THE MIND OPERATES IN FRAMEWORKS
Understanding How You Think, How You Build, and What God Has Placed in Your Hands
Luke 17:20–21 (NKJV)
“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, “See here!” or “See there!” For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.’”
Jesus gives us a powerful principle:
The Kingdom works from the inside out.
We spend a lot of time looking externally.
Looking for opportunities.
Looking for money.
Looking for connections.
Looking for businesses.
Looking for investments.
Looking for doors to open.
But Jesus directs our attention inward:
“The kingdom of God is within you.”
Before something changes around you, God often begins by changing something within you.
Your thinking.
Your understanding.
Your wisdom.
Your character.
Your discipline.
Your ability to recognize opportunities.
Your ability to work with people.
Your ability to steward what is already in your hands.
This is why one of the greatest investments you can ever make is an internal investment.
Before investing in stocks, invest in knowledge.
Before investing in a business, invest in wisdom.
Before building a team, invest in your ability to work with people.
Before asking God for more, develop your ability to steward what He has already given you.
Because sometimes we’re searching externally for something God wants to develop internally.
THE MIND OPERATES IN FRAMEWORKS
One of the most important things we can understand about ourselves is that the mind operates in frameworks.
A framework is simply the mental structure through which we interpret information, recognize opportunities, solve problems, and make decisions.
Two people can look at the exact same opportunity and see completely different possibilities.
One sees a job.
Another sees a skill they can develop.
Another sees a business.
Another sees something they can invest in and multiply.
Same opportunity. Different framework.
The opportunity didn’t change.
The framework changed.
That’s why the purpose of understanding economic frameworks isn’t to put people into boxes.
It’s learning to ask:
“What framework are my ideas being filtered through?”
Because the framework through which you process an idea will influence the choices you make concerning that idea.
For this discussion, let’s keep it simple and practical:
Employee.
Self-Employed.
Business Owner.
Investor.
All four can be a blessing.
One isn’t automatically better than another.
You can even operate within several frameworks simultaneously.
The goal is awareness.
Understand how you’re thinking before you make the decision.
THE FOUR FRAMEWORKS
1. THE EMPLOYEE FRAMEWORK
An employee works within an organization or system created by someone else.
You exchange your time, knowledge, education, experience, and abilities for compensation.
Employment can also provide valuable benefits such as:
Security.
Health insurance.
Retirement benefits.
Paid vacation.
Professional training.
Experience.
Relationships.
Opportunities for advancement.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with employment.
In fact, employment can become one of your greatest classrooms.
God can place you inside an organization where you learn leadership, administration, communication, technology, customer service, finance, healthcare, management, or another skill that becomes important later in your life.
Never despise where you’re learning simply because you don’t own it.
Sometimes you’re receiving an education while somebody else is paying you.
The employee framework often asks:
“What value can I provide within this organization, and what can I learn while I’m here?”
2. THE SELF-EMPLOYED FRAMEWORK
Self-employment is different.
Instead of primarily working inside someone else’s organization, you use your personal skills, knowledge, abilities, or expertise to generate income.
A consultant can be self-employed.
A barber can be self-employed.
A contractor can be self-employed.
A music producer can be self-employed.
A freelancer can be self-employed.
Someone independently day trading can operate from a self-employed framework.
You can even be an employee and self-employed at the same time.
You might work for a company during the day and operate your own activity after work.
That’s why understanding frameworks matters.
You’re not necessarily just one thing.
You can operate within multiple frameworks.
The self-employed framework asks:
“How can I use what I know and what I can personally do to create income?”
That’s powerful.
But there is an important limitation.
Your income can remain heavily dependent upon your personal participation.
If you don’t perform the service, create the product, make the trade, complete the project, or show up to do the work, the income may stop.
That’s where understanding the next framework becomes important.
3. THE BUSINESS-OWNER FRAMEWORK
The business-owner framework changes the question.
The self-employed person often asks:
“How can I do this?”
The business owner begins asking:
“Who can help us do this?”
That’s a completely different way of thinking.
A business owner begins thinking about:
People.
Processes.
Systems.
Technology.
Leadership.
Distribution.
Relationships.
A good business owner also understands something that pride can make difficult:
You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room.
Actually, I intentionally want people around me who know things I don’t know.
If somebody understands engineering better than me, I want the engineer.
If somebody understands accounting better than me, I want the accountant.
If somebody understands technology better than me, I want the technology expert.
If somebody has twenty years of experience in an industry where I have two, I want to listen.
Find intelligence.
Find education.
Find experience.
Find expertise.
Find execution.
Someone knowing more than you doesn’t diminish your leadership.
It increases your capacity.
Leadership isn’t proving that you know everything.
Leadership is having enough wisdom to recognize who knows what you don’t know.
The business-owner framework asks:
“Who do we need, and what systems can we build so everything doesn’t depend upon me?”
4. THE INVESTOR FRAMEWORK
This is where I believe we need to expand our understanding.
When most people hear the word investor, they immediately think:
Stocks.
Bonds.
Mutual funds.
IRAs.
401(k)s.
