Keys to Success Video Series 1: First Things First from LaTara Ham-Ying on Vimeo.

Success as it is seen by society is not TRUE Success. I have been sharing information about true success in the series here on Life and Business Integration. Now I am adding some video to the mix for a while. TheKeys to Success video series is not about worldly montetary success because that is a fleeting thing and will soon pass. Am I saying that we should not desire a higher income…no way. Hey, I am waiting on my first six figures too

What I am saying is that we need to understand where the foundation for our success lies and how we obtain the success that really matter.

In this video series I am sharing ways be truly successful.  The first video is all about three keys that every Believer must start with in order to find true success.

Enjoy and do share your thoughts!

Helpful Resources for True Success:

Integrated Book Club
Integration Weekly Ezine
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
First Things First

It is important as we move into a wholeness perspective of life that we consider how we approach our business. Too many times we take the approach of a depraved society when it comes to running business. Sorry I had to put it so bluntly but a lot of the stuff out there is just not rooted in the Word of God.

Even Christ himself said that we are in the world but not of the world. So why do we approach our business like those that are in the world.

As children of God we have a responsibility to represent Christ in every area of life.

Your approach to your business should also be representative of Christ. In the post I wrote about investing in success, I gave some example of ways that Christ was successful. The same ways that he used to be successful, we need to use in our approach to business.

First, you have to invest our time and energy into doing the will of God for your business.

^“For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will and purpose but to do the will and purpose of Him Who sent Me”  (John 6:38)

Like Jesus we have the responsibility to follow God’s will for our business.

The true approach to business should be Christ centered and God designed. Don’t follow the patterns of others without first seeking God’s will. How many times have you tried to do it someone else’s way and God said “that’s not it”. That is not to say that you shouldn’t use the examples of those in business that you admire; however you want to be very careful and consider who it is and how they conduct business. Ask yourself what is it about the person that appeals to you. Be prayerful because you just might find that there is something lurking deeper that you refused to see about yourself, in that very person you are trying to be like.

The bottom line is that when it comes to business, God’s design is seldom like man’s designs. He does place people in your path who will give you resources and tools you need to get the job done but ultimately, it is with His will that you must approach your business.

Everything you do in life must be as if unto the Lord. Why? Well, in essence, you are doing it for God because we really only play to an audience of one.

Second, you have to approach your business with prayer and study of the Word.

“Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

^“After three days they found Him [came upon Him] in the [court of the] temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  And all who heard Him were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder at His intelligence and understanding and His replies. “ (Luke 2: 46-47)

Jesus spent Him time as a child studying and probing God’s Word. As young as He was, He still knew He had to be about His Father’s business. Being very man of very man, He had to learn of God’s word just like we all do. He took every opportunity to do so. As a result of His productive habit of study the mission, the vision, and the Plan were made clearer to Him as He was prepared for the work at hand.

Prayer is how we talk with God. It is the time we spend not just speaking but listening as well. I am sure that when Jesus spent His time in communion with His Father, that He did not just spit out a bunch of words, or gripe about how His ministry sucked, or how the disciples were hard head (especially that Peter). NO! He took time to listen. He had to. Look at what the word says again in Luke 6. It said He spent the whole night.

How often to you spend an entire day in communion with your Father? How often do you take the time to make your business a main priority when it comes to prayer?

You must approach your business with pray and study.

You may say that Jesus was in ministry and this is true. However, ministry is business. Doesn’t it make sense that God would show us a great example of how to run our business through His Son?

Your business is how your pay the bills. Why wouldn’t God want you to approach it, seeking Him first and foremost so that all that you need and more would be added unto you.

In part 2 of the article will talk about approaching your business with preparation and training. We will also cover approaching your business with a servant’s heart.

I decided to make this a part of a series called True Success. In this series we will comes from a total Biblical perspective on success.

You can read the first part of the series here.

Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think. Please share your thoughts.

As an online business woman, one thing that always seems to be a must is to be productive in business. I say… HOLD ON! Time to put on the brakes! Since when did productivity only apply to business.

If you read my one of my few opening posts here on Life and Business Integration then you know that my revelation for this entire site came from the example of the Proverb Woman. This woman was the epitome of a woman living her life fully integrated.

Not that she was perfect; but she was in alignment with God’s will for her life. She took her gifts, talents, and skills and use them to run her business to the glory of God. As she obeyed God’s lead, her life was more and more productive.

She is not the wife, at home, tending to the kids and her husband day and night as so many would have you believe. Nor is she a hard core business woman who thinks that kids are better off with the nanny or granny.

