Faith, Failure, Success is an Inspirational Weekend Read

I have found that I have to consciously discipline myself to clear my mind, hear my own inner voice and trust it. Every time I do, it rarely lets me down.  — Cynda Williams

With live events and business retreats off the table, entrepreneurs are yearning for an uplifting and motivational read.  If you find yourself in a whirlwind of firefighting and overwhelm, it’s probably time to take a step back, grab a deep breath of fresh air, and snuggle in with a good book.

That’s exactly what I did over the last few weeks when I received an ebook version of Faith, Failure, Success: Stories Along the Entrepreneurial Journey by Leonard Mogul, Olivia DeMoss, Pierre DeBois, Glenn R. Murray, Samantha Danielle, Mel Roberson. Foreword by Latresa Rice.

A Personal Connection in More Ways Than One

I have to admit that this isn’t a book that I would pick up on my own.  But, since Pierre DeBois, who you know as my book review partner here on Small Business Trends, was a co-author, you know I had to read it and review it.

When he’s not reviewing books here on Small Business Trends, Pierre DeBois is running his Analytics company, Zimana, writing books on technical topics or serving corporate clients. While I knew that Pierre was a reflective and thoughtful guy, I was pleasantly surprised to see how revealing and vulnerable he was in this book.

Here is a little background on the rest of the authors.

The entire project originated with Glenn Murray, whose publishing company issued the book. Glenn Murray is the founder of 220 Communications, the parent company to 220 Publishing and Food Wine and Spirit Ventures.  Through 220 Publishing, he has published more than 50 titles across all genres.

Samantha Danielle started her career as a Nurse and then quickly pivoted to business. Her goal of becoming a pediatric hospital administrator was deferred once she fell in love with wedding planning. While living in Durham, NC, she opened Bliss by Sam (BBS) Weddings & Occasions in 2005. She then moved herself and the firm to Chicago in 2012.

Mel Roberson is a four-time Amazon best-selling author. On three projects, he was a contributing author. His first solo project, 31 Amazing Life Lessons of Joshua Stokes, hit the Amazon best-seller rankings in several different categories.  Mel is a Chicago native and delivers professional development seminars for corporations and organizations across North America.

Olivia DeMoss is a life-long glass artist turned coach, author, and speaker with a calling to help push humanity forward, she helps her audience understand that a major source of discontentment comes from compromising our own truth.

Leonard Mogul is a community advocate, distinguished media personality, and market development director with Kontinent Media Group. Founder of Arts4Kids Foundation, he is a prolific advocate for his community with a focus on community advocacy, PR, market development, and philanthropy.

The Inspiration Behind the Book

Publisher Glenn Murray wanted a work that would combine experience with first-time authors in a way that allowed them to tell their authentic stories.  “I thought each author could speak to one or to all 3 concepts – Faith, Failure, and Success – effectively,” Murray explained in an email response to a few interview questions.  “As it turned out the sections and the contributions kind of fit perfectly as individual chapters.”

All of the authors wanted to show how faith and agency can work to provide a foundation for solving problems.

DeBois said that the practical side of this book complements what is happening with small businesses online; the need to develop coping skills, especially with a pandemic that has devastated sales in many industries and sectors in which small businesses operate.

Mel Roberson and Samantha Danielle’s inspiration were the desire to connect with small business owners and avoid the kinds of mistakes you make when you think you’re in it alone.

What to Expect from Faith, Failure and Success

Faith, Failure and Success is a collection of personal essays about entrepreneurial journeys from mostly Chicago-based entrepreneurs.

The book is organized into three sections: faith, failure, and success. Each section begins with some thoughts/quotes from Cynda Williams followed by two essays and a bonus section comprised of quotes from other thought leaders.

Expect to find connection and relatedness from entrepreneurs who are just like you.  These essays are honest, raw, and sometimes painful. And yet, you’ll feel like you’ve found folks you really understand what entrepreneurship feels like when no one is looking.

An Exercise in Courage and Vulnerability

“Failure is never our final destination; it’s one step in our process to obtaining our dreams. Everyone wants to be successful. To me, success means consistently doing the things that you love, while simultaneously being paid well and having the time to do them.” — —Latresa Rice, Spiritual Leader/Author Gate to Life; Fruit Circle 

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Let’s just say that I was pleasantly surprised.

You see, I’m generally not a fan of “entrepreneur journey” stories — especially when they are written by famous people like Richard Branson or Elon Musk, etc.  They just seem too unrelatable.

But this book was different. The entrepreneurs who contributed stories in Faith, Failure, Success are people who are just like you and me. Their experiences, stories, and examples more accurately reflect what you’ve probably experienced yourself. You’ll love the level of vulnerability, shared weaknesses, and failures that ultimately evolved into a version of success that leaves you feeling somewhere between satisfied, comforted, and motivated.

Here’s just one example from the “Faith” section of the book.

“My Mask is My Smile: I’d lost my enthusiasm for securing new clientele and wasn’t inspired by anything they said about what they dreamed of for their wedding day. My creativity was gone, right along with my imagination. I went from having middle of the night epiphanies for event design to staring mindlessly at Shawn T’s Insanity Workout infomercials. “– Samantha Danielle 

At first, I thought this section would contain mostly spiritual or religious references. While you’ll find some, that isn’t really the message from this section.  What touched me about the stories contained here was that I had a glimpse about how “faith” played a role in each entrepreneur’s story. For some, it meant having faith in themselves, and for others it meant having faith in something far bigger.  As the reader, you get to explore how any of these stories and experiences play out in your life.

Why Connect Faith with Entrepreneurship

Many entrepreneurs are inspired and driven by their faith, but you don’t often see this represented in business books.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about discussing faith in a business context.  So, I reached out to Pierre DeBois, one of the authors and my book review partner here on Small Business Trends.

I wanted to find out why it was important to them to combine faith with entrepreneurship and success.

The best quote came from co-author, Glenn R. Murray who said, “Your faith can ‘fuel you’ or it can ‘fail you’.  Faith in a higher power, faith in yourself — they all play a part in your life achievements. You choose how that faith connects you to your goals but I don’t think there is a way to separate them.”

What Will You Find Inside Yourself

As entrepreneurs, we tend to get a little too wrapped up in putting out fires in our business.  Too often, it feels like being in a hamster wheel. And, somehow in this flurry of activity, we lose ourselves and forget who we are and why we are doing this.

If this is what the voice inside your head is saying, then Faith, Failure, Success might be exactly what you need. This is a short book, just 81 pages, but don’t expect to be spoon-fed. Each essay has some deep lessons in it that will require some thought and reflection on your end.

Image: Amazon

This article, "Faith, Failure, Success is an Inspirational Weekend Read" was first published on Small Business Trends