Divine Drive: How Faith and Positivity Fuel Success

What if the “difference maker” in your leadership isn’t a new framework but the attitude behind every choice you make? We explore how a godly attitude—rooted in Scripture, humility, and love—can supercharge a positive mindset to create durable resilience, ethical clarity, and a legacy that outlasts quarterly wins.

We start with a spotlight on Martin’s Famous Pastry and the power of focused excellence: fewer products, better ingredients, deeper investment in people, and consistent generosity. That story sets up our central contrast. Positivity boosts creativity, lowers stress, and raises team engagement; it reframes obstacles into opportunities. A godly attitude goes further, aligning decisions with Proverbs 3:5–6, shaping character through James 1, and pointing influence toward God’s glory rather than personal acclaim. Together, they produce leaders who stay hopeful in storms and humble in success.

From practical decision-making to team motivation, we map out usable steps: pray first, then plan with confidence; serve before you sell; speak life, set standards, and keep gratitude visible. We unpack how positivity can raise morale while a faith-anchored mindset forms the culture that sustains it. You’ll hear real stories, quotes from leaders like John Maxwell and Tony Dungy, and examples such as Chick-fil-A’s long obedience in the same direction. We also challenge you to “live limitless”—to dream beyond constraints, then submit those plans to God and build patiently with excellence and integrity.

If you’re ready to align optimism with obedience, energy with ethics, and ambition with eternal purpose, this conversation will give you handles to act today and hope to persevere tomorrow. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who leads, and leave a review telling us the attitude shift you’re committing to this week.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Vision For CBC
• 1:02 Global Listeners And Gratitude
• 2:29 Business Spotlight: Martin’s Famous Pastry
• 4:43 Attitude As A Difference Maker
• 6:41 Defining Godly Versus Positive Attitude
• 9:44 Stories That Shape Perspective
• 12:17 Benefits Of Positivity Backed By Research
• 14:13 Scriptural Foundations For A Godly Mindset
• 17:28 Motivation, Adversity, And Influence
• 20:05 Long-Term Impact And Legacy
• 22:14 Practical Leadership Applications
• 25:01 Live Limitless: Vision And Faith
• 27:11 Examples: Chick-fil-A And Personal Lessons
• 29:13 Encouragement, Prayer, And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with your host, Harold Milby. Christian Business Concepts is dedicated to guiding companies and business owners and becoming effective, efficient, and successful through God's Word and godly principles. Now here's your host, Harold Milby.

SPEAKER_00: 0:16

Thanks, Kelly, and welcome everyone to another Christian Business Concepts podcast. I'm your host, Harold Milby, and I just want to say I'm I'm so thankful and excited that you've decided to listen to this week's podcast. You know, if this is your first time listening, I want you to know that God's desire for you is to be successful. In fact, God designed you to be successful. And then he gave us a training manual on how to be successful, and that's called the Word of God. You know, our vision here at CBC is to bring true godly success to your career, to your business, and to your personal life by applying biblical business principles. Uh and if this podcast adds value to your life, would you be sure to share this with four or five other people and even post it on your LinkedIn and Facebook pages? You know, we're we just want to continue to grow uh Christian business concepts and we'd like to have your help in doing that. So uh we we appreciate you listening, but we also appreciate the fact that you can help us continue to grow CBC. Now, this week, instead of giving a big shout out to one country or city, I just want to say how much we appreciate those of you who have made CBC a part of your your personal growth plan and those of you that are around the world. You know, I'm I'm actually humbled, you know, when I see the 23 countries who download this podcast on a weekly basis. I just want to say thank you. And uh I hope this podcast encourages you, enlightens you, and empowers you um to be better and and to be more effective as a business owner or maybe a leader and even as a as a person. And I do, I mean that really from the bottom of my heart. So I'm I'm so thankful for all of you around the world, literally. I never dreamed that CBC would be uh this listened to and and and this uh successful. So thank you again, everyone. Now, you know, today in our business spotlight, I just want to tell you a little bit about a company that's doing great things. Martin's favorite pastry shop is the name of it. It was started by Lois and Lloyd Martin back in 1955 in their small home in Pennsylvania. Uh they quickly became very successful, and mainly because of their potato rolls. Uh that's what everybody loved, and that's what made them very successful. And they moved to another house that was bigger, and then they moved to a building, and they just continue to grow that business. Uh, their mantra has always been whatever it takes, God helping us. You know, the number one focus in this business is excellence because they feel that God wants excellence in everything that we do. And you see it, is it's it's not only in their products, you see it in their products because they could use a lot cheaper products, but they don't. They use all natural