus. Suffering sucks. Especially as a Christian that loves God. Why wouldn’t God just bless me already?! I know I’m not alone here. We’ve all been to the point of suffering where we’re ready to hang up the towel. We start questioning whether this is our calling. We think maybe God is moving us to a 9-5 job. Today I read in Genesis 15:13-14: Then the lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth God gave Abram a promise of blessings, but He also promised suffering and delay. When I’m suffering is when I’m drawing the closest to God. It's when I realize He’s all I really need and have. When I’m suffering I’m being sanctified and cleaned of all moral and ethical failures I may be committing. When I’m suffering God wants to know if I have what it takes to be a Godpreneur in this world. He wants to know if I’m going to remain strong and that my faith GROWS because of it. You are suffering because God allows entrepreneurs to suffer so we GROW. But when you go get a loan from the bank or a friend or family member, you’re rescuing yourself to fill your life with material blessings, depriving yourself of important lessons that are supposed to help you grow. The only reason you should get a loan is because you’ve figured out the formula to turn $1 into $3 and you need the $1 to do it. Godpreneurs know that God’s blessings are found not only in “good times,” but also in suffering and delay. Once we grasp this concept, we are more likely to grow in a way that benefits our businesses eternally. God is walking beside you when you experience the blessings of entrepreneurial suffering. He just took me out of a crazy season of suffering and I’m still standing with my business to tell the story! #BusinessBibleStudy #GainConfidence #FindMyCalling

This is a touchy subject, and very personal for me. I was making tons of money selling graphics and websites to nightclubs. From 2005-2014, we pretty much led the industry in this niche. I was speaking at nightclub conferences, writing nightclub marketing books, and leading nightclub marketing blogs. But anyone will tell you that the industry is unstable and, at times, abusive. They didn’t always pay on time, they closed down from one day to the next, and always needed everything yesterday. I became tired of it all, but…my identity was wrapped in it. I was Alex, the nightclub guy. Also, my employees received their pay from these clubs, and I did too. How do we let go of things that aren’t bringing us joy anymore? How do we transition from a business we USED to love, but now we hate. It’s not easy. Killing your old identity to start a new one isn’t a ‘snap your finger’ event and poof, everything is all good. Like death, there are stages you will go through until you’re out. How long does that last? Well, that’s up to our ability to know one important question: If this other business isn’t for me, then what is?!?! I believe God has a purpose for us all, a business we’re supposed to be in, a service we were gifted to provide, a product we were talented enough to create. Step 1 is seeing the new opportunity, the ‘born to do’ path.  You have to see how you’re going to get back to the same revenues, and MORE! In the book of Acts, chapter 19, there’s a riot that ensues in the city Ephesus because of…well, businessmen that were about to be out of business because of Jesus! Let me explain. The city of Ephesus worshiped this certain goddess. Everyone in the world at that time knew that Ephesus was all about this particular goddess. People would travel there to witness this. Naturally, savvy entrepreneurs set up shop. Craftsmen made figures to represent the goddess. Can you blame them? I would have too! Business is business. But when Paum and his disciples come into the city to tell them the REAL God and, essentially, debunk their current God, you can imagine the businesses that profited from this goddess were none too happy. They formed a huge mob and got the entire city behind them. These businessmen couldn’t see how life would be if they weren’t doing their current business. They were so attached to this one thing that they were blind to using their skills for anything else. You might be in a situation where the industry is changing. You might be encountering a shift in your own mind about the services you provide because you don’t think it’s a good industry anymore. But you can’t think of any way out. You have to realize that God has plans for you that are so much greater than what you think. Think of your biggest plans, now multiply them by 10. You STILL fall short of God’s best for you. But it all starts by recognizing that you won’t be able to achieve this on your own. You can’t know your ‘calling’ in life without going to your ‘caller’ and asking this question: what would you have me do next? This complete surrender is what I had to go through in 2014 when I completely dropped the nightlife. From one day to the next, all of my clients were put on notice that this would be the final round of designs. I sent everyone to new clients. 2015 turned out to be the biggest, most profitable year of my business. Everything turned around. I found joy in what I really wanted to do. I didn’t need to deal with the nightlife anymore. We all have things in our business we want to move away from. We all have clients we wish we didn’t have. So what’s stopping it from happening? You. Godpreneur Rule #17: To know your calling in life, you must go to the one who has called you into existence. #FindMyCalling #BusinessBibleStudy

