I remember when my husband and I were trying to live on about $1200/month. We were both working full time and fighting a losing battle to stay afloat.
We listened to motivational audios that urged us to believe in our dreams, and we knew that we could have any kind of life we really wanted, but when it came right down to it, it was always impossible to see where any extra money would ever come from.
I can see now that at the time, having faith in the face of scarcity was an impossible expectation. Here’s why:
The thing that made it so difficult is that we knew exactly how much money we were getting, and we also knew just how much our expenses exceeded that income.
If true financial success cannot be achieved without at least some degree of FAITH (believing in something without tangible evidence), how in the world is a person supposed to have that kind of faith when all evidence proves that it’s utterly impossible?
I learned that there are three things that, over the years, helped me build that necessary faith.
- Continuing Education – learning new marketable skills and studying the laws of success
- Work – investing time, money, and energy in other income streams outside of our regular jobs. (Even when they didn’t produce a profit – and they didn’t – for nearly 10 years!)
- Choosing to Believe in God, and believing that He was interested in our success – and trusting that it was being orchestrated, if we’d just kept moving our feet.
For nearly a decade, we worked and studied, and worked some more. We believed the abundance would have to find us sometime, if we just kept trying.
It makes me think about the early settlers of my desert region:
There were a lot of ditches to dig and canals to build before they were prepared to utilize a flow of water. I’m sure it took many, many years to put those systems in place.
As you explore your talents and look for new ways to monetize them, just picture yourself digging ditches and building canals. It’s so easy to think that a massive, sudden flow of money would solve all of your problems, but in reality, that gush could be just as devastating as a flash flood in a valley where the settlers are trying to create a system for a steady, constant supply of water.
You don’t want the gush until your systems are in place
It dawned on me that after my husband took the leap toward full-time self-employment (when we really couldn’t predict exactly where the money would come from like we could when we had a regular paycheck), the more trenches we dug, the easier it was to have faith in God.
Isn’t that interesting?
Having put forth so much unrewarded effort for so long, in the face of scarcity, instead of saying, “I can’t think of a single place the money could come from,” we could more easily say, “The water could come from any one of the hundreds of trenches we dug all those years!”
Compared to our first few years together, how much easier it now was to finally believe! How much easier it was to have faith! And faith is the critical element. All the work in the world without faith can be just as useless as all the faith you can muster without work.
As they say, “Faith without works is dead.” Truly without some personal effort, faith is meaningless, because you demonstrate your faith BY working. You’re proving your belief in the possibility of living a more abundant life by putting forth the effort to get those money-making systems in place.
And, when faith is low, work can help it grow. This is why the unexpected cure for doubt in my opinion is: Education, and WORK.
So if you can’t think of where to get the money you need, shift your focus to increasing your knowledge, and get to work finding some kind of meaningful services you can perform for others.
God did not bring you this far to fail now; stay in forward motion. Your reward is waiting for you.
For a first-class education in the principles of prosperity, join us in the Mindset Mastery Program
- Unwavering Commitment and Focused Intent - November 1, 2024
- Mind over Brain! - November 1, 2024
- Dawn’s Story - November 1, 2024
13 Responses
Fantastic post! My husband and I actually had a conversation – I think it was two days ago – in which we discussed almost exactly the same thing. He referred to them as ‘channels’ instead of ‘trenches’, and I was the one who commented that, back when I had a full time job, with a fixed paycheck, and no other streams of income, it was hard to imagine how I might manifest any additional money – where would it come from? You put it all very well in this post – I’m going to show it to him when he gets home – in about 15 minutes. Thanks for all you do!
Dear Leslie thank you as always for your candid and honest stories of your personal journey. They are always so inspiring and helpful. I am investing in digging several trenches and conventions right now and love that you have shown me that although I don’t know the out come I can have faith that my efforts will be rewarded
Leslie!
Scott and I have come to these exact same conclusions and it has made all the difference. Thank you for your wisdom and constant example! We appreciate you so much!
Camber
I agree. I’ve seen the exact thing happen in my life. I used to wonder how people would get a check in the mail just when they needed it, because I always knew exactly when my checks were coming. Now it’s fun to see the places the unexpected checks come from!
Leslie,
I am a realtor, and everyone knows how challenging the market is now! I am looking at all my marketing and cutting expenses. Every other day, it seems, I have to encourage my sellers, but am flagging in encouragement myself. Thank you for reminding us that work and faith are two sides of the coin: inseparable. My work will produce fruit if I stay in faith.
Bless you.
Thanks, Leslie. This is right where me and my husband are as far as increasing cash flow. I’ve started a new business and am seeking faith and patience to make it grow. My husband is seeking out new avenues of income in relation to his own passions. There definitely is no get rich quick out there that is lasting. Hard work, faith and desire make good things happen! I would like to share this article on my blog with your permission and links back to your website. Can someone respond to give me permission?
Thanks for asking – so long as your site isn’t blatantly irrelevant, or containing inappropriate material, then it won’t be a problem. 🙂 We try to keep this information inside “good neighborhoods” on the internet.
This post came exactly when I needed to hear it! I’m working on my money making system and have had setback after setback. Now I understand what is going on. Thanks!
When you stumble, fall forward.
Heartfelt thanks for that beautiful perspective Leslie.
Thanks Leslie,
Just when I was losing faith. In myself, my direction, my talents, God.
Your words put me back on track. My right track.