products. So it's a it's a higher-end product. But they wanted to continue to have excellence and they wanted to make something with excellence, but it doesn't just stop with a product. You know, the excellence continues on through their employee benefits, through their employee programs that they offer. Um, it's in their giving, you know, both as they tithe 12 to 15% of their profits each year to help people around the world and help others, you know, during disasters. Uh they also focus uh just on 12 products, which they feel like is the key to excellence. That is to simplify. Keep it simple. Don't have 50 products, but have a few products and be excellent in everything you do with that product. So you don't try to be all things to all people, uh, you know, because excellence then can be easily watered down, and that's not what you want. So they're a great example of excellence and bringing glory to God, and we just appreciate them at Martin's famous pastry shop. Keep up the good work. You guys are in so many countries now, and uh uh, you know, your business has become so successful. So keep it up. We need you in the marketplace. God bless you. Now, as Christian business leaders, as we get into today's topic, uh, you know, your attitude is a is a big influence. It's a it's a really big uh uh attitude uh or a uh a big influence on people around you. It's an influence on your decisions and really in your overall success. In fact, I believe that attitude is a difference maker. You know, I I first learned about attitude when I was 17 years old, and I went to, believe it or not, I went to an Amway meeting. Now, many of you have never heard of Amway, but Amway was a Christian company that started and it was kind of a multi-level marketing uh type company. It's still around. Uh, but I received a book that day by Norman Vincent Peale called The Power of Positive Thinking. And that really changed my life with regard to understanding the power of my attitude. So while a positive attitude really gives a lot of really valuable tools for motivation, for resilience, a godly attitude that's rooted in faith and humility and obedience to God, it really elevates our leadership to reflect Christ's character and his eternal purposes. And today, I just want to explore the distinctions, I think, between having a godly attitude and having a positive attitude. Now, I believe it's important to have a positive attitude, but I also believe that that while we have a positive attitude, we ought to emphasize how a godly attitude helps to integrate uh some things and how they integrate together. Uh, and uh we're we're we're gonna take a look at that today. We're we're gonna try to define and differentiate a godly attitude from a positive attitude. And we want to highlight some key principles of a positive attitude and how they you know complement a godly mindset. And then I want to explore some biblical strategies for leading with a godly attitude. Uh, and then we're gonna apply some practical steps uh to integrate a godly attitude into business leadership. So, you know, I once read about a man who back in the mid-1970s, you know, he was driving in a downpour and he stopped for gas. Now, this was a time when they had full service, you know, you pulled up, they came outside, filled it up, you know, took care of your, you know, cleaned your windshield for you, checked your oil, they did all that while they were pumping gas for you. So this was back in the 70s. It was pouring down rain and he stopped to get gas. And then it and and um he sat inside the car dry while this person came out. And uh this person came out and he was whistling, and he was just happy, and he was working, you know, and filling up this gas, uh, uh a gas tank in this horrible, awful rain. And as the customer was leaving, he said apologetically, he said, I'm sorry to get you out in this weather. And this person who was pumping the gas, he just was very polite. He said, Doesn't bother me a bit. When I was fighting in Vietnam, I made up my mind in a foxhole one day that if I ever got out of this place alive, I would be so grateful I'd never complained about anything again, and I haven't. That's a person with a positive attitude and really a godly attitude. You know, you know, some of the benefits of having a positive attitude is that it gives you better health. And these are things that have been proven scientifically. A person with a more positive attitude improves their mental health. They're more creative, they're more productive, and they're motivated, they they they overcome adversity a lot easier, they have more successful uh relationships, uh, they have uh increased resilience in their life, they have more self-confidence, and they have a greater sense of life satisfaction. So it's so important that we have uh this positive attitude, but also as it pertains to a godly attitude. You know, a godly attitude, let's get into some definitions here. A godly attitude is a faith-centered mindset that prioritizes God's will, his humility, and love for others, and trusts in his sovereignty to guide their actions and responses. It seeks to glorify God in all your circumstances and really kind of integrate spiritual discernment with daily leadership. Now, you look at a positive attitude. A positive attitude is an optimistic, self-motivated mindset that focuses on seeing opportunities and challenges, maintaining the enthusiasm, and fostering resilience through personal effort and changing your perspective. Um, we talk about having a positive attitude, and I and I'm a, as I said, a big