The Success Center

What's the Key to Financial Success?

A wise man once said “success is goals, and all else is commentary.” I believe that success in personal finances is all about setting goals and achieving goals. Truly, goal setters are goal getters!

Mark McCormack in his book, . The graduates of the MBA program at Harvard were asked:

 The only difference between the groups was the clarity of the goals they had for themselves when they started out.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you can’t become rich without goals or that you will automatically become rich if you have goals. Goal setting will certainly enhance your pursuit of financial freedom.

Setting financial goals, working toward them day-by-day, and ultimately achieving them is the key to a life of financial abundance.

The year is just taking off and what a time to sit down and set financial goals for the year. You must be very clear about what you want to achieve financially in this New Year.

Your greatest responsibility to yourself is to invest the whatever time is required to become absolutely clear about how much money you want to make, and how youcan best achieve it.

You must have financial target that you’re out to hit this year.

A goal is something distinctly different from a wish. It is clear, written and specific. It can be quickly and easily described to another person. You can measure it, and you know when you have achieved it, or not.

The word of God admonishes that we should write down our goals, make it plain (let it be clear), so that we can easily pursue the realization of it. A goal that is not written down is a wish – A daydream. When you commit your goals to paper and read them regularly, you energize your commitment.

“Realize what you really want. It stops you from chasing butterflies and puts you to work digging gold.”- William Moulton Marsden

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Pro 29:18 

Writing down your goals, creating plans to achieve them, and working on your plans every single day are the greatest financial wisdom you should embrace throughout your financial journey this year.

What Setting Financial Goals Will Do For You

1.    Setting financial goals will give you direction, without it, you simply drift financially.

2.    They will make you financially accountable.

3.    They will inculcate into you, the much needed discipline in your wealth building process.

4.   They will give you reasons to want to achieve.

5.    Financial goals will make you feel internally motivated.

6.     They will give you something to look forward to and your expectation will become your reality.

Now let me ask you, have you set clear, written goals for your financial journey this year and made plans to accomplish them? Are you off to a good start toward financial freedom in 2012? What challenges are you facing and how are you hurdling them? Share your thoughts below.

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Goals and Values

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. ~Proverbs 19:21

After reading Rod’s post on the lesson finding purpose that he shared with his little sister, I was reminded of how often we fall out of alignment with the purposes of God when it comes to being entrepreneurs and the plan He has for our businesses. As you move into 2012, I want to challenge you to be sure that you are moving forward with your values as the lead. What do I mean? Simple, you want to be sure that what you value help you determine the goals that fit the plan God has set forth for you.

Can I share a valuable lesson with you?

One of the worse mistakes I made early on in building my business was listening to others and not heeding what God was telling me. You see I value my faith and relationship with God; and what I did was place Him as second fiddle to the high income I was beginning to produce. I had to take a step back, let go of the popular radio show, the high paying clients, and the other stuff that was in the way.

I had to start all over again from scratch. I began by assessing my values. I looked at what really mattered and began to create my plans and goals accordingly. The process showed me where God was truly leading. What I thought was to be my business was not. It did not fit my values and it was literally sucking the life out of me.

It was God’s purpose that was to prevail and my plans had to match.

The Truth About Values and Goals

It’s said that if you want to be successful, if you want to lead, then align your values with your goals. If your goals match what is important to you in your daily living then you’re on your way to the top. Values and goals must complement each other for you to be effective.

But, if you struggle with anxiety and unhappiness as you strive for your aspirations then reaching them may not give you inner peace and happiness even if you’re successful. Don’t act like who you’re not to become someone you won’t like once you get there. If you don’t like yourself then no one else will either.

Define Your Values

What do you stand for? Is it courage, honesty, dedication, generosity, thoughtfulness, tolerance, loyalty? What drives you each day to get out of bed and do what you have to do? It could be love of family and God. Maybe you feel peace in helping others achieve their goals.

If you’re to be happy in your career and personal life you must align your values and goals. You could fake it until you make it, but unless these are your true values it would be a hollow victory. Be true to yourself, work hard each day and you’ll become the person you deserve to be.

Define Your Goals

Of course, there are many types of goals and you must decide which is most important to you and your family. Most people when asked to define their goals first think of their career and monetary achievement.

This may include material possessions and social standing in the community. These could coincide with personal and spiritual goals as you climb the mountain of life. Aspire to strike a balance in all these qualities of life.

