You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. (John 15:16 NIV) The words you use for your personal business development have power. God spoke the earth into existence. The bible even says “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 13:21) Your words have the power to build your business up or destroy it; to do what you were born to do, or to keep you from it. I suggest you take some time to open up a Google document and begin by writing down a vision statement for your life. The statement is short and sweet, two sentences max, and it summarizes you and your business existence. Mine has remained consistent over time, and yours should be too. Alex Miranda Vision Statement – I exist to help people uncover and bring to life the thing they were born to do. Then, you should write down your mission statement to explain in measurable terms how you plan on accomplishing your vision. One of my missions is to lead a global movement of Godpreneurs who are all following the Born to Do Method. I want to help millions of people uncover, discover and recover the thing they were Born to Do through my Instagram, blog, membership platform, books, live event seminars, and certification programs.  I wrote that mission down in 2016.  And guess what?  It’s actually happening!! Visit www.godpreneuracademy.com to see for yourself how powerful this exercise is.  I’m proof that it works! Imagine if we all set out to intentionally SPEAK our visions to life and if we did it consistently… Like DAILY! That’s why my blog is called DAILY Godpreneur, and it’s why I write daily… Because the power of words can change anything. #FindingMyCalling The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8 NIV) There’s a fantastic thing that happens when you uncover what you were ‘Born to Do’ and only operate from that place. What I was ‘Born to Do’ is to guide you to that place! This is the formula for operating in your ‘Born to Do’ Identity: Businesses Passions come from your heart and provide the energy you need to remain motivated. Operating in your business talents come naturally to you and produce a chemical in your brain that feels awesome! Using your spiritual gifts in business allows for supernatural things to happen in entrepreneurship because you’re tapping into God’s design for your products and services. Imagine if we all operated our businesses more closely to what we were ‘Born to Do’? All of us, Godpreneurs, need to be 100% aware of our gifts, talents, and passions so as to do everything we can to continue to evaluate them, memorize them, and commit to operating from them. When we do what we were born to do, then we will be the pure light of Christ in the marketplace, attracting opportunities to meet others and evangelize to them about the amazing God we serve that controls our business destiny and can help them too. That’s when business gets really meaningful! Godpreneur Rule:  A Godpreneur’s products and services shine brightest in the marketplace when we’re in our sweet spot – doing the exact thing we were born to do. #FindMyCalling #BusinessBibleStudy #GodpreneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10 NIV) If you don’t know what’s inside of the spiritual gift God’s given to you, then the gift is useless. It will never benefit you, your employees, or the marketplace around you. God has given you a spiritual gift to use in the marketplace that will take your business to places you could have never gone alone. Every one of us Godpreneurs has a duty, responsibility, and obligation to partner with God to use our gifts in our industries. God’s grace poured over us when we accepted Jesus and our businesses give us the opportunity to serve that gift to others freely. Imagine if we all used our gifts to point people the giver, and give all the praise and glory to God!? Imagine if our gifts encouraged others to want to draw closer to God so that they could find their gifts too?! That’s called Marketplace Ministry, and that’s our true calling as Godpreneurs. #FindMyCalling #BusinessBibleStudy #GodpreneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:3‭-‬8) So, what is the difference between a spiritual gift and natural talents in business? Gifts are Received, Business Talents are Inherited. President Donald Trump was born into an entrepreneurial family. Generations before him were doing business in farming and real estate. He inherited business talents from his family. You also see this in families that fish, farm, or even do accounting. My accountant is a father, son, and cousins all talented in crunching numbers. Natural talents are inherited from family and passed along through generations. They are naturally occurring in our genetics. On the other hand, spiritual gifts come from the Spirit of God within us. This is why it’s called a gift – we received it when we gave our lives to Christ. It was our gift from God to celebrate YOU and the work He’s going to entrust you to go through your business. Spiritual gifts are given at your spiritual birth, natural gifts come from your natural birth. Why is this important to know as a Godpreneur business owner? Because knowing yourself and your employees will help you put them in the right seat of your business. Spiritual Gifts are for the Saved / Talents are for the Saved and Unsaved When you do business in the marketplace, you’ll either do business with saved or unsaved. They will both be talented individuals, and those talents can be of great use in your business. Additionally, if they are saved, then you can also count on some kind of spiritual gift that they can bring to the