Real estate.
Day trading.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with these traditional methods.
They can be excellent financial tools.
But over the years, I began understanding investment differently.
I realized:
Investment is much bigger than where you put your money.
Investment is also where you put:
Your time.
Your attention.
Your energy.
Your knowledge.
Your relationships.
Your faith.
Your ideas.
Before investment becomes external, investment should become internal.
Invest in God.
Invest in yourself.
Invest in wisdom.
Invest in education.
Invest in your ideas.
Invest in your character.
Invest in your emotional maturity.
Invest in relationships.
Invest in people.
Invest in understanding yourself.
And especially:
Invest wisely in whose voice you allow to influence your thinking.
Every voice you repeatedly listen to receives an investment from you.
Your attention has value.
Your time has value.
Your mind has value.
Proverbs 13:20 says:
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”
The investor framework asks:
“How can I wisely use what is already in my hands to create multiplication?”
And what’s in your hands isn’t always money.
Sometimes it’s knowledge.
Sometimes it’s an idea.
Sometimes it’s a relationship.
Sometimes it’s experience.
Sometimes it’s an opportunity.
Sometimes it’s a gift you haven’t fully developed yet.
NONE OF THE FOUR IS BETTER THAN THE OTHERS
This is extremely important.
Don’t read this and think:
“Business owner is better than employee.”
That’s not the point.
All four can be blessings.
A faithful employee can impact thousands of people.
A self-employed person can build an incredible life using his or her gifts.
A business owner can create jobs and opportunities.
An investor can multiply resources and invest them into people and important causes.
And one person can operate in all four frameworks at different times—or even simultaneously.
The purpose isn’t determining which title makes you look successful.
The purpose is understanding:
“What framework am I using to make this particular decision?”
Sometimes we’re trying to solve a business-owner problem with a self-employed framework.
We’re saying:
“I’ll just work harder.”
When the real answer may be:
“I need somebody else on the team.”
Sometimes we’re searching for more money when what we really need is more knowledge.
Sometimes we’re searching for another opportunity when what we really need is to develop what’s already in our hands.
The framework determines the questions you ask.
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TECHNOLOGY IS A TOOL, NOT ANOTHER FRAMEWORK
Our world has changed.
We now have artificial intelligence, automation, e-commerce, digital distribution, social media, software, and technologies previous generations didn’t possess.
But we don’t have to complicate this by creating ten different frameworks.
Technology is a tool.
An employee can use AI.
A self-employed person can use AI.
A business owner can use AI.
An investor can use AI.
Someone can use e-commerce while self-employed.
A business owner can build systems around e-commerce.
An investor can invest resources into technology.
Technology doesn’t determine your framework.
Your thinking determines how you use the technology.
MY STORY STARTED SMALL
Around 2008, I began contracting with several companies in the music industry.
At the time, many people around me wanted to become rappers, artists, producers, or performers.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But I began seeing the industry through a different framework.
Initially, I was operating primarily from a self-employed framework.
I had a skill.
I understood music.
I could create something companies needed.
I started with only a few thousand dollars financially.
Over time, through years of work, relationships, learning, collaboration, technology, contracts, and building systems, what began relatively small developed into a successful business operation.
I don’t share that to brag about what we built.
I share it because it’s easy to look at the financial results and completely miss the greatest investment.
The money wasn’t the greatest investment.
The person I had to become was.
THE MONEY WAS THE SMALL PART
I invested a few thousand dollars financially.
But I invested something much more valuable:
My time.
For several years, there were nights when I didn’t go to bed until around 5:00 in the morning.
I was learning.
Creating.
Studying.
Developing.
Building relationships.
Solving problems.
Making mistakes.
Learning technology.
Understanding contracts.
Building systems.
And most importantly
learning people.
I couldn’t simply invest a few thousand dollars and wait for something to happen.
I had to grow.
I had to learn.
I had to serve.
I had to listen.
I had to become somebody capable of stewarding what was being built.
The business grew, but more importantly, I grew.
MY BIGGEST LESSON WAS PEOPLE
One of my greatest lessons wasn’t music.
It wasn’t technology.
It wasn’t e-commerce.
It wasn’t even money.
It was people.
I had to learn how to work with different personalities.
Different backgrounds.
Different cultures.
Different communication styles.
Different temperaments.
Different strengths.
Different weaknesses.
This is where I believe many people stop evolving:
Pride.
You can be gifted and still be difficult to work with.
You can be intelligent and still refuse correction.
You can have an incredible idea and still be unable to build a team.
You can have money and still lack the humility necessary to learn from somebody else.
At some point, growth requires you to learn how to work with people.
And sometimes the person who irritates you may be revealing an area where you still need to grow.
KILL PRIDE
I had to spend time killing pride.
I had to learn to:
Serve people.
Honor people.
Help people.
Give to people.
Listen to people.
Learn from people.
I had to become comfortable saying:
“I don’t know. Teach me.”
That’s not weakness.
That’s wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2 says:
“When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.”
Sometimes the greatest obstacle between where you are and where you’re trying to go isn’t money.
It’s pride.
