049 | How Christian Entrepreneurs Can Overcome Decision Paralysis in Their Business

Are you a Christian entrepreneur feeling paralyzed by indecision, held back by fear and uncertainty? 

In this episode, I guide Christian entrepreneurs through overcoming decision paralysis, strengthening their business mindset, and building the confidence to take bold, faith-led action in their faith based business.

This episode delves into:

• Understanding decision paralysis and its impact on entrepreneurial journeys
• Navigating fear and uncertainty: My personal journey
• Strategies to overcome decision paralysis and embrace bold choices
• Leveraging faith for guidance and confidence

Join us as we conquer paralysis through faith, confidence, and conviction!

Transcript

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Hey, hey, hey, welcome back to the faithfully confident podcast. I am so excited to have you here. This is the space where faith, confidence, marketing and sales converge, equipping you with the tools you need to thrive in your entrepreneurial journey. And in today's episode, we are diving deep into a topic that affects every entrepreneur. Overcoming decision paralysis, and we're going to be approaching it through a faith based approach. Decision making is the core of every business endeavor. We all have to make decisions, yet as entrepreneurs, we find ourselves paralyzed by that fear, unable to move forward and make those decisions, even if we know on a soul level that they're going to grow our business. But here's the thing, having faith has, faith has the power to transform our approach to making those decisions and it teaches us that when we trust in the higher power and believe that even in uncertainty, there is a God that is guiding us and leading us Um, and so we're going to be talking a little bit about the role that faith has in making those decisions through those through the processes that has us paralyzed and to explore this topic further, we're going to be diving into the role that faith has with making those decisions, drawing some inspiration with some biblical wisdom, sharing, of course, some practical strategies to help you break through that paralysis, so whether you're facing a major business decision, or you're simply seeking to just infuse your Entrepreneurial journey with more faith then I I feel that this episode is definitely for you But before we dive in I just want you to remember to hit that subscribe button share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur You feel that could use a dose of faith filled inspiration All right before we get started Let's pray you guys. Heavenly Father, as we gather once again on the podcast, we come before you with hearts full of gratitude for the opportunity to explore faith, confidence, marketing, and sales. In this moment, we lift up each listener knowing that they are here seeking guidance and inspiration for their entrepreneurial journey. Today, as we dive into the topic of decision paralysis within business, We acknowledge the challenges that many entrepreneurs face when it comes to making decisions. Lord, we recognize that decision making is at the core of every business endeavor, and fear often paralyzes us. Preventing us from moving forward, but we take comfort in the knowledge that faith has the power to transform our approach to decision making. It teaches us to trust in you, Lord, and to believe that even in uncertainty, there's, there you are guiding us. Help each listener to lean on you, Lord, and to seek your wisdom as they navigate the decisions they face within their business. Lord, we draw inspiration from the biblical wisdom and examples of Samples of faith filled leaders who have gone before us Lord grant each listener the courage to step out in faith Knowing that you are with them every step of the way May they embrace trust and confidence in your plan Even when it sounds seems counterintuitive or difficult to understand as we explore this topic further May each listener be reminded of your promise in Proverbs 3 5 to 6 Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understandings. In all your ways, submit to Him and He will make your path straight. Lord, help them to surrender their fears and doubts to you, Lord, and to walk in faith knowing that you are leading them. We thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to grow in faith and confidence through this discussion. May this episode serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to each listener, empowering them to break free from decision paralysis and embrace trust in your plan for their business. In the name of Jesus, our ultimate example of faith and courage, we pray. Amen. Hey, hey, hey you guys! Alright, so it's been a while since I've recorded a podcast. It's been a little bit of a hot mess over here in our household. We've been sick for quite a while and just lots of things going on, so um, I am recording an episode now for you. I'm still feeling a little bit under the weather, but I am so excited to get this out to you guys. God places on my heart in multiple ways and I've had people reach out to me with this issue specifically and not just one person but a few people. So I really felt called to do an episode on this and just be able to share my wisdom and my I'm going to share some