business. Gifts of the spirit to look out for in employees, vendors and contractors are: The word of wisdom The word of knowledge Faith (extraordinary trust and surrender) Gifts of healing The effecting of miracles Prophecy The distinguishing of spirits Tongues The interpretation of tongues Service Teaching Exhortation Giving Leadership Mercy Apostleship Evangelism Pastoral care Keep in mind, even non-Christians can have gifts that are on this list of spiritual gifts, like leadership, giving and service. But there’s a major difference in the showing of gifts versus talents. Gifts are a Surprise and Get Sweeter over Time, Talents are Expected, and Get Better over Time I was a talented leader growing up. I was president of my school and served in many leadership roles. When I became Christian, my leadership multiplied, and my influence and wisdom skyrocketed because God transformed my leadership talent into a spiritual leadership gift. I could have gotten better as a leader without God, but instead of me becoming better God made me wiser and more people wanted to be around me and led by me, and I matured in my relationship with God. I was totally surprised when I saw my leadership abilities exponentially grow! The bible says: "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work". (Ephesians 4:14‭-‬16 NIV) We Godpreneurs have been gifted by God to accomplish something great in our industry and marketplaces. This is why we all need to expect the unexpected! But we need to use our gifts wisely because the enemy wants to confuse your gifts for talents for his own purposes too! Gifts have a Purposed-Focused Use, Talents Can be Used Selfishly We each need to use our gifts on business to shine the light of Christ. This is how we’ll experience true purpose and meaning in our businesses. But we need to be careful because many of us don’t use our spiritual gifts (exactly what the enemy wants), and we sit back and expect the other “more spiritual” people to do the heavy lifting of ministering in the marketplace. We Godpreneurs recognize that our gifts are to be used for amazing reasons and we continue to explore that and grow that gift. Imagine if all of us used the spiritual gifts given to us by God, and matured in our faith consistently? We would all see our businesses grow and blossom to glorify God and serve even more clients! Godpreneur Rule – Godpreneurs grow in our faith to enhance our spiritual gifts and serve more in the marketplace. #BusinessBibleStudy #FindMyCalling The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 NIV) You were born and handcrafted to serve the marketplace, and God’s gifted you with something others don’t have. Your “toolkit” is what you should reflect on today. These gifts and talents point the way to your exact business. For example What are your top talents? What do people come to you for advice for? What comes easy to you, but others struggle with? What could you do blindfolded? What spiritual gift has God put inside of you? There are many tests out in the marketplace that help us discover more about ourselves in this area. There is a StrengthsFinder assessment to identify “Strengths/Talents,” and that’s available at gifts.churchgrowth.org. This one will help find your spiritual gifts. I developed the www.GodpreneurTest.com which will reveal both your strengths and weaknesses. God placed gifts and talents inside of us for our business’s success; He knit us from other mother’s womb (Psalms 139:13). Knowing what our talents are equipped us to launch businesses more in line with our calling and helps us lead purpose-focused brands into the marketplace. It’s not about what we do; it’s about who we are in Christ. There’s a big difference! Godpreneur Rule – Godpreneurs uncover who we are first so we can then know what we were born to do. #BusinessBibleStudy #FindMyCalling #GodpreneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1‭-‬2 NIV) If you want to fulfill your longing to lead a purposes-focused business and feel meaning in your marketplace, you have to be leading a “Born to Do” business, and the only way to truly experience this is by letting go of the past and running towards your destiny. Easier said than done, I know. Here’s the strategy that I found works, and I hope it works for you too. Uncover – ask God to show you anything in your business past that could have hurt you and needs healing. Discover – Let God help you forgive that person or situation so that He can reveal to you how he’s going to use that situation for your good moving forward! Recover – now it’s your turn to reclaim what’s been yours all along. Through the memorization of promise-related Bible verses, God will take your burdens and release you into your calling because scripture will replace your hurt with hope! We can’t move forward if we’re stuck in the past. Period. It’s physically impossible. And it will continue to make us sick with worry. The bible says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12 NIV) The enemy doesn’t want you to move into your calling because it would glorify God too much because we’d become a tree of life in the marketplace! What we were born to do would bring heaven to earth, killing the enemies plans! We Godpreneurs can’t change the past, but the future of our businesses is a blank canvas that God wants to co-create with us. Let go, and let God! #BusinessBibleStudy #FindMyCalling #GodpreneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

