I often get asked the question of, I don't know what my calling is, angel. I don't know how to go about my calling. Angel. I'm not sure exactly what next step to take in this calling that I know that God is calling me to angel. Valid questions. Great questions. I've had them before too and let's be real it, I. It's frustrating when we really don't know the next, the next step, uh, the what of something, the why of something, and definitely the how behind something we tend to get, especially stuck in the how. If you know that God is calling you to build that business, to write that book, to finally start that project, and you have been putting it on the back burner, mainly because you just don't know the how, or maybe you do, but you're scared to implement the how. Maybe you're overthinking a little bit. Whatever the hold back is for you, whatever the hesitation, it's valid. It's a real human emotion as we try to obey in what God is calling us to do. Now, here's what I've discovered. We overthink things. We overthink things way too much to the point where we are our own reason as to why we're hesitating, why it's delayed, because we're overthinking. I want to simplify something for you. By asking you this question, what if the answer to that next step, the how behind going about it, what if that is found in your story? Just thinking about your story, reflecting on your story, and allowing your story to shape your next step. Let me explain what I mean. Oftentimes. Your story, your experience, what you've gone through, what you've overcame, what you're still learning to overcome. Oftentimes that is the piece that is needed in that next step. Oftentimes, that is the answer in regards to how we go about something within our calling. Your story, my friend, is your ministry. A lot of times we think that our story. Is something that shapes who we are. It is our identity. And a lot of times if our stories are traumatic or they have traumatic moments, we want to avoid that because we're trying to grow out of it. We're trying to grow beyond it. But what if that story is supposed to be attached to that next step? What if it's supposed to be there for God-given reasons? Especially when it comes to, like I mentioned earlier, the how behind doing something, how to show up better on social media. How do you start your YouTube and what do you even start talking about? How do you have that conversation? How do you go about writing this book? What direction do you take? We have all of these questions that have to do with the how and where we get stuck is thinking so much. Overthinking it. When it comes to our expertise, we're trying to have our expertise be the solution to the how that we are asking when in actuality, your story is the solution behind the how that you are curious about how you talk about that thing on social media, YouTube, that conversation in that book, the direction you take, stop thinking so much about your expertise and showcasing that pivot, and instead think of your story that is the starting point of what you talk about and how you talk about it and what direction to take. You start there. Your story is your ministry. Why? First thing, your story sets you apart. It's what makes you unique. Think about all the times you play the comparison game, and myself included, I have struggled with playing the comparison game for so many years and still struggle with it to this day, but I have learned that it's much easier to break the comparison game. Off of my life. When I think about how set apart I am, because of the story that God gave me over the years, my experiences, the good, the bad, everything in between, it is a part of my unique experience that nobody else to the T has. Out of 8 billion people, I am set apart within the story that God gave me. And when it comes to pursuing what God is calling you to do confidently, you want to remember that you are set apart because there's going to be moments in your journey where you feel insecure, where you feel doubtful, where you feel like you wanna give up, where you play the comparison game and all of those things will make you hesitate. It will make you delay on the path that God has called you to rather than progressing through it. But when you remember, wait a minute, I'm set apart. I'm not supposed to look like them. My journey is not supposed to be their journey. My timeline is not supposed to be their timeline. My personality is supposed to be different because my story has helped shaped the person that I am today. And the person that I am today, God is going to use more than I could ever think or imagine using me as a vessel, speaking through me to other people, leveraging the creative ideas that he has gifted to me to bring out into this world as a way to plant a seed to someone else. As a way to plant a seed in my life and my family's life, to the point where it is transformational. You want to remember that you are set apart and you are supposed to be second reason why your story is your ministry. A part of your calling that God has placed on your spirit, people can be changed by your story. I talk about this a lot in my podcast episodes because it's so essential. God wants to use you. Not just for your benefit and your blessings and your transformations, and your wealth and wellbeing, he wants to use you beyond yourself. He will use you in ways where he speaks through you, in ways where he acts through you so that the people that are getting