For the multi-passionate ones...
After a call full of ‘ah-ha’ moments with my coach, she asked me to journal my thoughts immediately after getting off of the call.
‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.’
… were pretty much the first words I wrote. To be honest, I’m not even 100% sure where they came from aside from a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit. I’d spent the entire call stuck in my head and battling with the suggestions given, still finding myself caught up in ‘how?’ as though I didn’t already KNOW that the how is irrelevant and what’s important is to DO THE WORK. To trust and know that the God who has promised never to leave or forsake us is certainly sufficient to carry our questions which only demonstrate that we’re still way too caught up in our heads.
Anyway. ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.’ Of COURSE that was the divine download I’d receive immediately after the call I’d just come off.
You see, as I continually shift and grow and my business does too, I can find myself enamoured by the ‘new’ and find myself almost rejecting the ‘old’ as though what I’ve spent blood, sweat and tears working on should now be ‘shelved’ as I move onto the next thing.
I wonder if you can relate with the ‘all or nothing’ way of thinking?
Either deciding that it’s THIS OR THAT and certainly not both because it doesn’t FIT?
I have SO many ideas (you’ve not seen or heard the half of them yet!) for my business and my when I’ve decided that one in particular happens to be ‘flavour of the week’, I find myself subconsciously switching off from the other stuff.
And they said women were good at multitasking… Someone really should send that memo to my brain.
If you’ve ever struggled with the whole ‘multi-passionate’ thing and have found yourself stuck and not starting or scaling purely because of the overwhelm of ideas you have, what I’m about to tell you is going to come as HUGE encouragement…
So after the call and the journaling, I got up from my desk and decided to go for a walk. I wasn’t sure where I was going to be honest but I was all in my thoughts and after this ‘ah ha’, I just needed a second to process.
After catching up with a friend and some aimless strolling, I remembered I needed to get one of my keys cut and so I headed to the key cutting place (which is also the shoe re-heeling place.) As I waited for my key, I looked up and saw a sign.
“Free holidays for foster families.”
I was confused. I was getting a door key cut and looking at racks of shoes waiting to be repaired. What on EARTH did that have to do with foster families getting free holidays?
Naturally, as soon as I left the shop, I went home to investigate. What I found was further confirmation…
‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.’
It turns out that this particular shoe repair and key cutting business is completely family run and opened with just one shop in 1865. Since then, they’ve expanded to over 1,300 owned stores and a number of franchises and no longer only specialise in key cutting and shoe repairs, but have added photography and dry cleaning services to their business bow.
So what about the foster families going on holiday?
Well, my research then led me to their trust and quite frankly, I was blown away.
Firstly, they’re committed to employing 10% of their workforce from prison, mobilising ex-offenders with a skill which gets them into work.
Secondly, over their lifetime, one of the directors and his wife were foster carers to a total of 90 children and were really led to explore the prevalent issue of attachment which is found in many looked after children. Sadly, the director’s wife passed away and in honour of her memory, he decided to set up a trust.
The Alex Timpson trust provides resources to help people understand the foster system and attachment a little better and it also financially supports in a variety of ways, all of which start with customers like me waiting to get their keys cut putting some money in their collection pots at the till.
How incredible.
Can you imagine if, when their hearts had really felt called to the prison system and supporting ex-offenders, if they’d said ‘let’s forget about the keys and the shoes’? INSTEAD, the keys and the shoes have been the very thing which has provided those ex-offenders an opportunity to learn a skill and make a living.
Can you imagine if, when they’d developed a heart for the foster care system and learning more about attachment if they’d said ‘we’re not really feeling the shoe and key thing anymore’? Instead, if just ONE person a day puts £1 in the collection boxes of each of their shops, they make over £1,300 a DAY which they can pour right back into the foster care system.
‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.’
No, you might not be able to do all the things; all at once however much you’d love to (I know I’d love to.) But don’t for a second allow that to lead you to think that you can’t do ANYTHING now purely because the ‘big picture vision’ won’t happen overnight.
Timpson started with one shop and a couple of machines which fixed shoes and keys. Now look.
If that doesn’t stir up a YES AND AMEN in those of you who are multi-passionate and just wondering how that huge God dream He’s given you is going to pan out for your life, I don’t know what will.
Start SOMEWHERE and watch Him do the rest. That’s what I’m doing and I know I’ve not even seen the half of it yet.
If you’re reading this and you’re like “but I don’t even know where to START.” And ALL THE THOUGHTS are driving you crazy (hi me yesterday morning.) then hang in there, I’ve got something for you. Keep your eyes peeled because it’s on its way & you won’t want to miss it.
In the meantime, remember this…
The world IS waiting for your work.
HEY! I’m Naomi, Business Coach for High-Level Female Entrepreneurs & Founder of Living Word League.
I coach, write, teach and run programs which infuse practical strategies with Biblical principles (which I personally think is the best rule of thumb for success.) I moved from a 7-year High School teaching career, to building and scaling my business after starting out as a hobby-status blogger in 2011. Within months, I was able to go totally full time and haven't looked back. My success, as someone who previously would have never seen myself as an entrepreneur means that I'm now beyond passionate about business being an expression of Kingdom-building here on earth. Hobby status and inconsistent feast to famine months aren't cutting it for you anymore right? You're meant for a business which has faith as your foundation AND soars with success. That's where I come in.
Click HERE to learn more about working with me.