Latest / Finding God at Work / 10: Rooted in Love (Alissa Crouse of Rooted Elevation)

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10: Rooted in Love (Alissa Crouse of Rooted Elevation) · Finding God at Work

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, I'm Chris.
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This is Finding God at Work.
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Just a reminder that Finding God at Work
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isn't just a podcast, it's also an online
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course.
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Check it out at findinggodatwork.org.
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Our current series is A Mysterious Business, bringing
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ministry and marketplace wisdom together.
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And today we have an interview episode with
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a special guest.
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We have Alyssa Krause here.
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Thanks for being with us, Alyssa.
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Thank you for having me.
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I'm so excited.
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Yeah.
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Alyssa is the founder of Rooted Elevation Wellness,
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a massage therapy practice in Geneva, Illinois, which
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is right here in the Fox Valley area.
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And Alyssa also serves on the board of
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Second Act Scene 2, a nonprofit dedicated to
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mental health and suicide prevention.
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So, like others who have been on the
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podcast for this series, you're a founder.
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You're someone who started your own thing.
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So I'm just really curious, what's like the
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two or three minute story of how Rooted
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Elevation came to be?
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Yeah, I will try to make it really
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quick, but I kind of have to go
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back a ways.
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So back in high school, I was interested
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in massage therapy, but I was raised that
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you have to go to a four-year
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education, get higher education to get a good
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degree so you can get a good job.
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And so I did all the things.
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I went to college, I got a degree,
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I actually fell in love with this other
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program.
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So I ended up going on and getting
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my master's degree and it was a study
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abroad.
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I have a love of travel because my
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dad actually took me on several mission trips
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when I was growing up.
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Oh, cool.
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Yeah.
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We did Haiti several times and Puerto Rico
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once.
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So it was pretty amazing eye-opening and
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gave me that want for helping others, especially
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seeing the poverty in Haiti.
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So fast forward, we get back from the
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overseas program, it's 2008.
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Oh gosh.
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Yeah.
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The economy crashed.
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Great timing.
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I know.
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To follow the American dream as a college
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graduate.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I applied for jobs.
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I went back to work at my dad's
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office.
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We had a small business in a small
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town and I did the math and six
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months after you get out of school, you
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have to start repaying your loans.
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And I was like, oh, there is no
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way I'm going to be able to repay
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my loans.
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I guess I'm going back to school.
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So I went back to school for massage
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therapy and everything just was natural.
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Like all of the classes, I was even
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good at biology, like figuring out what muscles
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were what is crazy.
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And I ended up getting my license in
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Illinois in 2010 and worked for a lot
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of different people for many, many years.
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Okay.
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So like other businesses, not as a founder,
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but as a therapist.
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Right.
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Okay.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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I was definitely an employee, did independent contracting,
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you know, tried all the things.
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And after years of working with others, raising
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kids and a roller coaster of burnout, I
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found myself at 40 years old thinking, what
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am I doing?
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At that point, I had gone through a
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major transition in life, a lot of hard
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stuff.
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And I had four jobs.
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Oh, wow.
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And so each job I was going, going,
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going, and I couldn't figure out how to
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break out of that burnout cycle and how
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to figure out finances and figure out my
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personal life, you know?
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And so I had a friend who suggested
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I do my own business.
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And I was like, I don't know if
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I could do that.
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That sounds way too much.
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And she's like, no, I think you really
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could do this.
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You have a really big talent for this
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kind of work.
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And so I was like, okay, well, if
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I'm not going to change my life, who
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is?
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It's a really good question for all of
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us.
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Exactly.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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And so I was like, all right, I
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figured out that I wanted to be able
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to have the schedule that I desired and
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be able to educate people and have that
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extra time with them, get to know them
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and really educate them on how amazing our
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bodies are, first of all, and how important
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self-care is, really.
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And so I built Rooted Elevation Wellness, and
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it was a struggle at first, like everybody,
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I'm sure.
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So many businesses the first year, a couple
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of years, it's just like, oh, it feels
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fragile.
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Oh, yeah.
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And the first year I opened my doors
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with no clients, really, to speak of, and
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I also at the same time started a
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blog on self-care.
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And with that, it gave me this creative
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outlet that I was like, I think I'm
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in the right spot.
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I think I might actually be in the
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right place.
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Even though I still have other jobs right
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now, I think this might be it.
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And eventually I was able to let go
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of all four of the other jobs in
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order to fully do this business.
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Wow.
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Well, congratulations.
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Thank you.
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That's great.
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And I did sneak a look at your
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Google Maps and saw you have a five
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-star rating from all your reviews, dozens and
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dozens of reviews.
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So way to go finding those clients who
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really connect and really want the service you're
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providing.
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Thank you.
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It's not an easy thing.
