Have you ever pulled out a loaf of bread to make a sandwich, only to find that it's covered in nasty green mold? Moldy bread is only good for the trash can - it's a disappointment and a waste. The shelf life of bread is very short, and Jesus warns us not to work for food that spoils.In John 6:27, Jesus tells us not to work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. This statement is a powerful reminder that the things we often pursue in this life are temporary and will not satisfy us in the long run. Instead of putting our efforts into accumulating material possessions and fleeting pleasures, we should prioritize the things of God and seek eternal life through Him.The curse of Adam, described in Genesis 3:17-19, illustrates the consequences of living in a fallen world. We struggle and toil as we work to provide for ourselves, often feeling like our efforts are in vain. However, through Christ, we can find hope for something better. We can have eternal life, which is a gift that cannot be earned but can only be received through faith in Him.In John 6:29, Jesus tells us that the work of God is to believe in Him whom He has sent. This means making a commitment to follow Him and to prioritize His Kingdom above all else. It means living a life of love and service to others, seeking to bring glory to God in all that we do.Lastly, in Matthew 6:11, Jesus reminds us to ask for our daily bread. This is not just about physical food, but also about trusting God to provide for all of our needs as we seek first His Kingdom.The story of moldy bread serves as a reminder of the fleeting nature of many things we work so hard for in this life. We should not work for things that will perish, but for things that have lasting value. By prioritizing the things of God and trusting in Him to provide for our needs, we can experience the abundant life that He offers and find true fulfillment in Him. Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

Maslow says that we need our physical needs met first. Love, esteem, and self-actualization become possible once our basic needs are met. From Maslow’s viewpoint, we all start at the bottom, checking the box for each level in order to move up toward self-actualization. His premise is that if our basic needs are not met we will be too consumed with worry and anxiety to focus on the deeper things of life. As Jesus often does, He flips the script. “For this reason, I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬, ‭33‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬)It’s as if Jesus is saying, “You have heard it said that you should be worried about your physical needs first, but I say to you seek My Kingdom and My right relationship with the Father and the rest of this is going to be provided for you.”How much of any given day is spent worrying about how our needs will be taken care of? As business owners with staff on payroll, we face the potential for worry to be magnified as we think about not only our own physical needs but also the needs of our team and their families.What do we do with this worry? Jesus kindly says, “Stop it!” Instead, focus your attention on My Kingdom as you love Myself and others. Let Me add the provision. As Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”Interestingly, while Jesus tells us to not worry about our own physical needs, He teaches us that bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth requires meeting the physical needs of other people.  Jesus leads the way in taking the form of a servant and meeting the needs of other people. These needs range from a cup of water to being an incarnation of His love. Instead of worrying about our physical needs to be met, we are to trust Jesus to meet these needs for us and join Him in being concerned about the needs of others.There is something beautiful here when it comes to business. As business owners, we are stewards of the business and servants to those who work in the business. As we seek to serve the employees and vendors who ultimately serve the clients, we are creating a conduit for physical, social, and spiritual needs to be met.Maybe Maslow was right. It does start with the provision of basic physical needs. Jesus flips the script by telling us to be concerned about meeting the needs of others as we let Jesus worry about meeting our physical needs.As business owners, when we are worried about how our basic needs are going to be met, in essence, we are insisting that the people in our business serve us. Instead, we are challenged to trust the Father for our needs as we serve others.  In the words of Jesus, “Whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭26‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬ Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

