I have a SUCH a special episode in store for you today because in this episode, we are diving DEEP into the transformative decade of my twenties since I am turning THIRTY in just a couple of weeks. 

My twenties hold such a SPECIAL place in my heart. This was the decade I truly fell in love with Jesus and KNOW the Holy Spirit. It’s also been the decade that I started my career in online entrepreneurship.

I started my entrepreneurial journey when I was just 23 years old, so as you can probably imagine, I’ve learned A LOT about myself, business, God, and everything in between.

And I’ve also made A LOT of mistakes… In business, and in life.

And with this, I also think it’s important to share that I spent the majority of this decade SINGLE and healing from a lot of pain I experienced from dating and toxic relationships in my early 20’s.

All that to say, I am so excited to bring you this episode where I will be sharing with you 30 life, faith and business lessons I learned in my 20’s.

And I should note that this will actually be broken up into 2 parts, so it’s not super long for you.

So, in this episode, I will share the first 15 lessons with you. And in the next episode, I will share the final 15 lessons with you (please note that these are in no particular order).

With that said, I hope you join me as I reflect on the incredible journey, and share with you the 30 invaluable lessons I learned along the way.

From the thrilling triumphs to the challenging setbacks, we’ll explore the lessons that shaped my faith, honed my business, and provided me with a compass for navigating the journey of life.

Trust me, there’s something here for everyone, whether you’re in your twenties, reliving those moments, or simply seeking timeless wisdom to apply to your own life’s adventure.

Like I mentioned, during this episode, we’ll cover a wide range of topics—from relationships to resilience, career to character, and so much more. Each lesson has been carefully curated to inspire, motivate, and ignite a spark of faithful wisdom within you. 

Whether you’re a dreamer, an entrepreneur, a seeker of purpose, or simply someone eager to learn from the experiences of others, this episode will deliver.

What You Will Learn:

• 15 life, faith and business lessons I learned in my 20’s
• Invaluable lessons you can implement as a Christian entrepreneur (to keep your eyes on Jesus AND thrive in business)
• Hard lessons that thankfully taught me how to teach YOU to steward your role as a Faith-Fueled CEO
• Real stories that showcase how some clichés are entirely true (bc it wouldn’t be cliché if it wasn’t true)

I am so ready to spill the beans, share the stories, and reveal the hard-won truths that have guided me through the roller coaster ride that was my 20s. 

Lesson #1: Simple is Sexy

A simple business, simple lifestyle and simple relationships.

All of these things are very sexy, but what do I mean by this? What do I mean by simple? 

When you are feeling overwhelmed with everything you have to do to make your business run, it’s not simple. Or when you don’t know where you stand in a relationship, it’s not simple.

I wish I would have learned this lesson much earlier in life, but I just encourage you to stop making things so complicated because they don’t need to be in business, life, relationships and everything in between. 

If something is complicated, change it. 

But something I need to note here is that…

Simple does not mean easy, and sometimes the most difficult things are the ones worth fighting for. 

Lesson #2: Overthinking Will Get You Nowhere Fast 

Thinking yourself in circles will cause more anxiety and it actually shows you that you haven’t fully surrendered. I have a tendency to do this myself. That’s why this is a lesson (lol), but it was a very hard lesson to learn and something that I am still actively learning because I’m not perfect at this.

I do think that when you start overthinking and then get anxious, our brains are subconsciously just wanting to find the problem and the solution. 

Our flesh wants to solve the problem which is actually going to make you more anxious because you’re not giving that control over to the Lord. 

A lot of the time we already know the next step, and what we’re overthinking is all of the other steps OR we are looking at this next step, doubting it and going in circles about it. 

When in reality we know the next step and are just not taking action on it and then our flesh and the enemy really try to stop us and get in the way. 

Stop doing that. 

Surrender the control over to the Lord and just take action on that one next thing that you know to do. And if you don’t know that next thing, be with Him. Be with the Lord and just be present with Him without any expectation.

