Why I chose faith and you should too!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That evidence part is what my logical mind struggles with every single day.

I receive a call from a new client. We have been working on part of his company’s profile. When I see his caller ID, my mind goes like: “Oh shoot! Did I overlook something?” Immediately, I go into crisis mode. My heart races and I am reduced to shallow breaths.

This year (2017) has been particularly difficult for me. Business has not gone well. I have fallen short on everything: income, writing, rent, relationships… The tense political situation and national elections have not been favorable for businesses. Present clients have held back spending. Potential clients have zero appetite for my proposals. It is like a train that has ground to a halt in the middle of no-man’s-land!

Back to the call from my client. I am in the middle of a meeting with my mentor and can’t wait to return his call. My chance comes in the form of a bathroom break. Quickly, I grab my phone and call my client back. “It was nothing much,” he says after we exchange some pleasantries. He then adds: “I just wanted to thank you for a job well done.”

For a fleeting moment, I am lost for words. When I find my tongue, I can hardly put together a “Thank you!”

For months, I allowed worry and doubt have been my bed-fellows. Crazy thoughts plagued my mind. What will my family eat? Will we have a roof over our heads? Why are our kids outgrowing their clothes this fast?

In all this, I allowed worry and doubt to steal my faith that I have what it takes to succeed. My optimism was gone. At every turn, I second-guessed myself. It seemed like I was a fugitive from myself.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. Shifting focus to the right things

My focus had drifted from my vision to empower people through authentic leadership anchored on strong communication and branding. I worried that I was missing the big picture. However, when I began to evaluate the few positive events, I realized that I was slowly gaining traction towards that big picture.

I will now focus on small wins that drive me to my big vision. This gives me the motivation to courageously pursue stalled projects.

2. Get help

I cannot do everything myself. All I need to concentrate on are my inherent skills, talent and intellect. Anything that I cannot effectively do, I consult someone else who can perform it better than me. I will no longer invest precious resources – time, money, emotion – on what I cannot deliver efficiently and effectively.

What this means is that I have to deal with my ego. Accept what I can, delegate what I can’t. It is actually very empowering to get help.

3. I’m not the first to fail

That is okay to fail and learn. Failure is not a death sentence. It is an opportunity to learn and grow. The key is the value of the lessons I take away, but even better, the action I chose to take after my lessons. For the longest time, I have berated myself for not achieving the success I wanted. In the process, I missed the opportunity to critically assess what went wrong. I was neck-deep in my mistakes.

Failure is not permanent. It is a moment, not a definition of who I am.

Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life.”

~ Gregory Peck

Photo by Sarah Crutchfield on Unsplash