If you want to truly step into your greatness, understand what you value because it is the core of who you are. The core of who you are will determine your plans and help you create actionable goals for accomplishing great things and walking in the abundance that God has for you. You will see doors of opportunity opening and in way you never imagined.

If you’re properly aligned with the values and goals of your life, you’ll never regret where you are and where you will end.

What do you think? What are you doing to ensure you lead with your values as you enter 2012? Don’t act like someone you aren’t because you will likely not like the someone you become once you get there.

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LaTara Ham-Ying

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Would You Describe Yourself as a Christian Entrepreneur?

This guest post is by Sharon Akinoluwa of www.wealthandriches.net.

To be candid there is no such thing as a “Christian business”. A business is a legal entity, such as corporation, partnership or proprietorship, and as such does not have spirit or soul.

However, a business may reflect the values, aspirations, and beliefs of the owner or manager. A business might be labeled a Christian business, if it is owned by a Christian, is run based on Biblical principles, and values.

For you to be able to run your business on Biblical principles, you must first see the business as God’s business and you are a steward (or manager) of it. It is at such a point, you can operate the business under Biblical scriptures.

This submission will show in the policies and decisions governing the day to day running of the business.

A Christian business is essentially to be used to serve God and His purpose on the earth. And as such has one overriding purpose – to glorify God.

Each decision will be made with the sole objective of pleasing and glorifying God. As a result hiring, firing, paying, and promoting must be in harmony with the written word of God.

For a Christian to run his business based on scriptural principles, he must first familiarize himself with the ways of God, as revealed in His word. Only those who have taken time to read and study the Bible diligently can practice the principles therein.

A Christian is a person who has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. And as such has dedicated his life to obey and serve Jesus. Only such a person can truly obey the command of scriptures.

If the word says to do a thing, the committed Christian will do it. If the word says not to do a thing, the committed Christian will not do such.

Obeying God can potentially cost something economically and emotionally, but the decision to obey God at whatever cost, will yield greater reward in the long run.

The Christian business person knows that doing business God’s way is not always convenient but is commanded by God in His word.

Running your business contrary to Biblical principles  is one sure way to walk in financial frustrations and problems.

On the other hand when you run your business according to the dictates of the principles of the word of God, your access into business success and prosperity becomes sure.

God wants your business to prosper; therefore He is given the principles that will facilitate your success, that all the glory might return to Him. It is running your business based on these principles that qualifies for a Christian business.

The principles of scriptures are tested universal, time proven principles. They Deliver result without respect for geographical locations and race.

If running a profitable business is your desire, now you know how to go about. The Bible way is the best way. It brings you success without adding sorrow.

Now to you: what principles and values guide the operations of your business? Do you see God as the owner of the business, and that He worths listening to and obeying? How would you define a Christian entrepreneur? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Do You Know What Your Purpose Is?

“Hey, sis, how are things going?” I ask her, looking on cheerfully.

“It’s OK, I guess.” she replies, surveying the room as if she’s distracted.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m changing my major . . . again. I just don’t know what I want to do with my life.” She said, slumping into a chair at our mother’s dining room table putting her head in her hands.

“Cheer-up kiddo. You’re in college, you don’t have to have all the answers right now. You’ll figure it out sooner or later. Everyone has a purpose in life.” I said, wrapping my arm around and giving her a hug.

“How in the world am I supposed to figure out what my purpose is if I keep changing my major?” She replied.

I cracked a smile and said, “Well, for one thing, your purpose isn’t tied to your major, a job after college, or anything like that – it’s something God put you on earth to do. Let me show, it’s not that hard to figure it out.”

She sat up attentively as I found a pen and a sheet of paper.

“If you want to figure out your purpose in life, there are 3 things you have to do . . .”

Step 1 – Write Down All Your Gifts, Talents, Abilities, and Desires

• Gifts are what you can do naturally (IE. Being a good writer)
• Talents are something that amplifies your gift (IE. Can tell visually enriched stories)
• Abilities are what you’re trained to do or skilled at doing (IE. Can teach English)
• Desires are things you want to do but may not be good at doing (IE. Paint pictures)

Step 2 – Ask yourself “What Am I Passionate About?”

Passion equals purpose! Think of something that you love doing, would love to do as a business (even if you weren’t paid to do it), or would love to help others do.

My passion is teaching entrepreneurs how to succeed no matter where they are in life or what tools they have. I would do this even if I weren’t paid, so my purpose lies in that!

What are you passionate about?

Step 3 – Ask God, “What is My Purpose in Life?”

