One day I was dreaming my life away, as I usually do. I was thinking of all the things I could do once I reach this certain goal, & once I have that much money, & am in contact with this guy, & am well connected with that girl, & so on, when God interrupted me. He said, "Joel, it takes wisdom to dream up things that could happen ten years in the future, however what takes more wisdom is to dream within your means." Immediately a thought entered into my mind, "Use what you've got."
With these two things at the forefront of my mind, I began to allow God to reshape the way I dreamt up business ideas. Instead of having my mind constantly stuck ten years in the future, I began to take a look around at the things I already owned. I asked myself, "How can I fulfill the dreams I have with the things I own?" Immediately my mind began to race with a business plan for a very unique home maintenance company. A few months later, I sold this idea to two men in the town I live in.
What are some things you own which you could fulfill your dreams with & possibly make some money off of? Could you rent out your tools, could you make youtube tutorials on applying makeup, could you sell some firewood? And what about skills, what talents do you have? Make a list. Seriously make a list of all of the things you own, which could make you money. Then make a list of all of the talents you have which could make you money. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the end goal cannot be money or else fulfillment will be far, far from you. However, fulfilling dreams and needs are better end goals that may kill two birds with one stone- paying some bills & a sense of contribution to the community.
What if you never had an official job title? Heck, what if you never even owned an "official" business? What if you, instead, went to the gym & trained your wife's co-worker at 7:30am, raked the neighbor's yard at 9:30am, taught piano at 11am, baked a birthday cake at 1pm, tutored the family friend's kid at 2:30pm, designed a logo at 3:30pm, delivered groceries for some rich person at 4:30pm, & then called it a good day's work?!
I mean, for some of you that sounds like a chaotic mess, but to me it sounds wonderful! And maybe doing 7 completely different things for money each day would stress you out, but nevertheless, I think my point still stands...& my point is this...you have skills that people need & will pay for.
Seriously, make a list.
Some of you reading this might find this strange, but sometimes I hear God whispering in my ear. I know some of you may think I am crazy or something like that, but I believe God speaks today, just like He did yesterday. All of this to say, the following content contains some things I believe God told me. Please at least read it & apply it to your life, even if you do think I'm a little crazy.
Joel Widman
Owner
Anderson The Fish