If you're a mother, then you know all about the different seasons of life and how each requires different time and energy. There are times of life when we can work full time, times when we are way busier than we'd like to be and seasons when we're barely hanging on.

It can be tempting to try to start or grow a business during a season of life that isn't particularly conducive to extra obligations. Conversely, it can be easy to dismiss a call from God asking us to do something new because we think we're "just too busy".

This episode will help us determine if and when might be the right time to scale a business, start something new or just be patient and "wait upon the Lord".

Ready to get started on your own coaching or content business? Join me for office hours where you can ask questions or get advice on where to go next.

00:44 Understanding Times and Seasons

03:21 Classifying Life Phases

04:19 Determining Readiness for Business

05:24 Self-Reflection and God's Guidance

07:20 Practical Questions to Consider

10:07 Balancing Business and Personal Life

14:16 Spiritual Growth Through Business

16:12 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Hello, my wonderful business buddies.

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I am here to talk to you about times

and seasons in our lives today.

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All humans are familiar with the

concept of times and seasons.

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And I think women especially.

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So because of the way

our bodies are designed.

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We acknowledged that there are

certain times certain seasons

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ebbs and flows of life that are.

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More suited to certain

things than other times.

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There is a season for having babies.

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When our marriage is healthy,

hopefully, and we are fertile.

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And we have energy and brain capacity

and emotional capacity to care.

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Well, for small, tiny babies and

toddlers, it is an incredibly

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difficult job and incredibly time

consuming and energy consuming jobs.

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So there is a specific time of life.

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Set aside for that.

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Thank goodness.

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We are not fertile.

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Into our seventies.

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So we have to be chasing.

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Little toddlers well into our

sixties or seventies, because.

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That is not the time and season

of life for small children.

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There's also a season for traveling.

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For me personally, that looks like

when we have the financial means to

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do so, we can also afford to take

time away from our regular obligations

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work or community obligations.

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Also when we're prepared to deal with

kids away from home, because they're

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always a little bit more difficult to

deal with, especially young kids when you

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take them away from their schedule and.

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familiar things.

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There has been for me a season for really

intense self-development and growth.

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It would be silly if I recommended.

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Self-help books to my friends

with two week old babies, because

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keeping a newborn alive and.

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Working on.

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New goals.

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Do not generally go hand in hand.

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, you can't really improve yourself

much when you are in survival mode.

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And that's what that looks like.

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Having a new baby or, or maybe if

you're sadly going through a divorce,

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that might be another survival time

where you do not have the capacity.

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To grow yourself.

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In other ways, you are

just kind of surviving.

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So we have seen this happen in our lives.

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If you look back, you can see

the phases of life, The phase of

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going through school intensely,

maybe in college or the phase of.

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Building a career.

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If you've had a career where the

phase of, Raising small children or

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homeschooling or whatever that may be.

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This concept of having times and seasons

helps protect us mentally, emotionally,

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even physically from taking on too much.

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I believe that God made it very difficult

physically to have children so that

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we wouldn't add a lot to our plate.

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I have a friend who has adopted some

children, and she's actually mentioned

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that she had to be very cognizant of.

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Her newborn time with her

babies because she wasn't

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physically recovering from birth.

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And so she had to make sure to

not take on too much because that

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newborn required a lot from her.

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So these times and seasons are

divinely inspired and given to us.

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I like to classify these times and

seasons In three main categories.

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I already mentioned survival time.

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Right?

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That's when you're back to basics,

you're just focused on feeding

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yourself on feeding the people

you're in charge of on getting sleep.

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That's about it.

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Maybe doing a little bit of basic laundry.

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Nothing more.

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Then there is what I like

to call just ordinary times.

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life is full and it's

joyful for the most part.

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And there are challenges, but

there's nothing that too intensely

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requires our time and energy.

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And yet there's also not

a lot of free time either.

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And then finally there are those expansive

times when our obligations wane a little

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bit, maybe our kids get a little bit older

or maybe they leave home, or maybe we.

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And a career or we end a church

or a community obligation.

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All of a sudden our life

has expanded a little bit.

