Brother Lawrence (Nicholas Herman); a Carmelite monk; wrote in 1666, “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer.” Lawrence had been given the job of cooking and cleaning the kitchen for his fellow monks. It was a job he didn’t want. Yet in doing that job, he learned that serving God was not always the dream he thought it would be – or should be.
There are always aspects of our businesses that we don’t like to do no matter how much we love what we do. Those things we don’t want to do reflect our true character. I often hear people say that character is who you are when no one is looking. I would put to you that character is how we approach things we really don’t want to do. If you approach it as a chore that must be done, then that is all it will ever be. But we approach those unappealing things as a way to serve God, and do it with prayer, not only will that chore become pleasure but it will be done to the best of our ability.
Will doing the mundane, everyday tasks to the best of your ability jump start your business? Often it is those things that will keep your business growing. Things such as marketing, keeping your books and following up with clients are often looked at as a necessary evil. By approaching them as Brother Lawrence did; as a service to God that’s just as important as prayer; those mundane tasks, which are often the backbone of business, become important to us as well.
I challenge you to take a day, to do the things you don’t like, about your business. Pray before, during and after each task. Then ask yourself: How did it affect your approach to those tasks and where they as bad as you thought?