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No.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So speaking of like the services you provide,
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we've kind of been using this guiding quote
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from theologian Dallas Willard in this series, that
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business is a structure of love in the
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kingdom of God.
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So how do you think about your work
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related to that idea of love and God's
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kingdom?
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Yeah.
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So when people come in to get massages
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from me, they experience their body in a
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different way.
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It's kind of like, I had a new
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client on the table the other day and
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he was like, oh, I didn't realize that
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felt like that until I was pushing on
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it.
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And I was like, yeah, that's one of
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the really cool things about massage is that
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you are more aware of your physical self
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and it plays into the mental and emotional
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and spiritual aspects of the self as well.
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Because you're working on all these different systems
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and even though I'm not always talking about
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God with every client, I do with several,
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which is cool.
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But I pray.
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I pray all the time.
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I pray over my business, I pray over
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the people coming in, I pray over the
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people going out.
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And so I feel like having that space
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that people can feel safe in, especially if
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they're coming in with grief or emotional struggles,
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that I'm providing that structure of love in
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the sense of renewing their spirits, renewing their
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body, and renewing their mind, hopefully, with all
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the different aspects.
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And they come in for an hour, but
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they leave, hopefully feeling cared for, grounded, and
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restored, going back to their family, going back
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to their workplace, their church, and their community
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feeling differently.
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And that affects transfers.
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So the healing spreads, which I think is
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a good structure of love.
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Praise the Lord.
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Yeah.
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As you're describing it, I think about the
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idea of Christian holism, that Jesus taught us
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to love God with our heart, soul, mind,
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strength, every aspect of who we are.
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And in the Western world, at least, we
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often kind of skip the body part of
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that.
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It's like an addendum or we ignore it.
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And I imagine that people coming to you,
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they're getting in touch with real things that
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are stored in their body.
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Oh, yeah.
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Oh, yeah.
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No, I just took a somatic massage class,
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and it's working with the nervous system.
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And it's amazing what our body stores that
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we are neglectful of.
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We don't want to think about it.
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You're not necessarily consciously aware of it, but
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it's still there.
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And it's still part of our life.
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And so it's part of our life with
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God.
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Exactly.
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Yeah.
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So in that sense, it sounds like it
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really can be a ministry of healing at
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its best.
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Oh, yeah.
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It's just amazing.
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Yeah.
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So thank you for what you're doing in
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our community.
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I'm happy to be here.
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Yeah.
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So another question that we've been exploring with
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different founders is, what about profits, right?
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Because it is a business.
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So you've got to make money.
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And yet also, it's like something so deeply
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personal, like for you.
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You're touching people's bodies.
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You're tapping into maybe grief, like you said.
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It's deeply personal.
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So how do you wrap your head and
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your own business model around the idea of
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profit versus like the deeper human purpose of
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the work?
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Yeah, definitely.
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Profit's a huge thing.
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And I was raised more with a scarcity
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mindset, like your money doesn't grow on the
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trees.
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It's the root of all evil to a
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certain extent, but it's a necessary evil.
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And so I had to do a lot
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of rewiring of my brain, like that mindset,
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just reframing what I think money is.
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And I was able to change from it's
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that evil necessity to it's actually a tool.
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It's a helpful tool.
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And by receiving money, it allows me to
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give the best massage I can, to put
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more work into the business so that I
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can do education, to reach more people through
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online self-care, online courses.
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Like it actually is a really cool thing
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that we have, even though it's a kind
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of a stressor.
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But I don't know if you've had a
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crappy massage.
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And I probably gave some when I was
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burned out.
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Right, right.
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They probably got muscular relief.
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Yeah.
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To really do it, you can't just phone
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it in.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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And so I was like, I need to
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make sure to set it up so that
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I am providing that highest quality and to
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help keep me out of burnout.
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Yeah.
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So I heard someone talk about how profit
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is like fuel for a car.
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It's not exactly where it can take you.
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And so we need to be a good
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steward of profit.
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My business is at such a baby stage
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that it's still like trying to have some
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profit, if that makes sense.
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But I am so looking forward to giving
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back to the community any way I can.
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And I do tithe and stuff.
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That's really helpful.
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That idea that it's a tool, it's part
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of the structure, but it's not exactly the
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point.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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That's really cool.
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So thinking about, you mentioned tithing and your
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relationship with the local church.
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I know you and I have had a
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chance to chat in the past about your
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church, which is here locally too.
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Do you feel like there are lessons you've
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learned by starting your business that have borne
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fruit in your church life?
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Or vice versa, like things you've learned in
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the church world that then you've been able
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to apply in your business?
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Oh, yeah.
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One big thing is that I can't run
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my business alone, and I don't want to.
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Trusting God has changed my stress level completely.
