Shine Bright! Just Remember Who's Light You're Shining

How to manage that chip on our shoulder and shine the light of Christ as business owners.

The other day, my wife and I were reading our morning reflection, and something hit me hard. No, it wasn’t that picture falling off the wall again (I really need to fasten that better).

Each morning, we read one chapter of My Daily Bread. It’s a simple book chock-full of profound lessons. It’s formatted in three sections. First, a passage written as if it’s Christ speaking to us. Second, a section for us to reflect on that lesson. Finally, a prayer to implement that lesson.

The passage that hit me said this:

“In your external activity, do not try to appear better or even different from the ordinary good people around you. In your public actions beware of putting on a show. One who is really better than others tries to be better in My presence and for My sake, and not for the admiration or praise of men.”

Now—this may not be the case for all of you, but being entrepreneurs, I assume we all have a hint of ‘Oh no, I’m definitely different.’ I’ve felt this way since I was 16. There is an argument to be made that, as entrepreneurs, we are actually built different. But then, how do we reconcile this idea of blending in?

Here’s how I think about it.

In the first place, for all of us (no, you’re not the exception) we are called to Know Love and Serve God. Beyond that, we have our vocation (marriage for most of us). And then we have our earthly calling. This earthly calling is not meant to be detached from the first two. In fact, it should be deeply tied to the first two.

As humans, we learn through experiences. If we are paying attention, life experiences can be a great way for us to understand the lessons God is trying to teach us. I’d argue it’s the main way He deals with us individually. This includes our business endeavors.

Let’s visualize this journey through the wilderness of the world as a conversation with God. He’s right there beside us, giving us directions. However, for many miles, we ignore Him—but He’s still there. As entrepreneurs, He’s guiding us down a specific path—a path strewn with challenges and nails (some like to call this chewing glass).

It’s important to recognize that God is the one who put this urge to build in our hearts. It didn’t just appear. He lit the fire when He created us.

That’s our fuel. But we are the driver—we get to steer (free will).

But where should we steer the car? That’s where the conversation of life’s journey comes in.

If we set aside our ego as the driver, we can follow the words of the navigator. In order to do this successfully, we need to quiet down. Stop squealing the tires to show off our skills, and go where directed. We are still in a race. We may end up winning, but since this is not the Indie 500, we need our navigator.

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So—we can drive. Heck, we can drive really fast, but we need to listen.

Here’s the kicker.

We can’t listen if we are too focused on how ‘different’ we are from everyone around us. As we run our restaurants, service our clients, and promote our businesses, we need a tactical plan to remember to listen to the navigator.

While this is an imperfect list, here is my initial shot at how to maintain earshot of the navigator (please comment with any other items you think should be on here).

• Daily/morning routine of reflection.
  Every morning, as we sip our coffee, open the storefront, drive to the office, etc., let’s make it a habit to spend 5 min speaking to Jesus and St. Joseph. Taking the time to recognize that we are not the navigator—merely the driver. We don’t even get to determine the car we drive. That horsepower was decided by God when He made us.

• Assess the spiritual situation of our businesses.
  We already have a business running. Who are our customers? Is there any opportunity to witness to them via example? Perhaps our community is facing a crisis, and through our business, we can help influence things in the right direction. For many, it is likely that we need to do each small thing we do as well as possible. Treat each customer as if they are Jesus Himself. However, for many, there is a deeper opportunity for impact if we look around us.

• Put God on the calendar (80/20 Rule).
  Let’s be honest: a lot of us chose this path because we wanted the freedom that came with it. Yet, how many of us attend daily mass? Why not? I mean—we now have control over our schedules… don’t we?
  Plan for Holy Days of Obligation and plan for daily mass. Make time for God because this is our first calling in life. Don’t allow daily distractions to become excuses for why you’re ‘too busy’ to make time.

• Use visual reminders.
  Put up a statue of St. Joseph. Hang a crucifix near your desk. Whatever it is, just do it. There is nothing stopping you, and it will help you recall His presence more frequently throughout the day. My dad (a carpenter) hung a 3-foot statue of St. Joseph from the ceiling of his workshop (it’s impressive).

Let’s be honest; I’m not even sure most of us need ideas. We know the ways we can improve on this front. So, let’s use some of that tenacity we used to start our businesses to improve our ability to listen to the navigator.

The closer we listen, the more often we will remember this is not about us; it’s about Him. Everything is about Him.

“He must increase; I must decrease.” St. John the Baptist

See ya next time!

Silas Mähner

PS: What do you think about this? Agree? — Disagree? Let’s discuss it in the comments.

None of us can do this alone, but collectively, we can get closer to the best answer.

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