believer in positive attitude ever since I was 17 years old and read that book. You know, um I think about John Maxwell, who's who's been a mentor of mine since 1990. Uh, and I'm actually a certified uh trainer, uh speaker, and coach for the John Maxwell um uh training team. And uh so I'm a big part of that operation. But, you know, your your attitude, John always says, your attitude is a choice. Uh it allows you to decide how you're going to respond to situations. Uh your attitude determines how that, in in most cases, how you're going to approach a situation. You know, a positive attitude, it kind of helps them to view problems in a in a more positive way. It helps them to turn obstacles into opportunities. Uh and it's contagious. Uh your attitude is very contagious. You know, it influences people around you, it influences your team, it influences morale and performance. So your your attitude is very important and it really builds resilience. It helps you to bounce back, you know, when you fail. You know, we all fail from time to time, but just because you fail, it doesn't mean you're a failure. You know, so when you bounce back like that from a failure, it's normally because you have a positive attitude. And so it helps you to maintain that momentum, it keeps you going, keeps you moving, it keeps you driving, you know, it drives you to success. You know, because positive attitudes, it really correlates with higher achievement. Uh, because when you have a positive attitude, you attract opportunities, you inspire other people. Now, these principles are powerful for business because studies are showing that positive attitudes increase team engagement by 40%. However, with a godly foundation uh or without a godly foundation, they may lack a little bit of depth, but I think when you add godly uh attitudes to it, I think it's even greater. You know, a journalist asked three stone cutters one time what they were doing. One of them said he was cutting stone for money. Another one said he was working hard, but the third one said he was helping to build a great cathedral. Now, this shows to me how that you look at your work with a positive purpose and a positive attitude, it really changes your experience. Because that third guy didn't see himself just working, he saw himself doing something more than that, greater than that, as he was cutting that stone. And so that's important. So some of the key differences between a godly attitude and a positive attitude is that that godly attitude is rooted in Scripture. It's rooted on your dependence on God. You know, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, we've talked about it a lot. You know, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. So godly attitudes are rooted in the Word of God, independence. Now, positive attitude, it's rooted, it's rooted in human psychology, it's rooted in self-effort. Uh and that's that's uh the difference between the two. So a godly attitude ensures a much more um uh uh eternal, an eternal perspective, um, while a positive attitude focuses on really, if you want to be honest about it, really more temporary gains. Uh so when we look at several attitudes that we need to have and we think about, we're gonna look at the differences. So let's look at motivation. You know, when you when you have a godly attitude, you're driven by love for God and you're l driven by love for other people. You know, when you have a positive attitude, you're you're driven by personal success and optimism. There's nothing wrong with that. It just when you add the godly attitude with it, it just gives it, it it like supercharges a positive attitude. You know, godly motivation uh can help you through trials. It really helps you get through them and sustain you. A positive attitude sometime from time to time may waver, but you know, when you have a godly attitude with motivation, it really helps you to get through the trials. And we all have trials. Uh so what about your response to adversity? Well, a godly attitude uh finds joy in God's plan for their life. So James 1 talks about count it all joy when you go through these adversities. Uh a positive attitude uh it kind of reframes the challenges optimistically, uh, but you know, in reality, godly attitude builds uh it more of an eternal character in us as we go through these things because we see that God wants us to learn something and it ministers to us. And the Bible says that all things work together for those who love the all all things work for good uh for those who uh love the Lord and are called in according to his purpose. Uh so you know when you have a positive attitude, um, you know, studies say that you reduce stress uh by 25%. And I think that's pretty pretty serious. Uh, you know, Pat Riley, who is a great basketball coach, great basketball coach, uh, he said that um if you have a positive attitude and you constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you'll overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges. I think it's such a a great statement. What about your influence on other people? Well, when you have a godly attitude, you you point to God's glory. You're pointing to God's glory. Um, you know, having a positive positive attitude is great, and and it just kind of inspires people because it's so contagious. Uh, you know, a godly influence and a godly attitude, it just kind of leads to spiritual growth. You just can't help it. You know, uh having a positive uh attitude within an organization, they say boosts morale by 30%. So I think that's important. So a positive attitude