impacted by the words that are spoken or the actions that are taken based off of what the Holy Spirit is doing in and through you. They are being transformed. There is a seed planted that God needs to be planted in the timeline of their lives because they matter too, because they were created by God too. And what a gift for God to choose you to help other people in that way, again, it's not just about your benefit, it's also about the benefit of other people. Jesus will not only transform you, but he will transform people through your story. Think about that. Your story could be a part of the transformation that someone needs, and how powerful is that? It's not to put you on a pedestal. It's not to idolize you or idolize your story because that's not what we're trying to do. We are idolizing God for giving us a story that he can use to transform us and our lives, and also the people around us. Third thing that I'll say in regards to your story being your ministry and why that is. It's because it's one of the main things that people can relate to. Especially in today's society, people want to feel seen, heard, and understood. They want to feel like you get them. They want to feel like you've been where they are at. They don't want to be constantly bombarded with people that are way up here on a pedestal, authoritative. They got all their stuff together, they figured it out, and then they're just hanging out way down below, desperately trying to figure it out. There is a strong disconnect when that happens between the person and you. However, when you get down to human, to human eye level with somebody and they see that you have been where they are at, or that you are currently where they are at, that you relate, that you get them, that you understand that you see them. There is a special light that happens there, a special divine connection. Your business, that book, that music, that creative project, that content, that coaching program, that product, whatever it is that you are wanting to create and put out there in the world, and therefore answer God's calling over your life, over your entrepreneurial ambitions. A big part of that is not your expertise. It is your ability to relate to the people that you are serving in the industry that you're in, that is connection that is humanness, and that can lead to the kind of impact that God wants you to make in what he's calling you to do. Now it's great to think about why our story is our ministry and why we should share it out there, and why we should remember to reflect on that when it comes to showing up and thinking about how to do something, rather than trying to lean so heavily on our expertise. That's all great, but what I wanna talk about is. How can we actually pull our story into our calling, pull it into what we're trying to do, into what we're trying to build into, what we're trying to grow? How do we do that? And the reason why I wanna talk about that is because a lot of times we overthink this too. We get confused on taking something like our story and how it can even connect to what we're currently doing today. And sometimes we don't want to because our story can feel painful and we're trying to grow beyond that, right? But I wanna give you some hope in encouraging you to bring your story on over within what it is that you're doing. And how to do that in a way that just feels natural and not forced. First thing that I'll say in regards to how tie your story to your specific industry. Let me be clear about this. If you have a specific story that has to do with, uh, perfectionism or procrastination or abuse or any direction you wanna take, no matter how deep it is, if you have a story, let's say that is a part of your story, but maybe you're in the beauty industry. And you're like, how in the world do I take moments, deep moments in my story and connect it to the beauty industry that I'm in? Well, think about how parts of your story that shaped who you are today. Are still being reflected as you go about the beauty business. For example, how is perfectionism showing up in you trying to be a beauty business builder? How is procrastination something that you struggle with because of something that you went through in the past it to the industry that you're in and get specific with it? The reason why I'm saying this is because you don't just wanna use your story within your calling and just flat out talk about it. You wanna connect it to the industry that you're in. Connect it to the audience that God is calling you to serve based off of how they can receive it and what they'll be able to understand. Stand. For example, I am a Christian life and business coach and content creator. What does it look like for me to talk about my issues with emotional instability in the past? And talking about how that emotional instability is something I'm still healing from today within my business, meaning how I react or respond to business decisions Or what feels like business failures or even business successes, how do I manage that and steward that emotionally when pressure is high? I can relate my story to those things because I understand that it's not just me. It is also something that other people may be struggling with too. Related to your industry, related to the people that God is calling you to serve, make it make sense, connect the dots, and when you do that, you naturally lean on your story as a way to share your voice, to help people to grow the