What miracle do I need Jesus to perform in my business life? I’ve been chewing on this question for a few days. I have a lot of things I want (more money, more employees, better clients, etc.), but these are all wants, not needs. All of my wants have been idols in my life at one point or another, so I’m searching deeper need. If I were blind, I’d say to Jesus, “Make me see again.” But I’m blessed that at the time of writing this blog I don’t have any physical needs. My need will have to come from within…deep within me. We all need Jesus to perform a miracle on us within our business. Every one of us has some shortcoming that holds us back from experiencing the joyful success of leading a God-First business. The reason we can’t take the Godpreneurial pilgrimage alone is that Jesus has to be there to bring us the miracle we need. We might be able to travel some distance on our own, but at some point along the journey, the season changes and the way becomes too strenuous for our strength. For most of us it will be difficult to separate needs from wants and identify exactly what deficit we have that will keep us anchored to Christ. The things we want in business will reveal idols in our heart, while the one thing we need will reveal our need for God and unlock the meaning, joy, and contentment we truly seek. So, how can we identify what we need amongst all the distractions of our wants and the sins that entangle us? Self-examination is necessary to know that God is necessary. Knowing what we need involves the one thing that so many of us don’t wish to face: our shortcomings in business. The bible says "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting". (Psalms 139:23‭-‬24 NIV) The thing you struggle with the most in business, and likely in other areas of your life, too, is the very thing that God will use to command your full attention. This “blind spot” in your life is what you bring to Jesus when he asks you “What do you want me to do for you?” You have to be able to know and articulate your need for the miracle to come on the Godpreneurial pilgrimage you’re on. He wants to teach you a lesson in commanding your full attention – a lesson you’ll remember for the rest of your life. For me, I’m beginning to realize that I have passions and desires that are still “of the world.” As much as I write and teach about Godpreneurship, I stand here before you and admit that my flesh is still alive – kicking and screaming for its way. Dear Jesus, crucify my flesh with its passions and desires. -Your Devoted Follower, Alex When we go to Jesus, if we are as desperate and as definitive as I have just shown you, things will happen. We see many in the bible be as transparent and desperate about their deficits – David, Paul, Peter… we’re not alone in our despair. All of us, Godpreneurs, need Jesus to do something on this pilgrimage of Godpreneurship we’re on. The only requirement from each of us is that we know what to answer when Jesus meets us along the journey and asks us “What do you want me to do for you?” We’ve all had people ask us “what can I pray for in your business,” and how many of us pray for money, a contract, or a situation? How many of us are praying for the miracle only Jesus can perform…what we need, not want? This is the most important question we’ve all probably been given the opportunity to answer many times, but we keep on giving the wrong answer. Our answer, as managers of God’s business on earth, will show if we want to lead a God-First business, whether we want Jesus’ healing in our business lives or if we want to continue to pursue our desires and passions. The most important thing you’ll ever do in business won’t be the product or service you do; it will be the serious self-examination that is owning a business affords us to do so we start running operations fully dependent on God. #LaunchingMyBusiness #BusinessBibleStudy #GodprneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

When it comes to launching and growing businesses, the number one excuse I get as to why people don’t take action in their business is lack of money. Since my main business is to do branding for companies, I get to meet the entrepreneurs at the very beginning of the venture or a turning point in the company. And most of the meetings I have the excuse for not pulling the trigger is finances. But I don’t turn the clients away. Instead, I try to have them focus on what they DO HAVE around them and paint a picture of doing the business without needs to invest money, but instead, use what’s already available to them to get going. For example, I consult people all the time that you don’t need a website and a logo to launch a company. Instead, I tell them they need to get on the phone and call 100 people that they know and let them all know what you’re up to and that you’d appreciate them sending you business. I go on to point out that you have a phone, you have a voice, and you have friends, family, and even acquaintances that want you to succeed. We all have things missing in the equation of a “perfect business.” All of us have some kind of defect, disability, shortcoming, or deficiency. We’re all struggling in some area of our life, and as humans, we tend to focus on that as a defense mechanism to avoid pain, loss, and rejection. On the pilgrimage of launching and growing our God First business, God has provided more than we can imagine for us to succeed. But the enemy doesn’t want us to see what’s available to us. Instead, he wants us to be down and depressed about what we don’t have and what we lack so that we don’t launch and grow the business God needs us to create. The bible says: "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see". (Hebrews 11:1 NIV) You might not have money, time, experience, or