In college, I didn’t like my finance and accounting classes. I probably didn’t like them because I wasn’t good at them. I barely scraped by to knock those classes off my list of requirements, knowing I would NEVER become an accountant or be in the financial planning industry. After college, I started my business, and accounting wasn’t my priority. But since I was the “ivy league” graduate of my partners, I took on the accounting myself. I figured since I had just learned it in college, I was the best of the 3 of us. Instead of hiring a bookkeeper or paying for monthly accounting service, I decided I would do it all myself to save money. After all, how hard could this be – it’s not like we were a billion-dollar company. A few years into my company, it came time to files for taxes. I met with a Certified Public Accountant, and he broke the worst news I had ever heard – I owed $15,000 to the IRS in payroll taxes that I had not been paying. I was devastated. The accountant told me that I shouldn’t be trying to do things on my own, especially in an area I’m not good at. That day I sucked up my pride and hired the accountant’s monthly bookkeeping and financial advising services. We all need help in certain parts of our businesses. There are tasks that we need guidance with, but our ego or pride doesn’t let us ask for help. Sure, there are things we can save money on by doing ourselves at the beginning of the business, but the least we could do is ask for guidance, read a book, or follow tutorials. We have to be smart enough to realize this journey wasn’t meant to be walked alone. One problem entrepreneurs can experience is that we think we need to know and do everything on our own since we’re the owners – or else we’d be seen as unqualified to be a business owner. We think that owning a business means we should know it all, so we don’t ask for the help and guidance we need. But doing things on our own is NOT how God designed us. In fact, in the most famous preaching ever given, Jesus tells us that our entire spiritual walk hinges on the concept of humble dependence – our need for God. The bible says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 NIV) When Jesus says, “poor in spirit,” he’s talking about people who have come to understand that without God, they are nothing. In other words, the people that are humble enough to admit that they don’t have it all together and need help are the ones that will be blessed. So how does this apply to your journey as a Godpreneur? It’s a blessing for you and your business when you recognize you are in need of God’s grace, you are spiritually bankrupt, and you’re a sinner that will take the whole business down if left on your own. Your realization of this danger to your life is what turns you to God because you realize you can’t do what you’re born to do without Him. One of Jesus’ steps to achieving greatness in business is to have total dependence on God. When you are in a mindset of dependence, it humbles you, and you see that you’re not as good in certain areas as you might think. We stop pretending to be someone we’re not. We get off our throne and let God take His rightful place in our businesses. I could imagine how hard it must have been for my accountant or my partners to work with me, Mr. Know-it-all. I wasn’t willing to learn, grow, or accept correction because I was trying to maintain the inflated image of myself I created because I graduated from an Ivy League school. When I started my journey with God and realized that there was so much more to learn about business, even after graduating college, that’s when I finally humbled myself and committed to being a student again, depending on my new professor – God. When we realize our dependence on God, that’s when He brings a resource into your business that will help. This can come in the form of a person, a new tool, or a resource. Even Jesus, when he started working as a carpenter, must have needed guidance and instruction. God must have brought resources around him to make that happen. We Godpreneurs need to acknowledge that when God is at work within us, we can put Jesus’ teachings into practice across all the areas of our businesses. In a marketplace full of powerful business people, it may seem like a weakness to be dependent on God. This is a lie the enemy wants us to think. The Godpreneur that’s more likely to be successful will be the instills a culture of dependence on God and each other to break through barriers and achieve greatness. As Jesus eludes to, a humble Godpreneur is the first characteristic mark of companies that achieve sustained greatness. Of course, the marketplace is full of entrepreneurs that are stuck in a state of inflated self-appraisal and self-promotion. Instead of being envious, our hearts have to break for them. This is even more of a reason we need to show our dependence on God – so we can be a light in the marketplace and display Jesus’ characteristics and influence others to turn their dependence on God too. Let’s pray. Lord, be merciful to all of us Godpreneurs – sinners ministering in our marketplaces. We recognize our need for help. Please help us to be more humble and have a true view of ourselves in our businesses. We thank you in advance for the greatness we will achieve as we do Your will through our products and services. Amen! #LaunchingMyBusiness #NewEntrepreneurs #BusinessBibleStudy 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

Growing up I had leadership, strengths in sales, marketing and entrepreneurship.  My grandmother sold flowers in the local plaza in Puerto Rico and I would see her wheeling and dealing. I remember being 8 years old at her house one summer and finding a litter of puppies in an abandoned house down the street.  My cousin and I took action and spray painted a board “PUPPIES FOR SALE $5”.  We setup on the busy street, brought the puppies out on display, and opened up our first business. This trend continued for me throughout elementary, middle, high school and college.  I was always selling something, leading something, and or starting something. But when I started going back to church in 2008 and gave my life to Christ, the spirit came in me and stirred up an entirely new gift.  A SPECIFIC gift. You’re reading this, so you’re probably an entrepreneur and can relate to my story above. We entrepreneur tend to be good at several things, but not great at any ONE THING.  We run all aspects of our business.  We do the sales, marketing AND leadership. But if we could admit it… We’re really not great at any of them.  Good, yes.  Masters, no. Why?  Because God is looking to work one main gifting in you. See, the reason it’s hard for Entrepreneurs to identify their ONE GIFT to stick to is that we think we need to be a little of everything for the business to succeed.  Sure, we need to KNOW a little of everything, but it doesn’t mean we do a little of everything. The Bible says this: "Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." 1 Corinthians 12:14‭-‬18 NIV Isn’t it true that some of us are ears, trying to be noses. Haven’t you met some people that are eyes, trying to be feet.  