I was having a chat with a pretty young girl at a bar near my house last Friday night. We discussed what we both do with our lives and as usual I faced some trouble describing what I do. After covering the usual pleasantries we moved on to more deep and meaningful discussions and the topic invariable progressed to religion and faith. We shared similar beliefs and while we both don’t ascribe to a particular religion we do have faith.
This morning I was again mentally assessing where I am going with my blogging and business in general and I realized that a lot of what I do is based on faith. I don’t in particular have very specific goals, rather general medium and long term things I want to do and achievements I would like to complete in the near future. I work towards these targets in a very faith based manner, committing myself to certain activities, like writing articles for this blog, that don’t necessarily provide an easy-to-measure return.
I could look at things simply as return on investment in money terms, but that would not be a fair judgement because a lot of the value I derive from my business, and in fact life in general, is intrinsic. Strictly using financial metrics to determine success would be like using someone’s net worth to judge their character and value has a human being, which sadly some people do. This is not a method that leads to healthy relationships and I would never associate with people that were so callous.
Business As A Religion
I have a few friends that I meet with regularly who share my passion for business. In fact some of them have even more passion for business than I do. After one meeting with them you can see that their business is the main focus in their life. For some their business enjoys the majority of their daily headspace, even surpassing the time contemplating sex (yes these are male friends). Business has become a part of who they are. Business is a part of who I am. If you are reading this then business is probably a part of who you are too.
Religion is a set of rules and guidelines to live your life in a way that is positive and rewarding. Religion provides faith, something intangible that can be called on when times are tough or when things happen that are out of our control. Religion for many people is a rock providing support and a map to follow, a means to find clarity and purpose amongst confusion and despondency.
Business provides an entrepreneur with purpose. When times are tough faith keeps an entrepreneur working long after other people, those that could be said to possess less faith, would have given up. While blind faith is not a good thing, certainly strong faith and courage of conviction are vital for any business person to carry on despite whatever obstacles are thrown at them.
Business provides an entrepreneur with meaning. An enlightened entrepreneur works towards building something that enhances many people’s lives, not just lines his or her own pockets. By creating a business that employs people, provides helpful products or services and creates prosperity for many, the sum effect is an expansion of positivity. While this wonderfully positive picture isn’t always the case in our corporate environment I choose to have faith in the humane part of each entrepreneur and will admire only those that give back more than they take out.
When business people get together they share the faith. Entrepreneurs discuss commerce, opportunities and advise each other on the best course of action in a given situation. It’s as if there are a set of rules, some written, some intuitively understood that are guiding these people. When entrepreneurs network they call on their collective understanding and knowledge to help each other and create something greater than the sum of the parts. It’s as if they are divinely inspired.
Keep Your Faith
Fanaticism is dangerous, but a healthy mix of faith and reality work well together. Personally I follow my own ever-evolving doctrine that guides my life and business activities. Living in the moment and focusing on the present gives me satisfaction. Work, or as I prefer to call it – creative expression – keeps me enthusiastic and motivated. Money is a reward for persistent effort and giving more than you take. Other rewards are intangible, such as positive feedback, having a positive impact on other people’s lives, increased personal confidence, clarity of purpose, maturity and the ability to remove yourself from negative influences and thought patterns.
Understanding and balancing your own strengths and weaknesses and working towards your own self improvement should be your primary goals in life. Being a business person, an entrepreneur, gives you membership to a special club of people who share a special religion. Your faith in yourself and your actions will greatly impact what you achieve as a person and as a business owner.
Yaro
Faithful
Great post Yaro.
I live in Thailand which is a predominantly Buddhist country. The Thais have a remarkable tolerance for those little things in life that send Joe average in the west absolutely nuts.
I usually kick start my day with 20 minutes mediation (or quite relaxation if you like) in order to ‘still’ the mind. It’s a simple process but it’s definitely not easy and only continued practice makes progress here. It’s a great way begin your day and a one started with this ‘quiet time’ usually goes a lot better than one started without it.
