Ep. 56: They Don't Know How - Why Many Jesus Followers Don't Profit From Their Purpose

This episode is an extract from a Facebook Live Series. I explore why many Jesus followers fail to profit from their purpose, despite knowing they should. I delve into the concept of a purpose-driven profit, emphasizing the importance of aligning one's work with God's purpose. I highlight that knowing you should profit isn't enough; you must also know how. Through various examples and key insights, I outline the necessity of providing value, solving problems, and understanding the areas where your purpose can make a significant impact. Tomorrow, I'll address the confusion between easy and simple, and continue the week's discussion on transitioning from a job you dislike to profiting from your purposeful calling.

00:00 Introduction to Purpose and Profit
01:26 Why Some Jesus Followers Never Profit
08:17 Understanding Value and Purpose
12:40 Identifying and Solving Problems
16:43 Categories of Problems and Solutions
19:41 Discovering Your Gift
22:00 Combining Passion and Proficiency
27:51 Conclusion and Next Steps

Join My Next Free "5 day Purpose Driven Course Creation Challenge" - https://www.ucheokere.com/5daychallenge

Transcript

Speaker: 0:00

All right, excellent. Okay, so while are we doing this, so over five days, I'm talking to you about why Jesus followers, why some Jesus followers never profit from their purpose. And I said yesterday. I said yesterday by. Saying some Jesus followers never profits from their purpose because they do not know that they should. They do not know that they should. So I laid some foundation about what, or rather on what's purpose driven prophet is, which is what I call this concept of aligning what you do for money with God's purpose for your life. Because I am convinced that there shouldn't be a disconnect. I am convinced that the things we do for money. Should align perfectly, should align well with our purpose. That our purpose, our provision is in our purpose. And as a Jesus follower with the Bible, as the, the, the key text that forms my worldview, I see that from scripture. I see that in the creation of man, I see that. In God's, um, blessing of man. I see that in Jesus's approach to life and in his teachings and, and in, in how he, he said his followers should earn and how they should take care of their basic needs. So I believe that this, this, this thing should happen, that there should be a coming together and alignment of purpose and profits. So I shared on that. For the rest of the week, today I'm gonna talk to you, uh, about the fact that many Jesus followers do not profit from their purpose because they just don't know how. It's one thing to know that you should profit from your purpose, but it's an entirely different thing to know how you should do it. It's one thing to know that you should swim. It's an entirely different thing to actually know how to swim, so knowing that if you do something is not sufficient. Enablement is not sufficient empowerment to actually go out and do the thing. You need to know how to do it tomorrow on that later, and then tomorrow I'm gonna talk to you. I'm gonna talk about. The fact that many Jesus followers do not profit from their purpose because they don't know the difference between, they confuse easy with, um, difficult or rather easy with simple. Sorry. They confuse easy with simple. That's, and I'll, I'll tell you what I mean. Tomorrow, on Thursday I'll talk to you about, um. What am I gonna talk about on Thursday? On Friday, I'm gonna talk about the fact that they never start. So many Jesus followers do not profit from their purpose because they never start. And on Thursday, I talked to you about my three Cs, three essential Cs that you must get a grip on if you are going to profit from your purpose. And I'm not gonna tell you until Thursday, okay? Watch the video when I share it. But today, many Jesus followers do not profit from their purpose because they do not know. How so hopefully if you watched the video yesterday, you would agree with me. You would've come to the point where you now believe that you should profit from your purpose, that your purpose shouldn't be in competition per se, with how you earn money and what you do for money shouldn't be the reason why you do not profit from your purpose. That, that, that the fact that you are, that you are trying to make money shouldn't be the reason. Why you are unable to, to profit from your purpose, okay? And that this two should work together in fact, that your purpose should be the source of your income or the, the, the, the, the, the channel through which you earn. We talked about all of diversity and we found some cultural basis for some of those as well. But like I said, it is one thing to know all of that. But then how do I actually begin to profit? For my purpose, I know that I should profit for my purpose. I know that God has a plan and in God's purpose. Thank you, John. I know that in God's plan, in God's purpose, that there is provision for me. But how do I actually begin to profit from it? How do, how, how does I know that my purpose is, um, for example, to, to, um. I've