Confidence in Your Own Ability: The Ninth Virtue of Maat

The Ninth Virtue of the Ten Virtues of Maat is confidence in your own ability. Without confidence in your own ability, you can never achieve personal and business success. The power of who you are as a person created in the image and likeness of God cannot be unleashed until you believe in yourself. This belief in yourself and your ability to succeed is an acknowledgement of the power of God’s DNA at work within you.

The true atheist is not the one who disclaims belief in the Deity who created the universe and humankind, but the one who refuses to believe in the self that was created by God. To denigrate your own ability is to practice false humility—the attempt to appear humble, when in fact, you are insulting the God who created you.

You are what and who you persistently think, believe, and behave you are. If you practice seeing yourself and feeling yourself to be successful, that is what you will ultimately become. Confidence in your own ability is the driver of your success, just as belief that you will fail is the driver of your failure.

The following affirmation, if repeated aloud and acted upon daily, will help you develop your self-confidence:

1.       I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my definite purpose in life. Therefore, I demand of myself persistent continuous action toward its attainment and I here and now promise to take such action.

2.    I realize the dominating thoughts of my mind will eventually reproduce themselves in outward physical action and gradually transform themselves into physical reality. Therefore, I will concentrate my thoughts for 30 minutes daily upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to become, thereby creating in my mind a clear mental picture.

3.       I know through the principle of autosuggestion any desire that I persistently hold in my mind will eventually seek expression through some practical means of obtaining the object back of it. Therefore, I will devote 10 minutes daily to demanding of myself the development of self-confidence.

4.       I have clearly written down a description of my definite chief aim in life and I will never stop trying until I shall have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.

5.       I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure unless built upon truth and justice. Therefore, I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to myself the forces I wish to use and the cooperation of other people. I will induce others to serve me because of my willingness to serve others. I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness and cynicism by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I believe in them and in myself.

Confidence in the Power of the Master (Teacher): The Eighth Virtue of Maat

The Eighth Virtue of the Ten Virtues of Maat is confidence in the power of the master (teacher). This virtue is important because you do not know everything there is to know about the business you will choose to begin from scratch or purchase as a franchise or licensee. You must learn the ropes from somebody and you will not learn what you need to know if you have no confidence in the power of the person who is teaching you what you need to know about the business.

The virtue that is hiding behind this eighth virtue is that of humility. A prideful person has difficulty acknowledging that anyone knows more than she or he about anything. Consequently, there are many entrepreneurs struggling in business because they refuse to learn from those more experienced than they, or to take their advice.

It’s not always pride that can make you leery about having confidence in the power of the master (teacher), sometimes it’s your bad past experience with a so-called teacher who turned out to be incompetent at best or a shyster at worst. That is why you must check out carefully the coach or teacher you choose to engage to speak into your life to make sure that that person who will be teaching you the ropes knows what they are doing.

I am in the business of speaking, teaching, training and coaching to assist entrepreneurs, individuals and businesses to maximize their potential and improve their results. If you are looking for a principled virtuous person to guide you along the road to personal and business success, then contact me at jchurchville8@gmail.com. We’ll talk together to see whether we are a good fit to work together on helping you reach your personal and business goals.

Freedom from Resentment: The Seventh Virtue of Maat

The Seventh Virtue of the Ten Virtues of Maat is freedom from resentment. It’s amazing how many people are stuck in an undesirable space in life simply because of their resentment toward other people: a parent, a sibling, a former lover, a current colleague or fellow worker, to name just a few. In too many cases, resentment is the excuse unsuccessful people use to justify their failures in life.

They love to blame others for what is actually their own inadequacy. They will talk about the father who abandoned them, the mother who didn’t love them, the teacher who discouraged them, the close friend or lover who betrayed them, and on and on.

To have freedom from resentment is to be so self-directed that you will not allow any person or circumstance to keep you from attaining the goals you have set for yourself. Freedom from resentment provides you a platform from which you can create, innovate, and focus on your positive future, rather than to stay mired in your bothersome past or hurtful present. As a virtuous, highly successful entrepreneur, you will learn that the pure success you earn in your life is far sweeter than any bad feelings you could have harbored or any acts of revenge you could have carried out.

The way to gain freedom from resentment is to make yourself grow large enough internally to forgive the people who have wronged, betrayed or otherwise treated you unfairly. Forgiveness is not easy, but it is easier than holding on to resentment, because resentment traps and holds you, while forgiveness sets you free to become all you can be.

Along the road to economic prosperity there will be potholes and other rough spots that are designed to discourage and waylay you as you seek after true wealth—wealth that includes financial success. Remember that the Law of Attraction will bring you whatever you focus on in your mind. Don’t waste time and energy on negative thoughts of resentment because they will attract more negative things and people to your life. Forgive those who have wronged you, and the Lord God whom you have wronged will forgive you.

Evidence of a Call to Spiritual Order: The Sixth Virtue of Maat

The Sixth Virtue of the Ten Virtues of Maat is evidence of a call to spiritual order. Spiritual order is that state of being that is fully aware that one cannot live for oneself and family alone: one has a call to destiny that goes beyond one’s own private sphere of living. One has the obligation and responsibility to live a virtuous life that impacts, influences and encourages others to follow suit.

The old adage, “To whom much is given, much is required,” is in play here. Every successful entrepreneur is a leader, whether she or he understands that or not. A leader is someone who is followed. People who wish to become successful follow the lead of those they believe to be successful. Because people will be watching you as you develop into a highly successful individual, you must be a good example for them to follow.

You cannot afford to be selfish or stingy or rude if you intend to obtain true wealth. You must show love, compassion, empathy and personal discipline. You cannot live the kind of life that you’ve seen some rich people live. Your life must have meaning, purpose and spiritual order. True wealth and long-term profitability can never reside in a person who lives a dissolute life—a life wasted in self-indulgence and self-absorption.

I am looking for people who are striving to obtain true wealth, who want to positively impact the lives of other people, and who are willing to live a life that can be emulated. There are many entrepreneurial-minded people out there who will make lots of money, but who will never be able to produce evidence of a call to spiritual order. I am not against such people: but they’re not the kind and caliber of people I want on my team. If you’re ready to pay the price that it will cost to live for more than money, then you should be in touch with me.