Any endeavour, business or otherwise, calls for faith.
And it’s an odd thing for me to be talking about because faith and I, well, we’ve not had the best relationship.
faith
1. strong or unshakeable belief in something, especially without proof or evidence
2. a specific system of religious beliefs
3. complete confidence or trust in a person, remedy, etc.
4. any set of firmly held principles or beliefs
Let’s start with the word unshakeable. I’m not sure I have unshakeable faith in anything. I blame the part of me that’s a longtime skeptic. It’s in my nature to question everything.
Then there’s definition #2. The impact of a confusing relationship with religion growing up lead me to decline anything remotely related to it ever since, including its jargon.
Moving on to #3. . .complete confidence or trust; whoa, kind of like unshakeable, this one awakens the skeptic!
Last but not least #4, with its firmly held set of principles or beliefs. Hmm, perhaps this one I can relate to.
So what’s got me riffing on faith anyway?
Today was the first day of Summer Camp, where we gathered ’round the virtual campfire and got right to the challenge of launching and growing a business. And not just any business. I’m talking world-changing business.
World. Changing. Business.
I don’t say those words lightly, especially in the online world of over promising and under delivering.
But today on that call with an amazing group of women, this possibility reached out and touched me. No one on the call said those three words, but I heard them as loudly as church bells at midnight.
World changing – starting with your world.
Business – your gift offered to the people you most want to work with; your perfect people and beyond.
These women around the campfire are world-changers, every one of them stepping up.
Do what you love and the money will follow.
I’ve not had much faith in this overused quote, and not because of the quote itself but because of how it’s been simplified and used to cajole and manipulate by so many online gurus promising the 6 figure dream. Gah, makes me gag a little.
Which brings me to a distinction that needs to be made.
There’s you the solopreneur and you the professional (whatever your field of expertise is) and for the sake of your world-changing business, you have got to think of them as two separate entities.
I’ll take you back in time to my own clueless beginnings as an entrepreneur to show you what I mean.
When I discovered the profession of coaching I was ecstatic. I’d finally found my place, and I eagerly rushed in, got myself trained as quickly as possible and launched the business.
No entrepreneurial experience or role models at hand, I mistakenly thought that my skill as a coach would be enough.
Do what you love, right?
Wrong. Big, big wrong.
After a strong start, I learned the hard way that skill in your chosen profession is not enough. I had to develop a business mindset or my dream would die. Let me be really clear – I didn’t want to, I just wanted to coach. But I had to for the sake of my business and dream.
So I did. I got myself a couple of mentors, read everything I could get my hands on, took courses and slowly but surely, that flabby business muscle got stronger.
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
The money will follow. . .
Sure it will, if you actively go after it, ie: keep your eyes open for opportunity and hustle. H U S T L E.
But will the money follow if all you do is acknowledge your gifts? Not so much.
One definition of genius is “the natural ability or capacity; strong inclination: Synonyms: gift, talent, aptitude, faculty, endowment, predilection; penchant, knack, bent, flair, wizardry.”
Then it follows we are all geniuses in our own way.
But acknowledging this is just the first step. Putting it out there and connecting with your perfect people is step two. And it’s an ongoing step you’ve got to take over and over again, fine tuning and honing your message so that you attract only those people you most want to work with and repel everyone else.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
I learned this by paying attention to energy, which sounds woo woo I know, but the truth is everyone is either giving you energy or draining it. Which would you rather work with?
When I got clear last year on who I’m meant to work with my life and business altered in a heartbeat.
All thoughts of target markets and demographics disappeared and my perfect people began showing up.
They all said the same thing – I scared them in some way and that’s why they wanted to work with me.
At first that bothered me – I wanted to help people, not scare them! But one day in conversation I said what I’d been afraid to say before,
“I want people to wake the hell up! There is no someday and I’m going to keep yelling till they hear me!”
In that moment, my lowered tolerance for listening to stories and my heightened appreciation of living life fully became a rallying cry! It didn’t make sense and I was so NOT comfortable with it, but I kept putting it out there anyway.
What has this got to do with faith?
You really have gotta have faith.
Even though I’ve never used the word to describe any aspect of my life and business before, it’s become clear it was faith all along.
Every time I picked myself up after a disappointment. . .faith.
Every time I took on part-time work to keep my dream alive. . .faith.
And every time I had the urge to quit and get a job so life could be easier and didn’t. . .FAITH.
I didn’t know it then, but I sure know it now.
And that’s what I heard on the first call of Summer Camp today.
A little seedling of faith beginning to sprout, ready to be nourished, cherished and kept safe.
Right now at the start of this three month adventure together, that seedling is fragile and these women, amazing as they are, might not have faith in it growing to fruition. That’s ok. I’ll hold that space for them until they’re ready to claim it. And they will be ready.
They will have done the work.
And taken action.
And supported each other beyond what they now know possible.
I am so moved that I get to work with them I can hardly stand it.
And I am so damn proud of the journey that’s lead me here. Twelve years in business has given me everything I need to do this work with these women.
I also realized (yet again) how blessed I am to have attracted Jenny Bones. As partners in this we are a match made in heaven.
And that is also a matter of faith.
God, what IS it with you and Jenny to push me places where the tears are as abundant as beer at a kegger? Dagnabbit!
So glad you called out the “Follow your passion,” bullshit. Yes, follow your passion, but THEN learn everything you need to know that you don’t know. I used to look down my nose at the business people (soulless, money-grubbing hamsters), but now I see that they just approach the world differently than I do. There are certainly the hamster-set in education as well, so that’s a choice.
Now I peruse the business section of the bookstore…God help me.
@Ellen Berg I wrote this last night and it just flowed outta me like no post in recent memory! And then I got scared. Thank God I had the smarts to talk to @JennyBBones to get out of my head and back in action, ie: hit publish.
