by Henry Kaestner

What is the worst advice I’ve ever heard given an entrepreneur? That’s easy, “Just follow your heart.”  There’s a problem with that oft used counsel, of course, and it goes like this:

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”  Jeremiah 17:9 NIV

At many times in my past following my heart would (and did) mean making bad decisions in my personal and professional life.  I’ve followed my heart too many times to know not to trust it.  My heart isn’t the only body part that’s failed me by the way…. my “gut” has too, and there are other parts that are in the process of doing the same to this 48 year old whose boys can beat him now in everything from ping pong to 1 on 1, but that’s a different blog post 🙂 

What’s the solution to all of this organ failure when we want to make great decisions as an effective leader?

We don’t need to look any further than the greatest leader not named Jesus in the Bible: King David.  I love it when the Bible tells us “why” something happens, and 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22 comes through magnificently in this regard. The Bible tells us that David was successful because He was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22), ….not his own.

How can you, too, be after God’s own heart? A walk through Psalms will go a long way.  In addition to this collection of 150 songs and prayer to God, I’m a believer in fasting, and seeking the counsel of others who you know to be Godly.  How do you seek to be a business leader who is after God’s heart and not your own?

Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt 6:33)….so easy, so familiar and so often overlooked.  

——

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

— by Henry Kaestner

Greg Zinn, from Central Pennsylvania heard our request for content that inspires, equips and encourages him and other entrepreneurs in his community.  Here’s the note that accompanied the below prayer:

For what it’s worth, I’m sending you “A Business Owner’s/Entrepreneur’s Prayer Before Starting Work”. This is printed on a post card with the Business Owner’s message on the back of the card, which I have also included. I keep the prayer at my desk and in the absence of any better prayer of my own, it helps me start my day and orient me to our “why” and the source of everything we have. I don’t know “Dwight”. The card was given to me by Ed Staub, who is my Sandler coach and a mentor too. He is a great example of a faith driven Entrepreneur who uses his business as a platform for ministry. I pass it along to add to your inventory as a possible resource and encouragement for those days that you might be looking for content. You and FDE community came to mind this morning when I was praying this prayer. If you find it useful, feel free to share it.

Greg, we absolutely find it useful, thanks for sending:

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In this podcast Henry, William, and Rusty tackle the question of how to think about competition.  We know that we want to run the race as if to win it. (1 Corinthians 9:24).  But how do we win?  What is our heart posture?  Do we win at all costs? What are our motives as we compete in the race?

Show Notes for Episode 8

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by Rusty Rueff, Henry Kaestner and William Norvell

Today’s Podcast tackles the question of how to think about competition.  We know that we want to run the race as if to win it. (1 Corinthians 9:24).  But how do we win?  What is our heart posture?  Do we win at all costs? What are our motives as we compete in the race?

https://faithdrivenentrepreneur.simplecast.fm/

We talk about Coopetition in industries like telecom, where competitors can also be customers. Rusty talks about his time at PepsiCo and how Roger Enrico thought of the entry of Eagle Snacks from Anheuser Busch.  We talk a bit about patent trolling too.  We even talk a little bit about what it looks to compete for a job internally.

We get at the concept of Abundance or Scarcity.  We think that it might be helpful there might be 3 levels of motives and that the ordering is important:

1.  Focus on serving our customers.

2.  Get the very best out of ourselves.  Bring all that we have to work as our meaningful form of worship.

3.  Understand what the competition is doing.  We don’t operate in a vacuum and we need to wise as a serpent and yet innocent as a dove (Mt 10:16).  Let’s never operate out of fear, but out of a feeling of opportunity, knowing that as we bring #s 1 and #2 above, we’re very likely to succeed.

Lastly, I think it’s important to check on our motives.  Are we competing to bring God glory or to shut someone else down and make them our door mat?

As with all of our podcasts, this is not meant to be the final word.  We’d like to get your take.  What did we miss?  Are we thinking about it wrong?

