Episode 2
Hello Fearless One.
Let me start today’s episode with a disclaimer.
This is not a podcast about fear. It’s a podcast to remind you of who you were created to be and to encourage you to spend every day pursuing that.

Hi I am Nerissa Golden. Host of the Fearless One podcast. I am an author, strategist, mom, entrepreneur, and lover of Jesus Christ.
I get a kick out of helping my friends and clients unlock the value in their gifts and business and for the next few minutes I want to encourage you to do the same. Let’s go!

You clicked play and I love you for it!
As always, my go to scripture is Genesis 1:28. – God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
This is your invitation to use it as your purpose for life and business.
We spend a lot of time asking what is my purpose? Why am I here?
It may manifest differently in each human, but it all follows the Genesis 1:28 framework. We are all blessed first then instructed to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it then to dominate everything that has been created.
No. We aren’t called to dominate each other which is how we end up with wars. But when we see that every one of us has the same guiding instruction we can focus on doing the part assigned to us, knowing it will align with what others are assigned to do.
At the end of the last episode I asked what would you do if you knew you could not fail. If your success was already written and confirmed, would you still be doing what you are doing today?
Recently, I’ve been attending various events and co-working days with other business women, and I love hearing their stories of how their businesses began. It fascinates me to see the way seemingly random events can unlock a new idea or focus.
I’ve also heard stories of how an illness or death of a loved one provided the impetus for a new service or to completely pivot from working for others to pursuing their own entrepreneurial goals. The beauty is that we will all have our own individual journeys and they are all valid.
The question is often asked, can anyone be an entrepreneur? I believe that we all can be entrepreneurs. Because the Genesis 1:28 mandate is a statement of your value and what you can do with it. An entrepreneurship is essentially the exchange and expansion of value. That scripture is also a blueprint for starting and scaling a business and it was given to all of us. 
Jesus in a parable found in Luke chapter 9 about a wealthy business man and landowner who went on a trip and before leaving told gave his 10 servants 10 pounds and said occupy til I come. He told his employees do business. When he returned, he calls the servants to see what they’ve done. Two of the employees took up the challenge and reinvested their master’s money and doubled it. The third admitted that he put the pound he had received in a napkin to keep it safe cause he knew his boss was a hard man who was an aggressive investor and he didn’t want to lose the money. The master put the first servant who had doubled the ten to manage 10 cities. The second who had doubled the five, he gave responsibility to manage 5 cities and he took the money that the third servant had and gave it to the one who had 10. He also called the third servant wicked.
So God interprets you not using the gifts you’ve been given as wicked. Jesus went on to say that him who has more will be given and from the one who has nothing more will be taken. Whatever little you have it is important that you use it. Do not hide it in the proverbial napkin because of fear, doubt or concern about what others will think. 
Nerissa, I hear you, but I don’t know what this gift is or I just have a problem asking people to pay me to do something I enjoy.
I have been there and so let’s talk about it.
Proverbs 18:16, KJV  A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men”.  A room with great mean usually refers to men with wealth, power, access. So if you find yourself in a financial jam or you feel stuck in life, I want you to encourage you to stir up your gift.
Your gift may be an obvious one like singing, dancing, making art. But it could also be the gift of organisation and hospitality and encouragement.
In fact, a few weeks ago, one early morning, I woke up and the first thought in my mind was my gift and purpose is to encourage others to believe in themselves and in their God. It literally came out of my head a fully formed statement and I wrote it down immediately. It brought me such peace and it was the first time in all my life I had such clarity about what it was that I do.
This gift of encouragement has manifested in various ways over the years. It is why I love writing and marketing and strategy. It is why when my friends call and say I want to do this or that I am immediately ready with ideas for them or things to consider to make it even more successful.
You may just have a way with numbers and that doesn’t mean you need to be an accountant. You may be more inclined to use it as a math teacher, in banking or investing or in a physics lab or coding.
Your gift is usually something that comes to you naturally. It makes you happy and if you could spend all your life doing that thing without even being paid for it you probably would.
I can hear someone say, my gift is travelling. Go for it. There are people travelling while others foot the bill. Sometimes I wonder if my gift is reading or writing because I would love to spend all my time reading. However, writing lights me up and it sets my day right.
If you are unsure of what your gift is then I want you to ask God to show you what it is.
It is probably in seed form, because you have never planted it or nourished it so it can bear fruit and grow.
That doesn’t matter, this is the time for you to unlock the gift hidden within you because the success you desire is also within it.
Hey Fearless One. This is Nerissa Golden. I know you already have a copy of my book Live Fearless: A Christian Entrepreneur’s Guide to Life and Business on your book shelf or on your kindle. But you haven’t cracked it open yet. I want to encourage you to do that. Read it a little at a time and work through the reflection questions at the end of each chapter. If you don’t have a copy, be sure to get yours in the format you prefer at amazon.com.

