Here is an email I received today from Compassion International. Included you will find ways to help and ways to make sure you don’t give money to some kind of scam. Please read, repost, retweet, or any other way you can help. Pray for these people.

PLEASE DO NOT SKIM. URGENT REQUEST.
ASSIGNMENT: Use your on-line voice to generate prayers and donations to rebuild the lives of Haitian children and their families affected by recent earthquake.
SYNOPSIS: The catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12 has resulted in unfathomable chaos and devastation for hundreds of thousands of children and families.
Compassion sponsors and donors serve more than 65,000 children in Haiti. At least a third of them live in the areas that were hardest hit.
I am asking you to please send a generous gift today to help precious children and their families, and to encourage others to give to Compassion International through your blog, Facebook and Myspace pages, Twitter account and e-mail. Please utilize every on-line tool you have access to. The people of Haiti desperately need our help and hope.
Compassion International is working rapidly to assess the situation and determine the full extent of damage:
• Sadly, we anticipate there will be many deaths.
• We anticipate thousands of children and families will have lost everything.
• We anticipate many of our church-based child development centers will have been destroyed.

Without a doubt, the children we serve in Haiti are in shock and face immediate needs for food, water, medical care, shelter and counseling. We have teams prepared to respond, and we are deeply committed to helping each child.
We need your help immediately. Please reach out in the name of Jesus to bring relief, comfort, love and restoration to precious children and families whose lives have been devastated by this crisis.
Below I have compiled information and tools to help you help Haiti. If you need anything else from Compassion please get in touch with me: shaun@compassionbloggers.com or 1-888-435-3336.
Please do not distribute any information about this crisis, especially as it pertains to the safety of our children, unless that information comes from me or an official Compassion International information channel such as Compassion’s blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

WHERE TO GIVE: Please ONLY use one of the following URLs when linking to Compassion’s Disaster Relief Donation page. This will allow us to track how much is given by you and your fellow bloggers and report that back to you at a later date.
https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/haitiearthquake.htm?referer=105120SocialSponsorshipBlitz
OR
http://bit.ly/HelpHaitiCI

BANNERS: Banners are available in four sizes for your blog’s sidebar at the following URLs:
http://bit.ly/HaitiBanners
OR
http://share-compassion.org/haiti

WIDGETS: Widgets are available from the following URLs:
http://seed.sproutbuilder.com/rACFLcgkH-6l5g6n (Horizontal 400×224 for blog posts and Facebook sharing)

http://seed.sproutbuilder.com/qABcEsguH13A3SDA (Horizontal 500×280 for blog posts)

http://seed.sproutbuilder.com/4gBH0cj3H1hY0SMD (Vertical 200×350 for blog sidebar and Facebook sharing)

More widgets coming soon to: http://www.compassion.com/share/freestuff/compassion-widgets.htm

WHY GIVE TO COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL:
FINANCIAL INTEGRITY: The FBI is warning of several Haiti charity scams that have popped up in the wake of this earthquake. http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/wayoflife/01/13/haiti.charity.scams/
They are suggesting that donations only be made to organizations monitored and rated by CharityNavigator.org and The American Institute of Philanthropy. Both organizations have given Compassion International their highest approval ranking. Compassion International is the only non-profit in it’s category to receive eight consecutive years of four star rating from CharityNavigator.org.
Links regarding Compassion International’s financial integrity:
http://www.compassion.com/about/financial/default.htm
http://www.compassion.com/press/currentnews/charity-navigator-awards-compassion-highest-rating-8th-year-in-row.htm
FIRST RESPONDER: In this disaster it is crucial that first responders receive support quickly. Because Compassion International ministers through local churches to meet the needs of that church’s neighbors, and because these church partners are respected aid workers in their communities, Compassion is uniquely positioned to assess and meet the needs of it’s sponsored children quickly. This is an advantage of our church-based model in practice for more than 50 years.
IN JESUS’ NAME: Compassion International does not accept government funds which could at times restrict our ability to meet the physical and spiritual needs of children in Jesus’ name. Because of this Compassion International’s primary financial support comes from individual donors.

