In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul writes, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called.” Paul saw himself as a prisoner of the Lord. He recognized that the life he lived was not his own, but rather it belonged to Jesus Christ.

My question is: How do you view your life? Do you live your life with the present moment-to-moment knowledge that you have been bought with a price? You are not your own. With that knowledge, Paul urges us to walk worthy of the vocation or calling wherewith we are called.

Sadly, too many of us feel that unless we are in the ministry, we are not really called, or at least we are not fulfilling our calling. I want to tell you that most of us are not called to full time ministry as we typically understand that word. Most of us are called to a vocation and Paul urges us to walk worthy of that vocation. He is literally saying that we are to walk out our vocation in a Godly manner worthy of the One who called us to the work in the first place, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The vocation most of us are called to is smack dab in the middle of the marketplace.

Work is where we trade a portion of our life for finance in order to make the remaining portion of our life better. Ideally, our work is also fulfilling and enjoyable. Whether we enjoy it or not, we are trading our time for some kind of reward, usually financial. Let’s face it, not many of us would remain in our jobs if we were not going to get paid, no matter how much we love it.

Because this exchange of our labor for money is sometimes painful, it is tempting to look for shortcuts. With this in mind, Solomon exhorts us that if sinners entice you saying, let’s take advantage of the innocent we will find all precious substance and fill our house with spoil. Join us. It is all for one and one for all. He warns us not to consent to this enticement. Those who are greedy for gain, taking away the life of the owners, are really lying in wait for their own life. You see, when you take advantage of someone in business for your own gain, you’re really taking a portion of their life, because money is time in foldable form. When you take some of the life of someone else, you simultaneously destroy a part of yourself. Do you see the paradox? When you take, you lose. When you give, you gain.

Thankfulness is a gift you give yourself, while acknowledging with gratitude the actions of others. You see, thankfulness releases something of the heart of God that, before it reaches the person to whom you are grateful, first passes through your mind, your soul and your emotions. In a sense, it cleanses you. It vitalizes you. It releases you.

Try it. Spend some time deliberately be thankful and looking for the opportunity this Thanksgiving to express that thankfulness, not only to God, but also to your brothers and sisters who are made in the similitude of God. In a very real sense, when you express thankfulness to your neighbor for watching your home when you are away, to your family members for being there for you, to the mailman for his faithfulness in rain, in sleet, in snow, in dark of night and all that…, to the UPS driver who brings your packages when he’d rather not and to all those people who impact the quality of your life in big and small ways - when you express genuine gratitude to the least of them, you are expressing it to God.

This Thanksgiving, let’s be proactive and make it a point to deliberately think of at least three people that have made a positive contribution in our life and let’s thank them genuinely, sincerely and passionately. Not only will you make their day, but you will make your own too. Then share your experience with others on this blog when you get back. By the way, I am truly thankful for you, my readers, my friends, my brothers and sisters. You inspire me to rise early and seek the Father and pass on what He shares with me, to you. Thank you for being there… You’re the best!

“…and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself.” As you grow your business or territory, make sure you identify, cultivate and maintain the “fruit tree” clients who can supply most of your revenue objectives from a small number of seeds. Remember, one kernel of corn can produce a corn stalk with 2 or 3 ears of corn and even though the number of kernels produced may be hundreds of times return on the original kernel, it is still only enough for a meal. That corn stalk will also produce only one harvest. But drop one apple seed in the ground and nurture it over the long term and you will get many, many meals from it and it will continue producing for many years, not just a single season.

To take advantage of this distinction, begin by identifying the profile of what a “fruit tree” client looks like that can provide significant fruit over the long term. Make sure the profile you are after matches your capability to serve them well. You might begin by pursuing an apple tree client and leave the towering Brazil nut trees for when you have mastered the smaller fruit tree opportunities. Secondly, identify how you should service fruit tree clients differently than vegetable clients. Lastly, what product or services can you offer “fruit tree” clients? They have bigger budgets, and quite often more sophisticated needs. Hone your product or service, offering to match their needs, not yours.

“…and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself.” If you plant a seed of corn, you will get a corn stalk with 2 or sometimes 3 ears of corn, each with hundreds of seeds in return. Seems like a good return and it is. But it’s a one time return. Unless you plant some of the harvest again, you won’t get anymore corn. Fruit trees, however, may take years to produce their first fruit, but once they start producing, they will produce bushels and bushels of fruit, year after year after year – without having to replant.