Oh give us help against the adversary For deliverance by man is vain.Psalm 108:12“We live in a love story set in the midst of a world at war,” John Eldredge so eloquently observes. There is an epic clash between two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God.The apostle Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)The things of God are opposed. This is an important reality to remember as we step into the business world.How do we navigate in a world at war? 1. Ask for InterpretationNot every challenge we encounter is from the enemy. When adversity surfaces we have the opportunity to pause and ask for interpretation. King David modeled this well. Throughout the story of his life before he engages in battle we find the phrase, “David inquired of the Lord.” We can inquire of the Lord as well, asking questions like:What is going on here?What do you want me to do?2. Remember Who The Enemy IsThe enemy may seem like a person. The message may come through an intimidating letter printed on the letterhead of a law firm. It may come through a negative statement on social media. It may show up in an unexplained shutdown of revenue. The important thing to remember here is that our enemy is not flesh and blood. The enemy is a set of spiritual forces of darkness. We are to love people. As usual, Jesus ups that game and tells us to pray for those who persecute us.  3. Take AuthorityWe can take authority over the enemy. Jesus says, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” (Luke 10:19) He goes on to tell his disciples to not rejoice that they have power over the enemy, but to rejoice that their names are recorded in heaven. It’s almost as if Jesus assumes that taking authority over the enemy is a routine thing for those who follow Him. Maybe it should be a routine thing for us to do in our businesses. We do have an adversary. That adversary is not people. When we forget that we have an adversary we end up assigning blame to the wrong places. If there isn’t an enemy, blame gets assigned to other people, ourselves, and even God. Let’s recognize that we live in a world at war. Adversity, confusion, discouragement, diminishment, and depression may be coming from the enemy. If this is the case, we can recognize it and take appropriate action.  Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

"Create." This is the label on the button that I just pushed in Google Docs to open up a blank page to write this article.God is a creator. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”Later in the story with the setting of the landscape of the earth with all of its plants and animals, God says, “Let Us make man in our image.”What parts of God’s image do we bear? There are many, but one of the most obvious is creativity.Creativity expresses itself in so many ways. Immediately I think of the arts. My son is a musician. Whether he is playing French Horn in an orchestra or jamming on a guitar, he is displaying the creative nature God put in him. Likewise, my oldest daughter is preparing for an art show next week as she finishes her degree to become an art teacher. In the years to come, she will be a catalyst to draw out the creative nature of the students in her classes.Creativity seems obvious for those in the arts. What about those of us who live in the world of commerce?There are many ways we display the creative nature of God.We create businesses. The process of transforming the dream of a new business into an actual enterprise requires tremendous amounts of creativity.We create products and services. We create processes to sell and deliver those products. We create promotion plans to brand and market our business.We create solutions to issues that arise.We create partnerships with suppliers, vendors, and financing companies. In the process of all of this, we create jobs. Then, we create training for the employees. All of this creates profit, some of which can be generously given to people and organizations who are creating change in the world. Business is an incredibly creative endeavor. In fact, few things require more creativity than starting and running a business.Who is the source of this creativity? God. He set creation in motion. His nature is creativity. We get to participate.As we go about starting businesses, launching new products, expanding into new areas, and hiring new people, we function in the creativity of our God. Like God says at the end of each day of creation, we can look back at things we have created and say, “It is good.”Need more creativity? Recognize that creativity is part of your nature. It comes from God who is an ever-present help. He loves the creative side of you and how it expresses itself in business as you reflect His image.. Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

One who neglects discipline rejects himself,But one who listens to a rebuke acquires understanding.Proverbs 15:32Having started my career in sales almost three decades ago and now working as an entrepreneur, I am familiar with rejection. Every salesperson expects to hear the word “no” many times on the journey to success.Many salespeople struggle with the fear of rejection. Good sales coaches will remind them that the prospect is not rejecting them, they are rejecting the offer. So pick your chin up and keep at it!Nobody likes rejection from other people. However, the real issue with rejection is when we internalize rejection and start rejecting ourselves. External rejection becomes internalized. Rejection from others becomes self-rejection. This is a hard place to live.How can we know if self-rejection has taken root?This proverb says we can know based on our level of discipline. “One who neglects discipline rejects himself.” Proverbs 15:32. If