I know I was called to a specific type of work: to prophesy into the lives of entrepreneurs and help uncover, discover, and recover their business calling. By “calling,” I mean a direct, unmistakable command from God to take up the particular task of helping people discern what God has called them to do in business. My job is to bring that to life through logos, websites, and key messaging that will express this purpose. My profession is branding and my specific type of work is consulting people to find their purpose in life and express that through an inspired brand. Many in the Bible received an individual call from God to an exact job. God called Noah to build the ark. God called Moses and Aaron to their tasks. He called prophets such as Samuel, Jeremiah, and Amos. He called Abram and Sarah and a few others to undertake journeys or to relocate. He placed people in political leadership including Gideon, Saul, and David. God chose Bezalel and Oholiab as craftsmen for the tabernacle. Jesus called the apostles and some other of his disciples, and the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to be missionaries. The word “call” is not always used, but the unmistakable direction of God for a particular person to do a particular job is clear in these cases. The Bible says: The word of the Lord came to me, saying,  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4‭-‬5 NIV The evidence of calling in the Bible is why I know there’s something I was born to do. So how did God guide or lead me to this particular type of work? God opened my eyes, ears, heart, and spirit to be filled with the knowledge of His will. I prayed for wisdom to follow me in my office and in my strategy sessions. Simply put, I walk in obedience to the things that God shows me. #BusinessBibleStudy #FindMyCalling

I had a feeling that we are all entrepreneurs…kind of like how we are all salespeople. Being an entrepreneur is a huge honor, especially when you aim to please the Lord through your business. Work harder than ever before, focus on your goals, pray away any overwhelming thoughts, and let God lead your way to success. #NewEntrepreneurs

The other day my wife and I went to the grocery store. She was hungry, I wasn’t. I think you know where I’m going with this. All diets, dietitians, and nutritionists say that you should NEVER go to the grocery store when you’re hungry. Makes sense. When I go to the store hungry, I stock up on Star Crunch and Funyuns. But when I’m in a clear state of mind due to not being hungry, I can make better decisions on what to fuel my body with. Is it possible that in an effort to be the best entrepreneur we can be, we sometimes neglect our own spiritual growth? When the demands of our business require us to be on the go from dawn until late at night, we may be tempted to sacrifice our quiet time, prayer, or other spiritual disciplines. The Bible says: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (Acts 20:28 NIV). Notice he warned them first to keep watch over themselves; then their flock. What a valuable lesson for us as business owners. You will have a hard time leading and giving of yourself to anyone from an empty spiritual “cup.” Even Jesus had to take time away from the crowds and His disciples to talk to the Father. Your relationship with God is your first priority, you are in a better position to serve your family, friends, and business. When we forget to give God the best of our day, we may begin to see issues like anger, bitterness, resentment, and moral dilemmas arise in our office, in meetings, and around clients and vendors. We are not doing our business any favors when we are spiritually exhausted. #BecomeDisciplined #StrengthenIntegrity

Sometimes I wake up so frustrated at the things I’m doing or NOT doing in my business. I know the power of focusing on one industry, one service, one product, and one message. But there’s just so much to do! So...what’s my mission?! All entrepreneurs go through foggy stretches where we get confused about our mission in life. When this happens, I turn to the Bible for peace and clarity because ‘fog’ is a very frustrating place to be, especially for a guy like me that’s into ‘vision’ so much. We’re all managers in God’s company. So first step is realizing that you’re not the ultimate owner, you’ve just been trusted to be the President of a certain division of God’s huge company. Knowing this, then we can understand that fundamentally our great purpose as Godpreneurs is to GIVE God GLORY in our business, receive and reflect his LOVE to our TEAM, and act as His agents in bringing BENEFIT to the lives of our CLIENTS. That’s why you were created to be a Godpreneur. That’s why you were redeemed. So when you wake up foggy, and you get that frustration of “What’s my life’s main purpose?", I want you to remember: “In all your ways acknowledge him” (Proverbs 3:6). What if we all woke up saying “God, I am working for you today. Thanks for letting me into your company.” How much easier would our daily decision-making get if we began each day like this? Try it out. #WorkLifeBalance #TimeManagement

