BIRD WILLIAMS: You're listening to Bird Means Business Episode 98.

Hey, y'all! Welcome to Bird Means Business podcast. I am your host, Bird Williams. And today we have an incredible conversation on deck with Zach Windahl. Y'all, he is incredible. His heart is amazing. His story is wild. You're about to hear it. And he has this awesome book called "Launch With God". I'll be honest, when I heard that, launch with God, so much of that resonated with me. 

If you follow the podcast, or if you've been around long enough, you know that I am a person of faith, that I'm a Christian. And it's beyond just being raised in a Christian household. I, in junior high, began to really understand God for myself and develop my own personal relationship with God that became very real. And then, like I've shared on the podcast, there was time and time again, where I would be in situations where I was completely unqualified, where it didn't make any sense why I was in the room. And I knew, I knew in my knower that it was because of God. And I knew that I wasn't doing this alone. So when I heard that term "launch with God", I was like, yes! That is the title of Zach Windahl's book. And I cannot wait for you to dive into this conversation. 

Let me tell you a little bit about Zach. Zach is an author and entrepreneur and has helped thousands of people better understand the Bible and grow closer to God through his company, The Brand Sunday. He's the author of several books, including "The Bible Study", "Launch With God" and "The Best Season Planner". Zach lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife, Gisela and their dog, Nyla. 

Okay. I'm not gonna make you wait any longer. Let's dive right in. Zach Windahl, I am so glad to have you on the show. Thank you for being here.

ZACH WINDAHL: Thank you so much for inviting me. This is awesome.

BIRD: This is gonna be so much fun. I also have my main squeeze, Terry Williams here.

TERRY WILLIAMS: Let's go!

BIRD:  Terry actually introduced me to Zach, and he wanted to join us today. So I'm happy to have you too, Babe.

TERRY: Hey, I'm just third wheeling and excited to be here experiencing it. Bird's up to some really awesome stuff in the entrepreneurial space. And as she was talking about themes and stuff she had coming up, I just was like, you got to connect with my guy, Z, because he's such a brilliant mind. 

ZACH: Thank you, man. Thank you so much.

BIRD: I am so excited to get into your book "Launch With God", how you got to it, all of that. But to start, I really want to just hear about you, who you are. Tell us a little bit about your entrepreneurial journey and how you got to where you are today.

ZACH: Yeah, man. So my journey goes way back to when I was a kid growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the snow, which we actually just moved back up here as well. And it snowed for the first time yesterday, which is wild because it's only November 1. But, grew up in Minneapolis. My childhood was pretty different from most people's. When I was four years old, my mom was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, and was sent home with a five percent chance to live. But even when she was on her deathbed, she would always say, "Zach, if you have anything to be grateful for, it's just to be alive. And so no matter what you're dealing with, life could always be worse. And there's always something to be grateful for." 

And so that happened. She ended up being miraculously healed from that. Then she had a tumor on her sciatic nerve. Miraculously healed from that. Then colon cancer with three quarters of our colon removed. Healed from that. And then when I was fifteen, breast cancer, double mastectomy, reconstruction, the whole deal. Healed from that. And so from when I was four to fifteen, all I knew was my mom could die any moment. But she's telling me every single day to see the good in things, and to see that life is actually a gift. So I had that going for me which completely shaped my worldview. 

And I was always an entrepreneur from a young age. So when I was seven years old, I started my first business. We would spend a month in Florida every year, and I would be making shark tooth necklaces and I'd be walking up and down the beach with a bunch on my arm just hustling 'em. Selling 'em to every beach-goer possible and literally making like hundreds of dollars as a seven year old. So funny, but that kind of spirit lived in me and just grew as time went on. I was doing different clothing lines. I ended up co-owning a recording studio for a while, just working in the music business a bunch. 

And I was working on a TV show for a bit and at that point, I was kind of falling away from my faith. I was really questioning, okay, do I want to consider myself a Christian? Not because I was questioning if God was real or not, but I was allowing other people's Christianity to impact mine. And so I was seeing that hypocrisy on one side saying, yo, I don't want to be associated with that. Why would I ever like want to call myself a Christian and like be pegged in the same lane as some of these people that I was surrounded by? So I was questioning everything. I was like, "God, I'm going to give you two years. Like, I need you to prove that this is your word, that you are real, that like that this is it. Otherwise, I'm done." 