connections, but God’s given you other resources and talents to use, and most importantly, you can have FAITH. When things are going wrong as you journey to launch and grow your business, you’ll tend to focus on what you don’t have. Instead, choose to see what’s working! If you stay focused on what you’re missing, you’ll keep dreaming until the dream dies. We all need to have faith and be sure we’re using what God’s provided and turn those things up! When we do this, we’re standing up against the enemy and showing our faith in God to provide and fight our battles for us. We need to find the one thing we do have, and let God take care of what’s missing. We Godpreneurs may not have everything that other entrepreneurs have, but we have faith. God is for us! Keep your eyes on God, don’t get caught up in the negative and don’t focus on your age, income, or lack of experience. In this pilgrimage of launching and growing your business, God wants to help you create a business that provides an abundant life! If you have faith to use what God’s already provided, then God will bless you with your breakthrough. #BusinessBibleStudy #LaunchingMyBusiness

I went to a friend’s house to watch a football game. We were catching up about business, and I was telling them about a cool new product I was launching at the time. In the middle of my excitement, my friend’s wife says “But Alex, you have to chill out with the emails. You’re sending way too many. People hate that. It’s too much.” She had me thinking…maybe I was too pushy. What if people are unsubscribing. I don’t want people to be annoyed. I would hate for people to be talking bad about me saying I’m a spammer. Oh boy, what if this whole idea was a big mistake. Maybe I need to chill out with the email marketing. Or…MAYBE my friend’s wife is a HATER and can’t stand seeing success, especially with those closest to her, because she can’t get it together to promote her own business with just one email. (Ok, now that I got that off my chest, let’s continue!) As entrepreneurs, we’re going to have people around us that aren’t as excited about our products and services as we are. And the more successful we become, the more haters will come out of the closet. Anyone that’s against us can be classified as a “hater.” This could be family, friends, employees, vendors, partners, our competition, and even other entrepreneurs in your church. They will distract us from what we were born to do, detour us from our journey, and discourage our progress at whatever crossroads they can yell from. Along with our pilgrimage to launching and running a God-First business, we’re going to encounter many of these haters. But don’t be discouraged! We’re supposed to be ENCOURAGED because the negativity should fuel us to keep pushing forward. People only hate things that are hot, awesome, progressing, and moving fast. God knows there would be hate, that’s Satan’s job here. The enemy doesn’t want us on the pilgrimage of doing what we were born to do; he’ll use ordinary people and extraordinary circumstances to distract and discourage us. The bible says "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen". (1 Peter 5:6‭-‬11 NIV) If you’re not going through much hate right now, it could be because the enemy is leaving you alone because you’re NOT on the path God has for you. His attention is on all of those that are succeeding in running God First businesses. And if you are on the right path, then get ready for the heat to turn UP! The more focused you are on your calling, the crazier the tactics will become to detour you. When haters start to hate, get louder, go stronger, fight harder. Don’t worry about the negativity around you, you know there’s a success right around the corner! God knows you’re on your journey and He’s prepared a way for you as long as you stay in faith on this pilgrimage. All of us Godpreneurs want to run businesses that produced everything God has in store for us. We can’t continue to operate our ventures through the expectations and opinions of others because we’ll never have control over the outcomes. God wants us to all stand tall, trust in Jesus, and keep on shouting our calling wherever we go. Quit getting detoured, disrupted, and discouraged. We need to stop listening to the haters around us and trust in the caller who spoke our calling into existence from before we were born. Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs ignore haters along the road, turn up the worship music, and keep driving on the route of our born to do identity. #BusinessBibleStudy #GodpreneurAcademy #FindMyCalling #WhatBusinessIShouldStart The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

When I was a kid, I loved playing soccer. My favorite position was the goalie. In elementary school, I was always the starter. My team could count on me to stop most of the balls from scoring. But when I got into middle school, the level of competition changed. Guys were taller, skinnier, faster, and older than me, and I didn’t have a chance at starting. I sat the bench, watching from the sidelines, waiting to see if my number would ever be called. It took almost two years, but one day, the coach called my name to substitute for the starting goalie. I played the game of my life, and from then on, the starting goalie and I shared the position. This gave me the confidence I needed because, honestly, I was going to quit and find another sport. When coach called me, and when I started playing more at the varsity level, my confidence skyrocketed, and I played goalie throughout high school and even into college. In our