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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 [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 practical tips 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 [00:00:47]:
Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Estrepreneur podcast. My name is Edna Harding. I just wanted to welcome each and every one of you guys who have been listening from all over the world. World. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your listens.
Edna [00:01:02]:
Thank you for your shares, your comments, and just your love. I really, really appreciate it. Today's episode is called the Cost of Being the First. The Cost of Being the First. Do we have any trailblazers in the house today? This afternoon, this morning, this evening? Okay, this is for you. The trailblazers, the generational disruptors, the first ones that God selected to build something their lineage has never seen before. So if you're feeling pressured, if you're feeling isolated, if you are carrying a weight you can't explain, you're not weak, you're not late, you're not broken, you're first. And being first is expensive.
Edna [00:01:53]:
Let's talk about what that cost means and why God trusted you. You, my friend, son and daughter of God, wherever you are, wherever you're listening, why he trusted you to carry it. Okay, before. Before we do that, let's go ahead and open up in prayer. Father God, I thank you for your son and daughter who's listening to this episode. Holy Spirit, take over, Lord. Holy Spirit, we welcome your presence. Jesus, you are the way, the tr and the life.
Edna [00:02:23]:
So we thank you, God, that you are here, you are near, you are with us, and you are in charge. In Jesus mighty name. Amen. All right, so let me first start off with this. Pioneers don't walk in crowds. They usually walk in calling. And isolation does not mean abandonment. It's.
Edna [00:02:54]:
I like to use the word separation. You are consecrated instead of isolation, okay? It means that God set you apart. Specifically, he pulled you aside to build what no one around you has blueprint language for. And here's the truth most won't admit, okay? Pioneers carry revelation long before validation. Let me say that one more time. Pioneers carry revelation Long before validation, people can't affirm what they don't understand. Remember that. Number two, I want to start off with this.
Edna [00:03:37]:
Pioneers outgrow their environment faster than their relationships. Your circle doesn't shrink because you're prideful. It shrinks because you're evolving. All right? So if your circle is shrinking, it's not because of pride. It's because you're evolving. Number three. Pioneers hear God before others sees fruit. Your season of instruction comes before your season of recognition.
Edna [00:04:11]:
Okay? Your season of instruction comes before your season of recognition. And the last thing is. Pioneers feel misunderstood because they are building a future others haven't lived yet. Okay? Pioneers often feel misunderstood because they are building a future others haven't lived yet. Have any of you guys felt misunderstood? Okay. He purposely does that because he wants you to protect the blueprint, and the blueprint is you. Oh, my goodness. This is such a revelation for me.
Edna [00:04:59]:
We're looking for an outside answer, when in reality, you are the answer. God is separating. Okay? That is consecrating to himself. Okay? Now, I want you to say that. I want to say. I want you to say. I want to say that pressure is not always warfare. If you're feeling pressure, it's not always warfare.
Edna [00:05:21]:
Sometimes it's prophecy. Okay? Pressure is what happens when your spirit outruns your surroundings, when you're calling outgrows your capacity, when your assignment expands your systems before you do. So let me say one more time. Your assignment. It's like, what does that say? Your assignment expands before your systems do, and your identity involves. Before your confidence catches up. Should I say it again? Because I feel like this is, like, a whole lot of ammo for your spirit or your mind. So again, pressure is what happens when your spirit outruns your surroundings, where your spirit is way farther along than what your natural circumstances is showing.
Edna [00:06:24]:
It's when you're calling outgrows your capacity, okay? Where you're no longer set. Like, settling for what you currently have, right? Like, you want more you. Like you know that whatever you have isn't able to handle your calling. Does that make sense? All right. Your assignment expands before your systems do. Meaning, like God just expanded your vision and your systems is not like it's not even catching up at all. Like, you're so far behind on everything he wants you to do. And then your identity evolves before your confidence catches up.
