I was an insecure, unaccomplished 20 year old copier salesman, terrified to cold call businesses, let alone demonstrate our equipment or close the sale.
Can you relate to that time in your life? (Maybe it's now )
I was taught sales techniques, many of which were anathema to me, and I couldn't bring myself to use them. I thought that learning how to sell would be like learning how to change the oil in your car, or deliver a baby, or extract a tooth... Just learn and follow the steps.
I went to the Christian bookstore in our area looking for Biblical instruction for succeeding in sales and business, and found none.
I looked in the secular bookstore and found some books that helped me, written by authors who apparently were teaching some Biblical concepts - but without the courage or willingness or perhaps the publishers approval, to acknowledge the Lord or His Word.
It seemed that the overall belief in the marketplace was that you don't mix business and "religion".
In fact, in 1987, as a 31 year old newly appointed sales manager, the Executive VP explicitly and threateningly, warned me not to mix business and religion.
Well, you can't unscramble an egg. That ship had already sailed for me. I lived my faith openly, led several of my sales reps to Christ and more than quadrupled sales in 10 months.
Success has a way of silencing the critics.
As 1 John 5:19 says, "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one", but Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 2:12 that "we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."
Who doesn't want that?!?!?!?
As Eric Beck pointed out in last week's highly acclaimed Symposium , we have a choice whether to operate by Pharaoh's system (the way of the world) or operate in the kingdom of God and follow His ways.
Then, this past weekend, Judy was sharing something the Lord had given her years ago from Isaiah 30:1-2. It struck a chord and is an important reminder...
“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; Who walk to go DOWN to Egypt, and have not asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!"
God is saying that you CAN get strengthened in the strength of Pharaoh, but there is a price to pay. Too many believers are either ignorant of this warning or choose to ignore it.
To be clear, we can learn how to operate machinery, perform surgery and a myriad of other things from folks who know not the Lord. But when it comes to programming how you think, and counsel that directs the heart and steers your affections, I believe we should take our direction from the Lord and His Word.
As David said, "let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, MY STRENGTH and my redeemer". (Psalm 19:14)
I want my strength to come from the LORD and not from Pharaoh.
When you choose Pharaoh's ways, there is a catch... You become his slave and must do his bidding to get his rewards. A little deception here, a little manipulation there, and you can get the sale. In the meantime, he owns or at least directs, your soul!
Psalm 1:1 makes the same point Isaiah did... "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,".
Jeremiah puts it this way “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord."
Yet, there is a promise in Psalm 1, that Jeremiah seems to reiterate here...
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."
David adds one incredibly important secret to the success described above... "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."
It has been a lifelong pursuit of mine to search out the ways of God for success in life and business. Whatever strength I have, I have from Him because I've learned and applied His ways.
As many of you know, in last week's Success Symposium, we had a very special offer to either get the culmination of my 40 years of learning condensed in God's Best Kept Secrets , and optionally (for $1 more) join the Jesus School of Business with hundreds of Biblically based videos and audio recordings to help you succeed in the real world, and silence the critics.
That special offer for the Jesus School of Business expires at midnight Thursday PST and includes Eric Beck's pristine Flagship Assessment for getting you on course for success by first knowing exactly where you are with respect to 12 critical indicators. Once you take that assessment, Eric will send you something called Financial Radar which is a "must have".
We have folks joining the school at either the Mentor Level or the Mastermind Level from all over the world. CLICK HERE to learn which level is best for you.
I hope to see you in an upcoming LIVE coaching call!
Blessings,
Michael
P.S. The special offer expires in...
You missed out!