And so I ended up flying out to Australia, across the world, because I wanted to basically, A - study the Bible as in depth as I could. But then also to surf and be on the beach and live that lifestyle, because I thought it was sick. And so I was like, man, if I'm going to be studying the Bible for twelve hours a day, six days a week, I'm going to do it in a place that's really nice, in a place where I'm not distracted. Because in Minneapolis, I always was working on new projects. I knew that if I stayed there, I wasn't going to be able to give it the time and attention that was necessary. And so, moved out to Australia, moved across the world, and my life was forever changed. 

We were studying twelve hours a day, six days a week. So literally, if it was like Genesis Week, you would read Genesis five times through, and that's like a four hour read. So you would read it five times through, and then essentially develop your own curriculum out of it, or your own commentary. And so by the time I was done with this program, I had like twenty or thirty pages of notes on every book of the Bible. And I was like, man, I really, like I'm all in on this. 

I think it's so important, because I grew up in the church. I grew up around the Bible, but I didn't know anything about it. And I feel like most people are that way. Even people that have been believers for decades, still don't understand the Word because they think it's boring. They think it's overwhelming. They don't get it.  And they don't even know where to start. 

I was like, man, I really feel like this is kind of my calling. This is my lane. And so I ended up, God gave me like a vision for what became "The Bible Study", which is a one year study of the Bible that focuses on how each book influences your life. And so we basically hold people's hands as they read through the entire Bible over the course of a year. 

And so I created that. It started to grow. It started to turn into something way bigger than I ever expected. Now, we've like helped nearly three hundred thousand people grow in their relationship with God, understand the Word.

BIRD: Incredible. 

ZACH: And that turned into The Brand Sunday, where we have additional tools to help people grow in their relationship with God. And so I've always had my hands in business. And I've always been an entrepreneur. And people frequently ask me to get together with them for coffee so that they can share their ideas, and just get my advice on their different projects and stuff. And so I was like, man, now I have this experience where I have seen God's hand on a project, and I feel like I can create something that's going to help a lot of people. 

So, my most recent book, as you mentioned, is called "Launch With God", and it's basically a tool to help people launch businesses that impact the world in a positive way. And so that's really what I'm pushing right now. And it's been so much fun already, just to see the impact that it's add on other people's businesses. 

BIRD: Wow, Zack! There's like so much to unpack in all of that. I mean, starting from the story of your mother. I mean, as a mom of three, that's just so inspiring to me. Thank God, I'm not on my deathbed. But, you know, to know that that impact that that she had on you at such a young age and how you said that shaped your life. That is powerful.

ZACH: Totally, yes. 

BIRD: And it really helps with perspective, because you think about the day in day out struggles we have. And then I think about where your mom was and how she was still able to lean on faith and be encouraging and inspiring. That's incredible. 

And then as you just talked through all of your different entrepreneurial endeavors, especially how you talked about with your faith, when you were starting to kind of fall away. I guess instead of running from God, which as you were saying that I thought of so many friends and people we know in our network who have left the church because of that exact reason. I don't want to be associated with the hypocrisy of Christians, which isn't Christ at all. But what you did instead of running was leaning into it and said I'm gonna go to Bible college. I want to study this for myself. So how you did that, and in Australia of all places. I love it. 

ZACH: Of course. Why anywhere else? 

BIRD: Yeah. And then I also love that you said so that you couldn't be distracted. I just interviewed another entrepreneur on the show. Her name is Phylicia J. L. Munn. She's a photographer in LA. She took an entire year and just moved to Paris for the same reason. She was like I really need space and I need to not be distracted to kind of figure out what it is I want to do. And that's how her business was birth. So I love and I think that's just something I keep hearing myself of like needing to get away and pause so that I'm not distracted and I can really focus on, you know what God has for me in the next season. So I love that too. And then in that moment, that's what birth The Bible Study. Was that your first introduction to Zach? I remember seeing it. 

TERRY: I bought "The Bible Study". Loved it. Love the place it was birthed out of. Love how you are very honest about being a Christian who had questions, right? I think that's important for listeners to hear, especially on a podcast that, you know, Bird's very open with her worldview and how it's centered in her faith. And yet, it's not specifically a faith-based podcast. I think it's awesome to just welcome our friends into this conversation with somebody like Zach, who's like, yo, I wasn't like out here trying to just preach down everybody I ran into. I'm a normal dude who had real questions. And it reminds me of a quote from Gandhi that said, "I love your Christ. I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." 