pilgrimage to start and grow businesses, we’re all sitting on the sidelines and looking at the other successful entrepreneurs pass us by. They are bigger, wealthier, more experienced, faster, and seem to dominate so much that we don’t even know if there will be space in the market for us. We’re thinking about quitting and switching industries or even going back to a cushy nine-to-five job. But we’re Godpreneurs, not entrepreneurs. We’ve been Called. We’re purposely putting God-First, but everything changes when the caller speaks a calling to the entrepreneur that’s hanging on to the last piece of hope – for our chance to shine! The bible says "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17 NIV) If your business is sick, if your bank account skinny and frail, if your dreams have died, then you’re in the EXACT place where God can do His best work! You’ve willingly entered an entrepreneurial pilgrimage where God is going to reveal exactly what you were born to do. Be ready to take heart; rise, and respond to what he is calling your business to in 2019! You come across as the hero and get recognized in business when you are audacious and tenacious in recognizing your need for God along this journey. What you may not have realized is that Jesus has always known your business, always believed in you, and always called you! That’s what the meaning of “born to do” is. When God calls us, God defines us. Don’t let the world stop you from what God wants you to launch. Godpreneurship is about having faith that God’s got your best interest at heart. We just need to be willing to wait in expectancy. When God calls us, God defines us. We Godpreneurs can’t let the world stop us from what God wants us to launch. Godpreneurship is about having faith that God’s got our best interest at heart. Godpreneur, are you willing to sit, wait, and watch from the sidelines for your number to be called? Be ready. #BusinessBibleStudy #FindMyCalling The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

Have you ever had an incident in your business that makes you want to throw in the towel, fire everyone, quit everything, and start over from scratch? For me, it happens more often than I’d like. And in the past, I’ve taken all of the above actions and started over. It happened to me when I was doing marketing for nightclubs. I had an incident with a client. I took it as a sign from God that He didn’t want me serving the nightlife industry, so I started my business over. It also happened when a client of mine wasn’t getting the service I thought my employees were providing. I kept trying to correct the issue, and my team kept producing bad results. This time I didn’t fire my employees, the client fired ME! We lost the contract. On the pilgrimage of launching and growing our businesses, God is looking to transform us and make us more like His son, Jesus. And God will cause certain indicates to happen that I call the “turning point.” This is the fork in the road, drawn by God so that we can change the direction of our business towards where He wants us to be going. I gave you only two examples of incidents in my business, but God in His creativity can use an infinite number of incidents and situation that can radically change us, cause an imbalance in our thoughts, and provoke us in such a way that will rock the foundations of our businesses. On our pilgrimage, God wants us to choose Him over our comfort. Jesus says in the bible "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own". (Matthew 6:33‭-‬34 NIV) Sometimes, the incident you’ll go through in your business will be negative, like mine. Sometimes it can be positive, like a great conference you attend with a mind-blowing message that has you come back fired up for a new direction. Negative or positive, on our pilgrimage of creating a God-First business, God will use a turning point situation to call us closer to Him and to increase our dependence on Him… if we choose the right path at the fork in the road. What’s the right choice? Easy. THE HARDER PATH! I always smile when I tell this to clients. You don’t get a great body by eating Sweets and sitting on the couch. That’s easy to do. You only grow by choosing the path you’ve taken less. We all need an incident to happen in our business, so we are forced to make a change. That situation will come on its own, on God’s timing. We don’t choose the incident; the incident chooses us. We can’t force it; it will happen. And it will happen OFTEN! We must begin to expect it to happen, and be like Paul when he says “for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11) Maybe this blog post is finding you at a place where you haven’t given your business fully to God. Like me, maybe you’ve been serving industries that don’t honor God. Or, maybe you’re doing something you weren’t born to do, and your actual calling is in a different business, industry, or service offering. When we’ve decided to put God First in our business, we started a Pilgrimage to draw closer to God and become like Christ. The current business we’re in is comfortable, but we need to be ready to throw off that comfy plan to follow God’s higher calling. This is how our businesses positively advance in the God-First direction! Will it hurt? Maybe. Will it be uncomfortable. Yes. Will we be naked and vulnerable? Temporarily. But this is where God makes the impossible possible in our business, and God will take you to new levels of contentment. God wants to provide all of us Godpreneurs provision for our businesses beyond our wildest dreams if we appreciate the turning point situations and choose to get out of our comfort zones while on our pilgrimage to experience the breakthrough. #BusinessBibleStudy #FindMyCalling #WhatBusinessIShouldStart The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

