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Social media is a great way to help get your message out. It helps you drive traffic to your website and build your brand by creating an emotional connection between your company and prospective clients. However, in today’s age, there are many conflicting opinions on how best to use different platforms to engage your audience.

Videos and photos are both powerful ways to connect with your customers. But which one is more effective?

“Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
– Psalm 37:4 

It seems like a simple enough statement. All we have to do is love the Lord and He will provide us with everything we could ever want. 

Today, I want to talk to you about transforming you, your products, and your services into the image of Christ.

As Christians, we know that we’re on this journey to be more like Jesus. How does that happen, especially for those business owners who have never operated their business from a “God first” perspective or have no idea how services and products can reflect Jesus in their respective marketplaces?

This transformation happens by taking full advantage of the POWER of the Holy Spirit along your entrepreneurial journey.

When you are going through a season of discouragement, where do you turn?

One of the main reasons we feel discouraged is fatigue. We are physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually drained. When we are discouraged, we want to quit. We don’t feel our best, and we can’t focus on the good things.

But we also need to remember that discouragement doesn’t have to be permanent. In the end, it’s only temporary.

He who marries the latest trend will soon be a widower. 

In times of crisis, things are sifted. We often see and then focus on what is important. A crisis can reveal what we really value and should prioritize. It applies when we get seriously sick, when there is an upheaval in our family, or even during a pandemic. The sifting process may also show what really stands the test of time, and what is a mere short-lived trend. 

We’ve all read stories of people who have seemingly bent the world to their will.  Some believe that Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford accomplished this in the last 10 minutes of the recent Superbowl LVI.  Many entrepreneurs fall prey to thinking that willing something into existence is a core mindset for leading a successful start-up.  Indeed, all who know anything about start-ups know that endurance and persistence are absolutely needed—but willed into existence?

As an entrepreneur, I need my mind focused on as much of the RIGHT NOW as possible. I don’t want it running too far ahead, and I don’t want it lingering behind.

I also want my mind in as much positivity as possible. I have to curb my enthusiasm to watch the news, surround myself with positive people, and….here’s one you probably have never heard….listen to POSITIVE music.

What do I mean by positive music? I have songs I turn to when I’m upset, depressed, sick of it all, and wanting to escape my reality. Music I loved in high school, a different relationship in my life, a different season I was far from God.

There’s a song I dedicated to my wife before we were married.  It’s a beautiful song that captured my emotions at the time I dedicated it. 

Later on, I took her to the concert and the band played “our song.”  That song eventually became our wedding song. 

I also played our song on the car ride home from the hospital with our new baby boy. It brought us both to tears.

I love my morning time.  I have a beautiful view of the sunrise from my back patio.  It is so serene, yet morning is also when I have the most clarity and focus.  So once the sun rises and there is enough light to see, I usually jump into a morning routine of journaling, prayer, and/or reading.

Although I am not willing to give up God’s most beautiful gift of morning peace, and four days a week, I also go to the gym to work out; I have found it worthwhile to dedicate one morning per week to Thinking Time.

I read Keith Cunningham’s book, The Road Less Stupid, on a client’s recommendation.  It is packed with business insight and process suggestions.  It is not for the faint of heart, though.  He hits you right between the eyes with all the “stupid” business decisions or actions we have probably done at some point in our business ownership journey.  The title of the book sort of gives the directness away.

One essential thread throughout the whole book is to spend time just thinking.  

Once I get to work, I jump into the hectic pace of doing.  I see client after client, and I am trying to respond to others’ needs in between.  Amidst this busyness, the art of deep thinking often gets overlooked, leaving little room for introspection and thoughtful decision-making.  Renowned entrepreneur and investor Keith Cunningham emphasizes the importance of carving out dedicated “Thinking Time” to make smarter, more strategic choices that lead to success. 

I want to talk to you today about running a business that pleases God.

In business, we’re taught to constantly be testing products, examining customer response, and measuring profitability so we can please others. We know what pleases our investors is more return on investment. We know what pleases our social media followers by measuring the likes, comments, and views. We know what pleases our customers by their willingness to buy more and pay more.