Lesson #3: Enjoy The Journey, Not The Destination

I know this is a really cliché saying, but as I said in the beginning, it wouldn’t be cliché

if it wasn’t true. I had to experience this lesson myself to have it fully grained into

me. It’s something I heard all the time when I was growing up but now I fully embrace this. 

Until the end comes around, there really is no destination here. Once you achieve a goal, you’re going to want to achieve something else. This was a drastic lesson for me when I was working my tail off trying to get to $10k months. All I could think about was hitting $10k months. I was obsessed with it. Then eventually, I finally hit it and I remember being very underwhelmed when it happened. 

Don’t get me wrong, I was really grateful and thought, “Wow, God, thank you.” The gratitude was there but at the same time, I really built this up in my mind because at the end of the day, there’s more to do. 

When that $10k month actually came, I was thinking, “Oh my goodness, I still have to make my business run. There are still other things to do. There’s still other things to make sure that this happens again.” Or, “I need to make sure my team is good.”

There are just different things that you have to think about. So even though hitting goals are great, if you’re not enjoying the process, that destination is going to be very underwhelming. 

Lesson #4: Obsessing Over Your Goals Will Destroy You. 

This was a very hard lesson for me, but I say this to say that the only thing worth being obsessed over is Jesus. The reason why I’m saying this is because I remember when I was just a baby entrepreneur, I was taught that the only way to achieve my goals was to become obsessed with them.

So, I made my goals my top priority. And while it is very important to prioritize the intentions that you set, I took this too far and let myself become obsessed with success. 

And in doing this, I was taking my eyes off the only thing that would actually fill my cup, which is Jesus.

We want to achieve certain goals so we can feel a certain way: safe, seen, heard, loved, validated, secure, stable, etc.

There is a deeper reason why you want it, but in reality, once we achieve our goal,

we always want more. Our flesh always wants more. It’s never enough. But with Jesus, it is always enough. He is more than enough. 

If you want to hear more about this very specific lesson I learned, I would recommend going back to episode one of this show. In episode one I share my whole story, and I also recommend going back to episode 11, which is titled “How to Keep Your Eyes on Jesus While Growing Your Faith-Based Business and Stop Worshiping Success”. I highly recommend going to listen to those two after this one. 

Lesson #5: If You are Still Obsessing Over It, You Have Not Surrendered It. 

I have said so many times I’ve surrendered something, but I was still obsessing over it. And I’ve heard so many other people saying, “Oh yeah, I’ve surrendered it,” but they just can’t stop talking about it. 

If you have surrendered it, you are not going to obsess over it anymore. This goes back to overthinking. For me, I was very obsessed with my business and I was constantly thinking about my business. I felt like I was working 24/7, even though I wasn’t working 24/7. I felt like I was because I was constantly thinking about how to hit my next goal.

I’m going to be honest, I still sometimes experience this, but I know when this happens,

it’s a pretty good indicator that I’m gripping very tightly to control and not looking to the

Lord to flow through me and provide for me. I am actually looking to myself for my provision and that is not surrender…

That is control and your flesh trying to come through and not letting you be fueled by faith. 

Lesson #6: Chasing Freedom Won’t Free You

When I say freedom, I’m referring to worldly freedom.

When you continuously chase freedom, you become a slave. And this is exactly where hustle culture comes from. Because the truth is, my friend, that there is no such thing as true financial freedom or time freedom as the world shares it. 

The reason I say this is because everything can disappear in an instant. You can lose everything in an instant. I mean, have you not heard the stories? You can lose it all and you will never be truly “financially free” or “free of your time.”

The only way to have freedom, true freedom, is with Jesus. Freedom in Jesus means you do receive financial and time freedom… Just not in the way the world makes it out to be.

I’m not talking about the prosperity gospel here. I mean that you are free from anything regarding finances because you are in Him. When you are free in Him, it does not matter what happens with your finances because your true freedom is found in Jesus.

Lesson #7: Worldly Success Does Not Always Equal Success In God’s Eyes

Success to God doesn’t always equal more revenue or more money. It often

equals sanctification and obedience. Success equals sanctification and obedience in God’s eyes. I am not saying money is bad. That is far from the truth, but I have learned and I truly believe that more Christians need to make more money so we can do more good in the world.