The Proverb Woman in the Bible is an idealized woman. She is the woman we should all strive to be. And get this..she does not have to be married to be a virtuous woman. This woman knows who she is and stands strong in Whose she is. She knows that all she has is because God said, Yes!

With that said, her focus is on being productive in all areas of her life; and yes, for her, business is a part of it.

It is very important as we move forward in our business that we remember that productivity is not just about business. It is about your entire life.

• Eating right, exercising, and caring for your body is being productive
• Taking care of a sick child is being productive
• Spending time in the Master’s suite for renewal and communication with Him is being productive
• Taking the time to play or read to your child, or anyone’s child is being productive
• Getting some sun and enjoying God’s beauty is being productive

Productivity is important in business. It means that you are working at success. However being so productive in business that you are not productive in life means that you are missing out on what matters most.

The Proverb Woman’s productive manner can be an example for both men and women. Her productivity started with God’s guidance and ended with God’s glory!

Now go and make your day PRODUCTIVE!!

I am a Mary J Blige fan and I love to take her songs and tie them into my speeches, posts, and articles. Her music speaks to the person right where they are and help them see a way out when there appears to be no way. Her lyrics speak of love, belief in self, belief in self, stay true to self, and even being more proactive in life.

In her song “Just Fine” Mary provides great insight into authentic living:
“Having a really good time, I’m not complaining And I’m a still wear a smile if it raining I got to enjoy myself regardless I appreciate life, I’m so glad I got mine”

This is very important to pay close attention to because it speaks about the fight in your life between reactive and proactive living and being.

For the entrepreneur it is important to pay attention to how you are reacting to your daily living because it had a direct reflection on your business dealings.

The success of your business literally depends on the state of your life.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• How many times a day do you complain?
• How many times a day do you say something negative?
• How many times a day do you react to a situation as opposed to learning how to be proactive?

Maybe to further understand where I am going with this, you need an understanding of reactive and proactive. To be reactive is to oppose action or to have opposition to progress. On-the-other-hand, to be proactive means “Acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory”.

Now when we look at these definitions and listen to the insightful words of Mary J, we see that she has chosen a more proactive road. Instead of reacting to a situation and taking chance on causing conflict hurt or pain, she is choosing to take the steps necessary to avoid such issues before they occur.

Being proactive helps you in so many ways. It keeps you level headed, it helps you to keep your emotions in check, it helps you to hold steady to God’s hand because you know you will need Him to make it through. Being more proactive helps you to think before you speak and it may even help you to just shut your mouth.

When you choose to live proactively you also choose it for your business. You will bring your same actions to the table and succeed.

When you are proactive you know that God will never leave you nor forsake you. He will do as He promises. He will help you carry out the call he has put on your life. You know that your part is to step through the doors He opens and do the work necessary for completion of the task at hand. When you are proactive you know that you have to have a complete spiritual paradigm shift – mind, body, and spirit to effectively carry out the will of God in your life at any given moment.

This same paradigm shift will help you to make the right decisions in business. You will see goals achieved and dreams reach.

It has nothing to do with the Secret or the Law of Attraction. These are new concepts founded on shaky ground using parts of the Word to satisfy the masses. The proof of attraction is in the word.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7a)

“Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].” (Romans 12:2)

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. (Psalms 37:4-5)

That’s proactive power! If you think wrong you will get wrong. You will draw attention to whatever you are thinking. It is nothing new. It has been that way from the beginning of time. Satan was once the most beautiful angel in command of all Angels and yet the reacted to the fact that he was not God. As a result of the rebellion her caused, he was thrown out of heaven and sent into his sure destiny because of his reaction.

Imagine what his world would have been like had he thought more proactively.

I could go on and on with examples from the Bible of reactive versus proactive actions: Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Samson, Saul, Absalom, Solomon, and Judas. Even Jesus was faced with the options of reacting when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. His human side did not want to die and yet the God in Him helped him to make a proactive choice. WOW and because of that we can be redeemed back to God.

Are you in proactive or reactive mode? How is it affecting your business?

Talk to me!

When you are in business, it is important to make roots. Why? There are many reasons and I will attempt to cover a few here.

When you are building a business online, you learn a lot quicker than you do with a typical brick and mortar. Whether this is true because of the low overhead, or the availability of low cost learning sources, the fact is that you can build a business online faster than most. However, there is a danger in building too fast online.

That danger lies in not nurturing what you already have before you try to move on to the next thing. I know this well because I did it often and sometimes I still take on projects or implement ideas without checking to see if the crop of what I have already planted is ripe and ready for the picking. That is the addiction of an entrepreneur because we are usually creative visionaries.

If the crop is not ready then trying to harvest will not yield much for your business at all. It is important to nurture with the proper nutrients so that your crop can grow plentiful and you can reap the benefits of a prosperous garden. You cannot start one part of a garden, neglect it and then move on to the next part.