You can see it (no pun intended), buy they have no clue. God has designed each and every one of us to a very specific role in our business lives. It wasn’t until I was deeper into my relationship with God that the spirit moved me to be specifically involved in helping people find their purpose, their identity, their calling. God specifically wanted me to do that, and anything else in my business needed to be delegated. If you are wrestling with identifying and naming your gifts in business, please know God is not holding out on you. We each have unique talents that God wants to unleash through our ventures. And when God revealed it to me, I didn’t respond immediately.  In fact, I’m STILL honing that craft and looking to shed other tasks while I navigate Entrepreneurship. But I didn’t know this fully until I had started my relationship with God again and he revealed it through a bible study I did at church. God wants to reveal to you your SPECIFIC gifting, the ONE THING that He created you for. Maybe you’re frustrated like I was with too many things, and you just wish you could do one thing so well and have that pay all your bills.  That’s totally OK because God designed it that way and if you truly desire that, God will reveal it to you. Imagine if we all were living out our gifts the way God designed it for each of us. Imagine the picture of a perfect body working in union. That’s when great partnerships can form, joint ventures can thrive, and God’s full glory of gifting can be revealed. Here are some questions that I use to help others find their giftings: What did your parents or friends tell you that you were good at growing up? What do you imagine God could do through you if you really knew and used your gifts? #FindMyCalling #WheretoStartFirst

You’re not yourself when you’re hungry. I love that Snickers commercial.  It’s so true!  My wife calls it being “hangry,” a combo of hungry and angry.  We both must be well fed or else things start to get funky in the home. In the same way that food can set me off on the wrong course, things happen in my business that can do the same. An angry client email in the morning will turn me loose against my employees, and the domino effect will eventually lead me to be “off” with the rest of my clients that day. We entrepreneurs will have 99 reasons every day to be upset, rude, curt, and not so pleasant to be around.  Maybe not every day, but we have our times.  Owning a business is stressful! But we have a responsibility to be the light, to be the difference, to be the example of taking the high road. But how do we change from our natural ways of being angry?  How can we be the exception to the rule?  How can we be different? It’s a matter of the HEART.  What we fill ourselves with will eventually show. In the same way that I eat to remove my “hanger”, I need to consume more of God to squeeze out the natural-born killer in me. In the book of Acts chapter 6, we read about Stephen, a many with exceptional spiritual filling. "Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people." (Acts 6:8) I don’t know about you, but I’ll take an order of whatever he’s eating. Every morning, instead of picking up my phone to check emails and put out fires in my business, I get my filling of spiritual food from God. Maybe this email sent to you daily is your chance to commune with God and hear a message for the day. What I know is this: if we Godpreneurs make getting spiritually fed our first priority for the morning, we will be less “hangry” throughout the day about being able to be a true witness to Christ to others through your daily transactions. It’s easy to see your spiritual life separate from your business life until you realize that your closeness with God has a direct correlation with your relationship with people that do business with you, how you serve them, and how you react to their “hanger”. Godpreneur Rule #89: Godpreneurs get spiritually fed first thing in the morning, the breakfast of champions to prepare them for the rest of the day. #WorkLifeBalance #DifferentiatingMyself

I've been studying the Bible deeply since 2014. A big part of this craving I have for the Word is that there are so many golden nuggets I can pick up for my entrepreneurial journey. I seek to understand God more, see things from His perspective, gain wisdom, and be more like Christ, yet something keeps me from complete spiritual enlightenment. Many of us Godpreneurs want to find that inner peace Jesus promises and improve our business lives. We seek to know God and align our will with His as the ultimate goal of our entrepreneurial journey, yet something is off with the steps we're taking. Well, I discovered that the first step is easier than I could have imagined. While at a men's retreat, the speaker talked extensively about depression and anxiety. He explained that we feel depressed when we're ruminating about something from the past. He then explained that anxiety is when we're stressed or worried about something in the future. His conclusion, therefore, is that living fully in the present is the only escape from depressing and anxious thoughts in our minds. As business owners, we tend to live by correcting past mistakes or planning out future moves. We're constantly in our heads reminiscing of the good times or regretting the things we didn't do while bouncing to thoughts of the following plan, worried about the outcomes. Meanwhile, we neglect the one moment that is fully available to us business owners: the present...the right now. The Bible says “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34 ESV) Jesus tells His followers not to worry about tomorrow. As He has already said, worry doesn't fix anything. Anxiety over things we cannot control or out of our reach makes no sense (Matthew 6:27). Jesus says, in short, that you ought to let tomorrow worry about itself. He's not saying you can't or shouldn't make wise plans for your business. He's also not saying you should ignore anything but the most immediate questions. His context here is about the emotions of fear and anxiety. The present is important because the battle to trust God never occurs in the past or future; it’s always happening in the current moment. When we're living in the Spirit and outside of our mental battle, our spirit allows us to feel something. Feelings (the Spirit) are only experienced in the present because your Spirit can only give you information about this specific moment. So what's controlling us when we're stuck in the past or the future? Well, that's the enemy keeping us from the Spirit. Jesus commands us Godpreneurs to focus on trust for God in a moment-by-moment way. We shouldn't try to solve all our problems, all time, all at once. Let God provide what is needed day by day. As this suggests, there are no advantages to worrying about the future of your business or dwelling in the past, but there are many to living “in the now.” If you manage to achieve that, you’ll experience no significant problems along your entrepreneurial journey, just small ones that can be dealt with as they arise. Imagine if we all tried living in the present - dwelling with the Spirit. Let's stop allowing the enemy to take us to the past and fearing the future. If we did this, we would see how dramatically our business lives will improve. #DifferentiatingMyself #TrustOnGod

