Bite Off More Than You Can Chew, and Chew It Anyway

Lessons from a month that almost broke me.

August nearly broke me…

This was the season I carried a vision in my heart so big it scared me, and for once, I moved. With audacity, I tried to hold The Digital Professional Fair, raise funds for my startup Proficio while building the MVP, lead my team, manage my company Stamfordham, stay present for family and friends, and still handle my finances. It almost killed me and my drive. But I am still here. And because I am here, I can tell you what I’ve learned.

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He who can journey into himself, confront his heart, put his character on trial, and silently slay his weaknesses has already conquered the world before the first war is fought.

…It is daring to go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. We can pray until our knees are numb, but if praying is not accompanied by acting, we won’t get anywhere. In every battle, your sound matters. Murmuring and complaining are not sounds you should be making. One sign you’re suited for a work is when you even love the parts others find tedious or frightening…and I was crazy enough to love those parts. Because it is only the first step that’s scary, I promise you.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, but I’ve found that the first step is always the hardest, the longest, and the most awkward. It will demand the most faith. It will feel unnatural. But if we dare to take that first step, signs will follow.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like getting my feet wet. I would rather have God part the river and then step into the miracle. That way, my feet stay dry. But if we’re not willing to get our feet wet, we will never walk through parted rivers. We will never see God part the Jordan if our feet are firmly planted on dry ground. But if we step into the river, then He parts it.

Miracles require your effort too….

This season taught me that it is in the storm that God equips us for service. The oak tree becomes king of the forest not because of soft weather, but because the storms shook it, the rains beat it, and the midnight battles built its rugged fibre. Every person preeminent for ability was first preeminent in suffering. And the beauty always comes after the storm.

It’s in the storms that everything gets exposed. Coming back to your own voice is no easy task. There will come a time when you are left with the rubble of your ruin. You have to pick it one by one... and use the ruins to rebuild a sturdier foundation. The making is messy. But you will sit in it and create new structures

Setback and pain are proof that your knowledge has exhausted its relevance by bringing you thus far. That the current level of knowledge you have cannot take you further…but you can still attain higher heights. There is no time for learning when you are enthroned, so before you are crowned, you must submit to the mastery and preparation required to become.

My faith in God tells me every crucifixion of the enemy is only fulfilling prophecy. My belief in myself tells me victory is certain; try once more.

I have learned that God has never failed me. Even in my greatest difficulties, heaviest trials, deepest need…He has never failed. He has always come to my aid.

Ah, but this season, to hold on to that promise was hard!!!

But I also learned that at some point, your best isn’t enough. Your best ideas, best efforts, and best strategies won’t cut it. That’s when you hit your knees and trust God to do what only He can do. Prayer is the difference between the best you can do and the best God can do. And that difference is everything. Like Noah, we keep hammering away at the ark day after day, even when the world doesn’t understand.

Sometimes you need to take a step of faith just to show God you’re serious. You MUST act on it. Buy the book, start that project, schedule the meeting, apply for the job, buy the piece of furniture for the home you’re praying for. Think of it as a down payment on your faith.

START

We always want God to go first, so we won’t need to exercise faith at all. But if we want God to move, we must move. Be active, not passive, about your own life.

And in moving, I’ve learned something else: confidence in the vision alone will sometimes fail you. You must carry a deadly belief in what you’re building, in yourself, in your ability, in what you carry.

Do you hear me!? Leave the rest to the universe. Life reshuffles the deck when you least expect it. Seasons change, people evolve, circumstances shift. The key is to stay patient and stay in the deck. Don’t count yourself out just because your hand looks weak. When the reshuffle comes, the dealer’s hand is always fair.

I am a girl with deep conviction that the outcome is a choice, and it starts with my input. And I can bet ten toes down on my input, because I am a deadly executor. A hard worker. I find joy and meaning in my choices and in the cards life deals me. I do not trust the world. The only constant is God. The rest is me. So I move different. I am not skilled at everything, I am not more special than anyone, but I know who I am. And if I fall, let me fall. The person I become will catch me.

Innovation is also a miracle…

God said, when you see a sea you want to part, don’t talk to Him, talk to the sea. We love to transact problems back to God, but miracles don’t happen that way. You get grace from Him, then you face the problem. There is something about those who hear and do.

If there are arrows, bring out the shield of faith, but keep moving through the valley of shadows. It’s only shadows my darling; they don’t want you to get to the other side. Victory is always faith-dependent. And the foundation of faith is believing. But not all belief produces the right outcome. Fear is a form of belief. Failure is a belief. Weakness is belief. Right? Everyone believes something…the question is, do you believe right?

Believing is based on the information you’ve consumed and the encounters you’ve had. If you believe wrong information, you’ll get the wrong result. The issue is not the zeal, it’s the content. You get frustrated not because you didn’t believe, but because what you believed wasn’t truth. Your hearing is connected to your believing, and your believing is connected to your victory. That’s why you must be careful what you hear. Be careful when it’s advice and when it’s just noise.

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I learned so many lessons in a month that almost finished me, but I moved.

This month taught me that you will sometimes be the villain in other people’s stories for the sake of your dream. That you can’t be a good CEO if you’re a people pleaser, sometimes you must be a shark, or you will get eaten alive. That you are not negotiating if you can’t walk away. If you cannot walk away, you never negotiated…you just named your price. That capitalism and social media will always sell you a highlight reel, but real building is slow and sustainable. That you can engineer perception…play with optics…but never lose authenticity. That goals should be direction, not chains around your neck, or you will be creating your own golden cage. That reinvention is lonely and misunderstood…but necessary. That the only shame is not in failing, but in never trying. That you must find the courage to disappoint people who expect you to play small. That sometimes you need to suffer well, because once you learn how to suffer well, hard times lose their teeth.

Bite off more than you can chew, and then figure out how to chew it.

…and fucking chew it well.

I also learned how dangerous it is to make altars of mentors. To exalt the vessel instead of the Sender. No one else had the picture in their head but me. And still I listened to those who had no blueprint for what I was carrying.

The enemy doesn’t always take away your gifts; sometimes he just tries to drain your drive. Because if he can slow you down, he can delay the lives you’re meant to impact.

In the fog of the wilderness, you will forget your assignment, curse the very people you were sent to help, and even question why the weight is so heavy. But speed must meet excellence. Grit must meet detail. Diplomacy must meet standards. Integrity must stand beside ambition, never behind it.

And that is where I now stand.

I moved, and lives were changed. I learned so much during this season…

And I hope you learned from me.

As I bit off more than I could chew…and I figured out how to chew it anyway: