So often, when we want to embark on a big enterprise or start a business, we think we need something. We have to go somewhere. We have to study some subject. We have to meet some expert. We have to be better than we are now in some fundamental way. 

We assume something is missing, and that’s why we don’t have purpose.

Our Awakening

I had always thought, like almost every entrepreneur, that selling my company would be a triumphant moment — the pinnacle of my achievements. But when it finally happened, instead of feeling fulfilled and overjoyed, I felt empty, lost, and bewildered with confusion over the meaning of my life and work.

I couldn’t share these feelings with my friends and peers. “Cry me a river,” I expected to hear back. In trying to understand why I felt the way I did, I started searching for similar stories about other post-exit founders. Not the polished and often fictionalized stories, but the real stories that delve into the emotional experience.

There was little to be found, but in my search, I remember being shocked by a quote from one entrepreneur. “Selling my business and taking home $100M was the worst decision I ever made,” he said. I was floored. How could this be? He wrote that over the 30 years he built his business, his identity, community, and friends were all tied to his business. When he sold it, he received more money than he could want or need, but he lost his identity and community, and his daily friendships were significantly severed.

In the last post, we looked at the reason for your prayer—praying “so that” God is glorified. But let’s get practical—how do you do that, and what does that really mean when praying for your business?

Many times, it seems that we reserve our most fervent prayers for our biggest problems that are not easily solved by our human efforts. Just like the example of Hezekiah going up to the temple and laying out the message from his enemies before the Lord, we too may find ourselves coming to God when we’re already backed into a corner with our business, our staff, production, customers or other.

It’s like prayer is our final go-to problem-solving tool when we are stuck with our backs against the wall.

But that’s not how it should be. Prayer is foundational to building and maintaining a healthy relationship with God. It is how we draw close, how we know God’s will, sense His presence and proceed in our business decisions with confidence.