Grace over Grind for $1,000, Alex!

In the Business World, there is a huge conditioning to sacrifice whatever and whoever to be successful. You are told to miss family engagements; miss sleep; and dismiss people who get in your way to getting to the bag. They make casualties casual and sacrifice light. They would have you think that those decisions will be able to be recaptured in some way. That is so far from the truth! Building a business will come with very tough decisions daily, but it is interesting for what they select as the immediate negotiables.

Recently, I have seen many videos of them showing children at events and them thinking no one is there to support them. All of a sudden, as they look out into the crowd, they spot a loved one! Their faces light up and their countenance changes! There is no feeling that could compare to knowing that your household is there to cheer you on. There have been times that people have caught a four hour flight to see the last 10 minutes of their son’s soccer match or the last 15 minutes of their daughter’s recital.

We should never underestimate what a Show Up means for our loved ones! It is paramount to prioritize our families in the grind instead of sacrifice them. Life happens and you may not be able to be on every scene. However, make sure the effort is put forth to be there. When you are sitting on that front row at someone you truly love memorial service, you would move Heaven & Earth to have one more event with them!

Repose also becomes a negotiable. A sacrifice that we are willing to make time after time. We do not fully factor how important rest is until we find ourselves met with danger, like veering off the road or making an error that could cause what was built to crumble. Taking care of our temples involves shutting down for our bodies to be restored and for our minds to have a reprieve from being in auto-pilot. Burning the midnight oil for an extended time could have drastic effects like it does for a vehicle. We want execution without the maintenance of our bodies being at optimum performance.

Another negotiable the Gurus talk about is cutting off people. This one should really be handled with much discernment. I say this after being the Club President for the Cut Off Game. I do not say that with a smile; I say that with great understanding for how little mercy I had when God has given me so many Do Overs! Every misunderstood exchange is not a toxic relationship. Excelling in life for a Believer is not just having a Circle of People around you who only speak Grind Language. It is about having people in your vicinity who walk with integrity; those whom hold you accountable; and those who will give you reminders to not be guilty of stamping God on the climb, but leaving Him on the first floor!

The painful and gripping Truth is…we can actually make it to the top with our grind and not be Graced by God to stay there! It will become the most polarizing feeling, because you will feel the elation of the accomplishment, all while experiencing the weight of doing it in your strength and not that of the Lord.

That Truth is why people end up finding the thing they grinder for becoming a Taskmaster. It drives you more than God being glorified in the endeavor. Do we truly think about the fruit God is looking for when we walk out the Church Service into the World? Like really, ponder that question. It has to be bigger than forming a LLC or our names being on a door. Who will God allow you to encounter where the grind and the thing they were working for was about to be their god, until He used you to have a candid conversation? They were able to witness the peculiar character in you by God to not pursue the grind as usual, but to know it will always be bigger than…Goal Accomplished!

The Grace of God is sustaining and rich in self assessment. It governs how we talk to people and how we lead. Security in God does not require a forced respect, people will be drawn to the Anointing deposited in you! The greatest gift that we can give ourselves in the grind…Never leave home without Him! He’s needed in the boardroom to the bank!

Divine Work & Pray:

Work:

Jot down in your Divine Design Journal what your non-negotiables are and assess your commitment to keeping them through the grind. Write down your plan for keeping your non-negotiables and being mindful of the sacrifices that you are making to be successful.

Pray:

Father God, may nothing that you allow me to possess, possess me. May you always be the One to hold the permanent marker to my life. May my decisions produce fruit that others may grow thereby. You are an intentional God. Thank you for your sovereignty and how You order my steps. Great is your faithfulness!

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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