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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 [00:00:02]:
Well, hello, everyone. Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Essentrepreneur Podcast. My name is Edna, and I just wanna welcome you guys back. If you guys are new here, you're in the right place. If you're looking for strategies to grow your business or yourself utilizing the word of God. So in this we combine the powerful lessons of the Bible with practical business strategies to propel your success, not just in business, but also in life. Because how many of you guys know that God wants us to be whole? Nothing missing, nothing broken. Which means his intention for his children, scripture says that he will never withhold anything good from his children, is he wants us to have good health, good finances, good relationships, good business, good ministry, good mind.
Edna Harding [00:01:01]:
Like, he wants us to have great things. But a lot of people in the world settle for less. Not to say your world is going to be perfect, that you're never gonna have challenges or or trials, but the Lord says that he will walk through all of that with us and that our joy will be made complete and our joy will be full regardless of our external circumstances because our joy doesn't come from the things that are happening around us. Our joy comes from within. And so I don't know why that came out of me, but, apparently, one of you guys needed to hear that. For those of you guys who don't know me, my name is Edna Harding, and I am a growth strategist as well as an executive life coach. I do a lot of trainings. I do a lot of coaching, 1 on 1 and group coaching.
Edna Harding [00:02:01]:
We're actually in the process of moving from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama and so are Madison. So I only have, like, a little over a week left here, and so just bear with me guys as I'm transitioning to a new territory. But, I'm still here available, if you guys are interested in working with me. But it's gonna be a little bit of a delay just because of the situation that I'm in. However, I'm here to give you guys a a topic or talk about a topic that I think it's going to create some creativity inside your spirit. So if you guys haven't realized yet, today we're gonna talk about creativity. Specifically, we're gonna talk about the 9 biggest obstacles to creativity. Alright? So first of all, I wanna say start with that when someone says creativity, how many of you guys think about artists or painters or I don't know.
Edna Harding [00:03:13]:
The invention, like, in the people inventors think inventions. Inventors. Right? Creativity isn't just for what I call the left brain people. Creativity is actually crucial entrepreneurs and is crucial for business success. Okay? In scriptures, there's a a person. I don't know if I think this is a male, Bezalel, who was filled with the spirit of God and wisdom and understanding, who also in knowledge in all manner of workmanship. That's Exodus chapter 31 3. Let me go ahead and read that for you guys because I didn't type it, so I need to read it.
Edna Harding [00:03:59]:
Exodus chapter 31:3 says, and I have filled him with the spirit of God and wisdom and understanding and knowledge in all matter of workshops, workmanship, to devise skillful works to work gold, silver, and bronze, and cutting of stones, and to set them in carving a timber to work in all matter of workmanship. And this is, Exodus chapter 31 verse 325. And so my point is just like, Bezel Bezelel, I think I'm butchering his name, was filled with all matters of wisdom, all matters of understanding, and all matter of workmanship and a knowledge. You too are equipped to create wondrously in your field. Okay? You can do amazing things, and I'm talking to those who have these ideas in your brain. Where are all my dreamers at? I love working with dreamers because these guys, they they dream about, you know, big things, and then life happens, and then they kinda, like, let it go. I'm here to encourage you, my friend, that those ideas, those dreams that God put in your heart isn't an accident. Those ideas and those dreams are in you because God wants to use you to solve a problem for a certain group of people or even a country or even the world.
Edna Harding [00:05:32]:
Okay? And so today, we're gonna talk about that, specifically the 9 biggest obstacles. By the way, guys, if you are new, I would love to know where you guys are tuning in from. Don't forget to subscribe, like, comment. Give me a good rating on Itunes and all the other podcast platforms out there that I'm on because it's going to help with the algorithms and extend my reach. But, also, I want to know where you're listening in from. I I believe I'm in over 15 countries right now, which I'm so excited about. But I know that, regardless of where you are, biblical wisdom works. Regardless of your culture, regardless of your upbringing, regardless of how old you are, biblical wisdom works.
Edna Harding [00:06:19]:
And so I'm excited you guys are tuning in. And, also, you guys can message me on my website either entrepreneur.comorfavorandwealth.com. Connect with me on LinkedIn. No. The reason why I'm doing this is I never in my past episodes, I never really tell people how to connect with me, and so I definitely wanna get to know who my audience is. You know, I get, notifications of subscribers, and I get notifications of, I guess, how many listeners are listening from whatever part of the world. But I don't know who you are, and I wanna get to know you on a personal level. Alright? Okay.