Shared workspaces are all the rage! I’ve owned a shared workspace for 5 years now. In fact, the original intent of my company 11 years ago, Creative Complex, was to be a complex (like a compound) of creatives working together. That dream came true when I began renting desks out to designers, developers, and music artists. There’s something amazing that happens in shared workspaces. I get to feed off of others. We all get to come to each other in good times and in bad, consult with each other’s businesses, even collaborate on projects. As humans, we were created to be in a community with others. We fulfill that need in many ways: attending church, BNI groups, happy hours, tailgating, masterminds, conferences, and more. These groups provide support, accountability, entertainment, and other indulgences. But one of the biggest human needs we have is the need for security. Humans need a number of essentials to survive. We need food, water, and shelter. These are followed by the need for safety and security, then belonging or love, self-esteem, and finally, personal fulfillment. Shelter. Next to food and water, we need SHELTER. As I was doing my Bible reading today, I was reminded how God wants us to be fed from His word, but he also wants us to find shelter in Him. God wants us to share in His big office space, in His amazing shared workspace, and find shelter with Him! Psalms 91:1‭-‬2 says: "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” There are times in your business where you will feel alone. Maybe it’s a day you’re working from home, there are no meetings, and the next community event you’re having is days away. Your bills are due, your vendors are knocking for payments, and you don’t know where the next check is coming from. Can I encourage you to SEEK SHELTER? Yes, act like a Tornado or Hurricane is coming and you need to take refuge! The Psalmist continues to write: "If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent." (Psalms 91:‬9‭-‬13) Imagine if we all sought shelter in God’s shared workspace! How can we remind ourselves that our office, our building, our car, our home office…anywhere can be a place where we seek shelter if we do it intentionally to meet God there. Godpreneur rule 91: Godpreneurs seek shelter always. #AgencyOwners #HiringtheRightPeople #FindingMyPurpose

In the last 9 years of owning a business, I’ve probably lost it all and gained it back about 5 times. It’s been a hell of a roller coaster ride. At one point, I had an office on South Beach, 8 employees, and I was on top of the world with a fast-growing marketing agency. We had the backing of some major money; everything was awesome. And almost overnight, it collapsed in my face. And then I rebuilt. New employees, new direction, but a smarter me. A couple of years later, I was rocking and rolling again. This time I had several businesses, and I was managing to make all of them happen. Momentum was great! And almost overnight, it collapsed in my face. As Entrepreneurs, we live on this roller coaster of highs and lows. And if you’re like me, the lows are DREADFUL times, and you’ve had times when you lose great employees, huge contracts, valuable clients, strong partnerships, and big bank accounts. For me, it's almost a pattern, but the most recent case has been very different. The low doesn’t have the devastating effect that it used to have on me. I’ve learned something amazing that I want to share with you entrepreneurs to minimize the low blow. One of the things I’ve learned is that God comes from the story of Job in the Bible. Here is an entrepreneur that owns 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 5,000 oxen, 500 donkeys, and a large number of servants. He had 10 children. Even in today’s economy, Job would be considered a pretty big farmer….imagine back then. I’m not an economist, but if I did some math, he’d probably be a BILLIONAIRE, or close to it. But in one night…it was all stripped away. His animals, his servants…even his children. You and I have probably not experienced what Job went through. Granted, his experience was probably the most recent extreme of examples of having it all taken away. But God’s lesson is still valuable for us. The same night of losing it all, Job kneeled and prayed.’ “Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” What I’ve learned is to lessen the blow of the low, our hearts need to be set on God daily, our minds need to be focused on the vision that God has for our business life, and our immediate reaction to blow off the low needs to turn to God and praise Him. #BusinessBibleStudy #EnhanceFocus

When I first started my business, the partnership between the founders was great! Two of my best friends and I, coming together to take matters into our own hands and leave the corporate life. But as we grew, we experienced conflicts with various parts of the business. From money to marketing, and hiring and firing, we bumped heads on a lot of things. Attitudes flared, pride jumps in, one email would set a wildfire of email attacks, and we were back in conflict. As entrepreneurs, we all experience conflict in business partnerships much as we do in our personal relationships. Joint ventures gone wrong, teams that fall apart, we have times where we feel left out, singled out, treated unfairly, or undeserving of a harsh comment. As I grew closer to God in the years that my business grew, I would begin to handle these conflicts differently. The Bible verse I had to memorize was Romans 5:3-4: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” You have to learn to stop and ask yourself “what can I do to grow (or help someone else grow) in the midst of these experiences? You should trust God to work through the situation. Just pray. God will teach you and your partners valuable business lessons through dealing with conflict in entrepreneurship. Godpreneur Rule #28: In times of conflict, Godpreneurs realize it’s a moment of potential growth and pray for God to work through the situation in hand. #BuildMyPersonalBrand #AgencyOwners #BusinessPartnerships