you flip this around, you could say that one who rejects himself neglects discipline.I love the way this one statement calls out the problem and identifies the solution. The problem of self-rejection can be identified by a lack of discipline. Areas, where we find ourselves undisciplined, are dashboard lights warning that there may be a deeper heart issue of self-rejection.The solution is also contained in the wisdom of this proverb: Self-rejection is overcome by discipline.We can think of discipline as a kind of punishment. We can also think of discipline as habits.Let’s think of habits. I like to define discipline as doing hard things consistently.Last year as I trained to trek to Everest Base Camp at 17,500 feet above sea level, I realized that I was going to need to do hard things consistently to prepare. If I didn’t, I wasn’t going to make it.The goal of getting to base camp (and the fear of failure if I wasn’t prepared) drove me to discipline myself to train hard and eat well. Over the 12-day trek to base camp, there were several times when I thought to myself, “I can’t do this!” With my legs screaming and lungs gasping for more air, I was able to remember the discipline. I knew from experience that I could push through and keep going. Ultimately, this led me to hit my goal.The solution to self-rejection is to do hard things consistently. If we find our hearts stuck in an area we can look to our disciplines. Then, we can take action.Discipline can also be interpreted as a rebuke. The verse that follows contains a critical key to overcoming self-rejection. It says, “But one who listens to a rebuke acquires understanding.”Sometimes we need a cold glass of water in the face. I like to say, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” This could come from a friend. Or, it could simply come from a hard consequence of our self-rejection and lack of discipline.While nobody enjoys these wake-up calls, these are a gift. This is where we acquire understanding.If one who neglects discipline rejects himself, the opposite is also true. One who embraces discipline affirms himself. The beauty of wisdom is that it integrates the heart with action. When we identify issues of the heart, we don’t just stare at our navel, we take action. Conversely, when we struggle to take action, we can look at the core issues of our hearts.If you are feeling self-rejection, where do you need discipline? Where do you need to do hard things consistently? Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got it right in their hit song: The waiting is the hardest part.Business involves many times of waiting. We get a verbal approval from a prospect and wait for the order. We interview a great potential employee and wait for them to come on board and get up to speed. We create a new offering and wait to see the fruit. We send a large invoice and wait for the check to arrive. I heard one of my favorite pastors, Kris Vallotton say that there are two areas we need faith. The first is faith for breakthrough. Second is our faith as we wait for the breakthrough. I’ve discovered that I’m good at the first part. I can believe for breakthrough. I can see a vision and take action. Where I struggle is in the second part. How do I wait in a posture of faith that the breakthrough will come? Where is my heart in the session of waiting? My heart can become wobbly. There are moments of confidence that things will come together. Then, there are moments of doubt that can become times of despair. These moments can become habitual. Then we can end up sabotaging the breakthrough we so deeply want. How can we wait well?In the famous chapter of Proverbs on wisdom we get some solid advice:“If you wait at wisdom’s doorway, longing to hear a word for every day, joy will break forth within you as you listen for what I’ll say.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬ ‭TPT‬‬)Wait at wisdom’s doorway.What if the key to waiting well is less about how we wait and more about where we wait?What if we could literally wait at wisdom’s doorway?Over the years I’ve heard it taught that Jesus is the personification of wisdom. When you go to the earlier parts of Proverbs 8 you discover that wisdom was present and actively involved when the world was created. It makes me think of Colossians where Paul talks about Jesus’ role in creation: “For by Him all things were created.” (Colossians 1:16) It’s not a big leap to see that wisdom’s door is actually Jesus’ door. If it’s not the same door, I bet they are at least neighbors.When we are sitting at wisdom’s door, we are waiting for Jesus to invite us in to speak to us during the waiting.The proverb goes on to say that joy will break forth inside me as I listen to what wisdom has to say. That’s incredibly helpful. Let’s be honest. In the times of waiting, joy is often the last thing I’m feeling. Worry and anxiety are simmering right below the surface. While I usually do a decent job at suppressing these emotions, they still simmer in the background. What if I could neutralize them with joy? Being filled with joy in the waiting is purely radical. And, it is possible!How do I get there? Listen to God during the times of waiting. When worry bubbles to the surface, wait at wisdom’s door and listen for the voice of God. I stumbled into this the other night at 3:30 a.m. After waking up to use the restroom, I found thoughts about the success (or let’s be honest, failure) of a new business initiative bubbling to the surface of my heart. It was a moment to choose to go full steam into a sleepless hour of anxiety. Or, I could sit at wisdom’s door.A few minutes later as I settled into my heart to wait, I heard the following: “Set your face like a flint. Keep moving forward. This is going to be great. Go back to sleep!”Thank you, Wisdom!When the waiting becomes the hardest part, we are invited to sit at wisdom’s doorstep and listen. In doing this, we have the opportunity to be filled with joy as Jesus speaks into our situation. Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

Today as I launch a new business initiative I’m paying attention to my heart. While I am massively excited about the impact these new programs can have, there is a part of me (much like every entrepreneur I know) that wonders if it will all go down in a ball of flames. Where does your heart go when things go wrong—or when you fear things might go wrong? This question was posed to me by Dave Sanderson during a coaching session.                                                                                      . Historically, bad news puts me in a place of paralysis. I freeze. And in the moments that follow, my heart tends to go down paths of poverty thinking and fear that were carved in my childhood. “This house of cards is about to fall.”“This will fail.”“You’re in big trouble now.”To counter this, Dave Sanderson recommended that we come up with a question that we ask ourselves when bad things happen. This is our primary question.With this exercise, I began to formulate some potential primary questions that I could lean into when I receive bad news. Some of the initial questions I came up with:What could I learn from this?What are three things I could do to take action right now?What are three good things that have happened that I can remember?While these questions all have merit, they didn’t really seem to get to the root. Below all of this was a question of identity. I needed more than mind tricks of learning, action, or gratitude. I needed to know who I was and whose I was.The primary question I came up with needed to address the core issue of my identity. It needed to speak to the primal fear that arises when I forget who I am.The primary question I adopted is this: What would a beloved son feel?“You are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” the Apostle Paul states in Galatians 3:26. I was adopted into an incredible family. I have a Good Father who loves me. I am a beloved son. This identity is the key to countering fear. Paul also says, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15)The real question is “Am I a slave to fear or am I a son?” And, if I am a son of God in Christ Jesus, that changes everything. Why would I bother being afraid?I have God’s loveI have an inheritanceI have a purposeI have provisionI have protectionI have permissionWhen I read the words of Jesus that say, “Do not worry,” it sounds like a great idea. But in daily reality, how do we pull this off in a business world with so many unknowns? How do we not worry when there are people who depend on us and on things going well?The path is through identity. If I am a beloved son or daughter of the Creator of the Universe who says He is my Father, what do I have to fear? What would a beloved son feel? Confidence. Trust. Peace.From this place of identity we speak to our souls—our spinning minds, our impulsive wills, and our restless emotions. King David knew how to do this: “Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭42‬:‭11‬  So, today as I launch into a new venture, my primary question is, “What would a beloved son feel?”  Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

One day a retired businessman wanted to encourage fellow entrepreneurs who were doing the hard and thankless work of building their businesses. He thought it would be a good idea to invite them out to his beautiful ranch house in the mountains for a few days of feasting, fly fishing, and rest.With the catering, fishing guides, and entertainment all arranged he sent out the invitations. The initial responses to his invitation surprised him. The first invitee politely declined saying, “I’d love to come, but I’ve just taken on a huge new client and can’t get out of the office.” The second invitee responded saying, “Man, that sounds fantastic but with the challenges in our local economy, I just can’t get away from the business right now.”The third invitee also declined: “I’d love to come but I just got married. Keep me in mind for next time.”You can imagine the frustration of this generous man having his invitations declined by the people he most wanted to bless.Fortunately, several entrepreneurs said, “Yes.” They ended up having what they would later describe as one of the most transformational experiences of their lives. By now, this story is probably sounding familiar. Jesus told a somewhat similar parable with the story of the great banquet. In this story, the generous host sent out invitations to an incredible feast. Interestingly, the