I also mentioned that maybe you have a problem accepting payment for something that comes naturally to you. I am not saying you need to make a business with your gift, however activating the gift will put you into rooms that can bring your provision. It may not be due to direct payment for your gift but it will allow you to connect with people who may employ you to use other skills you have. The scripture said your gift will make the room and bring you before powerful people. People with resources and access.
It almost seems like magic sometimes, but in the past whenever I was in a financial jam, my first reaction was to try to find someone to bail me out or to panic about how badly things could go. Sometimes I got bailed out but most of the time the solution came when I stirred up my gift. When I choose to seek God’s kingdom within me.
Matthew 6:33 says seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added. These things include where you live, what you wear and what you eat.
What this looks like for me is a few focused hours writing. It could be journaling, writing a blog or working on a novel. Leaning into my love for writing is where I am closest to God as that is how His kingdom manifests through me. And when I do that….all these things …the proposal I’ve been waiting for is finally accepted. The outstanding invoices are paid. A new coaching client shows up. Someone buys a book.
It is an act of faith and a belief that God will take care of me no matter the financial challenge.
So what is your gift? What is the seed that you’ve hidden away that needs to be planted? 
The beauty of a seed is that within one seed is acres and acres of trees and fruit. What God will often do is show you the seed and give you a vision of the acres and acres of trees. Where we go off track is that we begin to pursue the acres. We wonder where will we find that much land? How will we raise the money to buy the land? Where will we find the time to plant and harvest all those trees?
And we become overwhelmed and paralysed. We see a problem where God sees a seed.
Look at what is in your hand. That is all you have responsibility for. Plant the seed, water it, weed the ground around it and watch it grow. As it grows and bares more fruit then you will be directed on how to multiply it.
The bible tells us of Peter who is in a boat out on a stormy sea with the other 11 disciples. He sees Jesus walking towards the boat and He calls and asks, Jesus is that you. Jesus says yes. He says if it is you tell me to come out there where you are.
Jesus said come. Peter gets out of the boat and begins walking on the water to Jesus.
I can imagine he is doing just fine but then the voices of the disciples in the boat and the loud sound of the rough seas and the wind interrupts his focus. Logic kicks in and he remembers that he is a fisherman and fishermen stay in boats not walk on water.
To use your gift may seem to require the ability to walk on water but I want to encourage you go ahead and get out of the boat. Keep your eyes on Jesus and know that he is telling you to come. As you make that first step. Maybe it is writing it down in your phone or journal that you are going to learn how to use this gift of speaking. Then you are going to sign up for a speaking group to practice and gain confidence. Or you will go live on your social media account and share what is on your heart. Whatever you feel guided to do one step at a time is how you will keep your eyes on Jesus.
Fear comes in when we begin to look at ourselves and our inadequacies. When we let the voices of others who are still sitting in the boat tell us “that will never work” or “someone tried that before and it flopped” get inside our head and hearts.
You may need to shut out the voices of the naysayers and find new friends that will support you.
I see a lot of social posts about being delusional about manifesting one goal or the next. I believe the delusion is in accepting that life as you know it is all there is. When you can accept that you are a loved creation of the most High Creator and you have his authority and ability to speak to the mountain, to walk on water, to bring sight to the blind to free others who are enslaved, to bear fruit from the seed he gave you, then you are living as He desired.
We were born delusional and fearful but now we can live free of fear and with our identity established in God’s love for us.
So what would you do today if you knew your success was guaranteed?
You are His favourite creation. Live Fearless.
Thank you for listening to Fearless One with Nerissa Golden. If this episode has inspired you to take action or encouraged you to pursue your own fearless journey, please leave me a comment wherever you are listening. Be sure to subscribe to be notified of future episodes and share it with someone you know.