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The Estherpreneur is a weekly chat about doing business and life God’s way. Join your host, Edna Harding as she offers biblical strategies and practical applications to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as she talks with guests on how to thrive in all areas of life. Edna is a Wife, Mother, Growth Strategist, Author, Minister, Certified Maxwell Business Consultant and Executive Coach, an accredited Master Mindset Coach, and Speaker whose message of hope, truth, and wisdom reaches people all around the world. FavorandWealth.com Estherpreneur.com
Edna Harding [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Estrepreneur, a podcast for entrepreneurs and leaders doing business and life God's way. Each week, we discuss biblical and to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as I speak with special guests on how to thrive in all aspects of life. Hi, I'm Edna. Like many of you, I wear many hats. I'm a military wife, mother, author, certified John Maxwell business and executive coach, trainer, and founder of Favor and Wealth where we help the good guys win. So tune in as we bring on the light. Well, hello everyone.
Edna Harding [00:00:47]:
Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Estapreneur podcast. My name is Edna Harding. I'm your host, and I'm beyond grateful that you're joining me today. What we're about to discuss might just change everything for you. Okay? Not just for your business, but also for your life. And today I'm gonna share something with you that I probably haven't shared with a lot of people, but I truly believe that, this will be a game changer for you as well as a game changer as well as it was a game changer for me. But before I begin, I just wanna say hello. Thank you guys for tuning in from all over the world.
Edna Harding [00:01:32]:
I'm super excited to be back. I had a great conference last week. I was in Dallas. I have so many stories, but today is not the date to share. My bottom line is I, after hearing the numerous CEOs that I interviewed and their stories and hearing, just the testimonies of people who've gone through the ringer and have come out on top that really just encouraged my faith to stay down the path that God has for us. And that after the rain, there is truly sunshine. Not to say that those trying times still doesn't have leave a mark, you know, sometimes, thank you, holy spirit. I think he wants me to go there.
Edna Harding [00:02:15]:
Like a lot of times we think that just because we just, because we overcame challenges, we won't still have the scars. Meaning we'll, we'll remember the scars. We'll remember like, kind of like what Jesus, right after he got Pierce on his feet and his hands, the piercing was still there, even though it doesn't hurt anymore, you still see it. And I truly believe that after many of us overcome all the years of battling and traumatic seasons that we have encountered, we're going to remember the scars, but it's not going to be painful anymore. Does that make sense? I don't know who that is for, but this too shall pass. I can't tell you just hearing so many people that I spoke to last week, just the season that they've been in, just a dry season, the weary season, you know, the Baca season, hearing those things, it grieved my heart because I know that people are hurting right now, especially with what's going on with there's really no assurance and there's really no answer except a God answer. But my spirit is super excited for them and for even for me because there's a few things that the Lord has revealed to me that hasn't come to pass yet, and I'm still holding on faithfully to his promises. But I don't know who that is for.
Edna Harding [00:03:44]:
But I know that the Lord is leading because it is not in my notes. This is not what I was supposed to talk about today, but I guess God wanted me to share that. Okay? So be encouraged, my friend. The rain will stop in due season. It's just a matter of holding on to that umbrella, holding on to our our our shelter, right, which is the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who comforts the saints. Okay. So let me go ahead and just open up in prayer real quick, and then we'll dive in. Okay.
Edna Harding [00:04:14]:
Father God, we just thank you for this time. I thank you for my brother and sister who's listening on the other line. I thank you, God, that you are faithful and you know exactly where they are right now in their life. I I pray, oh, God, that you meet them in their barren place. You meet them in that Baca place. You meet them in that valley place, oh, God, and that you will show to them the joy of your salvation, which comes from knowing, oh, God, that you have gone before them and you have already prepared the way, help us Lord to walk in that truth and to believe your word and father, as I speak this morning, this evening, this afternoon, wherever they're tuning in from Lord, I just thank you God, that you will be the one to penetrate down deep into their soul as a double edged sword piercing into their hearts. So God, so that the truth will set them free in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Edna Harding [00:05:05]:
All right. So today we are talking about how the smallest lies we believe ma'am, my throat has been itchy all day. I guess the enemy does not want me to share this. Okay? What was I gonna say? Oh, yeah. The smallest lies we believe can create the biggest barriers to our success. Let me say that again. How the smallest lies we believe can create the biggest barrier to our success. I know this because I myself have lived it.