When I was a kid, I wanted to own my own business. My dad wanted me to get a ‘real career’. Maybe I’d become a lawyer?. So I entered Cornell as a pre-law student. The first year killed me! I hated it. So I switched to what I wanted to do, business. And school became a joy. Sometimes we’re doing things to please other people, conform to culture and society, or worst of all, for money!! That’s the worst. What I’ve come to discover after meeting with thousands of entrepreneurs and running my own business is that we have to do a deep discovery into our purpose on this earth in order to be in the right business. The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God already knows what we’re supposed to do, and life is a journey of drawing closer to God so He reveals that great purpose and then carries you from season to season in your life, directing what you should do next. Are you starting a business someone else wants for you? Before you jump to a “no!” reaction, reflect deeply on this question. Most entrepreneurs are unconscious about what influences have directed their business choices to date. Look, your parents, siblings, wife, friends, and business partners want that life for you for one of two reasons: They want the best for you (from THEIR perspective) They want the best for themselves (how what you do reflects on THEM). So, what do you do? You need to, first, become aware that this is the case. You may need to pray and meditate about this for some time. But don’t get frustrated and start blaming them for lost years. This is on you. You were the one that didn’t ask the important question of ‘what on earth am I here for?’. Understand their intent and perspective but don’t fault them for it. Now that you’re in total awareness, you can look inside to plan out the changes you need to make in order to get on your path. What if everyone in the world was living the purpose God intended for them? That’s my life mission!! What’s yours? Comment with your life purpose below. #ShareYourTestimony #FindingMyPurpose

I’m convinced my previous business partnerships didn’t work because we were fighting for different causes. I was on a spiritual revolution and I was changing my life from things that didn’t please God. I didn’t necessarily know where I was going, I just knew it wasn’t where I and my partners were at the time. I began to steer the ship in a different direction and this is when troubles began. Eventually, I had to let go of the ship completely and jump off it. I partnered up with new people who were going in the same direction I was and my new company got massive momentum and took off. It’s amazing to have a partner who also believes in the same mission and business vision as you do. In Ecclesiastes chapter four King Solomon says, “Two are better than one” and “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves” and finally “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Look at what happens in these verses. He makes his case first for a married couple locking arms and standing together against anything and everything that the world throws at them. Then he takes it up to a whole new level with the “cord of three strands.” I believe this is also a picture of two Godpreneurs along with God bound together in a business partnership ready to take on the world. The God of the universe. The God of all creation. The God who is everything cares about your business partnership. He cares so much that He will put Himself right in the middle where He belongs – if you let Him. Nothing will ever be able to stand against your business if you are united and putting God first. If there is something standing behind you fighting together. Is it something from the past that is still unsolved? Maybe it is an issue of broken trust or un-forgiveness. Whatever it is, your first step is to let God search your heart and reveal you what needs to be changed in order to make His will in your life. That can be a little scary, because when you open yourself up and completely let Him in, things are going to change. The control passes from your hands into His, I mean He always got control of your life, but now you are realizing it. I promise you this, God will never do anything that is not the very best for you, your business partner, and your business. The Bible says: "Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Colossians 3:13 NLT Now you can do things differently. Now you can stand together instead of apart. Now you can lock arms with God and take on the world. Your life will be better. Your business partner’s life will be better. Your business? You cannot even imagine all that our amazingly good God will do for it. Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs ask God to fight with you and your business partner as you seek together the incredible business that He has for you. #BusinessPartnerships

