You Do Not Have to Change Your Whole Life Today!

[00:00:00] What if the reason you feel so overwhelmed isn't because you're incapable of changing your life, but perhaps it's because you believe that you have to change all of it today.

[00:00:18] By all of it, I mean things like the marriage, the business, the finances, the house, the way you parent, the way you feel when you look in the mirror. That dream, that God-given destiny, you keep putting off.

[00:00:43] The version of yourself you're still trying to find again. It can feel like everything needs your attention at once, doesn't it? But maybe today, maybe today, God isn't asking you to carry the weight of your entire future.

[00:01:10] Maybe He's only asking you to be faithful with the next five minutes. Ooh, that's better, right babe? She founded an architectural concrete company. He founded a hundred million dollar clothing company.

[00:01:38] She took the world by storm as a social media star. He took the world by storm as a famous serial entrepreneur. Together we started a business. And had babies. Now we're figuring out the best ways to do both. Join us as we learn from other entrepreneurs going through the same life struggles. As they share their life hacks about success, love, kids. And everything in between. Welcome to five minutes that could change your day.

[00:02:07] That could change everything. A new conversation from the Entrepreneur Parents Podcast. It's created to meet you wherever the day finds you. I'm Ildiko Ferenczi, your host. And today I want to remind you of something that I've had to remind myself of many times.

[00:02:36] You don't have to change your life today. You don't have to change it in one day. You only have to stop and abandoning. Stop abandoning the next right thing.

[00:02:55] There are seasons when life when life feels so heavy that even deciding where to begin feels exhausting. You see the distance between where you are and where you thought you would have been by now.

[00:03:22] We all have this bad habit of that of that imagining where I needed to be. But I'm not there yet. Instead of taking one small step, you become discouraged by all the steps you haven't taken yet.

[00:03:50] I just want to tell you that most lives don't change in one big, massive moment. You know how they change? They change in those tiny little moments that seem insignificant. A mother puts down her phone and looks into her child's eyes.

[00:04:16] A husband chooses to come home and finish the conversation. A woman who has spent years caring for everyone else finally admits that she needs care too. Perhaps it can look like someone opening the Bible again.

[00:04:45] Life got so crazy busy that the important thing was forgotten. Someone tells the truth. How about someone apologizes without defending what they did? No excuses. Just honesty, apology.

[00:05:14] Or maybe someone presses record for the very first time on social media. Guess how lucky I am. My son just came and gave me a kiss on the cheek. How lucky am I? How lucky am I? I just won the lottery. So maybe it looks. Maybe it looks like someone pressing record for the very first time. Hands shaking. Sharing something. For five seconds.

[00:05:43] Nine seconds. And perhaps they're so scared that no one will listen. Maybe nobody does. But guess what? You did it anyway. And that takes courage. Who cares? Keep going. Keep going. You know, I only had a few listens on this podcast when it all started. Just a few listens. People even said, oh, it's so silly. Why are you doing that? What are you doing that for?

[00:06:12] People are going to laugh. It's so silly. I remember someone telling my husband that. Guess what? Kept going. And then after a million downloads. Guess what the question was? How'd you do that? How'd they do that? How'd she do that? That became the question. From how silly, how embarrassing people are going to laugh. To how'd you do that? Listen.

[00:06:41] It may even look like this. Someone gets out of bed and tries again. Careful when you're jumping off that. My child is jumping. Jumping off this chair. Flying through the air. Beautiful moment. Take a moment to realize. These moments that people commit to these things, it may not look impressive from the outside. Who cares?

[00:07:11] But heaven has never measured faithfulness by how impressive it appears. Sometimes, thank you for my kisses. Sometimes the decision that changes your life looks almost invisible while you're making it. While you're making that decision.

[00:07:38] Maybe you can't repair your entire marriage today. Maybe that's what you're going through. But you can choose not to say the sentence that will make the wound deeper. Maybe you're going to choose more careful words.

[00:08:07] To not create more destruction or more deterioration. Pain. Maybe you choose to say something kind. And do great things. Do great things in your marriage. Buy her some flowers. Maybe she's annoying.

[00:08:35] But buy her some flowers. Do something sweet. Vice versa. I know that it may not be possible to build the whole dream today. But you can send the small email. You can send something. You can send something out today. The one that you've been putting off. You know what that is. Write the page. Make the call.