business. Rather than feeling like you need to be this super experty authoritative person all the time and share all the tips and all the advice, that's great, but also talk about your story. Your story is your ministry. It is what people can relate to. It is what helps them to see that there is a way out. There is a possibility because God is using you, using your story to speak through you, to other people, to act through you to other people. Again, not just for your benefit, but for theirs too. The next thing that I'll say in regards to your story being your ministry and how to go about that. Share your story in bite sized learnings, not as a full transformation over multiple years. The reason why I say that is because when I say your story, sometimes we think in the grand scheme of things over all of the years that shaped our story. This is all that I went through. This is all that I had to overcome. These are all the moments and we kind of look at our story as like one big summary. When it comes to how you share it and how to use it within your ministry, within your calling, within your business, within whatever it is that God is calling you to create in this world, it's best to share it in bite sized learnings. What I mean by this is think about not just things that happened in your childhood and that being your story. Think about moments. Think about. A specific situation or occurrence that happened this year. Think about something that you are struggling with this week or something that you're working on today. Think about those things. And the reason why I say that is because your story doesn't just mean your past. It also means the current. Because your story is consistently going to be shaped over the entire time span of your life here on earth. Meaning your story is not done. Okay? Talk about your story as it's being shaped. And relate those bite-sized learnings through those moments that are happening this year, this week today. Relate it to people in the industry that God is calling you to serve in, for example, I shared a story through an Instagram reel where I was talking about how hard it is to read the Bible. I was talking about how sometimes I don't wanna read the Bible, how I have a hard time focusing. And I shared a story of what happened that morning bite-sized learning bite-sized moment where I'm talking about something that happened that very morning where I did not want to read the Bible, and what helped me to finally find the will to read. So in this way, I'm sharing a story. I'm sharing a moment that happened in my life that's real, that's raw, and I'm relating it to people in my industry. Think about that for you too. Your story doesn't always have to be past things. It also doesn't always have to be traumatic things. It's great if it is to help plant a seed to people, but don't be afraid to also use moments that happened today, that happened this week, that happened this year, that happened recently, because those are a part of your story too. Those are a part of things that you have learned that you are going through, that you are overcoming. That you can align within the industry that you're in. Talk about it. It's all still a part of your story and your story, my friend. Is your ministry a beautiful way to minister to people that God is calling you to serve? Through your business, through your product, through your coaching program, through your course, through that creative venture, through that book, through that real estate opportunity. I don't care what it is, God will use your story for anything to reach anyone in the industry that he's called you to be in. Now the final point that I wanna make in regards to how to share more of your story as part of your ministry within your calling, share it naturally as you go about your day. Don't feel like you need to have this perfect backdrop, this perfect setup to sit down your phone and talk about your story, and it's gonna be this heart to heart Instagram reel or TikTok video or LinkedIn post that you put up. No, you're doing too much. Okay. There are moments for that. That's great, but more than likely that's gonna burn you out because at that point you're being a perfectionist. You have to have the picture perfect background and set up to sit down and look good and talk about your story to people that are receiving it from behind that video. But my friend, there is a better way, a more natural way, and a much more authentic method behind this, and that is sharing your story through bite-sized learnings in how you wanna teach or encourage or educate people. By just doing it throughout the day. Naturally, if you're in the kitchen and you're cooking. Hold up your phone against the counter and talk while you're cooking. Let that be your next Instagram reel post. If you are at the grocery store and you bump into someone who's in line waiting behind the cash register right behind you, and a conversation starts up, let that be the chance for you to plant a seed through your story naturally based on how the conversation is going. If you have a podcast or a YouTube channel, and let's say you have a plan for what you wanna talk about today, you already know the topic that you're gonna talk about, but maybe your heart is somewhere else. Maybe you had a really bad day and your heart is in a different space. Your mind is everywhere. Why not take the topic you planned, push that to the following video or the following podcast episode, and