Have you ever felt like you're chasing every new idea and opportunity, but somehow not making the kind of progress that truly matters?
If so, you're not alone. In this episode of The Estherpreneur, I’m diving deep into something we all struggle with—Shiny Object Syndrome.
We’re going beyond the surface on this one. It’s not just about distractions—it’s about movement versus progress. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself if all the busyness is really aligned with God’s purpose for your life and business? What if you're missing out on something bigger because you’re too focused on the good instead of the God-sized vision?
I won’t be giving you the typical answers you might expect. Instead, I’m challenging you to pause and rethink the way you’re stewarding what God has entrusted to you. Let’s get real about how to overcome the constant pull of new opportunities and get back to the core of your calling.
So, if you’re ready to break free from the endless chase and find out what’s truly keeping you from the breakthrough God has for you, this episode is for you. I’ve got some unexpected insights that will get you thinking, and maybe even making some bold decisions.
Tune in and let’s dive in together. You don’t want to miss this one!
If you're ready to break free from the distractions and align your business with God’s purpose, let’s connect! I help CEOs and business leaders like you navigate these very challenges, using biblical wisdom and proven business strategies to create lasting impact.
Whether you’re looking for one-on-one coaching, spiritual leadership development, or actionable insights to grow your business God’s way, I’m here to walk alongside you. Visit www.favorandwealth.com or reach out directly by calling 1-855-732-8673.
Let’s start a conversation and see how we can steward what God has entrusted to you with greater faith, focus, and clarity.
Join me, Edna Harding, on a journey through spiritual growth, personal development, and entrepreneurial insight, where Timeless Wisdom meets Timely Methods in every episode.
Show Transcript
Edna Harding [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Estrepreneur, a podcast for entrepreneurs and leaders doing business and life God's way. Each week, we discuss biblical and to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as I speak with special guests on how to thrive in all aspects of life. Hi, I'm Edna. Like many of you, I wear many hats. I'm a military wife, mother, author, certified John Maxwell business and executive coach, trainer and founder of Favor and Wealth who we help the good guys win. So tune in as we bring on the light. Well, hello, everyone.
Edna Harding [00:00:46]:
Thank you for tuning in for another episode of The Estrepreneur Podcast. My name is Edna Harding, and I am your host of The entrepreneur. This is where we blend grace, truth, and unconventional wisdom straight from the word of God to help you lead your business his way. Again, my name is Edna, and today's message is going to challenge you, not in a way you might expect, but in a way that gets to the core of your role as a steward of God's resources. Now if you've ever been pulled by every new opportunity or distracted by the endless stream of ideas, today's episode is just for you. And we're talking about what I call the shiny object syndrome. Right? But not in a way you've heard before. So today, we're going to explore 4 ways to break free from the chase and get back to the heart of God's purpose for you as a CEO, More specifically, a Christ led CEO.
Edna Harding [00:01:52]:
Right? So let's go ahead and get into it. Alright. So number 1. Don't mistake movement for progress. Okay? Remember, movement doesn't equal progress. What are you saying, Edna? Yes. Movement doesn't equal progress. You know, as CEOs, it's easy to get caught up in idea that more movement, for example, more deals, more projects, more innovation means we're moving forward.
Edna Harding [00:02:25]:
Right? But let me ask you this. Are you moving towards what matters the most? K? That is the key thing. Right? Because in Jesus's parables of the talents in Matthew chapter 25 verse 14 to 30, you know, a lot of times people think about this as financial stewardship. But it's actually a blueprint for discerning which movements are truly progressive. Because in the story, each servant is given talents to steward. Right? The 2 who multiply their talents aren't praised for their busyness, but for the faithful use of what was entrusted to them. So let me ask you this directly. Right? Are you multiplying what God has given you, or are you chasing distraction that looks like progress but aren't aligned with his purpose? Because sometimes the shiny object isn't just a distraction.
Edna Harding [00:03:27]:
It's actually an idol in disguise, pulling you away from what God already asked you to cultivate. So I want you to take a look at your current business right now and reflect on your ventures. Right? What exactly everything that you have your hands on. Let me ask you this. Are they rooted in the purpose God revealed to you, or are they born from the pressure to keep moving even if it's off track? Remember, the stepping back doesn't mean you're losing momentum. It often means you're making space for the right kind of progress. Okay? So that's number 1. Let's go to step number 2.
Edna Harding [00:04:16]:
Stewardship isn't about playing safe. It's about being faithful. Here's where I challenge some of your typical thinking. Right? A lot of times people think stewardship is about playing safe. Right? But it's actually about your faithfulness to what God has called you to do. Because in today's business world, stewardship often gets reduced to risk management. Right? Keeping the status quo, protecting assets, maintaining what we've got. Right? But biblical stewardship calls us to something higher.