personal stories from my life that have really, really shown that paralysis and how pushing past it was the best decision that I ever made. So, um, I am really excited for this episode because one of the big stories I want to share with you guys today is Leading me into my entrepreneur journey full time and that was when I quit my nine to five job With zero clients guys. I had no clients like no clients. No income I had a stable income a stable nine to five corporate job and I just up and quit I up and quit and I know you guys are eager to hear this story for those of you that haven't heard it yet So I might as well just share it right away. Just get right into the nitty gritty with this episode after a sip of coffee I love my coffee. Anyways, so with my Quitting my nine to five. You guys are gonna get a kick out of this. If you have not heard this story, you are gonna love it. I hated my job. I felt miserable, but it was stable, right? Like, I had that expectation of this is what I do every day, this is the income that I make every day, and this is I knew what was going to happen. I didn't have to anticipate the unknown. I knew what was going to happen every single day and I had that stability. But I was miserable and God kept telling me to quit. He's like, quit your job, quit your job, quit your job. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, so scary. Like I have no clients. I have no business plan. I have nothing. And he's like, Trust me. I have you. I will catch your fall. You will be okay. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. That's so scary, God. Like, please don't make me do it. Right? Like, I'm sure you've been through that, that mentality with many decisions in your business and in your life. But you just you were so scared to take that step and maybe you did take that step and you're like wow I'm, so grateful that I did that i'm so grateful. It was the best decision ever or maybe it wasn't who knows but With my experience personally like god was hammering on me to quit and I remember it like I'm literally watching a film in front of me. I'm, I'm sitting, here I am sitting in a parking lot, getting groceries with my husband. I'm sitting in the vehicle, and he just turns and looks at me, he's like, Do you like your job? And I'm like, No, I absolutely hate it. He's like, Do you want to quit? I'm like, No. I do, but I can't. And he's like, well, do you, do you have any clients in your business? I'm like, no, I don't have any. He's like, do you have any in the pipeline? I'm like, I might, I'm not really sure. Like they haven't given me confirmed yeses yet, but I am talking to people. And he's like, well, do you believe in yourself? Do you think you can make, make this business successful? And I'm like, absolutely. And especially if I have all this time to myself, I know I can make it happen. So that's what kind of led into the conversation, right? And we've had this a few times, but it never actually happened. So, we go, like, we have this conversation in the grocery store parking lot, like, of all of the transformational stories that I could share, it's in a grocery store parking lot. Anyway, so fast forward to, we get home, we put the groceries away, yadda yadda yadda, you don't need all the boring parts in between, and we're, we're sitting in the living room, and he's like, so, are you going to quit your job, and I'm like, I think I'm going to, and he's like, okay, go quit, and I'm like, It's eight o'clock at night. He's like. It doesn't matter, go quit your job. How do you, do you know what you have to do? And I'm like, no, because I've never had to quit this job before. Like, how do I quit a job? Like, all the other jobs I had before this were like, fast food joints, or retail, or stuff that, you know, you could basically, on a limb, just up and walk out and quit. I mean, I wouldn't recommend it. It kind of screws the business owners, but, I mean, like, you don't have that expectation to give your, Your two weeks notice, right? Like I wasn't in a professional job. I was always just job jumping here and there, like working in a hotel, working in a restaurant and kind of finding where I felt good and I enjoyed. But anyways, we're getting off track. But yeah, so he's like, quit your job. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna do this. So I went upstairs and I phoned my boss at 8 o'clock at night. Like, 8 o'clock at night, you guys. I phoned my boss and I was like, Okay, so, um, I'm sorry to do this to you, but, um, I'm quitting Effective immediately. And her response to that, oh my gosh, you guys, was, I am so grateful that you're doing this. Like, I, it was just. It was coming. Like, she has been anticipating me quitting for so long because she knew I just lost that spark with my job and I wasn't happy anymore. And she was just waiting for it. Like, she wasn't hurt or anything. Like, she just accepted it. And she's like, okay, so can you go write, uh, go write an email and hand in your notice this way? And I'm like, absolutely. So I handed in my notice and I, I was, I walked down the stairs after I got off this call. I was shaking like my, I could See my hand just vibrating like I was filled with so much fear and just almost not quite regret, but you know that feeling when you're like, oh my gosh, I just did it. What