Tag: edify

Lift Up Your Friends in Business

I have to tell you, one of the greatest gifts you can give a friend is your support when they step out in faith and launch a business. Starting something from scratch takes courage. It’s not for the faint of heart. It takes long nights, hard decisions, sacrifice, and a willingness to risk it all on a dream. And yet, some people look at their friend’s new business as an opportunity to see what they can get for free. What? Who does that? That’s not support. That’s exploitation.

If your friend opens a restaurant, don’t walk in expecting a free meal. If they start cutting hair, don’t assume they’ll always do yours for nothing. If they create a coaching program or launch an online store, don’t sit there waiting for the “friend discount.” Come on. Think about it.

The Heart of Support

When your friend starts a business, they are putting their heart on the line. They’re saying, “I believe in this enough to invest in it, to fight for it, to share it with the world.” That deserves honor.

Real support looks like showing up, standing beside them, and putting your money where your mouth is. Not because you owe them. Not because they guilted you into it. But because you love them. Because you want to see them thrive.

You wouldn’t walk into a stranger’s store and demand freebies, would you? So why would you insult the one you call your friend by doing that to them?

Flip the Script

Now imagine the tables are turned. Let’s say it’s you. You’ve put everything into your new business. You’ve worked nights, maxed out credit cards, sweated through doubt, and finally opened the doors.

What would bless your heart more than anything? To see your friends walk in, pay full price, leave a generous tip, and brag about you to everyone they know. Wouldn’t that feel amazing? Wouldn’t that lift you up?

This is not rocket science, people. Treat your friends the way you’d want to be treated. It’s just that simple.

Practical Ways to Support Your Friends in Business

Here are some steps you can take to really show up for the people you love:

    1. Pay Retail Without Hesitation
      If your friend sets a price, honor it. Don’t ask for special treatment. Don’t drop hints. Pay the price with a smile.
    2. Tip Generously
      If there’s a way to tip, do it. That little extra says, “I value what you’ve created.”
    3. Be Their Advocate
      Share their posts. Talk about their business at dinner parties. Send people their way. Word-of-mouth is powerful.
    4. Show Up Physically
      Go to their events, ribbon cuttings, or live streams. Your presence is encouragement.
    5. Offer Emotional Encouragement
      Owning a business can feel lonely. A simple, “I’m proud of you,” or “Keep going, you’re making a difference” can fuel their fire.
    6. Buy Often
      Don’t just buy once to “show support.” Make it a habit to frequent their business when you need what they offer.
    7. Give Honest Praise
      Let them know what you loved about your experience. That feedback is priceless and motivating.

Two Camps

Here’s the truth: there are two kinds of people when it comes to supporting friends in business.

    • The Supporters. These are the ones who show up, pay full price, cheer, share, and bless their friends with both encouragement and dollars.
    • The Exploiters. These are the ones who believe their friend owes them something. They parasitically angle for freebies, demand discounts, and drain energy instead of fueling it.

Which camp do you want to be in? Which kind of friend are you?

The Ripple Effect

When you support your friend’s business, you’re not just helping them survive, you’re helping them thrive. You’re contributing to their legacy, their family, and their future. You’re helping them keep the lights on, feed their kids, and believe that their dream is possible.

And here’s the beautiful thing: what you sow into others, you will reap in your own life. If you’re generous, encouraging, and supportive, when it’s your turn, people will rally around you the same way.

A Call to Love in Action

Love is not just words. Love is action. If you truly love your friends, support them where it matters most, in their work, in their dreams, in the things they are fighting for.

So, the next time you hear your friend has started a business, don’t roll your eyes. Don’t angle for a handout. Celebrate them. Pay retail. Tip. Refer. Show up.

Lift them up with your words, your energy, and yes, your dollars. Because that’s what friends do.

Take Inspired Action

    1. Reflect: Ask yourself honestly, have I ever taken advantage of a friend’s business instead of supporting it? How might that have felt to them?
    2. Decide: Commit today to be a Supporter, not an Exploiter. Make the decision now that when a friend launches something, you’ll show up fully.
    3. Act: Within the next 7 days, take a tangible step to support a friend’s business. Buy something, leave a review, share their work online, or send them a message of encouragement.
    4. Repeat: Don’t make it a one-time gesture. Make it a lifestyle. Become known as someone who cheers for their friends and invests in their dreams.

Supporting your friends in business is more than a nice gesture. It’s a declaration of love, respect, and belief in who they are and what they’re building.

And when it’s your turn, trust me, you will be so glad you chose to live this way.

 

Edify Others

If you really want the good things in life to come to you then make it a priority to edify others. In this life you get what you give, if you are building others up you will be raised up and find yourself in harmony with being receptive to all the good things in life.

If you are disrespectful and put others down, you can still have some good stuff, but you will work hard to get it and it will be less satisfying once you do get some of the good stuff.

Not tearing others down and simply edifying or lifting them up, being supportive and lighthearted is a much better approach and pays you back for your sincere effort in increased joy, satisfaction, greater manifestation ability, and sense of contribution.