Edna Harding [00:04:53]:
Jesus didn't tell his disciples to play it safe. He called them to radical faithfulness even when it looked risky. So, let's look at the parable again. The servant who buried his talent out of fear was the one condemned, not the ones who stepped out in faith. You see, faithfulness sometimes means making hard decisions that don't look safe in the short term, but are deeply aligned with God's long term plan. So when God gives you something to steward, the question isn't how do I protect this, but how do I expand this for his glory? I remember when I had a season where it seemed as if I had this awesome partnership, and on paper, it looked like a safe bet. Everything about it screamed good stewardship. Me and this lady that I met were getting along.
Edna Harding [00:05:49]:
It seemed like we had similar values. He seemed very sweet. And, and there was another gentleman. There was 2 people, that we were supposed to do some sort of collaborative, like, program collaborative workshop. And at the same also same thing, good vibes, meaning, seemed like at peace. But then our values were I mean, their values and my values was pretty much the same, except the verbiage that they were using seemed off. Right? It seemed very, new agey. They it sounded like the spirit of God, but it wasn't the spirit of God.
Edna Harding [00:06:33]:
Because after prayer and discernment, I felt God leading me in another direction. And, unfortunately, that kind of confused me in a sense because I'm like, well, everything looks great, but something is off. And mind you, the lady that I was working that I was supposed to do a collaborative thing with ended up taking my idea, running with it, and starting her own thing. And then the other gentleman, it just didn't work out. But why am I saying this? A lot of times, everything might look and I'm I'm I'm sorry if I'm being vague because I also wanna protect their names, and I wanna protect their reputation because that's one thing about me is I will always honor PU whether you are good or bad. Right? I wanna keep that spirit of honor. But bottom line is this. Right? Sometimes, not everything that looks gold is gold.
Edna Harding [00:07:38]:
Right? And so what I ended up doing is just focusing on the little project that I was doing. It looked less secure, but it was filled with faith. And walking away from that safe option was probably one of the best decisions I've made for my business because imagine yeah. I did waste my time. I did invest some resources and hours and hours of planning, maybe months of planning. But at least I was able to course correct myself and stay on the narrow path. And now I've made so much, progress in the project that God gave me. So a lot of times, these distractions are actually it looks safe, but in reality, it's not the safe bet, especially when you're investing a lot of time.
Edna Harding [00:08:27]:
Right? It not necessarily money, but time away from what you're supposed to be doing. That is a huge misstep. Right? So I want you to ask yourself, where am I being called to faithfulness that might look like risk? Right? When am I where am I holding back out of fear rather than stepping into trust? Right? So let me kind of back up. So with the one gentleman, he had the life he had the, experience because of his, he was a lot older. He had a lot of credentials, and the other lady had a lot of connections as far as he was very well connected in the network in the Houston arena. And, like, if I were to do my own thing, which I ended up doing because I trusted god, it would be longer. It would take me harder. I mean, it would take it would be a harder road because I would have to get my own credentials instead of using his, and then I would have to build my own network instead of using hers.
Edna Harding [00:09:34]:
So my point is it's not so much the, the financial aspect sometimes. A lot of times, it's also time wise. It could be resources wise. It'd be connection wise. But faithfulness, right, means you're willing to take the higher risk because, you know, that's what god called you to do versus taking the safe route. I hope I'm making sense. Okay? So you need to ask yourself, are you holding back out of fear rather than stepping into complete trust into the project and initiative God told you to do instead of holding on to the easier route when he's telling you to let go of that particular project. Right? Remember, real stewardship doesn't shrink back.
Edna Harding [00:10:27]:
It actually multiplies through obedience. The only way for it to multiply is obeying where he told you to plant, where he where you're obeying where he told you to sow, where he's where obeying what he tells you to harvest. Right? You can't just kinda do your own thing and expect God to bless the work of your hands. You have to actually stay focused and stay planted in the ground that God told you to bear roots. Right? If you can't, it's environment matters. That's the bottom line. Okay? Now I hope that didn't confuse you. It made sense to me.
Edna Harding [00:11:04]:
But if it didn't make sense to you, please reach out to me on my website, or you could reach out to me via LinkedIn or my Instagram and let me know. Can you elaborate a little bit more? I'd be happy to go over that even further. Okay? Alright. So tip number 3 is understanding that discernment requires letting go of good things. Okay? Discernment often requires letting go of good things to make room for god things, and I'm sure you've heard this over and over again. But as CEOs and as leaders of organizations, we're presented typically with abundance of good opportunities. Most of the time, if you reach a level of success or a certain caliber, most of the opportunities that are gonna come to you are usually pretty good. They're not bad ones.
Edna Harding [00:11:56]:
Right? And so discernment is not about choosing between good and bad, but choosing between good and god. Because some of the hardest decision you'll make will involve walking away from opportunities, partnerships, projects that are perfectly fine but not aligned with God's will for you. Right? So you need to know your end destination. You need to know where you're going. If the vision isn't plain, if the vision isn't clear, if you don't have a clear direction or where God is taking you, meaning at least a destination, you're gonna say yes to a lot of things that doesn't line up with the perfect will of God. But how will you know the perfect will of God? It comes down to surrender, spending time in assign with him, being intimate with the Lord Jesus Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit and his word. So, you know, there's a scripture that says in Hebrews 12:1, it says, we're we're we're instructed to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Understand that not every weight is a sin.
