Episode 98: Simplify for Success

Hello, to another episode of creative for this, another year of Created for This.

And you guys, we're going to talk about something that is so good for this time of year, something that has been on my mind and my heart. And that is finding a new way of looking at your goals and your plans. I want to help you break this down. I want you guys to see success.

 Yes, success. You may be challenged. In this episode, I want you to come at it from an open mind, I want you to think this through in a way that is open minded with discernment, with understanding, what it is that you are looking for in your own life, and what this means to you.

 Alright, are you ready? Let's dive in.

First thing that you need to do is to define success for yourself. What does success look like in your business and your life? Maybe success for you is quitting your 9 to 5. So you can run your business, from home with your babies. Maybe success to you is booking yourself on five different podcasts to share your message with the world. Maybe success to you is going to be finding that balance and that that place where you're able to work and rest and be productive. And take time away to your - with your family. In in a way that looks right to you. So, I recommend actually taking time and praying and thinking through this. What is it that you define success if God wants us to be successful? And as Christians, I feel like this is something where people really struggle. There is a struggle between that mindset of oh, we can't do well at things like we shouldn't have lots of money, we shouldn't have lots of things or lots of you know, downplaying our abilities. Which, by the way, false humility is just wrong. Like God gave us our abilities to use them for his good and his glory, to give him glory. So, we need to use and acknowledge what he's given us. Total tangent, but you get the point. I'm sure that you can think of a time or two when maybe you've questioned, Hey, is it okay? To have success? Is it okay to be proud of the work that I've done in my business? Or that my house looks great? Like my kids are fed? They're not running around with snotty noses. They're not running around with food all over them. Is that awesome to be like yes, I succeeded for the day? Heck, yes, it is. Yes, it is. We need to remind ourselves that we can do good things. And that we were created in God's image. He called what he created good.

In the very beginning, he said, "What I have made is good." He even took time to enjoy it. In Ecclesiastes, it talks about taking time to enjoy what God has given, what we have? Because, yes, it's temporary. But yes, we still get to enjoy that thing. That time that we have with our family, we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And we can look at what we have, and say, Yes, it's good. And we should be doing that. Because when we acknowledge those things, we're giving glory straight back to God. We're saying that God what you have created me for the work that I have done on your behalf. That is what you have created me for. And it's only because of you that I have done this. So yes, we're excited about what we've done ourselves. But we are throwing that praise, right back to Jesus, and right back to acknowledging that God has done that on our behalf. And we have done that with the talent, the skills, the ability, the money, the time that he has given us here on Earth. So let's talk about your life's purpose. Because if we're going to break this down to simplify for success, we need to know what we need to be successful for. And I really, really think after I've been doing a lot of thinking about this, and a lot of prayer, and planning, that it's so simple. When we think about it this way, because it takes the guesswork out of things. Yes, there are things that we're still not going to know that God has given each of us individually. But we can see what God's purpose is, overall. And then pray about the specifics.

So before I get totally ahead of myself, let's talk about stewardship. Because you were created to give God glory, through what you do. I've already said that. And part of that is your role of stewardship. You were made to steward, you were made to take what God has given you, and take care of it, and do it well. We're not just out here doing it halfway. We're doing it well.

Remember, we can look back to creation. And we can see in Genesis one and two, how God has given us dominion to take care of what He has given us. Granted, for Adam that was taking care of the things that were on the earth. So the plants, the animals. And then, as we change, as things have progressed, our sphere of influence, our sphere of stewardship, has grown. So don't for a minute think that your only role is taking care of the earth, which we should be doing. That is one of the things that we should take care of is the earth. But it's so much bigger than that. If God has given you a business, you need to steward that well. Whether that's finances, whether that's your influence, because everybody has influence, even if it's just your family. So God has given you stewardship over your family.

He's given you stewardship over your home, the place that you live. You're in influence your time. Everything that he has given you, your body. You have to steward that. That is your life purpose, one of the purposes of your life is to steward that. If you want more on that, I have another episode, just go back through the episodes, you can see that when we think about the new year, we think about goals and resolutions, and hey, we're in February at this point, like, I don't know if you knew this, but the third week of January, is when a large percentage, probably around 75% of people quit the resolutions. They just give up. They're like, oh, this was great. This was too hard, I couldn't do it, and just give up.

So if you are still here, if you're still working on your resolutions, or your goals for the new year, or if you're like me, and you haven't ever made them yet, think about it this way. Instead of creating random goals and random resolutions, let's look at where God has called us to steward. When we align our areas of stewardship, with God's we'll see success. Because we're partnering with God in where he has called us. We are walking in the will of God, when we take that area of stewardship, and align it with where our focus is. Instead of seeing failure - failures in our work, we'll see success by anchoring our own work to the area God has called us to.

