There has been so many moments in my life where I was challenged to go God's way. Versus my own way, where I was challenged to do something, say something, react somehow in a way that was aligned with what God wanted me to do, say or react, versus how my natural human self would've done, said or reacted. So many moments that have challenged me, that have tested me, and at the end of the day, they have ultimately made my life so much more successful than I could have ever imagined. Successful internally and feeling sustainable peace. Feeling content, but also successful externally and watching the doors that God would open because I chose to go his way. Now all of this sounds good and dandy, but let's be real. It is hard. It is hard to choose to go God's way versus your own. Why? Because your ideas, your desires, your way, your approach, your direction is speaking very loudly in your mind. You are living in this world, feeling all the emotions that come with it. Your thoughts are incredibly loud. Your circumstances are crashing down on you, so you naturally will think that your way is best, your way in getting out of it your way in navigating your way through it, your way to overcome you think. Naturally that your way is best and it's hard to instead remember, to think and to act like we believe that God's way is better. Why? Well, sometimes God's voice may not feel as loud as our thoughts. God's direction for us might go against our own desires. God's path that he's calling us to might challenge us to be a different kind of person than we are today. So because of that, it's hard for us to even fathom the idea of going God's way when we might not hear it as clearly, when we're uncertain, when there's things that are unknown. So many questions and doubts and considerations that we have when thinking about God's way versus our own. Now this can apply to anything in our lives. There are so many different aspects and concepts within our lives that God is challenging us to go his way. To act his way versus our very own way. But in this episode, I wanna speak of this in terms of your business, in terms of your entrepreneurial dreams. That is a huge reality shift. From working in a nine to five or working at a job to deciding that you are going to start something of your own, you're going to build that thing, write that thing, create that thing, launch that thing, because you believe in putting your creative gifts out there into the world and setting it up for impact and income. However. Entrepreneurship. God's way is not just about you. In fact, it's not about your success, your money you achieving. You having financial freedom, can it be a part of that? Absolutely. But ultimately, entrepreneurship, God's way is you trusting God to move in and through you in order to reach people through the business that He is calling you to build that business, that idea, that book, that project, whatever it is, is supposed to influence someone, a multitude of people. Whether it be a few or many in a way that God needs it to, and he's using you to do it, he's gifting you with the entrepreneurial task to do it, to put it out there so that other people can be greatly affected by it. But. Whatever you're building as an entrepreneur or you're wanting to build as an entrepreneur, that thing is your baby. You are putting so much work and effort and tears and getting task after task after task done this nonstop level of trying, going, figuring it out, and when you are putting in that much time and energy into something, especially when you're passionate about it. That is your baby. You know, the beginning and ends of that entire thing. That entire strategy. That entire system, you know, the depths of the hard work that is going into this. And when something is our baby, we tend to clinging really tight to it. We tend to get controlling. We tend to get incredibly protective because we don't wanna lose it. We don't want it to fail. We don't want it to. Have a different result than what we are working so hard for. And because of that, as entrepreneurs, it is a habit to choose to go our own way in what we think is best to protect our baby, to control our baby, to ensure that our baby does not fail. But my friend, I'm here to tell you, when God gives you an idea, when he gives you an entrepreneurial heart, a part of him gifting you with this ability is allowing God to unc unclench your tight fists around your baby and to trust him with it. Allowing God to hold it, allowing God to steer it, allowing God to have his hands on it, even if it's different than what you thought. This is what I mean when I say choosing to go God's way in business versus your own. Now, that's a very broad topic, right? Because that could mean a lot of things. It could be choosing to go God's way in what exactly it is he might be calling you to start, or how he's calling you to start it, or the path to take to even scale the thing. The opportunities to say yes to, the opportunities to say no, to what to let go of, what to stop doing, where your focus needs to be. There are so many specifics under the realm of choosing for God. To have his way in your business and the gift that he put in you to put out there into the world. Understanding what that specific thing is that is between you and him. And I want you to lean into this episode as a way to gain clarity, to understand what God could be challenging you to go his way in rather than choosing your own way. Maybe you already know what that is. And if so, hold tight to that as we finish out this episode. But if you don't know what that is, listen to this