Join us Saturday, March 31st from 10 am to 12 pm in Atlanta for an exciting Open House for Kingdom Business University. Learn how we are equipping Christians to develop the entrepreneurial mind of Christ so they can lead more effectively in the marketplace as Kingdom entrepreneurs. We will show you how KBU blends Biblical principles with business best practices to help you develop, launch, and grow your business - from concept to expansion. We are also presenting our solution for churches and community groups that can help alleviate the unemployment problem across the country.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, March 31st
Time: 10 am - 12 pm
Location: 1669 Phoenix Parkway, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30349

To learn more about Kingdom Business University, click here. 

Join us March 21st for a free preview session of Kingdom Business University. You will have an opportunity to learn more about KBU, ask questions, and experience some of the content. The early bird price of only $59 also ends that day. You can register at http://kbuatlanta.eventbrite.com. Please contact us today if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

I love to imagine how entrepreneurial thinking can produce creative ideas and innovative solutions to challenges that many impoverished communities face nationally and globally. I believe that successful purpose-centered entrepreneurs can be used as a strategic tool to empower others to build healthy, prosperous communities.

Inc. Magazine recently posted an article, "Why Entrepreneurs Do What They Do." In the article they describe entrepreneurship as "solving problems and creating social progress; building great new things that make a better world.  It's about celebrating each step toward the ultimate human longing for an enhanced and enriched enterprise of life."

This description of entrepreneurship succinctly captures the entrepreneurial spirit that God wants every human being to have, whether you own a business or not. You were created for something special that goes beyond your personal well being and extends to creating well being for others. 

The article quoted social entrepreneur and Episcopal bishop Rev. William Swing: "There are two fields of genius available...laborers who live on yesterday's insights and entrepreneurs who live on tomorrow's possibilities. Both have their own dignity, but entrepreneurship pulls life into its destiny."

The potential for great things to happen in the world is unleashed when purpose-centered entrepreneurs, who have incredible vision, diverse skills, and a passion for progress, channel their collective energy to create something greater than what one individual could do on their own.

Our society needs more God-inspired social entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial thinkers to help conquer the immense challenges we are confronted with in the world on a daily basis. I am one of them. Are you?

Click here to connect with me to see what we can do together!

It's that time again! The new February/March issue of Brotha Online Magazine is ready and available for your exploration. My contribution to this edition is entitled, Developing the Entrepreneurial Mind of Christ. I also have a special accompanying video to go with this month's article (click here). Here is a short excerpt:

Albert Einstein was an intellectual phenomenon. Steve Jobs was a creative mastermind. Thomas Edison was a genius as bright as they come (pun intended). However none of these entrepreneurial inventors measures up to the brilliance, inventiveness, resourcefulness, prowess, and many other words I could use to describe our indescribable God.

God is the original and ultimate entrepreneur. In the beginning of Genesis 1, through Jesus (Hebrews 1:2), He created something incredible out of chaos. At the end of Genesis 1, they created man and woman in their divine image and told them to take dominion over the earth, be fruitful, and multiply. In order for us to accomplish these three mandates we have to use divine characteristics of entrepreneurship, including but not limited to faith, intelligence, creative ability, and resourcefulness, all of which God displayed as He manifested the universe.

When most people hear the word entrepreneur they automatically think about business and selling stuff. However, you don’t have to be in business to be entrepreneurial. My simple definition for entrepreneurial is the ability to create value for people using attributes given to us by God. So using this definition, everyone should be entrepreneurial, which also describes how we should be operating in the world with the mind of Christ.

Click this link for the full article: http://brothaonline.com/Editions/FebMar12/Kingdom-Business-Paul-Wilson-Jr.html

I wrote this post a few years ago on my Passion in Action blog. So in honor of Valentine's Day I decided to dust it off and repost it here. Enjoy!

One of my favorite sports in high school was flirting. Yes, you read correctly - flirting. I say this, because it was all a big game that everybody played. Fortunately, it was fun, mostly harmless, puppy love child's play.

While that kind of behavior was ok back then, once I got older I realized it was time to put away childish things. What was innocent flirting in high school took on a whole different tone and meaning once I became an adult. Flirting now had greater expectations and consequences attached to it. I had to be much more careful and flirt "at my own risk."

How does this relate to your dreams? Some people are content to only flirt with their dreams because they are unwilling to make the  physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual investments that are necessary to pursue and accomplish big dreams.

What does flirting with a dream look like?

• Talk about dreams and aspirations randomly but not all the time
  
• All talk but no action or follow through
  
• Action is inconsistent or half-hearted
  
• Start down a path, but when things become harder than expected they turn their attention to something else
  
• Always looking for the easy way out
  
• Easily distracted and always chasing the next big thing
  
• Not willing to take risks
  
• Only do the easy stuff related to accomplishing their dreams (which is very little)
  
• Not willing to sacrifice anything significant to see their dreams come true
  
• Actions don't always line up with words, i.e. they make false promises to self and others
  
• Don't take dreams seriously; life's just a big game
  
• Little sense of commitment or accountability
  
• Always making excuses or blaming others when things don't work out
  

Does any of this sound familiar to you as it relates to flirt-only, surface-level relationships? How about as it relates to pursuing and accomplishing one's dreams? This type of behavior is similar to relationships when people flirt with one another for long periods of time without eventually making a commitment, because they are unwilling to devote themselves to a meaningful, significant, and accountable partnership.