Buddhism is not a religion as such but more a way of life. A Buddhist monk would probably add and extra ‘o’ into ‘God’ thus using the word ‘good’ a lot, and it’s that goodness, and learning that it’s nice to be nice, which lies the foundation for a peaceful, and purposeful lifestyle.
Having said that, there’s a lot of scamming goes on in this country with both Thais and expats alike, and it ain’t perfect by a long way, but living among the Buddhists can teach one a lot about patience and tolerance which are valuable tools for business thinking and business ethics as we all know.
So, I have faith that everything will be alright so long as I remember not to take myself too dam seriously, and learn to plan ahead without trying to plan the results. That way, I don’t set myself up for disappointments, a drift off on tangents.
Cheers
Aitch
When he works with all his might to the glory of God, there is no difference between the work of the shoe cobbler in his shop and the minister in his church.
-Martin Luther (Paraphrased)
Yaro,
Probably the best article you have written thus far. I am actually going to print this out and file it. kudos.
Yaro, I only came across your blog in the last month or so when I first read about your purchase of the SmallBusinessBranding blog, I must say I really like your style. This is the best article I’ve read from you and one of the best on any blog I’ve read. I myself also do not subscribe to any one religion but do attend a non denominational church and believe that it does take a tremendous amount of faith in God to not only be an entrepreneur, but also to go through everyday life and raising a family.
Keep up the great work!
Being an entreprenuer certainly does mean having faith. But for the religious (or people who have other faiths), does business and religion mix? Thinking about business and money so much (for guys, even more than sex), could mean the beginning of the root of all evil. Anyways, personally, I find myself torn between what I want to do with my business and my beliefs as a Christian.
Nice blog. I’m going to add your link on my blog.
Hi Yaro,
Great article.
I think you’re more likely to feel this way when what you do is truly congruent with who you are, which I know is the case with me, and am sure it’s the case with you, oo.
Understanding yourself is one of life’s big challenges, so when you achieve this understanding through meaningful work, the knowledge that you’re “doing the right thing” is clearly going to invoke the same kind of focus, clarity and inner peace that people who follow traditional religion experience.
Feeling religious about what they do, sometimes to the point of being evangelical, is common amongst solo business owners. In fact I think this kind of enlightenment can only be achieved when you work for yourself, but that’s another post….
Thanks as ever for your inspiring work,
Sam
The country president is your God; the CEO is your Bishop, your colleagues are the priests, the computers on which you work are your worshipable deities the customers are your followers who you try to inspire to worship you and your paraphernalia gathering them into the big temples – the shopping centers.
But instead of thinking of this kid of jokes why you don’t try to really understand God for example through science if you are scientific minded.
Here are few of my favorite sites:
– Intelligent Design or Evolution? Why the Origin of Life Implies Design
http://www.theory-of-evolution.net/chap16/cambrian-explosion.php
– The Hare Krishna Views On Science
http://www.freewebtown.com/bhaktivedanta108
– Science Against Evolution
http://www.scienceagainstevolution.org/
– Access Research Network
http://www:arn.org/
– An Invitation To the Truth
http://www.harunyahya.com/
Nitai
Dear Yaro:
While it was posted some time ago, I stumbled across your post about business as a religion. As you know, business requires a strong measure of faith. I just gave a talk around this last night. Yet, the Bible says “faith without works is dead.” We must back up our faith with due diligence. I also want to add a comment, God wants us to be wealthy, to raise up HIS kingdom. The BMW should be a byproduct of our wealth, not the sole purpose. Anyway, nice blog!
Oh, I forgot to mention a website that might be of interest:
http://www.thefaithpreneur.com
It’s for people who have stepped out completely in faith to start their businesses. There’s also the Are You A Faithpreneur? network on Ryze:
http://www.ryze.com