Hello again! Thank you for following along this journey with me.

Where do I begin in how I got to this place (read my last newsletter/post for context)? Well, I don't know exactly where to start, but I'll set the stage for the moment that I was convinced that I knew exactly what I was to do.

That moment was in a coffee shop in Chicago when I had a vision. Now I don't want you to think I'm a freak (unless you do already and you're still here, then I have nothing to worry about), so I'll explain. But first, I want to let you know what led up to this vision.

At this time, I was a failed pastor (for moral reasons) and an unsure and mediocre business owner. I was four years into my new business and already trying to be a business owner, meaning I wanted to build a company that I was not involved in the day-to-day operations but just collected the profits. I did it. But I'd say now that I was premature in that move.

I don't know if that was the best thing for me or not. It left me very confused about what I should really be doing not only in the present time of my life but also in the future. And it kept me from putting my time and attention into making the business healthier and more profitable.

As a failed pastor, I  was wrestling with whether to keep pursuing the 'ministry' or punt the whole idea. I was also listening to, what I call, my YouTube gurus. One was a 'crazy' Christian minister of his own ministry. The other was a 'crazy' businessman who swore a lot. They both lit my heart on fire.  One for Jesus and what it meant to be connected in a relationship with him.  The other for business and the potential to love what you do and do it in a way that lifted others up and was not all about profit and efficiency.

I also was introduced to a Christian billionaire. Well, I never actually met him, but I read his books and, yes, watched a YouTube video of him. (I think maybe I'll just label this period of my life as the YouTube period.) He introduced me to the idea of setting and reaching life goals. There was something in his book that compelled me to actually start thinking about my life. Specifically, what I wanted it to be about and what I wanted it to look like.

My mind was saturated in Jesus, business, and purpose. That seems to be where this 'vision' came from (or the Spirit, or the creepy YouTube algorithm). It was the first time I felt like I actually saw something in my field of vision that was not there. What was actually in my field of vision was a mound of grass outside the coffee shop window. But what I 'saw' was the interior of a large house, in the mountains, filled with 120 people. I was giving a toast, and that toast was to the success of each one's success in their business. It was so real and vivid that I can still see it.

I want that to happen. I will pursue that happening with all my being for the rest of my days. This is a portion of what I envision VitVox to be.

Jesus. Business. Purpose.

I grew up a Christian. My uncle shared the good news with my parents after he heard it at a Billy Graham crusade. Christianity was all that I knew. My first memories in life are of me crying for my Mom on the nursery floor in the church I grew up at.

But what I doubted was God's love for me.

I believe that there is a God who created the world and me. I just can't shake that. It is what it is. I never have doubted that. What I doubted was that this creator God loved me. I didn't think that he didn't love other people; I just wasn't absolutely convinced I was one of those people. The biggest reason that I couldn't believe it was that I couldn't get my shit together. I sinned over and over and over and over and over...well, you get the point. I couldn't stop sinning. I 'knew' Jesus came to die on a cross for my sins and rose from the grave, and that was supposed to mean that I had been forgiven of those sins and made right with God. But I just couldn't believe that God would actually keep forgiving me of my sins. So that kept me from believing that God loved me.

My whacky YouTube preacher John Crowder, and the Holy Spirit, changed that for me. I became convinced that God loved everyone he had ever created. And if he loved everyone he ever made, then I couldn't be that terrible of a sinner that he didn't love me. I know. That is a weird way to be convinced that God loves you, but I am now convinced. And that conviction compels me to love others as God loves them and me. In my vision, I was standing in a room filled with love and joy for each other, celebrating God's goodness in our endeavors.

Gary Vaynerchuk's words about doing work that you enjoy, that makes you happy, and that fulfills your way of life - not somebody else's expectations (parents, friends, society, etc) - as an entrepreneur was the fuel for my vision's entrepreneurial side.  

I am an entrepreneur. I think I can own that title now since I have two businesses, one in startup mode (VitVox), three others to directly start, and 120 to help others start. Creating things and taking risks is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I get so fired up when I hear that someone wants to start a business. That was an 'Ah-ha!' moment for me. It was how I answered the age-old question, "If you could wake up every day and be paid to do any work that you could do, what would you do?" My answer was to sit with people each day and encourage and help them dream up and launch businesses. The 120 people in that room were the fruit of my desires and endeavors.  

Peter Daniels was the third voice directing my mind and heart. He is a Christian who is a billionaire through being an entrepreneur. He convinced me that God desires for his people is to make a difference in the world through their work. If those who see themselves made in the image of Jesus aren't the ones who confidently and boldly take entrepreneurial risks, how do those who don't see themselves in that way do it? There's no risk in the kingdom of heaven. God promises to provide for all that we need to live. The only risk is love. We are a people called to walk in faith with Jesus into risky endeavors propelled by love for our neighbors.

Could love and a journey of faith compel you to leave the job you hate and stay in only for the paycheck? Could love and faith launch you into an entrepreneurial journey that could impact you, your family, and your neighbor for their good and God's glory?

In the next two newsletters, I will give two arguments to support why you should seriously think through that last statement before completely dismissing me as a whackjob ;)