did I do? What do I do? What do I, what did I do? What just happened? And you're just shaking your head like and you're just Like you're just stuck in that moment. I had that so badly. And then fast forward down the road, like down the road, it was like, I guess not down the road, like it was basically the weekend after that. We were going on a camping trip and that was another, another reason that he wanted me to quit and then wanted to quit, is we wanted to go on a road trip. So I basically quit my job to go camping. It's essentially what happened and I was driving down this road and as I was, we were driving down this road, I was just trying to hold back my fear and my, all those negative emotions that were starting to spiral through me cause I'm like, Oh my gosh, I, I can't believe I just did that. I can't believe I just did that. And can I do this? Can I do this? And all of that negativity started spiraling through my head. All that self doubt and all those. You know, what if this doesn't work? What if this happens? What if those clients say no? What if, what if, what if? Oh, what if? What if is such a horrible phrase, you guys. So horrible. It can be spun positively, like, oh, what if this works for me? What if those clients do say yes? Like it, but I wasn't using it in the way that you should be using it. I was using it in a negative way that was impacting my emotions and that What was supposed to be a beautiful experience. So I'm trying to hold all these emotions back because my husband believed in me and he's, he trusted me to quit my job and I meanwhile having that self doubt in myself going, Oh my gosh, I shouldn't have quit my job. I shouldn't have quit my job. I shouldn't have quit my job. But I did. And there's nothing I could do. I couldn't go back. So the only thing that I could do was look forward to what were the possibilities, what could happen, be grounded in those good things, shift my perspective of this is going to work. The only thing that is going to happen is I'm going to be successful going forward because failure is not an option. I can fail forward, but failure altogether is not an option. So I had that paralysis set in where I'm like, Hey, I can do this. No, I can't. No, I can't. And I just, it was so hard to get out of it. But as we were driving, I was praying to God and I highly recommend you guys find this within your own journey. But my, I have this sign from God and he always. He speaks to me through, like, confirmations of either triple digit numbers or he speaks to me through Like seeing an eagle and I mean eagles are hard to spot you guys. They're they're very rare They're very rare. And I mean there's companies like American Eagle and stuff like that Like words are still the same thing, but just to out of the whim say hey, I want an eagle So I was like, okay Lord if I I really need that confirmation right now that I made the right decision I need this confirmation And I was so scared of not getting it, but I trusted in him. I'm like, I need this confirmation. Please, Lord, show me an eagle. So I, within less than 10 seconds, I seen a sign that was like, Eagle Bay Cove or something. Like, we were, like, Driving past some campsites and one of them had the word eagle in it. I'm like, oh my gosh. There's my confirmation I'm like, okay, that could have been a convi that like that was a coincidence. There's no way like that And I doubted I had that doubt kicking in again you guys I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no Lord Like I I'm sorry. I'm gonna be that person. I need another sign Please please give me another sign so he gave me another sign and there was like a field of eagles and I'm like Or no, not sorry, a field of eagles. I thought I seen an eagle in the sky, but I wasn't sure because I'm not, I'm a bird watcher, but I mean, I'm not that great at bird watching, let's be honest. So I was like, I think that was an eagle, but I'm not really sure. So God, can you, uh, Can you maybe get my husband to point out the eagles? That would be great, like, because you know, I'm not greedy enough with my requests. I would like another request, please. Like, I really need that confirmation from you right now. So, he ended up, within like a few seconds later, he's like, Oh honey, wow, look over there, there's a field of eagles. And if you know eagles, they don't, they don't really gather in packs, like, there's, They're solitary animals, so to see them, not only my husband point them out, but to be all together and like a whole bunch of them, it was like God punching me in the face going, okay, do you believe now? Anyway, so that's kind of my little, my story that I wanted to share with you guys. Obviously, it was a lot longer than I wanted, but I love storytelling. I love to share my story with you guys. So going into. That decision making within your business. Paralysis can kick in and that fear can kick in and it's It can hinder your progress, it can hinder your progress, it, when it sets in, you might have that fear of did I make the wrong decision and it starts to become really overwhelming and it compiles within you, like you start coming up with all of the building blocks as to You know, why, maybe you're a very analytical person and you start looking at it and going, okay, it could, this could happen, that could