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We have a little bit more time

and energy for something new.

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So you might want to ask yourself

right now, What season of life am I in?

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Am I in a survival time?

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I, my, and it just one of those ordinary

times, or am I in an expansive time

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when I know I have a little bit more

time and energy for something else?

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So today, we're going to talk about how

to determine if it is the time and season

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for you to create or to scale a business.

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Let me just temper your expectations here.

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I do not have the answer for you.

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In fact, no one does.

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There is no crystal ball or.

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Fortune cookie that will tell you if

this is the right season for you too.

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Step into your business, whatever

that looks like for you, maybe as

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launching a new one, or maybe it's

a scaling one, you already have.

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Understanding our capabilities in

this way is a deeply personal thing.

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And it requires checking in

with ourselves, with our spouse,

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maybe even with our children.

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And most importantly with God.

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To be willing to hear his whisperings

and be fully cognizant and honest

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with yourself of your own limitations.

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This is very difficult for me.

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I will tell you examples of

me throughout this episode.

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Where I struggle to

acknowledge my limitations.

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I love to have a full life.

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I love to have lots of things going on.

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There are so many things

I want to do with my life.

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And so understanding limitations, whether

they be physical or emotional or mental

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can be difficult for me, maybe your

on the other side, and you don't like

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to push yourself too much, either way.

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We need to check in with God when we are

considering adding something to our plate.

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You might already know.

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I am chronically an underachiever.

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I don't like to do too much.

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I like to sit and relax mostly.

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And I like to take on

less than I think maybe I.

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Probably should.

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Or maybe you are chronic

overachiever and you.

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Very often take on too much and think that

there's always something better out there.

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And so you're always kind of

chasing a new, hire, a new

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excitement or a new project.

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Understanding.

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If you have a propensity one

way or another in this regard,

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we'll help you understand what

phase maybe you should be in,

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because if you are a chronic.

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Underachiever God might be

calling you to do something

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that you're not willing to do.

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Or if you're a chronic overachiever,

he might be calling you to take a step

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back and to sit down for a minute.

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And you're not willing to hear that.

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So acknowledge which one you lean towards

and then pay attention that God might

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be pushing you out of your comfort zone.

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Now, obviously neither of these

is innately better or worse.

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There are pros and cons to both

ask an underachiever and they'll

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probably say, oh, I hate it.

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I wish I had more motivation.

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Ask an overachiever.

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They'll say, oh, I hate it.

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I wish I knew how to relax.

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But there are pros and cons to each.

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Understanding how we operate can help

us make better decisions about what is

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right for us and help us listen to those

promptings from God, especially when

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they go against what we innately want.

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In my experience.

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Oh, God very often pushes us to start

something before we think we're ready.

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I don't know a lot of people who were

like, I was just sitting around twiddling

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my thumbs, waiting to start a business.

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And God was like, all

right, it's time now.

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Well, that kind of happened to me,

but for most people they're like,

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I don't know if I can do this.

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I don't know if I can do this.

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This is kind of scary.

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This is kind of panicky.

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Unlike me who wants to dive in

the deep end before it's the right

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time and the gods, like, come on.

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Hold on Bonnie.

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Just, just wait, just listen to me.

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A lot of people struggle to

dive in when the time is right.

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So decide which one you tend to be.

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And then listen carefully.

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Here are a few other things to

consider before deciding if you

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have both the time and the capacity

to go all in on a business.

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A few questions to ask yourself.

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Are you regularly sleeping and

eating relatively healthily.

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Now it doesn't count if you could eat

and sleep, . But you're just choosing

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not to, like, you're staying up till

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Oreos because you feel like it, that's

not what I'm talking about here.

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I'm talking about, is there some

circumstance of your life that is

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preventing you from taking care

of your body on a basic need?

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Like you have a troubled teen who

needs to talk to you too late in the

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night, or you have a new baby or.

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You have a health problem that

requires a very specific nutritional

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needs Or You don't currently have the

finances to feed yourself healthily.

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That's what I'm talking about.

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I'm talking about circumstances

outside of your control.

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Another question.