At the end of every podcast, we like to ask our guests to share what God has been teaching them in this season of life. This week’s guest is Matt Bird, an international speaker, author and broadcaster. He has spoken in 30 countries to more than a million people, has written 11 books and writes for The Times newspaper.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

You know, the biggest challenge for me. And it’s the place that I always come back to that I always wrestle with is how much am I trusting Jesus? You know, proverbs says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Rely not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. 

And it’s a lovely verse because it’s so simple. But the distance between understanding and execution of that can be enormous. We can know it in our heads. But to live it out in our lives, with our future, our relationships, our families, the future of our business, the future of our social impact is so challenging. 

Are we truly, truly trusting everything to God? Can I live on a daily basis, trusting Jesus in everything and all I’m doing? 

Some days I get that right. And some days I’m wriggling and wrestling all over the place. But for me, finding that place of trust puts me in a place of peace and centeredness in Christ that cannot be wavered regardless of what’s happening around me. And when you’re out there, as I am as an entrepreneur in the social space, a lot of the time I’m taking huge risks putting it all out there.

And if God doesn’t turn up, I’m going to look awfully stupid. But I think that’s the point. If I want to do something for God, it should require Him to show up for it to work.

by Henry Kaestner

The Praxis Business Accelerator Program is accepting applications until June 1 and there is no better time to share with you why I think it’s something that all faith driven entrepreneurs should know about.  Well, actually, a better time would have been about a month ago when you had more time to plan :), but you are a faith driven entrepreneur and you have a unique ability to quickly assess and pursue amazing things quickly….this is one of those things.  I’ve never done a Top 10 list, but in homage to David Letterman and more importantly, Dave Blanchard and the crew at Praxis, here goes:

1.  You get to hang out with Andy Crouch (author of Culture Making and several other world class books) really…..for an extended amount, having real quality time.  I bet you’ll find out that he’s as good of a musician as an author and an even nicer guy…and yet even a better person to help you to encounter the living God better.

2.  The gatherings are in San Francisco at the Inn at the Presidio, The Minnewaska Lodge in New York, and finally at the Finale event at the Tarrytown House.  Beautiful spots.  Check out the sites, you’ll see.  

3.  You’ll get to meet 11 other great friends for life that are going through the same things in life that you are.  They are driven followers of Christ called in to redemptive entrepreneurship.  They are serious about excellence, calling and community.  You’ll love them and they’ll love you.

4.  The mentors are world class.  Seriously, check them out.  From Dave Evans who teaches the most sought after class “Designing Your Life” at Stanford, to Frank Chen from Andreesen Horowitz, to the Mark and Nancy Duarte who are the go-to people to help TED participants make their presentations. 

5.  The full time staff is amazing.  I’m a better person for knowing them and you will be too.

6.  Are you looking to get your venture funded?  You’ll have access to hundreds of Christ followers all capable of making investment at the pitch events in SF and NYC.

7.  OK, the mentors are so good, that they are worth two entries.  They are a mix of successful global entrepreneurs, investors and deep thinkers (Jamie Smith, there’s your shout out :)).  Have you met Max Anderson of the Weekend Reader yet? You will.  He’s the funniest man in Christendom not named Bob Goff or Eric Metaxas……and on good days he’s funnier than them.  If you’re truly blessed you’ll see Max and Andy Crouch playfully spar.  This is not the stale, holy huddle that you might have envisioned up until now.

8.  If this list was rated by importance…it’s not by the way…then this would clearly be the #1:  You will come to know God more fully and enjoy him more because of this program.  That’s a tough boast, but I’m confident in it.

9.  The food.  Everything at Praxis is top notch.  This is not meant to be a knock against my extraordinary wife, but I eat better at the Praxis events I go to than at any other time all year.  Really.  Not something you’d expect on a top 10 list….but there it is….it’s that good.  

10.  There’s a good chance that you don’t think you have the time to spare (just a bit less than 3 weeks spread over almost a year).  I know that would be a big concern of mine. That makes sense, and yet I think you’ll find it essential and some of the best use of 3 weeks you’ll ever spend. If you get in and think that the program was anything less than outstanding then I’ve got $5,000 with your name written all over them.  My money has never felt safer 🙂