WHERE TO GIVE: Please ONLY use one of the following URLs when linking to Compassion’s Disaster Relief Donation page. This will allow us to track how much is given through you and your fellow bloggers efforts and proudly report that back to you at a later date. This will also allow us to track the effectiveness of these donation pages and make changes if necessary.
https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/haitiearthquake.htm?referer=105120SocialSponsorshipBlitz
OR
http://bit.ly/HelpHaitiCI

HOW DONATIONS WILL BE USED: All funds raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to provide for Compassion-assisted children and families affected by this crisis. Any funds raised in excess will be stewarded by Compassion for additional and future disaster relief efforts.
You can provide immediate relief today.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families’ needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families’ needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.
Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.

FOR SPONSORS OF HAITIAN CHILDREN: Children most likely to be affected by the earthquake are in projects in and around Port Au Prince. For continued updates go here: http://www.compassion.com/sponsordonor/crisisupdates/crisis-advisory-earthquake-hits-haiti.htm

To connect with other sponsors of Haitian children for prayer, support, and information join OurCompassion.org (our social networking site for sponsors) and follow this link to the group “Heart For Haiti” that has formed there: http://bit.ly/91pIXk

RELEVANT VIDEOS AVAILABLE FOR POSTING:
Explanation of Haiti’s depth of poverty and Compassion’s sponsorship ministry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct6WcaIak_A
Respond with Compassion: http://www.youtube.com/user/CompassionIntl#p/u/8/MxrDyeX9Dh4

OTHER LINKS AVAILABLE FOR POSTING:
Updates from Twitter: http://twitter.com/compassion
Compassion blog: http://blog.compassion.org
Compassion on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/compassionintl
Crisis Update Page: http://www.compassion.com/sponsordonor/crisisupdates/crisis-advisory-earthquake-hits-haiti.htm

IMPORTANT SPECIAL REQUEST:
In order to help people find Compassion International more easily when searching for “Haiti earthquake”, please link the words “Haiti earthquake” to Compassion’s donation page somewhere in your post if at all possible. This will help Compassion’s donation page climb to the top of search results on Google quickly and generate thousands more donations.

Here’s that donation page link again:

https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/haitiearthquake.htm?referer=105120SocialSponsorshipBlitz
OR
http://bit.ly/HelpHaitiCI

Thank you for helping Compassion International help Haiti.

Shaun Groves
Blogger Manager
CompassionBloggers.com
Compassion.com
1-888-435-3336

James 1:22 (New International Version)

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

This is a very well known verse. Why?

Because we need to hear it so often. One of our common fleshly traits is that we learn something and we believe we’re good to go.

I know, not you…but people I know.

We may read a book on leadership, attend an insightful seminar, or get guidance from a mentor but if we do not take action on what we learned it is useless. In fact you are deceived!

Deceive: to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid

Deception is different than being wrong. There are many things in our lives that we know are wrong. When you know you’re wrong, then your know what to correct.

When we’re deceived we actually think we’re right. We are not doing the right things yet we think in our hearts that we are.

We actually believe reading good books, going to great seminars, or even attending church are the right things. Are they bad, of course not.

But there are plenty of people who read great books and go to seminars that aren’t making a dollar in their business. There are even people who attend church on a regular basis who aren’t going to heaven.

As this verse so beautifully says…Do what it says!

Here are four ways we can “Do What it says.”

• Record: How are you going to remember what it says unless you take notes. We can’t remember where are keys are, we’re sure not going to remember some amazing truth or principle.
• Review: We listened, we took notes, we came home and stuffed the notebook on a shelf never to be opened again. That will not help us do what it says. We should review and remind ourselves of what we learned.
• Respond: Take action on a new principle. Put it to use. Unless that word, that becomes a thought, that becomes a note, becomes an activity, you’re still deceived.
• Repeat: We can create positive habits in our lives only when we repeat positive actions. Habits come from repetition like muscles at the gym. We must work out the lessons of life to become emotionally, physically, and spiritually strong.

Heading into a new year is a great time to reflect on what we are putting into practice. Ask yourself, “What do I know that I know I’m not doing?”

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

Matthew 7:7-8 (New International Version)

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

In part 1 of the ASK series we covered that the most important part of asking God for anything that gets answered is asking God for what He would want in our lives.  Ask and it will be given to you is the promise that is fulfilled once we meet the condition of Matthew 6:33, Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will given to you as well.

