Category Archives: Business

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How much faith do you have in your business plan?

“…if our God is with us, then what could stand against…”

How much “faith” do you have in your business plan?  My journey includes a point in time in which I literally stepped out in faith to pursue my dream.  Once the decision was made, I gave my two weeks’ notice to my former employer and began to walk down a new path.  I really did not know where I would end up, but I knew my former career was not consistent with God’s purpose for my life.

Why would I risk all of my security and all my comfort?  Simply because I had faith in my business plan.  Not faith in the plan itself, but my plan was filled with my faith in my God.

My journey started about eighteen months prior, but the last forty days were spent in a lot of prayer.  I was crying out to God for answers and I was finding them in His written word and in my day to day activities.

One thing that can be overlooked in each of our “business plans” is the plan the Lord has for us.  However, when we start with purpose (specifically His purpose) everything changes.  We now have a guide to decide how we should be spending our waking hours.  When you live your life on purpose, it is so much easier to say “no” to the distractions and “yes” to the things you need to focus on.

Another benefit of having a plan that is filled with faith is that when there are hard days (and there will be many), you have His promises to hold onto. In the song Lord I Need You, Chris Tomlin sings “…and when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You…”.  I love this line. When I am weak I can literally fall onto Him.  He will support me through the very best and the very worst of days, but I will never have to worry because He will always be there for me when I cannot stand myself.

Finally, when you are in the Lord’s will what do you have to fear? What can stop His Will in your life?  I love how Mark Batterson describes this concept in his book In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars.  He reminds us “of this simple truth: God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go”.  Don’t ever forget that your champion, who fights for you daily, has a desire for you to be great.  He believes in you without fail and will help you succeed.

May you prosper in all that you do like a tree planted near a riverbank (Psalm 1:1-3) and may your business be rooted in your belief in God.

Please tell me what song lyric applies to your life and / or your business?

 

– Catalyst John, Small Business Expert and Coach

“Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.

Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.

Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.

And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.

And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.

Then what could stand against.”

– Chris Tomlin, Our God

 

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The Survivor Tree

Survivor Tree

Survivor Tree at 9/11 Memorial

This is a story that I really want to share with you.  Last week, I heard the story of the “survivor tree”.
The callery pear tree became known as the Survivor Tree after sustaining extensive damage, but living through the September 11, 2001, terror attacks at the World Trade Center. In October 2001, the tree with lifeless limbs, snapped roots and blackened trunk was discovered and freed from the piles of smoldering rubble in the plaza of the World Trade Center. The tree was originally planted in the 1970s in the vicinity of buildings four and five in the WTC complex near Church Street. The damaged tree measured eight-feet tall when it arrived in November 2001 at the Parks Department’s Arthur Ross Nursery in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. It was nursed back to health and today has grown to a height of about 30 feet.

 

– 9/11 Memorial Staff

 

https://www.911memorial.org/blog/survivor-tree-withstood-911-attacks-returns-wtc-grow-memorial-plaza-update-x3

This tree has lived through a terrorist attack, has been blown over and uprooted after it was replanted, and then later survived the flooding of Hurricane Sandy.  Today it stands approximately 30 feet tall even though it was found charred and broken.  If you are living in “entrepreneurland”, you know about facing challenges.  The question is are you prepared to survive anything that is thrown at you like the “survivor tree”?

Personally, I don’t think it matters what resources we have at our fingertips.  The only thing that matters is if we have a will to continue.  Are you willing to dig in and fight for your dream?  The one thing that no one can ever take away from you is your will to continue.  You will always have the choice to move forward or to stop.

I had the incredible opportunity to participate in a SWAT team tryout.  Even though there is a level of physical fitness required, the real test is how strong are you mentally.  Here is the most important advice I was given: “Do not stop!”

Once each challenge starts you do not stop until you have completed it.  You move from challenge to challenge pushing forward.  Are you willing to push through the resistance and keep moving no matter what?  When your body is screaming in pain and your breathing is labored will you continue?  Those who say yes and never stop are the ones who get invited to join the team.

The same goes for you the entrepreneur.  Are you willing to dig in and face the challenges head on?  Will you live with a belief that will carry you through the resistance?  Will you be keep on surviving no matter what like the tree?

If you say yes and you never stop, you will be invited to the team of the successful.

– Catalyst John, Small Business Expert & Coach

Please feel free to comment on this blog or connect with me on Facebook & Twitter.

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Are you making the right decisions?

This question is not about whether or not you are choosing the right option.  This question is are you asking the right questions.  Seriously, are you spending time making decisions that actually matter?  Are you deciding on choices that will have a legitimate affect on your future?  Are you deciding to do the right activities each and every day to create the future that you want?

I want to challenge you to make sure that you are choosing to decide on the right things and then choosing the right option.

The big things are obvious, but it is those little things that cause us the most trouble.  This blog is inspired because of my breakfast.  No one gets fat because of one breakfast.  Everyone who is carrying too much weight got there because of daily choices that compounded over months and / or years.  I had a choice this morning to eat what I wanted to eat or to to eat what I should eat.  When I take a step back and ask what would be best for my mission in life, the answer is simple:  I need to eat or drink a healthy breakfast that is quick and will not only help me live a long life, but will help me stay focused and sharp for the day.  Therefore today I started off with some juiced veggies and fruits.  I have an apple (Fuji, my favorite) when I get a little hungry later.