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I actually was really stressed out probably the
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end of last year just because of the
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fluctuations in clients and my schedule.
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And I was trying to get more people
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in, but then different things, people cancel, and
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it's like, oh my gosh, how am I
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going to pay my bills?
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Yeah.
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And so I got to that point where
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I was like, okay, God, I am so
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stressed out about this.
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Please just take it over.
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And I put the back end work in.
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I set up all my booking software.
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I did all of the things to make
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it possible to kind of run on its
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own.
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And then I was like, okay, God, I
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trust you.
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Take care of my schedule because I cannot
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mentally handle it.
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And since that point, a couple of times
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I had to remind myself, a couple of
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times.
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But every day that I say, okay, you
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have my schedule, it lines up perfectly.
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Every session is exactly what I needed and
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what they needed.
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He's literally putting the people on my table
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that need what I do and filling my
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schedule exactly the right way for me, even
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more than I would do myself.
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When I have a day that's way too
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crammed, I get a cancellation and I'm like,
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okay, God, thank you.
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My hands hurt today.
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So that has been huge.
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So just trusting and letting go and literally
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stopping myself from trying to control everything.
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I really love that.
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There's so much that's beyond your control.
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In an entrepreneurial setting.
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You don't know what the revenue is going
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to be in a given month.
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You don't know exactly what your schedule is
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going to be.
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And yet there are the things you can
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do, like setting up the software, like you
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said.
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But to me, the passage that comes to
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mind is when Paul's talking about, I planted
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and Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
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You're doing the work of planting and watering
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the business, but ultimately the outcomes are beyond
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your control.
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And so God's the one that has to
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give that growth to provide for you and
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to provide for the community and the people
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you're serving.
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And that's just beautiful to see how God
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does come through in that way.
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That's awesome.
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Yeah.
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I always think of the verses with the
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trees along streams that bear fruits.
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Oh, yeah, yeah.
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As far as like my logo or like,
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not my logo logo, but like my name
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for rooted, that resonates really well with me
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in the business as well.
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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That's a beautiful image.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So we have a wide variety of listeners
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for finding God at work, but some of
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them are also in business or maybe considering
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going into business, possible future entrepreneurs.
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So what words of counsel would you like
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to share with folks that might be considering
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this path in their life with God?
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So I'm going to say one of my
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favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 29, 11.
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For I know the plans I have for
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you, plans to prosper you, not to harm
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you, plans to give you hope in the
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future.
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So keeping that in mind helped me in
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starting my business, but also trusting that internal
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nudge and looking at fear as more of
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excitement.
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They feel similar in the body, but they
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do opposite things.
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One produces good things and the other doesn't
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produce anything really.
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Realize that hard work won't feel hard if
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you're doing something you love and fulfilling a
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purpose.
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Ask yourself if what you're thinking about doing
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will feel aligned with you and if it's
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actually going to benefit others.
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That's great.
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Don't get caught up in yourself only, but
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work to build healthy relationships with others because
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it's good to have mentors in the process.
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I have a Christian business coach that helps
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remind me all the time not to get
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stuck in comparison or imposter syndrome.
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There's so many things that are hard about
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starting a business or running a business that
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most people don't really think about.
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So it's really important to create your own
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support system.
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And then lastly, and probably most importantly, slow
18:44
down and listen.
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God speaks to us when we slow down.
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So that's a huge thing that I keep
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reminding myself too.
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And it could be a hard lesson to
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learn.
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When you feel all of those things that
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you're responsible for, the temptation is just like,
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just grind it out, just move fast.
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And that's our society.
19:04
Yeah, yeah.
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It gets reinforced and sometimes even rewarded in
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our culture.
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And yet, if we're going to do this
19:10
with God, we have to have that time
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for solitude, for silence, for listening.
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Yes.
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Yeah.
19:16
Amen.
19:17
Amen.
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Well, hopefully this episode is maybe a chance
19:21
for a little bit of slow down for
19:22
the listeners too.
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Alyssa, would you be willing to just kind
19:24
of close in prayer for our listeners with
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everything we've talked about?
19:28
Yes, of course.
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Dear Lord, thank you for this day, this
19:32
opportunity to share my journey with you through
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business and letting this message reach those that
19:38
need it the most.
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You are so amazing in how you have
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created each of us individually as unique people
19:47
that have a purpose here on earth.
19:51
We know that life gets tough and sometimes
19:54
we aren't sure about our purpose, but you're
19:56
always there to hold us and remind us
19:58
of the small joys in life.
20:00
When we let go and trust you to
20:03
lead us, it's your timing, not ours.
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It produces really beautiful things in life.
20:12
Thank you for Chris and this podcast and
20:14
the people setting it up.
20:17
We love you in Jesus name.
20:19
Amen.
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Thanks for listening.
20:24
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20:26
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20:29
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