Yes there are times when you have to dig it all up, turn te soil over and start again; but if you not even nurturing the plants, then how do they a chance to grow and yield you great fruit.

Sometimes you need to go back to the instruction book to understand how your garden is growing.

When it comes to implementing new ideas or projects into your business, it is important to pray  godly wisdom. Too many times we ask God to bless our ideas without considering if it is in His plans for our business.  With His wisdom as your guide you can be assured of making the right decisions for your business; and it works well for your life too.

Another way to understand the growth of your garden is by seeking Godly council. Psalms  1 tells the importance of seeking godly council and the benefit of doing so. For those of us who follow the Lord, we have to be careful who we follow or go to for advice. That does not mean that they are bad people. It just means that if you follow behind people without a solid foundation, then you too are building on shaky ground.  Hanging around people who are godly and wise will help you to determine if you are on the right track. Some people will agree with everything you want to do; but a godly and wise person will help you see the big picture and consider the cost before you move forward with you plans.

One of the best things you can do for your business is plan. It is easy to get an idea in your head; but it is the planning that will make the difference in success or failure for your business. Sit down and create a plan that works for you…but do plan. I have to admit I am bad with this one. I can think up the ideas in my head and the plans too. It has taken me a long time to learn how to sit down and plan out what I need to do to get things done.

To grow your business the right way you have to prune sometimes too. That means that there will be times when you have to cut some stuff loose. Whatever is not producing results needs to go. For the online business owner that can mean shutting down and starting from scratch or revamping what you currently have.

Pruning can also mean rethinking the services or products you have and maybe removing or adding to them. Look at what you have in your current structure and ask yourself what is working and what is not. Be honest with yourself and don’t be afraid to remove waht needs to be removed. It is very a liberating action.

Your business is your garden. Treat it like you would a precious rose bush. If you nurture it well, it will provide you with a harvest of bountiful blessings. If not you get nothing but thorns and sticks.

How does your garden grow? What do you do to nurture your garden? What are some tips you have for growing a profitable business?

When it comes to having an online business, there are many things to consider. The first, of course, is what that business will be. That can pose an issue for some because there are so many options available for online businesses.  I for one had this problem. I did not know which way to go. However with some guidance, good coaching, a supportive mastermind group, and prayer I was able to find a path that fit me.

I started my ventures online with coaching. I soon found out that I did not know the online business market like I did the offline one. They had some similarities but the differences were extreme. So I moved from coaching and teaching to internet marketing with a site for the vegan family or those who wanted to learn more about healthier alternatives to eating. This is when I really started to find my groove but I had not quite hit it yet. There were some key elements missing.

Those elements were:

• My passion was not with the vegan lifestyle because I struggled with it daily. I was not 100% vegan and never pretended to be. My husband was and maybe that is why he is running the site now.
• My gifts were not being used effectively. My primary gifts  are exhortation, pastoring, and teaching. With Vegan Family Living  was not able to utilize what God gave me to use to His glory.
• My skills and talents were not meeting their full potential. I could only go so far with what I was doing.
• I was not turning much of a profit after a year. I was barely making ends meet and my family needed my income to help keep us afloat.

After my husband came to me and said that I need to go out and find work; or figure something else out for working at home, I finally listened to God. He had told me in 2006 to start a writing/VA biz and I did not listen. However, when I heeded, I started making a regular weekly income. First it was the writing business and then I branched in VA work in December of 2008.  My husband took over Vegan Family Living and I left it where it was – in his hands because that is how God wanted it to be.

By the time I had started my VA biz I had already been assisting others with blog work, writing, social meida stuff and marketing. So I simply took what I had learned and started  service based business. Social Savvy VA is becoming more than I imagined and I am simply going with God’s flow to make sure I stay on track.

Now I am finally at the point where I can branch off into coaching; so I am working on my brand and changing my business name to reflect my adjusted direction. I am working on a program now for the new online business owner so that they do not make the same mistakes I did.  It will combine all the key elements I mentioned here to help the new online business owner move into a business that will work for them. Again this is a result of passions, spiritual gifts, talents, and skills all meeting together for greatness.

Be on the lookout for this program coming in the Fall of 2009. If you are not on the LaTara Ham-Ying subscriber list, sign up today so that you are the first to know when the program opens.

This is what I want to encourage you to do. Look at your gifts, talents, and skills. Use them to help you determine if you are on the right path for your online business idea or if you need to rethink your path. Don’t be afraid to change your course and tell the naysayer to just leave you alone.

Work with what you know and watch your life and business take on new levels of success!