Edna Harding [00:06:56]:
So let's go ahead and get started here. 1st, let's get started with obstacle number 1, and that is, you know it, distractions. Okay. In the chaos of running a business, it's easy to get sidetracked. How many of us get sidetracked all the time? I do. Like, for me, I have to do chores. I have to cook. Let's say I have to clean up.
Edna Harding [00:07:20]:
Let's say I have to pick up something, like, I have like, activities or, like, I don't know. I need a new eyeliner. I mean, like, any anything and everything always constantly interrupts my day. And so it's important for us to stay focused. Because remember, Nehemiah himself, according to Nehemiah 63, refused to claim to come down from building the wall despite all the distractions. You have to be so focused, and that's what I do. It's like, yeah, you have times. Okay.
Edna Harding [00:07:54]:
Thank you, Holy Spirit. I'm gonna get practical a little bit. Right? Because I know there's a lot of practical listeners here. So what I have, I actually use this tool. I have a lot of tools, but one of this one of the tools I use that I actually love, it's kind of like Asana, is Nifty, n I f t y. And I also use a journaling system. I think it's called journal David RM or something like that. And so every day, I have a list of things I need to do.
Edna Harding [00:08:24]:
Right? And a lot of beef for that day. And although I have, like, a 100 things to do, I pick 2 or 3 things that must be done before the end of the day. So what I do is if, let's say, a distraction comes, like, for example, a distraction I had was, like, okay. Pick up my birth control. I know that's too much information, but pick that up. So I remember that that thought came to me when I was, when I was, what do you call it, do my devotions this morning. And I knew it was a distraction because I was reading the word of God, and I was spending time with him. And so what I did instead of, like, you know, getting distracted by that, calling Target, or calling the pharmacy and finding out what it is, I just have it on my listings to do, and it just pops up.
Edna Harding [00:09:17]:
So the point is you could still deal with distractions, being a lot of those distraction are things you have to get done. But when you're focusing on a certain thing, like, for example, spending time with God, getting ideas or strategies from the Lord, brainstorming for specific project, working in a podcast like I'm doing right now, you know, working on a project for your client. Like, it's so important that you any distraction that normally would take your focus away from what you're currently doing, that you go ahead and add into your system, in my case, nifty. Okay? And then you set you put it in there, and then you'll deal with it when you have time or when it's the next time to develop a particular task. But you need to have practical things in place so that when that distraction comes, you're still able to focus and not also at the same time, not forget what that you have things that you need to get done. Does that make sense? Alright. Let's go to the second hurdle. And the second hurdle is the lack of purpose.
Edna Harding [00:10:20]:
Okay? Now I want you guys to think about Solomon. Solomon had a clear purpose, and his purpose was building the temple. And there was a clear divine vision. God gave him the blueprint through his father, David, says this is what I want you to build. Okay? And so in order for you to be creative, you have to have a clear, definitive visions. Okay? So as business leaders, you really need to clarify what your mission and vision is. So vision is big picture. Mission is how you're gonna do it.
Edna Harding [00:11:02]:
Right? So for example, for me, my big vision is to transform the marketplace for the better, one mind at a time. So that is the big vision. I want to make a positive impact in the marketplace by teaching people how to, apply biblical wisdom into their daily operations or their daily business practices. My mission, how do I do this, is by, creating a strong foundation for the next generation. What does that mean? It means that my role is to shift the systems, to shift the status quo, to change things by breaking boundaries that we put on ourselves as believers, as well as, decipher, which are what I call lies from the enemy as far as this is the only way to do this, versus hearing the voice of God. And so, basically, my role to sum it up is I instill hope and truth. That's my mission. I, on a daily basis, there has to be someone I instilled hope to, and there's has to be someone I spoke truth to.
Edna Harding [00:12:23]:
If I do this on a daily basis, and it doesn't have to be a grand big thing, it could be something, really small. But if I did those things, at least gave one person hope, shared the truth to one person, at least one person, to me, that's a successful day. But it's very clear to me what I need to do. Right? So you need to be very clear what the big assignment is Scott has for you, and, also, on a day to day basis, how are you going to do that. Okay? So let that vision and mission guide your creative strategies, right, so that you know that whatever it is that you're doing is aligning with your overall business objectives. So that is my objective. And so in every training that I do, in every speaking engagement, in any ministry work, in any coaching, even any type of my voluntary, positions at church, I'm asking myself, does it line up with the vision and mission God has for me in the marketplace? Am I bringing hope to people who are hopeless? Am I speaking truth to those who have believed lies? You know, the systems that that that that think that the systems of the world is the only way to operate in order for you to be successful. So if I am dealing with those things and those areas, I'm still in line with the objective of God, and that helps me brainstorm ideas.