first two people that said no to the invitation in Jesus' story seemed to be busy business people. One had bought some land and had to go see it. (As if he didn’t look at it before he bought it?) The other had bought some livestock and needed to go tend to them.Why is it that so many entrepreneurs and leaders decline the invitation to rest?Running a business is hard. Only those who have put themselves out there with the risk of an entrepreneur or pressures of leadership know the true price to be paid. We need rest.On top of the intense challenges of running business, the temptation is for the business to become our identity, a kind of addiction, and even our idol. The business and our drive to keep it rolling can end up consuming us, taking all of our attention and focus while draining us of energy. It becomes easy to seek validation from our identity as a pioneering entrepreneur or top executive. When that happens, it becomes nearly impossible to let go. How do we know we’ve crossed the threshold into the business becoming our identity? How might we recognize the slip toward addiction and idolatry? Perhaps we can recognize this has happened by our response to an invitation from God to rest. When the invitation to the banquet comes, are you able to say, “Yes” or do you feel compelled to stay behind and tend to the business?”Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) There is rest available. You just need to say yes.Entering that rest requires some humility. In essence, saying yes to rest is like saying, “I recognize that this business is not all about me.” Saying yes to the banquet also affirms that our success is not all about us. It reminds us that there is a place we can go when the pressure turns up. The invitation to rest is always available. There is a place where we can get away, turn off the stream of messages, and enter into joy.When the invitation comes, what will you say? Maybe it’s to a banquet. Maybe the invitation is to a sabbatical or vacation. Maybe the invitation is simply to a quiet cup of coffee with Jesus early in the morning. I’ve heard many preachers say, “When God asks you to do something, will you give Him your ‘Yes?’” Usually they are referring to a big risk to which most of us with an entrepreneurial spirit would say, “You bet!” But what about when God invites you to a banquet? Will you give him your “Yes” at that moment as well? Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

“Without consultation, plans are frustrated.But with many counselors they succeed.”Proverbs 15:22Like most entrepreneurs, I tend to be very independent. The ability to call my own shots drew me to a career in sales and then as a business owner.If anyone could confidently call their own shots, it would be Solomon. After all, he was regarded as the one of the wisest men that ever lived. Yet, Solomon shares a key to his success: consultants and counselors. He says that without consultation our plans get frustrated. When we have many counselors, our plans succeed.According to Solomon, one of the best ways to ensure success is to seek consultation and counsel. Why do we need consulting? What value do counselors bring? Here are three thoughts from my personal experience. They Counterbalance to My WeaknessesCounselors bring balance that we don’t have. Each of us bears a part of the image of God. We are all made with strengths. Of the 34 strengths in Cliffton’s Strengths Finder, there are five areas where I excel: Strategic, Activator, Futuristic, Learner, Command. I’m great at coming up with a strategy and charging the field. However, for every strength, I have some glaring weaknesses. I need counselors and consultants or I may miss some things that end up causing big problems. The Offer Multiple Points of ViewEach of us brings a set of experiences and education to the table. We each have a point of view. On our own we only see what we can see from where we stand. Often the thing we are looking at blocks our view of what’s behind it. Having multiple counselors brings multiple perspectives. We are able to see things from a different view point. Not only do we avoid things we couldn’t see, we also enjoy the benefit of additional ideas.They Bring Outside PerspectiveNot only is it hard to see your forest through the trees, it’s actually impossible. We live in the forest of our own businesses. Everyday we walk the same paths in the forest. We see the same things. We need others that can look from an outside perspective and bring fresh ideas. We need people that can recognize both opportunities and threats to our forest. I’ve seen this over and over again when guiding leadership teams through a simple SWOT analysis. They are great at identifying their own strengths and weaknesses. When it comes to the outside opportunities and threats, most teams struggle. It’s usually the outside thing that “came out left field” that can cause the biggest disruption. With outside perspectives you can do better at seeing opportunities and threats.I’m sure there are many other reasons that consultation and counsel are important. If Solomon recommended it, my guess is that it would be good for everyone.Here’s what I think is so beautiful about consultation and council: it is highly relational. Business in the Kingdom is not a solo sport. It requires relationships.Another thing that’s beautiful about counsel is that it places value on insight. I’ve yet to visit a company that doesn’t say, “We are a value-added provider!” If we want to stake our competitive advantage and premium pricing on adding value to our clients, doesn’t it make sense that we place value on people that provide insight to us?The final thing I love about consulting and counselors is the humility it requires. At the end of Proverbs 15, Solomon says, “Before honor comes humility.” There is something healthy about humility that says, “I don't know it all.” This humble heart looks for other perspectives.