Vegetable clients represent the short term, quick turn revenue necessary for day to day operations and especially critical in start up companies. Fruit trees represent the long term, larger opportunities that once obtained can feed your company for years to come. For example, there are many folks who have purchased the Genesis Model for doing business from us. While we are grateful for that, in terms of income, it represents a small vegetable for our company. We need our vegetables, but we make our larger payoff from the business relationships (our fruit tree clients) we have established over the years.

For long term profitability, you need to do a good job of managing your vegetable crop daily while simultaneously feeding, watering, pruning and developing your fruit tree opportunities. If you focus only on the fruit trees, you may not survive long enough to eat their fruit.

“Let the earth bring forth vegetation, the plants yielding seed.” (Gen 1:11) We are continuing our study on the business application of God making vegetables and what that means to business – especially start-ups. We have established that vegetables represent short term returns, your typical customer, your average sale, etc. To grow a great crop of vegetables that keeps your company well fed, you need to know what those vegetable clients or customers or prospects look like.

What is the profile of clients that provide your staple, survival food at present? What basic products, services or special offers can you offer those clients on an ongoing basis? What are you doing or should you be doing to cultivate and maintain those clients? You need to succeed here to make it through your first winter… just like the pilgrims first did. After that, you can expand your borders. So, what can you work on today that will yield a more immediate return?

Notice the Scripture says, “… the plants yielding seed.” The products you create as vegetation (short term revenue) need to be reproducible on a large scale. They may be generic products, but make sure they have spin-off potential. Also, look for multiple applications of your products and services. By that I mean, different niches for the same product. Be creative. It’s how God made you!

If you like, you can order the entire 8 CD series with PowerPoint called The Genesis Model.

“Let the earth bring forth vegetation, the plants yielding seed.” (Gen 1:11) We are examining the implications of God creating vegetation on Day 3 and how that applies to business – especially start ups. You see, God is getting His new enterprise up and running and the first living thing, the first self-replicating thing He creates… is vegetation.

Vegetables are short term investments that yield meaningful, but not windfall returns. They are a staple for our diet, but not usually something we get too excited about. In business, they represent short term revenue. Ask yourself what revenue stream should you build that will be a staple for your business? What clients provide the core of your business revenue? I am not speaking of the top 20% that produce 80% of the revenue. Those are your fruit trees which we will talk about later. I am talking about the day in day out regular, non substantial sales that support your business.

Here’s the deal: if you neglect your vegetable clients, your business will slowly become weaker and any sudden stress factor could really knock your business for a loop, possibly put you out of business. So you shouldn’t ignore the mundane vegetable income stream that sustains your business. Rather, identify the basic activities that sustain your business and pay attention to them.

Join me in the next issue as we look at practical things you can do to grow your vegetable clients and make your business strong. . If you like, you can order the entire 8 CD series with PowerPoint called The Genesis Model.

On Day 3 of creation, God made the dry land appear, gathered together the seas, and called forth vegetation and the trees. Four things: land, sea, vegetation and trees. In recent weeks, we have spoken about the connection between land and work, the sea and what its attributes speak of (Knowledge, Attitude, Skill & Habits). Today we are going to begin looking at vegetation. Think vegetables. I know it encompasses much more, but follow along with me.

When you compare vegetables with fruit, a few things immediately come to mind. Fruit trees take years to produce fruit, some as much as 100 years; while vegetables produce a harvest in less than a year and some in as little as a month, with the right environment and nurturing. So what does this have to do with business and how does Day 3 of creation speak about priorities?

Glad you asked. Rule number one of business is “First you survive… Then you thrive”. If you are new in business, you need to seriously consider what you have to offer that is a quick turnaround. It may not make you rich, but it pays the light bill and the rent. I’m talking about vegetable clients or vegetable customers. They are service opportunities that require much less nurturing but give a quick turn around on your investment. They are not like fruit trees, which require a significant investment of time and capital. Too many start ups go broke by going for broke when they should be taking care of the vegetable opportunities, while simultaneously watering the fruit tree.

Catch the next article as we carry this thought further. If you like, you can order the entire 8 CD series with a PowerPoint called The Genesis Model.