Edna Harding [00:13:57]:
Right? That helps fulfill the vision and mission that God has put on my life. I'm hoping I'm making sense. Okay? 3rd, what is another distraction? A lack of practice. K. I want you guys to think about this. Consider David. He honed his skills as a shepherd. Right? As a shepherd.
Edna Harding [00:14:20]:
And how he was a shepherd boy, they call him little shepherd boy, for a long time. But it helped him defeat, Goliath. Right? Because he was there, you know, killing bears and lions, any but he was protecting the sheep. Right? And so the little battles that you're facing, whether you know it or not, is preparing you for the Goliath that you're gonna face in the future. So in order for you to defeat that Goliath, you need to regularly practice your skills. Creative skills for me is, like, problem solving. Right? So for example, brainstorming, strategic planning, deal dealing with mitigating risk, for example, or, again, I as I mentioned, problem solving. So these little things like, for example prime example, this truly happened, a few days ago.
Edna Harding [00:15:14]:
Long story short, someone's revamping my website. And, apparently, they had some political issues in Bangladesh, and so they didn't have Internet for 5, 6 days because the guy just responded to me this morning. So within those 5, 6 days, I'm like, oh my gosh. Like, I could sit here and wait and for this guy and just kinda give up on this project, or I could try to figure it out. Now mind you, it was really exhausting because I was tired of googling things or talking to customer support and, like, figuring it out on my own. But then now, because instead of waiting for this guy to respond to me, I took the initiative to be like, okay. Let me just do this on my own instead of because I'm wasting so much time. Right? And so, anyway, he gets back to me.
Edna Harding [00:16:08]:
He he says that he's gonna be able to do it quickly as soon as there his Internet runs up. So I think he's gonna be done in 5 days, hopefully, lord willing. But my point is, like, these little things, these problem solving things and thank you, holy spirit. I think this is what this is what the point is, what he's trying to be wanting me to say. And especially for small businesses and start ups, a lot of times, we like to outsource things right away. But here's the deal. What happens, right, if push comes to shove that resource or that employee or somebody that you depended on to get something done isn't available. Let's say they're sick.
Edna Harding [00:16:52]:
Let's say, you know, someone passed away, and they can't work on it. I think it's really important, especially if you're a startup, that you know every aspect of your business, that you could do it yourself. Yes. It might take you longer, and, yes, you know, it's kind of a headache, but knowing the basics. So when things happen, like, for my example, you know, no Internet, political shutdown, there's a, you know, some war going on in another country. I can still move forward with my business and my projects because I know how to get it done. And that only happens is if you are faithful with a little meaning. Don't be so prideful.
Edna Harding [00:17:32]:
Like, oh my gosh. That's beneath me. I'm not gonna work on that. I'm not gonna do this. I still do all my social media posting. I still and not not to say that it doesn't take time. I enjoy it because it's my authentic voice. It's my thinking.
Edna Harding [00:17:47]:
So there has to be some level of ownership. Okay? So my point is everything that you do, little or small, is only preparing you for the future when you have these bigger problems. When you have these more complex situations, you have the basic skills you need just like David did because he knew how to defeat the little, you know, the little enemies. He was able to defeat the big enemy because he had a lot of practice. So you have to regularly practice those skills and embrace those challenges as an opportunity for you to prepare for the bigger problems in the future. Alright. Let's continue on. The next hurdle or obstacle to creativity is, negative self talk.
Edna Harding [00:18:40]:
Oh, that's a good one, guys. I'm telling you. This is a hard one for me and a lot of people I know, a lot of clients I've worked with in the past. Okay? Negative self talk, speaking words of death. Not to say that you're saying you're it's over, but if all you're speaking is death to your situation and problem, problem, problem, you're never going to be able to think because all you see is the wall. You never see the door. You never see the little tiny hole. You never see the window.
