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I have learned something over the past 15 years as I have pursued business and wealth generation through my writing and creativity. Less leads to more.

What do I mean by that?

What I am referring to is the power of focus.

Ever Learning But Never Doing

There is a telling statement in the Bible that so sums up what I am talking about. Obviously, the original context refers to the development of someone’s spiritual life, but the principle is epidemic in all spheres of life. I see it especially in the make money online world.

Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:7, speaks about those who are “ever learning, but never come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy. 3:7

In the context of making money online with your content, creativity, and writing, this principle is personified in the man or woman who runs from one offer to the next, one trend to the next, consumes product after product, but never actually does anything with the information they accrue.

Over the years I have certainly been guilty of this. And, I suspect to one degree or another, so have you.

Stop Chasing and Start Thinking

My biggest breakthroughs came when I finally stopped chasing and began really considering carefully not just what I was doing, but why. Did it honestly align with the future I desired, and the values I hold?

I’m going to throw another Scripture at you if that’s ok. There’s so much wisdom to be had from the manual for life.

Again, Paul is speaking, and he says, “look well to your own personality”.

Look well to yourself [to your own personality]” 1Timothy. 4:16a AMPLIFIED

Wow. What a key!

Who? Then, Do!

You need to find the pathway that fits who you are. That way, what you do will follow naturally.

For me, it was writing and author-preneurship.

• I have done my boot camp in SEO. I was first page of google for the search term ‘Jesus Christ’ back in the day. But SEO is not my playground.
• I have made thousands of dollars in affiliate commissions. But I know that affiliate marketing is not my primary bag.
• I have had several bestselling information products. One made over $50000 in just 7 days. I love to teach and train others and teach, but my joy is actually doing what I teach.
• Video marketing? Yes?
• Memberships sites? Check.

Been there, seen it, got the t-shirt (and a gazillion shiny training products I purchased along the way).

Why do I say this? So you know I have not just chanced upon the revelation I am about to share, I have done my hard yards learning the Internet Marketing ropes. I have tried and tested lots of pathways, and success does not necessarily lead to satisfaction. Ok, I admit, it is more satisfying than failure, but I am addressing a deeper issue here.

Narrow Your Focus

Truth be told, you can make money in so many ways. But you will only truly make it when you narrow your focus.

Despite my relative success in these other things, one thread ran throughout them all. I was always writing and publishing.

Live by Design Not By Default

Finally, feeling burned out and directionless, I took the time to stop doing, quit hustling, and consider myself. I deeply took a look at what and why I was doing what I was doing and thought how I might live by design, not by default.

I asked myself what I REALLY wanted to do. Not just what I want to do now; what do I want to be doing five years from now? Ten years from now?

Answer these questions honestly and you can then be intentional in the decisions you make today to chart your course in that direction.

For me, it was to be a writer. To make a handsome living with my own books and written content.

Today I run a six-figure Christian publishing company.

All because I narrowed my focus and set my sails unswervingly in that direction.

Everything I now do is designed to sculpt the future I envisaged when I stopped chasing my tail in ten different directions (with moderate results) and chose instead to focus on just one and make it my passion-driven focus.

I want the same for you.

Stop running after every opportunity. Choose something that aligns well with your own personality and gifts, and stick at it until you crack it.

All of the energy and attention that was scattered thinly across the board, now concentrated into one burning pinpoint purposeful pursuit.

In less, you will discover more!

Being present in the present is sometimes a challenge. The propensity to exist in the past, either glorying in what was or lamenting what could have been, or getting lost in the future, always pining for what might be, keeps so many of us locked out of the wonder of now.

How do we root into the present and experience the moment? I’m certain there are a multitude of techniques to centre oneself and enjoy this instant unencumbered with what went before or what might become, but the one I want to focus on is the simplest of all. Gratitude.

A Tankful of Thankful

Having tankful of thankful is one of the greatest ways to bring your soul home and be reminded who and whose you are!

With regard to thankfulness I’m the chief of sinners. My unthankful moments, forgetting the mountainous weight of proof declaring God’s goodness so easily, are more than I would like to number or confess.