When my business is doing great, I’m like ‘Yes God, you are amazing! Thank you! You’re rewarding me and pouring your blessings!’ When my business is down, I’m like ‘What did I do God? I’ll never do that thing again, I promise! Please stop punishing me!…’ I tend to see God the same way my parents raised me; Good gets rewarded and bad gets the belt. What goes around, comes around. I know I’m not alone. I think we all think this in business. A downturn in the financials has us thinking about where we went wrong. A customer service complaint has us dwelling on the past mistakes we might have made. The problem with what-goes-around-comes-back-around thinking is that it constantly has us walking on eggshells. Analyzing past actions to course-correct in the future is amazing, but analyzing the past to beat yourself up is exactly what the enemy came to do. To live in guilt will destroy the visions God gave us and put up walls of fear that will keep us from living the ‘risk it all’ lifestyle that an entrepreneur must endure. God gave us Paul in the book of Acts as an example of a man that knows his past but only focuses on his future. He’s not walking around shamed by the things of his past but instead focuses on the hope of the visions come to life of his future. In Acts 27 and 28, we see Paul get caught in a huge rainstorm on his way to Rome. There were 276 men on board this ship and Paul somehow finds a way to make this an opportunity to show everyone who God is. All men on board were prisoners and the guards in charge of them. All of them should have died, but Paul had a vision he shared, so their lives were spared. Everyone at home hearing about a shipwreck would have been like ‘they deserved to die for the actions that got them to jail’ but what goes around didn’t come around. God was good. While shipwrecked on an island, they were building a fire, and a venomous snake bit Paul. The natives on the island immediately said ‘this guy must be a murderer, he’ll be dead in minutes for the crimes he committed. But Paul shook the snake off and was never ill. In fact, with that same hand, he healed the father of the chief of the island. You see, the world has us thinking that what goes around comes around. But this simply isn’t true…not under God’s economy…not under God’s business plans. Instead, if you stay focused on your gifts and talents, and keep believing you are on a mission for Christ, then you will be able to shake off the seemingly life-threatening setbacks that befuddle us and chain us to guilt that we were already forgiven of. Godpreneur Rule #60: Godpreneurs learn from their mistakes, but don’t live in their mistakes. #GodpreneurAcademy #BecomeDisciplined #EnhanceFocus

Would you do the marketplace a favor and be you? Because the other entrepreneurs have their calling in business. Do your industry the favor of being you. The world needs the products and services you uniquely created to bring to life, or God wouldn’t have made you be you. If God wanted me to be some other business owner, I wouldn’t be me, and I would be them. Stop trying to be somebody else's company, stop letting the worldly business culture define what’s successful; God says you’re accomplished. The Bible says in Psalms 139:13‭ and 14, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it." Have you been checking Instagram and Facebook, seeing other friends of yours succeeding in their business, but when you look in the mirror, you feel dejected, wondering why you can't be like them? Meanwhile, God is looking at you, saying, "Child, you are victorious!" Too many entrepreneurs go around feeling wrong on the inside. They don’t like who they are; they focus on their faults, weaknesses, they are constantly critical about themselves. That recording of everything they’ve done wrong is always playing in their mind - "You’re impatient, you blew that deal, you lost your temper. You still struggle with finances. You should be ashamed of yourself." - They wonder why they’re not happy. It’s because they have this war going on inside of them. You’ve not supposed to be in business to feel wrong about yourself. Quit focusing on your faults. Quit over-analyzing your weaknesses. Quit beating yourself up because you’re not where you thought you would be. Here’s the key: you’re not a finished product. God is still working on you through your entrepreneurial ventures. The scripture says God changes us from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18). You have to learn to enjoy the glory that you’re in right now. You might have some weaknesses, all of us business owners do! You might have some areas where you know you need to improve, but being down on yourself will not help your company make more money. Having that nagging feeling that's telling you, "you don’t measure up in the marketplace, God’s not pleased with you, you´ll never get it right," - It’s not going to help you and your business move forward. You have to accept yourself right where you are on your entrepreneurial journey, faults and all. God is the potter, and we are the clay. He’s the one making you and molding your business. It may not be happening as fast as you'd like, but you don’t control the timetable. Will you trust Him in the process? Will you accept yourself in the glory that you’re in right now? Don’t go around being against yourself. You may be doing some things backward in your business, but can I tell you, you have a lot more right going on than wrong. You're always doing better than you think you are. You may have a long way to go to reach that financial goal, but if you look back, you’ll see how far you’ve already come. Keep your flaws in perspective: every business owner has something they’re dealing with. When you are for yourself, you agree with God. Some entrepreneurs have never once said, “I like myself. I like my gifts. I like my personality. I like my leadership skills. I´m happy with who God made me be in business.” If you don’t like yourself in a healthy way, your employees and clients will not like you. You project what you believe on the inside. If you feel wrong about yourself, you project inferiority, unfriendliness, and discontentment. I’m asking you to feel good about who you are - a Godpreneur. Your business might not be where you want it to be; however, you’re on the way! God is changing you from glory to glory. Start enjoying the glory that you’re in right now. You may have some weakness in certain areas of your company, we all do. But don’t travel this entrepreneurial road against yourself. God is saying, "today, you are my beloved son, my beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased." Now, do your part. Start putting on the breastplate of God’s approval before starting your business day. If we all did this, the chains that hold us Christian entrepreneurs back could be broken. God is going to keep making you and molding your business. You’re going to come up higher, overcome those obstacles, and become everything He’s creating you and your business to be. #GainConfidence

