In 2017, I signed up for my first trade show. I didn't know what I was walking into. I just knew that new and growing beauty brands went to trade shows to get exposure, to land retail contracts, to be seen. That was enough for me. I signed the paperwork and figured the rest would sort itself out — because everything is figureoutable, right?
I found out I was pregnant with twins. I should have canceled the show. That was the obvious answer. But I kept moving — because moving felt like faith.
I was laid off from my corporate job. What I now call liberation felt, at the time, like another crack in an already fragile foundation. Laid off. Three months pregnant with twins. One month out from a trade show I wasn't ready for.
That moment was the most obvious invitation God could have sent me to stop and make a plan. I didn't take it. I prayed. I just didn't stay still long enough to hear what He said back. Then I hustled until I couldn't anymore.
There is a particular kind of pressure that faith-driven women carry. It sounds spiritual. It sounds like surrender. It says things like: just trust God and move, don't overthink it, if He called you He'll make a way.
And here's what's true about all of that: God is faithful. He does make ways. He can redeem our messes, including the ones we made by moving too fast.
But that theology, taken alone, without its counterweight, can quietly become permission to confuse urgency with obedience — and motion with direction.
I prayed, didn't plan, and hustled until I burned out. That is not a testimony of faith. That is a cautionary tale.
What Proverbs 21 Actually Says
The first six verses of Proverbs 21 have a lot to teach us, but two things stand out.
"The king's heart is like a stream of water in the Lord's hands — He directs it wherever He chooses."
That is not passive. A stream has direction. Leadership has direction. Following God doesn't mean waiting for the wind to carry you — it means staying close enough to Him that when He moves, you're already positioned to move with Him.- Urgency dressed as obedience
- Motion without direction
- Exhaustion rebranded as anointing
- Moving fast without a map
- What Proverbs 21:5 calls haste
- Steady, consistent effort
- Pays attention to detail
- Earnest without being frantic
- Moving with intention and a plan
- The bedrock of faithful strategy
We have made the grind into a virtue, dressed it in scripture, and convinced ourselves that exhaustion is anointing. But diligence — the thing Proverbs 21:5 actually commends — is something entirely different. Diligence is steady. It pays attention to detail. It is earnest and consistent in its effort. Those qualities are the bedrock of a strategic plan. They are the antithesis of hustle culture.
When I finally slowed down enough to build a real strategy, not a dream board, not a wish list, but an actual plan — everything changed.
Not because the plan was perfect. Because I finally had a map.Strategy Is Not the Opposite of Faith
Making a plan does not mean you don't trust God. Planning is trusting God. It is taking seriously the gifts, the calling, and the resources He has placed in your hands — and treating them with the care they deserve.
A Good Steward doesn't leap and hope. She plans and trusts.
Think about the parable of the talents from Week 1. The illustration wasn't about who moved the fastest. It was about who was faithful, deliberate, intentional, and accountable with what they were given. The servant who buried his talent wasn't lazy in the obvious sense. He was afraid. And fear, dressed up as humility, will keep you moving without ever making progress.
If you've been moving fast without a map, this is your invitation to stop. Not to stop building — but to stop building without direction. An architect wouldn't build a house without a blueprint. You shouldn't build your business without one either.
A strategy is how you honor what God gave you. It is how you say: I believe this calling is real enough to plan for. It is how you stop surviving your own business and start stewarding it.
Called to Clarity Workshop —
Come Ready to Plan
If you've been circling around the question of whether your offers actually reflect your calling — or if you're doing a lot and still not sure where it's all going — there's a seat for you at the Called to Clarity Workshop this week.
We're going to do exactly what I wish I had done in 2017: sit down, get clear, and build a map. Not out of fear. Not out of pressure. But as an act of faithful stewardship. Details are in the community.
Join the Legacy Circle →Lord, forgive me for the times I've confused movement with faithfulness. For the seasons I kept running when You were asking me to stop and listen. I want to be diligent — not frantic. Steady — not scattered. Today I ask for clarity before movement. Before I take another step, let me hear Your direction. Give me the courage to sit still long enough to make a plan, and the faith to trust You in the making of it. I commit these plans to You, knowing You will establish them. Not because I have it all figured out — but because I am finally willing to pay attention. In Jesus' name. Amen.
"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much."
Matthew 25:23
Has movement ever become a substitute for strategy in your business? Drop a comment below. Wednesday's entry goes deeper into what a faithful, practical plan actually looks like — and how to build one.
With Love,
LaKeisha
P.S. — The Called to Clarity Workshop is this week. Details are in the Legacy Circle. If you're not in yet, join at skool.com/legacy-circle-9581 and come ready to build your map.