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“Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up.”
The author of Hebrews encourages us to “Strip off every weight that slows us down; let us run with endurance” and “get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us.”
Sin is obviously a distraction, but so is a lack of focus in your business.
If you’re not focused, everything becomes a distraction. When you’re distracted, everything becomes a possibility, but not every possibility is a profitable opportunity.
The most practical way to approach this in your career or business is to “niche down.” As a designer, I’m a confident problem-solver. I lose focus when I want to apply my gifts and abilities to create solutions for problems that don’t align with my expertise or interests.
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
― Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC
Change Your Focus
I’m finding great freedom and new energy in applying my decades of branding expertise to advising and helping service company owners grow their businesses. There’s great joy in investing my time in doing what I love for impact and profit.
Try this exercise in your journal or on a 3x5 note card:
Draw two circles. (Use a glass and trace the bottom).
Write what you love doing in the left circle. It’s where you find your “deep gladness.”
Write the world’s deep hunger in the right circle. It’s where you’ll invest your time.
The intersection is where God calls you and where you have potential for purpose, profit, and impact.
“We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.” ( Hebrews 12:1-2, GOD’S WORD Translation)
How do we stay focused?
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to serve and love God wholeheartedly when your mind is in one place and your heart is in another.
We can stay focused by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion and perfecter of our faith. He’s like a pacer who runs life’s race with us, who knows our pace yet runs slightly faster, so we must strive to keep pace.
By asking Jesus to
direct our steps;
maintain our focus;
guard our steps;
protect our margins.
There are so many possibilities of things that we can do to grow our business, expand our influence, and increase our opportunities.
We lose focus when our eyes are on the finish rather than the road ahead. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He’s pacing you so you finish the race well.
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