You cannot build something bigger than yourself while believing you don’t need anybody else.
BEFORE YOU BORROW MONEY, BORROW WISDOM
If you’re considering starting a business, don’t allow your first question to automatically become:
“How much money can I borrow?”
First ask:
“Who understands this industry better than I do?”
Find someone smarter than you in that area.
Find someone more experienced.
Find somebody who has already made mistakes you haven’t made yet.
Find someone who has traveled the road you’re preparing to travel.
Then listen.
Before you borrow money, borrow wisdom.
Proverbs 15:22 says:
“Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.”
Sometimes you don’t need another loan.
You need another conversation.
Sometimes you’re not missing money.
You’re missing information.
Sometimes you’re not missing opportunity.
You’re missing perspective.
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THAT’S WHAT I DID
In one of the industries where we were building, I found a Jewish businessman who was extremely successful.
He knew things I didn’t know.
Instead of competing with him—
I served him.
I honored him.
I listened to him.
I learned from him.
His background was different from mine.
That didn’t matter.
Wisdom doesn’t have to look like you for you to learn from it.
God works through people.
Sometimes God will put something you need inside somebody you never expected.
But pride can cause you to walk right past your teacher.
FROM SELF-EMPLOYED TO BUSINESS OWNER
Eventually, my framework began changing.
We developed multiple contracts.
I had contractors helping us.
We incorporated proprietary software and technology.
We created music products for companies.
As artificial intelligence began emerging, we learned how to incorporate newer tools into portions of our workflow.
E-commerce gave us another avenue.
Shopify became an incredible platform for our business.
Distribution relationships expanded what we could accomplish.
Eventually the question wasn’t:
“How much can I personally produce?”
It became:
“How can we build something that doesn’t require me to personally do everything?”
Today, much of that particular income stream operates with systems and automation that don’t require my constant involvement.
That doesn’t mean nobody works.
It means everything doesn’t depend upon me.
I have an engineer from Boston who became my right-hand man and oversees the operation.
I had to learn something important:
Let capable people be capable.
That’s business-owner thinking.
THE PERSON I BECAME WAS THE GREATER RETURN
Looking back, a relatively small financial investment helped start something that eventually developed into a successful business operation.
But the greatest return wasn’t financial.
The greatest return was the person I became through the process.
I became more disciplined.
More patient.
More teachable.
More relational.
More collaborative.
More willing to listen.
I learned how to delegate.
I learned how to communicate.
I learned when to lead.
I learned when to listen.
I learned when to ask for help.
And I learned when to step aside and allow somebody more qualified to execute.
That’s investment.
Money can increase while the person remains undeveloped.
But when the person develops, they become better prepared to steward whatever comes into their hands.
The external growth was good.
The internal growth was greater.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MULTIPLICATION?
Eventually, I had to ask myself:
“Why do I want this to grow?”
Simply accumulating money isn’t enough.
Resources give us opportunities to serve.
Business resources can support ministry initiatives.
They can help single mothers.
Serve senior citizens.
Honor widows.
Support healthcare initiatives.
Create jobs.
Help people and families affected by incarceration.
Create opportunities for people who need somebody to believe in them.
That’s when business becomes more than income.
It becomes a vehicle for impact.
Money is not the mission.
Money is one of the tools that can help support the mission.
MATERIAL THINGS ARE TOOLS PEOPLE ARE THE PURPOSE
Something happened through our business relationships that means more to me than any financial success.
My right-hand man and his girlfriend eventually received Jesus Christ and were born again.
That’s the greater return.
Because ultimately:
Business is a tool.
Money is a tool.
Technology is a tool.
Influence is a tool.
Success is a tool.
But people are the purpose.
Jesus said in Mark 8:36:
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
What good is understanding economics if we never understand eternity?
What good is building businesses if we never build people?
What good is multiplying money if we never multiply love, kindness, wisdom, generosity, opportunity, and the Gospel?
IT STARTS WITHIN
This brings us right back to where we started:
“The kingdom of God is within you.”
Before looking outward, look inward.
Before asking what you should invest in, ask:
“What has God already invested in me?”
Before asking for more money, develop more wisdom.
Before asking for a bigger opportunity, develop your character.
Before asking for a bigger team, learn how to treat people.
Before asking for greater influence, kill pride.
Before asking God to multiply what’s in your hands, become the kind of person who can faithfully steward the multiplication.
Your greatest investment isn’t necessarily your stocks.
It isn’t your IRA.
It isn’t your mutual funds.
It isn’t your business.
It isn’t even the money in your bank account.
Your greatest investment begins with what God is developing inside of you.
Invest in God.
Invest in yourself.
Invest in wisdom.
Invest in people.
Stay teachable.
Serve others.
Kill pride.
Build relationships.
Develop what’s already in your hands.
And when God brings increase, don’t allow the increase to become your identity.
Use it to become a blessing to somebody else.
Because ultimately, the greatest evidence of prosperity isn’t simply what you’ve accumulated around you.
It’s who you’ve become within and how what God has placed in your hands is being used to serve others.
The Kingdom works from the inside out.