Now, I can't sit here and promise you that every single thing that you do, or you aim to do, is going to succeed. Because you're Christian, I don't think that's biblical. But I can tell you that the more you align with God and His will and His purpose, the more you're going to see success, but it's going to be the success that God wants you to see.

It's going to look different. And it will always be better when we partner with God, when we partner with Jesus, and what He has for us.

Because I can tell you from personal experience that I am today, where I did not believe I was going to be. One of the things that I have learned. (I've been in business for over eight years now.) One of the things that I have learned is to plan and have a plan. But always remember that God can change that plan. When I first started out, I was offering life and business organization packages, and even a travel package, which if anybody wants to hire me to do their travel planning, like 100% I am here for it. Because I love travel planning. Back in 2015 - in 14 and 15.

 That's what I thought I was going to offer. And then God completely threw me for a loop when I started working for somebody as a virtual assistant. And then I started working as a business manager. And then it was like, Oh, hey, this coaching thing. This is actually similar to what I wanted to be doing at the beginning, where I know my strengths and my giftings work really well. So in 2017, two years after I started working in business, I started accountability coaching.

And then in 2019, I got certified as a life coach. Because I knew, that was what God wanted me to do. Because it wasn't my business. It was, and it still is God's business, I just get to run it for him, I get to use what he's given me to minister to his people, to inspire and encourage and equip his women to not be burnt out, to thrive, where he's placed them in whatever those circumstances are, without burning out. Because God's women don't need to be burned out. There should be no reason for us to be burning out. Because God has called us to so much more.

And now here I am, 2023, and by God's grace alone, I have speaking engagements through me. So five months of speaking engagements. Little did I know, when I started praying, "Hey God, I would love a bigger stage to share this message. I want to reach 5,000 women with this message of rest and anti-burnout that you've given me. And I want to teach women to be more productive with the time that they have through resting in a way that reaches." I said, 5,000 women last year, I'm going to tell you, I need to bump that number up. Because I was thinking way too small. So things keep shifting. They keep changing. But I'm also praying and aligning what I want. My heart desires to teach women this lesson with what God wants for them. Rest and Sabbath are about wholeness. If you look at the Bible, if you look at what Sabbath was, one of the main points for that Sabbath was wholeness, to be a whole rested person.

Granted, we will not reach perfection until we were in heaven, but being burnt out is that wholeness. So that is the continuation of this business that God has called me to. And teaching my kids in my family. Along with that. When we are looking at the areas of our goals, if you are sitting down and you are working on goal planning, or working on your priorities, planning your next year, which break it into quarters, please, it's a whole lot easier to plan according to quarters. When you're doing that, keep it simple.

Remember, we're simplifying for success. Look at those areas of stewardship, write them down. Identify what you would like to see happen in those areas. Be detailed in your goals. For example, Don't say grow my business. Instead, say I want to grow in the blank area. I want to grow in the number of people I serve, or I will book so many number of guests on my podcast or I want to get two new clients. I want to sell X now number of product. That way, in order to sell that product, you have to get that many viewers. So it becomes a numbers game. For my marketing and sales degree, they taught us all these different things
that you could do in order to get products into the hands of your people. These are steps that you can take to break things down.

There are ways that you can maximize the time you spend in your business, or the time you spend in your home. So that you can get things done, you can be successful and reach those goals once you have them defined, and then cut the clutter. Ask what is not being used in your business or what feels extra and heavy? And then get rid of it. How many different accounts to different things do you need? How many different email subscriptions do you need? How many people do you need to follow on Facebook, or Instagram, or LinkedIn, or Tik Tok or whatever social media platform you're on?

What feels heavy and extra? I will tell you, the amount of time I spend in my inbox is very minimal. Because I get emails from maybe two to three people that I actually read. So I've cut out all the other subscriptions. And I focus on what's helpful. And then I've gotten rid of the rest. Because we don't need that clutter. We don't need extra things taking up our time. The next thing I'm going to say is be realistic with yourself and your time. I see this in my coaching all the time. People overestimate the amount of time that they have. And they underestimate the amount of time it's going to take them to get something done. When I have my summer masterminds, we do sprints of 20 to 30 minutes. So we'll work for 20 to 30 minutes, we'll chit chat for a couple minutes, and then we'll hop back on and do another sprint of work time.

The number one comment I get when we do this is I didn't realize how much time this actually took me. Because people assume they can get two to three things done in that 20 minute time block. They can't, unless they're like small things. Usually it takes people the whole hour or hour and a half to accomplish what they set up to accomplish. And they are working quickly. They're doing what they're good at. It just takes them more time than what they realize.