Edna Harding [00:19:13]:
Right? So with David, he didn't let self doubt stop him, according to first Samuel 17:45. So the way to counter this is to replace your inner critic, which is your flesh, basically, with truth filled affirmations. What does that mean? I'm not talking about I am great. I am strong. I am beautiful. No. Not that. That's not gonna do you anything.
Edna Harding [00:19:41]:
K? That's just very fleshly and worthy. I'm talking about what God says about you, The promises he said about you. Whether if it's prophetic words, whether if it's prophecies, whether if it's words of God about believers, about you, you know, the times you spent time with him. Read those affirmations. I do that on a daily basis. I do that early in the morning, and I do that at night, and sometimes throughout the day because I have a lot of negative self talk because of all the challenges I faced in the past. And even just in general, like, just being around all this negativity. I mean, just listen to the news.
Edna Harding [00:20:24]:
Listen to, you know, social media. Like, there's so many not life giving words out there that it's easy for us to get angry. It's easy just for us to be fearful or anxious about the future because all you hear is fear mongering, or talking bad about each other. Like, there's no love. There's no peace. Everyone is, you know, for whatever agenda they have. And my point is, like, that's not gonna help you in your situation. And so the way to defeat that and allow yourself to hear the voice of god so you could create big things with the lord, you really need to meditate on the truth.
Edna Harding [00:21:11]:
And I know this is so, like, basic as I well, we've heard that many, many times, but I'm telling you guys, it works. You know? Because I I don't know if you guys ever, like, you know, one moment you're good and the next moment something happens, you're like, oh my gosh. The world is over. I hate my life, you know, kinda thing. Not like that, but you know what I mean. Like, not to that extreme, but it's like, oh my gosh. I'm so exhausted. I'm so stressed out.
Edna Harding [00:21:34]:
And I'm like, no, Jenny. You can do all things through Christ to give you strength. Right? God said he is more than able to do all things that to do mighty things that we do not even know. These are the words of God, and so I have to repeat that to myself whenever I'm dealing with challenges, whether in business and in life. Alright? Okay. Now let's move on to the next thing that's gonna stop your creativity. And this one is huge because this one really affects me. Okay? Here we go.
Edna Harding [00:22:09]:
The next one is a lack of sleep or nutrition. Lack of sleep. Oh my gosh, guys. This happened, like, recently. 2 days ago, I had the, the beeping noise from what do you call that? The smoke alarm. This beep beep beep beep beep. And I'm like, okay. I don't wanna wake I don't wanna wake my husband up.
Edna Harding [00:22:33]:
I'm like, no. Nope. And so what ended up happening was long story short, it kept me up. And at the end of the day, what happened was I was not fully rested, which means I couldn't think properly. I was very snappy, and it really, blocked me from really truly hearing the voice of god like I normally do. I mean, I was able to hear it, but I wasn't able to hear it clearly because of the lack of rest. And the other thing is also nutrition. You know, really taking care of your body's filling your your body with the right nutrients really impacts your ability to think creative to creatively creatively.
Edna Harding [00:23:21]:
K? So let's look at Daniel. What did he do? He chose to eat a lot of vegetables and water to maintain his health in a foreign land. So prioritizing your health or even working out, exercise, strength training, like, anything that gets your body moving. There is this, book that I read. It's called Sleep Smarter. Sleep Smarter. Well, it's an audiobook that I read but listened to. And it was talking about, like, those who work out early in the morning, for at least 10 to 15 minutes a day, actually, is more joyful than those who are working out in the afternoon, and it also stimulates their brain, so that they're able to think clearly.
Edna Harding [00:24:14]:
So having movements and also, drinking a lot of water, eating the right nutritious food. I'm not talking about the supplements. I'm talking about real, like, food, like, whole, like, whole foods where it's raw, like eating a bunch of walnuts or eating avocado, or eating, like, a handful of spinach. I add that a lot to my my protein, my plant based protein. Like, those kind of things that when you fill your body with nutritious food and you also incorporate some sort of movement, whether if it's a walk or whether if it's strength training. I do a lot of Pilates. That really helps me release my stress. That one will help you think clearly and come up with these ideas.
Edna Harding [00:24:59]:
Alright? Alright. The 6th one, I feel like I'm running out of time. The 6th one is the need to be perfect. Perfectionism will paralyze you. Okay, guys? It will paralyze you. Ecclesiastes chapter 11 verse 4 says, whoever watches the wind will not plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Focus on action, not perfection.