At times these transgressions of attitude are sins of omission. I just fail to be thankful for the grace I enjoy, or perhaps even worse ascribe the blessings of life to accident, happenchance, or the fruits of my own strength and genius.

Other time they are sins of commission. Overt gripes and the swirling pool of self-pity suck me in. “Why me?” is so much easier to ask when the eye is on what I haven’t, than what I have! I embarrass myself with just how absorbed I can become with my tiny plot of life, and forget that there is a screaming, breaking, yearning world wrestling for breath right outside my door.

A Million (And More) Reasons…

Breath.

Sky.

Rain.

Water.

Sunlight.

Trees.

Food.

Friends.

Children.

Health.

Arms, legs, fingers, and feet.

Intelligence.

Possibilities yet to be realised.

Connections.

Desire.

Passion.

Protection.

A safe place to stay, and energy for another day.

Sunrise at the break, sunset at the end, and the hours in between.

Bird song to begin the day.

Dishes to wash up proving food that was eaten.

Clothes to wash because of bodies well clothed.

Tasks to be done because opportunities abound.

Joy in the small things.

Some money in the bank, enough for my needs.

Hope and expectation for the future.

A light that works, and books to read. Electricity

Words to share, and faith in God.

A voice, however small, but big enough to encourage another.

Love to bring, sometimes even a song to sing.

Dancing in the kitchen.

Holding my loved ones.

And forgiveness.

Forgiveness for all of the times I forget all of the above and a million more grace-given blessings.

Right now, this second, in the moment, with no future I’m vainly reaching for, or past that is not wiped clean by your mercy, I thank Jesus for all that I am and all I have.

All I will become can take care of itself for now. The seeds of tomorrow are sown today, and that’s where I choose to live with my tankful of thankful and sow from a heart of gratitude!

God is interested in your creative projects.

The Spirit makes all the difference between a blank sheet and a finished masterpiece. He was able to take the swirling darkness and transform it into the vast universe we now inhabit. He teased the gentle petal of the rose into existence and plowed the earth into mighty mountains, rolling hills, and swarming oceans.

And this same magnificent Creator lives inside you waiting to be called upon, and invited as partner in your creative projects.

Whatever you are up to in the world as a Christian, you need the Holy Ghost. Even Jesus made it clear that without the Spirit He was powerless to act.

All too often the Holy Spirit is denied or ignored in much that we do. Consigned to the religious activities that happen in a predetermined slot of time sometime on Sunday, He languishes in the heart of a believer waiting to be invited into their every day.

Remember this. God is not religious. He is not a Sunday Savior. He fills and inhabits eternity, and time is enveloped in His present and His presence. Every moment past, every second future, is all the same to Him. The way He described Himself is packed with this timeless revelation.

“What’s your name?” Moses asked.

“I AM”, God relied.

The writer of the Hebrews defines faith as living and active in those who believe “God IS” (Hebrews 11:6).

He has something to bring to the table in all of your creative projects, whatever they may be. The challenge is stopping long enough from our frantic activity long enough to hear Him.

Here are three ways in which I have intentionally brought the Holy Spirit into my own creative projects. Hopefully, they might inspire you to do the same.

1. Tapping the Flow

In the book of Proverbs 20 verse 5 states:

Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.

The word counsel there means “plan, advice or advise, counsel or purpose.”

For every project you are involved in there is a plan. The Holy Spirit wants to advise and direct you to success and fulfillment. Stopping to draw His counsel from the depths of the heart to the conscious mind is wisdom, and can save you years of heartache and discouragement.

You can of course just ask Him outright, “What do I do next?” I will speak about this simple transaction in the next point. Problem is, we sometimes have so many other things running around our brain, so many variables or unanswered questions, that we can not easily tune our ear to discern His direction amongst the noise.

That’s when drawing counsel becomes essential.