In part 2 of the ASK series we covered our responsibility to seek out the education, resources, and community necessary for the task at hand.  A Godly mission will require us to be better tomorrow than we are today.  We will have never found what we are in search of rather we will be continuously seeking after what we need to continually serve the Lord.

Part 3 is really where the rubber meets the road.  We can be diligent in prayer and have a keen sense of God’s calling in our life.  We can then seek out Godly counsel, practical insights, and a healthy mental diet but if we do not put what we have learned into practice it is all in vain!

James 1:22-25 (New International Version)

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Knock and the door will be opened. One of the greatest tragedies in life must be a life lived with great intentions and little action.  So many of us have dreams for our families, ministries, and business but yet very few of us will actually get out of the boat and take action.

What stops us from acting?

Fear

One of the very first things that stops us from achieving our awesome God given dream is that we are fearful.  This fear can manifest in many forms.  Some of us are fearful of stepping out of our comfort zone, and dealing with the unknowns.  Some are fearful of failure and not finishing what they started.  We can be fearful of many other things and allow our fear to completely halt what God has planned for us or we can apply the only real antidote for fear.  Faith.

What do we know about faith.  Faith is truly the antitheses to fear.  Faith comes with the unknown.  There is no faith required to turn on the TV.  Your pretty confident that when you click the remote, poof, your watching TV.

When your starting a new business, ministry, or some other God honoring dream there is usually a great amount of uncertainty that comes with it.  This uncertainty is the very thing that makes us fearful.  This uncertainty however is the very thing God uses to cultivate the faith we need to do His will.

Faith is not just something that we need so we can be successful, no it has a much greater purpose than that.  Did you know that it is impossible to please God without faith?  Impossible?  Don’t take my word for it.

Hebrews 11:6 (New International Version)

⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

If we now know that we cannot please God without faith, and faith is cultivated by the uncertainty that life brings us, we can be confident that stepping out despite our fear is the very first and most important step in achieving our God given dream.

The Plan…or the lack there of.

When people do start they are most likely to meet frustration head on if they lack a good plan.  Planning is one of those things that we all know we need to do, but rarely do.

“People don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.” – Jim Rohn

A good plan of action will include at least these 5 things.

First off are your goals.  What is the end goal you’re looking to achieve at this time.  You can always add goals, but when you do you should follow the following 4 steps to achieve that specific goal.  Your goals need to have some structure.  I personally like SMART goals.

Specific – A specific goal should answer the 6 “W” questions.  (Who, What, Where, When, Which, Why)

Measurable – Your goals need to have a specific amount and date in order to keep you on track.

Attainable – Be careful not to shrink your goal.  God is capable of exceedingly more than we can think or even imagine.  You do however want to break up your goal into attainable chunks.  This gives you stepping stones of achievement to build upon.

Realistic – Make you goal realistic to your output.  A tremendously large goal with you committing a small amount of work to is not realistic.  Match your energy to the size of your goal.

Time based – Make sure you have specific time lines for when your goals are to be achieved.  Deadlines give clarity and cause you to push forward.

Schedule

Now that you have clearly defined goals you must actually set time aside to work.  We all have very busy lives and if you don’t schedule time to do something it’s still just a dream.

When scheduling go big then small.  Start by scheduling specific events or goals on a monthly basis.  Then weekly schedule the days and times you can work on specific projects.  Finally daily schedule specific tasks or projects by the hour.

Big goals are rarely achieved by some big one time event, but achieved bit-by-bit and piece-by-piece on a daily basis.

Action Items

Now that you know what your goals are and you have set aside actual time to sit down and work on them you have to have action steps.  What are you actually going to do.  Brainstorming a list of actions you can perform that will lead towards the success of your God given dreams will ensure that your always active and keeping on track.

Warning:  List PA’s, not UPA’s.  PA – productive activities are those activities that move you toward a specific goal.  UPA is an unproductive activity.  Cleaning your desk or responding to inane emails is activity but not productive toward a specific goal.  Items to list should fit into these three categories.