Edna Harding [00:13:09]:
Some weights are actually the good things that slow us down when God is calling us to something greater. Let me say this again because I think I I don't think you heard me. Well, a lot of times when we think of weight, we think of sin, right, like something bad. Like for example, it could be, you know, murder. It could be like stealing or cheating, but actually some weights are actually good things. Things that are slowing down your progress because you're holding on to too many things that you're not making room for more. You're carrying burdens that are not your burdens to carry. Right? You're carrying relationships that are not your relationships to carry.
Edna Harding [00:13:48]:
You're getting involved in so many church activities that weren't activities that you weren't supposed to get involved in. Again, good things that slow you down is also considered weight. So you need to ask the lord god which things are of you and which things are of my flesh. Okay? Because sometimes the sermon looks like telling your team no to a project that would make you 1,000,000 of dollars because you know that God called you to do the steward something else that will yield eternal impact versus financial impact. Are you willing, let me ask you this, to let go of the good to make room for the god things? Focusing not so much on financial impact or today's impact, but eternal impact. Review your current initiatives. What are the good things that are keeping you from the god things? Letting go is hard, but discernment requires sacrifice. Let me say this again.
Edna Harding [00:14:51]:
Letting go is hard, but discernment often, always, almost a 100% requires sacrifice. So if you feel like you're not sacrificing enough, let me ask you this. Could it be a discernment is off? Could it be that you're settling for the good things instead of the god things? I want you to start thinking about your decisions and ask yourself, did this do you did these decisions require any type of sacrifice? Could I be taking the easier route instead of the narrow path or the harder route because I am saying no to the hard stuff instead choosing the easy stuff? Again, this is going against the world's ways because the world's ways typically says go to wider path, go to a larger path, take the easier route versus following the God hard, narrow, persevering always in the valley versus on top of the mountain path. Right? And number 4, stop praying for clarity and start asking for courage. This last one is personal for me, you know, because I can't tell you how many times I found myself praying. God, just show me the way. Make it clear. But here's what I learned.
Edna Harding [00:16:06]:
God doesn't always give us clarity. In fact, he always just gives us courage. Sometimes you want the whole picture, the road map, the exact step, but God is asking us to trust him enough to step out on the water even when we can't see the full path. In fact, in Matthew 4 14, when Peter steps out of the boat to walk on the water towards Jesus, he doesn't have clarity. Right? He didn't know where he was going. He just had faith. He just had courage. Because guess what? The clarity comes in the walking, not in the sitting still.
Edna Harding [00:16:42]:
Again, let me hear you this. Hear you this. Let me repeat this. Hear this. The clarity comes in the walking, not in the sitting still. As CEOs, we often want the full strategy laid out in front of us before we act. Right? Typically, what's the plan, God? Tell me what I need to do. But god's way typically requires trust, courage, and faith to step out even when the path is murky.
Edna Harding [00:17:09]:
How many of you guys like driving in the fog? How many of you guys walking in muddy waters? Says no one. Absolutely. No one wants to do that. But a lot of times, that is what God wants from his children. So I want you to ask yourself that next not ask yourself. I want you to think about this. Sorry. That's my brain.
Edna Harding [00:17:32]:
Okay? Next time you're facing a decision and waiting for perfect clarity, ask yourself, is it clarity I'm lacking, or is it courage? Trust that God's grace is sufficient, and his power is made perfect in your weakness. So stop waiting for every answer before you act. Pray for courage to take the next step even when it feels uncertain. Alright. So let's go ahead and recap our 4 ways to overcome shiny object syndrome. Number 1, don't mistake movement for progress. Focus on what truly multiplies for God's kingdom. Number 2, stewardship isn't about playing safe.
Edna Harding [00:18:12]:
It's about being faithful. Don't let fear hold you back from what God is calling you to do. Number 3, discernment requires letting go of good things. Be willing to sacrifice the good for the God sized vision. And number 4, stop praying for clarity. Start asking for courage. Clarity often comes in the walk, not in the waiting. So here's the bottom line, my friends.
Edna Harding [00:18:37]:
God has called you to lead, but he's also called you to trust. When you fix your eyes on his purpose for your business and your life, distraction will lose their shine. K? It's time to walk in the grace and truth of God's call. Steward faithfully and discern wisely. Well, guys, thank you guys again for joining me on The Entrepreneur. I pray that this message challenge you as always and bless you. I'll see you next time. And until then, remember, trust his heart, move in faith, and steward with grace.
Edna Harding [00:19:16]:
Love you all. Blessings. Take care. Thanks for joining us this week on Estapreneur. Make sure to visit our website, favorandwealth.com, for more information on our services. While you're at it, if you found value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating on iTunes. Or if you simply tell a friend about the show, that would help me out too. Also, check out my book, The Old New Side of Sales, available on Amazon, where I share 7 of my secrets on how to win and grow business the right way.
Edna Harding [00:19:47]:
Until next time, keep shining.
