LESSON 6 :: Growing in Wisdom

Developing the strength of self-mastery and cultivating the skills that will aid in your business and personal growth.

• Omega Management Style“I believe Jesus’ ‘Omega’ management style incorporates and transcends the best of the Alpha (masculine) and Beta (feminine) leadership styles, because by harnessing spiritual energy, each of us, female and male, can become the empowered leaders that the new millennium will require.” — Jesus CEO, p. XV

Stick to Your Mission

From Jesus, Inc. to Jesus CEO

In the next three lessons, our focus shifts a bit from the phases of the business cycle to your leadership skills within your business. While we continue to embrace becoming a spiritreneur, we will move into the deeper waters of being an Omega leader. Such a leader follows the example of Jesus by seeking to build instead of destroy, to nurture instead of exploit, and to enhance rather than dominate.

Whether you are overseeing a couple of employees, a multitude of volunteers, or an entire multi-level organization, you are the leader of your business venture. With Jesus as our model of word and action, we will focus on three strengths he embodied and displayed throughout his mission:

1. Self Mastery
2. Action
3. Relationships

Self-Mastery

The wisest thing we can do as leaders is stick to our path, our mission. The Book of Proverbs encourages us to keep our eyes focused and not be distracted by the numerous side shows available for our amusement. Jesus stuck to his mission. We need to do the same.

Our journey through the first four phases of the business cycle is critical to our understanding of our mission. Only after Jesus was tested in the wilderness could he start to declare, “I Am.” Review and hold fast to what you learned about your definition of success, your vision, and your ethics. This is how you will shine as a leader.

An Omega leader will realize the gift that has been given and will own that gift. By owning, I don’t mean being possessive and territorial. I mean internalizing the gift, being grateful for the gift, and using it generously and for good. What gift do you gratefully acknowledge that has been given to you for generous use?

As the leaders of organizations, we face fears. It’s a fact of life. This is another reason for us to keep our eyes and hearts focused on our mission. The clarity of purpose a mission provides is a powerful rudder to steer us though times in which we might normally stall or feel immobilized. As leaders, we need to daily review the mission, the vision, then set our goals and remain undeterred by the fears that keep us from moving forward.

What Is Your Destiny?

As spiritreneurs, we find we have a keen sense of destiny. Jesus said, “I know where I came from and I know where I am going.” While he may not have always known how he was going to get there, he felt his destiny pulling him along.

A sense of destiny is like a small voice inside calling us forward. Sometimes a whisper, sometimes a timpani drum, this voice tells us who we are and what we are to be doing. Do you feel as if you were destined to be doing what you are doing? Why or why not? Can you lead others effectively without feeling destined to do so?

Keep your sense of mission.

• The Essence of Self-Mastery The ancient book of wisdom, Proverbs, gives this short and simple nugget of obvious truth: “Above all else, keep watch over your heart, for herein lie the wellsprings of life.” Proverbs 4:23

Guard Your Energy

Energy Leaks

As Omega leaders and spiritreneurs, we face energy leaks on a regular basis.

Energy leaks may take the form of attitudes such as ingratitude (in ourselves or in others), being judgmental, or repressing rather than expressing our feelings. They can take the form of listening to and holding onto negative remarks made by others. A significant energy leak may be to sense that resources are scarce and we don’t know when the next set of reinforcements is arriving.

There are tools, mindsets, and techniques available through the modeling of Jesus that will help us plug the energy leaks we face as leaders and spiritreneurs. Try the following in your business and personal life:

• Talk positive. Words have power, and our self-talk is like a wardrobe we put on every day. Jesus only said positive things about himself, and those things came to be. As leaders, we need to feed our minds with good, pure, true, and beautiful words every day.
• Say “Thank you” on a regular basis.
• Celebrate! Look for ways, large and small, to congratulate those around you, and rejoice in the victories won through the efforts of your business. These victories include a change in behavior, attitude, and belief in others. Victories are won when you make payroll, or discover a better way to produce something important to your mission. Be ready at all times to look for the positive in what is happening, then throw a party to honor the occasion.
• Maintain a passionate commitment to what you are doing. Whether you are more like fire that ignites in a flashy way on a regular basis, or you are more like water that continues to flow no matter what the obstacle, maintain your zeal for your call. This is a powerful plug for your energy leaks.
• Know your resources. Remember that money is often at the bottom of the list. Engage and enlist your Rolodex as one of the most powerful resources you have. Be constantly on the lookout for people you meet and the opportunities they bring. Each person you know brings 250 other resources, or people they know, to you to serve as customers and friends.
• Your Internal Anchor “The Omega leader has a backbone like a rod of steel when is comes to doing the right thing. You may have to search for it, but once you hit the harmonic ‘C’ — the note that matches perfectly with your soul — you, God, and destiny will be one harmonious sound. And others will stop, perk up their ears, and begin to gather around.” — Jesus CEO, p.20.

