Business entrepreneurship was in my blood at a very early age.  I distinctly remember at six years old wanting to own a company that made nuts and bolts. Why nuts and bolts?  They were the shiny, easy to grab items I saw in the junk drawer at home. That makes sense for a six-year-old right? But as I began to mature and gain exposure to more than just nuts and bolts, my desire for business entrepreneurship also matured. After earning a degree in mechanical engineering, I began working with a large electric utility company where I was employed for 30 years.  At that utility company, I worked in a variety of areas including engineering, operations, marketing, external affairs, corporate budgeting, project planning, construction and in many other management assignments, most of which I never sought or applied for.  In retrospect, I now see much clearer what God was up to.  He was growing my skills and expanding my experiences so that I would be knowledgeable in many areas of business.  Although I worked for someone else for many years, my entrepreneurial drive was not dead, just dormant and waiting for the right time and the right season.

While working at the utility company, I tried many different side-hustles but had little to no success.  Even though the business ventures were good and the potential to make a lot of money was possible, none of them seemed to materialize the way I’d hoped. In hindsight, I realized that my way of thinking was out of order. Instead of initially seeking God’s wisdom and direction, I only wanted His blessings upon whatever I chose to do. This was one of many spiritual gems I gathered over the years.  One of my least successful ventures left me with very deep scars vowing never, ever to start another business while there was still breath in my lungs.  Safe and secure at my full-time job was now my paradise, and I really meant that.  Of course, God had other plans.  He had a purpose and destiny for my future yet to be revealed.

Years later, God reignited the entrepreneurial spirit within me but this time it was a little different.  My desire for wealth, flexibility and recognition had given way to more of a desire to be a job creator and a blessing to others.  What He really gave me was a greater desire to seek after His presence and not just His presents.  He was working on my heart so that He could show himself strong in my life for the benefit of others.  Wow, I didn’t see that coming!