What do you pray for when you've got your heart set on a specific outcome?
Is that allowed? Is that cheating? Is it some extreme form of nepotism to ask God for help in business?
A client asked me to write an article to promote a huge renovation and unique feature he has added to his resort. I do a lot of writing for websites, brochures, press releases and ad copy, so writing for papers and magazines is a natural step in my career, one that I have been contemplating for about a year. I was very excited - about the writing.
Pitching the article to travel editors of national papers is a whole other story (no pun intended).
My old boss assured me that you just submit the article, once written, and if they want to use it, great. However, we usually charge our clients a small fee to write the article, and then if the paper wants to pay us as well, even better. But I have a really difficult time in charging a client for something they may not be able to use. What happens if I can't get the article published, or only put into a smaller paper, with less impact for the resort?
Well, now I am at the point where I have submitted the article to our #1 choice, and haven't heard anything back. How long do I wait before moving down our list of preferred papers, what happens if no one can use it? Nerve-wracking!
What I normally do in any situation where I feel I have no control, is pray. Pray to know that Spirit is controlling all, and that Spirit always blesses.
But can I pray for success in this instance? Its pretty specific, yet I need a certain outcome. I am trying to look at the situation metaphysically, and not just from a limited perspective.
I am looking at it like this: Spiritual Quality/Human action
Right/Honesty: I was asked to write an article. I did this. It took days, and I charged very little for the total time taken. This is a right activity.
Patience: I have submitted to the first paper, it needs at least 3-4 weeks to get an answer back. We must wait. And to do so with patience means no worrying.
Principle: I have fulfilled my end of our agreement, I am confident that my client will pay me for the writing, so we are both acting with principle, which is always a good thing.
Cause/Effect: If Spirit is the only cause (which I believe), then there can be only the effect of Spirit, which is ALWAYS good. Therefore, I can expect a good effect from my efforts, which must be some sort of fruition.
Harmony: There is a wonderful balance in the world of business. I need something, you produce that something. A newspaper always needs copy, interesting stories, and I have said story. My client has put much time and effort into building his new addition, and people need to have relaxing time with their loved ones, time to experience the beauty of nature, and they need some way of finding out how to do this. There is harmony in the relationship that all of these needs have to one another.
This reasoning helps me to be more confident in this process and in knowing that it is okay to charge for my time, and not always for 'a product.' Something I am having to learn in my business.
As long as I can look at any activity in business the way I just did, and can see that there is a spiritual foundation for it, I will be happy, and I am certain that my clients will be blessed, and get results.
Read more from this blogger at DiscernDaily .
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