instead spend that podcast or YouTube talking naturally about how you're actually feeling in that moment. What you're actually going through, and how you wanna help people through what you're going through based on what happened today. This is what I mean. So many times when we go about our callings, when we go about our entrepreneurial ambitions, we overthink, we're perfectionists. It has to be right. We have to say this, it has to look like this. I have this picture. Perfect plan. Now listen, I'm a huge planner. I love everything about plans and time management, but what I also love is authenticity. Do it naturally. Talk about it naturally as you go about your day. There's been so many times where I've picked up my phone and I talked about a moment in time or a story or relating to, uh, something that I'm feeling currently or have felt and relating it to the people in my industry. I've talked about it in the car. I've talked about it during my walk. I've talked about it when I was at the gym. I've talked about it while I'm cooking, while I'm cleaning, because it's natural. I'm already doing these things throughout the day. And if you need some inspiration, feel free to pull that from my Instagram. I don't care if you follow me or not. If you do, great. I, I love that and I appreciate that, but I'm not saying that for clout. I'm not saying that to get you to follow me. I'm saying that because sometimes we just need inspiration in regards to what that even looks like to step out of fear and to walk in confidence to actually do it. And you'll notice that a lot of my Instagram reels are. Really natural. I'm walking or I am drinking my morning coffee. No makeup on. I'm in the kitchen cooking or doing something. A lot of my reels are like that. That is what I'm referring to. Share your story. Share how you felt or how you are feeling. Get relatable based off of. The industry you are in and the target audience you serve and talk about it naturally throughout the day, even if it's in person and you have the beautiful opportunity to talk with someone through an in-person conversation, that matters too. If you try to have this picture, perfect plan and vision and set up to share your story, it's not natural. There's a facade there. Drop the facade, approach it authentically, and when you do, you get more confident in that story because you're just being you. And when you can just be you, it gives you more comfort to talk about your story or your feelings or what you've gone through and relating it to your audience. Now just to wrap up, I do wanna say this one tip. As you share your story, which is a part of your ministry, within your calling, do not just talk about yourself. I know that that might feel a little confusing because it's like, well, if I'm sharing my story or a moment that happened, or how I'm feeling or have felt and trying to relate it to people, I am gonna talk about myself naturally, right? It's my story. Yes, I understand that, but you need to be mindful about who is watching that piece of content. Who is listening to you talk in that in-person conversation. Who is listening to you on stage, that person doesn't just want to hear about you. They want to hear how your story or that moment you're sharing is going to help them. So anytime you are talking about your story and bringing it into the industry that you're in, make sure that you are. Circling it back around to how that story impacts them. How does it help them? How can it help change them? Talk about it, relate to them, share how it can help them through education or encouragement, inspiration, whatever that is, share it. And again, if you need some inspiration on that, feel free to pull that from my Instagram. That's totally fine. That's up to you because I don't just want you to listen to this podcast episode and feel inspired by what I'm saying here. I want you to take action. I want you to practice this. I want you to get comfortable sharing your story and just being real and relating it to the industry that you're in and to the people that God is calling you to serve. You can do this. I know you can, and man, am I so excited to see you walk in that fully. Thanks so much for tuning into today's episode. Now, before you go, if you are interested in learning more about sharing your story within an online business. If that is an ambition of yours, I would love to invite you to my upcoming free two Day Mastermind, and yes, it is free. This is going to be a high level experience teaching you how to scale your income and impact with one online business system. And yes, I am teaching you how to do it God's way. We're gonna talk about mindset, we're gonna talk about marketing strategies, we're gonna talk about money building systems. That can get you to those 10 K plus months with an online business while keeping God first, while not sacrificing your mental health and ensuring that authenticity is a part of that core. Your story is a part of that core to the point where business growth, business consistency comes more natural, something that you can absolutely achieve this year. So if you're interested in that, head to the link below in the podcast show notes or in the YouTube description where you are watching this, and I would love to get your seat saved. Again, this is a free event. Absolutely no cost to you. I really hope to meet you and I hope to see you there. Thanks for tuning in, friend. I'll see you next week for another episode.