We are bombarded by decisions every day.  However, most of the ones we focus the most time and effort on are not good for our lives.  In the last year, did it matter what TV you bought?  Do you spend more effort planning out your vacation week than any other of the 52 weeks in the year?  Do you spend more time scheduling your life around that tv series than the books you need to read?

So make decisions to help you prosper.  I would love a nice hot bacon and cheese breakfast sandwich, but it is not going to get me to where I need to be today, tomorrow, or the day after that.

– Catalyst John, Small Business Expert & Coach

Please feel free to comment on this blog or connect with me on Facebook & Twitter.

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The time you want the map

Awesome advise from Brendon Burchard…

In Montana, where I’m from, there is this saying:

“The time you want the map…is before you enter the woods.”

The lesson is basic: Before you embark on any journey, know in advance how to get where you want to go.

For those of you that want a map for your future, I’m a map maker.  I’ll help you design some audacious but achievable goals, use your calendar to your benefit, and achieve more in your work and personal life.

 

– Catalyst John, Map Maker & Small Business Expert

Please feel free to comment on this blog or connect with me on Facebook & Twitter.

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Coaching Testimonial

The entire purpose of the concept of “Catalyst John” is to empower entrepreneurs to succeed at their dream business!  I want you to see success faster than you could have imagined and I want you to have your fill of it!  Here is a what happened after working with one of my clients in their life and business…

August 7, 2013

“Catalyst John” is an appropriate name for the business coach whom I consider to be a “catalyst” in my business. Before becoming a client of John’s I lacked direction and consistency in making the necessary things happen in my business to get me to the next level of success on both the production and financial side, which ultimately go hand in hand of course. Seeing John weekly helped to hold me accountable for goals that I was setting for myself and to keep me on track until I had developed the skills and discipline necessary to stay on track independently.

A big part of my business includes workshop events that I put on at least once a month. My events had gotten to a point where people were not showing up and they were becoming a financial burden. John gave me some very sound advice that helped to save me money on the cost of my events and increased the ticket sales to my events. The very first event in which I implemented John’s advice, I made more money than I had from any of the events that I had put on the previous 7 months!

If you are looking for a business coach who possesses the knowledge and skills to help jump start your business or even refresh your business that may be getting a little rusty and needs that slight edge, then I highly recommend Catalyst John. Sometimes we just need that extra push and/or a fresh point of view in order to get us to the next level of success. John genuinely cares about his clients and seeing them succeed.

Sincerely,

Jill Smith

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Intersections

Sometimes intersections tell you to stop or to go.  This message is telling you “GO!” make that dream a reality!

– Catalyst John, Business, Entrepreneur, & Solopreneur Coach

Please feel free to comment on this blog or connect with me on Facebook & Twitter.

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Imagine a life in which…

I just talked to a person about what they want to do with their life.  They appear to be off course and adrift.  They need new bearings to get back on track.  I hope this post will speak to you if you feel the same way.

Imagine a life in which an anonymous person decided that you would receive a unique gift.  The gift is that you will never ever have a bill for the rest of your life.  You will receive an average sized house, an average car, and everything else you need to live for free.  A maintenance team will make sure everything you own stays in working order, your yard will be mowed weekly, and your fridge will never go empty.  You will never have to worry about housing, food, transportation, utilities, or insurance again and you will get a reasonable “allowance” to spend each month on entertainment.

Its not a “catch”, but to receive this unique gift you can never work to earn a paycheck again for the rest of your life.  You can get a “job”, start your own business, volunteer, or do whatever you want for work, but you can never be paid for your time or effort.

If this happened to you, what would you do for work?  What would you be willing to do every single day without ever receiving a paycheck?

Seriously think about it and then decide if what you are doing today is consistent with the answer you just gave.  If it isn’t, you may want to look at a course correction and a new set of bearings in your life.

The best way to make a change in your life is to decide where you are and where you want to go.  Once you know where you want to end up, you can create the steps to reach that destination / target.

– Catalyst John, Business, Entrepreneur, & Solopreneur Coach

Please feel free to comment on this blog or connect with me on Facebook & Twitter.

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Are you who you need to be?

Are you the person that you need to be???  Most of us are human and like all other humans we are flawed.  We allow human nature and the path of least resistance to stunt our personal growth and development.  We act as “adolescents” when we should should be “grown ups” in our professional lives.

One thing that hugely impacts my future success and the majority of my past successes is that I imagine what I would have to look like to be successful in that specific endeavor.  How does that “John” look, dress, and act?  What actions does this “John” have to do to be worthy of success?  What changes in my personal life have to be made and what do I have to stop doing so that I can be that person?

Tomorrow is built on the decisions of today.  Go make some life changing decisions today!

– Catalyst John, Business, Entrepreneur, & Solopreneur Coach

Please feel free to comment on this blog or connect with me on Facebook & Twitter.