I’ve launched and re-launched many businesses of my own since 2000. The journey is different each time, but the fact that I learn from my past makes the next journey different. When I started walking with God in 2008, launching entrepreneurial ventures took on a new light because I was inviting God into the process with me. What I noticed, thereafter, was an amazing revelation – Jesus would begin to heal me of my past experiences to help me be stronger in my future endeavors. See, before, when I would launch a new business venture, I brought a lot of past pain, hurts, frustrations, and expectations. The business would do good for a bit, but eventually, that past caught up to me, and the business would suffer. Old wounds would sabotage partnerships, client relationships, and even my ability to innovate. We Entrepreneurs have a choice when we decided to embark on the pilgrimage of launching and growing a God-First business: we can do it by carrying the weight of our past, or we can partner with Jesus to be spiritually healed and move forward with a new light. The bible says: "And the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all". (Luke 6:19 NIV) While Jesus was leading His own pilgrimage of launching the church, the people recognized that, through him, they could receive healing. The healing empowered their faith more, and of those around them, and they could follow him more closely and experience life in a whole new way. In the say way, you have the chance to launch and grow your business as if Jesus had just given you new legs and new eyes! But, if you were honest with yourself, there are likely areas that we haven’t given over to Jesus yet for healing. Launching a business WITH God is the perfect opportunity to let God do some healing of past business hurts. THAT’S THE POWER OF LAUNCHING WITH JESUS! See, God is using your entrepreneurial venture to heal you! The pilgrimage of starting and growing a business can reveal the areas you still haven’t surrendered, and Jesus can pull you to the side of the road when you’re ready to call out to him! Jesus wants to heal us on this pilgrimage of entrepreneurship! But we Godpreneurs need to be careful to not let our pride, rebellion or bitterness keep us from God working on certain areas of our life. Our businesses growth and success depend on us overcoming anything that be holding us back from more! Remember, the enemy only exists to keep you from achieving everything that God has for you in your business. The enemy will keep you blind to your own hurts. But thank God we can be set free from that, and launching and growing a business is just another tool God can use to show us grace and mercy! When Godpreneurs are ready to be fully spiritual healed, we have to be willing to write down the answer to questions like “God, what hurts am I carrying into this venture?” Be honest with recognizing addictions and flaws that you know God wants to deal with, and let Him do it through your business. Maybe this is your 2nd or 5th business venture, and you want things to be different this time around. If you want a new experience, you need to be a new you. Let God make the adjustments to your Godpreneurial career through the pilgrimage of business ownership. #LaunchingMyBusiness #BusinessBibleStudy #GodpreneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

The thought of going on a Pilgrimage has fascinated me since I was a kid. I’d see it in old Bible movies and think how cool it would be to travel with thousands of people to a destination. When I started reading more about pilgrimages in the Bible, I made a big realization: although I’m not riding in a caravan through the desert, launching and growing a business sure does feel like a Pilgrimage, especially as a Godpreneur. See, in my studies, I learned that a Pilgrimage is anywhere we’re trying to get while staying focused on God. We Godpreneurs may do this several times a year, depending on how much of a serial Godpreneur we are (ME!!). When we set out on this pilgrimage of entrepreneurship, we want to take the most direct route, but we understand the road will be bumpy with unexpected twists and turns. But that’s why we partner with Christ to embark on this journey together. The bible says "I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord , the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep". (Psalms 121:1‭-‬4 NIV) You’re on a Pilgrimage to launch and grow your business, and you’ve invited Jesus to join you on the journey. Along the way, you’ll pray during meetings, you may participate in Bible studies together, and you might even go to some church conferences as a group to continue to learn and grow both spiritually and professionally. We Godpreneur recognize our need for Christ on the journey of running a God-First Business! And it’s important that we travel this journey with another Godpreneur, and alongside other Christian businesses and partnerships trying to do the same thing. The pilgrimage of Godpreneurship towards something that will bring glory to God. As we’re on our journey, we must recognize and know that we’re not trying to meet God somewhere. We’re not trying to accomplish something FOR God. God has everything He needs, He just missing our 100% devotion and dependence. God is already with us. By starting the journey with Him, we’re already bringing Him 100% of the glory we can. There’s nothing more we can do but to TRY to stay in this same attitude along the journey. As we know, that’s easier said than done. Those that love control will have to give it up, and those that fear not having control will need to learn a new mindset along the route. #BusinessBibleStudy #LaunchingMyBusiness #GodpreneurAcademy The Business God Created You To Start Have you ever wondered why you received the talents and gifts you have been given? We, as entrepreneurs, were born to do. 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

I received a nasty phone call from a client that wasn’t too happy about the progress my team was making on a project we were doing. There was yelling, screaming, name-calling, and blaming, followed by a barrage of insults and unsolicited advice on how my company should operate. Years ago, I would have fired right back and laid it on this client even harder than what was done to me. I’ve been chewed up and spit out before, so I know where this could have led. I’ve fired this client on the spot in similar spats and not thought twice about it – poof, be gone from my life. But I’m different now. I’ve learned the art of diffusing a situation and winning the client’s heart right back to me so we can course-correct and finish the project out with grace. We’ve all experienced terrible tirades from callous clients. Whether it was our fault or theirs, when expectations aren’t met, or some outside factors come into play, people stop being kind, and the relationship is threatened. At this point, we have a choice of mirroring the client’s feelings and engaging in the negativity or taking the higher road and diffusing the situation to come to a peaceable resolution. We know God would want us to take the higher road, but easier said than done. How can we change our ways when we’ve always been used to arguing back, flaring our temper, and defending ourselves to the point of destroying client relationships? The answer is in the most famous preaching ever given on the planet. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount lays out the eight beatitudes, which are qualities of the people that enjoy special favor from God. The third beatitude is Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5 NIV) Many people think meek means weak. Yes, they rhyme, but that are opposites. Meekness means power under control. Jesus even described himself as “meek and lowly,” but Jesus was the most influential and powerful man to walk the earth. If you’re looking to achieve greatness in your business, learning meekness will be critical for your success. When you are a meek entrepreneur, you have come to serve, not to be served. Therefore, you hold back asserting yourself for your benefit, but instead, display self-control that benefits everyone involved. The next time a client or situation makes your blood boil, and you feel the anger or frustration rising in you, remember the meekness captured by Psalm 37:1-11, which starts our with, “Do not fret because of the wicked,” and concludes with “the meek shall inherit the land.” In business, you have relationships with partners, employees, vendors, contractors, shareholders, clients, prospects, and competitors. At every point in our day, someone can threaten our ‘good mood,’ and from one second to the next, we could turn the world on fire. However, Jesus is guiding you to do as He did and curb your urge to use power to avenge the wrongs done against you or to build your image and instead use whatever power you have to serve and build others up. What does this look like in our businesses? For me, it has saved many business relationships, and even made them stronger! What could have ended up with a burned bridge built our relationship and landed me an even bigger contract and more referrals from the client I described at the beginning. See, because I kept my composure through all the insults, the client ended up telling me that he had a very long day, frustrated with so many other things in other areas of his business, that I was the one he took out his anger on. He apologized for his words and thanked me for keeping my cool. He commended me for keeping my composure and told me ‘that Christianity stuff is working for you.’ That’s what it’s all about! We Godpreneurs are God’s witness here on earth of what a relationship Christ can do for our personal development. Meekness is evangelism in business. Sure, it can be extremely challenging to give up our power to God’s agenda, especially in business. In a cut-throat environment where financial profit is god, it seems to be the self-promoting aggressive entrepreneurs who get ahead more often than not. However, anyone who looks out only for their interest loses out in the end. People who are thirsty for power are often lonely people, lacking in meaningful relationships. These people may have accumulated materialistic things and achieved monetary success; they will eventually find out that the world controls them. On the other hand, Jesus promises that the meek Godpreneur “will inherit the earth.” Jesus came to bring Heaven to earth, and when we display meekness, we’re doing our part to create this new heaven and a new earth in our respective marketplaces. Imagine if we all submitted our business power to God. Imagine heaven all around you – in every meeting, every relationship, every transaction. When we become meek, Godpreneurs, we receive God’s grace and all the good things we desire that otherwise might elude us. How are you going to use meekness today? I pray you’ll submit your power to God and let Him lead you to exercise control as Jesus did – for the sake of others. #BusinessBibleStudy #SharpenLeadership Jesus’s 8 Steps For Achieving Greatness in Business Achieving greatness starts when we learn about humble dependence on God and trust that He will always bring new resources into our business. 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