episode. Have an open mind, and I pray that God will reveal what that is to you as you continue to listen. Now, here's the thing. God's way versus your own way in your business, in your dreams, in your ambitions, sometimes the lines get blurry. Sometimes we question what we want. Could that be what God also wants for us or could it not be? And when I say the lines get blurry, sometimes it is in alignment. What you want is in alignment with what God wants for you. But many times it's not many times. Our way in God's way looks different and you have the free will to choose which route you're going to go so how can you know for sure? What is God's way in your business? Especially if you're in a season of feeling confused, you're looking for clarity. You're just not sure where God is calling you to go or how he's calling you to do it. The first thing that I wanna say to help you with that is to ask yourself, is this aligned with scripture? Because if anything that you're doing or thinking about in regards to your business and whether you should go your way or God's way, or trying to figure out which is which first question you need to ask is. Is this aligned with scripture based off of Christlikeness, based off of Jesus's principles for our lives? Based off of God's guidance of how he wants us to live our lives, manage our money, put in effort, be generous, be kind. Based off of scripture, is it in alignment with what the Bible says? Because if it is not, and if you have to question it, then you gotta bring that to God and you have to ultimately use the Bible as you guide your initial guide when it comes to, is this right? And leaning on stories of faith. There are so many stories in the Bible where people were challenged with their faith. They were challenged to trust God in something. They were disheartened. They didn't know what was next. They were literally walking into the unknown read stories pertain it to your life as a way to reflect on if this is how God spoke to that person in the Bible, if this is what God produced for that person in the Bible, then what could he be telling me right now in the season of my life? I will give you a really common example of what I mean by this. I have a lot of people that come to me and they say, I wanna leave my nine to five. I want to be a full-time entrepreneur. I hate my job. I just want to get out of there. Now your way might be quitting. Two weeks notice, you can't stand it. You quit and then you go off on your own to start your own business. But if we read the Bible, there is this concept of stewardship that God teaches us, stewarding our time, stewarding our current season of life. Also stewarding your wisdom, being wise, making a plan when it comes to you quitting and starting your own. Business. This is just a quick example of what I mean by leaning on biblical principles. Now, this is where you're also gonna have to lean into the next thing that I'll say, which is constant prayer. Constant prayer. Because in that example. God teaches us, shows us the necessity of being a good steward of being in the waiting season, of trusting him, of being wise, right? However, there are also moments where God calls people biblically to take leaps of faith that honestly just don't really make much sense. Sometimes God will do that. Sometimes God will want you to up and take action right then and there as a quick act of faith. However, that is a conversation between you and him and the best way to gain clarity on if that is what God wants for you, if that is his way for you. Whether it be leaving a job, a pivot you wanna make in your current business, something you wanna start doing in your business, or stop doing in your business, whatever it is, lean on biblical principles and lean on constant prayer. I would also say the next thing to look out for, to decipher between God's Way and Your Way with God's way doors. Just start to open. Do you need to put in faith? Yes. Do you need to put in effort? Absolutely. But as you do doors just naturally open and the rest of the doors meaning the pathways, you should not go down close when things naturally happen. That is a clear sign that without you even forcing it, That. God's hands are all over it because you didn't have to force anything. You didn't have to overly stress out about anything. You put in effort. You put in faith, you trust God. Doors are opening. That is how you know that that's God's way because he's taking care of you and he's telling you, Hey, you're on the right path now when you know you're on the wrong path, or maybe you need to look back to God in order to pivot, in order to get back on the right path. This is where you're bumping into moments or feelings as if you are forcing things to happen. You're controlling way too much. You're trying to push, and there's so much pressure in order for that thing to go through or to happen, and therefore it just feels forced. When something feels forced and you're trying to. Pull with all your strength a door open that is divinely locked, you are going to get exhausted. You are going to get burnt out. You are going to feel drained, and you're going to start feeling empty. That is a clear sign that that is not for you. Something else is. And you will find what that is, what that open door is for you when you just pivot and turn to God instead choosing to go his way even when you don't see the full picture yet. Now here's what I want to talk about next. There are things. That people don't really tell you things that are unexpected when it comes to God's way versus your own, because it's one thing to say, well, God's way