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Do you feel like you need an added

dimension to your life to best

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fulfill your talents and abilities?

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Do you feel like something

is lacking in your life?

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Your life could be very full and on the

outside it could look like everything's

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fine, but maybe somewhere in your soul

or in your heart, you're feeling like.

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I want there to be something more.

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That's kind of always how it's felt

for me before starting a business

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is I feel like something is missing.

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Are you currently able to show up for

your family, your friends, your church,

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in a way that you are satisfied with?

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Now, let me say this does

not mean you are perfect.

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You're not showing up.

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Perfectly in every avenue of your life,

but are you able to make time for friends?

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Occasionally.

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Are you able to make time for

your church obligations in a way

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that makes you feel satisfied?

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Are you able to show up for your family

in a way that largely satisfies you?

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If so, then it might be time.

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Two.

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Move forward on your business.

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Last question to ask yourself if you

suddenly needed to spend two or three

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hours a day on your business, would that

make life better for you or worse for you?

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Now it could be harder at the beginning,

but is that something you could

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adjust to or does that seem completely

impossible at this phase of life?

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I personally have always started my

businesses as a hobby for the most

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part started very small, started

just on the side, a couple hours here

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and there, and you can do the same.

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A lot of people think that starting

a business looks like immediately.

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Dedicating 30 or even 40 hours

a week to their business.

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That's not the case at all.

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You can build a business

with just a few hours a week.

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But consistency is key.

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And you will also need to have.

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The brain space for that.

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So ask yourself, would I have time

for a new hobby at this point, if I

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had to decided to take up sewing or.

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A new sport or something.

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Do I have the brain space,

the physical capacity?

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Do I have the emotional capacity?

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If things don't go as planned.

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So if things are very hard emotionally,

that might not be a great time to start a

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new project where if it fails or something

happens that you didn't expect it kind of.

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Destroys you a little bit.

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So few other questions to ask yourself.

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Here's the thing, like I mentioned before,

you might not think that you have the time

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or the brain power for anything extra.

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You might feel like you are

stretched to your capacity.

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But.

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My businesses have always

been able to give me something

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that other things have not.

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And again, I'm not, this

is a delicate balance.

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I'm not telling you to start

something that you can't.

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Properly fit into your life.

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That's going to make your

family suffer or make.

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Life way too hard on you, but could

you use something that makes you

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feel a little bit more productive

or a little bit more useful?

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Are you lacking something that might make

you feel like you're doing what God wants

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you to do or fulfilling your purpose?

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I personally.

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Need that feeling in my life and I

will delegate or skip housework any

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day of the week to feel more fulfilled

or to feel like I'm doing God's work.

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So ask yourself that.

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Could I use a little bit more of that

in exchange for maybe some things

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that don't need to be done by me?

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A few episodes ago in episode 62, I

talked about scheduling your business

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and sometimes we just have to.

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Delegate or drop some things in

our lives in order to make space

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for something more important.

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Now it's possible that you might be

looking for reasons to start a business

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and you really, really want to, or

you might be dragging your feet.

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And feeling like you're called

to it, but you are looking

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for excuses not to regardless.

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Of which one?

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That sounds more like you.

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Whatever you want to find, you will find.

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So if you're looking for excuses not

to do it, you will find those excuses.

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If you're looking for reasons to start

the business, you will find those reasons.

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So this is what I recommend.

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Let's say you've asked

these questions of yourself.

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You've taken some notes.

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You've determined whether you

tend to be a little bit too,

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over a TV or too under a TV.

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And you're thinking, okay,

maybe God is calling me to do

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something more or even step back.

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Take a few days and connect with God.

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Take a few days to pray.

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You might want to list the

pros and cons of this decision.

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You're trying to make, maybe you're trying

to start a business or go a little bit.

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More in on the business.

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You already have.

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Take some time to meditate.

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So you want to ask God and

then you want to listen, stop

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talking, go places where you.

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Typically here God's answers.

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Maybe that's in nature, maybe in the

temple, maybe just in your closet, maybe

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on a walk by yourself and then write down

thoughts or impressions that come to you.

