The Unknowns

Here’s the question everyone always asks.

Do you remember where you were on 9/11 or when JFK was shot or when they landed on the moon.  Those significant moments in our nation’s history when we all remember the exact moment and where we were.

Here’s mine…..

I wasn’t born yet when JFK was shot.

I was only two when we landed on the moon.

However, I was 34 when the US was attacked by terrorists on 9/11.

Let’s just say that Disney World isn’t the ‘happiest place on earth’ when you’re there during a terrorist attack. They shut down the parks and sent everyone to their hotel rooms.

I remember being scared. I remember hating being away from my family during a time like this. There were so many unknowns. If you know me at all, I don’t do well with unknowns.

I won’t compare 9/11 to what we go through as entrepreneurs.

But the fear I felt when everything was unknown… that feeling… to a MUCH lesser degree, is what I’ve felt as an entrepreneur. That paralyzing fear. The anxiety that keeps you awake at night. The feeling in the pit of your stomach. All unknowns.

Oh yes, after almost 3 decades as an entrepreneur, I’ve been there too many times. I’m not proud that I didn’t just hand it over to God and allow peace to wash over me, but as we all know, that’s a whole lot easier said than done.  Here’s what I HAVE learned.
God can’t turn a parked car.

The ‘fear paralysis’ that we sometimes fall into is the favorite toy of the enemy of our soul. If he can keep us from having any momentum at all, he can keep us down. He uses the unknown to torture us. He exploits the fact that God doesn’t give His children the full picture of the plan.

All God needs is… for us to be moving. Any forward movement we make, He can work with. A forward motion means He can turn us in the direction of our success.

So…..It’s up to you to push through the ‘fear paralysis’. Here are a few suggestions:

• Write a post on your Facebook page.
• Reach out to someone you’ve met who seemed interest in your services or product
• Write a thank you note to the last 4 people you introduced to your business.
• Update your website.
• Write a to-do list
• Time block your calendar for different tasks, then do them!
• Re-read your favorite business book. Let the ideas create “business brain” momentum.
• Go online and search for local Chambers of Commerce. Go to the very next event they’re having.
• Get up, take a shower, get dressed and go sit at a coffee shop just to be among people.

Here’s the deal. Satan is the father of lies. And Fear is liar.

Let me repeat …..

FEAR IS A LIAR!

Fear would like you to believe:

• That you don’t have enough business sense.
• You can’t try it one more time.
• That there are no more options
• That your idea just isn’t going to work.

Fear creates:

• chaos in your mind
• confusion
• inactivity

BUT

God is the author and perfecter of our faith. He IS peace. He is the answer and He HAS the answers. He is just waiting for you to make another effort. He equips you when He calls you.

Just because you’re going through something difficult doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you. He might just be refining you until He sees His image in you.

But you’ll never know if you let the fear win.

If you’ve been through God’s refining process, what advice would you give someone who is being refined?

BONUS…..

I received this from a friend and I just LOVED it!

There was once a group of women studying the book of Malachi in the Old Testament. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three, which says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled the women, and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.

That week this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

– Unknown