Some of the reasons why people do this in relationships are the same as why they do it with their dreams:

• Significant relationships require transparency, vulnerability, and interdependency.
• Some think it's safer not to take any risks.
• Some flirt with several options because they just want to test things out.
• Serious relationships require all of your body, mind, will, and emotions.

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

This well-known quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson applies to relationships and dreams. "Perpetual Flirters" don't realize they will never be able to experience the joy and depth of love if they never take a risk of being with someone that could cause them a depth of pain. Likewise, you will never be able to experience the depth of joy and fulfillment from accomplishing your dreams if you never embrace the risk of experiencing deep disappointment and discouragement that may happen if you don't accomplish your dreams.

Stop flirting with your dreams! Take the plunge. Jump in head over heels. Pursue it with all your heart and don't hold anything back. Commit to staying the course, especially when it gets hard - because it inevitably will. It will be well worth the risk no matter what happens!

Most of the world knows by now that Whitney Houston passed away on Saturday. The outpouring of sympathy and sentiments has been what is expected for who may have been the greatest singer of all time. She was given a wonderful tribute last night at the Grammys. And in countless news stories, interviews, and  programs people are expressing shock, dismay, sadness, and a multitude if other feelings.

This is an extremely sad story of a wonderful talent who met with a tragic end to her life. However, the question has to be asked: Why do people seem to respond differently when a superstar dies unexpectedly than when a "regular" person dies unexpectedly?

One reason I believe this mindset exists is because secretly in the hearts of "regular" people lives the same distorted perspective that lives in the heart of many superstars. It's the human tendency - and for many a conscious choice - to chase the dream vs. The Dream Giver (God).

I can't say this is what happened to Whitney Houston, but this is what happens to a lot of people in our society. Actually this mindset is nothing new. It was actually addressed by God in Deuteronomy 8 when He admonished the nation of Israel before they entered their promise land. He told them that life was about to get really good. And when it did, they had better not forget the One who made it happen, or else it would cause them to lose everything.

Why is it so important that you don't pursue your dream at the exclusion of the Dream Giver? When seasons of attention, fame, and stardom pass, and it seems like your dream is now fading from memory instead of flowing into your future, what will you have to hold on to? Whether you are in front of big crowds or not, when the Dream Giver is your focus, you will have the foundation, inspiration, and direction for the next adventure of your life. Transitions don't have to be tragic, they can be triumphant.

In today's cult of celebrity, as exhibited by the Grammys and other award shows, people are worshipped for their talent and exploits as much as if not more than God. When that happens, celebrities are ascribed glory that should only be given to God. In Hebrew the word "glory" originally means "weight" or "heaviness." Humans were not created to carry the weight of God's glory, only to reflect it. When the weight and pressure of carrying the glory of man-made fame, i.e. having to keep pleasing people or shocking them so you stay relevant in their minds and wallets year after year, people eventually crack under the pressure. They end up doing things they felt was necessary to temporarily or permanently escape the pressure of their lives.

No matter how we have idolized them, superstars - like all of us - are frail human beings who eventually will break down if enough pressure is applied. The list is staggering of those who "died too soon" over the last couple of years (or even the last 40 years) under tragic circumstances that involved drugs and/or alcohol:

• Michael Jackson
• Heath Ledger
• Amy Winehouse
• Jimi Hendrix
• Elvis Presley
• Marilyn Monroe
• Chris Farley
• Janis Joplin
• Judy Garland
• Many more...

And sadly we must now add Whitney Houston to that list. We may never fully know the circumstances of her death, but we have heard by her own admission some of the struggles of the last few years of her life. I pray that we all learn from these individuals and ask God to give us a new mindset for the proper way to appreciate our own and others' talents, achievements, and accomplishments.

James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights. He loves to bless His children with amazing talent that blesses the world. What He doesn't love is when His children worship the talent - their own or someone else's - more than they worship Him.

So let me ask you, are you chasing the dream or the Dream Giver?

I am so excited to launch my new web site and blog. I am taking my business and my brand back to where I started a few years ago after I wrote my book Dream B.I.G. in 3D. Just like Michael J. Fox in the 80s classic movie Back to the Future, I am sort of going backwards to move forward. At the time I was really focusing on helping people discover their purpose through the dream God placed in their heart. Since then I had broadened my message and services to include other things, but I realize that I need to go back to what I know God originally gave me to do. And that is as I am helping people discover their purpose, I am supposed to also help them develop an entrepreneurial mindset for Christ (I talk about this more in-depth in the video). As such, you will begin to see more of my multi-media offerings, products, and services geared toward these two areas.

You will notice there are blog posts dated prior to this one. I decided to manually incorporate some of my recent posts from my other blog, Passion in Action. I may eventually bring more posts over in the future, but for now I wanted to provide some recent relevant content for this new site.

If you have any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions for making this site more helpful to you, please don't hesitate to contact me. I look forward to engaging with you to help you develop an entrepreneurial mind for Christ.

Work as a transformational life force? Listen to how Goodwill CEO Doug Barr discusses the impact that the workplace – with the right environment and the right people – can have a major impact on the quality of one’s life.

Have you thought about how your work can be a transformational agent in someone’s life?

If you want to you take your career to a higher level, add God’s “super” to your “natural”. My friends at Milestone Motivation have recently released some resources to help you maximize your God-given talents and giftings in the workplace. In their book Superhuman Performance, they highlight how some very successful businesspeople utilize their giftedness to elevate their performance. Learn more at www.milestonemotivation.com.