For most of this month, we focused on our financial Legacy series. I want to share some thoughts with you about the upheaval we recently went through with the Coronavirus.
Although I’ve never seen society go so far to prevent the spread of a virus, I eventually realized that this too was “nothing new under the sun.” People panic over all kinds of things. We’re all easily fooled by what we see with our eyes. Fear and chaos are spiritual things, and they’re much more contagious than a virus.
As huge chunks of society began to shut down, I felt the pressure. I have an interest in businesses that were affected. I have 19 mastermind groups, mostly entrepreneurs, who would be looking for advice and leadership as their businesses took a hit. I have a large portfolio in the stock market. If I continued feeling anxious, I knew I wouldn’t be able to help others. The first thing that had to change was me.
Step Up and Be a Leader
Some time ago, we had a serious shake-up in our family, and I thought I was going to crumble to pieces. At that precise moment, Robin took me by the shoulders and said, “I need you to be strong right now.” Similarly, when my daughters were young and a thunderstorm would pass through Nashville, they’d look at me and ask, “Daddy, are we going to be okay?”
Whether you’re dealing with your wife, children, employees, or you are a coach or mentor people look to, the worst signal you can give off is instability. It’s okay to be afraid, but people in your life need to know that you’re totally committed to seeing them through hard times. You must not give way to fear!
It was helpful for me to remember the Zika virus scare of 2016, the Ebola virus scare of 2014, the BP Oil Spill of 2010, the Swine Flu Crisis of 2009, the market crash of 2008, low points in the War on Terror, the Bird Flu fear of 2005, the outbreak of SARS in 2003, anthrax on 9/11, the Twin Towers coming down, the Dotcom Bubble, Y2K and so forth.
Showing Compassion and Empathy
I’m not the most natural empath. The real disease that swept the world in the last several weeks is fear, more than the Coronavirus. When people are irrationally fearful, I have a hard time sympathizing.
But I want to tell you, if you can keep a presence of mind and acknowledge others’ fears, you can get wonderful opportunities to share your faith and why you’re not afraid.
As a leader, when these events happen, I always ask myself questions. “What kind of God do we worship? What’s He like? Does He intend for us to live in fear?” And then I consult what He says in the Bible: “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love, and power, and of a sound mind.” It doesn’t add up.
What I just shared with you … go share with someone who’s fearful! Don’t let someone else’s fear infect you. Be prepared to use their fear to project your confidence, trust and assurance from the King of Glory to help them!
Guard Your Heart
When Proverbs tells us “Above all else, guard your heart,” it’s not just talking about our physical, beating heart. It’s talking about the core of who we are. That deep center of us that cares deeply about certain people, ideas, and things.
I had a dark afternoon on March 18th, as the pre-virus world was collapsing all around us. My portfolio tumbled in value, and I also took a phone call to learn of a really bad health situation for a close friend. And then I had to get on a call with some members of our online mastermind groups!
Those members showed me great compassion. The next day I felt back to normal, and the reason is I dig a deep fortress and moat around my heart every morning. I rise very early and begin my day with prayer, meditation, Bible study, and worship music. I declare the glory and authority of God over each day. It’s a little like a pre-emptive strike. If I don’t do it, before you can look around, I’ll be back in my old self - and miserable.
Mastermind Groups Online - The Difference
I’ll bet you wish you’d invested in Zoom before this virus scare. They must be making a fortune with all their new subscribers and users!
The funny thing about the explosion of interest in Zoom is we’d already been using it for years with our masterminds online. So as the rules tightened and we found ourselves restricted from personal visits, we chose to move gatherings online. Robin and I started hosting “virtual dinners” with other couples we know.
Although members of our mastermind groups got nervous about recessions and business failures, one thing they knew they had was an online community. We escalated our online presence, adding weekly encouragement group calls and inviting our entire membership to hear from leaders about issues that could affect us under the “new normal” conditions.
The difference in the wake of the Coronavirus is we were never alone to begin with! I was used to using Zoom to spend a ton of time in the presence of great people. It made it much easier to guard my heart and avoid isolation; it was already a lifestyle to begin with.
The Shepherd’s Staff
The emotional roller coaster we’ve been on made me think of a time I went to visit my “office neighbor,” a man who day trades in precious metals on the European Stock Exchange. He demonstrated a typical day for me and showed me how his business model is data-driven. He doesn’t get emotionally involved in the deals he makes. He buys and sells like an impartial machine.
That made me think of an old Southern farm saying: “You can shear a sheep often, but you can only skin him once.”
I know there are going to be plenty of investors out there thinking that now’s the time to buy certain stock, before the market rebounds.
In times like these, you need to be careful. There are fences to be maintained, boundaries we shouldn’t cross. Decisions made from emotions rarely turn out for the best. We need to make sure we’re keeping our heads, when everyone else is losing theirs. Business coaches and mastermind groups are great resources for this.
Believe it or not, this is a spiritual reality too. Now more than ever, we need to stay close to the Good Shepherd. As author John Eldredge points out, you can’t master enough principles to be in supreme command of life on your own. You need a much higher intelligence and love on your behalf. If you want to have a strong spiritual life, a healthy marriage and thriving personal growth, you must go deeper with God.
