Christian Business Concepts
Christian Business Concepts
Escape the Rut & Soar to Success Today
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Feeling stuck in your professional or personal life? Uncover the path to renewal with godly business principles as we explore how to break free from stagnation. Join me, Harold Milby, on Christian Business Concepts as we promise to equip you with ten transformative strategies to reignite your passion and align your vision with God's purpose. Drawing wisdom from Ecclesiastes 3:1, this episode unravels the mysteries of life's seasons, offering insights into overcoming emotional burnout, lack of motivation, and spiritual dryness.
In this enlightening conversation, we delve into effective leadership renewal tactics that empower teams and foster innovation. You'll discover the importance of reevaluating your leadership style, setting clear goals, and establishing daily success routines to escape unproductive patterns. As we embrace the power of intentional action and spiritual renewal, listeners are reminded of the blessings available through faith, bolstering their journey toward godly success in both personal and professional realms. Let’s embark on this transformative journey together, unlocking the potential for divine breakthroughs in every aspect of your life.
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with your host, harold Milby. Christian Business Concepts is dedicated to guiding companies and business owners in becoming effective, efficient and successful through God's Word and godly principles. Now, here's your host, harold Milby.
Speaker 2:Welcome everyone to this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast. You know I'm so thankful that you've decided to download and listen to this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast. You know I'm so thankful that you've decided to download and listen to this episode. I'm your host, harold Milby, and each week I discuss business and professional biblical principles to help business leaders and owners, and even organizational leaders and other people, find true godly success in their lives. Not just worldly success, but godly success. And not only do these principles work, but they work in your career and in your personal life as well. So each week, I pray that those who listen will be encouraged, enlightened and empowered to be the best leader and person they can be, and I believe that God wants you blessed. I believe that His Word is the blueprint for these blessings, and so each week, I'm so thankful that you are a part of what we're doing and that you tune in, that you download and listen to these podcasts every week. You know it's exciting for me to see the countries that are represented and the places around the world that are represented that have a desire to learn more about what God says about them being successful and what God says about them being successful and what God says about them being able to be great leaders and that they can lead their organizations or companies to great success according to God's standards. Now, before we get into today's topic, let me give a big shout out to a couple of places. Number one is Colorado Springs, colorado. Shout out to a couple of places. Number one is Colorado Springs, colorado. For the last few weeks, they have downloaded a lot of our podcasts and we're excited to have them, and their listeners will be a part of this ministry and podcast. And then also, I want to give a big shout out to the country of New Zealand. Again, they have just continued to be a great partner and they just are really hungry for what God has to say, and so we're thankful for you being a part and for all of you who listen, even on a weekly basis, to this podcast. So thank you for being such a big part of the CBC community, and I appreciate all of you who listen and help us to continue. I pray that you help us to continue to grow the CBC family, and you can do that by sharing this podcast with four or five others and, of course, by posting a link to the podcast on your Facebook and your LinkedIn page. You know each of you are a part of helping us to reach a million business leaders and individuals with this message of having godly success, overworldly success. So let's jump right in.
Speaker 2:You know every leader and person faces seasons of what you'd call stagnation or frustration, or even exhaustion. As a Christian business leader, these moments can feel particularly heavy as your leadership carries both professional and spiritual significance and spiritual significance and getting out of a rut, which is what we're talking about today, getting out of a rut really requires intentional action. It requires intentional faith and intentional practice and certain steps to reignite your passion and to kind of refresh your vision and realign with God's purpose. Being in a rut can affect your decision-making. It can affect innovation and overall effectiveness. However, getting out of a rut is possible with very intentional action and mindset shifts and practical strategies.