That doesn’t always equal success in the Lord’s eyes. And that’s the point I’m trying to make here. 

Lesson #8: Discipline Creates Freedom

Hear me out on this. I used to hate the word discipline. I would cringe. It was just a yucky word to me. I wanted freedom in my schedule, and that’s actually why I became an entrepreneur. But the truth is that discipline does bring freedom, but it’s not just discipline in your time and your work… It’s also discipline in resting with the Lord. 

People often talk about discipline in terms of work and productivity, but what about your discipline around your rest? The Lord is calling us to be still and to build intimacy with Him. 

He is not going to knock down your door. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. You have to be disciplined and spend time with Him. That is going to give you freedom with Jesus. If you are spending time with Him and are disciplined with your work, you will actually build that “freedom” in your business. 

He wants us to have the self-discipline to not lie, to not steal, to not kill. 

Discipline gives you freedom. And when you don’t have discipline, you don’t have freedom. 

Lesson #9: Your Calling and Your Purpose are Not the Same

I hear so often that people are searching for their purpose and want to find their purpose. Butyour purpose is very simple, and it’s to know God and to make Him known. 

That is your purpose. 

Your calling, on the other hand, is the vehicle and how you live out your purpose.

So, whether that be your business or a stay-at-home mom or a wife or climbing the corporate ladder, that is how you’re going to live out your purpose. 

You have a purpose. You don’t need to find it. It is already there. 

You just need to harness it. 

Lesson #10: Stewardship is Important in Every Area of Your Life, Not Just Your Career

There have been many times I have isolated myself from friends, fun, family, and even God when I was trying to grow my business. And it’s still something I have a tendency to gravitate towards that I have to watch out for. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that boundaries are so crucial. 

Work boundaries for this specific lesson are so crucial for me, because if I don’t have them, I will keep working and find myself obsessed again. I had to start asking myself, “What’s the point of having a “successful business” if you’re totally isolated from experiencing life?” 

I want to experience life with the people that I love, and I needed to learn to steward my relationships (including my relationship with Jesus) just as much, if not more, than my business. 

Lesson #11: Repentance and Forgiveness will Heal You. 

Repentance is not condemnation. It’s your path to freedom. I know that repentance used to always feel really icky to me, but the truth is that it’s actually your path to freedom. In fact, you cannot be fully delivered from spirits unless you repent. 

Jesus also says, “Repent and believe in the gospel because the kingdom of God is at hand.” And that comes from Mark 1:15. 

To fully embrace the gospel and believe in the gospel, repentance is crucial.

I used to think repentance was bad. If you had to repent, you were just not a good person, but that’s not the case. Repentance is something we have to do probably every day,many times a day. 

You see, I am a human and I make mistakes and I’m not perfect, but I am striving

to be more like Jesus, and I pray that you are too. And with that comes repentance and a whole lot of it. 

With repentance comes forgiveness. 

Forgive others as Christ forgave you and stop holding on to anger or hurt that is self-inflicted. Yes, I am saying forgive yourself, repent, and forgive yourself as Christ forgave you. I have personally found this to be quite difficult on my own, but with the Lord, it’s quite simple. 

Lesson #12: You are Not Behind, You are Never too Old and It’s Never too Late

If you are still alive in this physical world, it’s not too late. It’s not too late for you. God’s timing is perfect. This has been such a hard lesson for me, especially the last nine years of being single. 

But listen, God’s timing really is perfect. 

I know that if I would have gotten married five years ago, I would not be the person I am today. These experiences have shaped me. I’m still single and sometimes the enemy in my flesh will try and make me believe that this is not good, but then I think to myself, “No, maybe I will get married one day, or maybe I won’t. I am okay no matter what happens. If I do want to get married, even if I’m 40, that’s never too late. Even if I’m 50 or 60, it’s never too late. It’s really never too late. God’s timing really is perfect.” 

