Don’t Limit Me

While writing a goal on a 3×5 card the message came loud and clear.  Don’t limit me.

The words in my heart/head came from the one I recognize as God.  I immediately flipped over my 3×5 card and wrote “Don’t Limit God.”  And boy, did I learn how limitless God really is.

Parker had finally agreed we could sell the business so I could focus on my higher calling, my books, and now sales were down rather than up.

“If you want this business to sell,” I told God, “sales have to be going up not down.”

Then I pulled a 3×5 card out of my jumbled desk drawer and started writing sales goals for the next three months.  That’s when God weighed in and I flipped the card.

Building the Internet business had taken up so much time for the last three years that I had little left over for writing or marketing my books.  I told Parker I felt strongly that God wanted us to sell the business so I could focus on my books.  I had spent the last year setting it up to be turnkey, hiring a shipping company, content writers, and social media specialists.  Finally I put numbers together and researched Internet business brokers.  Parker, the resident construction expert, gardener and animal caretaker – and computer novice which left the whole business on my shoulders-  said he didn’t think it was time to sell it.

And then the business started tanking.

I said, “One way or the other, God is taking the business from us.  We can sell it, or it can die.”

Parker, half owner of our partnership business, again said no.

One day as I sat discouraged and tired, looking at our dropping visitor numbers and sales, Parker came into the office.

I said, “Do you know what it’s like to feel like a failure every day?  To do everything you know how to do and nothing works?”

Parker, the epitome of the silent male, said nothing but his face drooped in sadness.  He turned and walked out.

The next week I went to a writers conference where I continued to have the strong impression that I had to focus on my books, now. No more delays while I did “just this one more thing” with the business.  When I returned, Parker hugged me hello and said, “I can’t keep this place up any longer.  These hillsides are too hard on my knees and shoulders.  And I can’t take the cold. I think we should move to Florida.  I’ve been thinking we can use the money from the sale of the business to buy a place in Florida.”

“Are you saying we can sell the business?”

“Yes.”

A half hour later I had the paperwork printed, signed by both of us and emailed back to the business broker.  That’s when I started writing those goals, only to be told not to limit God.

A few days later, driving the thirty minutes to town in a silent car with no traffic on the road, I had another message. It was this.

“I am going to bring in so many sales to this business, so quickly, it will look so easy, you are going to be tempted to keep the business.  Don’t.”

I told Parker.  Shortly after that I hired a Facebook expert to help me set up some pixels and ads based on that.  He pointed out other areas I could improve so I set a time to work with him twice a week for an hour each time.  He charged me $20 an hour.  And sales exploded.  Went up 10 times.  We made enough profit in two months to pay cash for our place in Florida. It took hardly any time.

I could run this business working 10 hours a week and still have plenty of time for my book I thought.  And then I remembered that second message.  It did look easy.  I was tempted to keep it.  I took a deep breath and thanked God for the second message.  Shortly after we had a full price, cash offer on the business, closed on the house in Florida and started moving.

Recently people have sent me emails, Facebook notes and handwritten letters saying how much a difference my first book, published eight years ago, had made to them, asking when was I going to write another one. Out of the blue, after eight years, I am suddenly hearing from people asking when.

Now.  I’m doing it now.  And you, Open Diary, are where I share many things that eventually make it into my books.  Thank you.