Speaker 2:So first you have to recognize you know what are some of the characteristics so that you can see and actually recognize that you're in a rut, because before you can overcome that stagnation, you've got to know and identify the signs. So first is a lack of motivation. That's a sign that you may be in a rut, you know. Feeling uninspired and you know, possibly disengaged, you know, from your business mission. Another is a decline in performance. You know the business growth has plateaued or maybe declined, but you recognize a decline in performance of the business organization and even of yourself. Another is emotional burnout. You know constantly feeling tired or fatigued or you know you feel like there's a lot of stress going on or maybe a lack of enthusiasm, so emotional burnout. Another is spiritual dryness. You feel distant from God and unsure of his direction for you. You may be in a rut Lack of innovation. You know you're struggling to develop new ideas or strategies. Another is repeating the same routines without any noticeable progress. That sometimes means you're in a rut, experiencing low energy levels. Again, it kind of leads you to believe that you could be in a rut, struggling, you know, with a feeling of being overwhelmed or frustrated without any clear solutions. You may be in a rut. You may be in a rut if you're seeing stagnant business growth. That kind of tells you that maybe your leadership or other leadership is stagnant, it's not effective, it's not growing.
Speaker 2:Now, once you recognize these signs, I believe then you can begin to take steps towards I don't know, I guess a real renewal in your life. A real renewal in your life. You know, Ecclesiastes 3 and 1 says for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. This verse really encourages the idea that life has seasons, meaning that even when you feel stuck in a rut, there is a time, a time for change and renewal that's coming ahead. You're not going to have to stay in that rut forever. It reminds us that God's always present and he can help us move forward, even when we feel stagnant, you know, by providing strength and guidance to really break out of that rut, you know. So that's really, really important.
Speaker 2:You've got to look at several things, I think, that can help you to get out of a rut, and we're going to look at 10 of them. We're going to look at 10 ways that you can get out of a rut, and first and foremost is reconnecting. And first and foremost is reconnecting reconnecting with God's vision, reconnecting with God's vision for your life and for your business organization. You know, your role really as a leader is, first and foremost, a calling from God, and so if you feel stuck, if you feel like you're in a rut, you need to revisit that purpose, that purpose that God established for you and your business. Now some action steps might be you need to pray for clarity, ask God to reveal his direction for you and your business. You know James 1 and 5 talks about asking God for wisdom and he will give it to you. So I think you'd have to pray for direction.
Speaker 2:Another action step is seek spiritual renewal. Seek spiritual renewal. Take some dedicated time away from your daily routine to seek God. You can never seek God more than you should. You can never dedicate time to God more than you should. So just seek his spiritual renewal for your life. Next, reflect on past promises. Revisit the scriptures or prophetic words that encouraged you in the past. Revisit those things, look at them again, get your mind on them and begin to meditate upon God's word. Next is to kind of reflect on past promises or I should not say that, I just talked about that.
Speaker 2:But reading biblical stories, I think of overcomers, study leaders like Joseph and Nehemiah and David. These guys all faced challenges, but the great thing is that they overcome and overcame those challenges. So you want to reconnect with God's vision in your life. You know, proverbs 16 and 3 says commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. God wants to give you the plan, and when you get God's plan, it's automatically blessed. You know, if you come up with something on your own, then you got to go to God, you got to ask him to bless it, but when you get God's plan, it's automatically blessed. If you come up with something on your own, then you got to go to God, you got to ask him to bless it, but when you get God's plan, it's automatically blessed. So you need to reconnect and find out what that is and revisit your purpose with God.
Speaker 2:The second thing you can do to get out of a rut is to reset your mindset. So, again, part of that is reconnecting with your purpose. You know, kind of revisit why you started your business or leadership journey or identify those core mission and vision values and what they may be. Maybe you need to journal or reflect on the impact that you want to create in others' lives and the world around you, obviously. So what's an action step here? What can you do? Well, why don't you spend some time and write down three reasons why your leadership really matters and the difference you want to make? That's a great exercise. And just let me say this to you If you go to wwwchristianbusinessconceptsorg and click on the resources button. You'll find a lot of resources there that are available to you, and I did some handouts and some worksheets for this particular podcast, so feel free to go there and download those and print those off for your use, and it'll help you as you work towards getting out of this rut.
