Truth – The Lynch Pin Continued
GODSun Perspective on
Spirituality, Leadership and Business
October 2023 Vol 0923
Exploring the Interconnectedness of Spirituality, Leadership and Business
In last month’s newsletter I spoke about truth how important it was as a leader and a business owner to walk in truth. I also said that God is truth and that if we are walking in truth we are, by default, aligning ourselves with God, whether we intend to or not. Truth is an absolute and it doesn’t change. I gave some examples in the natural realm to prove my point. I also said that as a leader and/or a business owner the success of our activities will be dependent on our ability to walk in truth. I would like to continue this discussion this month.
Business owners and leaders are problem solvers
It is very difficult to solve a problem if we are not walking in the truth of what the real problem is. We may come up with a solution that doesn’t seem to produce the results that we were hoping for and that may be that perhaps, we have not solved the real problem. As a leader and a business owner it is important to get to the root of the problem. For example: when gardening, the root is what stabilizes the plant in the ground so it continues to grow and flourish. If the plant that is growing is an undesirable one, then you want to dig up the root and not just cut off the top of the plant. Cutting off the top of the plant just removes the evidence of the existence of the root below the surface. As long as the root is there the plant can grow and produce above the ground and perhaps spread underground enabling the plant to grow and flourish in other areas of the garden. Therefore, as a leader and/or a business owner you need to know the root of the situation for good and for bad. If something is working well, you want to know why it is working well and put things in place to support it. And the opposite is true as well. If something isn’t working well you need to know why and make the necessary changes. You don’t want to make changes without doing your due diligence because the change may negatively impact things that are working really well and then you end up with and even bigger problem to solve.
As a leader if you are struggling to get buy in for a certain direction that you feel you need to take, you need to understand why. What is causing the underlying resistance to forward momentum. At meetings it seems as if everyone is on board with the concept, but then nothing is being done to move it forward. Other projects take priority over this stated priority project. There are many possibilities for the silent resistance but it is vitally important as a leader that you find out what the true resistance may be and this may take time. But, then and only then will you be able to take effective steps to remove the resistance or problem solve it.
If you are a business owner the Balance Sheet gives you the true picture of the health of your business. You cannot just look at the money that is coming in and say that “I am doing well and am successful”. You also have to look at your liabilities, your debt or what your business owes to other businesses and the status of your equity. If we ignore the Balance Sheet we cannot walk in truth. And not walking in truth means that we are not able to make the necessary changes that will bring us to profitability and financial freedom. Another point I would like to make is if we are not able to read and understand the Balance Sheet that is the same as ignoring it. One doesn’t have to be an accountant to understand what the Balance Sheet is saying about the business. It is the truth that we can glean from the balance sheet as a business owner that we need to walk in. I am not going into a discussion on the details of a balance sheet. I am just using it as an example of the importance of recognizing the truth of a situation which will enable one to make informed and better decisions.
How do I walk it out?
So, now that we have established the truth of a situation how do we walk it out because once we get to the root of a situation we have a decision to make. Actions need to be taken. What do you do if you believe that the actions that need to be taken will produce ‘push back’? This is where knowing your ‘why’ is so important. If your dream, vision, goal, etc. is bigger than the ‘push back’, the presented obstacle, you will find a way around it. I know that has been the case in my life. I have had dreams or goals that I wanted to achieve that required the input of others. Their push back presented itself as non involvement even though they had indicated that they were on board. So, even though they had verbally given their ascent to the project, their actions did not support their words. So I had to find a way around the ‘stand in the way’ obstacle. If the dream is big enough a way will be found. But make no mistake, I did not involved them in the way around since their actions had spoken clearly to me where they stood. It is true that actions do speak louder than words. Getting to the root of the situation, which explained their lack of commitment to the project or stalling actions, enabled me to come up with a solution that let them off the hook and enabled me to move forward.
There is the truth of the situation and then there is the truth of who you are. Both are important in moving forward in truth. I have mentioned it before how important it is to know your personal values. What are the core beliefs that you hold that you will not violate? It is even more important today that you know your core beliefs than say 50 years or even 20 years ago. I say this because it seems that we are living in a world that no longer knows or understands truth. Actions are being taken that are having disastrous results but no one seems to understand that the bad results are due to solutions being implemented that were not based on the truth of the situation. In other words the root of the problem was not identified. What was identified was the fruit and how to deal with the fruit. There has not been any consideration that the fruit is harmful or undesirable. No recognition that something has been sown in our gardens that we don’t want in the garden. The only way to recognize that this is not a plant or fruit that we want is by knowing what we do want. Having core principles that we base our lives on helps us to make decisions that are in agreement with our values/principles. If we are not living with cognitive dissonance, which I spoke about in an earlier newsletter, we can see more clearly and plan more effectively.
The next point I wish to make is that if you decide that you are going to walk in truth so that you can be more effective and impactful, expect to have opposition. This may come from those who mean well but who do not want to look that deep inside of themselves. They view it as creating waves and they would prefer that you go along to get along. And then there are those who are looking for those who will support their latest project whether it is good or bad for society. As long as it makes money for them they will identify it as a benefit to mankind. Both may be in opposition to your decision to walk in truth. For example, if you decide that you want to follow the rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, it may mean that there are some things that you will not be able to participate in or support. It is your call.
A Personal Balance Sheet
So, as a business owner and a leader I would suggest that you do a balance sheet on yourself. I call it a personal balance sheet where we identify our assets and liabilities and the equity that we have created in our personal lives. The assets will include our finances (savings, income earned) as well as our skills, giftings and abilities. The liabilities will identify the financial debt that we have as well as our areas of personal weaknesses. This could include character flaws as well as a lack of skill or ability in a certain area. Having a character flaw doesn’t mean that it is something that you cannot change. Benjamin Franklin is a case in point. As a young man he was not liked because he was too argumentative. People didn’t care how brilliant he was. When they saw him coming they would cross the street so that they wouldn’t have to talk to him. In order to deal with this character flaw he set out on a path of personal development. The changes in personal development became his equity for all the things that he would accomplish later in his life. When we do our personal balance sheet remember that everything about us is on the table when we are considering/planning our future. The future is based on walking in the truth of who we are. Your future can be as bright as the amount of truth you are willing to walk in. Remember, God is Truth.
I hope that you will be encouraged as you do your personal balance sheet and recognize how far you have come. Let me know what you have realized about yourself as you create your balance sheet.
Sunday