When I’m interviewing a client looking to start a business or rebrand their company, one of the first questions I ask is, “what do you see wrong in your industry that you feel you have the solution to?” The reason I ask this question is that what hurts or pains my client reveals something unique about themselves that helps me to guide them towards the product and solution offering that they should bring to the marketplace. For example, two of my biggest pains in branding are My friends and family launching businesses that they have no business being in because it’s nowhere near their calling in life My friends and family taking FOREVER to launch their business idea – either from procrastinating or because they are working with someone that’s taking too long on their branding Because I hurt and pain for these things, I came up with a solution – Launch in 2 Days. It’s a weekend event where I help people discover what they were born to do in business, and I help bring it to life. This isn’t self-promotion. I’m illustrating that out of my pain, my hurt, and my mourning for friends and family investing their hard-earned money into a business idea, and seeing them do it all wrong; I was inspired to create something awesome. If we think about it, entrepreneurship is the art of seeing that somethings not right in the marketplace, and we have the solution for it. There wasn’t a breakfast spot close by to enjoy (which is tragic), so someone built one. There wasn’t a tool for making sure the frames on the wall are hung straight (which is painful to look at), so someone invested one. A client took an entire year of revision to finalize their logo, then blames it on the agency and asks for a refund (which is both frustrating and sorrowful), so someone came up with a way to get it all done in two days. When we face evil, sadness, pain, or tragedy in our businesses or our personal lives, God sees our sorrow, comforts us, and puts our brains to work to come up with policies, products, services, and solutions to resolve that life doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus says: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 NIV) What Jesus is telling entrepreneurs is that business is tough, but there’s a silver lining for those with the mindset of processing the pain correctly. Jesus’ second step to achieving greatness in business is that without pain, there can’t be a gain. The world around you is broken, nothing is perfect. Bodies aren’t perfect, so doctors and scientists work tirelessly to fix it. The weather isn’t perfect, so meteorologists and inventors fix it. The economy isn’t perfect, so Wall Street, the government, and financial institutions fix it. Relationships are tough, so a world of coaches and counselors aid it. When you are blessed with the ability to mourn about something in your industry or marketplace, you can receive the ideas you need from the Holy Spirit (your calling in business) to come up with the products and services to fix it. It’s a blessing to go through pain in business because the million-dollar idea can be birthed through the tragedy. Sometimes the pain you experience in business was caused by your own mistakes. If you know you took forever in completing a client’s project, and you see all of the areas where you went wrong in the process, that anger and pain you feel when the client fires you should be used not to retaliate or insult the client, but to feel the need to change your systems and processes, so it doesn’t happen again. That little tweak in your operations can make a million-dollar difference and can change the trajectory of business moving forward. You might even come up with a service called Launch in 2 Days because of this. It’s ok that we mourn in business. It’s essential to the health of our business that we go through tragic times. If we Godpreneurs never grieve over anything, it means one of three things: We’re out of touch with the marketplace, we’re out of touch with our own emotions, or we don’t love. Because when we love, and we see or experience sad things in the world, then that can make us grieve and come up with a solution. Loss in business is the tool that God gives us to get through the transitions towards achieving the untapped potential that’s always waiting within us. Imagine if we all went back in time and addressed painful experiences hurt us, and we dealt with it and genuinely mourned over it. What kind of changes would that bring about in our daily operations or the products and services we are currently offering? Today, go back and grieve. Is there any evil or pain in the world that you want to bring before God in prayer today so He can reveal your breakthrough? Let me pray for you. Dear heavenly Father, you created us to pain for the things you pain for. Help us to acknowledge that sorrow and be comforted by you so we can receive the divine inspiration we need to give us the courage to find solutions and take action to fix it through the businesses you’ve entrusted us with. In Jesus name, amen! #BusinessBibleStudy #SharpenLeadership Jesus’s 8 Steps For Achieving Greatness in Business Achieving greatness starts when we learn about humble dependence on God and trust that He will always bring new resources into our business. 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