has such so much uh great impact and so many different types of impact that you you can't deny having a positive positive attitude doesn't have a great effect on your organization. What about long-term impact? You know, well, a godly attitude it aligns with God's kingdom. Um and when you have a positive attitude over a long-term impact, it drives personal achievement. Uh, you know, godly uh attitudes ensure eternal legacy. Um and uh even though having a positive attitude does yield success, uh you got to realize it's temporary success. You know, but a godly attitude, when it aligns with God's kingdom like that, you you get an eternal success. Uh so you know, when you look at that, it's it's it's really uh it's really powerful. Uh you know, when you look at Tony Dungey, who is a great football coach, you know, he said, be positive. Your mind is more powerful than you think. Uh what is down in the well comes up in the bucket. Fill yourself with positive things. Uh such a great statement on positive attitudes. You know, the Bible talks a lot about it. You know, when you talk about scriptures, you know, you look at Philippians 2 and 5, it says, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, modeling humility over self-optimism. Uh, you know, we need to have the mind of Christ. And Jesus was the perfect example of being positive. Uh James 1, 2 through 4 says, have joy in trial trials because it builds maturity, extending positive resilience with faith. Uh, Proverbs 3 and 5 through 6, we just talked about that. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding in all your ways, uh, or in all your ways, and and and God will direct your path, and he will direct your paths. So I think that's an important passage as well. You know, Romans 12 2 says, transform, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, changing attitudes through God's will. Um Colossians 3 23, uh, whatever you do, work at it with your all your heart as working for the Lord and not for human masters. So, you know, again, a godly attitude empower or supercharges a positive attitude. Uh so what are some of the practical applications we talk about? You know, especially like say in decision making, uh, you know, you need to pray for guidance. Uh, you need to integrate this positive optimism, but you do that with faith. You add faith to it. Um you know, and then with a positive attitude, you need to just choose a very optimistic, uh, optimistic view of things, and that'll help you and help you drive and have really good decisions. You know, Eleanor Roosevelt said, you can often change your circumstances by just changing your attitude. And uh such a such a great quote uh by the first lady. Uh so that's pretty powerful. Uh team motivation, uh, you know, uh godly attitude, it's there to serve. You know, a godly attitude serves very humbly, as we read in Philippians chapter 2. And it inspires people not only through that positive attitude, but through love. Um, I think that's important. You know, uh having a positive attitude, again, is contagious. And it's a and it really uplifts your team. So it creates greater motivation. Now, when you get into handling adversity, uh, a godly attitude, you you got to trust God's plan. Remember, we we talked about Romans 8.28, where it talks about all things work together for good uh to them who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. Well, you know, you extend positive this, you you kind of reframe the whole thing uh in this in this eternal hope that we have, right? And it gives us this positive attitude. And uh, you know, you just kind of, you know, with a positive attitude, you kind of reframe those challenges as opportunities, you know, as opportunities. And I think that's important too. And and don't forget, you know, we can we can really, really uh have an influence on other people. Uh, you know, a godly attitude, we we're trying to shine for God. We're we're trying to be the light of the of the world here. And so when you add this and combine this positive attitude with with more of a spiritual witness, uh we we really have an influence on people in a very strong and positive way. You know, you you want to make attitude very contagious so that you can influence people. Uh, and then I would say uh one of the one of the great things that we can look at too is to live limitless. Live limitless. You know, you've got to copy down and write down what your dreams and your vision are, and pursue things. You know, it you know, the way you that that you need to dream is is you need to pursue things and dream things and have a vision for things that in other words, if you had all the money and all the manpower uh that you needed, what would you do? What would you do if there was no obstacles? If there weren't anything in the way, what would you do? And look at things in that respect. Look at things in in a really positive attitude. What you could do, live limitless, that's what I call it. Don't have limited thinking. Don't waste your time on limited thinking. Look at what you can do, what what what's so powerful that you can do. You know, in Matthew chapter 19, verse 26, it says, Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So that's where this godly attitude really supercharges a positive attitude. You know, the the visions that God has given my wife and I for ministry and for career, it's really beyond anything that we could do in and of ourselves. And that's that's when you're stepping out in faith and believing that God is right there with you, directing your path. You know, you be you begin to