Don’t Kick the Donkey

Perspective

A sure sign of self-mastery is the ability to maintain a larger perspective, to look at things differently than others do, to see the possibilities and visions that others cannot see.

The story of the wise donkey and the foolish master can be found on pages 47 and 48 of Jesus, CEO. Boiled down to its essence, it reminds us never to be so intent on small-minded or misguided things that we cannot see the larger forces guiding and protecting us, sometimes just from ourselves.

Omega leaders and spiritreneurs keep this larger perspective in at least two ways

God Is in Charge

First, remember that God is our only source, and love is in control of the plan. Jesus was nonplussed when brought to court at the end of his life. Although not eager to suffer what he knew he must, he was also calm when his life and his work seemed to be unraveling before his very eyes.

For us as business people, it means we remain poised when a deal falls through, an employee betrays our trust, or a shipment does not come in on time. It means we see with a larger view when the shareholders do not find the returns they hoped for, or the project collapses and we have to start again. In the midst of it all, Omega leaders remember that all we see is not all there is, and God is lovingly in charge.

Be Willing to Stand Alone

Secondly, perspective means doing difficult things that may not be popular. Leaders must have not only vision and communication skills, but also tremendous personal resolve. There are times when saying no will leave us standing alone.

Those who aspire to being leaders and spiritually integrated business people must recognize the importance of maintaining the connection to their own inner knowing. It is that “knowing” that will lead you into the “right” decisions and stances you must take to stay aligned with God. It is also that “knowing” that may sometimes be misunderstood by others as you say no to a bribe, a wink, or a seemingly attractive deal or alliance. The mark of a true leader is that she or he is willing to stand alone.

Omega leaders keep a larger perspective.

Prize the Seed

What could be more beautiful than a huge bouquet of flowers? The multitude of colors, the alluring fragrances, and the symphony of textures draw us to the wonder of this symbol of bounty and affection.

Yet the true Omega leader and spiritreneur has an eye on the seed rather than on the bouquet. The spiritreneur, knowing that the seed produces over and over again while a bouquet fades and wilts, prizes the seed. The question is: Are you more interested in how many seeds are in an apple, or how many apples are in a seed? It’s a matter of priorities and long-range vision.

So as a businessperson seeking harmony within your world and your spirituality, prizing the seed would affect how you treat your customers and your staff. It has implications for product development and quality. It will inform how you perform the services you perform and the motivation behind them.

What are some of the possible “bouquets” of your business? What are the seeds? Which do you seek most often?

The emphasis on priorities and motivation also colors the way we look at the “little things.” The Omega leader remembers that many little sales may very well net more than a few big ones. We remember that small attempts at projects, development, or improvement are to be cherished, not just the large leaps ahead. It is in the first phone call to the prospective client or in the follow-up thank you notes that “little things” make a big difference. Jesus knew that one little loaf of bread has the ingredients needed to feed thousands.

The Omega leader keeps priorities in divine order.

Coming Up

In this lesson, we explored the strength of Self-Mastery as it relates to mission, resources, perspective, and priorities. The next strength to delve into is that of Action. Please visit and chat on the Message Board as you look at your own business life in light of this skill and give examples of others who have modeled Self-Mastery as well.

Assignment: Self Mastery and Guarding Your Energy

This lesson contains two assignments.

Assignment 1

Read the “Strength of Self-Mastery” section of Jesus CEO. As you read, consider your leadership role in your business, and carefully answer the following questions as they relate to self-mastery:

1. What is your mission? Can you define it in one or two sentences?
2. What daily energy leaks keep you from being focused?
3. Which circumstances in your life remind you of the balking donkey?
4. Which of your activities would change, and how, if you were more interested in the seeds you were planting than the bouquets you were receiving?

Assignment 2

A significant energy drain comes from a need to always maintain a polished and “together” image, and not looking foolish. That’s a lot of work, and it impedes the progress of spiritreneurs and Omega leaders.

With that in mind, what do each of the following characters have in common?

• A deluded engineer
• A magician
• A waiter
• A nudist
• A beggar
• A lunatic
• A harem girl
• An improper woman
• A blasphemer

The answer may surprise you — see pages 43-44 of Jesus CEO.