In these instances I lean on the gift of praying in tongues. Equally, you could use worship as a way to shift from the natural to the spiritual. The aim is to move from the limitations of our fleshly thinking and begin to grasp the mind of Christ.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16

Set aside a minimum of 20 minutes and begin to pray in tongues or sing and worship the Lord. Before you do so, let the Holy Spirit know you are specifically seeking creative direction for the particular project you have in mind. This intentionality is important for yourself especially, so your mind does not jump around here, there, and everywhere. Letting your mind know you have a clear focus is like turning the tuner on the radio to the right station. Much of the difficulty people experience with a wandering mind or boredom in prayer comes down to this simple mistake – not letting your mind know what to look out for.

As you pray and worship focus your mind on receiving. Expect to hear or receive impressions from His indwelling. It could be a picture, word, or just a sense of what to do. Sometimes the impressions are subtle, but as you continually practice tapping the flow you will become increasingly sensitive to such things.

Like the flow of water from a pump, your decision to seek counsel and engage your spirit in the process, primes the pump and begins to draw water – thoughts, ideas, plans and purpose. It may take some effort and time, but keep driving the water from the depths until it spills into your consciousness.

Don’t stop too soon. Once the flow begins, even if just a trickle, stay focussed and pray in tongues or worship freely and spontaneously, making sure you record any communications you receive.

This works for any project you are involved in. Whether ministry, business, art, family – the Holy Spirit is right there with creative solutions.

2. Ask

It may seem obvious, but how often is prayer our final resignation rather than our first port of call? We create something or embark upon a project, and then when our masterpiece of human endeavour is complete we ask for Papa’s blessing on it.

How much better to bring Him in at the outset.

Jesus said clearly (several times in fact, just to make the point that we need to be reminded often!) we can simply come and ask the Father anything, and He will be waiting to release His power to aid us in our activities.

I won’t list the instances here, but to be sure, you cannot get more direct than this…

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22

Ask Him.

I remember in my business, I wanted to hire a virtual assistant. It is something I had never done before and I was nervous about the whole idea. I had gone through the process of sourcing some potential candidates and was left with two. One actually looked perfect. The other I was not so sure about, but had a sense on the inside that I needed to hear Heaven’s thoughts before I made a decision.

I simply asked.

When I do this I tend to write the question down, then turn my ear to the Spirit and just write His answer. I don’t second guess or self edit what I hear. I just write from from my heart without judgment.

He spoke very clearly and told me about the second candidate. He explained that she would take some time to train but would remain faithful and be an asset to my business for years to come. He encouraged patience and left me with the promise of a thorough and diligent helper whom I could trust.

Needless to say, I hired within hours and have never regretted the decision. Because I heard His counsel on the subject it helped me know all was well, even if things were moving slower than expected.

You can also imagine my assistant’s surprise when one day I told her the story of how Papa had sung her praises, and encouraged me to hire her. It is certainly affirming to know that God is speaking to your boss before he even hires you!

I think she was encouraged.

3. Be Open To Spontaneity

God is speaking all the time, if only we tune in to hear Him. He speaks through the most unlikely channels. One of the most profound life messages He ever dropped in my spirit come whilst watching an absurd movie called, ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’, back in the day when Keanu Reeves was a geeky teen and not some cool Matrix dude. I won’t tell you what Daddy showed me. Watch the film, He may have a message hidden there for you too?

As you go about your daily business, have your eyes and ears open for ideas. Don’t limit the Holy Spirit to just your prayer times or church services. He is everywhere, all the time, and knows all things. Don’t you think He might have some gems to drop into your mind as you conduct your everyday? Of course, He does.

It is also important to understand that some requests (remember we sought counsel, and asked?) take time to cook in the oven before they are ready for consumption.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get your answers or direction straight away. The Holy Ghost may just need to work a few adjustments in your heart, perspective, and perceptions before you are ready to really hear what He has to say.

And then, almost out of the blue, the solution to the problem you have been seeking help for can just bubble up, seemingly out of nowhere.

Be ready to capture it when it does.

Even if your life is fast on the outside, have a corresponding slow lane on the inside where your ear is tuned and leaning in to hear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

God will not be boxed. Be ready for Him to communicate whenever, wherever, and however He wants to.

Leave a comment below how you hear Him speak, or how He has influenced and spoken into your creativity. I for one would love to hear and learn from your experiences, and I am certain other readers would too…