In my business, I use this CRM (customer relationship manager) called Infusionsoft. It’s a contact manager, pipeline manager, e-commerce store manager, AND email marketing manager. Oh, and did I mention that it does automated drip marketing and fulfillment too? COMPLICATED is an understatement. I still get overwhelmed when they come out with new stuff. Just purchasing this system took months of deliberating and planning because it was so highly complex. The more complex the thing seems the more resistance we have to get started. Even though the packaging promises that it’s going to save you thousands of hours (and thus dollars) if we implement it, we still have trouble making the decision and diving in. And once we’ve purchased it, sometimes we get overwhelmed that was just….another waste of money on a product or service I just couldn’t commit to getting to know and trust. If we can be honest with each other, we do the same thing with God. We know He’s good for business, for our life, for everything! But sometimes it can seem so complicated, such a commitment, so much to learn, and know, and do! We quit, we stop daily reading, we don’t pray every meal, we stop trusting, and the next thing we know, we’re off track. Here’s God’s promise in Psalms 91:14‭-‬16: “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God , “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust me [my emphasis]. Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!” This Infusionsoft program I use is a MIRACLE MAKER for my sales and marketing. It does deliver on everything it promises, but only if I commit to getting to know it, use it, and apply it in my business. I’ve had it for 6 years now and I wouldn’t be able to operate without it. That’s the same with God and bringing Him into my business. He has worked wonders beyond my imagination! It was all because I got to know and trust God. This commitment to building a relationship with Him daily and applying biblical principles in my business has made all the difference in my ability to REST in His presence, during good times and bad. Godpreneurs, if you’ll see God the same way you see a big investment in machinery or software in your business, you’ll be able to reap amazing benefits from the promises God has in store for you. Imagine if we all committed to getting to know God better and pulling the trigger of letting Him fully into every fabric of our businesses?! Godpreneur Rule # 12: commitment to knowing and trusting God is key to unlocking rescue from trouble in your business. #FindMyCalling #ArticulatingMyIdeas #FindingMyPurposes

Something I choose to work on a lot in my personal development is the art of patience – waiting for the right time to launch a new product or service, or waiting on the best time to hire someone. I have such big visions, I want to grow so fast! It’s likely tied to my need/want for success. It probably has roots in pride as well, since I want to be the first and only one doing what I do. I could even trace a bit of ego because I want to prove to others that I can create a big business that has tons of momentum and buzz. I’ve been down the road a handful of times, and each time I’ve LOST IT ALL. Yup, my pride, greed, and ego all got in the way of the ONE THING that entrepreneurs need when growing a business: patience to wait on God. I’m better every day and with every new venture because of the truth of Proverbs 6:1-5: "My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,  you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.  So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighborʼs hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion— and give your neighbor no rest!  Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.  Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler." Proverbs 6:1‭-‬5 NIV Just a couple of years back I had gone too fast, tried to run too far ahead of the plans, and I found myself in debt and having to make deals with contractors and vendors to reduce the amounts I owed them. A huge blow to my ego. Godpreneurs, it is never too late to throw our life into reverse if we detect that we are on the wrong road. Have courage today. Be honest with yourself and ask God to help you develop the patience you need to wait on Him and not create your own success. When we see a door of opportunity, there is nothing wrong with turning the door’s handle to see if it will open but a lot of heartaches can follow if we break down a door that is locked. I have learned some bitter lessons when I have done this. Creating my own success also places a burden on me to sustain that which I have created. On the other hand, when God allows me to go through a door, it is He who keeps the door open and I can rest in that partnership. Godpreneur Rule: Patiently wait on God for your business success and He will give you results greater than you could engineer on your own. #NewEntrepreneurs #LaunchingMyBusiness #SharpenLeadership