It Depends On Who’s Diving in with You Towards Business Growth
Friends You Trust or FrIeNdS You Don’t
Friends I Trust a committed community of business owners pursuing business growth with one distinction.
Defining Distinction
We were born again to bear overwhelming burdens. We were created to trust Christ, and we haven’t arrived. We value community over competition because that’s where we grow.
Broken by our sin, we are becoming “sit-down” friends pointing out our scars and the lessons learned for others gain.
We open entire chapters of our lives for others’ benefit, without being greedy for gain.
We value:
- trustworthiness over insincerity,
- community over selfish competition,
- growth following the one who laid down his life for his friends.
Who Are Your People?
As you plunge in to spearhead business growth, you don’t always know what’s below. Hidden risks are unpredictable.
Consider for a moment whether or not the community you choose to rub elbows with will affect your business growth.
Obviously, people play a pivotal role in many businesses. But, who are your people?
Friends or FrIeNdS?
FrIeNdS swim in the treacherous waters of business hype and false promises that can end in betrayal. But we don’t need to dive in with just anyone. We choose who dives in with us.
Friends I Trust is a community with one distinction.
this Distinction Matters because We Know Business Growth Isn’t Easy
It takes Time & Trusted Community to Grow
Daylight is Fading—choose wisely!
“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
Proverbs 12:26
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
Proverbs 13:20
FrIeNdS
FrIeNdS lurk in treacherous waters of business opportunity. It’s obvious that not all who swim by our side are our friends.
FrIeNdS are fly-by-night companions that charm people into believing that they are genuinely interested in our success. But, their true colors bleed betrayal. They befriend with lying lips.
Fresh Start
Clear skies. Summer in San Diego. Two close friends dipped their toes into the sea, flippers and snorkels in hand. They were like kids again.
Slow rolling waves from their favorite cove, their friendship was trustfully floating back and forth between the teeming sargo in the shallows and the warmth of sandy ideation sessions. They were experiencing the highs and lows of immersive ideas together as the tides changed. Floating above the orange Garibaldi picking peas from their hands, time froze.
The fresh seabed of wonders captivated their creativity. The excitement of new venture currents carried them towards open ocean waters together, where larger business growth opportunities swam.
Days turned to weeks and weeks became years. Stroking towards product market fit, their business partnership deepened. No longer snorkeling in the shallows, they were spearing different business models and channels.
They were in deep relational waters. Synched and kicking purposefully, they stretched out to swim towards the 1/2 mile buoy of business growth with everything they had.
Shadows Lurking
The sun began to fade and they realized it was just the two of them out there. Bone chilling deep waters lay beneath them, but they couldn’t stop. They’d come too far.
The younger one swam faster. He looked back for his friend. In disappointment, he saw the distance between them had increased. This was annoying because it was hard to see him over the swells.
He popped up to rest awhile. That’s when he saw his partner way off course, resting in dark waters. What? They were both accomplished swimmers! The younger one was quickly irritated. What was he doing?
Immediately heading towards his friend, he took another stroke away from the 1/2 mile buoy to see a shadow out of his left eye. Instantly the shadow slid across to the exact spot where he last saw his friend. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Betrayal Bites
The shadow could have been from the setting sun as the day slid into night. Worry and anger crept in as the sea fog encroached. What was he doing? Visibility was plummeting. He popped up for bearings. Looking…Listening.
Then it struck! He was ensnared within the unyielding jaws of a great white shark, eerily reminiscent of the choking pressure of stagnant business growth. Thrust 8 feet into the air the beast breached at full force and dove back down slamming his body into the bloody waters of betrayal.
It was shaking its massive tail FIN while shredding human flesh in its jaws. The giant FIN finally disappeared. The blood thirsty beast had abandoned its victim.
Bloody Depths
The bloodline of his business was pulsing into the sea. Lying on his back, he was bleeding out his precious business resources. struggling for survival, longing for the shore. He called out for help, but no one answered. There was no one else around. Panic ensued.
Thoughts of all his hard work shred to pieces. His business profits slowly drained away. Worse still, his friend was gone. The traumatic FINS of betrayal left him shocked, sinking in shame. He never saw it coming.
These bloodied business waters would never be the same. It was unthinkable that he’d be able to:
- risk again,
- envision again,
- trust again.
Would he make it out?
What about us?
How can we live the life God designed us for apart from the friendships we form in committed community?
Is Business Growth in Community Even Possible?
We were created to glorify God in the context of community. The church universal, indeed. But our need for committed friendships, actionable advice and practical skills when diving into unknown business waters remains. You were made for trusted community!
Especially when wisdom, sharpening and accountability are crucial to business growth. We’re not obligated to sit around and shoot the breeze on the beach of the “better days” behind us. The sun has not set!
We’re motivating globally minded friends in the great commission, following the great commandment to love our families, our church, and our enemies. God has entrusted our businesses to us for His purposes.
There is a distinct difference between Friends We Trust and FINS we don’t.
The decision is ours to make.
Choose Wisely Because…
Full Disclosure Friends
- Hold no secrets
- Tell you difficult things
- Pull no punches
‘Sit Down’ Friends
- Invest in your life generously & secretly
- Strive for your best interests
- Are interesting because they’re interested in following…
A Unique Friend
- Who seeks you with certainty
- Reaches down to save FINS like us
- Lays down his life for his friends!
Fascinated FINS
- Have their sights set on your stuff
- Tell you what you want to hear
- Betray you with lying lips
Treacherous FINS
- Lurk in darkness with violent motives
- Leave when there’s nothing left
- Demand your involvement
Deceptive FINS
- Unreliable, using you as they see fit
- Diving down toward destruction
- Lurk in the dark & disappear
Anchored Alliances – -> Solid Growth
Friends I Trust is a committed community of business owners pursuing business growth together. But it’s NOT a magic wand.
We can’t banish memories of betrayal back to dark waters. God has dealt with the devil and will deal with that blood-thirsty murderer.
However, we stand together in prayer being re-built into a solid community that provides actionable advice and practical skills. We support brothers and sisters in business. We brave the waters once again by God’s grace!
Our motives will be tested and that’s why we need solid accountability. Friends who tell you difficult things, moving towards your best interests.
We bravely bear scars in support of each other. We humble ourselves, receiving their help when we need it. Here are a few of my scars. Scars are the evidence of healing, but we don’t heal ourselves. Here’s how Friends I Trust came to be.
For those of us who’ve experienced the commitment, correction and care from trusted Christian businessmen, that’s the structure that Friends I Trust hopes to exemplify. But even the best of those friendships couldn’t bring me to the place of stepping into business waters again.
Hope Resurfaces because Jesus Christ Forgives
FINS Like Us
Without Christ We’re CHUM!
In Christ, you can resurface, even if you’ve been badly betrayed. Even when you’ve succumbed to the shadow of darkness because Jesus paddles out to get us. We all swim in the sea of sin as fallen human beings.
Both Betrayers and the Betrayed. Friends and FINS alike. We all fall short of what God requires of us. We’re all sinking in sin, but the Son of God rescues us.
He infuses new life into us by his blood sacrifice. We’re made new.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Friends I Trust aspires to be a community of forgiven FINS and business owners who don’t mind learning along with them. We’re applying solid principles and processes to work on our businesses. We trust God can grow our businesses, if the Lord wills.
We trust that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners.
He laid down his life for his friends, dying the death we deserved. Jesus rose again. He freed those who trust him from our rightful punishment–eternal separation from him in the torment of eternal hell.
Trusting Christ with Business Growth & Friendships
