I went for a vigil in Church over a week ago and something the Pastor said has not left me ever since. Just before sharing his prayer point, the Pastor spoke about things in life that distract us from our purpose and God-given assignment. These things are not necessarily bad things. In fact, they are things that look good on the surface. They bring us more money, fame and all the things we describe as ‘good’ in this world.
However, the fact that something is good does not mean it is God’s best for you. Good things are not always God things and it take a person with a discerning spirit to be able to differentiate between the two. When the Pastor started speaking in this line, I must confess that I could relate on so many levels.
I launched the Personal Branding Communications (PBC) service at Content Craft in 2018 because I saw a gap. Having worked with Leading Ladies Africa to curate the 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria list for over three years and other projects I have worked on for my other clients, I saw that people who were making the most impact were not visible in the digital space. I found it sad really. I would stumble on a woman’s name and work, most likely through a news feature and when I Google her, I see little or nothing about her and the work she is doing. Not even her profile. I was concerned. How can their impact be scaled if people don’t know about what they are doing? How can they get the attention of the right organizations and partners if they are not visible digitally?
The same applies to the top corporate and business excutives that I’ve had the privilege of meeting in the course of my work. Sometimes, I would spend hours with these executives and I would find myself taking notes because of all the great insights they’d share with me. Over and over again, I kept thinking of the hundreds of people that will benefit from their insights, experience and wisdom, if only all of this could be shared with a digital audience.
So we launched the PBC service and honestly, it was a hit. We actually had to turn down some clients because we were overwhelmed. I know God divinely led me to launch this service but towards the end of last year, I started to sense that I was beginning to deviate from what God wanted me to achieve with it. We were making money, yes, but I was straying away from what God really wanted me to do.
It took that prayer point from the Pastor to snap me back to reality. Money is good but doing things God’s way is the best. I’m sure you’re wondering in what way I deviated. I’ll tell you. The essence of the service is to project people doing impactful work and help them to build a strong personal brand to make them more visible; it is to benefit hundreds and thousands across the world who can learn from their work and experience. I started to see, however, that we were getting clients who were engaging us for themselves only. There was no impact factor which is totally critical for us.
I’m now retracing my steps and going back to the blueprint God gave me. Through prayer and asking God questions, I’ve been able to identify where I missed it and the corrective steps that need to be taken.
Have you deviated from what God has told you or shown you? Do you feel stuck with good things and you know without a doubt that God wants more from you? Please talk to Him today. Ask Him to lead you back. Ask Him to direct you right into the centre of His will. He loves it when we talk to Him and when we are eager to do things His way. So be assured that He will answer you and provide the clarity you need.
Our PBC will now be focused on impact- focused individuals and we will be working more with development and philanthropic organizations with genuine goals. Last week, I had a Personal Brand training with the entrepreneurs of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and it was such a blessing to me! I’ll share more about the session (the first of six sessions I will have with the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs) and some of the insights I shared.
I’m grateful to God for re-ordering my steps.