Edna Harding [00:25:27]:
Did you hear that? Focus on action, not perfection. That's why I make so many mistakes in my emails, in my posts on social media, sometimes even my podcast, sometimes even when I send stuff to my clients, because I just wanna get it done. I correct it. I catch it. I fix it. But action is better than perfection. Okay? So get your ideas out there. Try your minimum viable product.
Edna Harding [00:25:59]:
I can't tell you how many times I've tried to launch a group coaching program or my online program. I've done it with, individuals. I've done it with a group. I've done it virtually and also in person. So now that I've been doing it and refining it for the next for the past 4 to 5 years, now I think I got the right formula, if that makes sense, status effective. And so now when I launch my virtual group coaching program coming up here, in the fall, hopefully, September, that is what I'm rooting for because we won't move to our new location till 3rd week of August. Now my my program is, like, really robust, very comprehensive. I know it's effective, and I know it's gonna bring results because I tried it so many times, as imperfect as it was, and I was able to refine and make it better.
Edna Harding [00:26:58]:
And so now that I'm revamping my website okay, now that I'm putting it all together, where my online community is there, my online course is there, my client portal is good to go, I have systems, action plan strategies, accountability, an app where people can communicate. Now it's like, wow. Like, I have the AI software I need for the sales part. I have the AI software I need for the marketing part. I have all of the different templates. And, I mean, it's really, like, everything a start up or a struggling business would need. I have it in my program, And it's all because I didn't wait until it was perfect to sell it to someone. I didn't care if it was one person or if it's a group a group of people, or if I was training it using it for free by, providing it to different groups at church because it helped me refine it, and I did get customers out of it.
Edna Harding [00:27:58]:
But my point is before I launch it to the public, like, fully promote it to the masses and start putting advertising and start speaking about it and getting more out there as far as with my book, as far as in different people's podcasts and speaking engagements. Now when I promote my group coaching program, I can honestly say that I have a quality product because I've been relaunching it every almost every semester or almost every year these past 5 years since COVID, prior to COVID. Yeah. No. So yeah. It was in co during COVID in 2020. And so for the past 4 years, was was it 2020? Yeah. For the past 4 years, I've been doing it, I've been really working on my program.
Edna Harding [00:28:47]:
And so, my point is I'm just really proud of it, but I guess what I'm trying to say is don't wait for it to be perfect. Go ahead and sell it as a minimum viable product. Sell it as imperfect as it is. Get the feedback you need. Refine it, fix it, make it better, and then move on. Alright? Number 7. Okay? Number 7. Expect expecting creation to be easy.
Edna Harding [00:29:14]:
K? That this one's a hurdle. Okay. What am I saying? When you create something, even though it's a god given idea, doesn't mean it's like, oh, it's just gonna happen. It's gonna come to your lap. No. A lot of times when God gives you ideas, you have to put in the work. Okay? Anybody who started any business or launched any successful thing program knows how many hours, minutes, days, years they've spent in refining that product and making that program or that business the best that it is. No one became an instant millionaire.
Edna Harding [00:29:55]:
Absolutely no one. Even the Kardashians, okay, they spent years developing their personal brand. Okay? Grant Cardone. You have, Trump has his own, you know, his businesses. You have all these people who have successful brands, successful businesses, didn't start by being successful right away. They were nobodies at one point. Amazon, Jeff Bezos, you know, Elon Musk. Like, all these people, they started somewhere.
Edna Harding [00:30:28]:
And what makes the difference from those people who succeed and those people who don't are people who don't give up. And they're not worried about failing. They're not worried about bankruptcy, and then they're not worried about things. It's not gonna look good or make them look, you know, embarrass themselves in front of the masses. They don't care. They just believe in our idea, and they're gonna keep trying until they find one that's gonna hit the gold the jackpot, pot, if that makes sense. Right? And so my point is expect it to be challenging, expect it to be difficult. You know, with Paul, he faced a lot of trials, but he continued to create and spread his teachings.
Edna Harding [00:31:12]:
Right? And if you think about Moses, how many times did he go to pharaoh? How many times does he let my people go? And every single time, you know, he gets hit in the face. I mean, if you look throughout the the people, Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, all these people, regardless if they're righteous, got they still went through challenging times. And so my point is when God gives you a dream and God gives you a vision, understand that there will be challenges, there will be setbacks, but the key is you can't give up. You can't quit. You just have to keep persevering and trying and trying until you find the the sweet spot. Okay? But what's really important, and I have to say this because you need to have the right support system. If you don't have a support system, whether if it's your family, husband, best friend, networking group, mentors, coaches, join my training program. Join my group coaching program because I will be your, best friend, but I will also be your mentor, where I will kick you in the butt when when you're slacking down, but I also will be a minister, someone that's gonna minister to you when things are challenging.
