(Mini-Series) Episode 4: Kingdom Math

Hey, Kingdom writers, It's Shelly Hitz here in this miniseries all about Kingdom marketing mindset for authors. We're covering a couple different topics today. Our topic is Kingdom Math. So this is something that I really learned from my friend Shay Bines. She is the founder of Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur. She's also a speaker in this year's conference. And so I cannot wait for you to hear her talk. But one of the things that can easily happen when we are marketing our books, which that's what this conference is all about. It's about selling more books through the power of collaborations. And when we start thinking about this, and we're going to be having tons of trainings and interviews and presentations on that for you starting next week, Monday the September 12, it will all be starting. And so as you start taking in this content on marketing, I want you to come at it from this position of numbers as Kingdom math. So what does this actually mean? Well, it's so easy for us to look at something as a success or failure based on numbers. So how many followers do we have? How many email subscribers? How many sales? Right. How many opens of our emails? I mean, there's so many numbers that we can track, and it is good to track those numbers. And I'm actually trying to get better at that in my own business. But one of the things that can happen is we can really get off track and we can get obsessed on the numbers, we can get obsessed on our book. So sales ranking on Amazon, right? I have been there, I have done that. I have walked these paths. And so my friend Shayvon says, God is our source. Everything else is a resource. So as we begin to take these steps of marketing the book, of stewarding this message, God has given us to share with the world, to impact lives, to impact our family's lives as we earn income. Because let's just be honest, it does help, right? When we're earning income from a book that we have put so much time and energy and resources into. But as we're doing this, remembering that God is the source, everything else is a resource. Any sales you're making from Amazon ads, Amazon ads, it's just a resource. Any partnerships that you have, they're simply resources. These collaborations, it's a resource. It's an opportunity for God to work. But these things are not your source. Social media is not your source. Your email list is not your source. Whatever it is, where your sales are coming, that is not your source. And I also love how Shea talks about we're a distribution center. So God brings finances and money into our lives so that we can then be a distribution center and distribute it to other places. It's not just for us to, you know, build this empire. Right. It is not about us and us alone. Yeah. God wants to provide for you. He wants to provide for me, but he also wants to bless others through how he's going to bless you through your book sales or other things that you're doing. And so I just want to mention that. And heaven's economy is different than the world's economy. Amen. Right now, if you're in the US or even around the world, the economy is not looking the greatest. You know, there. There could be some fear or some anxiety about what's happening in the economy and inflation and prices raising, but we trust in. Not in horses, not in chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Amen. We have a different economy. And so Psalm 1, 2 through 3 says, but they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. And I just want to remind you that heaven's economy is different than this world's economy. And when everyone else is screaming, ah, doom, you know, the sky is falling, the sky is falling, everything is hopeless. God is able to do what we cannot do or what man cannot accomplish. And so when we are planted by the stream, when we position ourselves by the stream, when we position ourselves in alignment with God, receiving from him.

