Soul Business

Still, we, and others we spoke with, kept coming up empty-handed when it came to understanding the source of the inner voice, the soulful yearning, the quest for something more. We are Christians, but we think we’ve written a book that has meaning for anyone who believes in a Higher Power, a Supreme Being. Our goal is not to evangelize, but to tell our stories and share our learning. If we do it well, our words will move you and become a set of lenses that enable you to see inside to your sacred place—and in so doing, see the handprint of the Mighty One.

Becoming sole proprietors, struggling to make it on our own, led us to reconnect for support and encouragement. We began with monthly pep rallies at a local restaurant. In those once-a-month luncheons we shared the state of our businesses and the state of our souls. We found, in each other, a person who was experiencing similar feelings, thinking similar thoughts, and trying to make it on his/her own. We didn’t offer each other pat advice from the latest popular business books; instead we found ourselves relying on faith-based examples to characterize the confusion and discouragement we often felt. One month we would feel that we had thrown the seeds of ideas and proposals onto rocks, where they would never flourish. The next month we would rejoice, because the checks had finally come in like manna from heaven. We were struggling together and learning together, and we might have a message that connects with you.

What we found is that the business landscape is a treacherous place, especially for the lone entrepreneur; surviving it, succeeding in it made believers out of us. It made us stop and take notice of all that we believe and all that we are. Those that make it in small business have faith—not only in themselves, but in something greater than themselves. With each other’s help, each of us learned to follow our own internal compass for direction, rather than somebody else’s barometer of success. We discovered that the business we’re in is soul business.

While entrepreneurship has opened our eyes and focused our minds on the faith-based journey, we recognize that our experiences and the twelve faith-based qualities are not limited to entrepreneurs. As we have shared our ideas with colleagues and friends, we have been encouraged about how our themes resonate with people working in a variety of circumstances. So, while being an entrepreneur lends urgency to these issues, the substance of our experience is common to many in the world of work today.

If you are questioning the purpose of the work you do or reminiscing about career roads not taken, this book may be for you. If your chosen career seems to feel too tight or too small lately, you may want to read on. If you are struggling to blend your public image with your private yearnings for more meaningful work, we might have words you need to hear. You may be contemplating starting your own business or rethinking how you want to spend the second half of your life. You may be in the throes of reacting to a major life change or redefining what is important to you and how you want to behave differently on a day-to-day basis. Wherever you are in life, but especially if you are experiencing a middle-aged transition, you might view our stories as a catalyst to examining your own.