Trust is tricky. There are multiple levels of it and many different ways it influences our lives. As a personal brand, it’s a necessity for people to buy from you.
Trust is like a multi-lane highway, not a silo.
There are different scenarios of trust
- Yourself – you trust yourself – a must if you want others to trust you too
- Others – you trust others and others trust you
- God – you trust God – God gave you free will, which means he trusts you to discern and make decisions – but wants you to lean on the Holy Spirit as your counselor and guide.
Why it’s important for you to trust yourself as an entrepreneur.
When you trust yourself you will be more confident. When others see that you trust yourself and are confident, they will be more likely to trust you and feel confident that you can help them. On the contrary, if you don’t trust yourself, others will be much less likely to trust you. Since trust determines buying practices, it’s a necessity for a brand and business to be successful financially.
Without it, you risk playing small, and you…
- don’t believe you are worthy of signing clients
- believe your ideal clients are less than willing to pay for your services
- don’t price based on the immense value you provide
- lose sight of your passions
- become frustrated and burnt out
- lose sight of your visions and desires for your future
- don’t show up for your audience consistently
- make excuses
- lose sight of your values
- do a disservice to your clients
- don’t engage to build relationships and a community
Ways to learn how to alleviate doubt and disbelief
- Mindset work
- Journal
- Prayer
- Testimonials
- Read
Mindset work
Break down your negative doubtful thoughts. Are they realistic and rational? Would someone you know, love, and trust think the same negative thought or have the same doubt about you? If the answer to any of those thoughts is no, then it’s time to actively change the negative doubtful thought.
Throughout life, experiences happen that result in you believing one thing or another. Often stereotyping others based on past experience. Ask yourself if your reason for not trusting is related to a past experience or is it possible that your intuition is telling you not to trust. This is where discernment comes into play. And as you do mindset work to question your thoughts and change them you’ll begin to discover what is reasonable doubt and what is not.
Journal
My favorite! Journaling is almost a cure-all. Anytime you can get negative thoughts, doubts, fears, etc. out of your head and onto paper, you have more opportunities in life and business. The process of writing changes neuropathways in the brain. If you have a lack of trust in yourself, write out every possible reason. Then map out where the doubt stems from. After you have all of the doubts and their origins written down, challenge them. In essence, this is mindset work. Any doubts that are not valid or justified, change them. If the doubts are valid, write out the steps you can take to change them and overcome them.
For example. If you have a lack of trust in your abilities to serve your clients, grab all of the testimonials you have received and write them down in 1st person. “I helped Susan navigate a major decision to go on to make $30K in one month”. If you haven’t had “paying” clients, do this exercise using people you know you have helped in one way or another over the past year. As you list out all of the people you’ve helped and the ways you’ve helped them you will begin to alleviate doubt and start trusting yourself as the expert you truly are.
You can also use scripture verses when you journal. Find verses that give you comfort that the Lord is with you, guiding you, and equipping you to make the right decisions and to take the necessary actions in your life and business. One of my favorites to refer to is Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God is our source of trust and the One we should trust the most. He will never leave you nor forsake you. When you lack trust, journal a prayer created from a scripture verse. You will see trust grow for yourself through your trust in God.
Prayer
I alluded to this previously. You don’t have to journal your prayers, but I do encourage you to use scripture when you pray. Scripture was written for us to refer to and use when communicating with Jesus. God doesn’t expect elaborate fancy long prayers. He just wants to know you trust him enough to come to him. A prayer as simple as “Jesus, help me trust”, “Jesus I trust you”, or “Holy Spirit guide me” is enough. And sometimes, if you are stuck in a place of unbelief and doubt, short prayers may be all you can muster. That is fine!
Sample prayers based on Scripture verses:
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
As a prayer: Lord, please uphold me and strengthen me. I trust you. I love you. Amen.
Isaiah 26:40 “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself is the Rock eternal.”
As a prayer: Dear Lord, you are my rock eternal. Help me to trust you to guide me and strengthen me to trust myself as well. And please help me to trust those you desire for me to trust and allow into my life.
Psalm 9:10 “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
As a prayer: Heavenly Father, I know that you never forsake those who seek you and trust you. I seek you now, Lord, and ask that you open my heart and mind to trust the gifts you’ve given me and the people you have presented to me to serve.
Psalm 52:8 “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever.”
As a prayer: Lord, I am like an olive tree flourishing in your home. I trust your unfailing love forever and ever. Help me to trust in the gifts you have given me and my abilities to live the calling you’ve placed on my heart.
Testimonials
Aside from prayer and journaling, I love to read testimonials to build trust in the gifts God has given me and my ability to use them. Any time you experience doubt as to whether or not you are on the right path for your calling and purpose, read testimonials from past clients. They will inspire you to believe in yourself. They are also the best resource for gaining the trust of your audience and soulmate clients. Share them on your website and sprinkle them throughout your content. The people who wrote the testimonials trusted you and because you served them well using your God-given talents, they gave you the testimonial.
Gratitude comes into play here. Have a grateful heart for each and every person God has entrusted to you through his calling for you. Be grateful for their kind words that you can read and reread to remind you of your gifts and abilities.
Read
This is another favorite. If you haven’t read devotions on the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to begin with “Don’t Miss Out” by Jeannie Cunnion. You will trust the gift of the Holy Spirit as your counselor like never before. Read scripture. You can see in the verses I previously shared that God speaks to you directly when you need him to provide for you, strengthen you, and guide you.
Have Faith
Faith, patience, and trust equal belief. When you have faith in God and yourself, you will trust there is always a solution. You will be able to see obstacles as opportunities and be open to experiences that you might not have trusted previously. Be patient. God’s timing is limitless and perfect. You may feel the need to rush things, but if you trust in God’s limitless timing by tapping into patience, your outcomes will be so much better. Sometimes he’s preparing you before he gives you what you ask for. Other times, what you are asking for is not what is the best thing for you. You won’t understand that until you are on the other side of what you are asking for. But have an open mind as your walk through the experience.
Have faith in:
- God – scripture tells us he will always be available to and provide for, you if you seek him and trust him. He gives you no reason to doubt or lack trust in him. There may be a reason to doubt leaders in churches, or other lay people, but that is a different conversation. I am talking about God himself, not earthly communities and buildings.
- Yourself – you were created in the image of Jesus and he has given you endless gifts. If he has placed a calling on your heart he will equip you by giving you the tools/support/people you need to succeed.
- Your audience – believe that your audience trusts you, that they are ready to hire you, that they want to work with you, that they value you, and that they need you.
- Your gifts and skills – every part of your journey and every experience you’ve had to date have led you to be able to do the work you have been called to do. The value can be found in the process of developing into who you are today.
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
The see-saw
Trust is like a see-saw. It takes a great amount of practice to balance trust and doubt and fear. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can quiet our minds and calm our hearts of doubts and unbelief and trust the grace of Jesus and ourselves to live out his calling for us.
An additional Bible verse – one of my favorites.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Paul is telling us exactly what we need to do to live out our calling and trust in the Lord. We are not to depend on and conform to, society for guidance and wisdom. God didn’t design us in his image to fall into the traps of secular society and its tools like social media that distract us and cause us to doubt. We are to be transformed by renewing our minds. That process starts with our faith, seeking Jesus and the Holy Spirit, transforming our mindset, through prayer and gratitude, and journaling to remove the bad and soak in the good.
If you would like more scripture verses to reflect on and refer to as you start and grow your business, download this free eBook: 37 Scriptures Every Entrepreneur Needs to Reflect on and Live By.
