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I was in my loungeroom last night and saw sitting on the piano, a poster I’d made a couple of years ago. It reminded me of some of my journey towards realising that my work is my ministry. So I’ve added it in the tagline description of this blog. But then I was looking for an article I wrote about how that came about – haven’t yet found it. I did, however, find another article I’d written a couple of years ago that I thought appropriate to share here. You are welcome to republish it, providing acknowledgement is given to the writer – me!

Where there is Vision………..

There is a verse in the Bible that says ‘people without vision will perish’ (Proverbs 29:18 KJV) and I suggest it is the same for business people.

Do you have a vision for your business? Do you know why you are in business? Where you plan to take it? How long you want to be in business for?

Each new year brings with it new promises and New Year Resolutions are a good way to prompt us to consider our paths. To do this you should look at past events (review) and then look to the future (plan).

If what you have been doing previously has not been moving you forward in the direction you desire, then it is time to start thinking about what needs to be changed.

If you are moving forward but progress has been slow, then perhaps you need to consider what will help things to move a little faster.

And, if you are one of those with a business that has been moving forward very quickly, then take the time to consider where it is headed and can you handle what is happening?

The Hebrew word Para is translated in the Bible to the word perish but it also relates to the following words/meanings:

Avoid – how many people actually avoid doing things? They may procrastinate, or put away, banish to the bottom of the tray, or just not do, the various things that need to be carried out, to make the business succeed. Instead of Avoiding, you should Stand Up and Be Counted!

Be naked – in this instance you need to be clothed with a positive spirit – many lack this very thing and spend their days in negativity…….. and then wonder why others do not want to be around them! Clothe yourself in a positive spirit and enjoy your business and your working life!

Refuse (to progress) – there is often a reluctance to progress. ‘We’ve always done it this way!’ is a common complaint in places where change is met reluctantly. Instead, be prepared to work hard with a freshness and vitality, find joy in your work, and passion in your business, and things will start to move in the direction you seek. What is more, others will enjoy being in your company and will want to follow your direction.

Go back – Many tend to look back to the ‘good old days’, instead of working with a progressive vision to a grand future. Use history to remind you what worked and what did not, and learn from lessons of the past, but do not dwell there – instead look forward and move ahead! Develop a progressive vision – once you have achieved a goal, move onto the next one!

Set at naught – do not be lukewarm about your business and about what you are doing with it. Enjoy your labour, be positive, believe the impossible can, and will, happen. Be prepared to make things happen!

Let be –(uninvolved) – Are you involved in what is happening inside your business? Whilst it is important to not be 100% caught up with the workings, so that you can spend some time on developing your business, it is very important that you do remain attached! And not only to your business – but to the outside world too! Particularly if you run a small or home-based business, it is so easy to only be familiar with your world and not be in touch with what is happening beyond. This is where networking is so important. Make yourself go out and meet others. Make yourself keep in touch with the general business world and be prepared to learn, to become involved, to participate.

Perish (declining) – If you do not nurture your business (and your passion for it), it will begin to decline, and eventually perish. Having no goals, no vision, nothing to work towards, is a sure way that this can happen. It is just like being on the road and not having a roadmap to show you the way. Having no vision, no goal means you have no end destination, and without this, it is so very easy to let things slip, become uninvolved and detached, to look only backwards and refuse to progress, to avoid the things that need to be done and to be clothed only in negativity.

If you had a vision, but your eye has been taken off it, for whatever reason, you will experience a lost sense of direction, a feeling of not having any goals, and a lost sense of mission. It is very hard to know where you are going, and how to get there, if you do not have some sort of plan, or roadmap to follow. Strive to revisit your vision, and your passion for that vision, to get yourself back on track again. Dare to dream dreams, see visions, set goals and move ahead and your business will follow. KMT

workplace ministry, vision, passion, perish, Proverbs 29

(Bio – if you wish to republish this article):

Kathie M. Thomas, AFAIOP, ASO, MVA is Principal of “A Clayton’s Secretary”(R) , the first VA network in Australia, and second in the world. VAs or Virtual Assistants provide ad-hoc or ongoing administrative support to businesses virtually. Kathie is an author, and an experienced public speaker as well as a Coach/Educator for the VA industry. All enquiries may be directed to her website at http://www.vadirectory.net.