Sometimes I read those famous New York Times best-selling business books, and I think to myself, “wow Alex, you have a long way to go.” These writers create incredible stories that make a big impact, and I’m sitting here blurting out my thoughts, thinking I’m making just as big of a difference in this world. At times, we Christian business bloggers might feel like less than a writer and more like my four-year-old son scribbling crayons on a white piece of paper. We see so many seemingly successful writers in all types of styles, and we begin the comparison game and start to doubt our abilities and calling. What do we do when the doubt sets in, our confidence drops, we’re unsure of our writing style, we start comparing, we lose the motivation for writing, and we’re not too sure about which direction to move forward in? The bible says: 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 have to always keep in mind that no matter what your blogging dream and entrepreneurial career is, you ‘are God’s handiwork’ and you have been ‘created in Christ Jesus to do good works’ as a business blogger for Christ! Do you think God doesn’t know the enemy is going to try to take you off your game? God allows that so that you would DEPEND on Himself alone. When you’re in doubt, that’s when you get on your knees and pray and ask God for wisdom and guidance. When you feel doubt, you have two choices. Entrepreneurs will start to feel down on themselves, but Godpreneurs understand that this is God tapping your shoulder saying “Hi, hello, I’m here, and I have a direction for you that I’ve already prepared in advance for you.” God is our business, strategist. He’s the top CEO in the world. He’s got a plan that He created well before we arrived at the scene. God gave us a blogging desire – it’s His way of revealing our purpose, passion, and potential to us and the blog that He has created for us to write through. When I’m not too sure about the direction I should go with my writing style, book theme, or blogging topic; I ask God to lead me on the right path. Something will happen that day that will guide me to where I need to be. Are you better writing a personal narrative or interview style? Are you more investigative or instructional? Do you want to write long 300-page books or shorter 100-page guides? Spend some time doing some research online of different blogging styles until you find what you enjoy the most. Imagine if we always came directly to God when we had any doubts. His only desire is a relationship with us so that He can reveal Himself through us to our readers. Of course, He wants to listen to our doubts and being us clarity so we can step out in faith and be all we can be to our readers. #BusinessBibleStudy #ChristianBloggers #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

Some things exist in business by default. They do not come by choice. One of those things is that there is the presence of a servant and two masters in every business. Unfortunately for the business owners, they serve either of the two masters in business, consciously or unconsciously. This makes the business owner a servant of sorts. A master has control or authority over someone. Whoever is in charge of a business is the master. So, to whomsoever, an entrepreneur subject himself becomes his master. The way and manner an entrepreneur conducts his business demonstrate who the master is. No entrepreneur is ever exempted from being a servant. We are all servants to one thing or person in our businesses. No one can toggle between two masters, unfortunately. Jesus says to us, “You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24 GNB). God and money are critical stakeholders in every business, and they are the masters Jesus talked about, while the entrepreneur is the servant stakeholder. It is no longer news that all we do in business is to offer services. God has called us to the business ministry to serve His kingdom’s purpose, and we must choose to do this in obedience. Money should be meant to serve its purpose as a tool and not the master. Ideally, Christian entrepreneurs should be subject or loyal to the One who called them into this ministry and gives them the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). However, this is not true for many. Some have bowed their knees and sold their souls to the devil for riches that would fade away. The devil gives money (Matthew 4:9), though at a very high price. He tries to replicate what God does. Unfortunately for all of us, we don’t have the option of serving two masters at a time. Jesus said, “we cannot.” Both masters are jealous of the loyalty of the servant. It is either God the master in our businesses or money is. To the one you yield your life, business and loyalty become your master. You serve, and that is constant. When someone gives priority to money over God, he becomes a slave to money and forthwith controlled by it. But, when one serves God in and through his business, money becomes his servant. Someone said, “Money is a good servant but a bad master.” Indeed! It is never wrong for one to have money, but it is wrong for money to have one as a slave. When God is the Master, He becomes responsible for your life and business. The same is the case when one is a slave to money. You don’t want money to control your life, do you? When money is in charge, it makes one hate and despises God. There is no pretense about that. Further to this, the person will love money automatically, which leads to diverse temptations, traps, harmful desires that lead to death and destruction and forms the root of all evils (1 Timothy 6:9-10). The person will want to be rich at all costs, not minding the attendant negative consequences (Proverbs 28:20). You heard earlier that money is a bad master, right? Dear God’s entrepreneur, you only decide who becomes the master in your business. Without your permission, neither God nor money would become the master. So you are a significant stakeholder, frankly speaking. You are also the one that harvests and enjoys the consequences, sweet or bitter. When you choose God as the master in your business, the consequences are sweet. You will have unlimited goodness, lovingkindness, pleasure, peace, preservation, and progress of God. The list is endless. At the end of it all, you will leave a legacy of righteousness and peace and glorifying the LORD of Hosts ultimately. We can determine to preach our loyalty to the Spirit of God in the marketplace, changing one life per time. We can change our little world to understand that it is God who gives riches and not the devil. It will be great to see people switching their loyalty to God alone. #DifferentiatingMyself