Speaker 2:So write down three reasons why your leadership matters and the difference you want to make, and then another way you can reset your mindset is to shift your thinking from being problem-focused and being focused on the problems to solution-focused. So begin to think about the solutions instead of just the problem. You know, instead of dwelling on what's not working, ask what small changes maybe can you make today to make changes and to change that course and get out of that rut. You can seek opportunities for growth and learning and you can do that just about in every challenge and then replace this negative self-talk that you may have right now with some very positive affirmations according to the Word of God. You know you may have to tell yourself I am capable of leading through these challenges. You know you can tell yourself that because yourself, that because the Word of God backs that up, because it says that you can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you. I think there's a lot of positive affirmations that you can tell yourself that aligns with the Word of God. So identify what you want to do in that case. When you're talking about being problem focused versus solution focused, if you want to become more solution focused, then identify maybe one challenge maybe and then list three possible solutions to that one particular challenge. That'll help you.
Speaker 2:Number three you know, refresh your leadership approach. You know if you're in a rut, it may take, it may be time to maybe rethink how you lead. Maybe you make some necessary adjustments. So some of those action steps that you can do here would be to reevaluate your leadership style, identify what's working and what needs to change, and then seek out some very wise counsel. Talk to some mentors, maybe some other Christian business leaders or a coach, but get some good counsel and then empower your team. You know you need to involve others in problem solving and vision casting and then learn from your failures. Learn from your failures, you know. Use setbacks really as an opportunity for growth and adjustment. You know Proverbs 11 and 14 says where there is no guidance, people falls. But in the abundance of counselors there is safety. So, you know, kind of refresh your leadership approach by doing some of these things.
Speaker 2:Number four is re-evaluate and adjust your strategies. You know, re-evaluate them. You know strategies should be re-evaluated on an annual basis. Now, if you need to do it more often, then you do it more often, but they should, at least once a year be evaluated and you need to assess at that point what's not working. You know, do a business and leadership audit and you need to assess at that point what's not working. Do a business and leadership audit. What areas do you feel stuck in? And then get some honest feedback from maybe some of your team members, maybe some mentors or peers that you have in your life, and maybe you seek their feedback and then use performance metrics. You know what I'm saying. So identify what these stagnation points are and then, you know, develop some metrics to get out of that. So, again, action steps could be. You know, list three things that need to change in your leadership or business strategy. Just list them, put them on paper, put your eyes on them, all right.
Speaker 2:Number five you need to reignite your passion for your work. Losing passion can be a sign that you need to get out of a rut. It may be a sign that you need renewal or inspiration. So what can you do to do that? Well, revisit your why. That's what I like to say. Why do you do what you do? Why do you lead the way you lead, why? And just continue to peel back that onion, so to speak, and pull back those layers until you get to the very root of why. Remind yourself why you started that business, and then take a strategic break. You know, just kind of step back for a few days and just get a better, fresher perspective. Sometimes that's all you need to do to get out of a rut. And then maybe attend a business leadership conference, you know, kind of engage in some new learning, some networking, and then find a new challenge. You know, set some fresh goals that excite you and stretch you, and then obviously make sure you celebrate any small wins that you have, recognize and appreciate progress, even in small steps. You know, colossians 3.23 says Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. So you know you want to reignite that passion, because you want to do everything heartily as you do unto the Lord.
Speaker 2:Number six, you want to create new habits and some new routines. So if you've got some unproductive patterns, then you want to change those. You want to identify whatever time wasters that you have Maybe, identify whatever distractions are maybe going on in your life right now, and then you delegate or even eliminate certain tasks that don't really give much value for it. I say a lot to people. I'll say, well, I just don't think that the juice is worth the squeeze. It's not worth the effort to squeeze the lemon for what little juice you're going to get out of it. And so you need to eliminate or delegate some of those tasks that just don't add a lot of value, and maybe you just get rid of them altogether that just don't add a lot of value, and maybe you just get rid of them altogether. But then you need to reduce, maybe, your I guess I'll call it decision fatigue. You know, when you're just so tired of making these tough decisions, it just plays on you emotionally. You know, try to simplify some choices. Try to simplify some choices.