1. Big things – These are very time consuming but powerful activities toward your end goal.  Building a website, bringing together a team or volunteers.
2. Little things – These take less time but are very needed as well.  If you only have an hour to work one day fill it with the little things such as making need phone calls, sending important emails, etc.
3. Right now things – Since this post is about “knocking” and taking action then what is the one or two things you are going to do right now.  Right now!  The first step is the hardest step.  Take action and do something right now.  This would be a great time to create your goal list, schedule your time, or make a well over due phone call.

Commitment

The final step is not a step but a promise.  A promise that you will not quit in the face of adversity.  And you will face adversity.  No God given dream, a dream that requires faith, will come without a storm of challenges from time to time.

Since you already expect the challenges then you will be prepared when they come and you will not let them get in the way of what God wants to do in your life.

May God bless your endeavor, give you faith that you’ve never experienced, and the courage to persevere.

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

Matthew 7:7-8 (New International Version)

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

In part 1 of the ASK series we covered that the most important part of asking God for anything that gets answered is asking God for what He would want in our lives.  Ask and it will be given to you is the promise that is fulfilled once we meet the condition of Matthew 6:33, Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will given to you as well.

Seek and you will find

You may know that God has called you to be an entrepreneur and pray diligently for His favor and blessings but prayer alone will not make you a success.  The idea of seek in this passage is that you deeply desire something and search it out.  We must be willing and determined to seek out the knowledge necessary to become successful.

If Ask is about your heart and connection to God and His will then Seek is about preparing your mind and emotions.

You must seek out…

What you consume (thoughts, books, audio’s, etc.)

The adage “You are what you eat” is true physically, physiologically, and spiritually.  We must be very careful what we allow in our body.  Just as what we eat forms our physical body, what we read, watch, and listen to forms our thoughts and perceptions of life.

Our thought life is one of the most important parts of us.  Constantly watching the news on how bad our economy is, murder, and war is probably not the best breakfast for you.  I would suggest dieting on the Word of God.  CNN will tell you how uncertain things are right now.  You can carry that through your whole day and allow your thoughts to be shaped by their food, or you can wake up and read a verse like…

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Somethings we consume that are detrimental for us don’t actually taste bad.  Watching excessive sports, sitcoms, or movies may be fun and very enjoyable but they are not adding anything of value into your life.  Shut off your TV and get a good book on leadership and watch your emotional love-handles turn into a six-pack.

Who you  associate with (fellowship, peer group)

1 Corinthians 15:33 (New International Version)

³³Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

One of the first things that fitness gurus will tell you when you want to get in the gym and back in shape after a long hiatus is to get a “gym buddy”.  The reason is so that you have someone to hold you accountable, give you encouragement, and go through the process with.  God has placed community and fellowship in our hearts.  We want to do life with others.

The company we keep is so vitally important to how we prepare our mind and emotions.  Allowing others in our lives to hold us accountable to our actions and emotions is a wise and difficult thing to do.

Be careful who you allow to speak into your life.  Find Godly entrepreneurs who understand the difficulty and challenges you face will provide you with a good balance fellowship and support.

If you’re smart you’ll find someone to hold you accountable in all the important areas of your life (your walk, your marriage, your business, etc.).

How you deal with challenges (character development)

You may be frustrated that as soon as you pray for God to promote you and bless your business that life starts to get harder.  My pastor once said “be careful what you pray for, especially for patience.”  Why is that?  Because God does not waive a magic wand and poof, you have patience.  No, God develops character in His children through life’s circumstances.  The sooner you realize that life’s difficulties are the very things that make you grow you’ll complain less about them and focus more on what you can learn.

James 1:2-4 (New International Version)

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I have a few guys in my Bible study who are very strong.  These guys are huge, but they weren’t born that way.  They developed their muscle by pushing against resistance.  The more resistance they push against the stronger they get.

God uses the resistance we face in our businesses and our lives to form our spiritual muscles.  The more resistance we push against the stronger we become.  If you’re facing a lot of resistance in your life right now then praise God.  God will use these problems as the very thing to prepare you for what He has in store for your life.

Seek and you will find.  Be intentional and diligent about seeking out the things that will promote growth in your life.  Your business will not out grow you.  So as Jim Rohn says, “Work harder on yourself than you do on your business.”