Edna Harding [00:05:42]:
And today I'm gonna help you recognize those lies, replace them with the truth and step into the freedom and favor that God has for you. Okay. So let me start off with this question. And I think this is gonna blow your mind. Father, in the name of Jesus, I speak to my throat and I command this throat to line up with the will of God, that I will be able to speak this message forth without interruption and irritation in Jesus mighty name. Amen. Okay. So now let's do this again.
Edna Harding [00:06:16]:
Let's clear the airwaves. Whatever this thing is, let's clear the airwaves because I'm ain't playing today. I mean business. Okay? God's business. Alright. So what if I told you that the biggest battle in your life and business is not external? So what I'm saying is it's not the economy, it's not the competition, and it's not even a lack of strategy. K? Because the biggest battle is the one happening in your mind. Now I know you're like, don't tune out my friends don't tune out because a lot of times when you hear it is okay, we've heard this before.
Edna Harding [00:07:00]:
In fact, the very first book I heard, I read and heard via audio was the battlefield of the mind by Joyce Meyer. Great book that helped me, overcome such a traumatic marriage back then in my early years when I'm my twenties, from an abusive marriage and helped me, get over that hump and truly set myself free through the word of God. But I don't want you to tune me out my friends. There is a reason why. Okay? People don't people talk about the mind, but they really don't talk at the mind. People talk about the intellect, but it's not really the intellect we're talking about. When I'm talking about the mind, I'm not talking about your brain. I am talking about your heart.
Edna Harding [00:07:44]:
Because a lot of times in the Bible, and the original Greek, the mind was interchangeable with the heart. Okay? And I think this is how the enemy gets us in the loss of translation is we're like, oh, it's our brain. It's not our brain. It's a condition of our heart. It's a condition of our inside, our soul, man. Okay. All right. So let me state it again.
Edna Harding [00:08:05]:
The biggest battle is the one happening in your mind slash heart. Okay. Let me, maybe that's a better way of saying it. You see, we spend so much time learning strategies. We learn sales techniques. We learn produce product producing productivity hacks, producing, you know, work life balance type of things. I mean, we there's so many strategies that the world teaches and even I teach from time to time. Right? But my foundation and the very first thing I teach is the Bible.
Edna Harding [00:08:34]:
Right? What does the Bible say about our situation? So, again, your real breakthrough is not found in doing more, believe it or not. It's actually doing less, but also believing better. Doing less and believing better. How many of you guys would love to simplify your life by doing less and believing better and still get results? Who wants that life? Anybody? Raise your hand. I'm raising both hands up because that's exactly what we need. We need more peace in our life. We need more joy in our life. We don't need more stress.
Edna Harding [00:09:16]:
K? We need a joyful life where we can enjoy the fruits of our labor. And according to Solomon, that is the dream. Right? The dream is to enjoy the fruits of our labor, to eat plentiful, to be merry. Right? That is the ultimate dream that God wants. He wants us to fellowship with him and to trust him that everything has been taken care of and provided. But what does the enemy do? The enemy will put distractions and circumstances in our lives that destroys our peace and steals our joy. I mean, there's no he doesn't have any new tricks. Throughout the Bible, that's exactly what he does with every single heroes of the faith.
Edna Harding [00:09:59]:
He makes you question God's faithfulness. He makes you question God's character. He makes you question yourself, your identity in him. He makes you question his word about you, the promise God said it about you. And he makes you question your circumstances. Is God still in charge of my situation? These are all the typical things he does. And at some point, you probably realize, okay. We're going to around the same mountain over and over and over again.
Edna Harding [00:10:26]:
What is he telling me? What is the Lord telling me, and how can I stop going around this same mountain over and over again? Okay? So let me tell you a quick story about myself. For years, and I mean years, I found myself in business situations where I was mistreated every single time. So for example, I tolerated manipulative business partners who didn't honor their agreements. I excused bad behavior from clients who pushed their boundaries. I tolerated people stealing my money in corporate America. I let other people dictate my worth, not just through their words, but through their actions. Right? And the most frustrating part is I couldn't understand why. I couldn't understand why.