Speaker 2:Now, you know, when you create new habits and routines, one of the things that you got to do is you got to build momentum. And so, because when you build momentum, it's like when a rocket takes off from the planet Earth, you know, and tries to go to the moon or wherever, it has to build momentum as it begins to leave the Earth's atmosphere. That momentum is where it's going to see them through, because those rocket engines are going to cut off and when they do, if you've built up the proper momentum, you're going to get to that destination in space, whether it be the moon or circling the globe or whatever it may be. So start each day with some very intentional planning and some very intentional prayer and meditating upon his word. That's how you need to start each day and then commit to just little, simple daily improvements, maybe in some very specific key areas, and you have to be the one to identify those areas and then make sure, again, you celebrate the little wins. It helps you really to stay motivated. So, just you know, as an action step, why don't you just identify one daily habit that you could begin? That will boost productivity and help you increase your motivation.
Speaker 2:Number seven develop a plan for breakthrough. Breaking free from a rut requires some pretty actionable steps towards a newness in your life. What are some things that you can do to do that? First, you should set some very, very clear goals. Very clear goals. Define, you know, probably define three to five, you know, short-term goals to really try to get some momentum going. And then what you want to do is create a daily success routine.
Speaker 2:I've always said that a success, a person's success, is found in his daily routine. A person's success is found in his daily routine. So you want to maybe change up your daily routine. Make sure you include prayer, make sure you include planning. You just want those habits to be very productive, and so the other thing that you can do is really look at maybe developing some new business strategies, experiment maybe with some very innovative ideas. But you want to do that and you want then also to find some accountability partners. So you've got to find some people that you can connect with, that you trust and who will challenge and yet encourage you as well. You know Habakkuk 2 and 2 says write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. That's why this is so important. What we're talking about when I'm talking about developing a plan for breakthrough. All right.
Speaker 2:Number eight take some bold actions. You know the Bible says that his people, that the righteous, they are as bold as a lion. And so you know. You've got to overcome fear, that his people, that the righteous, they are as bold as a lion, and so you've got to overcome fear. You've got to overcome perfectionism. You don't have to be perfect, you just got to put in the effort. But you don't have to be perfect and you need to just accept the fact that failure at times is part of growth. You're not going to grow a lot unless you fail a lot, because failing a lot tells you that you're trying a lot of things and you're doing a lot of things differently than you've done before. So take some calculated risk there's nothing wrong with that to break out of that stagnation or that rut. Embrace progress over perfection, because I've always said perfection is the enemy of progress, perfection is the enemy of progress. If you're waiting for all the stars to line up or just waiting for things to be perfect before you pursued any further, then that's a mistake, because you want to take some calculated risks, okay, and you just want to make progress. You don't have to be perfect.
Speaker 2:Another thing that you can do when you're taking bold actions is to implement at least one new initiative. Maybe introduce a new product or a new strategy or collaboration with another company or organization and you want to experiment with some fresh marketing approaches. You want to look at something new to try to get out of that rut. You may have been doing the same thing in the same way and getting the same results for the last 20 years, but what I'm saying is that you should try to take some bold action, and part of that is to try something new. You can look at some new marketing approaches, or even maybe some new opportunities, or maybe even new partnerships, for that matter. So what can you do? What's an action step that you can do? Well, identify one bold action that you can take within the next 60 days. So write that down Again. These are a part of the study guide and some of the handouts that I have in the section of the website for you to look at and for you to download and write in. So those things will help you. But that's just one of the action steps.
Speaker 2:And then what you want to do is you want to strengthen Number nine. You want to strengthen your faith, strengthen your community. So isolation can make you feel like you're in a rut that's even deeper than what it is. So you want to surround yourself with faith-driven leaders. So what are some action steps? Well, why don't you join a Christian business network there's a lot of those out there and then surround yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs? You know, get involved in church ministry. You know, when you serve others, it can bring really a new joy and perspective in your life. So get involved in your local church, because most churches have a list where they need people to help and you can decide on a scale of one to 10 how committed you can be with your time, because we all know that you don't have all the time in the world, especially if you're a business leader.