met people who, for example, say, oh, my purpose is, is, is, is to encourage teenagers, okay, my purpose is to help teenagers find their purpose. Something like that. How does that begin to pay me? Because nobody, I, I haven't seen any job adv advertisement on that subject or my purpose. In fact, today I replied, I replied an email today, today from someone who said to me, I, I am a, a worship leader, and over the past few years I've been training. Um, other worship leaders, and I want to monetize it. I don't like to use the phrase monetize or use the word monetize because it comes across as you want, as if you want to, as if money is the objective. But I get what, what, what we say when we say that. And she says to me, I want to monetize it. But people have said to me, no, I cannot monetize it. And I, I said, no, absolutely not. I do not agree. If that is your purpose, I believe your purpose should pay you. Okay. So how do I go from this place? Where I know I have a purpose, but I'm stuck in a job. I hate, I, I'm doing a nine to five that I absolutely hate that. The only reason I'm doing it is because I need to feed my family is because I need to have a roof over my head, is because I need to make ends meet. If there was, if there was no need for money, I will not do this job. So how do I, how do I leave? This stage of my life because this is the reality, and this is the reality of so many Jesus, so many Jesus followers. I once heard the story of the speaker who went to a conference and as, as he went up to the stage, he asked the question. The very first thing he said was, okay, guys, you go home tonight and there's a letter waiting for you, and it's from a relative who you never knew When you open the letter and in there is a check. You open your envelope and in there is a check with the letter and the letter reads. Um, you may not be expecting this, but Mr. So and so died last week and they named you in their will and they left you$10 million. Will you go to work tomorrow? That's a massive question, isn't it? Will you go to work tomorrow? Because the, your answer to that question determines. Whether all you have is a job or you're actually working on your purpose. Because if money stops you from continuing, and I call it a job, not, not not work, Jesus said, I will do the work of him that sent me. While it is the what you do, the thing that you are sent to do is your work. If all your, if, if, if the purpose of what you're doing to make money is just to make money, that's just a job. Alright? So. You know, it, you, you experience it. You have this feeling, I know I have a purpose. I know that God wants me to do so, and so maybe you don't even have clarity on, on what that purpose is, but, but in your heart, you know that your life should be more than this. It should be making more of a contribution. It should be making more of an impact, but it's just not happening. And you are asking yourself, how do I leave this phase? How do I transition from this place that I am right now to the place where I am investing my time in my purpose and I'm not lacking because my purpose is providing for my needs? Like we said yesterday, it is possible. It is possible. So the question we need to ask, therefore, to make this transition from a place where I have a purpose, but. I'm not pursuing it. I have a purpose, but I'm stuck in a job that I hate. It's probably not paying me enough as well, and it's also perhaps the reason why I'm unable to pursue my purpose because it's taking my time. It's taking my energy, it's taking my attention, and I'm unable to pursue my purpose. So how do I make that transition? Number one question we have to ask ourselves is what do people pay for? What do people pay for? We hardly carry cash these days, isn't it? But I, I went to Africa last year. I was in Ghana last year, and so I, I, I've got some Ghanaian, I've got some Ghanaian seed still in my wallet. This is 50 Ghanaian cities or Ghana cities. Alright. Bank of Ghana. This is 50 Ghana cities. It's 50 Ghana cities because it has value on it. Alright, so it's a legal tender that says if I, if I, if I'm in Ghana, it's not legal. 10 in the uk. Obviously while I was in Ghana, if I walked into a shop and I picked up. Something, they would have a prize on it, a price tag on it if I gave them this piece of paper, alright? They would let me take that thing as long as the value was less or equal to 50 cities. So what do people pay for? People pay for value. People pay for value. So if I'm asking myself. How do I begin to get people to pay for my pay me for my purpose? The question I should be asking is, what value is my purpose providing? What is the value that my purpose is providing? Because we're being real here. We're not. We're not expecting that we will pursue our purpose and the money falls from heaven. Oh, I believe in miracles. I know God does miracles. I've experienced financial miracles, but. I do not believe that God has, God wants us to live on the edge, on the edge all the time and expecting miracles all the time. No, he wants us to apply principle principles that, that ensure financial, sustenance or sustainability. Okay, so what