So be realistic with yourself. Look at what decisions you're making. Look at the amount of time that you have, your brain space, your capacity for your brain right now. And then where are you are in your cycle. If you're a woman, which three quarters to like 90% of my listeners are women. Where are you in your menstrual cycle, I'm going to do a an interview with somebody coming up and we're talking about maximizing your cycle for work. 

This is something I talk about with my coaching clients because it's huge when you understand that you can maximize the heck out of where you are in your cycle and use the time that you have. Also, time blocking is really beneficial here because you can visualize how much time you actually have at work to break down your tasks. I have a really great time blocking notepad on my website in my shop. You can either download it or I will send you a physical copy. And it works really well to help you visualize the amount of time that you have and helps you get stuff done. 

Just a quick note on the home, which guessing most of you have a home I would hope
and-and one that you take care of. So one of the areas that I believe that you are meant to take care of is your home. We see in Proverbs 31, the woman is taking care of her home, she's taking care of her kids, she's taking care of her business. Basically, she's like Superwoman. But it is also a proverb. So it could be based on multiple women.

What's important here is that this is another place for us to clear the clutter. We don't need to spend hours upon hours, upon hours, cleaning our home, and just moving clutter around. My friend Makeda is working on - she's got a really great Instagram that talks all about minimalizing and clearing the clutter. I will link her in the show notes. But she's got such good tips and just helpful ideas for for thinking things through like this. And also be realistic, realistic with your expectations.

What is it that you're expecting from your home? Will it be clean? Will it be tidy? Will it be neat? Will there be toys all over? I can tell you there are toys all over my living room floor right now. And I do not care. Because my kids will pick them up. I'm not picking them up. I'm teaching them how to pick up after themselves. Take care of what they've been given. And all these other biblical principles that I'm talking about.

I have been talking about stewarding things well, stewarding them for the glory of God, stewarding them because it's our life's purpose. But I want to touch on why it's important to steward well. And that's because we're going to have to account to God for what we have and how we've taken care of it. There are several parables in the Bible that talk about stewardship that talk about the servants who take care of what the master has given them in like, well, he goes away. Those are great parables and - and similarities about what we are going to experience. When God comes back. When we see Jesus, we're going to have to give him an account of how we've taken care of his stuff.

The other thing is that when we focus on stewardship, when we simplify and focus on those areas, that we are called a steward. You're going to feel 100% more purposeful and fulfilled. Because you're you know, you're joining with God where He wants you to be.

It's an incredible feeling to know that you are working, where he wants you doing what he wants you to do in this time. I don't think that areas of stewardship, most areas of stewardship stay the same. I think there's some areas that do. But I think they're seasons of different areas for us to steward. So anchor your goals and your priorities. Focusing on where God has you stewarding, as you work towards your higher purpose, as you work to glorify God, as you work in the area that he has called you to for this time, for this place, in that place, in that area, joining with him now. Don't go crazy. And write down 20 different areas that God has called you to steward.

Examine the areas that he has steward- giving you. Just do it right the second. Ask him for discernment and wisdom. Because when we ask, he gives wisdom, he helps us know what to do. So, here's your homework for today. You're going to do define success for yourself. What does success look like for you? You're going to look and define the areas of your stewardship. So your body, your home, your family, your, your business, your relationships, your money, which I actually put money in with home. So I say your body, think about the different areas, your church that that God has given you, that you are involved in. And then align your goals and your principles to those areas.

If you have a goal, that's just random, and you're like, oh, whatever, like, I'm gonna read 50 books in a year, align that goal. I'm not saying it's a bad goal. I'm saying align that goal with an area that you're called to steward. If you're called to steward your body, that includes your brain. We need to grow our brains. You could also read business books, that stewarding your brain and your business. You can also enjoy fiction with the brain that you have. And just be glad about it. Enjoy laughing. Laughter is good for the soul. And it releases hormones that make you happy. What's better than that? So align your goals and your priorities. Be detailed in those. Cut the clutter.

Be realistic with yourself in your time. And focus on doing it well. And asking God to help you every single step of the way, from defining what it is defining your goals and your purpose in those goals. And then your priorities. Because that way, you're going to see success. Maybe not in all areas, or maybe in all of them. But once you simplify, you will start seeing success.

If you need accountability to actually get this done to help you work through this, drop me a message. I'd love to talk about working together with you. Because I want to see you succeed as well. And then we're going to talk about how you can stay rested and not burnt out and productive at the same time. And because I think you can do all of it. Go take care of your homework.

Go work on these assignments.

Let me know the areas that you are called to steward and what your goals are. And just overall how you feel once you start working in them. I would love to hear all of it. You can drop me an email ([email protected]). Let's chat. Have a great time defining this.

Enjoy the process. Enjoy seeing where God has you, and be expectant in what he is going to do through you and in you. Bye, guys!