But Faith can me more than just religion….
“God writes a lot of comedy…the trouble is, he’s stuck with so many bad actors who don’t know how to play funny.” ~ Garrison Keillor
Being raised a Catholic I have faith in God. I believe in a higher power. I am not a 100 percent advocate of organized religion, but I still believe there is some type of divine power existing in our society. When you look at the most successful and fulfilled people throughout history, faith is a common thread that links them. I haven’t seen a fulfilled life, nor any reported evidence of it throughout history, in someone who is completely without faith.
My mother’s side of the family is very strict Catholic. My mother felt I needed exposure to that so I could decide for myself. I completed Confirmation (a Catholic ceremony) and went to mass on Sundays. At one point, I became very involved in the church. I served as a camp counselor and really enjoyed it. Around the time I graduated from high school and went to college, things shifted for me. I believed faith went beyond what was defined and was more expansive. Did it have to be organized? Why couldn’t a person have faith in a way that is unique to them?
If you have a particular faith in something and it fuels your spirit, that is all you need. It can be faith in God, meditation, yourself or other certainty. There have been people from many different faiths who have built massive fortunes and lived fulfilling lives. They share a common faith in something, a spiritual feeling of connectedness and kinship with other humans. As long as what you have faith in fills you up from the inside and gives you the power to go forward throughout your day, you can achieve your big dream.
Faith has been an important part of my life since the beginning. I desired to give my children that same gift. I resolved to give them the tools and then allow them to make their own decision. When Jayden came along my attitude was, “I’m going to make sure we give him a foundation in church.” Yet, I pushed neither Jayden nor my daughter Skylar into the organized aspect of it.
The most important part of faith I have found is that it makes you feel full—full from the inside. I use meditation on a daily basis to take me to another state of being so I can pull myself up, fill myself up with a power that will carry me through my day.
Meditation powers my energy to succeed. The whole key is whether it is useful and serves you.
Many superstitions could be interpreted as faith, such as: touch a nail when you go over a railroad or hold your breath when you pass a cemetery. I have had to cross some long-ass cemeteries in the northeast; damn near made my face turn blue.
There are just certain things you do. You just have faith in them because you have heard them before. I still have some of those superstitions to this day. It’s silly, but there’s something about it that makes you smile after you do it. It warms you up inside. This childlike wonderment fills you with energy. That’s what it’s all about, just having faith in something out there that could be. Faith is a motivational keeper, a guiding light.
Without faith in something, you’re like a rudderless ship. The next shiny object or fast-moving opportunity can easily seduce you. You will be subject to the whims of the day or the direction the ocean breeze blows your life’s ship. Faith in your purpose and the vision you have for your life sustains you through good times and bad.
Many billions of unremarkable women and men have passed through history with barely a whisper. Many of them had faith in something, but many of them had little or none at all. Still, for those who aspire to a higher life and fulfillment, faith is an essential requirement.
Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Andrew Carnegie (one of the wealthiest men who ever lived) built some of the largest wealth empires, and they were atheists or agnostics. King Solomon, a Jew, is widely considered the wealthiest man in history. Many wealthy sheiks and business owners are Muslims.
The common thread with these wealth builders and high achievers is they have deep faith and belief in themselves. They believe strongly in their purpose and they have a spirituality even if only in the interconnectedness of our world and humanity.
Now, I’ll share a little about John D. Rockefeller, a devout Christian, who achieved massive financial success and a fulfilling life.
Religion was number one and number two in his life. Then came business. He was so committed to this it permeated every level of his life and the culture he created in his company. If colleagues wrote to him when they should have been in church, they would avoid putting the real dates on their letters for fear of being scolded by him.
Rockefeller only missed two Sunday church services over the course of his life. He firmly believed that oil was God’s creation meant to enhance our lives. He felt God assigned him the sacred mission to extract as much of this oil as he could for the betterment of humanity. The spark that drove his ferocious desire to be wealthy and continue despite any obstacle in his path came from a conversation he once had with a priest. The priest told him,
“John, it is your worldly responsibility to make as much money as possible, and then give away as much of it as you can.”
The history books record John D. Rockefeller as one of the wealthiest men in history. He also was a huge philanthropist who gave away more money, roughly $550 million, more than any American who had come before him. His faith and unyielding belief drove him to these heights.
There are different ways to view or perceive faith and spirituality. I do not believe it is necessary to link spirituality only to an all-mighty, sacred higher power. You may not believe in a higher power, but there are too many odd coincidences not to believe in anything at all.
How many times have you been thinking about a friend you haven’t spoken to in a long time and they text you? Or, they call you within a day or two? What about people who beat long odds? You can at least believe in the power of the human spirit to accomplish extraordinary things in the face of overwhelming opposition.
I would like to think, or even assume, spirituality is believing in oneself and having the inner guidance to create your own opportunities. You deserve to have faith that you can accomplish goals and create opportunity when you set your mind to it. While I believe in a higher power (God, in my case), I also believe in having confidence and trust in myself.
This belief in hard work, along with self-confidence and trust, is a force proven to move mountains! Take the steps day by day and dedicate yourself to success. You may lose faith at certain points when things get tough. That’s when you reach out to a mentor or someone you trust to support and encourage you through those dark valleys. I guarantee you can persevere and realize your vision and goals, because so many have done it before you, lighting the way. Entrepreneurs and top performers in any walk of life are special because they fall eight times but they get up nine times. They keep going because they have faith that they can keep on getting back up. Here is a tool I use daily to get clarity and refuel my faith.
This tool is effective to get clarity on what you desire. It allows you to access your subconscious for new ideas and creativity (more information on idea generation in chapter three). It is neither dependent nor part of any organized religion. It works with any faith you have in yourself, a higher power, or the spirit of humanity and the human desire to contribute and be remembered.
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Mark Your Calendars
From personal branding to LinkedIn marketing to content creation, Web3 and more, come hang out with Joshua and Rachel B. Lee to hear all the latest on business and marketing and ask your questions!
Those who show up will get some $SOA Coin! ????
It all happens Wednesday June 22nd at 2pm CST.