[00:09:05] Press record. Thank you for my kiss. Maybe you're not going to become the parent that you want to be in one afternoon. It takes work. But when your child says, watch me. You can stop. Just like my son's giving me all the kisses right now. I'm not ignoring it. I'm taking it in. I'm grateful.

[00:09:34] How blessed. How blessed am I? How lucky am I? Turn toward them. Even when you're working. Even whatever you're doing. Just turn toward them. Let them know. Let them know you see them. Let them see that they matter more than whatever's on the screen or whatever you're doing in the moment. Just give them a moment. He knows. He knows right after this we're going to do something special.

[00:10:05] Maybe you can't undo what happened yesterday. But you can decide. You can decide what yesterday will teach you. Maybe it was a hard day. Things happened. But you learned a lesson. You learned a lesson. Maybe you don't feel strong enough to carry everything that tomorrow could bring.

[00:10:32] Some of us are going through hard things. Hard things. Sometimes it's grief. Sometimes it's an obstacle. And that's okay. Tomorrow has not been placed in your hands yet. But you know what has today. There's a reason Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. Didn't he?

[00:11:04] Not bread for every day that we're going to ever live. Not strength for every hardship that we may face someday. Daily bread. Daily bread. Grace for the day. Wisdom for the direction. Courage. Courage for this conversation.

[00:11:27] So before the rest of the day runs away with you, ask yourself one honest question. What is the next thing I already know I need to do? Not the biggest thing. Not the impressive thing. Not everything. Because we have a lot to juggle. We have so much to juggle as moms.

[00:11:54] Just focus on the next faithful thing. Perhaps it's accepting the apology. Perhaps it's keeping a promise you made to yourself. Perhaps it's sitting beside your spouse instead of allowing another night to pass in silence.

[00:12:21] Perhaps it's kneeling beside your bed and saying, God, I don't know how to fix this all. But I'm willing to take the next step with you. Show me what I need to do. Then listen to it. Listen for the answer. And then take it. One small decision.

[00:12:54] Who knows if it's going to instantly solve everything. But it's one small decision that you're going to take. Every small decision, every one small decision, can change the direction in which everything is moving. It can change it towards your calling, towards your God-given destiny.

[00:13:22] It can put you back on the path that you've fallen off of. You're not behind because you can't finish today what may take you a season to build. You're not failing because healing is taking longer than you hoped. Healing takes a long time. I remember looking at the scars in the mirror thinking, they're never going to fade.

[00:13:52] I remember how painful it was to even take a breath. I was watching the video the other day. I never watched it. I never watched it. My husband sent it to me. And I remember what it felt like to breathe. Just to breathe. When I was coming to, when I was coming out,

[00:14:22] I saw how defeated I felt. I thought, am I ever going to breathe normally? This hurts so bad. This hurts so bad. You're not weak because you need God's help carrying what was never meant to be carried alone. Remember that.

[00:14:50] You don't have to change your whole life today. But you can make one decision that your future family, your future marriage, and your future self will one day be grateful you made. Maybe these five minutes didn't change everything. But perhaps they changed the way you walk into the rest of today.

[00:15:20] Maybe this wasn't even five minutes. I don't even know how long we've been talking, but I intended it to be five minutes. It's supposed to be our five-minute conversation. But I hope, I hope that, I hope that it changes the way that you're going to walk through the rest of today. That's my hope for you. That's my wish for you. That's my prayer for you today.

[00:15:49] And I'll meet you right back here next time. Glory to God. God bless you. And I love you. Thank you, beautiful friends, for listening to this important message from Mama. Share with someone you love and care about. Oh, and we'd love to personally invite you to listen to our podcast. It's for young future leaders ready to change the world and be a light in the dark.

[00:16:19] Listen together as a family. It's called the Arsenal Kid Show. We know your unforgettable family legacy got a wonderful job.

[00:16:48] And remember, you are the hero of your story because every legacy begins with a hero. And that hero is you. This podcast is for inspirational and educational purposes only. And it is not intended to replace professional advice, legal advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are based on personal experience and faith-based insight

[00:17:17] and are meant to encourage reflection and growth. Always seek the guidance of qualified professionals regarding any questions or concerns you may have about your health, relationships, or business.