Things can come to us that we had no idea even existed. And that has happened to us over and over with our business. Been doing this full time now for 11 years. And it has been hard at times. We didn't know where our next money was going to come from, even to just pay for something the next day. I mean, there were literally times when it was day by day. And yet God continued to provide. And there would be moments where it was just like out of the blue, things that we didn't even know existed. Um, John 15:5 talks about abiding in Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Kingdom writers. Yeah, I mean, we could accomplish some things here, this side of earth, but the things that are going to last, the things that are going to remain, we're not going to accomplish anything apart from Christ. And so as we get started into this whole conference all about marketing with collaborations, let's look to God as our source. Amen. Let's look to him. As our source and everything else is just a resource. Now, I've been really tested in that this year with our business, we lost a contract. They had previously been purchasing thousands of copies of our books. Every year for the past five years, we've had this contract. And just due to their business changing and things happening, they just weren't able to purchase our books like they had in the past. And we ended up. God, you know, led us to part ways with this company, but it was a significant part of our income. And in my mind, it was like a source of our income. Right. Instead of. It had kind of slipped into that spot. Yes. You know, I know God is my source and everything else is a resource, but. But you get used to it, right? It's like when I had my physical therapy job and I would get that paycheck every two weeks. And then when I quit that job and stepped out in faith and to do what we do now with our ministry and our business, and I didn't get. We didn't get that check every two weeks. That was hard because I'd been used to that. And God had to really work some things out of my heart that I had been really depending in on a paycheck. Right. And so this year I was really tested and this big income stream and one of the ways we really have sold our books over the last five years came to an end. And there was a little bit of a grieving, but there was a lot of anxiety and fear or of like, okay, what's going to happen, Lord? How is this going? How are you going to replace this income? And what I realized, and spoiler alert, I don't know yet how it's all going to work out, but so far God is providing what we need. But I was realizing that in this season of testing and really just having this huge loss of income with our business. And by the way, my husband and I both do this full time. This is the way we pay our mortgage, our bills, everything. And so. So during this time of testing, I was realizing what was really hard for me personally was all the uncertainty, not knowing how it was all going to happen and how God was going to provide. And. And I know there are a million and two different ways that God can provide for us because we've had this business for a long time. There's a lot of different income streams and there's. I have, I have probably, I don't know, hundreds of ideas of products I could create for you, workshops, you know, different programs. And so there are many Things. But I had to step back and remember, God is my source, not this income stream. God is my source. God is my source. And then when I felt all this uncertainty this last weekend at church, we go to church on Friday nights, but on Friday night when we were worshiping, one of the songs talked about God being the light in our darkness. And immediately the Holy Spirit was like, shelly, when you feel that uncertainty, it's like this darkness that just threatens to overwhelm you. And I was like, yes, that's what I'm feeling. And so today I was just kind of journaling about that and I wrote this and I wanted to share it with you too, because it might really just minister to you as well or encourage you. And I just wrote, the Lord is my light in the darkness of uncertainty, he won't let me fall. And Kingdom writers, as you take these courageous steps to reach out to collaborations, yes, it could result in sales, book sales, income. It could result, you know, in more followers, you know, all these kingdom, all these numbers, right? And as we think about Kingdom math, thinking about all these numbers, but thinking about how God is coming in to the uncertainty. So as you take this step to reach out in collaborations, you're. It's. It's uncertain. Are they going to say yes? Are they going to say no? Are they going to ignore you? Is it going to work? Are you. Is it going to be crickets? Is anyone going to respond? There's a lot of uncertainty when we put ourselves out there. And I feel that even in hosting this conference and all the things that are involved with this, yet God is our light in the darkness of uncertainty. He will not let us fall. And when we're trusting in him as our source, all of these other things are just a resource. We don't have to get so uptight whether this marketing thing is going to succeed or whether this collaboration is going to come through. If it doesn't, you know, what? God has reminded me over and over over the past few months and this year during our season of uncertainty is like the Lord's, like, Shelly, if I don't provide through this thing, I'm going to provide through something else. And so he is our provider when we stay positioned by the stream, when we stay listening to God, having our weekly business meetings with God, or maybe some of you, it's monthly or daily or whatever, just consistent business meetings with God. He or will lead us, he will guide us, and we'll keep this perspective on numbers that is so different than the world. We will have a loose Hold. Whether it's our platform, whether it's rankings and sales, whether it's, you know, a bank account, whatever it is, we'll keep a loose hold on it. Because we know that God is our source. And when we're following him, when we're doing what he's called us to do, he is going to provide. He. It may not be the way we want it. It may not be in the timing we want it. Can I get an amen?

But he will provide. So let me pray for you today. Let me know any takeaways you have and any struggles you have with the numbers when it comes to marketing or putting yourself out there, the uncertainty of what's going to happen when you take these steps to initiate collaborations. Let me pray for you. So God, thank you so much for every writer joining us for this Kingdom writer's conference. And I just pray that you would just help to change their mindset about numbers. It's so easy to either be afraid of numbers or to get obsessed with numbers or to feel less than because of the numbers or pumped up by certain numbers or it's just, it can go haywire so quickly. And so I just pray that you would help us all to be able to see, see you as our source. Everything else is just a resource to position ourselves by your stream, to hear from you through these business meetings with God and then ultimately to realize you are the light in the darkness of uncertainty. As we put ourselves out there, as we take these steps, we can do it because we know you are with us and you will not let us fall. So Lord, I thank you for what you're doing. Thank you. Through this conference, I pray you would just bless so many of the writers. They would have breakthroughs that they would see you working in their, their lives and being able to share the power and the message of these books in an even greater way than they ever have before. Lord, may you just provide the ideas, God ideas, the power, the inspiration, and we will give you all the honor and glory in Jesus powerful name. Amen.