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Sometimes I just jot these down

on my phone because it's the only

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thing I have with me at a stoplight

or walking around the block.

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If you're not hearing much and you feel

like heaven is maybe a little bit closed.

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Try reading scripture or

other inspired teachings.

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Sometimes that's how God talks

to me is I will hear my answer.

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In a scripture.

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Written by a prophet.

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So watch for this answer.

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Listen for it.

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Be open to any answer.

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This is difficult to do when I

have a specific answer that I want.

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I keep trying to find that one.

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And sometimes God is like, but wait,

I'm trying to give you a better one.

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I'm trying to give you something

better than you have right now.

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So just listen and trust.

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And then have faith to follow along.

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Sometimes we get answers that we love.

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And sometimes we get answers

that we're like, oh really?

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I don't, I don't know if I can do that.

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If you want to go full

force on your business.

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You might get an answer

that says, just wait.

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Be patient it's not quite time yet.

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I have gotten this answer so many

times and it can be heartbreaking and

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disappointing, especially if you have

felt called to something some direction.

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But I also know that God

has my best interest.

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My children's best interests.

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My husband's best interests at heart.

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And so I just trust, even if it

seems like the decision is a hard

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one or one, I don't really want.

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Or conversely, you might not want

to start this business or grow

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your business to the next level.

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You might just want to embrace whatever

family phase you're in and stay put.

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In this life that you have right now.

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And yet God's answer for, you might be

to keep going with this business idea.

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And this can be scary and

overwhelming and frustrating.

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You think I just want to be a mom.

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I love my kids.

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I just want to do mom things.

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You might wonder why you can't see

what God sees for you, why that

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vision is kind of hidden for you.

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And you're not super

excited about this plan.

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But again, just trust.

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Trust him?

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No, he is bringing you

something incredible.

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When I have been able to sit back and

acknowledge that whatever God is telling

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me, that is the best step for me.

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I have been able to number one,

enjoy the phase I'm in better.

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And number two, welcome the next

phase when it is time so much.

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More.

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And I want the same thing for you.

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Finally, I want to say that

for me, building a business

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has never been separate from my

emotional and spiritual growth.

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That might sound kind of silly.

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Like how do you grow spiritually

while building a business?

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It happens anytime.

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I asked God for help with my

business, I learn and grow in

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ways that I never have before.

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It feels to me like a.

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Path that he has created for me.

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And he has things to

teach me along this path.

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And so every time I'm able to

step into it, especially a scary

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part, especially a hard part.

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Then it has become a prominent

vehicle in my life for more growth.

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That is something I keep trying to tell

other women of faith, because so many

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of us look at a business like something

kind of cold and unfeeling, like this

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entity that's going to make us selfish

or greedy, or just chasing after the.

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Bottom line.

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And while that's possible.

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I don't think that's the

case for most faithful women.

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Most of us make our business

kind of part of our passion

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and part of our life's mission.

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And we lean into what

God is calling us to do.

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Even if that means to pause for a minute.

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And we try to discover what it is he wants

for us to learn in this moment in time.

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So what if you looked at your business,

not necessarily as a means to make money.

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And.

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To build something that you don't

quite understand yet, but as a means

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to grow and learn and draw closer to

God, would that change your mind about

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how to step into this phase of life?

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When I struggle with my business or

my clients do, there are two things

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I like to remind myself and them.

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To get me back to basics.

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The first one is don't forget the

people who are waiting for you.

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If you are a coach or a content

creator who helps other people.

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There are people out there in

pain waiting for you to help them.

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And number two,

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Don't forget what God

has in store for you.

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It could be something so phenomenal.

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And so mind-blowingly amazing that

one day, you'll just stand back in awe

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of what he has guided you to build.

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We don't want to give that up.

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Just because we're a little bit

afraid of what we don't know.

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So regardless of what you guys decide,

if this is the right season to start or

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grow your business, or if it's not quite

yet, I hope this episode was helpful

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because whatever God has in store for

your life . It's going to be incredible.

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And I'm excited to see

what you do with it.

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Thanks for listening to my

friends and we'll talk next week.