Our faith and our professional success are two of the most important priorities in most people’s lives today. That’s why it’s so important to find a way to reconcile them and find a way of interlinking the two. On today’s Solomon Success Show, Jason Hartman talks about Christianity and business with Santiago Rivera, who gives his opinion on how we can best represent God’s will through our own business strategies.
Key Takeaways
01.15 – Santiago Rivera talks about why there might be one fundamental thing missing in your business plan.
02.15 – If you use the Bible as a foundation for your life, why not also for your business?
04.25 – Prayer is such a valuable way of linking your work life with God and your religious beliefs.
06.55 – A business needs more than just a plan – it needs solid foundations and a structure.
08.45 – What exactly should you be doing to build your business along God’s ideals?
11.03 – Remember – your business is about you and God, nobody else.
14.15 – When everything seems to be going wrong, where do you turn, regardless of what you believe in?
Mentioned in this episode
Doing Business God’s Way by Santiago Rivera
Tweetables
Find a way of connecting your work to your spirituality through prayer.
Why not just accept the connection that we have with God, the power that creates us?
It’s not over by any means; God is still creating miracles every single day.
Transcript
Introduction:
This show is produced by the Hartman Media Company. For more information and links to all our great podcasts, visit www.HartmanMedia.com
Welcome to the Solomon Success Show, where we explore the timeless wisdom of King Solomon and the Bible as it relates to business and investing. False profits and get-rich-quick schemes are everywhere; let’s not be distracted by these. Instead, let’s go to the source – the eternal principles that create a life of peace, power and prosperity. Here’s our host, Jason Hartman.
Jason Hartman:
It’s my pleasure to welcome Santiago Rivera to the Show, he is the author of Doing Business God’s Way: Invite God to Partner With You and Create Business Success. He’s coming to us today from Houston, Texas. Santiago, welcome, how are you?
Santiago Rivera:
I’m doing fantastic, thank you for inviting me.
Jason:
Yeah, it’s good to have you here. So tell us a little bit about how you came to write the book and then let’s go through it; you’ve got some great ideas here and I want to get to the checklist on doing business God’s way and some of the other great elements you have here.
Santiago:
Absolutely. Well, let me tell you – the business is my personal experience. I’ve been in business for over 20 years in administration and in health care, in particular, and for many years I have been seeing people missing the point of empowerment into the business itself. Every time that I went to every other client, they’re just trying to find luck in business, but there was something else that was missing.
This year, doing prayers and meditations, the idea of the book started coming into my mind, and basically after several weeks and months when I was dealing with that idea, with that revelation that I got from my Father in Heaven, the book just came to fruition.
Jason:
Good, good. So what are some of the key elements of a successful business?
Santiago:
The key elements of a successful business – I call them the cornerstones for doing business God’s way, and therefore they are very important and very simple. First of all is to use the Bible as the foundation to learn God’s principle for business, because it has been proven for decades and for centuries that that always works.
The second one is that the business is about Him and for Him. This is where most of us fail because everything is about what we want, and we need to understand that everything is for Him if we want to find success.
The third one is that God does not play games or negotiate. That means that many of us who say ‘Well, whenever this culture comes through, I will glorify you, I will go here, I will go there”, but God does not do that.
The last one is that God wants you to trust him. We’re very good at asking him, but as soon as we stand up and leave, the fear and the worry just comes back to us. We just need to trust him to put it in place and that everything will be taken care of.
Jason:
But let’s talk about the power of prayer. I’ve studied that fairly in depth and it’s pretty interesting, and rather amazing, frankly. Tell us about the power of prayer in a business context.
Santiago:
Well, in the business context, what I experience personally is that many of us in the past and still, follow prayers that are pre-thought by X particular person, and we try to change ourselves into something. What we need to understand as a business entity is that God created us in the way that we are. We don’t need to change ourselves in front of Him; he knows exactly what we are. Whatever we say – in the tone that we speak or in the language that we speak, that is how he likes it. This means that if we can only talk to him for 2 seconds, I will say “Father, I love you, and have a wonderful day”, that is what he is expecting from you because he already knows you.
When we come into the arena of a business, your prayers need to be compound prayers. We cannot just go and say “Well, I have this problem with this contract” or “I need the business” or “I need this new contract”. We need to compound that prayer with a glorification, with an acceptance that he is revealing to you, and a trust that whatever he says or promises to you will come to fruition.
Jason:
Give us an example of that, one of these compound prayers.
Santiago:
The compound prayer is where, for example – in the morning, it’s good to do it: “Father, thank you very much for this beautiful day that you’ve provided me. Thank you for opening my eyes, thank you for letting me breathe and having this beautiful house that I have. You are the most glorious of all; you are perfection. I am here to follow your will – even if I don’t like it, I will go through because I trust you and I believe in you. You let Jesus guide me as my master as I embrace the new opportunities that you have for me, Father.”
And with that prayer, I normally open my day’s work.
Jason:
Okay, good. So do you get specific about really specific things in a prayer? You mentioned “Help me with this contract”.
Santiago:
I do, and normally I call it the boardroom. Independently, my prayers and my type of meditation normally happens on Wednesday. Every week I set up my prayer time and I have my notepad. I pray normally, and then I just make a list of everything that I have in the week, and I go point by point and I speak with him like he’s my business partner in front of me. I discuss the projection of that particular contract or that particular deal, and at some point I arrive at a point where I cannot do anything else. At that point, I say “Well, Father, you are my business partner here. I cannot do anything else here myself, so I’ll put this in your mailbox. Just take care of this. Whenever you want me to step back, just let me know.”
I go one by one over the projects and believe it or not, at the end of the week, everything that I had has been completed, and whenever I need to step into and just take an action, that’s happened to me.
Jason:
Talk to us, if you would, about the architecture of a business and understanding partnership with God.
Santiago:
Absolutely. I call it architecture because it really is one. For many years, we’ve known the traditional business plan. For bad luck – most of us in the past, every time that we wanted to create business, the financial side comes into play. It’s much more than a business plan. There are hundreds of details that you need to take care of before you really do a business plan, and the architecture is a building. It’s a design concept that comes to you with the revelation of God. It’s a preliminary design, and after that revelation, comes to you, you create a revision, and then of course you create a construction of that dream and the finalization of that project.
At that point, then you will be ready to do a traditional business plan which has been used throughout society.
Jason:
Okay, good. I want to get to the checklist which is at the end of your book, but is there anything else you want to discuss before that?
Santiago:
Well, the thing that I want to tell all the listeners is that the most important thing is that we accept this connection that we have with a supernatural power that creates everything we are. Yes, we are into a destiny track, but this destiny track depends on our will, or God’s will, and it’s changing constantly. We need to go into that – we cannot run behind and we absolutely cannot go forward; only God can do that.
Jason:
Good, let’s get to the checklist. You’ve got, what, over 100 items on the checklist? You call it a ‘Checklist for Doing Business God’s Way’.
Santiago:
That’s correct.
Jason:
How many items total, do you know off-hand?
Santiago:
I don’t know in particular, but when I was writing, I said I would have approximately 10-15 items per area.
Jason:
Okay, good. So what are the areas then? The overall areas..
Santiago:
The number one is to evaluate your motivation for business owners, and of course, to choose a business that will be suitable for you. You will evaluate all the feasibility of God’s revelations. You begin to build your business plan, to develop the market income plan and you will be ready for showtime.
Jason:
Pick some of your favorite items. Obviously, we can’t go over all of them, but let’s pick several and discuss them.
Santiago:
Absolutely. I think one of my favorites is in Area No. 1 where you start evaluating. It’s to look at your ideas and their divine messages, and this is one of the questions I get most about it. We all have dreams and we all have our own business models, and people ask me “How do I know if that is God’s revelation to me, or if it is my ego that wants that business?”
My answer is always “Because when God revealed to you that idea, originally you didn’t like it. It’s not what you planned ahead for. That revelation continued coming to you and of course, in the way that God speaks to you, it is very superior and it’s very complicated and we don’t understand a lot of the time.” I want everybody to understand that when those ideas start coming, just pay attention to it, dwell on that idea for several weeks and ask God to make it simple to you to understand, and that is a divine message from God.
For me, that should be the start point of any business endeavor.
