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SALVATION IS AT HAND! Christ is risen!
I would like to take this moment to extend to you the warmth and joy of this, our most holy day of the Christian year. Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus showed us our path out of sin and into God’s loving presence.
Are you taking time every day to build this into yourself and your business? I don’t care if you market yourself as a Christian company. But certainly you should be letting your values shine forth.
JILL VAN ORDEN heads up Arts Reach Center here in Fort Collins. It’s a fascinating concept, giving kids an outlet for creativity and inspiration.
This city has a fairly active arts scene, but most of that is targeted at adults. Sure, most venues also have special kids’ shows. But Arts Reach Center is different.
It’s targeted entirely at kids, and at their direct involvement in the performing arts. Jill described it to me as giving children a rich learning experience, joyful expression and friendships, and development of their artistic abilities.
Janska’s outerwear
JANSKA PRODUCES STYLISH WOMEN’S WEAR and is based here in Colorado. Jan Erickson started this venture 2003 based on an experience she had with a friend who was incapacitated at the time.
Jan’s friend was a talented, respected woman. But when dressed in a hospital gown, her self-esteem took a hard hit. More importantly, others in the facility treated her as more of a nameless patient than a vibrant individual.
Jan had the idea to develop a line of wear which was accessible to those with limited mobility, while also being incredibly comforting and stylish.
Janska was born.
DO YOU PRAY for your business?
I know that I’ve struggled with this question over the years.
In our society, we try hard to separate our religious lives on Sunday from our secular lives the other six days of the week.
But God has asked us to be focused on him at all times, not just for an hour or two.
IT‘S DARN HARD to start a business.
I was speaking with a gentleman this week whom I had met a couple of months ago. He had an interesting and unique business idea, but has been struggling to gain traction.
So a couple of weeks ago, he had to go get a full time job.
EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE SUPPORTERS. 
Humans are social beings, and we have a fundamental need to be encouraged, even to look good in front of others.
In business this can be particularly difficult. A company is a bit of a faceless entity, so people aren’t as accustomed to stating things in a polite way like they would to someone’s face.
Quite likely, you’re awash in a sea of criticism.
THERE’S A WELL WORN STATISTIC 
which states that 95% of businesses fail in five years. Or something like that.
I’m not even going to bother looking it up, because it doesn’t matter.
This is just a way to discourage people, to make me somehow feel better than you because I was able to land a real job while you’re … frittering your life away trying to do that “start your own business thing.”
It’s not real.
And it doesn’t matter.
MANY OF US STRUGGLE to keep the energy going. 
Running a business is hard work!
It can be a deep test of character.
I’ve found that persistence is partially an innate characteristic, but is also a skill which can be intentionally developed.
I was amazed (and grateful!) to discover that my 2-year-old’s weakness was having the attention span of a goldfish. Read the rest of this entry »
OUR COMMUNITIES ARE DIVIDED by languages and cultures. ShareLingo is a new company that’s taking this challenge head on.
There are a lot of language education programs and tools out there. You can purchase programs for your PC, connect with online resources, and take classes at school.
ShareLingo has a different approach: To focus on co-learning, forming community and personal friendships.
C HRISTIANS ARE CALLED to be joyful:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. — Romans 15:13
This isn’t easy, of course. We all get discouraged by happenings in our families, in our businesses, in society. This is not an easy time.
But I’m not sure that there’s EVER been an easy time.
The Values-Based Business 