Lessons from Ruth on how to brand yourself for success

Lessons from Ruth on how to brand yourself for success

In my previous devotional, I mentioned that Ruth 2:11-12 states that Boaz didn’t just notice and become attracted to Ruth because she appeared working in his field but because he had heard reports about her bravery in leaving her own land (Moab) to follow Naomi to Bethlehem and kindness towards her since being there

You can click here to read it if you missed that!

Not only does this teach us- as modern women- a valuable lesson about visibility and the importance of networking, it teaches us lessons about branding and it’s importance too

Lessons from Ruth on how to let your gifts make room for you

Lessons from Ruth on how to let your gifts make room for you

In my previous devotional, I mentioned that Ruth’s decision to follow Naomi led to her marrying Boaz. birthing children and becoming one of Jesus' fore-mothers- as Jesus was a direct descendant of hers (Ruth 4:13-22; Matthew 1:1-16)

You can click here to read it if you missed that, sis!

Now that was a cute little overview but, to be honest, that’s not strictly true, sis!

Lessons from Ruth on why your instincts may be sabotaging your success (and how to avoid it)

Lessons from Ruth on why your instincts may be sabotaging your success (and how to avoid it)

Before I release each Woman Crush Wednesdays episode in my free group, Women of Influence, I re-watch them to write the show notes.

(Women of influence is a hub and sisterhood that I created for business women of faith to network, form community, learn from each other and weekly guest experts (via interviews with me). These interviews are the Woman Crush Wednesdays episodes which you can click here to access now!)

As I listened to Marlyne Pierce (who helps leaders build more profitable products and higher performing teams at scale) speak at the beginning of last week, she shared something that really spoke to me:

"What feels like intuition can sometimes be instinct".

An illustration of this quote can be seen through the events of Ruth’s life

For example, to quote from a previous devotional on success and what NOT to do:

Ruth 1:3-14, says:

Lessons from Mary on How to level Up

Lessons from Mary on How to level Up

My word for 2019 was Luke 1:45

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Here’s a bit of context around that verse:

Earlier in that chapter (Luke 1), the angel Gabriel had appeared to Zacharias to announce the birth of John the Baptist- who just so happened to be Jesus’ cousin (Luke 1: 5-23).

By the time Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her about Jesus, Elizabeth (John the Baptist’s mother) was already 6 months pregnant; so Mary went to stay with her (Luke 1:26-38).

This one move on Mary’s part shows us, as modern women, how a God-given vision requires us to level up

Lessons from the ant on how to build a collaborative team

Lessons from the ant on how to build a collaborative team

One of my favourite books of the Bible is Proverbs. When I’m feeling particularly demotivated (typically first thing in the morning), my go to scripture is Proverbs 6:10-11:

A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.

It literally snatches my edges and gathers me all the way together!

I’ve always really loved the lines before this scripture too. For example, Proverbs 6:6-8

Which reads:

Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.

Prior to my recent trip to Costa Rica, I always saw these lines a simple admonishment to:

  • Be a self-starter

  • Not procrastinate

  • Prepare

That all changed when I saw a group of ants in action and managed to capture it in the video below

Lessons from Zipporah on How to get People to Follow and Support You

Lessons from Zipporah on How to get People to Follow and Support You

One of my favourite quotes from John Maxwell is: “If you think you’re leading, but no one is following, then you are only taking a long walk”

Because, the truth is, as much as you may have a mission and vision that you feel called to establish- you can’t do it by yourself, sis!

In fact, to quote from a devotional that I once wrote on Euodia and Syntyche and make this more clear:

A God-given vision will always require the assembling of a team, as teamwork makes the dream work more effectively and efficiently than doing things alone. However they also teach us that teamwork only makes the dream work if they remain like-minded, just as Paul implored [Euodia and Syntyche] to be [in Philippians 4:2-3] . Without “complete sympathy with the object of the alliance” (in the words of Andrew Carnegie) the vision will fall apart and never come to pass.

But how can you get people to willingly follow and support your cause like that?

Well, there are 5 main steps which we see really clearly outlined in the events of Zipporah’s life (particularly as Moses’ wife)- as detailed in the video below.

Lessons from Zipporah on How to Harness the Law of Reciprocity while Networking

Lessons from Zipporah on How to Harness the Law of Reciprocity while Networking

I hate to burst your bubble, sis, but…

<sigh>

As much as it’s really important to set a firm foundation for your networking and PR efforts by knowing your “why,” no-one else cares about it

#justsaying

“So how do I get other people to care about my mission and vision, Nina?” I hear you say

Well…

It all comes down to knowing how to harness the power of reciprocity

Which is something that is really well demonstrated through Moses and Zipporah’s relationship- as detailed in the video below.

Lessons from Zipporah on why your "why" is important

Lessons from Zipporah on why your "why" is important

So last week, we talked about how to start networking from scratch in order to bring our God-given dreams to fruition. The first (of the five) steps that I gave was to “know your why” because, when it comes to building profitable relationships, you must first establish a firm foundation. This is why in my High Visibility Hexagon, I call this initial step the "Firm Foundation Framework".

When it comes to putting ourselves our there (or our networking and PR efforts), we already talked about the fact that knowing your why will keep you motivated through hard times but it goes even deeper than that for 2 very practical reasons- as detailed in the video below.