Finding Faith while in the Fog

Like most entrepreneurs, I would love clarity, focus and guidance on a daily basis. I would like to know precisely my next steps, and the ones after that and the ones after those and what my life will look like 5 years from now. I want to know what to do, how to do it, when to do it and what not to do. I want a complete manual for my life and business. Do you want one for your life too?

Instead I have found myself a serial entrepreneur over the past 26 years. I started out buying a Molly Maid home cleaning franchise at the ripe old age of 19. About to be married, I joint ventured (although I didn't know that term at the time) with my mother and together we brought Molly Maid to the west coast of Canada. It was quite an experience to have a staff of 6 and a fully operating franchise by 20. I learned that I didn't want staff ever again and in 26 years, I have had one part-time employee for less than 6 months. 

Since then I have done all sorts of interesting businesses including my pole dancing business launched in 2004. Although I only worked with my business partner for 9 short months, I learned a lot about partnerships, media coverage and pole dancing. Today if I ever want to get immediate attention in a conversation, I simply mention that I owned a pole dancing business and every woman and certainly every man looks at me and wants to know more.

At the end of the day though, where does all of this put me or any one of you as you meander through businesses, struggle with the perfect career or passion or feel insecure in your business decisions? It puts all of us in a fog that isn't always easy to deal with. 

I admire people like Brian Scudmore of 1-800 Got Junk. In listening to him being interviewed one day, I was fascinated that he started the business at an early age and wants to retire with it. That boggles my little mind. Actually sticking with one idea, one concept, one business for decades is beyond my way of thinking. Brian has built an outrageously successful business because of his focus. Bill Gates is another man with the tenacity and stick-to-itiveness that my mother used to speak about. Although I can admire them, the thought of doing one business for my entire life would have me feeling as trapped as a straight-jacket.

However, isn't it true that part of success as an entrepreneur is the ability to decide? Did you ever notice that the word "decide" has as the last 3 letters, "ide" which is the same for homicide, infanticide, genocide and suicide?  In other words, when you decide, something has to die. What is that something that needs to die? It is your option - your option of quitting or failing. 

You need to commit and that was another interesting definition. "Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do long after the spirit in which it was said is gone. "

As spiritual entrepreneurs, we have a big WHY and if you don't yet know what your big WHY is, then now is the time to determine it.   If your why doesn't make you cry, then it's not big enough.   I know that mine gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes on a consistent basis. I love it! 

When you have a big WHY, then you have the ability and the desire to decide and commit. The word "desire" comes from the Latin word , de -sire or "of the father". Our desires comes from the divine part of ourselves that is much bigger than ourselves. That ability to decide and commit allows us to stay focused even when all the steps are not clear. 

Challenges will show up guaranteed. Obstacles will arise I promise. There will be times when you want to quit. Everyone wonders if they will truly succeed. What I appreciate every day is that 26 years of being a serial entrepreneur, experiencing so many amazing things in the world of business, succeeding and failing, has prepared me for the next stretch, the next piece of the puzzle, the next set of stairs on the journey. I am sure that if you looked at everything you have done in your lifetime, you will see that it has all been perfect as you move ahead.

Can you live with the uncertainty, the fog, the doubts and the lack of clarity? I honestly don't know that we have a choice. What I have seen in my own life and in working with hundreds of entrepreneurs is that we just need to keep on moving. It may not make sense. It may look like we made a major detour at times, but in looking back it often makes far more sense in hindsight. 

Building a successful business takes faith. Faith in yourself, faith in a loving Universe that supports you, faith that it will all work out in the long term and faith that you will get exactly what you need along the way. If everything was laid out like the Websters dictionary from A - Z, you wouldn't need faith and you wouldn't be the person you are today nor have the amazing situations and circumstances happen along the way.

My dear friend and best-selling author, Tama Kieves writes, "The heart knows the way." Truly, when you stop and get in touch with your heart of hearts, your deepest innermost thoughts, you know that there is a part of you that knows exactly what you are to do next. Find the silence to listen to your intuition, the "voice of God" that is within you. There is a GPS system within you - call it "God's Plan for Success" if you will, but it is within you, guiding you, directing you and giving you more clarity and focus than you sometimes appreciate. 

Identify your fears honestly and then choose to see them differently. You can be excited or you can be afraid. It is the same situation - it is simply a different perspective. On a roller coaster, have you ever noticed that some people are hanging on for dear life, looking pale and nauseous and others are screaming with their arms up in the air, loving every minute of the thrill! Same experience.  Different reaction or perspective. 

Choose your path for today.  Know that it probably won't be set in stone.  Decide what you want and then kill your option - your option for failure or quitting. Commit and know that it's all part of the journey of life and as a spiritual entrepreneur you have taken on an important role to fulfill it fully.  Then appreciate the blessings that come with being on the path.  Doing this will help you find faith while in the fog.  

To Your Outrageous Success!

Jan

P.S.  This coming Tuesday, September 18th at 7:00 P.M. PDT, I will be interviewing a dear friend and amazing entrepreneur, Brenda Eastwood.  Brenda is a Registered Nutritional Consulting Practitioner and Certified Nutritionist.   As entrepreneurs, our health is so critically important.  You will learn from Brenda on this call - she's where I go for my health questions and concerns!  Please join Brenda and I on Tuesday at (641) 715-3200  Access Code: 550234#.  This a complimentary call.  I hope you'll join us.

Visit my website: www.janjanzen.com

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