is the, and this is how money flows. The principle is that money flows in the direction of value. Money flows in the direction of value no matter how skin you think you are. There is something you really value and you need, or you want, even you will use your, your, your bottom penny. You would use the last amount of money to pay for that thing. And the answer is simple. It's the value that you place on it. So the question you and I have to ask therefore is what is the value that my gift, or rather that my. Purpose is providing. So if I think that my purpose is to, is to, um, I used the same example I used before, help teenagers discover themselves. What is the value that that is providing? Do I understand the value that providing, like the person who sent me an email and I, I responded to today, who thinks that her purpose is in. In music and in helping other train, other music ministers, the question is what is the value that you're providing? Because it's not about how you see it. Value is not determined by the provider necessarily. It, it's, or you. You can't set a value to something you provide to a service or a product that you provide, but it is a person who pays that determines whether the value you say you are providing is equal or less than the amount of money you are asking for it. So that is the first question we have to ask, what is the value that my purpose is providing? So let's explore this word value a little bit. When, when we say value, what do we mean? What is value? What are people looking for in value? When you go into a shop and you exchange your money for a product or you exchange your money for, for, for a service. What is the thing that you are actually paying for? What are you actually paying for? What is, what is the thing that determines the value? This is what I think. I think that value is determined by the size of the problem that a thing solves. So the value of. That is why, that is why economists will talk to us about supply and demand. So price will go up when demand exceeds supply because all of a sudden, these of us in the uk we remember the early days of, of, of, of, of the pandemic, early days of the lockdown, when toilets rule all of a sudden became a premium product, you couldn't find it anywhere. Okay? The value all of a sudden went up. If not that, this is a country where okay, things are at least are shops. Um. There is some sense of responsibility there. Perhaps the price would've shut up because there was demand, because there was need for it. So many people wanted it. So many people saw the need for it and wanted it. The value went up. Okay, so what is the problem? What is the problem that your purpose solves? That is the determinant of its value. What is the problem that you solve? If you wanna pay, if you want people to pay you for your purpose, then you have to identify a problem that you solve. That you solve. And not all problems are equal. Not all problems are equal. Some problems have more value than others, or rather, the solutions to, to some problems are more valuable than, than, than the solutions to other problems. There are people going to bed tonight praying and asking God for a particular solution, for a solution to a particular problem, for a solution to a particular need. If you step up tomorrow and provide that solution, the, the, the, the chances that you get paid for that solution are much, much higher than if you came up with a solution to a problem that people didn't even know they had. If you brought a solution to a problem that people are not looking for. Your chances of being paid are very, very slim. So if we want to be paid for our purpose, if we wanna profit from our purpose, how to profit from your purpose is to transition your purpose to the point where it becomes a solution to a problem. So I'm gonna ask you, therefore, what is the problem that you can solve? What is the problem that your. Purpose solves. You need to know what that problem is. You need to know what that problem is. You need to be able to place your finger on what that problem is and identify it and study that problem and know that problem better than the people who are experiencing it, because that is the only way that you can provide them with an elegant solution that solves their problem. When we talk about purpose, a lot of times it's very selfish, it's very egocentric. It's very, it's very me, me, me. I want to fulfill my purpose. I want to be everything God wants me to be. I, I, I want to be fulfilled. I want to have the sense of fulfillment. So it's very, it's very, it's, for want of a better word, it's very selfish, but if you wanna profit from your purpose, you have to move away. From just thinking about yourself and begin to obsess over a problem that people are experiencing. That's the only way we make impact. Impact is a result of solving problems. Impact is a result of helping people solve the problems that they are experiencing. So do you wanna get paid for your purpose? Do you, do you want to profit from your purpose? It's a, it's an issue of value. Value is determined by the solution that you provide to a problem. Broadly speaking, there are three