The best mentors don’t have the right answers, they have the right questions. I want to be that kind of mentor who guides entrepreneurs to dig deep in their souls and ask themselves what’s my true purpose and what will be different in the world because I exist? or what will be different in the world because what I create exists?
Last week I had the privilege of mentoring/speaking at BYU-Idaho for the Entrepreneur Conference and I selected, “Ask and Ye Shall Receive: Faith & Entrepreneurship” as my topic. I had a wonderful experience preparing and also turned to Startup Princesses for their responses and to understand how other women entrepreneurs face their businesses with God’s guidance and direction. I was completely inspired by the response and enjoyed sharing excepts from comments in my presentations.
Here are a few thoughts taken from my presentation:
I asked the students to consider their purpose and how they can determine what that is, how they can follow their passion and purpose… ultimately when we are in tune with our purpose we will be living life fully and any business/project/venture will evolved out of the “difference we wish to make in the world.” I showed them the Startup Princess video found on the homepage of this site… which points to purpose/balance/and strategy.
Ultimately when we are living in accordance with our purpose we will shine so bright that others will be drawn to us and want to know what it is we have to share with them and we can serve others to fulfill the measure of their creation as well. We will be filled with joy.
David Bednar, former President of BYU-Idaho said, Let our campus be a place of “Inspired Inquiry and Innovation“, to me, that is precisely what entrepreneurship is… when we surrender our will an are willing to accept that where we start is not where we will end up and live and breathe entrepreneurship as a act of faith, then we will be guided to discoveries and problem-solving that we never would have dreamed because God will direct us and our purpose will be aligned with His.
When we don’t know the answers that is the best time for growth personally and for our business because we are in a place of humility. When I don’t know what to do about my business I pray especially hard and often.
Here’s the steps I take when I pray in my ideal way/form:
1. I pray outloud, early in the morning, on my knees, in the same direction “east”
2. I have a notepad with me and I write down questions and ask Heavenly Father to help me understand what to do, then I meditate and write down whatever thoughts, ideas, suggestions, solutions, or feelings I experience next
3. I practice conversational prayer/meditation where I ask a question and listen for a response and then ask more throughout the day. Sometimes I make a request, a wish, a plea…
Pray for the gift of discernment, ask God to help you identify truth from error and understand how to gravitate to that which is for your highest good.
Become flexible in their home environment, to build and use a food storage/supply regularly and rely on it in difficult, uncertain times… Matt and I have done that over and over again in our 11 years of marriage/entrepreneurship. When ye are prepared, ye shall not fear
Startup Princesses/Mom Entrepreneurs whom have home-based businesses are especially inspiring to me and I love to serve them and study/understand how they function and balance with faith.
I shared Danielle’s response:
Faith and balance? My life rarely feels balanced. It’s typically intense and full. And if faith is at the center of all of that, everything feels right. It requires some mastery of trust, some grit and some deep breathing some days — but I can always manage to get back to what I know and experience to be true.
To read more inspiring comments from Startup Princesses, click here.
God cares deeply about our individual circumstances, businesses, and goals. He wants us to be successful in this life and beyond so it pleases Him when we humbly request assistance, guidance, mentoring, and ask to become co-creators with Him in fulfilling our life purposes. Ask and ye shall receive.
What have you asked for in faith and received?
Kelly, sounds like you had a wonderful conference, good for you–and for them! I DO believe in “asking in faith and receiving”. I pray a lot for the success of One Heart Bulgaria and that I will know how to lead this organization so that the orphans we take care of will receive as much help as possible. Sometimes I have more faith than other times. I have a lot of faith in God and not so much faith in people. So when we need donations to come in, I pray hard. One morning in particular, I prayed hard that something big would happen for One Heart Bulgaria. I had a LOT of faith when I asked this of God, expecting something great to happen. Sure enough, by the end of the day, I had received two phone calls that each ended with $20,000 donations. The other, day I said a prayer requesting that we would sell one of our benefit music CDs since we hadn’t sold one online for a long time (I love this CD! It is inspiring and original I want others to discover it!). Guess what, that very day, a CD sold for the first time in a long time! God cares about our big successes as well as our little ones. He cares about everything we do and wants to help us along. Sometimes He really lets us struggle along so that we can learn bigger lessons. In the end, His plan is perfect and we realize that He knew what was best all along! Keep praying princesses!
Kelly,
Thanks for all you do!
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your time and your advice with us at the conference on Thursday. You truly were an inspiration to me, and you are so darn cute! You gave me a lot of hope and a lot of courage. I really want to “create” a job for myself that will allow me to finish school without having to work long hours a day. While I am home the next few semesters I really wanted to think of something I can do that will benefit me. I will be graduating with my Associates from BYU-Idaho this semester and will be moving back to Alabama to get a car so I can start Paul Mitchell in Nashville, TN. My main concern is finding a job. If I could get my toes on the ground and start some type of online business that would seriously be a dream come true and a complete tender mercy. Your advice and encouragement has helped me in many ways right now. I will most certainly be participating in Startupprincess.com for a long time to come
Deborah-You are an inspiring leader and so aware of God’s hand in your work, love it!! Thank you for sharing examples of how faith and entrepreneurship work hand in hand.
Ashley-It was a pleasure and great fun for me to be invited and hosted at BYU-I, I could hardly believe the outpouring of love and students attending the conference and my sessions, truly humbling. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my presentation, I prayed I would say something that would make a difference to at least 1 person, so it must have been you!
I am so grateful you’ve found Startup Princess to be helpful on your exciting, new journey towards creating a life you love… I love how you’re already actively involved here, thanks for all of the comments and for contributing to the “kingdom” we’re growing. I know you’ll be blessed in your efforts.