Edna Harding [00:11:19]:
I mean, I was a strong woman. I know my Bible. I know my worth in Christ, but why did I keep finding myself in these unhealthy patterns? Can you relate? Can you relate to what I'm saying? We know Jesus loves us. We know who we are. We know, you know, our identity in Christ. We know our word, but why do we keep going around the same unhealthy cycle? One day while I was in the middle of that church scam and that mess, which again, I don't really have time to share right now, I was led to a mindset coach. His name was Patrick Wanas. He was a celebrity mind you.
Edna Harding [00:11:58]:
I'm not really into the whole celebrity life coach, but he charged an arm and a leg for a session. I think my session was I don't remember. It was, like, $400 for ten minutes or $400 for I don't remember how much. It was a lot. Don't quote me on that. But I think that's what it was. It was something like fifty ten or fifteen minutes, and I paid them a lot of money. Well, bottom line is it worked.
Edna Harding [00:12:24]:
Because in that session that I had with him, I had a breakthrough that trace it all back to a single moment from my childhood. And that was when I was seven years old. I was a little girl who had big dreams. And at school, there was these boys that were bullying me, that they would tease me. They'll put my hair and push me around. I remember this moment where I was in the bathroom stall, and I was hiding in the bathroom stall because when I went out, these boys had, like, toilet paper. You know, those toilet paper? And they would wet it with, you know, water. And they would throw it at me when I would go out.
Edna Harding [00:13:06]:
And I would go into the the stall and I would cry. And I remember, the, the mindset coach says, okay. I want you to tell her, if you were speaking to her, if you were the old like, the current Aetna at that time, I think it was '33 or '30 I don't remember. Thirty five, '30 '5. I don't remember. I forgot exactly how old I was in my in my mid thirties. And I said, to Edna or Jenny, which is my little girl, like, my nickname, Jenny, they're just being boys. That's just what boys do.
Edna Harding [00:13:47]:
And, I didn't think of it as anything. And then at that moment, the mindset coach, that's that. That's where it came from. That's where it started. I was like, what are you talking about? Like, what? You made it in your mind that it's okay for people to mistreat you. They're just being boys. That's just what boys do. They're just being bullies.
Edna Harding [00:14:12]:
That's just what bullies do. And I didn't think of anything, but he said that set a standard for me as a seven year old that went through my adulthood, that something clicked in my mind that I accepted that explanation. I internalized that idea that when people mistreat you, that's just what they do and you tolerate it. They're just being boys. That's just what they do. You know, they they they're they pick on you because they like you. How many of you guys have heard that before? Right? And so that lie that you're instilling in your children's brain, that is okay. They're just being boys without sticking up for yourself without telling them no, that is not right.
Edna Harding [00:15:01]:
That simple phrase that was meant to comfort me became a belief system that shaped how I navigated relationships and business for decades. I hope you guys hear how profound this is. That simple phrase where I said, they're just being boys. That's just what boys do. Okay? Thinking that is comforting me actually create a stronghold in me. K? And because I believe that lie, I unknowingly gave it permission to repeat itself over and over and over again. And let me tell you this, those childhood bullies grew up. Okay.
Edna Harding [00:15:43]:
They showed up in business partnerships where I did all the work and they took the credit. They showed up in a leadership meetings where I let my ideas be dismissed without speaking up. They showed up in client relationships where I worked extra hours without compensation because I didn't want to make waves. These are simple examples where I work I bust on my butt from, like, every single day, Monday through Sundays, work till midnight, get up at four, making so hundreds of millions of dollars for companies. And when they time for me to take my commission, I didn't fight back. So what does that say about me? Without realizing, I allowed these bullies to continue to bully me. Not because I was weak. Nope.
Edna Harding [00:16:27]:
And not because I was unqualified. Nope. But because I was operating from a lie when I, so, so, because let me say this one more time, because I want you to hear me because I was operating from a lie. I believed when I was just seven years old, that bullies are just being bullies. That's all they know. Forgive them. Let it go. So I remember what the mindset coaches, and I want you to go back.
Edna Harding [00:16:55]:
I want you to go back to that little girl, that seven year old self, and you tell her to seek out for herself. And I want you to say it out loud. And I remember in that exercise, I told the little girl, my seven year old self and says, get up, go outside and tell them not to do that. That it's not right. And I want you to stick up for yourself. And I remember I went out there in my, in the, in my mind's eye, look in my imagination. I remember standing up on a trunk and I said, stop it. Do not I forgot.