see these things and you begin to see them that God, the only way these could happen is is if you get involved, if if you are the one that helps us. And uh that that's the only way I want to live. I I want to live reaching for the stars. I want to live limitless because God is limitless. Um, you know, when you think about examples and you think about uh the CEO of Chick-fil-A and the godly attitude that the Kathes had and the way they served with humility and the way that they observed the Sabbath day, you know, they built a$16 billion empire. Um, you know, and that really extends their positive attitudes and principles with faith out there uh to the public and to their employees. And uh it's just they have done a wonderful job of that, but but they've all had such a powerful, a positive, godly attitude, and it's made such a huge difference. Uh, you know, I think that's very important. Uh so when we talk about having an attitude, a positive attitude, it it's it's really important. It affects so much of our life. Um, you know, I've had people tell me, you know, because you know, people that know me and know the some of the things that I've had happen to me personally, uh professionally, some of the things that have gone on in my life, and they say, you know, Harold, it always seems like that you land on your feet. Do you feel like that there's luck involved in that respect? And I would say if you're talking about the times that I've gone through things and I've landed on my feet, if that's what you're meaning, I don't think that's luck. I think that has to do with having a positive attitude when you go through those things. And I just want to encourage you today, I want to encourage you to develop a positive attitude. And you'll see, you you will see how much of a powerful impact that having a positive attitude accompanied with a godly attitude, how much that that can affect your uh your career, your business, your personal life, your relationships. Uh it's just it's just amazing. And, you know, and I know some people, uh, you know, they think, well, you know, having a positive attitude. I've heard all this junk before. It's this or this, that. And I don't get into that kind of positive mental attitude kind of thing. I don't get into that. But let me tell you something. It's real. The Bible talks about it. Uh we see that in the Word of God. You know, when you when you think about Paul and Silas in the middle of jail and they start singing and praising the Lord, they couldn't have done that without a positive attitude. You know, half of the New Testament was written from prison. Uh, I don't think you could have done that without a positive attitude. I think it's so important having having a really godly positive attitude is so important in our lives, even personally. There's so many things personally. Uh, you know, my wife has complimented me on more than one occasion and said, you know, you are so positive. You have such a good attitude. Now, I got to tell you, I'm not perfect. There are times that that I get into a funk and and I'm I'm not. I just don't have a positive attitude. In fact, I have a pretty bad attitude. But, you know, typically I don't stay that way for long. If I'm if I'm there for more than a day, there's something wrong. Uh but I go through that. I have times of trials and times that I have a difficult time being positive. But for most of my life, I can find the positive in things. I can find the good in things. And that helps me to be more creative when I'm solving problems. It helps me to be more resilient, it gives me better bounce back. Uh so I just want to encourage you again. You know, a godly positive attitude, it really accentuates resilience and motivation. You know, as John Maxwell teaches, attitude is a choice. But for Christians, it's a choice rooted in Christ. You know, by integrating some of these principles that we've talked about today, I think it'll lead you with integrity. You'll inspire other people, and I believe you'll glorify God. So I'm just saying, I, you know, please just commit, commit yourself to cultivating a positive, godly attitude today. And I believe that your business and your legacy is going to reflect God's glory. Now, Lord, we just come before you today, Lord, and we thank you. We thank you today, God. Uh, we thank you for your goodness and we thank you for your greatness. And Lord, we thank you today, Lord, for giving us a choice to choose our attitudes, Lord, for everything that life throws at us. Lord, you've given us a choice of what attitude we're going to have. So, Lord, I ask you to help us, Lord, help us each to commit to having a godly, positive attitude and help us to choose that kind of attitude every single day that we wake up. And Lord, I ask you that in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, thanks again for downloading this week's uh CBC podcast. And uh thank you for listening. Thank you for being such a part of the CBC community. And don't forget, if this has uh uh, you know, put something really good in your life, if it's helped you today, please be sure to share this with four or five other people and let them get on it too, right? So that's all the time we have for today. So until next time, remember that Jesus is Lord and He wants you blessed.

SPEAKER_01: 29:28

Thank you for tuning in to Mr. Week's Christian Business Concepts Podcast. Go to Christian Business Concepts.com for more information and resources. Make your Christian common podcast that will help you take your business and your personal life to your whole level of success.