There is no secret to learning how to know God’s plan for your next steps as an entrepreneur. No, really. There is no secret to understanding what God wants you to do. I have a 4-part approach that will bring you clarity, and inside of each part, there are three actions you can take to make sure your steps are going in the right direction.
These actions will . . .
- Help you Start
- Make sure you Succeed
- Give you the confidence to Step into your next thing
Use the Start-Succeed-Step structure to get you motivated and confident about knowing God’s plan for you. We’ll go over how to know God’s plan and seek God’s will when it comes to the entrepreneurial life He has given to you.
Prefer video? Check this out.
Start to know God’s plan by getting away
Start to know God’s plan by finding a place where you can get away. Away from technology, away from people, away from your daily routine.
I have done this over several years. Once a quarter, I take a Quiet Retreat. It is a day-long retreat at a local Catholic Retreat Center. I like it there because one, it’s cheap, and two, because they are designed for silence.
Now you don’t have to spend money. Though, a hotel room might be nice. It can be a day when everyone gets out of your house, or you borrow your sister’s house when they are on vacation. Get creative.
Succeed by giving yourself space
Succeed by unplugging. There needs to be a real effort not to use technology. In fact, the more you can do things in an analog fashion, the better.
We’ll talk about some of the activities to do later when you are away. For now, give yourself a space to be alone for at least six hours without interruptions. Make yourself lunch and snacks. Take a thermos with your favorite hot beverage. Make it a day away.
Step in to get clarity
Step into this day with the expectation that you will get super clear on what God is asking you to do. Begin with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you as you move through activities and exercises that will calm your brain and release your creativity.
Start with a brain dump
Once you have taken the step to plan your day away (whatever that may look like for you), start with what I call a brain dump. I have this video that explains in more detail what that looks like, but I want to explain why it is so important.
To know God’s plan, you need to decompress. You must get all the ideas, thoughts, dreams, schedules, etc., out of your head first. The idea is simple. Take sticky notes and add one thing to each sticky note in your head.
Everything you are thinking about needs to get onto a sticky note. So write everything from driving your child to practice to that amazing online program you are considering writing.
Succeed by organizing
Succeed with this brain dump by then organizing it. I have them on sticky notes because you can manipulate and move them around. Make categories for each of your sticky notes. Put tasks together that belong together.
Then order the progression of those tasks within the project. Finally, add where you need to so you have broken down the tasks into bite-sized pieces.
Suppose some things are not pressing. Make a later category. If there are things you don’t know why you are hanging onto them, throw them on the floor.
Decide your priorities
Get specific about what the priority is for your business and life, and put them front and center.
Then you can Step into what to do next. Look at what has risen to the top for you. By removing distractions, you can know God’s plan and look at what God is trying to tell you about the direction.
Seek God with your journal in hand
Seeing all those sticky notes in front of you can be intimidating. You may think, “Is this really what God wants me to prioritize?”
Remember, you came into the day with prayer. Therefore, you must trust that God is giving you the ideas you should receive because you strive to stay aligned with Him.
Start with your journal
Start with your journal to build on what the brain dump has shown you.
I am a firm believer that everyone CAN journal. Some of us are wordsmiths and write prose, while others create lists, color, and mind maps. There is no right way to journal. Make it your own.
Succeed with prompts
Succeed by having a plan on how to proceed. Don’t just sit with your journal and think, “What do I write?” Instead, take each section/category of your brain dump and see what comes to mind as you seek to know God’s plan with your journal.
I have some prompts that may help you. First, ask the Lord these questions:
- What do I need to know about You before I pursue this thing you have for me?
- How have you equipped me to do this thing You want me to do?
- Who do you want me to serve as I do this thing you have asked me to do?
Step in slowly
Step into spending time with God by not rushing this process. Instead, consider every part of your brain dump and bring it before the Lord. Then, ask for verses to come to you that would give you confirmation.
Write your thoughts, make connections, and pray in color or doodle. See what emerges.
Reach out to find a community
This can look different for you than for someone else. It all depends on where you are in your entrepreneurial adventure and your needs at his specific time.
Determine what you need
Start by determining what you need. Take this request to God in your journal too. Think through your choices. Do you need encouragement and support, an accountability partner, a mentor or coach, a mastermind group, or all of them?
Pursue your choice until you find a fit
Succeed by actively pursuing your choice. Find the best fit for your needs. God is with you and has given others to be in a community with you. Don’t neglect this by trying to do everything on your own. Entrepreneurship is lonely enough, don’t cut off the gift God is giving you by putting people in your path to help you.
That’s where I believe God has placed me for you. I am here to help you get more clarity if you are still stuck. (Even after all the activities.)
I invite you to Step into an Extended Power Hour with me. Maybe you are not ready to be in a coaching program, but you recognize you need some outside ideas. This is something I do on a very limited basis. It is a one-time 90-minute session with me.
In this session, we’ll reach into your busy brain of ‘what ifs’ and mastermind a solution for why you are still stuck. We will identify the issue keeping you from making the choices you need to make in your business. And we’ll create action steps (outside of the ones presented here) that will move you forward intentionally.
Follow the plan
As I said at the beginning, know God’s plan by taking the time to:
- Go away
- Brain dump
- Journal
- Find community
You’ve already started by reading this blog. Succeed by making the right choices for you, and step confidently into the next thing God has for you.
Let me know how this has motivated you to know God’s plan. Or write GOD’S PLAN in the comments if you’re feeling inspired.
God has called you into entrepreneurship for a reason. But, first, he wants you to live out AVODAH. . . that’s a Hebrew word that means work, worship, and service.
You CAN know God’s plan for you when you take the time to seek HIM with the tools and resources He gives you.
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