Edna Harding [00:17:27]:
Leave me alone. This is not right. And it was something like something simple like that. And just saying that, that set me free. I realized that it was from that instance that the enemy used to build a stronghold in my life. K? I remember after that, I prayed. I poured out my frustration to God. And the Holy spirit whispered a verse to me.
Edna Harding [00:17:53]:
And that was found in Hosea four six, where it says, my people perish for lack of knowledge. And suddenly I saw it clearly. I had been perishing, not physically, but spiritually. My business wasn't thriving. My joy was diminishing and my influence was limited because I lacked the knowledge of God's truth about relationships, about my boundaries, and about my worth. Okay? So here's something I need you guys to hear. Hear me. Okay? The stronghold you don't confront will keep controlling you.
Edna Harding [00:18:30]:
K? The stronghold you don't confront will keep controlling you. A stronghold is, for those of you guys who don't know, it's a fortress built around a lie. So it's like, think of like walls that's protecting the lie that you believe. And this lie had built quite the fortress in my life. But here's the deal of that. Once I realized that that was a lie and replace it with God's truth, everything changed. K? God began to show me what his word actually says about healthy relationships. What is what is it who I am in Christ? Right? I'm fearfully and wonderfully made.
Edna Harding [00:19:12]:
Psalms one thirty nine fourteen. I'm worthy of respect as an image bearer of God. Genesis one twenty seven. Healthy relationships require boundaries. Proverbs twenty five twenty six. I am called to speak the truth in love. Ephesians four fifteen. I think a lot of times as believers, we think that not speaking up is actually what he wants.
Edna Harding [00:19:35]:
He wants us to be quiet and let people, like, abuse us and use us. Whereas in reality, God wants us to speak up for ourselves. God wants us to speak the truth in love, not in a way that Satan does, which is like, you know, mean and horrible and abusive, but to speak the truth in love. It's okay to speak the truth, my friends. Give yourself permission to speak the truth to people, even though it's gonna hurt their feelings, even if you're afraid. As long as you do it out of love, he actually wants us to do that. And at that moment, I renewed my mind. I think this was back in 2016.
Edna Harding [00:20:17]:
I renewed my mind with these truths and guess what? My business changed. Okay. I didn't allow my circumstances, the scam with the pastors, the loss of, you know, all my finances, all of us. I didn't allow that to dictate my worth anymore. And I didn't I I told myself I'm never gonna let anybody else take advantage of me of what I'm worth, including corporations, including business partners, including all these things. And guess what? I never did. I never did. I started charging what I was worth.
Edna Harding [00:20:48]:
I had the confidence to set boundaries. And let me just say this. There were times when the Lord would tell me to bless people and I did, but it was only if it was the leading of the holy spirit and not my flesh or someone making me feel manipulated to do that. Right. I attracted healthy partnerships and aligned clients. And I expanded my influence, not by striving, but by standing on truth, Because let me tell you guys this truth, and I think this will really help you. Freedom doesn't come from working harder. It actually comes from believing better.
Edna Harding [00:21:22]:
K? Freedom doesn't come from working harder, but it becomes from believing better. So let me ask you this question. What childhood stronghold is still affecting you today? I want you to really think this through, and I really want you to ask the holy spirit to do that to help you understand this. Is it a belief about money limiting your finances? Maybe you grew up hearing that money is the root of all evil. So now you subconsciously push away financial abundance. Is it a fear of rejection or keeping you, from taking bold actions? Right? That fear of rejection, came from you experienced rejection as a child and decided it was safer to stay small. Is it an old wound causing you to tolerate draining relationships? Maybe like me, you've allowed behavior that God never intended for you to accept, like an abusive marriage and things like that. Friend, family, brother, sister, I don't care who you are, whether you know Jesus or not.
Edna Harding [00:22:23]:
And you're listening to this episode because I believe there's some of you who are listening. They're just curious about what this is all about. Your business, your joy, and your success are directly tied to what you believe. And remember that these lies aren't obvious. A lot of times these lies that the enemy puts in your body and puts in your mind are very deep. So it would take an act of the revelation from the holy spirit by seeking him wholeheartedly to reveal to you those deep hidden wounds. Okay. So I'm going to give you guys three powerful steps to break free.