There’s a pathway out of the valley of the anxiety and stress of entrepreneurship. God used the apostle Paul to sketch a map for us in this passage from Philippians 4:4-8. "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." A business owner would be hard-pressed to find a passage more practical and applicable to the rollercoaster ride of entrepreneurship, wouldn't you agree? Paul lists some helpful ideas for winning the war on worry. If you want to move on from chaos into calm in your company, consider what Paul is saying. Step 1: Celebrate God's Goodness First, he says to celebrate God's goodness, to "rejoice in the Lord always." Mind you, he's writing this from a Roman jail with no money and the thought of execution looking likelier every day that passes. He's not just saying to rejoice in the Lord always, his point is: don’t meditate on the mess. The more you stare at the problems facing your business, the bigger the problems get. So when you have a problem and you're powerless over the circumstances, lift up your eyes and rejoice in the Lord. Rather than giving in to the anxiety, when you start to feel it, you lift up your eyes and rejoice in the Lord. Find some way to celebrate God's goodness - to see the glass half full in any business situation - and to be grateful for it. This is the counsel of the Psalmist that wrote: "I lift up my eyes on to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1) Do you see this intentionally in the words, "I will lift up my eyes?" This was the decision that the Psalmist made. This is the decision we entrepreneurs need to make when powerlessness shows its face. The apostle Peter is a testimony to this verse. You remember how when the storm struck the Sea of Galilee, he knew exactly what 10-foot waves could do to a fishing boat, and Peter cried out: “Lord if it is really you, command me to come to you in the water,” and Jesus said, “come.” Then Peter left the boat and walked towards Jesus, but when Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid and he began to sink. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to do the impossible. But, when he saw the wind and the waves, he turned his gaze away from Christ and he began to sink. The next time you feel like you're sinking in your business, and maybe that's today for you, lift up your eyes, set your gaze on Christ, rejoice in the Lord, and rejoice in his sovereignty. Is God greater than your company problems? Has God faced this problem before? Does God have solutions you haven't even thought of? Has God taken you through these types of things before? Does God have a good track record? Is God strong? Is God sovereign? Is God still on the throne? Is He over everything else? Do you see how this is done? You're rejoicing in the Lord, you’re lifting your mind away from the business problems and you’re setting your mind on the one who can solve them. Don't meditate on the mess, instead, you rejoice. That's what it means to rejoice in the Lord. Step 2: Ask for God's Help The Apostle says having celebrated God’s goodness first, you’ll then be ready to ask God for help. "Let your request be made known to God." You see, fear for entrepreneurs triggers either despair or prayer, so choose wisely. God said: "call on me on the day of trouble." (Psalm 50:15) Jesus said: "ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7) The entrepreneurial path free from anxiety and stress is always paved with prayer. That’s why the devil doesn’t want you to pray. The path of peace is always paved with prayer. The enemy would love to shut down your ability to pray in faith. When you pray, and you take a promise of God, and you declare it over your business in whatever area, the Bible says to "believe you have received it" (Romans 10:17). Worry doesn't believe you received it. Anxiety doesn't believe you received it. Stress doesn't believe you received it. The enemy will attack your unbelief. The enemy wants your worry to start a domino effect into areas you've never even worried about before. It's crazy, all of the sudden you feel like your problems come in 3's. That's what's happening. It's a domino effect of worry. Cut it off through prayer and belief in the answer to that prayer. Prayer and anxiety go hand in hand because God wants you to pray, and walk away. Don't sit around waiting to see if God has come through or not. That's not how it was designed. That would defeat the purpose of prayer. You'd still be stressed out and anxious if you had to wait around checking in every 5 minutes if God answered your prayer. No. You walk away, stress-free, anxiety-free, confident that God is going to answer the prayer, leaving you to continue running your business! You'll see new ideas and fresh perspectives - the very creativity God might use to answer the prayer. Step 3: Practice Gratitude And with anxiety now gone from your mind, you can now replace it with gratitude. The apostle says, “in everything, by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving!” Anxiety and gratitude can't share the same heart inside of an entrepreneur. The next time you're anxious, begin to make a list of things for which you’re grateful. Your anxiety will begin to fade as you write because anxiety and gratitude refuse to share the same heart. Step 4: Meditate on Good Things Celebrate God's goodness in your business, leave your strategic concerns with Him, fill your heart with gratitude along your entrepreneurial journey, and lastly, meditate on good things all along the way. As a financial provider to your family and employees, it's easy to let anxious negative thoughts in business take over your mind. Listen, you can't control your circumstances, but you can control how you think about them. Peace comes from a stream of thought patterns. It's a mindset. You can be a Christian business owner, born again and on your way to heaven, yet still have no peace. Why? Because of what you’re thinking, because of what you’re meditating on, because of what you're dwelling on, because of what you’re focusing on. You're fixated on what’s going through your ear, what’s going on in your head, in between your ears. Listen, this is why so many Christian entrepreneurs fail - it's because they're stressed and anxious over a situation for which Jesus has already given the victory. For example, if God promised that big contract, and you think about the fact that my God says "He shall supply all my needs according to his riches and glory," then your mind is constantly on the fact that God will supply you. Rich or poor, contract or no contract, the freedom from anxiety doesn't come from the situation or its outcome, the freedom from stress comes from our ability to keep our minds thinking victorious thoughts about what God said in His word and your confidence that He would do it because He’s done everything else that He said He would do. So, the next time that anxiety awakens you at 2:30 in the morning, would you believe what I’m suggesting to you? I'm simply saying that it's not God’s will that you lead an entrepreneurial life of perpetual anxiety. Your Heavenly Father will help you in your business endeavors. God will help you pull out the roots of your anxiety. Your #1 business partner and a wise counselor will help you deal with the fears that face you daily along your entrepreneurial journey. #GainConfidence