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

In episode 4 we take a look at what Phillipians 2:3-4 tells us about being servant leaders.  In our network marketing business putting the needs and wants of our distributors first is truly the essence of servant leadership.

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

Matthew 7:7-8 (New International Version)

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

This may be one of the most powerful passages for our business in all of Scripture.  With great power and authority also comes great abuse.  This might be one of the most misused Scriptures by teachers who present the Word of God as the entitlement to gain wealth and possessions.

Gut check time!  You may not be called to be an entrepreneur!  Maybe you are, but how do you know for sure?

If doors around you are always closing and people around you are speaking into your life about some area of ministry that God is calling you too and every time you read your Word your mind, thoughts and heart are gravitating toward something else than it may be time to reevaluate your calling from God.

With that said this passage presents the foundational blue print for us to evaluate God’s will for our lives.  I’ll be braking this passage up into a 3 part series.  The first part on “Ask” will address this very issue on our purpose for our business and our lives.  The second part on “Seek” will address our willingness to learn and prepare for this calling.  The third installment will cover “Knock” the physical manifestation of our lives once we know God’s calling for our lives and have dedicated ourselves as students to the area which we have been called.

Side note:  This blog series is just the foundation of a training series entitled A.S.K. which will be available in the next few months.  More information will be available as we draw closer to the launch.

Part 1: Ask

“Ask and it will be given to you”, sounds nice, huh.  When I first read this I shuttered because it sounded like an open invitation to ask for whatever I wanted.  Well it is…kinda.  As my pastor says if you see a promise, back up to see what the condition is.

Matthew 6:33 (New International Version)

³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

The condition for this promise of “Ask and it will be given to you” is that what we are asking for is aligned with what God wants for our lives.  If we do not seek His kingdom and His righteousness than this whole passage does not even apply to us.  We are disqualified.  We should not expect to receive whatever we ask from God.

So in order to qualify ourselves for this powerful promise from God we must start by putting Him first in our lives.  I feel this is exactly what the “Ask” is all about.

Spending time in prayer and in meditation on God’s Word is a vital key to knowing what our purpose is.  We must literally ask God to show us His will for our lives.  We must be intentional about reading God’s Word with purpose and writing down the thoughts that come to our hearts.  This is what I believe the psalmist was trying to get across when he wrote:

Psalm 37:4 (New International Version)

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Once you have taken the time to truly ask God for your purpose this verse applies as well to provide our needs for His calling.  Where God gives vision He will also give provision.

Asking God for His guidance, strength, and wisdom should be a daily occurrence especially for a Christian entreprenuer.  Stay prayed up before meetings with associates and prospects.  Ask specifically for God’s favor during a presentation.  God comes through!  Not always as we expect or understand, but He comes through!

Recently my wife and I were having a home presentation and spent a good amount of time preparing and promoting this event.  We spent weeks inviting and following up to make sure we had a large gathering.  We prayed the night before for God’s will to be done and His favor during our event.

The very next day one by one we received calls and emails everyone who was NOT coming.  I became very frustrated and got even more so when I received a call from friend that was coming.  I had been attempting to sponsor this individuals for 3 years and now he was going to show up when I had no other people coming.  How embarrassing is this?!

He showed up with one of his friends and the three of us kinda hung out and watched the baseball game.  We chatted a little bit about biz and I showed them some things about how Bethany and I grew our business.  While in the middle of a sentence he just blurted out, “I’m ready to go.”

It moved him more to have the personal one on one approach than having a room full of prospects and distributors.  What I thought was going to be an embarrassment was the exact thing that this person needed.

I prayed for God’s favor and got two new distributors while watching the Red Sox…God comes through!

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

Welcome everyone to the 3rd installment of the MLM Fellowship Podcast.

This week we will be taking a look at Matthew 7:24-27 to see what Biblical truth’s we can apply to our network marketing business.

This parable Jesus told His disciples is about building our house on the rock so that we can withstand life’s storms.  Likewise our business can resist the storms by trusting in God’s Words!

Thank you being a part of the MLM Fellowship community, God Bless!