Edna Harding [00:22:58]:
Number one, once you ask the holy spirit, what is this lie that I believe? You identify it be very specific. Okay. This is a specific false belief that is holding me back. Number two, I want you to replace it with the truth. Find scriptures to counter that lie. I want you to write them down, speak them daily. This is what I do on a regular basis. There is something powerful about decreeing the word of God over yourself, over a situation, over circumstances, over your family, over your business, over your finances.
Edna Harding [00:23:31]:
There is more work that is being done when you're actually decreeing the word of God over those things versus actually working on your business. Oh, come on. Oh, come on. Yes. The work the the work is hard work first and then the hard work externally. See, a lot of times there's a balance. Right? Some people only focus on hard work and they don't do the hard work. Okay? That's not gonna work either.
Edna Harding [00:23:56]:
You could think good all you want and you could speak good all you want, but if you don't take action, it's not gonna work. Then there are people who just work, work, work, do action, action, action, hard work, hard work, hard work, but they don't take the time to do the hard work or the soul work. You're also not going to be successful. You have to do both. You have to do the hard work and the hard work. Does that make sense? Okay. And you want the next thing you want to do. Number three is you want to act from the new belief.
Edna Harding [00:24:22]:
When situations trigger that old lie, you have to choose to respond from truth instead. Because remember that when you change what you believe, you change what you experience. Okay? When you change what you believe, then you change what you experience. Okay. So here's my final question. K. Are you running your life on truth or on a lie you never challenged? Are you running your life on truth or on a lie you never challenge? This is a tough one. I've seen so many barriers for people because they couldn't identify a lie.
Edna Harding [00:25:05]:
And it was only from seeking God through revelation of the Holy Spirit that revealed those lies that one believes. Now if this message spoke to you, I want to hear from you. I want you to connect with me on LinkedIn. It's under my name, Edna Harding, and send me a message that says, I choose truth. Okay? I wanna know if this spoke to you. Again, you could also contact me on my website, favorandwealth.com or estrepreneur.com. And I also wanna encourage you that if you're ready to go deeper, because I have a whole section, a whole module on breaking free from limiting beliefs and building a thriving God honoring business, to so both. Right? So breaking limiting beliefs so that you can build a thriving God honoring business because you are truly wealthy internally.
Edna Harding [00:26:00]:
So you could be wealthy externally. Does that make sense? That group program is called business unlimited. It's on favorandwealth.com. Go to group mentoring. That is my most budget friendly option for those people who are looking to seek counsel, godly counsel, and still build your business and work on every aspect of your physical life, your spiritual life, your emotional life, your intellectual life, your financial life, everything. You know, I'm not an expert when it comes to everything, but I can give you enough to get by until you can afford to pay for, you know, the good type of, and I just I and I I don't wanna say that because one thing I've learned is even if you can't afford it, doesn't mean you have to spend on it. So if you if God is giving you access to sound wisdom, to godly counsel, to a community of like minded individuals, to the same results that if you spent a hundred thousand dollars on for a portion of the money, why not? Like, get your pride get your, you know, what's that word? Get your, booty out of a high horse. If that so to make I don't know how to say it.
Edna Harding [00:27:15]:
Get yourself off the high horse. Like, remove that pride, Join a group entering program. It's the best way for you to get access to me. My schedule is getting filled by the minute. And so if this is something you would like to do, we meet three times a month. We have actually, technically four. We have a prayer call the first Monday of the month, and then we meet the first, third, and last Friday of every month on a weekly basis on Friday from ten to eleven thirty AM central time, to to discuss anything you could possibly want. Right? It does have to be business.
Edna Harding [00:27:52]:
It could be life in general. Just get sound advice and you get access to all my software, my systems, my programs, and things like that. So definitely check it out, favorandwealth.com for details. So until next time, I want you to remember this. You are the apple of God's eye walk in dominion. I want you to shine bright and I'll see you next week on the estrepreneur podcast. All right, my friends, God bless you guys, and I will talk to you all soon. Take care.
Edna Harding [00:28:20]:
Bye bye. Thanks for joining us this week on Estreprenuer. Make sure to visit our web website, favorandwealth.com, for more information on our services. While you're at it, if you found value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating on iTunes, or if you simply tell a friend about the show, that would help me out too. Also, check out my book, The Old New Side of Sales, available on Amazon, where I share seven of my secrets on how to win and grow business the right way. Until next time, keep shining.