versus your own way is going to be better. Absolutely. Because he's God and he knows you best and he wants you to become who he needs you to be. So he's gonna do what needs to be done and put you on the path that you need to be on in order to get there. Right? We also know that choosing to go God's way is ultimately tough. It's a hard choice to make, but. I want to get deeper by talking about things you might not know to expect when choosing to go God's way. And I wanna talk about those things in order to prime your mind, in order to create space in your mind as you choose to go God's way. Because I want you to go God's way. God wants you to go his way. You get to decide if you're actually going to do it. And I think what makes us hesitate is one, not knowing if it's even God's way. And that's why I talked about the first pointers that I mentioned but two, being afraid of what that means. What does that look like? If we go God's way and not our own, if we let go of control, if we allow God to put his hands on it in the way that he would want to, what does that look like? And that's a scary feeling because it's unknown and it could be different than what you actually desire. So I just want to talk about those things to open up your mind. To set expectations.'cause like I said, I've been through this many times, and to also give you encouragement that despite these things to expect, that might feel hard in going God's way. I promise you it is the best way, and I'll talk more about that towards the end. First thing to be aware of. When you choose to go God's way and not your own, you are going to feel like you are dying to yourself. And when I say dying, I mean that literally, emotionally, mentally, physically, it's going to feel like you are dying to your own self. The reason why is because. Going God's way means going against what you would normally decide to do, so it feels contradicting to your own self. A part of you at first feels like you're betraying your own self at first, but as you go God's way and you believe, and you trust that his way is best for you, you start to realize. That you didn't portray yourself, you simply were loyal to your spirit, the spirit that. God gave you that exists within you. You were loyal to that because you know that because God created you and he put a spirit in you. You have the ability for your God-given spirit to surpass any fleshly thoughts or desires. So in the flesh, in your human flesh, it's going to feel like you are contradicting your own self. You're portraying your own self. It's unlike you. It doesn't feel normal. The reason why is because you're dying to yourself so that you can live more for God. You're loyal to your God-given spirit by choosing to live more for God and going his way. I have had moments where going God's way for me was so painful. And this is in every regard, both in business and also just in life. In conversations, I was challenged to go God's way to hold my tongue in order to not be so quick to anger as I prepare for marriage, challenged in what God says about marriage and a healthy husband and wife, which was painful for me, to be honest with you. It was painful for me at first because I know nothing but independence. In business. I remember when God asked me to start up YouTube and a podcast, and I felt like I didn't have time. I felt like I was so tired. There was a part of me that at first was stressed and frustrated with it. It was painful because I was doing something that didn't feel natural to me. It wasn't natural to me at first to show up consistently on YouTube, and now it is because I chose to go God's way and what he was asking me to do. These are all just random examples, and I want you to think about examples in your own personal life and business. Whatever it is, there is going to be a season, moments where you are dying to yourself and it's not gonna feel good. I'm gonna be real with you. It's not gonna be a good feeling, but it's a necessary one because you're choosing to live for Christ. Instead, you're choosing to go God's way instead and as you do, you become stronger as you do. You find that your natural self becomes so much more aligned with your spirit self, with God's way for you that you just change for the better, what you used to want. The route you used to want to go on, the results you used to desire, they change and they shift. Or your heart's position changes and shifts behind it. That just naturally starts to align with Gods. But first, in order to get to that, you're going to feel like you are dying to yourself. The next thing that I'll say in regards to what to be aware of when choosing to go God's way and not your own, it's not gonna make sense to people. A lot of times, God's way does not make sense to the everyday human ear. It doesn't make sense. They don't understand it. They don't get the logic behind it. And the reason why it doesn't make sense is because it's not supposed to god's way, oftentimes means a leap of faith, whether it's small or whether it's big. By definition, faith means believing in what you cannot see. The everyday human ear struggles in believing in something they cannot see with their own eyes, right? So if someone can't see something with their own eyes, their human brain logically cannot make sense of it. So if you are telling someone about God's way for your business and you feel like God is telling you to start this, you feel like God is telling you to do this or to go that way, and you know that spiritually that he's calling you to, A lot of times it's not going to make sense to people because you're speaking the language