longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:13–16)." Jesus warned His disciples not to hide their identity (call it their “brand") but instead to let it shine for all the world to see. The goal of our work is not ego, but rather to point people back to God and advance the Gospel. And getting paid for creating value is not a worldly pursuit, but rather a godly principle. The Apostle Paul tells us, “A laborer is worthy of his hire” (1 Timothy 5:18). NEVER TOO EARLY TO START I continued my presentation at the faculty retreat. “Yesterday, one of you told me your eight-year-old son started his entrepreneurial journey. Then you showed me a picture on your phone as proof.” On the next slide I showed the picture of accounting professor Lindsey Howell ’05’s son. Surrounded by over a dozen stuffed animals, young Lincoln is seated with a laptop, ready to collect money for his Rent-A-Stuffed-Animal business. “Oh, and by the way, Lincoln gave his permission for me to share his picture. But he told his mom I needed to pay him royalties.” I pulled out a dollar and handed it to Lindsey right then and there. Everyone laughed. “Make sure Lincoln gets his royalty.” Maybe you launched your entrepreneurial efforts with a lemonade stand. My mom took a picture of me selling used fireworks in front of our house. At a similar age to Lincoln, I was enamored with fireworks. I found their shapes and sizes fascinating, despite already being discharged. I may have sold one or two fireworks for a quarter on the TV tray my mom let us borrow. Sometimes we overcomplicate the concept of entrepreneurs. All of us are hard-wired for entrepreneurship at some level. After all, we were created in the image of God. God told us to “fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28). Some of us may fulfill the literal definition of an entrepreneur according to Shopify: “Someone who has an idea and who works to create a product or service that people will buy, as well as an organization to support that effort. An entrepreneur takes on most of the risk and initiative for their new business and is often seen as a visionary or innovator.” Many more Cedarville students will embody the definition of an intrapreneur instead. Intrapreneurs Name: Will Woods II Major: Marketing Business: Will Woods Exper!ence Will Woods Exper!ence helps creatives and small businesses maximize their message in the digital space. Willwoodsii.com 14
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