I know you’ve heard people say that life is full of ups and downs. Better yet, the downs are as good for you as the ups. Yeah, I know. It’s my Mama’s blessings in disguise. I could not have predicted how important this idea would become to me as an entrepreneur.

But it’s also something else that I learned from my Mama and elders. It’s the F-Word – Faith. I watched a short video of Damon Brown, co-founder of Cuddlr (now Spoonr), a social networking site that brokers meetings between people who want to cuddle. No going all the way, just cuddling.

Brown talked about one of his favorite books, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I, too, love this book.

He likens the main character Santiago’s journey to that of the entrepreneur. We’re headed toward a goal, but we get lost, off track or sidetracked. Maybe we make a mis-step, sometimes known as “the dreaded mistake”. In other words, we go through changes.

Brown says “those moments when we seem the most lost” are actually the times when we discover our greatest treasures. We uncover our most useful insights.

Once again, this week, like last week, we are talking about invisible power forces. Brown reminds us that being an entrepreneur is about having faith in our vision and trusting our journey.

Faith is a resource. Hidden but very real. You may have your why, that is, your purpose. Moving from your why to your what, the product or service that you provide, requires faith. Failures become funnels that lead to actions that transform your work.

Faith reminds us to stay flexible. A zig can work as well as a zag. By focusing on the moment, we find ways to make our situation work for us. We use what we have to get where we want to go. Ride that zig all the way to our goal!

As entrepreneurs, we sometimes make decisions that others do not understand. We take risks on ourselves. We believe in what we have to offer. We’re driven by what we believe about our work. Faith keeps our fire burning.

We’re not blind to the risks. We feel the fear and keep moving toward our goal. We’re careful and we’re daring, at the same time. It’s that balance that keeps us alert, timely, and decisive.

So here’s what I’ve learned about having faith.

• Start before you’re ready.

• Fail often and fail forward so that you can use the important lessons you learn to build your business.

• Do the work, put energy into your business then, let go. Trust your vision. Trust your work. Trust yourself.

Take a leap of faith. Spread your wings. Fly.

© Sandra Y. Lewis

#balance #faith #failforward #flexibility #focus