of faith, and I've learned that the faith journey, believing in what we can't see in regards to your specific. Calling your specific business Is something that is private between you and God because it only makes sense between you and him because you two are the only ones having these conversations. It's you and God, you hearing from your spiritual ear what he is telling you to do. You knowing that leaning into it and feeling that it is a a and b conversation. So when C tries to come in. AKA Other people that you're trying to talk about this too, it's hard for them to be in that a and b conversation because it's a conversation of faith. It's a divine conversation, so people aren't gonna understand it. They're not gonna make sense of it. Do not expect them to fully understand it, and when you expect people to not fully understand it. You aren't so quick to get offended. You aren't so quick to get insecure in why people aren't getting you. Why people aren't believing in you. No. Instead, your confidence in what you are hearing, your confidence in God's way for your business and the route he's calling you to go on. That's enough. You don't need people's affirmations. You don't need people to validate that the path that you're talking about is really what God is saying. Now, let me be clear. Having godly people in your corner to help steer and guide you when your direction maybe gets a little misty, where you start to not see things start to get blurred. That's good. It's good to seek wisdom from godly people that can help you either get on the right path or sustain the current path that you're on. However, you wanna make sure that if you know that God is calling you to start something or to stop something, you're tuning into that and you're obeying that because obeying God is much more important than obeying man every single time. About three years ago, I left my full-time job. Now my story with this is I had a great full-time job. I loved my team. I loved the work that I did, and I will never forget the moment where I had this supernatural spiritual covering over me randomly one day. And it was so intense that I had to go into the other room and just sit there on the floor within that feeling. And while I was there, I heard God tell me in six months, I need you to leave this job. And. Until that point, I need you to plan. I need you to put a plan in action to prepare you financially and mentally to leave in six months. It was such an overwhelming feeling. There was a part of me that was so excited because I've always had an entrepreneurial heart and I felt joyful that this was my time. That God was affirming that in me, but I was terrified because I loved my job. I liked my team. I had amazing benefits. I was paid really well, and I was terrified to lose all of that. It got to the point where when I would tell people this plan. I would say, I'm leaving my job in six months. I'm putting together this plan. God is calling me to this. When I would say that some people would celebrate me and they would say, oh, that's great. I'm proud of you. I know you can do it. Other people would look at me and be like, why don't you have an amazing job? Don't you get paid six figures? Don't you have incredible benefits? Why in the world would you leave that behind? I got asked that a few times. I was challenged with that question because it didn't make sense to them. This was a a and b conversation between me and God and what he was calling me to do, actions that he was asking me to take that would lead me into the unknown. That did not make sense to the everyday human ear. But if that's what God was calling me to do, then it was important for me to obey that rather than feeding so much into people's opinions. And it was really hard. I remember when I put in my notice. I remember when I told my manager that I was leaving, I bawled my eyes out. I was sad it was really hard, but I knew that it was right. And I think that's also a part of what can help you confirm if it's God telling you or if it's God's way. It is because there's a supernatural peace. There's a supernatural feeling of, no, this is right, even though I'm scared, even though this doesn't make sense, even though I'm so confused. There's something about this that just feels right, and there's this underlying piece that comes with that. The last thing that I'll say. And what to be aware of when you choose to go God's way versus your own. You will be mentally and or financially tested. Big time. Big time. God is going to use the opportunity in you choosing to go his way. He's going to use that to grow you enough in order to see him as your provider. A lot of times we don't see God as our provider. Not our initial provider. When we think of provider, we think of people who provide, people who provide money and food, a place to live. And we think about the initial human to human conversations or things that take place in order for that providing to happen in our lives. For example, your job provides for you by paying you every other week your clients provide for you by investing in your services. Programs or your products. Someone is selling their house and you work with a realtor to get that house that feels like they are providing for you in order to give you that house., when you go to the grocery store. The grocery store provides for you by already having a wide variety of foods that you have the freedom to choose from. This is what I mean when I say our initial thought on who provides for us is more of that human to human conversation or things that happen to be provided for, but God will challenge you