I do believe that when I am with Jesus, I will understand and I will know. Honestly, none of that will matter anyway, because I’m with Jesus. So, instead of focusing on my timing, everything is right on time. Everything is perfect. And I’m going to steward my relationship with the Lord. 

I truly believe that it’s not too late and it’s not too late for you.

Lesson #13: Comparison is the Thief of All Joy

Stop comparing yourself to people you see online, to your friends, to family, or to people you see in church. Instead, follow the mission because when you follow the mission, you don’t need to compare yourself to anyone because the Lord gave you this mission. 

Focus on the mission. Focus on the mission that He gave you. Focus on your purpose

and living that purpose out with your calling. Focus on that because no one else has the exact same calling and the exact same way that you do. 

We are all a part of the body of Christ. Just like every single organ and body part is very different, it is no different than people here on this earth. It is no different than the body of Christ because every body part has a very specific role in the body. And it’s the same with the church body. 

Lesson #14: Your Parents are Getting Older

This one was really hard for me. I actually have a very vivid memory of being in an old apartment with my parents and seeing my dad. I remember asking my dad how old he was and he said he was 32. I just remember thinking, “Oh, wow, like he’s so much older than me.” And here I am about to turn 30 and realizing that my parents are getting older. 

I actually tear up thinking about this because this is just such an interesting period of life seeing parents get older. It’s kind of hard and why I’ve been prioritizing spending more time with them, because I think as you get older, you start recognizing time is wild and someone you love could really leave this physical world tomorrow. 

Cherishing those moments are just so important. 

Lesson #15: The Days Are Long, But the Years Are Short.

This is a very simple lesson. Time is so limited. Seize the day because we really don’t have as much time as we think we do. Stop putting off something because you are waiting for the “perfect time.” 

There’s a difference between waiting on the Lord’s call, or a green light from the Holy Spirit, versus holding yourself back because you’re nervous or you’re waiting for things to change. 

I just encourage you to discern that with the Holy Spirit. 

I hope you plan on tuning in next week when we drop the next 15 lessons. They’re going to be just as juicy, but I personally love recording these kinds of episodes for you and hope you love them too!

Next Steps

If you loved this blog post and you know you are being called to CEO by God, and you want to make sure you’re getting the support you need, you’re being held accountable to live out the call He’s placed on your heart, AND you want to do it fueled by your faith and not by your flesh…

Then I want to invite you to just join us inside of the Called to CEO Collective.

The Called to CEO Collective is a community-driven membership for faith-based business owners, creators, dreamers, and leaders who know it’s time to take bold and obedient action on their God-given callings and ultimately steward their roles as Faith-Fueled CEOs.

I have absolutely no doubt it is what you’ve been praying for!

Why?! Because I’ve been praying for something like this for an awfully long time. 

This membership has been totally designed by the Holy Spirit to help you cultivate a deeper relationship with the Lord. We will also go deeper on topics and faith, life, and business that you learn about because honestly, it’s time to say goodbye to overconsumption and say hello to implementation.

And it is also time to work from a place of overflow from the Holy Spirit versus overwhelm and stress. And it’s also time to finally overcome these spiritual battles against the enemy that has been keeping you stuck in your life. 

Basically, it is a faith-based, community-driven membership where we go deeper on topics in faith, life, and business.

And the thing is, I have known for a really long time that business owners, creators, and leaders really need a place to process and share what they’re going through in their life and business in a safe space to receive feedback, support, and accountability… 

All without the high ticket price point.

The Lord has just pressed this on my heart for a really long time and I know you’re probably wondering…

Is there any coaching involved? 

Absolutely, there is coaching involved. 

Not only will you be with other like-minded individuals, but you’ll have an experienced and Certified Life Coach and Faith-Fueled Business Mentor at your fingertips (that’s me, btw lol)… You will have a group of other talented individuals there to support you too!

And yes, we are going to go deeper on topics together, but I’m also here to help you grow your business or whatever God-given call you have right now. You can get coached by posting inside the community or on our live coaching calls happening twice a month. 

That said, if you want to learn all the nitty gritty details or go ahead and join us at the current rate, you can do so by heading to www.hannahbrindley.com/membership