If you don’t have faith, you’re finished

The official definition of a faith based organization is a group people united on the basis of spiritual belief.

The enterprise is rooted in a particular faith and has a mission based on its social values. And while it’s not necessarily evangelistic in nature, nor does it require employees to share their faith, the tenets of the faith are still upheld.

Not to mention, the tax benefits are divine.

What’s interesting about this term is, it has nearly universal application.

Just ask anyone you know who has ever started a business, founded a startup, grown an organization, launched an initiative or spearheaded a major project.

They’re all faith based organizations. Every goddamn one of them.

Forget about religion and spirituality for a minute here. If you’re building something from the ground up, and you don’t have faith, you’re finished. Because you’re trying to grow something in the harsh soil of extreme uncertainty. This idea that you have, one that only really exists and makes sense inside your head, you don’t know if anybody else is going to notice it, care about it or even consider being a part of it. It’s a total risk. You’re betting on yourself and your ideas. That’s faith. Belief not based on proof.

Prolific, my software as a service platform, took six months to build from scratch. It was deeply invigorating and challenging every step of the way.

But once we finally soft launched and went live with our beta version, there was a significant change in atmospheric pressure. Like when you take off in a plane and reaching cruising altitude. That’s how it feels. Because now your new thing is out there, living and breathing in the world.

And there is no way to know if it will survive contact with the marketplace. It’s a faith based organization. The harsh soil of extreme uncertainty is no joke.

But over time, you transition from faith to facts, from prayers to proof. Doesn’t mean you’re suddenly enlightened and never need to have faith again. But growth comes from the accumulation of these small wins. It’s compound interest.

The gains stack on top of one another to create liftoff. You spiral up a little more each day, and from your new vantage point, you begin detecting something deeper than you had seen before.

How would your enterprise be different if you viewed it as a faith based organization? Will you grow your roots in the harsh soil of extreme uncertainty?

Look, you don’t have to believe in god or get into religion or even care about spirituality. Launching something new has nothing to do with any of those things.

Faith based organizations only require that you believe in yourself. Trusting your resources. Adopting a growth mindset. Letting your creative process take you somewhere new. Elevating your awareness so you can pay attention to different things.

And revisiting your original vision in light of what you’ve just learned.

There are no tax benefits for doing so, but boy does it make getting out of bed in the morning easier.

What are you evangelizing?