to change your mind, switch your perspective to see that he is your first, your foremost, and your only provider. So you will be tested financially. When you look at other people or jobs or clients or students to provide for you financially to give you money, God's gonna challenge you. And he's gonna say, Hey, are you going to look to me as your provider? If you have no clients right now, if you were to lose your job right now and you are scared about where your money's gonna come from next, are you going to trust me enough to be your provider? I will take care of you. He will challenge you with that. That's what going God's way looks like. He will also challenge you mentally to provide for you mentally, to give you a way out of your mental roadblocks, a way out of your insecurity, a way out of your doubts, a way out of your procrastination. Will you trust that God can provide solutions to that. And again, when we think of our initial provider in the mental sense, we think about therapy, that one-on-one human connection where a therapist is providing mental health services. For us, meditation, meditation is providing us with peace. So that our brains can calm down. These things are good. I'm not saying don't do these things. My point is that God will challenge you to change your perspective, to view him as your first and foremost provider. Why? Because when you learn to see God as your provider in all things, that strengthens the relationship. It prepares you for the next level that God is calling you to. It grows your confidence to be able to handle what door God wants to open for you in the future. God knows your future. He knows what's gonna happen. He knows what's gonna take place, and in order for you to be able to carry that future well, he needs to train you now. And a big part of that training is trusting that he is your provider. You cannot seek your providing in man, in humans, in yourself, in opportunity. You need to seek your providing from God. And it will challenge you. I have had moments where I was broke in my business. I was terrified of where in the world my money was gonna come from next. So scared One time it got to the point where I was like, you know what? Maybe this is my time to go back into the corporate world. And I started applying to jobs again, but I knew that that was me choosing to go my own way and not God's way. Why? Because I wasn't hearing back from jobs at all. Doors were closed. Now I waited. I did this for a few months just to see what doors could open. I tried and I tried and I tried that. The doors were locked. The doors were locked. But over those few months when I was so scared about money and being broke, God provided for me his way in my business, clients came in, people were buying my programs rams. from my effort and faith. God produced that outcome he provided. And that showed me that in entrepreneurship, those were the doors that he was choosing to open in the nine to five. Those were the doors he was choosing to close. That is just my testimony. Other people have different testimonies. Sometimes God will close the doors to entrepreneurship right now in the season of your life, and he will open up the door to a nine to five job. Why you never know what God is doing. Maybe he wants to continue shaping your skill sets before you're ready to be a full-time entrepreneur or creative. You never know what God is trying to do. The whole point is trusting him with it. Let me wrap up by saying, going God's way is the best decision you will ever make in your life. Is it hard? Absolutely. Are you going to feel the pains of dying to yourself? Absolutely. Are you gonna feel like it doesn't make sense? Yes. Are you going to be mentally and financially tested? Yes. But I promise you going through those challenges will make you the best person that you could ever become because saying yes to God means that you're saying yes to all that he has in store for you, all that he wants to gift to you, all that he wants to shape you into becoming all the ways he wants to use your amazing self to impact other people. And as God is doing all of that, there's also this divine joy in life where depression and insecurity and emptiness and feeling lost are harder to come by these days because you went God's way. It is the best feeling. It is the best blessing, the best surprises when you do choose to go his way versus your own. Thanks for tuning into this week's episode. I hope it uplifted your spirit today. If you are choosing to do this entrepreneur journey right now or in the future and you are looking for coaching and community to help you do that, you can check out the Burnout Free Biz. This is our private exclusive coaching and community space that is specifically for women online creatives, who wanna fine tune their business strategy, learn to get consistent, build out their business system, and do what God is calling them to do in entrepreneurship successfully. If you're interested in checking that out, I drop the link right down below for you and, hey, if you are a man, because I know I mentioned that, that hub space is for women. If you're a man, and if you're listening to this episode, I do one-on-one clarity calls where I can help you get clear on your business's ambitions and build out an entire mindset and personal marketing roadmap for you to help you achieve just that. If you wanna look into it, head to the link down below in the podcast show notes or in the YouTube description where you're watching this video. Thanks for watching. and I'll see you next week for another episode of the God Empowered Entrepreneur Podcast.