Instead of looking around aimlessly for your purpose, why not go to the source?! The Bible says,

We can plainly see that God;

A.) Has a plan for our life,

B.) Plans to prosper us, and

C.) To give us hope and a future through those plans!

It’s all in His hands, so ask Him to show you the plans! Trust me, He’s waiting on you to ask. As a matter of fact (since we have free will and can choose which path to take in life) He’s been waiting on you to ask, for the plans, all your life! 

“Well, that doesn’t look too hard.” my sister replied, with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“Not hard at all, sis, you just have to have a little faith, be patient, and do your part.” I said, smothering her in my arms.

“Now, if I could just figure out which guy is going to take me to the movies this weekend . . .” she said, thinking curiously.

“Lord, help us all!” I replied, rolling my eyes and walking away.

The End.

Note: Want to learn more about finding your purpose and destiny? Read The Importance of ‘Purpose’ for the Christian Entrepreneur and What’s Your Entrepreneurial Purpose in Life?

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Rod Kirby

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Are you "showing some love" to your customers?

When you think of ethics in business, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of things like values, morals, respect, or integrity. Well, the term ethic means . . .

It’s simply a code of  conduct. You know, like the handbook you get when you start a new job and they want you on your best behavior. So, you adhere, because you want to stay gainfully employed.

In your walk with Christ, you might want to consider being “gainfully in the right”.

Simply put, in order for you to get abundant blessings and success through God, you must adhere to His “code of conduct”. As you dig into the Word, you may wonder just what it is that God expects of us from a moral standpoint.

His expectations are simple and yet most tend to miss the opportunity to truly exhibit them, even in business. In my research on the subject of ethics, for the Christian entrepreneur, I have found that it goes beyond great customer service.

For the Christian Entrepreneur there are two main components that must be a part of your ethical standards.

The first is love.

The second is service.

Perhaps these two concepts seem too farfetched for business; but, keep in mind that if we seek Him first and His righteousness, all things will be added unto us (Matthew 6:33). Doesn’t ALL THINGS mean our business too?

Therefore, if you want to be blessed with success in your businesses then you must take on the attitudes of love and service each day.

Therein lays the most profound truth about being ethical in business. LOVE! If you do not have love not only for your business but for the people you serve then you do God a great disservice. Are you aware that you are the salt of the Earth and the light on a hill for the world to see?

When you think of the term love perhaps you think of what you just read in the aforementioned scripture: To love others as ourselves. Well, aren’t your clients and/or customers the “others” that Christ speaks of? Then if this is this case, love, not money, must be the driving ethical force that guides our daily business dealings.

You can forget about the six figures if love is not at that root of your business. Your foundation in life is Christ and He is love at its best.

Ask yourself…

Do I love my customers and if so in what ways? If not, how can I begin to love them as I love myself? How will this make my business better?

As you consider love, you have to take a closer look at service.

Pay close attention to the scripture above; in it lies a truth that many miss. It says, in essence, that to serve is to be free. You, my brother or my sister, are called into a liberated existence and that freedom is found through serving your fellow man in love. This is why you must approach business from an ethical mindset of love and service. The two go hand-in-hand!

When you serve and love others, it is like a boomer rang effect and the benefits are blessings that abound beyond your wildest dreams. Your customers or clients are not just people who line your pocket with money. That should be the least of your concern as a business owner because in making it a concern you are making money the object of your worship.

Your customers are people with needs, desires, goals, and dreams just like you. Some of your customers will never read a Bible a day in their life; but your presence may be the only Bible they will ever come across. Some will never come to know Christ unless you serve and love them in your business.

Take the time this week to examine your love and service quotient in your business. How are you serving? How do you love? What can you do, right now, to do both better? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

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LaTara Ham-Ying

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Just Have Faith and Do What God Tells You to Do!

“… Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shall pour out into all those vessels, and you shall set aside that which is full” –  2 Kings 4:3-4.

Elisha gave these instructions to a widow woman who was deep in debt and needed money immediately.  The widow woman took Elisha’s directions to start her Oil business, and she gave it her maximum effort. She went out and borrowed vessels from everyone she knew (and possibly from kind strangers).  When she had collected enough vessels, she filled those borrowed vessels with oil and stored them in her house.

But here is the thing, the oil she had, in the natural course of events, probably would not have filled up one vessel because the scriptures tell us she had only one pot of oil. God supernaturally kept the oil flowing until she ran out of vessels.

