Heart, Hustle, and a Dash of Faith: A God-Centered Guide to Success
This article was written by Sue Miley and published by Crossroads Professional Coaching.
When it comes to business success, there is a fine line between being business savvy and being a God thing.
A college dropout with no capital starts selling handmade computers out of his garage and one day becomes the biggest name in computers.
After 3 years of planning and saving, a baker finally opens his own neighborhood bakery, which closes after 3 months.
Carefully crafted marketing plans have carried a brand. Others equally as carefully crafted have yet to move the needle.
What is the magic formula?
Sometimes, business acumen works toward creating a growing, lasting entity…other times, it just doesn’t work. On the other hand, many people who don’t seem to have a clue fall hard into success, while others get what you would expect…nothing.
It’s hard to see the pattern.
What Creates Business Success and Longevity?
There are fabulous books like Good to Great by Gary Collins and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Those authors have studied successful businesses and tried to share the magical treasure map for others to follow. Sometimes, we hear about those companies that follow the formula and achieve greatness. But what about the thousands of others who followed the recipe, only to a different end?
What if there is a different ingredient that is truly the secret?
What if we need a supernatural recipe for success?
I haven’t done a formal study like Jim Collins, but I have worked with and in many businesses. I have seen a recipe for success work well for those who follow Jesus.
We need foundational business building blocks plus one oversized, deeply passionate heart sprinkled with a dash of God’s will.
Doing Our Part: Putting the Business Building Blocks in Place
I think with most things in life, God wants us to do our part. God can pour out His business blessings on any random day or business owner. Usually, He is looking for someone to step out and try to do the right things.
To do the right things, it does help to study and read about what constitutes business success. Create a strong and focused vision, hire the right people, systematize and automate processes, and determine a strong point of difference to market and build your brand. These are just the building blocks for a strong business that can grow past what an individual owner can do alone.
Will we do it perfectly? Maybe.
If we do it perfectly, will it guarantee success? Not necessarily.
Leading with Heart
We can’t fake caring. God knows our hearts even if we sometimes don’t.
He knows if we started a business for other reasons (ex, just to make money or because a family member wanted this for us).
When our hearts are in it, we will be different leaders, too. We will create a culture that is one of purpose and love. We will use the golden rule of loving others with our customers, team, and vendors.
We are in it…both in mind (doing our part) and in heart.
The Business Success Secret Ingredient
Even with my business experience and personal desire, I have still seen businesses fail or at least not achieve the owner’s goals. And I have also seen companies succeed without enough business acumen or heart.
Ultimately…it does come down to a “God thing.”
We sometimes need help understanding His timing or ways, but trust is our part in igniting this secret ingredient. We must trust that it will always be a part of God’s will if things work out. Sometimes, He may not provide the supernatural dash of success to our hard work and love for our business.
Even in these times, we must trust that whatever the outcome, God’s will is best for us. If it doesn’t work as we expected, He has His reasons. We often can’t see them in advance, but we often see them in the rearview mirror.
I have personally experienced almost every combination of these three components. God has been amazingly faithful and helpful to me, even if I didn’t feel that way then.
I want to promise you that if you do your part, God will help you achieve YOUR goals…but honestly, I can only promise that He will help you achieve His goals.
However, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that His goals for any of us are better than our own.
The recipe we should follow for our business:
- 1 lb of God-glorifying hard work and business building blocks
- 1 cup overflowing of a full and loving heart
- A mustard seed of faith
- An eternity of trust
- A dash of God’s will
Mix all ingredients and let rise in God’s timing…for it is always perfect!