Ugh.
It’s 5:30 a.m. and Les gently tries to wake me. What was I thinking? Why did I think I wanted to go to the First Shift networking if I had to get up this early?
“Go back to sleep,” Les said, “and I’ll try to go back to sleep too.” He had gotten up only to wake me. (Yes, I have an alarm clock, and I know how to set it. My husband just chooses to serve me in this way.)
Guilt propelled me out of bed. After all, he had awakened early because I needed to. I crawled to the bathroom, put drops in my eyes to banish the grit, and showered to wake up.
A quick stop at Panera for an iced tea ensured I’d have enough caffeine in my system when the program started.
Mark Owen, one of the First Shift cohosts, was interviewing Denise Kaufman on taking the leap to be your own boss. I didn’t think I would be that interested in the content because I’m already my own boss. But I was wrong.
Denise left a great corporate job where she was climbing the corporate ladder to buy European Medical Massage & Spa in West Lawn, Pennsylvania. While that might sound scary enough, add to it that she had no massage or spa experience! Crazy, right?!
As I listened to Denise, she made several statements that struck a chord with me.
She talked of our need to listen to God’s voice. “Sometimes, though, our ‘receivers’ aren’t in tune with what God wants us to hear,” Denise said. Do I have my ears open, waiting to hear his voice? Or am I only interested in what I think I want hear?
Denise began to describe her business philosophy:
- Be of value to everyone; you are not the most important person.
- Love people, let them feel what’s going on in their lives. Be present with them.
- Ask Jesus to help you truly see who people are and to see their potential.
- Be salt and light in your community.
We could all apply those principles to our lives, whether we want to become successful entrepreneurs or not—because they’re Scriptural principles.
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Galatians 5:13–15
As Denise finished up, I watched what happened next. She greeted each person who came up to talk with her by name, the names she had heard just once when introducing herself to people before the program started! And then she listened carefully to each one, interacting without showing any impatience or desire to move on to the next person.
Obviously she lived her principles in her everyday life, not just to grow her business.
May we all do the same.