If this widow woman had not given her maximum effort (to seek and collect the vessels), she wouldn’t have received such a great harvest of many, many vessels of oil filled from a single pot. It was her maximum effort following the direction given to her by God (through Elisha) that allowed her to sell all the oil to pay off all of her debts and to be able to live from the income of selling oil.

Are you giving God your maximum effort in what he has called you to do?

God usually starts by giving you a business idea as a high level concept to do something. He could tell you to go and start a car repair business.

To give maximum effort, you should;

• Take this concept and mediate on it until it becomes real to you,
• Act on this concept by researching it out completely,
• Ask other people who have started a car repair business for advice,
• Read up on the laws that may govern this type of business,
• Scout out possible locations and etc.

Once you have faith about an idea and have researched it out completely, the last step to give maximum effort is to go back to God and ask for the low level details required to start. For example, where to locate the business, how to finance the business, what type of cars your business will repair, who you will hire, and so on and so on.

Whatever God has called you to do; you must give it your maximum effort to produce maximum results.

Let me know in the comments what God has called you to do, and how you are giving it your maximum effort …

About Amos

Amos Johnson Jr, PhD helps Christian Entrepreneurs develop God inspired businesses because financial prosperity comes through faith in God & Business. Check out his website for help and resources for your God inspired business.

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Rod Kirby

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What are you investing into the success of your business?

Any home-builder will tell you,

“… in order to build a beautiful house that will stand the test of time, you have to invest in quality supplies & materials.”

The same is true when building the dream God placed in your heart. You have to make an investment in quality tools for success in your personal and professional life.

This doesn’t always mean spending thousands of dollars on equipment, coaching, and other resources.  God gives us everything we need to succeed . . . we just have to follow His example . . .

The Ultimate Example

Think about Christ. Everything He did was successful. Why? What was his secret? (other than being the son of God, of course…)

The Word shows us exactly why Christ was so successful;

• He invested his time and energy into doing the will of his Father. (John 6:38)
• He invested time in prayer and study. (Luke 6:12, Luke 2:41-52)
• He invested time in preparing and training his disciples for the work to be done once he was gone from the Earth. (Luke 9:1-10)
• He invested his time and energy into helping the blind to see, the lame to walk and the oppressed to be free. (Luke 4: 16-21)

Jesus understood the power of investing his time and energy for a successful return on that investment!

The Word tells us to do all things as unto the Lord. Invest your time, energy, and money into doing those things for your life and business that are pleasing unto God. Then you will have good success.

Read the following tips and begin applying them today.

6 Investment Tips for Success

1. Be about the Father’s business. Matthew 6:33 reminds us to seek first the Kingdom of God so that all things can be added unto us. Seek Him and you will succeed.
2. Be consistent with you prayer life. Never forget the prayers of a righteous man avail much.
3. Study the Word. Understand what the Word says about how you conduct your business. The Word is filled with expert advice (i.e., Solomon) and wise lessons about a business that pleases God.
4. Study your business! Whatever your business is, don’t just work in it, continue to learn about it. There are many entrepreneurs who never move beyond where they started and their level of success is evident. Create a budget for quality business education, tools, and resources … INVEST in your success!
5. Train your team. You can hire or sub-contract to others who are good at what they do. However, you want to make sure that you train them to be good at what they do where your business model is concerned. They need to understand your vision, the mission, and the plan in order to successfully handle the tasks that you delegate to them.
6. Help Others. As a child of God, you are required to be a servant. Take the time each day to see how you can help others succeed. Look for viable opportunities of service and add them to your business structure. For example, you can have monthly giveaways for your more expensive products, you can host a weekly Q&A session, or you can make yourself available to whatever God deems necessary with your services!

Your success is not dependent upon how much money you earn or spend on your business. Your success stems from your direct relationship with God first and then the rest of the stuff He decides to add based on your faith in Him.

Today, turn your world upside down by using these investment strategies of Christ to build a successful business. What ways do you invest your time and energy into your business’s success? What areas do you need help in? Sound off in the comments below.

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LaTara Ham-Ying

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Should Christian Entrepreneurs Work with Non-Christians?

As your business grows, who you hire or partner with will have a direct impact on your success. It’s important that you’re always in a state of awareness when it comes to the personal or professional lives of those who interact with your business.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by Amos Johnson Jr. of The Christian Entrepreneur. In it, Amos breaks down how Christian entrepreneurs should work with non-Christian business partners, workers, and contractors. It’s a powerful message that I’m sure will bless your life and business.

What are your thoughts on working with non-Christians? How do you approach this in your own business? Share your thoughts below. Enjoy the show!