categories of problems and, and perhaps one more. The first one is health, health problems. There are these, these people would always have health problems. I. So if, can you help people lose weight? Can you help people sleep better? Can you help people? If you've got training in it, can you offer specific solutions in the health sector? Because there are people with hope, there are will always be people who are looking for those solutions. Second category of of, of solutions or problems is, is wealth. Money problems. Money problems. Now, while many people wanna fulfill their purpose, many people are attracted to what I offer. Because of the promise that you would make money from it. And while it is, it is true. It's true. That's the truth. That you can actually monetize your purpose and get, get your purpose to the point where people pay you for it. That's just the truth of it. So can you help in any way business people make more money? Can you help individuals save money? Can you, is there, is there something that you can do? A lady just joined. My coaching program and, and, and we're, and we're gonna work together on creating, she's a financial advisor. We're gonna create something special for women on how to manage their money and get insurance and things like that. So that's in the, in, in, in, in, in the wealth sector. The third sector. So talk about health, wealth. The third is relationships. This is massive relationships. So marriage, um, friendships. I know people who do stuff on, on, on helping people find life partners. I'm working with a couple who are creating a program to, to um, help um, couples who are on the verge of divorce to help them find healing for their marriage. Alright, so these are three key areas that you want to ask yourself. How can my purpose, how can my purpose solve a problem in one of these niches? A fourth one, which I think is not often talked about, but I, I believe is important, is passion. Passion, pe they are. When people have money, they can pay for things they're passionate about. All right? That's why we have a, a luxury market. That's why we have, uh, an entertainment market, all right? That's why we have a hospitality, perhaps market as well. Okay? So these are, if you, if you, if you're asking yourself, okay, I wanna get paid for my purpose, and this is a problem I can solve, you need to be able to identify whether it falls into health, wealth, relationships. Or passion. All right. Now the next thing you wanna begin to think about is, so how do I know what problem I should be solving? I know this is my purpose, but how do I, how do I know what problem I should be solving? There are different ways to, to talk about this, but I, I like to look at it from the perspective of your gift, because I believe you are designed for your purpose. You, you, just like a bird has wings so it can fly. You are designed for your purpose, your passions, your proficiencies, the things that you love to do, the things that you hate. The way you are wired, the way you are designed is they, they, they, they're not by chance, but you are the way you are so that you can fulfill your purpose. God made you the way you are so that you can fulfill your purpose. I dare say as well, your experiences. The things that have happened in your life that didn't go so well, your failures, your disappointments, all of those are not a waste. Apostle Paul talks about how we can comfort others with the comfort by which we have been comforted. So the things that you've experienced are not a waste, but they are. They can be a pointer to this thing that I call your gift. Because your gift is your inherent capacity to fulfill a function in creation or meet a need in creation. It's the thing that God give you. So in Genesis 1 28, when he says, God blessed them, I believe what God gave them, that thing he gave them was their gift, that thing he gave them, that meant that he could not say to them, be fruitful, because you cannot be fruitful without a seed. For there to be fruit, there must be seed first. So when God blessed them to bless is to empower. Blessing is not a, it is not, it's not a greeting. It's not, it's not a wish. No, it's an empowerment. So when he blessed them, he put something in them, he empowered them, he deposited something in them, and then he says, by reason of this empowerment, go and be fruitful. Go and bear fruit. So that thing is a seed. So you have a gift. You and I have a gift. That is the thing that we've been given so we can fulfill our purpose. That is the thing that we can use to solve a problem that we can get paid for. So what is your gift? I have an easy way of identifying what your gift is, and I talk about your passion and your proficiencies. Your passions are the things you love and the things you love are the things that you'll, you remember the quest, the, the story I told you at the start that. If you are going to go back to work tomorrow, even if you got a check of$10 million tonight, it's very likely that you're working on your passion. It's very likely that your job is something you're passionate about. You'll love it, so you are very happy to go back to it, okay? It's