happen, this could happen, but then this could happen, but then if I end up making this decision, then that might happen, then this might happen, and you start creating this story. That hasn't even happened yet. You are essentially building your story before it's even set into place. You haven't even taken the steps for that to happen, and you're already starting to put that out into the world as, hey, I would like this to happen. It's like, when you think about it, when you, I mean, the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is, like, pregnancy. If you think you're pregnant, and suddenly you start seeing, like, Prego marinara sauce. I mean, this happened to me years and years and years ago when I got pregnant, but for some reason, this is the only example I can think of off the top of my head. So rather than trying to think of something else, we'll just go with it. We're rolling with the punches here. Uh, but yeah, you start seeing that things everywhere. You start seeing pregnant women. You start seeing the word prego. You start seeing, like, fruits and veggies that look like a pregnant belly. You start seeing babies, like all the things. You start seeing, You know, maybe a misplaced pregnancy test somewhere you see positive and negative symbols, like your mind is going to see and perceive what it is that you want it to. So when you start creating all these stories for yourself, I just thought of another one, like when you buy a vehicle and you're like, Oh, I, I've never seen this vehicle before, like nobody has it. And then you buy the vehicle and then it's everywhere. Have you had that happen to you? Yeah. I have! Um, but anyways, back to decision paralysis. So, when that fear kicks in, it's really important to take that step back and really understand and comprehend fully that this is just a fear. It's not a truth. It's just a feeling. It's just a thought. It's just an emotion. It's not actually a truth. It has not happened yet. It may happen, it may not happen, but the important thing is that as Proverbs 3, says, Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own. understandings. Let me repeat that in your own understandings, in all of your ways, submit to him and he will make your path straight. So we want to be able to, as we are going through those uncertainties within our business, within our life, we are trusting in ourself to make the right decision. We are surrendering To, to God to lead our steps and even when that path and the steps may feel or seem uncertain, just trust that you are taking that big step forward and it's always going to be a step forward. When you take that step forward, you're not taking a step back. You're taking a step forward and it's either gonna be a learning experience for you, or you're gonna grow from it positively. Either way, it's going to be, going to be influential for you in a way that You're gonna either, like I said, you might make the wrong decision and you might learn from it. You might fail from it and learn and grow forward, but failure isn't a bad thing. Failure teaches you. It teaches you how you can make different decisions going forward. So don't be afraid of making the wrong decision and failing. Rather, just make that decision as you feel it on your heart and just jump. Just jump and make that decision so that you know, hey, I have done this before and this is how it happened and I know I could do it again because I've made that decision before and I, I came out ahead. But at this point, I feel like I'm starting to babble. I feel like I spent most of my energy just telling you a story. Which is okay because I, there's always inspiration from my story. I've been through so much and I'd love to share my journey with you guys. But anyways, so, like, reflect on those. past decisions that you've made and how having confidence in yourself, having that unwavering faith in God, has had that influence on them. Like when you made that decision, what made you say yes? What was it that made you say that yes? Was it Was it trust? Was it a desire? Was it fear? Like, what, what made that decision? When I make my decisions now, I make them based off of my desires. I want this more than anything in the world, and I may not have that strong, like, I didn't want to record this episode this morning. Like, I'm still sick. I would much rather be sitting in bed having coffee. Oh, coffee. Hey, another sip. My coffee's getting cold. Sad face. But I, sometimes we have to give ourselves that push to move forward with confidence. We have to embrace that each decision is an opportunity to grow. We have to trust that God is leading our steps, even when those paths, the path ahead seems uncertain, even if we don't know what's going to happen from saying yes. Just trust that something beautiful is on the other side, even if it's a learning experience to get you even further towards that beautiful path. Step out in faith and know that God is with you every step of the way. So, anyways, thank you for joining me today on this podcast episode. And I just, I want you to remember that with faith as your guide, you absolutely can overcome that decision paralysis. And you can be. boldly pursue those dreams that you have on your heart. Just stay rooted in faith. And I pray that God blesses your journey and in your business and in your life.