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

Matthew 25:14-18 (New International Version)

The Parable of the Talents

¹⁴“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. ¹⁷So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

This is a very popular passage to be used in the context of business or financial stewardship.  I hope to shed some new insights and show that resources aside it is our actions that determine our life’s fortune.

Verse 14 is very clear and we need to completely understand that it is not about us.  The property (time, talents, treasure) that has been entrusted to us is not ours, it’s His.  All of our abilities and talents we were born with or developed through our lives are put there by God to do His will here on earth.  You’re not that talented, just that blessed.  Likewise any resources that you have now or acquired through business ventures are a gift.  This property has been given to us to multiply and bless others.

I believe that all of us want to be used mightily by God, but not all of us are.  This may be because we get in the way.  Instead of staying low and realizing that it’s really not you that is so special, but that God is using you in a special way. We tend to puff up and get very proud of our accomplishments.  We get a little E.G.O. Edging God Out.  Staying low and glorifying God for what He does through us is a prerequisite for being used.

If you’re not sure why you are not being blessed ask God if this could be one of the reasons.

2 Choices

#1 – Went at once

The two servants who had doubled their resources had one thing in common.  In verse 16 it states that the man went at once and put his money to work. Money could be replaced with natural talents or time.  The concept here is that he went to work immediately.  Without delay.  Like now, not later.

Side Note: When the author is aggressive about a certain topic he is likely preaching to himself!

The reason most things don’t get done is because things don’t get started.  Many people wait for the “ducks to get in a row” before we start anything significant.  There is amazing power in doing something now even if it is a small something.

A great small-something-to-do that creates action and sets up continued action is journaling.  Grab a pen and paper.  Write down where your business is today.  Write down where you want it to be 30 days from now.  Then write down the specific actions you’re going to do to achieve your goal.

Here is the secret step to this process.   Do what you wrote down!

#2 – Dug a hole in the ground

It is interesting that in both examples the Scripture tells us what they did once they received the money.  The servant with the 5 talents went at once while the servant with 1 talent just went off. When we are given the option do we go to work at once or just go off to do some work.

The difference in these two terms is in the intentionality.  As we discussed earlier about creating a plan of action and then implementing that plan is very intentional.  However, the phrase went off , dug a hole is very careless.

This servant ended up doing work but it was futile work and ultimately harder.  To be in the business of digging holes and getting no return sounds foolish but how many of us do this daily in our business.

There are two kinds of activities we engage in with our business on a daily basis.  They are IGA’s or non-IGA’s.  IGA is an acronym for income generating activities.  Some non-IGA’s we cannot avoid.  We have to do administrative work, organize, etc., but unless these activities are leading us to do things that create income they are all meaningless.

IGA’s are setting up meetings, doing presentations, and training distributors.  They almost always are directly related to communicating with other people, which is why so many of us don’t do them.  Dealing with people is difficult and stressful at times so instead we file papers, clean off the desk, or tinker with a website.  So that way we feel like we’re working, but in reality we are just digging holes.

3 things we can do right now to grow our business

1. Pray for a humble heart and ask God what He wants from you and your business.  How can you directly bless someone with the business He has entrusted to you?
2. Journal what He reveals to you.  Also journal a specific course of action for the next 30 days that will dramatically impact your business.
3. As the Nike slogan says, “Just Do It!”  Start now on IGA’s and avoid the pitfalls of useless activities.

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

Matthew 10:16

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

As Christian entrepreneurs we are being completely thrown to the wolves.  The business world is full of selfish, conniving, deceitful people looking to take advantage of someone.  We probably have in our own business mentors who preach about greed, lust of the flesh, and pride.

As Christian entrepreneurs we are to dance to the beat of a different drum.  It’s not money, fame or possessions that are to drive us.  No, it’s serving Christ that should be our focus.

A Godly life is a life of balance, a life in control.  So many of us are out-of-control and completely unbalanced.  This passage is all about the balance we should possess.  We must find the balance between wisdom and vulnerability to accomplish God’s work in our lives.

How many of us know (or is) someone who is very shrewd but lacks vulnerability.  This person may lack trust and would much rather work alone.  They tend to push people away and do not let anyone get to close.  They want to prevent people from taking advantage of them.