I’ve uncovered the root of my anxiety. It comes from my need to be in control, to feel powerful, to be all-knowing of the outcomes I set in motion. Turns out, the anxiety, depression, and unhappiness in entrepreneurship all come from a sense of powerlessness. When we’re powerless, we feel anxious. When we’re powerless, we feel depressed. When we’re powerless, we feel unhappy. When an employee leaves us, we get anxious because we were powerless in their decision. We get stressed because we're powerless in guaranteeing a suitable replacement. Their action doesn't cause them anxiety, our reaction to their action is what causes it. Here’s proof: If you had a 1000 person company, and the same employee left, but you never knew them, you wouldn't be anxious. In both cases, the same employee left, therefore proving that an employee leaving doesn't cause anxiety, our reaction does. And because we're hustling and grind entrepreneurs - the go-getters of the world - we automatically take on the responsibility of overcoming this powerlessness over our debt, overcoming the powerlessness over our circumstances, and overcoming powerlessness over our business plans. Somehow, we feel it's up to us to dig ourselves out of this mess. We say to ourselves, "I got this, I'm going to make this happen." However, this self-reliant duty and obligation is the very thing that brings the stress and anxiety. The situation we're in doesn't cause our anxiety; our reaction and response bring the anxiety. Notice you only get anxious about something in your businesses because you’re not certain about what the outcome is going to be. Like when you launch a new product or service and you've invested a lot of time and money into it and it's coming down to launch day, you get anxious about it. If it was a sure-shot launch, you wouldn’t be anxious. That’s another example of how our entrepreneurial emotions operate. We understand anxiety when it's right there on the edge when it’s close because we’re not sure. But let’s ask ourselves: if we already know, and we’re watching, we would have no anxiety, right? Why? Because we already know the outcome, right? See, you have no fear when you already know the outcome of whatever you need is: My God shall supply it! (Philippians 4:19) The anxiety stops overcoming our emotions when we believe from the bottom of our soul that we are called to do this, and God has made a way for our businesses! When you know and declare the outcome, anxiety leaves you. The feeling of powerlessness leaves you because you declare you're plugged in to the most powerful supply source of all: God omnipotent, the God of unlimited power.

I heard preaching at my church once where the pastor said something like “God doesn’t need your money, He’s got all the money in the world.” Since I’m a creative type, I start imagining God in heaven with miles and miles of gold coins everywhere. It got me thinking, “if God is my father, and gives me what I need, then why the heck am I so worried about money?” How come it’s easy for me to think that if my earthly dad had 1 million dollars in a trust fund for me, I’m good.  I’m secure. I’d feel safe. I’d feel like I don’t have to worry about debt. But if my heavenly father has way more money than that, how come it’s difficult for me to feel that same sense of security? It comes down to one word:  worthy. The one trait that separates wealthy people from us (not wealthy people) is that rich people know their value, they know their worth, and they are convinced that they deserve to be affluent. But those of us that just “get by”, if we’d admit, deem ourselves unworthy and we don’t believe in ourselves, and we certainly don’t believe (fully) that God is in heaven with all the money in the world and it’s all ours for the taking – if we felt worthy of it. Some Godpreneurs remain financially unsuccessful because we think that we aren’t worth it and subconsciously (due to our upbringing), we back away when it comes to God distributing funds throughout the planet (which He’s doing right now, every second of the day). But since rich people are the ones convinced of their value and they understand how to manage it, they have no problem promoting themselves, their business ideas, and their companies. Many of the leaders we see we in the marketplace are rich because they value themselves, value their ideas, gain a following, and sell their ideas confidently. The bible says: "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life." (Isaiah 43:1-4 ESV) You are redeemed.  You are a child of God.  You are His. He made you uniquely (Psalms 139:14), with a gift and talent that only you were born to do (Jeremiah 1:5). When your creator has called YOU and given you the vision, you are to tell the whole world and let your light shine (Matthew 5:15-16). But you aren’t successful right now because you’ve been brought up thinking that it’s rude to “toot your own horn.”  There’s a difference between boasting, and being confident in your calling and being unashamed to go out and tell the world that you have a better way, a better product, or a better service that will help solve someone’s problem. If you want to be a millionaire, you have to figure out how to help a million people. The only way you can help a million people is the attitude that “If I don’t let my light shine, who will?”  Refusing to promote your calling is the main reason why you don’t consider yourself worthy, and therefore you can never get rich. We must recognize and value ourselves.  We must sell our calling to others. We must let our talents shine with a product or service you can back 100% (because God says you were called for it!) and can reach more people!  Subsequently, God’s Kingdom will also expand people will get to see you, a representative of Jesus Christ in the marketplace – a Godpreneur. We are worth it.  We are children of a trillionaire father. Have coffee one day at an expensive Hotel. Act like it’s your Father’s.  Test drive a fancy car. Act like your Dad owns the dealership. Walk into a country club.  Act like your Dad just bought it. Visit the fragrance section of the most luxurious store in the mall and test the most expensive one.  Act like your Father owns the mall, the store, and the fragrance company. Get into the mindset of a successful, rich, and worthy Godpreneur. Godpreneur Rule: Godpreneurs believe in themselves and are able to persuade others to believe in them, too. #BusinessBibleStudy #TargetMarket

If you call yourself a: Christian entrepreneur Kingdom-minded business owner A God-first brand And you walk hand-in-hand with God, following His purpose for you, you have no reason to be anxious for anything…for an extended period of time. The reason you make God your CEO, the reason we metaphorically "walk" with God and the reason Jesus died for us on the cross has to do with a transferring of our worries, stress, sins, concerns, and anxiety over to God so we can think clearly and remain in our zone of genius to keep pushing our companies forward. The Bible says: do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6) The key to overcoming anxiety in business is simply to not let yourself be caught in a state of PERPETUAL anxiety. You can't remove anxiety, but you can TRANSFER the anxiety to Him so you don't have to carry it. When we do this, the apostle Paul continues with "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. " (Philippians 4:7) Jesus takes our anxiety so we can be free to move about the marketplaces doing what we were born to do. Godpreneurs, it’s impossible to lead a life free of anxiety, but we can discover a life that is void of perpetual anxiety. #GodpreneurRule: Anxiety comes with business, but doesn't have to dominate us in our businesses.