“With many counselors they succeed.” That sounds like a wise recipe for success! Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

I must admit, I’ve become accustomed to asking Google for answers to questions. More recently, as I have experimented with conversational AI, I’ve witnessed powerful tools that will reshape how we do business. But with all of the wonders of the latest technology, we have a much more powerful resource available: the voice of God.In Luke 11:9, Jesus says, “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.”In business there are many moments where I don’t know what to do. Strategic direction can feel like a roll of the dice in an uncertain market. People issues are hard, especially if you want to take care of someone’s heart in the middle of needing key business functions performed with consistency and excellence. Add to that customer challenges and financial decisions. Business is full of hard choices.We don’t have to face these choices alone. Jesus invites us to ask Him. Then, He invites us to listen.Imagine one of your key leaders comes to get your opinion on an important decision. What if they asked the question and then walked out of the room before you could answer? You’d no doubt be frustrated. While this would likely not happen in real life,, I must admit that this has described much of my prayer life. “Father, I ask you to help me with this situation.” Then, I say “Amen” and get on with my day.I imagine the Father is happy that as one of his sons, I have come to him for advice. Yet, how frustrating it must be when I don’t even pause to listen.I suppose that in the world of Google search where I get an answer in less than a second, I’ve become impatient. Yet, I’ve also discovered that it doesn’t have to take hours to hear God's voice. While I believe in the power of getting off the grid for a sabbatical on a regular basis, hearing God’s voice doesn’t always need to involve putting on a backpack and heading into the mountains. I’ve experienced that power of pausing for a few minutes to tune into God’s voice. Practically speaking, for me hearing God’s voice happens when I go for a walk. Over a mile or two I can descend into my heart and listen to what He is saying. For more challenging issues, a day or two of fasting also helps me dial in.The guidance of God is available for those who have the confidence to ask and pause long enough to listen. Paul says in Romans 8:14, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” We have the opportunity to be led in life and in business.He wants to lead. And, if we have surrendered our lives and our businesses to God, He is truly in charge. He wants to be asked. He wants us to listen. And, I believe he wants to deepen our relationship with Him in the process.Running a business brings up lots of hard questions. What kind of incredible advantage could you receive were you to ask, pause, and listen? Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

There are many moments when business can induce stress. Between employees, customers, suppliers, sales, and cash flow, business offers many opportunities to freak out. It’s in challenging situations that we have the opportunity to allow business to deepen our trust in God.During seasons of adversity my natural reflex is to pick up the reigns, double down, and work harder. While there is nothing wrong with hard work and focus, I find that the heart behind my work is filled with anxiety. Trust in God has been replaced with self effort.I don’t know about you, but over the years it has been hard for me to trust God with my business. I trust God with my eternal salvation. I trust Him with my marriage and family. But when it comes to business, it feels like it is up to me. This feels especially true when adversity happens.King David was a man that was familiar with adversity. While he enjoyed many days of success, he endured other seasons where things did not come easy. It was during one of these frustrating seasons that David wrote Psalm 37:5.Commit your way to the LORDTrust also in Him and He will do it.As a business owner it can feel like everything is on your shoulders. Imagine with me if instead of owning your business your business was actually owned by the most successful business person in the world. This person had the financial resources of Warren Buffet, the innovative mind of Henry Ford, and the leadership skills of Winston Churchill. This business owner had a unbroken track record of incredible success. It was like everything he touched turned to gold. Imagine that this incredible