When we live in this state we lose out on the great blessings of community.  Having close fellowship with people and being able to share in the victories of life or to share the burden of hurts with people who love you is one of the greatest gifts from God.  Being in real community with one another requires vulnerability.  I give the credit to my accelerated growth in the Lord to the community of brothers He surrounded me with.

In our business we must be willing to delegate some of the responsibility.  This is how we create leaders in our organizations.  The other benefit from being vulnerable in our business comes from allowing others to hold us accountable for things we’re suppose to do.  So often we create false excuses for why we can’t do something or why it’s okay to do this in a certain area.  My wife is awesome at this.  She is always checking me when I’m not doing the right things in my life and business.  I don’t want to hear it when she says it and I usually snap back with some comment, but the Holy Spirit reminds me that she is right.

Contrary to this we all know many people who are only innocent as doves and allow themselves to be taken advantage of.  These people will go along with anything.  Discernment is lacking in these individuals and they tend to have a blind trust and lack wisdom.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge.  Being shrewd as snakes is the about being sensible and prudent.  Being innocent as doves is about having the vulnerability to share your life and experiences with people in order to benefit their lives and yours.

Just like life our business is all about relationships.  The balance of this passage for me is that we are to be shrewd in our decision of who to associate with and innocent enough to do life with them.  This is true with our friends as well as our business partners.

One of the greatest blessings of having a network marketing business is that we get to literally choose who we work with.  Once we have made that decision let us become humble, innocent, and vulnerable enough to engage sincerely with our team.

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.

Acts 17:2-4 (NIV)

²As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said. ⁴Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

In this passage we learn a great deal about how the Apostle Paul evangelized (prospected) to the Jews and the Gentiles.  We learn that there was a 3 step plan that Paul consistently used to be an effective recruiter for the kingdom of God.

Before we get to the 3 points let’s look at the very first phrase, “as his custom was”.  Paul new that consistency was the foundation that anything good was built upon.  We must first off all commit ourselves to a life of consistency in order for us to build anything substantial in our business.  Doing something great once in a while is a waste, doing something good consistently leads to greatness.

Find a system that works.  Repeat then repeat again.

Step #1 – Strike Interest and Sort

Every networker needs to embed in their psyche that we must consistently be exposing new people to our product and opportunity.  Recycling names is a huge frustration for both you and your prospects.  People who have shown no interest for 6 months to all of a sudden become business partners is rare.  Does that mean we don’t follow up, absolutely not?  But, new names are the life blood for your business.

Paul realized this to be true.  He knew some would get it and some would not (sort).  That was out of his control, but what he could control was how many people he spoke with.  Paul concentrated on striking interest.  Besides if don’t strike interest and sort the other 2 steps don’t matter.

Step #2 – Provide information needed to make a decision

The Scriptures tells us that “he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.”  This indicates a few things as to providing the information necessary to allow people to make a decision.

1. Speak on their level of understanding “reasoned from the Scriptures.”
2. Expose the issues and problems – Paul was indicating that you are dead to sin
3. Prove your opportunity is the solution – Christ died in your place and then was risen…Praise God!

As a networker we can use the same formula to present the case for our business.

1. Seek first to relate and form a basis of understanding – (ask questions)
2. Expose the “rat race” or the need for financial freedom – (confirm the issues)
3. Prove that your opportunity is a solution for what is hurting them – (state the solutions)

Step #3 – Collect decisions

Acts 17:4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

Some of the Jews…

This indicates that not everyone who heard the Truth that Paul was preaching accepted it and chose to follow Jesus.  Take this as a powerful lesson…really…please get this.  If Jesus didn’t get everyone you sure not going to either.

The powerful act of grace given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has not been accepted by the world.  In fact in the world today the number of people who would “check the box” to be a Christian is only around 30%.

We really need to understand in this business that some will, some won’t, oh well!  The Apostle Paul has given us some awesome insight into promoting our opportunity.  All the tricks of prospecting, online marketing, lead gen, etc.  all still fit within the 3 Step Success Pattern.  Strike interest and sort, provide information needed to make a decision, and collect decisions.

If we take this concept and add some amazing advice from the Man Himself your success is not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Luke 9:5-6 (NIV)

⁵If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.” ⁶So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.