something that you will do even if nobody paid you for it. That's your passion. Those are your passions, but. I've come to realize that your passions are often not enough. Passion is not enough. You can't, I told you the story yesterday of, of, of a comment I saw on somebody's, um, Facebook post because he pursued his dream. He was pursuing his dream, and he found that a few months later that he was now in debt. He was now homeless. He was, he was now poor. He was bankrupt and all of that because he was pursuing his dream. Now, it's possible he was pursuing his passion, but your passions are not enough. Because if people are gonna pay you some of the things you love to do, you may not be good at it. You may not be able to get results in it. I love to tell this, use my example of growing up and loving football. I still love football. I loved football growing up as a teenager, but I just, I was, I wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough at playing it. I just loved it. But I wasn't good at all in playing football. So no matter how passionate about I, I was about football. I was never going to become a professional footballer. I was never going to be paid for playing football. All right? So you may be passionate about some things, but you've got to be realistic. If you're gonna be paid for it, you've also got to be good at it, and that's what your proficiency comes in. So your proficiency are the things that you are good at. And I like to talk about how my, I'm not. I'm not very, very proficient with my hands, so DIY is not my thing. When I finished secondary school, my dad is an electrician. He's retired now. But when I finished secondary school and while I was waiting to go to university, it's so, so that I wouldn't just stay at home. I would go with my dad to work. I would go out with him.'cause then he was self-employed. I would go out with him to do some work, but I tell you almost every day I went out with my dad. I broke something, I spoiled something, I lost something. I was just not good at doing this thing with my hands. I was just unable to, to perform at a level that he was performing at. He's very good with his hands. So that's not my proficiency. I'm not, I'm not that good with my hands. So what are your proficiencies? I know what I'm good at. I know that I'm passionate about purpose, the subject of purpose. I have been for as long as I can remember. I remember many years ago as an undergraduate, um, I remember there was this, this, this, this holiday, it wasn't actually a holiday. I, my, my degree was in Nigeria. So there were, um, there were times when the lectures went on strike and everybody had to go home. I didn't go, I stayed back. And I had a roommate at the time who was a pastor. The reason I stayed back was because I was so burdened. I was, I was, I was so passionate about my purpose. I was asking, God, what's the thing about my life? What's happening with me? What am I? This was especially exacerbated by the fact that I was studying a degree, which I didn't want to study. It wasn't what I signed up for. So I was, I went to this guy and I was asking him. What's your advice? What do you think about how I can actually pursue God's purpose for my life? And he gave me some advice. The point I'm trying to make to you is that I have been passionate about purpose for, for a long time, and I, by virtue of my training and, and, and just the way I'm wired, I love to talk. I am able to, to, to, to talk. I can teach. All right. It's not, it's not something I find really, really difficult to do. Of course, I can get better, but I love to stand and talk. So when those two come together, I believe I find my gift somewhere in there. So what is your passion and what is your proficiency? Because that is what you are going to be paid for. So this is how you profit from your purpose when you discover what your gift is. And you use it to solve a clear, painful problem, something that people are going to bed tonight and they are praying about and they're asking God and they're saying, oh God, if only somebody could help me do this. I'm very grateful. If only somebody could help me answer this question, if only somebody could just show me how I can sleep better. If only somebody can show me how I can get out of this addiction, if only somebody can show me. How I can be a better mom, a better dad to my daughter, even if somebody can just show me how I can do this better. I know where I need to get to, but I don't know how to go from here to that if only there was somebody who could show me the steps I need to take. If you obsess over that problem enough such that you have a solution that somebody can apply. And that is aligned with your purpose, then you will get paid for it. So this is how you get paid for your purpose. Get paid for pursuing your purpose. I hope this helps someone, um, let me know in the comments. Um, send a message or something. I'll be here again tomorrow and I'll be talking to you about how confusing, easy for simple, can be a reason why many Jesus followers do not. Prophet from the purpose. God bless you. Thank you for watching. Bye-bye. I'll see you again tomorrow. Bye.