Speaker 2:Proverbs 27 and 17, it says as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. So he's talking about having other people in your life and don't make decisions in a vacuum. Talk to some of these people, talk to some of these people. Vacuum, you know. Talk to some of these people, talk to some of these people, and then you can connect with those new mentors and coaches who may be able to just give you a new perspective or a new insight.
Speaker 2:You can join a mastermind group. That's a big thing. If you don't know what that is, you can Google that. But you can join a mastermind group. You can be open, be very open to accountability and constructive feedback and make sure you learn with others. You can also attend conferences, workshops, just kind of some networking events, and read books like Think and Grow Rich or listen to leadership podcasts. You can also take some online courses and then surround yourself with growth-minded individuals. Don't hang around with people who don't have any aspirations at all. Surround yourself with people who are growth-minded.
Speaker 2:Now what can you do? Action stepwise. Well, why don't you pick up one new book, one new podcast to listen to or one new event to engage with this month, this month? Why don't you try that? Maybe do a SWOT analysis. You know strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Why don't you do a personal SWOT assessment and this can help you to include how your faith can be a strength and it can mitigate weaknesses. That's just an example.
Speaker 2:And then number 10. Number 10. Why don't you trust God? Trust God in the process. You know, finally breaking out of a rut takes faith. It takes perseverance. Some of those action steps would be to surrender control to God. Stop trying to control it. You can't control it anyway. You can get lucky with some of the things that you're trying to do, but the bottom line is is you have to trust God to control what's going on in your life and to be a part of that, and then the next thing you can do is just speak life over your business or your organization, declare what God's promises are over your work and over your business and over even your leadership, and then remain patient, be patient, you know. Trust that God's plan is working. You can still trust God in this process, even when you don't see things. So what can you do? Why don't you write down three commitments that you're going to make to break out of your rut and move forward?
Speaker 2:And I can share with you even some additional resources. You know there's some great books like Business for the Glory of God by Wayne Grudem. That's G-R-U-D-E-M as in Mary, wayne Grudem, that's a great book, business for the Glory of God. Then one of my favorites, by John Maxwell, the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Read that book if you haven't, and maybe certain organizations like Christian Businessmen's Connection. There's another one called C12 Business Forums, and then you're just hanging out in a chat room with some of these great leaders from around the country, around the world even, and you're in good company, and so I think that's important to do and those are some additional resources.
Speaker 2:Now, every Christian business leader is going to face challenges and they're going to be in a rut, from you know, at one point in their life, maybe multiple times. But you know God's vision for your life and your business is greater. Keep this in mind. It's greater than any rut that you could ever be in. So by seeking him, by seeking God could ever be in. So by seeking him, by seeking God and then adjusting your strategies and reigniting your passion, I believe that you can break free and move forward in success. So keep pressing on with faith, with wisdom and bold action, because breaking out of a rut as a Christian business leader, it really involves more than just business strategies. It's about aligning your business practices with your faith. By integrating, say, spiritual disciplines, we'll say with business acumen, I believe that leaders can find a really I guess I would say a new vigor, more creativity and direction. Remember, the journey out of a rut is also a journey towards deeper faith and deeper understanding in business stewardship. And deeper understanding in business stewardship.
Speaker 2:Father, I come before you right now on behalf of those who have been listening today and that are struggling and that feel like they're in a rut, or maybe they have an employee or a coworker or friend that's in a rut. Lord, I just ask that you help them apply these principles, share these principles with others and help them. Oh, lord, I pray for them right now, that, lord, that they would break free of that rut, that they may feel like they're in. Lord, thank you for ministering to them, because I know that you love them and, lord, I know that you want good for their lives and, lord, I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Well, I hope you've enjoyed this podcast today. I hope it's encouraged you, and this is all the time we have for this week. So I want you to remember that Jesus is Lord and he wants you blessed.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast, and he wants you blessed.