Edna [00:07:07]:
Okay? There is like. Like a fear trembling, like anxiety, like, what do I say, Lord? I don't. I'm not equipped for this type of thing. Okay? So pressure basically reveals purpose because pressure forces decisions. So the questions I want to ask you, and I want you to be honest and answer truthfully. Will you rise or retreat? Will you obey or delay? Will you lead or shrink? Will you trust or overthink? Here's the part that no one teaches. Pressure is God stretching your internal structure to hold the impact you're meant to carry. Pressure is God stretching your internal structure to hold the impact you're meant to carry.
Edna [00:08:01]:
Remember that pressure is the weight of God's calling or his destiny resting on your shoulders. So if you feel ill equipped, join the club. Pressure is divine confirmation so that the assignment will be more real to you. Right. If you don't feel any weight to the call, then that might not be your assignment. Okay? So I want you to stop interpreting pressure as opposition and start interpreting it as preparation. All right? All right. So there is an emotional and spiritual cost of being the first.
Edna [00:08:47]:
But I guess I want to make it clear that being the first and foremost is Requires a more emotional stamina and more spiritual intelligence than any other calling. Because when you're the first, when you're the pioneer, when you're the Forerunner, if you ever heard those words before, it costs a lot. Number one, you won't have mentors for everything you're building because, number one, no one has done what you're called to do, the way you're called to do it. Okay? Number two. You will break patterns your family never confronted. Their silence becomes your responsibility. All right? Number three. You will heal wounds.
Edna [00:09:35]:
Generation ignored. Trauma ends with you. Wholeness begins with you. Come on. Is anyone hearing what I'm with? What? The fat lady is singing. I don't know if you guys. Is that right? I don't know if that's the right term. I'm sorry if it's not.
Edna [00:09:51]:
Number four. You must learn wealth, leadership and identity at the same time. There's no blueprint to follow. It's. You are the blueprint, period. Number five. You will outgrow people you love. But love should not limit destiny.
Edna [00:10:10]:
And it's okay. Okay? They can't keep up where God is taking you, and it's okay. Your obedience is generational. Okay? Your yes is rewriting your bloodline. Being the first is not glamorous. It is sacrificial. Okay. Being the first is not glamorous.
Edna [00:10:35]:
It is sacrificial. And it's a painful price, but it's also very powerful. Because you're not building just for today. You're building for generations that have not taken a breath. Those people that are going to come after you because of your obedience will get to walk in the path that you've paved a way for them. And it's no small task. It's a big ask with a big price. But it's so worth it because you're making eternal impact.
Edna [00:11:12]:
Now, how do we. How do we not break under a mantle God put upon us? Have you guys ever wondered. It's like I. I remember when God revealed my assignment and my. The different layers and the different things he wants me to do. I would say, I can't take it. It's too much, Lord, I can't handle it. I would say stuff like that.
Edna [00:11:35]:
And I remember the Holy Spirit would tell me, he's like, I will help you. I have done it for you. I have gone before you. The mantle. Let me just encourage you with this. The mantle in your life is not too heavy. Your old identity is too small to carry it without breaking. You must strengthen your identity daily.
Edna [00:11:58]:
Number one. Strengthen your identity daily. Okay. Pioneers cannot afford identity amnesia. You have to rehearse who God says you are. So for me, I am a marketplace apostle. And I'm a Kingdom financier. That is who I am.
Edna [00:12:17]:
I'm the daughter most high God. I am a discerner. I am a prophet. There's a lot of things he has spoken over me and have to constantly remind myself who I am and not other people's opinions or my experiences in a natural affect. That word that was spoken over me. Okay, Number two. You have to regulate your internal world. And I know that I found that sound like a broken record.
Edna [00:12:46]:
But you cannot steward destiny from emotional chaos. Peace is your power source. Peace is your power source. I'm gonna say it again. Peace is your power source. Number three. Reject survival. Leadership.