Plus, isn’t that what you want?

Don’t you want to be respected and honored for all you think, say, or do?

If you think about it, it takes a great deal of effort just to make it through a normal day. Think of all the things you do, all the decisions you make every day (you make about 35,000 of them each and every day), even on days when you’re not working. It’s exhausting just to think about it.

And what do you get for it?

Nothing. Little or nothing. Maybe earn a few dollars for your efforts on workdays, but let’s face it, you’re worth far more than the few bucks you get from working for the right to live. Right?

Would it be so hard for someone to stop, even if just for a few seconds, and notice your efforts, the sacrifices you make every day, day in, day out. And if it weren’t too much to ask, wouldn’t it be nice if someone complimented you for something? Anything?

Imagine you’re being that person. The person who does take the few seconds required to notice something about someone else and compliments them. You don’t have to fawn over them, and it can be something as little as, “Oh, I love your shoes,” that makes someone’s day just a little bit better.

You’d be surprised at how little it takes to change someone’s day, or make life a little more worth living (unless you think about how much you appreciate being appreciated, even if in the smallest of ways).

The universe repays you for your efforts energetically by raising your vibration, and before too long, you find yourself in the higher frequency of open receptivity for an easier life. Suddenly things are requiring less effort, and the good things in life start finding their way to you, instead of you’re having to work so hard for the good stuff.

All because you were willing to make a small contribution to the world around you.

The more you edify others, the more you receive. But don’t think you’ll be getting edification in kind.

There are those whose gift and ministry it is to edify others. They sometimes give up and break down because they’re surrounded by an ungrateful, selfish society. With all their efforts to take the time to notice others and build them up, no one recognizes the edifier for their contribution, and this can leave them feeling unappreciated. This can make them feel less inclined to do the work, falling into the same trap as the rest of society, as their vibrational frequency sinks.

It’s good to keep your intentions in check. If your intention in edifying others is simply to receive, this will work, but by lifting others up simply out of honest love and respect, increases your energetic return even more. You are rewarded for all you do with the best intentions and a pure heart. Maybe not the way you expected, but energetically, which is far more powerful in the long-run.

So, edify others, raise your vibration, and make the world a better place.

I get excited just thinking about you doing this.

May you be blessed in all that you do.

(smile)

Encouraging Others

You can have a huge impact on someone’s life just by adopting the ministry of encouraging others. I try to encourage others by edifying them, lifting them up, and trying to help them see the world of possibilities which we are all surrounded by every day but rarely see.

People are so focused on the “just getting by” or making it through to another day that they miss the incredible opportunities to embrace the idea that life can be so much more than just the same ol’ same ol’ day-to-day drudgery.

You are a child of God and as such, you are entitled to all the good things this life has to offer. You know this to be true because regardless of life circumstances, social programming, some inner personal wounds, and maybe not feeling worthy, or due to a lack of self-esteem, you want something more out of life.

You have the desire to live a better life because deep inside you know you were destined to live a better life, you best life and maybe even be so enthusiastically living such an incredible life that you might like to serve the greater good and make the world a better place.

Maybe all you need is a little encouragement, and as you’re feeling better about living this life, you can feel that tug on your heart to reach out to encourage others who are feeling awkward about embracing all this life has to offer them.

Most people find it hard to believe that they can, in a sense, “have it all.” Even though, if encouraged to step back and take a wider view of the world, they can see so much more than they could previously. The slightest change of perspective could make all the difference.

Many people have had such a difficult time with their life’s journey they are unable to see their own amazing qualities, skills, and gifts, which make them so incredibly valuable, even priceless, to the greater community around them.

When you become aware of someone’s unique abilities, please take the time to compliment them on their specialness. It may be the only encouragement or recognition they get. Why? Because the world we live in today has left us all so frantically trying to manage our waking hours in such a flurry of activity that we (feel like we) don’t have the time to spend our limited time (or attention) on someone who would have little or nothing to offer us in return.

Certainly, we do have to focus on our own stuff as we’re growing, changing, and evolving into the better version of ourselves, but our growth must include the encouragement of others around us, otherwise, we would be just selfish narcissists.

Would it be too much to ask if you witnessed someone exercising their ability to do or say something that sets them aside from the rest of the pack to encourage them with a compliment? Even if all you say is something rudimentary, like, “Hey, that thing you just did was so cool.”

I meet a lot of people at various stages along their walk of life who report they contemplated, then decided to make massive, more positive changes, in their life due to the slightest encouragement of someone they barely knew. That life-changing person could be you.

Encourage others without being critical. Try not to follow a compliment with a “but.” You can gently encourage others to do better without discounting your original compliment.

There’s no need to point out someone’s shortcomings (most people beat themselves up enough already).

Celebrate someone when you see them doing something good or expressing their individual gifts.

Do encourage others to stretch themselves to reach higher by complimenting them helping them to recognize their strengths, abilities and consider the unlimited potential they have while supporting them to do even better.

Step back, and watch them grow.