business owner lived in a foreign country and assigned you as his steward to lead the business. You got to run this business and share in the success and you could call him for advice or to tap extra resources whenever you needed to.Imagine if this business guru was the kindest person you had ever met. He loved you and you knew it. He treated you like one of his children. Rather than being demanding, he had dreams for you. He saw your true heart and knew your deepest desires. I imagine that in this situation, the things that stress me out in my business right now wouldn’t seem like big issues if I were to steward for this incredible person. It would be easy to trust.You literally have this opportunity when you surrender your business to God. You are saying, “I give this business to You, God and to the purposes of Your Kingdom.” In this, you become a steward rather than holding on tightly as an owner.David says when we commit our way to the LORD we can trust Him. Similarly, when we commit our businesses to God we can trust Him as He assumes the role of owner and we assume the role of a steward.As a steward of a business that has been surrendered to God, you are working for a business that is owned by the wisest, kindest, and most strategic person in the universe.In this place of surrender, it becomes possible and even logical for you to trust God as you realize that this is actually not all up to you. I like to define trust as, “The absence of freaking out.” I know I’m trusting God if my heart is steady. When I sense that I’m heading to a place of anxiety, I see this as a dashboard light and do my best to turn my heart back to the Father.The next verse of the Psalm says, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:7) There is an internal place of rest that is available to our hearts. Jesus invites all who are weary and heavy-laden to come to Him for rest. If He were speaking to a group of entrepreneurs, I think He might have said: “Come to me all you who are frustrated with cash flow, worried about payroll, and lost for what to do about an employee problem. Take the role of a steward. Trust Me with this and I will give you rest.”We can come to Jesus with the issues in our business. As we surrender our business to Him, we can also surrender the issues related to the business. Not only is there a place of rest, there is a posture of rest. This is a lifestyle of trusting in God. Based on our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God and our role as stewards of His Kingdom we are able to know we’re going to be OK. The posture of rest comes from a humble heart that says, “Not all of this is up to me. I trust that God has me and the business that I steward.”If the pressures of business have you struggling with anxiety a good question to ask might be, “Have I surrendered my business to God?” If so, you can rest in your role as a steward of His business. If not, you can surrender your business right now and begin doing better business from a place of rest and trust. Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

Nothing has built my faith more than being a business owner. Over the past two decades of being an entrepreneur and talking with hundreds of other entrepreneurs, I’ve found one thing to be universally true: Business creates hard moments that will challenge you to the core. There are two ways you can handle these moments. What you choose will determine your destiny.Business is a fiery furnace of personal transformation. The pressures of business, things like revenue, cashflow, and people issues, will transform our hearts. Pressure in business is part of the territory. The question is will your heart become harder or softer?The natural tendency is for our hearts to become hard. Where does you heart go when you think of situations like these:A new customer backs out of a deal you were counting onCash flow slows down and the bank balance is below your needs for payrollOne of your best employees leaves for a competitor and brings three other people with himA new government regulation kills your plans for a new service offeringMoments like these push all of our buttons. Fear shows up in the pit of your stomach. Its close cousin, anxiety, raises its ugly head at 3:00 am. Tired and exhausted, the next day anger sets in. Over time, the dogpile starts. What you do in these moments has the potential to transform your heart or destroy your business and your life.Option one is to go with it. After all, business is business. It’s a dog-eat-dog world. We just need to toughen up and get at it. Fear is fuel.As we double down, anger becomes resentment which leads to bitterness. Frustration leads to hopelessness and then despair.In all of this you begin to lose heart. The voice of the enemy speaks saying, “God has abandoned you. He didn’t come through and he won’t. You’re on your own now.” Chronic anxiety and anger creates an angst that requires attention. Many medications are available to help with this. From the numbing effects of too much alcohol and overeating to the distractions of pouring ourselves into work or hobbies we find ourselves addicted and trapped. These ways of coping with stress hurt your closest relationships. Your marriage and family suffers. At work, anxiety