As a child, I tested my faith a few times, but I never doubted the outcome of those tests.  When I was too young to articulate my faith, I had this sixth sense that I was being guided down my intended path.  My tests were mostly regarding things that people thought I should do or not do, but all along I knew the direction I was being led. 

There have been many years of uncertainty regarding where my path was leading, knowing only what I did not intend to do with my life.  What I do know is that when I let go of control and opened my heart to faith, things have resulted better than I could imagine. 

I would have to say that I was a “closet” believer.  I lived half my life undercover.  If I had to guess, my business and academic career would not have been as significant as it was if I had been writing this blog at an early age.  Although many of my experiences occurred early in life, I spent years building my business and personal relationships prior to opening myself up to publicly uncover the strength of my faith.

I was not an undercover believer because I was afraid of what people would say.  I am a person who keeps my personal beliefs to myself.  I avoid talking about politics, religion, and my life because to me those topics are very personal. 

Once you uncover your faith, the personal and business relationships that you have built are tested.  We all know the questions that go through our minds.  Has this person that I thought I knew gone a bit crazy?  Is the person going to try to preach to me?  How can I socialize with someone who is guided by faith?  Is the person going to talk about God at work and socially? 

For obvious reasons, I don’t know the answers to the above questions, it certainly depends on the person who is uncovering their faith.  There are people who I have known for years who were “closet” sports fans.   Because I now know the person is a sports fan, do they suddenly change their behavior and try to convert me to love their favorite teams?  It is possible, depending on the person.  But most likely one would simply say I am or am not a follower of that team and continue the personal or business relationship.

The same is true with direct marketing.  Some people who start a direct marketing or network marketing business are all about convincing their friends that they would be great at and love direct marketing.  Well, not all people are suited to be direct marketers.  There are those direct marketers who invite people to learn about their business and if the answer is “no,” then they move on to the next person.  And there are those who won’t take no for an answer. 

This is also true regarding people who live their lives by faith.  If you have known the person for some time and they live by faith “undercover,” my guess is that person will remain true to who you have known.  If living by faith is new to the person, sometimes people are so excited about their newfound strength/opportunity that they want to share it with people they know.  At times, that can be overwhelming and counterproductive. 

Finding a balance in your faith-based life is important.  If people want to talk about their faith to me, I am here.  However, I prefer to live my life by faith and lead by example. 

For 10 years our family lived next door to a minister/pastor.   I would guess that our neighbors never knew the strength of my faith.  My family was never pushed into any church-related functions, we were simply neighbors and friends.  I have built many relationships at this point in my life.  I knew it was time to expose my journey, in hopes that my journey would be helpful to others as they uncover their path. 

Many people go to church and worship the Lord.  Publicly writing about my journey, to live for something greater, takes it to a whole different level.  Stepping out of your comfort zone is difficult.  You can live your life by faith and lead by example without talking about your beliefs.  People will notice because you will have a sense of confidence regarding how you live your life, by faith. 

Click here to stay connected.