I was reading Psalm 37, and it dawned on me that God was juxtaposing two different people throughout the chapter: the wicked vs. the righteous. Many times in business, we come across entrepreneurs who know how to make money, drive nice cars, and spit a good game when you first meet them, but then they turn out to be big a-holes (that's "asshole" for those that don't know). We need to study Psalm 37 closely for two reasons. So we know who we are NOT to become (or, for some of us, what we need to change from) So we know who to AVOID doing business with (or be aware of the ministry work you might be jumping into) The Bible describes them as wicked because they are far from God. Today, we wouldn't necessarily call them wicked. I don't use that word a lot. Instead, we call them business owners who are dictators, pompous, selfish, arrogant, prideful, narcissistic, and more synonyms in that line. I've been in the situation of avoiding these wicked-type entrepreneurs. However, I've also been in a situation where I simply can't avoid them - God put me there to show them about Jesus and potentially guide them to righteousness. Let's dive in and study the New Living Translation (NLT) of Psalm 37. I will use my #GodpreneurMethod and insert business terms using (parentheses) within the verses so the chapter becomes personal to our entrepreneurial experience. Don't Envy A-hole Entrepreneurs. (From Psalms 37:1‭-‬6) Don’t worry about (bad Entrepreneurs) or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the Lord and do good (in your business). Then you will (run businesses) safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your (Godpreneurial) heart’s desires. Commit (every business dealing) you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your (brand's cause) will shine like the noonday sun. Don't Be Angry at A-hole Entrepreneurs (From Psalms 37:7‭-‬15) Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act (in your business ventures). Don’t worry about evil (entrepreneurs) who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm (for your own business). The (arrogant entrepreneur's business) will be destroyed, but those (Godpreneurs) who trust in the Lord will possess the land. Soon the (narcissistic business owners) will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone. The (God-First entrepreneurs) will possess the land and (run businesses) in peace and prosperity. The (dictatorial-type entrepreneurs) plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming. The (terrible business owners) draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right. But their swords will stab their hearts, and their bows will be broken. Don't Desire the Riches of A-hole Entrepreneurs (From Psalms ..37:16‭-‬19) It is better to be (a Godpreneur) and have little than to be (an evil entrepreneur) and rich. For the strength of the (terrible business owner) will be shattered, but the Lord takes care of the (kingdom-minded marketplace leaders). Day by day, the Lord takes care of (upright business owners), and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in (economic depressions) they will have more than enough. Don't Be Stingy Like A-hole Entrepreneurs (From Psalms 37:20‭-‬24) But the wicked (entrepreneur's business will fail). (Businesses in opposition to God's purpose) are like flowers in a field— they will disappear like smoke. (Evil business owners) borrow and never repay, but (Godpreneurs) are generous givers. Those (Godpreneurs) the Lord blesses will (be industry leaders), but those he curses will (have failed businesses). The Lord directs the steps of (God-First business owners). He delights in every detail of their (companies). Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Don't Chase Fantasies Like A-hole Entrepreneurs (From Psalms 37:25‭-‬29) Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet, I have never seen (Faith-driven entrepreneurs) abandoned, or their children are begging for bread. (Godpreneurs) always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing. Turn from evil and do good, and you will (thrive in your marketplace) forever. For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly (business owner). He will keep (their business) safe forever, but the (employees) of the (selfish business owner) will (be out of work). The godly (entrepreneur) will (receive more share of the market) and will (thrive) there forever. Don't Scheme Like A-hole Entrepreneurs (From Psalms .37:30‭-‬33) (Godpreneurs) offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong. They have made God’s law (the way they run their business), so they will never slip from his path. (Terrible business owners) wait in ambush for (righteous entrepreneurs), looking for an excuse to (ruin) them. But the Lord will not let the wicked (entrepreneurs) succeed or let (Godpreneurs) be condemned when they are put on trial. Don't be a Rebellious A-hole Entrepreneurs (From Psalms .37:34‭-‬40) Put your (business hopes) in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you (success in your industry). You will see (terrible businesses) destroyed. I have seen wicked and ruthless (entrepreneurs) flourishing like a tree in its native soil. But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them! Look at those who are honest and good (business owners), for a wonderful (entrepreneurial) future awaits those who love peace. But the rebellious (business owners) will be destroyed; (their businesses) have no future. The Lord rescues the (Godpreneur); he is their fortress in times of (business) trouble. The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him. To learn more about the #GodpreneurMethod of personalizing Bible verses to amplify their meaning for your business, take my YouVersion bible plan called "A Christian Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Growth." #GodpreneurMethod #AgencyOwners

