Brian Sullivan shares a profound conversation that took place on the golf course in another heartfelt excerpt from “Entrepreneurial Trinity,”. This discussion highlights the core values of faith and family, emphasizing how they contribute to building confidence and maintaining humility in both personal and professional life.
Faith Creates Confidence; Family Creates Humility
In that same conversation at the practice range, somehow, we also ended up on the topic of our Humbly Confident core value. While wreaking havoc on a few buckets of golf balls, we discussed some stories about business and some about our faith and our families, which then led us to the realization that “faith creates confidence; family creates humility.”
During low moments of self-confidence, usually late at night, I’ve learned to turn to my faith in God. He has a plan for me, and if I do my best to look for signs of His plan and then use my time, talent, and treasure toward that plan, everything will turn out as He wants, not necessarily as I want. This strong faith has helped strengthen my confidence on many occasions. However, admittedly, I wasn’t very good at this when I started the business. I’ve since learned to identify what really is the worst-case scenario and walk it back from there.
While our faith creates confidence, our family can help keep us humble. I’m not just talking about times like when Grace, our six-year-old daughter, asked me, “Why can’t you be a normal daddy? Why do you always have to be a silly daddy?” I guess I was being too much on a Monday morning ride to school. I’m referring to the humility that hits the moment that your child is in your arms for the first time. The love that we feel for them, knowing that one of our biggest priorities just became their health and happiness. Or the humility that comes when you realize that no matter how hard you try, sometimes their health and safety are out of your control.
If I didn’t have a strong faith to lean on, I may have put too much pressure on the success of the business. And if I didn’t have the humility of a parent, I may have generated a sense of false pride. Our Humbly Confident core value was likely the one that benefited us the most.
Do you recognize the values that are core to you, knowing that you will want to and have to lean on them throughout your journey? They are going to be vital to your success.
Who are your Joe Apfelbaums? Who are your friends that you can ideate with and speak about business, family, and faith with, all while having a few laughs?
This excerpt beautifully illustrates the balance between confidence and humility that faith and family bring into our lives. For more inspiring stories and lessons, explore “Entrepreneurial Trinity” and learn how to integrate these values into your own journey.