Jason:
Good, and some other ones? Let’s get some more, these are good.
Santiago:
OKay. In Area 2, for example, there are two things, and this is one of the other very important ones. With many business people, they do this for their family, or for themselves, for their daughter, and it’s fantastic, but we are missing the point here. Everything that we do is for Him, and He is very clear in the Bible – as you glorify Him and do this for Him, He will anoint you and He will pour that Holy oil that will overflow from you and will bless everybody that is around you. It means that when we concentrate on Him and trust Him to do our business, that blessing will pour over into everybody around us. That is very incredible how He does that.
The thing from Area No. 3 is that God is your business partner, and not only to open a business. Here is another of our pitfalls – we pray to God to open a business, or just to do a contract or something else, and at the time that we achieve that, God goes to a second level and we forget about Him. The thing is that when He provides us with tools and resources, there’s a purpose for it. You must continue with God as your partner because he will guide you to another level of understanding. The thing that we must understand is that God will never push you down – He will always take you to a higher level, just for His glorification.
Those are some of the most amazing things that I normally get when we embrace new business partnerships with God. Something that I like to talk a little bit about Area No. 5 is to complete the preparation of the business plan and the business architecture plans, and here is one of the questions that I get asked. A traditional plan is basically a plan that we take to the banks or to some investors, but when you have an architecture plan, you know when you’re going to start, you know when you’re going to finish and sell the business, and the most important is you will know when you need those financial injections that, if needed, will be needed because at that particular point, God will present it to you and you will be ready to accept it and embrace it.
Absolutely, in Area No. 7, it’s just getting ready and opening your heart to him. The most amazing thing is that God is still doing miracles for us. People say “Well, this is not true, I would notice if it were”, but I do. Every day, God makes miracles in me and lets me shut down. I need to go to my knees and pray for him and say thank you because everything that comes from him is perfection. It is pure love to us.
Jason:
Santiago, many non-believers ask this question, and believers, of course, ask it too – it’s right in the Bible. What happens when you’re faced with extreme hardships? We’re talking about the business context here, obviously, not everything in life – just business and investing – but how do you view that as a believer and as someone who’s doing business God’s way?
Santiago:
Well, first of all, there are a few topics in that question – believers and non-believers. For me, it doesn’t matter. It is a Christian belief, but the most important thing for any person is that we must understand that there is a superior force that controls the forces of the Universe, and that has been proven overall. Regarding the business side, many times the business turned onto the wrong side and we are balancing and suffering when we don’t know the exit. Those are the points where either you need to just retract a little bit and see the entire picture. At that point, God is telling you to go in another direction, or it can be that you are imposing your will through that business and it doesn’t have any other option. Sometimes it might be that you need to modify the business.
I get into those corners and every month I can get it, and there are these troubles in business. When I have that wall in front of me, first of all I just need to re-track. I just need to go back, sit back, relax and see the entire picture and just connect with Him. He will tell you exactly what you need to do.
Jason:
Okay, good good. So definitely quieting the mind is really an important thing throughout every spiritual practice, not just Christianity, of course, so that’s great advice. Anything else you want to say on the checklist? Maybe one more, if you want to share one more?
Santiago:
Sure. The other thing we’re talking about in the final checklist, which is Area No. 7, is just be prepared to launch your business in three different events. In particular, most of us, when we have products to sell to customers, we like to make the perfect product and we are missing the point. The product, as God is to you, must be introduced into the society, and the client is the one who is going to make the product perfect. Those comments are coming back to you, and then you can re-fix the purpose and you re-launch that perfect product until you are successful.
Jason:
Very good. Santiago, give out your website if you would, and tell people where they can get the book.
Santiago:
Sure. The website is www.DBGodsWay.com, or you can get the book on www.Amazon.com as well.
Jason:
Fantastic. Santiago Rivera, thank you for joining us.
Santiago:
Thank you very much for inviting me, have a wonderful day.
Outro:
This show is produced by the Hartman Media Company, all rights reserved. For distribution or publication rights and media interviews, please visit www.HartmanMedia.com or email [email protected]. Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own and the host is acting on behalf of Empowered Investor Network Inc. exclusively.