Not bad for my 300th blog post, eh?
“World changing business.” Yes, please! These women are truly an amazing bunch and I’m humbled to be working with them and to have found, as you said, a partnership made in heaven. Smiles and tears of gratitude abound!
@JennyBBones Smiles, tears, nausea, fear…all part of the package called human being. And changing the world while we’re at it 😉
This is fabulous! Still sad that the timing isn’t good for me to join camp because I love that you scare me! You are truly living the work you are meant to do! So happy our paths have crossed! Big congrats on post #300!!
@blisshabits I’m not that scary am I? 😉
I think it’s my intensity that can occur as scary. I warned my husband Mark on our second date. He married me anyway, just like my perfect people 🙂
@Sandi Amorim Own it! You ARE that scary! (In a totally great, kick me in the pants and get on with what I am meant to do sort of way!)
@blisshabits Yeah Kathy, I’m wishing I had time to do the camp too
🙁 It sounds like they are having a great time!
@Lori @blisshabits Well, we may have to run it again! Woohoo!
*sniffles* The idea that someone will have faith in me when I lose it in myself is astounding.
Thank you, JennyBBones & SandiAmorim for being you. *hugs*
@jwitcraft That is so totally my promise to you!
I even tell my 1-1 clients that when they forget who they are or forget what they’re here for I’m going to remind them. Sometimes they don’t like it because I don’t let them off the hook at all. Hmm…I guess I can be kinda scary 😉
@Sandi Amorim And that is the beauty of having a great coach!
@Sandi Amorim
Yes, you are scary in a really good, loving way. Is there any more loving act to do for someone than hold up a mirror that forces them to see their brilliance and take action on it? I don’t think so.
@Sandi Amorim You have reflected to me what you see, and then I could see myself better. Humans are self-focused but we’re focused from behind our own eyes. You see me from outside and it gets clearer what I am or what I look like to others. One can’t attract one’s own people without presenting one’s true self. That’s where your shining has helped me the most… shining light on how to explain myself, present myself to others… so I can find my right people. Thanks.
*sniffles* The idea that someone will have faith in me when I lose it in myself is astounding.
Thank you, JennyBBones & SandiAmorim for being you. *hugs*
This triumphant post #300 cries “I am Sparta” in the most juicy-scary way!World-changing is freaky stuff, especially starting with your own world first. But, sister, you’re right. Once it clicks there’s nothing better.
And when you feel your faith in yourself slip a wee bit, know that the butterflies and I are holding yours. Always. Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
That’s 2 Sparta comments and I feel another blog post coming on 😉
Thank YOU Teresa for shining so bright the butterflies always know where they’re needed. xoS
That’s 2 Sparta comments and I feel another blog post coming on 😉
Thank YOU Teresa for shining so bright the butterflies always know where they’re needed. xoS
Yikes, the scary woman has faith in my world-changing potential! And now I’ve got all these campers watching me too. Does that mean I have to get off my butt and do something?Thank you @Sandi Amorim for kicking some serious ass! What a perfect post for the #300. And you’re only scary in a cool-scary kind of way!
@saraho Cool-scary works 😉
And yes, it means you have to get off your butt and share your genius. It means no more playing small. It means stepping into the spotlight sister! The world is waiting for you!!!
Faith to me is trusting in the universe and trusting in the inherent nature that I am (which at the ultimate level is the same as everyone else’s). Faith through experience is powerful, faith through intelectual belief is a cover up sometimes. I guess what I’m trying to say is that when you or I or anyone connects to their truth and fully experiences it, faith is the result of a knowing more than a hoping. Love you -Bern
@yourgreatlifetv So much wisdom there Bern. I now think I’ve had much more faith than I’ve been willing to acknowledge, mostly because the word itself was still tied to organized religion. Letting go of that old belief was a long journey and I’m happy to finally be free of it 🙂
Faith is what it’s all about. Faith that we really are amazing, brilliant stars with so much light we can change the world. And I’m talking EVERYBODY here — we all have the potential to change the world. We just need to believe it before we see it. Faith + business knowledge + bullshit detector + support + action = world-changing miracle businesses (and a pretty great life too).
Sandi, 300 blog posts ago, little did you know where your writing would take you. And just look at you now! Shouting your message from the rooftops, attracting more and more of your perfect people every day, and emitting a tractor beam of a light that is pulling all of us — and especially you — higher and higher. That is the power of heartfelt, heart-centered writing. I celebrate you, my friend. Big time! I love you.
@Carol Hess Faith + business knowledge + bullshit detector + support + action = world-changing miracle businesses
That’s a pretty great equation Carol! And it’s what we’re all about right!?
I love you too my friend. 300 posts ago I had no idea what would be unleashed, and no idea I’d connect with so many extraordinary people. You, my dear Star Polisher, are at the centre of it all. Thank you for being here. xoS
@Sandi Amorim
Yes, that is exactly what we’re all about! And now, you’ve gone and made me cry. Sniff. Sniff. But it’s a good cry. 🙂
Beautifully put, Sandi.
So many have a hard time with the word faith because of the religious connotations – myself included at times.
But you’re absolutely right…
It’s that “knowing” that doesn’t come from the head.
That belief that if you not only “put it out there” energetically but also in a very real elbow grease kind of way, that things will fall into place.
That even if they don’t click in ways you had planned, that they will come together in a way that pushes you, challenges you, and forces you to grow.
So let me shout a bit AMEN and HALLELUJAH – preach it, girl, preach it! 🙂
@Sabrina at MyMiBoSo I think we need a pulpit here 😉
@Sabrina at MyMiBoSo I think we need a pulpit here 😉