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“Of course, God wants me to succeed!” you retort, but I want to challenge you on that. It’s not a question of if He wants you to succeed, but what He wants you to succeed at.

Think about that scripture for a second. If you’re a successful entrepreneur and you finally “make it,” have you really made anything at all? Sure, you’ve got a killer blog, marketing materials, clients lining up around the corner, and your profits have increased year over year, but are you really making a difference? I define success not by how many come through the door, but by how many I impact on the way out. God wants us to make an impact with our businesses not just money.

Your business should be the storefront of your soul offering people an array of products and services to meet their physical needs and connect spiritually. That’s why God impregnates us with the entrepreneurial spirit;  to give birth to wealth, provision, and a way to spiritually connect with others no matter where we are.

I want to share something with you that I believe will change your entrepreneurial life. If you want to make more money, get more clients, make an impact, and not just make a paycheck, then here are 5 steps to succeeding in God’s way;

Trust Him

Once you’ve got that killer business idea dropped in your spirit you’ve got to make a decision and trust God to give you everything you need to succeed. You have to It’s making a clear decision in your mind that you’re going to give “God a try.” Did you know that Heaven roots for your success by the vary thought of you trusting God?

Have Faith

After you’ve made the decision it’s time to do something about it. Faith is one part belief and one part action toward the end result. The Bible also says that faith without works is dead. So, you can believe you’re successful all you want, but if you’re not working toward it then you might as well sit on the bench.

Follow the Blueprint

God gave us the greatest player in the game of business – Jesus and He left us his play book - the Bible. What greater tools could you possibly want in order to succeed with your business? Jesus lead with integrity, humbleness, and had incredible vision for his destiny. All we have to do is follow his example.

Use Your Gifts

You think you’re a good drawer by chance? I think not! God gave us all gifts to be blessed and to bless others. I wasn’t the best artist in the world, but I was decent enough to go to an art college. While I was there I met a guy that owned a design firm and he taught me the basics of graphic design. From our fateful meeting I started designing logos and even taught myself web design. Soon after I started my own graphic design company and the rest is history. Don’t over-look something you used to do well but don’t exercise anymore. It may be your ticket to success!

Do Your Part

That’s right, you’ve got work to do too!

• Pray – By staying in constant communication with God you’ll receive guidance, direction, and every answer you could possibly need!
• Fast – Sometimes you’ll have to starve your flesh in order to make your spirit more sensitive to hear from God. You can go on a Daniel Fast, total fast, or eat at specific times of the day. Doing so puts you in a state of spiritual awareness and makes you more productive.
• Give – A major key to being financially successful is your tithe and offering at your local church. It’s a Biblical principle and it works, trust me! By giving a tenth of your income God has to move on your behalf. What does that mean?
  It means, the doors of God’s provision, prosperity, and protection are open for your life and business. Do you realize how awesome that is?
  Let me break it down for you; A. Provision – you’ll have everything you need to succeed! B. Prosperity – you’ve got no choice but to succeed! C. Protection – nothing’s going to stop you when you succeed!

So, does God want you to succeed? Absolutely, but it’s gotta be in a meaningful way that will prosper someone else as well as yourself. Looking over the list above it may seem like God is asking a lot of you. But, is it to much to ask, for abundance of life, prosperity, and a sizable return on investment in life after death?

Let me hear from you. As a Christian entrepreneur are you succeeding like you should? Are you missing a step? Even if you’re not a Christian, I would love to hear what you think as well. Leave a comment or two below. For further reading, I found a great article at Got Questions.org that really gets to the core of How the Bible defines success.

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Rod Kirby

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Debt = Slavery

The Bible plainly states that the borrower is a servant (or slave) to the lender. How much more proof do you need that all debt is bad, especially when starting a business? If there’s one thing I know, its that, no matter what vision God has given you, He’ll always give you the resources you need to accomplish it!

In today’s success tip, Amos Johnson, Jr. of The Christian Entrepreneur, breaks down debt and how it hinders your business instead of helping it. He also explains God’s way of starting your business, growing it, and becoming successful without loans, borrowing, or debt.

This is an awesome podcast that everyone needs to hear. Trust me, you’re going to be blessed!

Click the play button below to listen to the podcast. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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About the Author

Amos Johnson Jr.

Amos Johnson Jr., Ph.D. is the host of The Christian Entrepreneur, the #1 online talk show with Christian Entrepreneurs discussing business success.  He’s also the founder of various businesses, and has a passion for teaching Christian Entrepreneurs how to start their own God inspired

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