What does faith, patience and action have to do with business?

About two years ago, I was riding with a plumber when we received our next call from dispatch.  He hung his head down looking at the floor of the truck and said, “Man, this is going to be a bad call.”  Not only did he believe it was going to be a bad call but he spoke it out loud.  Faith is a double-edged sword that will work for you or against you.  We usually get what we expect in life, especially if we speak our expectations.

Faith

Faith is trust, hope, and belief in something or somebody. It can refer to beliefs that are not based on proof. It’s perception of what you cannot verify with your five senses. It can also be evidence of things not seen. The plumber in the above example had faith and evidence that the call was going to go poorly. He had no proof but he doubted that it would go well. It’s easier to speak doubts and embrace negativity. Start doubting your doubts and proclaim things the way you want them.

Let me explain. I made this plumber pull over and we had a conversation about how he wanted the call to go. I started questioning his doubts and asked if he could see it the way he wanted it go. Then, we spoke together about how it would go. We agreed that the call would go well. We said out loud that the customer would like us, that we would build good rapport, and that we would find pain and money and come away with a satisfied client.

So we removed a toilet and snaked the drain and left with a very nice ticket.  We changed our thinking and speaking. Your expectations and words will take you over or under in life. Call things that are not as though they already are.

If you want to change your situation, you first have to see and speak it that way. Napoleon Hill tells a story about how he looked into a mirror every morning and affirmed some things to himself that were not reality. He felt like a fraud. But he persisted, faith came, and then his reality changed.  Faith comes by hearing. If you speak your doubts out loud, the faith in your doubts will come.

If you want your situation to change, you need to stop describing it. Don’t deny reality; but if it’s dark, say to yourself “light is coming in the morning.” It’s always darkest before sunrise and when you’re in the dark, fear increases.

Exercise your faith by speaking like Napoleon Hill did. If it’s hard being you, start saying “it’s easy being me.” If your words don’t match your will for your life, don’t speak them. Wisdom says be quick to listen a slow to speak.  Pay attention to the thoughts in your mind and be carful what you agree with. Be extremely carful what you allow other people to get you to accept because once you accept it and speak it, the law of faith is put into motion.

Quantum physics tells us that when you break the universe down to the smallest particle, nothing exists and everything is a probability. They have also learned that particles manifest in time and space only because they observe them and think they will find them. Without an observer, the unseen is never seen. Faith gives things substance. Your faith rearranges pixels. How do you want the pixels of your life arranged? Speak your desired outcome and believe that it will come to pass.

Patience 

Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances. It can be perseverance in the face of delay or being provoked with out demonstrating anger, annoyance, or negative behavior, especially when faced with long-term difficulty. It’s the level of endurance you can show before negativity.  Can you be steadfast in your faith as you wait on your circumstances to change?

We must know what to do between the spaces as we wait on the manifestation of our dreams. Wisdom says that patience can persuade kings (prospects, customers, clients) and the gentleness breaks bones. How can patience persuade and gentleness break things? I don’t know but let me give you an example.

Jeff was angry with me because I wouldn’t give him a discount and  stood firm on my pricing. He was so angry he changed his mind and cancelled the order. I saw $8,000 go right out of my hands in a flash. I didn’t get angry but was patient and gentle with my behavior. I listened with humility as he ranted and allowed him to be who he was. When the situation deescalated I gently asked for permission to share my beliefs. He listened and gave me the money. Patience and gentleness saved the deal. He was persuaded by patience and gentleness; it broke through his resistance.

There is a saying that great sea captains are made in rough seas. Life’s difficult circumstances make us who we are. We are to patiently endure through hard circumstances because those hard circumstances produce character and then that character produces our hope. It is possible to overflow with hope even in the middle of really difficult circumstances. Jim Rohn teaches us that becoming a wealthy person is not about money but the person you become along the hard road. It’s the character that the process produces that is valuable, not the money.

Action

Faith and patience without action is hope built on sandcastles. We have to plant the corn, till the soil, weed the garden, and more. Every morning, we have to make a decision to get out of the bed. Know what you want and get busy going there. Take action and measure results. There is no failure only feedback.

Faith without patience is the person who never finishes anything but starts out strong. We have to be like a tree planted by a stream. This tree roots down under the stream into the water and when the heat comes its leaves stay green. How do you respond to the heat (life difficulties)? Do you persevere and build your character or do you give up?

I would never have learned Russian without faith and patience. I was the worst person in class, but I kept going and learned it. When I speak to a Russian they are surprised to find out I am American. And I didn’t just believe. I worked three hours a day, five days a week for two years before I could see much progress. Then, in year three, I progressed very fast. The first two years took patience as the hard work produced nothing significant toward being fluent in the language. I have to admit that I almost quit, but I am so glad I endured.

Patience without faith is a picture of a person who is helpless to ever change their life. They don’t see themselves as having the power to progress beyond their poor circumstance.

Look around yourself. Your life is not your mother’s fault, your father’s fault, or anybody else’s fault. Your circumstances are a culmination of every choice you have made up until today. To get a different life you must make different choices — choices in how you think, what you choose to believe, and how you choose to respond. Life (business, marriage, family, children) can be difficult, but all you can control is your response.  You can respond in faith or fear.  Make every effort to respond to circumstances in your life based of faith just like the plumber and I in the story.