Edna [00:13:04]:
Okay, no more grind. Don't perform. Stop hustling for validation. Learn from authority. Lead from authority. Right. Grow from authority, not insecurity. Right.
Edna [00:13:24]:
Who is the authority? It's Jesus Christ, the word of God that has authority over you over anything the world has. Number four. Build rhythms that match the weight of your assignment. Okay? So you have to rest. You have to be still. You have to have strategy. You have to have stewardship. You have to have alignment.
Edna [00:13:47]:
Heavy mantles require mature rhythm. So I'm gonna say it again. Heavy mantles require mature rhythm. Okay. Heavy mantles require maturity. Right. Mature ways. Not baby ways, but mature ways.
Edna [00:14:11]:
Number five. Ask God for the version of you that can carry what he is. Releasing your mantle demands you to evolve and you have to evolve continually. Okay? You have to become that person not because what you want to, because you want to, but because you have to. Because that's the only way for God to release the blessing is if you become someone who can handle the blessing. Okay? Number five, ask God for the version of you. Oh, I already said that. Number six, stop expecting comfort, where God calls courage.
Edna [00:14:50]:
And he wants you to be courageous. Be bold and courageous. When you're courageous, it accelerates the multiplication, it accelerates your promotion, accelerates your increase. But the problem is we dilute it because we're. We choose to stay comfortable. We choose to stay where we're at versus go all in for where he called you to do. And number seven, surround yourself with voices that see your mantle, not your mistakes. Trailblazers do not need cheerleaders.
Edna [00:15:25]:
They need spiritual engineers. You're not chosen to break under this mantle. You were chosen because God trusted you wouldn't. I'm going to say that one more time. God trusts you. Like, can you imagine that? The reason he gave you the assignment, that mantle is because he trusts you. Have you ever been given, like, a huge responsibility? Like, and you're like, oh, me? Like, why me? Like, huh? Like, how is it because he trusts you? The God of the universe trusts you. Like, that's the only approval you need, my friends.
Edna [00:16:10]:
You don't need anybody else's approval. It's God's. Man's opinions don't matter. Your opinion don't matter. Heck, only God's opinion matters. And there's no one in hell or no thing in hell or not even you can stop. What God? Thank you, Holy Spirit. Actually, you can stop it, but nothing outside of you can stop it.
Edna [00:16:34]:
Because you have to come in agreement with his word and you have to say, yes, Lord, here I am. Send me. Okay, I just want to say that your calling is proof you're stronger than you think. Okay? And being the first is not easy, it's not glamorous, it's not comfortable, but it is holy. Like you being the first to do something that has never been done before. That's holy. That is a holy assignment from God. And, and, and, and it's generational and it's prophetic.
Edna [00:17:12]:
Like, God is using your life to. To break limitations, to break bondage, deliver people, set people free, heal the sick, heal the wounded. Both, like, whatever type of sickness. It doesn't have to be physical sickness, but any type of sickness. Okay? Your decisions are not just based on. Not just about your decisions. Your obedience is not just about your obedience. What you're doing is you're rewriting what your family believes is possible.
Edna [00:17:45]:
You're building a blueprint for people who haven't been born yet, who hasn't even realized that they're called to business, for example. Okay? You're carrying a mantle that will truly shift generations and society and nations. Okay? Your pressure that you're feeling, it has purpose. Your isolation has intention. Your pain has assignment. And your mantle has a mission. And God chose you, man of God, woman of God, because he knew you would not fold. You are the first, but you will not be the last because your obedience is birthing a lineage, a pattern for other people to follow after you.
Edna [00:18:37]:
Well, I hope, my friends that this bless you and I pray to God that this encourage you to go all in, all in for Jesus. Because the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few. God bless you guys, and I'll talk to you all soon. Take care. Foreign thanks for joining us this week on Estrepreneur. Make sure to Visit our 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.
Edna [00:19:14]:
Also, check out my book, the Ugly 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.