It’s a scary thing to step out; write a book, create a product, share a story, produce a course, start a podcast.

Whatever means you employ to share your worth, with it comes the opportunity for others to judge and criticise you.

Fears of what others will think or say stops way too many gifted people before they even begin.

Don’t be that person who nurtures innumerable ideas but never brings them out in the open. Be bold enough to step out even when you don’t feel ready.

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Sometimes helpful to know what to expect if we expect the wrong things or we expect something that is unlikely to happen. Oftentimes we find ourselves in a place of disillusionment or disappointment. But I just want to share a truth with you about your creative entrepreneurial journey that will almost certainly prepare you for what’s to come should you see some of the breakthroughs that you’re praying for and working towards. And it is simply this. Not everyone will celebrate your success as you anticipate they would. Yeah, sometimes people look at the success of others and envy kicks in. We find here in Genesis 26 that’s a chapter that we’ve been looking into and digging into and working with over this month. It says, the man speaking of Isaac waxed great. I love the King James Version. So those of you who kind of love the more modern translations, forgive me, I’m kind of stuck on this beautiful archaic language. I just find it so wonderfully refreshing for my spirit. In some way, the man waxed great and the Philistines envied him. Now, we won’t go into detail here. We will in later episodes as to what the Philistines did in response to their envy, how they acted upon it.

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But really, what I want to emphasise today is part and parcel of saying no to the status quo will inevitably be resistance from those who are better served by you staying small, you know, your growth, your grit and your Grace will oftentimes expose others who have settled for less than best. Now it’s convicting. Sometimes when someone steps out in faith, doing what you only dream of doing, yeah, you’ve got the dream in your heart, you’ve got the desire in your heart, but for whatever reason, fear backs you off and you never take that next step. And then you see someone else doing the very thing that you believe God has spoken to you and that you so desire to do yourself. And sometimes if we’re not careful and I say that we me, you certainly it’s kind of human nature to sometimes fall into jealousy. We fall into comparing ourselves with one another, either feeling better than others or feeling diminished and worse than others and measuring ourselves by others. Like, as Paul said to the Corinthians, he said, Measuring yourselves by yourselves, you make yourself fools because it always leads to this conflict in the heart.

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And the Philistines envied seeing Isaac succeed, it was much easier for them to see him labouring in the field, cracking open the hard ground. They could look and they could laugh at that point. But when they saw his harvest, then they felt very differently. And it is, as I say, convicting sometimes when someone steps out in faith and sees the kind of results that you believe belong to you, their faith, in a sense, highlights your fear and can often lead to a defensive reaction. I think as entrepreneurs, we’ve got to be really careful of this, and I’ve certainly seen it in my heart at times when I’ve looked at how others are succeeding, and I felt that Pang of envy, I felt that desire to hit out in some way, even if it’s just in my own thoughts and attitudes toward them. And we need to really be careful of that. Your courage, friend, will inspire some, but it will incite others. It’s often a scary thing to step out to write a book, create a product, share a story, produce a course, start a podcast, whatever means and avenues you are using to kind of package your value and bring it to the world.

00:04:53.570]
It’s scary on a number of levels, but certainly one of the greatest fears I think people have, and something that backs them off at times, is that we are afraid of giving others the opportunity to judge and criticise us. Fears of what others will think of, say stops way too many gifted Christians before they even begin. Don’t be that person who nurtures innumerable ideas and dreams that never brings them out into the open. Be bold enough to step out even when you don’t feel ready. And as a spoiler alert here, you will never feel ready. Readiness really is cultivated in the oven of discomfort. When we are stepping up and stepping out, it’s often into a realm where we don’t feel entirely comfortable. And the more comfortable we come with that uncomfortable place, certainly the easier things become, because perfection can be something that we embrace. And I speak about this in my book, Faithful Creative. There’s a whole chapter given over to this idea of glorious imperfection, and you can pick that book up if you want to at faithfulcreativebook.com use the Promo Code podcast, and it’s going to give you 50% off the price of that.

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So if you’ve not already got it, there you go. There’s my gift to you, Faithfulcreativebook.com. But I speak about the embracing imperfection and the need to do so. As a creative, I really think in the realm of creativity, perfectionism and procrastination are the killer twins that slay so many ideas before they even see the light of day or take their first steps. And as I say, embracing imperfection, being willing to step forward without guarantees is a skill that is certainly worth learning. And honestly, imperfection is delightfully addictive once you get used to it. Being willing to put your worth on the table, even sometimes if it seems no one is. Listening, reading or watching is often part of the boot camp of really becoming and who you are and finding and discovering your voice practise in public. And as you do, you’ll get better with every step. Don’t bow down to the critics, say nay to the naysayers, and don’t back off. There’s no need. You don’t need to bow to that pressure. Sometimes it will take shooting a lot of shots at the target before you hit the Ball’s eye, but if you keep firing long enough your aim and your ear for God’s leading will improve with every shot.

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So keep believing. I love the words that we read of in the Gospels where Jesus basically says like people is haemorrhaging followers. His followers are like, wow, this is getting way too out there. This is no longer socially acceptable to me. And Jesus turns to his close disciples and he says, look, do you want to leave two fellas? If you’re going to go, now’s the time. And Peter turns to him even though some of them may have felt like, well, I would love to, Lord but thank God there was a butt there and he says, Lord to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life John 668. The Holy ghost is speaking words of eternal life today and my question to you is what is he saying to you? What’s he saying about your business, your Ministry, your marriage? Whatever realm of life you are challenged in whatever realms of life you’re looking to grow in and expand in and step out in. What is the Holy ghost saying? He’s going to prove himself faithful whatever your circumstances. Look right now I urge you encourage you to believe him and lean your ear toward him.

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Lean into his faithfulness and you know this journey however imperfect we may be and however many times we may stumble is a glorious one even amidst the challenges.

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Thanks for listening to today’s episode. Hopefully it was a blessing to you. If it was do please consider leaving a rating in a review on whatever platform you are listening on. I also would love to encourage you to cheque out my new book, Faithful creative. We’ve got a package of resources designed specifically to encourage you in your Christian creative call. You can cheque that out at faithfulcreativebook.com and if you choose to pick it up, use the promo code podcast for 50% off so you’ll get it for half price. Have a great rest of your day and God bless less Jesus first. Everything else follows.