Have you ever had a dream come to life and look around with amazement that it was actually happening? That's how I'm feeling as we are deep in the planning for the Pray Plan Profit LIVE Event, and I'm amazed at the progress.
We're actually creating a business planner, y'all! Holding it in my hand and updating the pages as I go over the curriculum for next week is a bit surreal. I remember when this was just a thought, and now we're preparing to teach the information for the second time, with a planner that will allow every attendee to go home with a physical, personalized, business plan they can refer to long after the live event is over.
Making sure we have what we need to win in life and business is my goal, and I am so thankful to see another part of that vision come to life for our community.
A few things that have helped me through this process are:
Writing down ideas without the need to edit. Giving myself space to get the ideas out first and then going back to edit and refine creates an environment where I am excited about developing new ideas.
Being willing to show up well-prepared but imperfectly. As a recovering perfectionist, wanting everything to be perfect before I start is a huge temptation. I have found that the more I allow myself to show up imperfectly, but well-prepared and informed, the faster I grow and get the feedback I need to improve.
Sharing the journey and improving as we go. I'm being intentional about sharing more behind the scenes so you can share in the journey with me and know that we all face similar challenges and opportunities. It has also been freeing to know that perfection - or maturity in anything new - comes with time, but you must start.
Making time to work uninterrupted. Whew! Meetings always threaten to take over my calendar, and I have to be vigilant about protecting my schedule from interruptions. This allows me to do deep work and finish the tasks that are priority and time sensitive. It also keeps me from feeling drained because it forces me to plan time to be creative and analytical - keeping both parts of my brain happy and in harmony.
Trusting God's promised outcome. Even with my best efforts things may go differently than I anticipated. So I am learning to find comfort in knowing if I did my best, I can trust that God will make up the difference and (re)direct us precisely where we need to go.
God created you for something special. It's nothing we could earn or purchase. He chooses to gift it to us, with the abundant Grace to carry it out, when we give Him the gift of surrender and obedience.
Remember,
"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," 2 Timothy 1:9 KJV
"for He delivered us and saved us and called us with a holy calling [a calling that leads to a consecrated life—a life set apart—a life of purpose], not because of our works [or because of any personal merit—we could do nothing to earn this], but because of His own purpose and grace [His amazing, undeserved favor] which was granted to us in Christ Jesus before the world began [eternal ages ago]," 2 Timothy 1:9 AMP
AND
"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Peter 4:10 KJV
"Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor]."
1 Peter 4:10 AMP
I hope that as you are working on your BIG dreams and goals, you keep these simple truths in mind as well. If you run into any speed bumps, know we're only an email away.
With Joy In Purpose,
Dr. Lorin R. Carter