World-renown pastor, author, and filmmaker, Bishop T.D. Jakes recently stopped through Eso Won Books in Leimert Park to share with his Los Angeles supporters the release of his latest book, “SOAR: Build Your Vision from the Ground Up.”
“SOAR” provides an honest guide to everyday people looking to move out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary, having the courage to expand their vision as budding or existing entrepreneurs. In the book’s introduction, Jakes provides a powerful illustration about taking flight and how the wind is invisible, without color or texture, “yet powerful enough to level buildings” and “provide lift for planes.”
Jakes said that he believes underserved communities in particular can really benefit from the messages shared in his book, encouraging them to take ownership of their futures by way of entrepreneurship.
“A lot of the jobs that we anticipate coming back may not be coming back,” Jakes said. “Entrepreneurship gives people the ability to take control of their dreams and to amass the force that they need to live a better life,” he added.
Jakes also stated that vision is important not only as business owner, but as a human being. “I think vision is critical and I think sometimes we set our vision too low,” he said.
“Sometimes, we are really good workers and we hustle whether things are going good or going bad, trying to make ends meet, trying to survive, but if your vision doesn’t exceed beyond what you can do with your own two hands, then your vision is limited,” Jakes affirmed.
Jakes shared that without a dialogue about vision, people are bound to perish in their state of stagnancy or complacency.
“I wanted to start a conversation about moving from hustling and busyness to business because we’re really busy, but we’re not really effective at doing business the way I’d like to see us do it,” insisted Jakes.
For the person who’s waited until latter years to consider entrepreneurship, Jakes said that entrepreneurship is accessible to everyone, no matter the age. “Entrepreneurship has nothing to do with age; it has everything to do with mindset,” Jakes said.
“Colonel Sanders was over 65 when he founded KFC. You can be productive all the days of your life; it doesn’t have anything to do with how old or how young you are,” Jakes continued.
Jakes did say, however, that millennials and baby boomers might approach entrepreneurship differently. “Where as millennials are focusing on e-commerce and building apps and playing out technology, baby boomers are providing services like bakeries or assisted living care facilities, there are a lot of different ways can live out our lives,” Jakes stated.
“But if nobody starts the conversation, we will only do what we’ve always one and what we see our neighbors do, and currently that’s not enough.”
When asked why it’s important to keep God at the forefront of business endeavors, Jakes said that having faith is critical when enduring the ebbs and flow of entrepreneurship.
“I think that you can be in business and be successful and not be a person of faith, but if you have faith it certainly helps a lot because business fluctuates; it has good days and bad days,” Jakes said.
“When things are down, a lot of people give up and your faith can be a huge asset to keeping you up on your feet while you’re trying to build a business, build a legacy and build a future,” he declared.
Bishop T.D. Jakes’ book “SOAR” is available worldwide. To see exclusive footage from the interview with Bishop Jakes, visit lasentinel.net.