and anger fuel a relentless drive. You become impatient and short tempered. You transfer your emotions to our team, putting undue pressure on them to perform. In desperate grasp for control you begin to micromanage. All of this builds a toxic culture which hurts productivity, destroys morale, and ultimately causes many people to leave.This situation creates more fear, more anxiety, and more anger. You find yourself in the classic downward spiral.Of course, you are known as the successful entrepreneur. It’s your identity You can’t fail. Emotions like fear and anxiety seem weak and would hurt your image. So you don’t tell anyone. You live alone and scared, reasoning that fear, anxiety, and anger are part of the package. Even better, they are the fuel that will drive you!This is the way of the world.Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads only to death.” It literally kills us. The toxic cocktail of fear, anxiety, and anger seeps into our homes, eroding our marriages and parenting. It sabotages our health leading to all of the diseases that come from chronic stress. These literally lead to death.There is a better way that leads to life. Option two is to see these high-pressure situations as full of potential for transformation. Fear, anxiety, and anger can be the dashboard lights that prompt us to run to God. I like to think that if Jesus were talking to stressed out entrepreneurs in 2023 He might say, “Come to Me, all you who are weary, anxious and afraid your business is going to collapse and you will look like a total failure. Come to Me you who feel out of control and are angry. Come to Me and let Me give you rest.”Jesus’ invitation to us is simple: “Follow Me.” Where the way of the world is to double down on control, the way of the Kingdom is to surrender.What do you surrender? You let go of fear and anxiety. You make no agreement with it. You release anger and bitterness. Then, you invite Jesus into the situation. You start asking Him questions: What do you think about this? What should I do? Then, you listen.All of this draws you closer to the heart of the Father. As you are led by the Holy Spirit you grow in your identity as the beloved son or daughter of God, just as Romans 8:14 promises.Pressure becomes the fuel for growth. Over time, Romans 5:3-5 becomes a reality for us: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”The pressures of business will not go away. They have the power to destroy you or transform you. The choice is yours.You can begin today. Chances are there will be a situation today that will push your fear, anxiety, or anger button. I challenge you to see it as a dashboard light and bring it immediately to the Father. As we do this, what once launched a downward spiral of despair can instead initiate an upward spiral of transformation. Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.

“Help us to remember that our days are numbered, and help us to interpret our lives correctly. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭90‬:‭12‬ ‭TPT‬Knowing that we only have a finite amount of days affects the way we see our lives. The way we interpret our days matters.Understanding that our days are numbered gives us the perspective to interpret our lives correctly. Over the years I’ve been challenged to write my own eulogy. This powerful exercise provides perspective on the big picture of the impact we want to have in the world.Today I want to zoom in on the days of our lives we invest working in our businesses. Earlier this week I watched a man with flowing silver hair walk into the lounge where I was working on a project. Something in me knew I was going to meet him. So, it was no surprise when he sat down next to me. As we began to get to know each other I quickly discovered that he had just retired from a fulfilling career making a huge difference in the lives of men and their families. As we talked about his life and passions, what I saw in this man’s eyes and his smile inspired me. He seemed centered, at peace, and fulfilled. I witnessed the signs of a life well lived. This is what I want.Should God grant me a long life, I want to be able to look back and know that the time I spent in my career made a difference and that I helped touch others lives. Someday a day will come when I cannot work. Organizations I helped pioneer and grow will be handed off to someone else to lead. With this perspective, I see the importance of raising up leaders, creating a great culture, and building processes that leave the business in a strong and healthy place. Maybe someday I can assume the role of a sage, encouraging those who are actively running the business.So, what does all of this mean to you today? Here are a few questions to ponder:If your life is a breath, what will that breath say? What do you want to be remembered for? With your numbered amount of days, how can you set your business up to have an impact long after you have moved to the next season? Today’s episode is brought to you by Revenue Growth Engine. To scale your impact you need to scale your business. To do this, you need a powerful Revenue Growth Engine. Listeners to Surrendered Business can get a free copy of the Revenue Growth Engine audiobook at www.revenuegrowthengine.com/book.