Edna Harding [00:32:33]:
You need to be in a group that's gonna speak life to you, because how many of us know that you're not always gonna be able to speak life to you. There are times when I doubt myself. I can't tell you how many times I doubted myself, And I wanna quit, I wanna give up, it's too difficult, it's too hard, and then my husband says something, a mentor will say something, a friend will say something, a client will say something that is just gonna give me back my fire and be like, no. I'm not gonna quit. I'm gonna keep going. I'm not gonna give up. I know this is what God told me to do, and I'll keep trying until I hit that $1,000,000 mark. Right? Because that's my goal initially, and then we'll continue to move forward.
Edna Harding [00:33:15]:
Right? So I just wanna encourage you guys with that that it's going to be hard, but embrace that as part of the journey to excellence. Okay? Alright. Number 8. Another obstacle in dealing with creativity is being too practical. What? I'm so confused, Edna. You just said take action. You just said I know. Being too practical.
Edna Harding [00:33:43]:
K? Jesus taught in parables. He often used creative, thought provoking concepts to reach deeper truths. So my my my challenge to you is don't limit yourself to what can actually be done in the natural. Okay? Don't be afraid to think so big that it scares you. Like, oh my gosh. That's never going to happen. Like, yeah. Right.
Edna Harding [00:34:11]:
No one's ever gonna buy that. No one's ever like, you have all these, you know, vain thoughts and imaginations that other people might tell you or, the enemy might tell you or yourself might tell you. Don't limit yourself to what you see in the natural because we serve a huge God. I mean, think about it. If the devil rewards his children, those who are not doing the right thing, right, who are doing sex trafficking, for example, pornography, those people who are, doing things or selling drugs, you know, that that kills people. If if the enemy rewards those children of his, right, because they don't know the Lord, how much more our heavenly father who loves us, he can reward us too. But the the thing is, the problem is we give up, and I see this time and time again. I've read a lot of books about entrepreneurs, Christian entrepreneurs, and I've seen a lot of articles.
Edna Harding [00:35:14]:
A lot of them quit. One thing about the world is they don't quit easily. Believers were like, well, okay. I guess I'll just be rich when I get to heaven. I guess I'll just be debt free when I die, and and I'm I'll I'll have a mansion in heaven. We just we'd we we don't want to experience God's gifts or God's rewards on earth because all of a sudden we're so eternally focused. Right? That I go, okay. I'm just gonna get all spiritual.
Edna Harding [00:35:44]:
I'm just gonna have my riches in heaven. No. I truly believe based on what I'm reading. And, guys, I've been studying wealth, wisdom, success in the bible for a very long time. And God clearly say states that he will reward the righteous, not in heaven, in the earth. He will bless the things that you touch when you follow his ways. But what happens? A lot of us get sidetracked, and we follow the world's ways. And, yes, you get some little blessing here and there, but then it's not lasting.
Edna Harding [00:36:19]:
Like, it for example, you have people, and I've seen this time and time again, just just pay attention to all these, successful ministries, big ministries. Right? Large ministries who have all the money in the world, but they're living in sin, and then they lose their family. They lose their wife. They lose their children. I I know a pastor who left his wife and 7 children for a mistress, her his masseuse or something like that. And if you guys don't know this person, not true to be judgmental, but my point is this is what happens, right, when you don't have the heart you don't have a right heart before God and you start following the systems of the world. You'll be blessed in one way, meaning you could I may call it a blessing, I would call it a curse. Yes, you may have a lot of riches, maybe you have a lot of money, you could travel all over the world, but then you lose your wife, you lose your kids, you lose your family, and at the end of it, let's say that mistress, or that sugar daddy not the sugar daddy.
Edna Harding [00:37:32]:
What do you call those? Pool boy. I don't know. I don't know what you call it. The guy or girl, because I understand both men and women cheat. Right? You leave your family of, like, 30 years or 15 years or or 12 years, I don't know, for a young person. And then when you die, that person just takes your wealth, and then the family that you left for, they don't wanna be at your funeral because you abandoned them. And I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but we have to get our priorities straight that when God blesses us, he doesn't want us to lose anything. He doesn't want us to lose our spouses or our children.
