The Yin and Yang of Reaching Entrepreneurial Success.
Experts refer to this as the combination of feminine and masculine energy.
What does that even mean?
"Yin, Chinese for “female” or “moon,” represents darkness, femininity, passivity, and the earth. Yang (“sun” or “male”) represents light, masculinity, activity, and the heavens."*Dictionary.com
The first time I heard this reference, I remember just thinking WHHHAAAT! 🤯
We had a guest on The Lessons Of Entrepreneurship : The Journey Of Reinventing podcast, Dan Ram. He is an international MC who has become one of Europe’s Leading Tech Summit MC’s and has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with world luminaries such as Barack Obama, Sir Richard Branson, and Casey Neistat and Moderated events for the World Economic Forum, Web Summit, Bits & Pretzels and Davos in Switzerland.
Dan Ram is highly successful, very humble and easygoing. Mid-podcast, Dan said, "I don't chase business it comes to me."
He could have dropped the mic right then! 🎙️
But I was so early in the game, to be honest, my mind was boggled. What was he even saying?
I was in hustle-and-grind mode—doing the most! Living that mantra, "When you've done all you can do, do some more." It felt good to be chasing a dream. I was on an energy high, where more doing created more desire to do more ... until it didn't.
Burnout was the next phase. (At the time I was not familiar with the term: burnout, which by definition is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress. Click here for more information about burnout.)
I was SO over it ALL!
It was as if the switch had been flipped OFF. It took SO much energy to even do the smallest thing. That flame to chase a dream had been blown out.
After a series of disappointments, which is the nature of entrepreneurship (failure is part of the process but I didn't know this at the time). I was left half-heartedly scrolling through job sites, "looking for a job."
Have you been there?
I had been fully in that masculine energy, getting things done, but of course, just because you do the work doesn't guarantee a certain result.
There's this thing called the MARKET!
And it's not over until the "fat lady sings", or for entrepreneurs, until the market hums in your favour.
This is the reality: There are so many things that are not under our control or not as much as we think they are.
One could be the best singer and never win a Grammy or come close to selling millions of albums. On the other hand, another could be average and achieve the status and fame of an iconic musician.
We could say it was marketing, timing, era, favour, connections ... the list goes on.
My point is it's hard to put a finger on what was the THING that set these two apart.
This is where the feminine energy thrives. In those spaces of no work. Of just being.
Remember the line from Dan Ram, "I don't chase business, it comes to me." After doing the work to position, JUST BE.
Radiate at the level of energy where you attract what's meant for you.
Perhaps knowing you've done all you can provides a sense of confident energy.
Perhaps rather than masculinity and femininity:
It's a case of PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY.
Or POSITIONING ATTRACTS THE IDEAL CLIENT.
We can draw many conclusions, but one thing is clear: Too much reliance on either one is a HOTTTT mess! (Out of balance)
There's a delicate dance between working very hard to position yourself and your business as the obvious choice.
The "Be so good they can't ignore you" (Oprah Winfrey quote) energy.
And then there's the surrender part.
What is for you is for you.
It will happen at the right time.
For Christian entrepreneurs, we believe that if God has said YES, then it's done.
The time is for Him to know.
The ways of God are beyond our ability to comprehend.
All that is required of us is to TRUST & OBEY.
Part of that surrender is accepting that if it's not for us, then that's okay too.
God has a plan, and it's for our good.
Jeremiah 29: 11 says "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for."
Therefore if the thing we were hoping doesn't come or hasn't yet come to be, we keep doing the work that is before us with excellence because the good will eventually come. We just don't know the time or the form it will take.
This is not easy! We all want things to happen ... yesterday, but patience is a virtue.
We must develop patience.
We must grow in gratitude.
We must always be content.
It's bigger than building a business. There is a work that is happening within us.
A light with incremental intensity. 🕯️
Perfecting us for His Glory.
Available on Amazon.com and Amazon.au
[Keywords: entrepreneurial success, Yin and Yang in business, feminine and masculine energy, balancing energy in entrepreneurship, overcoming burnout in business, faith-based entrepreneurship, Dan Ram business insights, mindset for business growth, personal development for entrepreneurs, Christian entrepreneurs, trusting God's plan in business, developing an abundance mindset, impostor syndrome in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial confidence, business growth strategies]
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