I’ve been married since 2011 to my beautiful wife, Stephanie. The courting, dating and engagement season of our life was awesome, full of excitement and anticipation for the day we would be married. My plans for marriage were that we would immediately begin to conquer the world together.  I had plans for us to be a “power couple”, on fire for God, plowing through the stages of early marriage and reaching levels of love that take other couples decades to achieve.  I was ambitious, to say the least. Needless to say, you know where I’m going with this story. If you’ve been married for 1 day, you probably had a good laugh reading the last paragraph 🙂 Ok, I admit that I had NO CLUE what I was getting into. The only thing I knew is that God had amazing plans for us, but I wasn’t anticipating for what God had in store for the beginning of our marriage. Most of us want to rush into things, conquer like a warrior, and ask questions later. We entrepreneurs, especially, want to skip over the “lessons” of life because…well…we have to make money don’t we?!?  If not, it’s back to a 9-5 job. But God is never in a hurry; He knows that beyond us DOING something, we must BE something for Him – so He takes time out to conquer us (from the inside out) spiritually before we can conquer our business goals under His guidance. In Joshua 4:1-9, under the guidance of God and the leadership of Joshua, Israel was now on the other side of the Jordan – in the Promised Land. But what is life in the Promised Land like? Is it one glorious vacation time after another? No; for Israel it was a place of battle, but most of all, it was a place of trust – they knew they had to trust God with every thing they had, because the challenges only got bigger in the Promised Land – but so did the blessings. When Stephanie and I got married, it was amazing to see what God did in both of our lives to bring us to that day. Much like the miracle of the Jordan drying up for crossing….me….Alex Miranda….getting married…that was a miracle considering the life of 10 years of nightclub promoting I did in Miami. I really did naively think that life was going to be peaches and cream getting married. But what I’ve come to realize is that my marriage, the battles I’ve faced being married, are all making me HOLY because God is DOING something in both of us…cleansing us spiritually so that, one day, my dream of this “power couple” can come to life. Your business and it’s growth into new products and new markets isn’t an exception to God’s way of making us “holy” and “consecrated” for His work. Think about this: if God has big plans for you to conquer and grow your business in amazing ways, why would He do that without making you an amazing leader first? You don’t grow big AND THEN become a great leader and entrepreneur.  No, first God wants to set you apart, work on you, make you amazing, then go with you battle by battle. The Conquest of Canaan by Joshua took 6 years from B.C. 1487 to 1493. If we Godpreneurs are just entering new markets of growth, except for God to be working on you for a bit. For how long? That’s what God is asking you….how long will it take you to become everything God wants you to be? It’s up to us. #MarriedEntrepreneurs #WorkLifeBalance

When I read in the Bible about the "uncertain" times the people of God went through - every famine, every economic downtown, every plague, every disease - God sustained what they went through because they put their trust in him. When your trust is in the Lord, you and your business are secure. It's easy to trust God when everything is good, the client list is growing, employees are happy, and all is going according to plan in our business. Friends at church ask us, "how's business," and we jubilantly reply, "God is good, I’m just trusting the Lord, everything is amazing!" However, it's a whole different ballgame to trust God when things are not so good in our businesses. You see, to trust God along your entrepreneurial journey means you have to allow Him to do what He wants to do, even if He fails. But wait, God fails? That's the point - He’s God, and he doesn't fail. We must trust God enough to let Him succeed - on HIS terms and way. HIS time, not in my terms, way, or timing. To trust God in entrepreneurship is to say, “I´m going to let you do what you want to do through my business, Lord. I’m not going to argue with you, I’m not going to complain, I’m not going to resist your calling, I’m going to let you do what you know is best, and I’m not going to fear the outcome." We've heard Psalm 23 a hundred times, but we mostly associate it with a funeral. I want you to think about it now, as I read it, from your business struggles perspective. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want." In other words, God will take care of all my needs if I'll just trust Him. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." It continues later in the passage, "and even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me." How many times have you felt like quitting your business? "God, you called me to this, I know, but this is hard! I'm almost out of funds, my entire 401K I've put into this venture! Why Lord do you have me in this toxic business partnership, Father? You called me to be a guide and light in my partner's life, but I'm feeling used and abused!" The Bible says it like this in 1st Peter 4, verse 12, it says "Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you." "In the world, you will have tribulation," that's John 16:33. However, 2nd Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 17 and 18, says this trouble in our business is temporary. The verse reads, "For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long." Listen, Godpreneurs, the struggle is not going to last. Our temporary and momentary financial fumble will not last. And if we switch our mindset to this kind of trust in God, this act of faith will achieve for us an eternal glory that far outweighs all the troubles combined. So, we focus NOT on what is seen (which are the problems in our business ventures), but on what is UNSEEN, for what is seen is temporary! What we see isn't going to last, so God is asking us to take the focus off our problems to focus on what is unseen, which is trusting in the calling He has for our entrepreneurial path, which is eternal. #EnhanceFocus

Sometimes, when you’re following Jesus, He leads our businesses right into a storm. Remember in the New Testament, the two times when the disciples found themselves in their boat in the middle of a storm. They thought they were going to die both times. They were in trouble, and not because they were doing things wrong. They were in trouble because they were doing things RIGHT. They were following Jesus. They were obeying what He told him to do. They were following His directions and His directions lead them right into a storm. Think about this: if the disciples had not been in those storms, they would never have discovered truths about Jesus. There were things that they say about Him they had never seen before. They could never have learned these miraculous signs any other way except by going through the storms they experienced. Always look for God in the way things are and not in what you hope they will be. Look in the way things are. See, God's not waiting for you on the other side of the trouble. He's not waiting for you to figure it out and eventually find your way through. No. Psalm 18:2 says the Lord is your shield, the power that saves you. God, in the middle of your storm, is walking with you, shielding you while working His way and His will. But you’ve got to trust Him in it. So, when God says, "do you trust me in the storm of your business situation," well, then, you have a decision to make. Will you allow him to do what he wants to do and not fear the outcome? Because to fear the outcome says, "Lord, I don’t quite trust you." Will you allow God to do what he wants to do in the storm and not fear the outcome? Finding Stability During the Storms During turbulent times in business, it's important to find stability by focusing on what never changes. Don’t focus on what's changing because we don’t know where everything will end up. So, on what unchangeable truths are you focusing? Well, focus on these Biblical truths. God sees everything you're going through in your business (Proverbs 15:3). God cares about everything you're going through on your entrepreneurial journey (Luke 12:6); God sees, and he cares. God has the power to change what you're going through in your ventures (Numbers 23:19); leaders have been holding on to that truth for thousands of years. He has the power to answer prayers (1 John 5:14); that’s unchangeable no matter how toxic your business partnership has gotten. God always acts out of his goodness to me (Psalm 34:8). That’s never going to change, no matter what the financial situation is in your business. God is always going to act good to me and see me through it. God’s plan is always better than my plan (Jeremiah 29:11); I may not see it, but it’s better because he’s a good God. God will never stop loving me (Zephaniah 3:17). That’s never going to change in your life. These are things we need to focus on while in the darkness of despair that we sometimes find ourselves in as entrepreneurs. Stay locked in on the things that never change: God’s love for us, God’s grace for us, God’s goodness for us. Godpreneurs, remember this: no matter what I go through, God will go through it with me. Every failed venture, every critical phase of business development, every HR crisis. No matter what I go through in my company, God will go through it with me. You will never be alone in Godpreneurship; God is running the business with you. He’s in the trenches with you right now. God has never been closer to you than He is right now. He'll never be further away than He is right now. And remember the great promise of Isaiah 43 verse 2: “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you." (Isaiah 43:2 NLT) That’s what you want to focus on! Maybe a little less listening to your fears and a little more listening to God. This will give you confidence in your company. This will provide you with stability in your sales. This will replace your financial panic with prayers of provision. This will replace your worries with worship. This will replace your anxiety with adoration. You have to believe that God knows what is best for your business and that he will not abandon you. He will not let go of you during this slump. This trouble will not destroy you. You have to take Him at His Word when He says, "I will never leave you or abandon you." You have to take Him at his Word when He says, "I take all things and work them together for your good." The seed of spiritual faith planted in the soil of entrepreneurial adversity, under the watchful eye of the gardener, will bring forth life and beauty in its season. The Bible says that God makes all things beautiful in their time. Your business is no exception. The trouble that you are in will not last. The turbulence will not last. It is light and momentary compared to the eternal glory that awaits you. It's all about your perspective; how you see your business’s trouble is how you will face the trouble. If you see it in fear, you’ll face it in fear. If you see it in doubt, you’ll face it in doubt. If you see it in faith, you will face it in faith. So don’t see terrible times as the end. See it as the beginning. You have to look through the eyes of faith, through a lens of expectation. Remember this: it's not the end of the story for your business because we don’t know what the future holds! However, we do know who holds the future. We don’t know how it will go ahead; however, we’re not frightened by it because we know the end of the story. We know that God is in control of our entrepreneurial journey. We know that God is not surprised by this situation, that God is bigger than this, and Romans 8:28 is still true: all things work together for the good of Godpreneurs who love God with a business calling according to his purpose #TrustOnGod

Waiting in business is like the weight room in a gym. You hit the weights to grow muscles to be stronger in the future. Leg days are painful, even for a few days after. But after some time, you are more physically fit. Similarly, we Christian entrepreneurs need to stay in our wait room: the W-A-I-T wait room. In the waiting season, we need to keep a good attitude. Keep growing spiritually and dig deeper into our business gifts and talents; learn something new. And after some time, you are more spiritually fit. You need to keep passing the "wait test" of what God has for you. It could be taking longer because the vision is much bigger, and the outcome is much more rewarding than you thought. You'll look back and see what God did in and around you, and you'll say it was worth the wait. When you see the right business partner come into your life or a better client than you could have dreamed about, you’ll say it was worth the wait. Psalm 37:3 says, "Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Verse 7 continues, "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act." The Lord will give you the land when you’re faithful in the waiting room. As you don’t get impatient over past-due accounts receivable, and you don’t get frustrated by investors closing their doors. When you don’t live jealous of other entrepreneurs because you’re traveling steady and honoring God, it means that you don’t have to make things happen with your strength. We don’t have to manipulate vendors or try to force the doors to open a potentially lucrative client. God will give us the contract. God will bring us the employees. I pray this message encourages you to keep on waiting for God to move that mountain; he’ll do it again for you. God is working. #WaitingOnGod