Edna Harding [00:38:13]:
And that's why I constantly ask the Lord and say, God, if don't give me the riches, and this is my prayer, and I've prayed this so many times in front of people, and I've told my clients this, and I've played this on a daily basis. Do not make me wealthy if it's gonna if it's gonna make me lose my family. I'm talking about my children or my husband. Wait until my character is able to handle the success and the wealth so that I could ensure that even while I'm succeeding in business and in and in, like, ministry and in my motivational speaking, I still wanna be close to my husband and I still want to be close to my children. And, and it's a struggle because obviously I'm a go getter and I don't wanna go get all the awards and be out there and speaking, but at the same time every time I see my children, who's a 100% dependent on me and they, you know, they wanna make sure I put them to bed, you know. And even sometimes seeing my husband eating some crappy food because I didn't have time to cook. Like, it makes me feel bad. I'm like, no, I can't do that.
Edna Harding [00:39:23]:
I wanna make sure I could still take care of my kids and my husband, even though I can't be there all the time. But I wanna do as much as I can with the limited amount of time that I have. Does that make sense? So there has to be a balance to that. Okay? So, I think I went off the subject, but my point is understand that it's important that we don't just focus on the what the world calls success and do the methods that the world says to do so that you could be successful, but be open to divine strategies from God and how to still get the goals that you have from him completed, but at the same time, still be whole by having beautiful relationships with your family, beautiful relationships with your friends. And and my friends can tell you, even though I don't talk them on a regular basis, when I do talk to them like, the other day, I talked to my friend, Nerissa. I talked to my friend, Daracena. I I tried to talk to at least 2 to 3 people a week, even though if it's just on my way to drop off the kids or pick them up from school. A little I just wanna ensure that they know that I they still matter, and I'm still available, and they could come to me if they need prayer or about anything.
Edna Harding [00:40:52]:
Okay? So I guess what I'm saying is, like, embrace unconventional ways to be successful in all areas of life and not try to do it the world's way. And those unconventional ways, if you want me to be plain, are found in the Bible. Alright? Alright. And lastly, okay, the thing that can hold you back from doing the things God called you to do is doubting your creative ability. Meaning, Don't be afraid to dream. Right? Don't be afraid to think big. Remember that you're made in the image of the ultimate creator, Genesis 127. Right? So you need to claim that heritage and believe in your creative potential as part of your divine identity.
Edna Harding [00:41:53]:
It's kinda like that that phrase, like father like daughter, like father like son. Right? God was a creator. He created something out of nothing. And so I'm telling you even if you don't have the resources, even if you don't have access to money, like, start with a little. Come up like, I could tell you, like, it's so funny. I was telling my husband the other day that, you know, my first website cost me, like, $15,000 or something like that, you know, to because I hired developers, right, to do it. This new website that I'm doing that I'm revamping, I paid was it $420 from Fiverr. I hired someone there to basically update it and and and transfer it.
Edna Harding [00:42:35]:
And I'm still getting it done. It might not it might take a little bit longer. It might give him a little bit more headaches, but I'm still getting it done. Right? Because I don't I didn't have I don't have the $15,000, right, to spend on my website, right, or to to a developer. But my point is start with a little. Start with what you've got, make it work, do the best that you can, and you could always refine it and make it better later on. Okay? Alright. So hope that helped you guys.
Edna Harding [00:43:07]:
So to all the business owners listening, remember that your creativity is a testament to your creator. Challenge these obstacles that you face that that I mentioned, all 9 of them, alright, with the wisdom of the word of God, and let your business be a beacon of innovation and success. Okay, guys? I hope that was helpful. If you have any questions at all, message me on my LinkedIn post if you're listening on LinkedIn. Or, some of you guys messaged me on Instagram and Facebook, although I don't really, go there regularly. Not as much as LinkedIn. LinkedIn is where my main social media is right now because that's where my audience is. Or you could reach out to me via website.
Edna Harding [00:43:50]:
Okay? So thank you guys for joining me on the entrepreneur. If this episode inspired you, please share it with your others. Share it with your others. Share it with others in your circle, and don't forget to subscribe. Until next time, keep cultivating your creativity, and let it shine forth in your business as a witness for his glory. God bless you guys, and until next time, keep shining.