And heaven forbid, we get to a place where we're so close to the church, but yet so far from Christ. And I love what you spoke on there, about how it's bigger than religion. It's bigger than a Sunday morning ritual. It's bigger than playing along with the game that we inherited and just honoring tradition without asking big questions. And so there's so much more validity to what you have to say about launching with God, about how the Bible can be a lifestyle tool that helps us to live better, and it's good for us. And it's even fun to explore and study, because it comes from a place of like, you know what? I legit have questions about this, and as I explore it, I get this confirmation of the truth. I think that's so awesome. 

ZACH: One hundred percent.I couldn't agree more, man. I think there needs to be such a kind of like a rewriting of the way that people see Christians and just kind of reshaping our image in the world right now. So I feel that.

BIRD: I totally agree. So a little bit about "Launch With God. Why did you write this book? Why launch with God? Why should that be compelling for entrepreneurs? What difference does it make?

ZACH: Yeah, I think a lot of the times we get into business because of certain things. We get into business, because it's a passion of ours, because we want to make money, because we want the flexibility, we want the time. But I really think that God has placed certain things in your life to impact the world in a positive way. And I don't think business is any different from that. 

And so I think, yes, those things are great, we should be if you're an entrepreneur, you should be chasing after the things that are going to make you money and are going to give you more time to spend with family and everything. But I do think those businesses should be rooted in impacting the world in some sort of positive way. And I think almost every business, you can find a way to impact those around you. So maybe it's a shoe company. You don't have to put crosses on every single shoe. Maybe you donate a shoe for every one that is sold. Or maybe it's a coffee company. You don't have to put bible verses on the bags or be only playing worship music in the coffee shop. Maybe you're just actually making sure that the beans are coming from a place where the workers are being taken care of and they're Fair Trade and organic. 

And I think there's so many different ways that we can look at different businesses and transform them into a way that does impact the world around you. So this book, "Launch With God" is really a tool to help you launch a business. But the heart of it, the root of it is really doing it alongside God and impacting your neighborhood and all across the world. 

BIRD: Ooh, yes! I could not love that more. I talk a lot about how entrepreneurship should be rooted in service. Because I hear so much, especially in the online marketing world, like, you know, I have my six figure months, and duh duh duh duh. It's all about the money. And that's okay, to an extent. But the thing is, is that it's not going to be motivating enough. 

And you can make money a lot of different ways. Entrepreneurship might not be the way you want to do that. You know entrepreneurship is hard. So unless it's rooted in service, and it's something much bigger than you or your bank account, then it's not gonna sustain you on those hard days. So I love that you brought that up. 

So when it comes to launching a business with God, are there some practical tips or things you can talk about? How does that look?

ZACH: Yeah, I think a lot of it looks at, okay, what did God put in you? And what are you passionate about? What talents has he put in you? What spiritual gifts has he put in you? And then what are you passionate about? And then going from there and seeing okay, how can I take all that? How can I throw all that on a whiteboard? Let me see. Let me see what God wants to do with my life, whether that's something small or something big. And so that's a huge part of it. 

And then also just looking at how you can impact those around you in a positive way. So looking at, okay, what are the needs in your community? Who are the people that you're connected to? And from there, what impact can you come up with?

BIRD: I love that. I have an online course. It's called Prove It Plan. And it's all about developing a strategic business plan. When Terry and I launched The League, we had this business plan. We didn't know what we were doing. I sent it to my director. I was an investment banking analyst in New York. I sent it to her, had her like redline it. And I think it had a lot to do with the success of our business. 

So I'm creating the curriculum for Prove It Plan. And it was so hard because again, Terry mentioned, my audience isn't specifically faith-based. I talk about my faith naturally. But as I'm doing this curriculum, it was so hard to like, not talk about God. Or, you know, I was trying not to make it about God. I literally told Terry, I wanted to have a whole module that was like business and faith, because what I'm saying is, it's so intertwined in everything we do. It's very hard to be like, sure we did the numbers, but then it was so much beyond what we could have thought. And I know it's by the grace of God. There were so many nights, where we would literally lay our head on the pillow and have no clue how the problem was going to be solved, at all. It was like, ooh, we might not be able to launch. You can't figure it out. 

ZACH: Totally.

BIRD: Then we would have a dream. Or we'd get this random call from someone we hadn't heard from in years. It's like, that was God. So how do you put that into a business plan course? 

TERRY: Totally!

ZACH: Yeah, like, there's so much that is reliant on Him moving in every single step along the way that a lot of people, when you aren't doing it with God, don't have that understanding. So for me, when I was trying all these different businesses for a decade, basically, and they weren't popping off the way I expected him to. Once I shifted it, and once I brought God into the picture, and really started focusing on, okay, what does He want to do through me to impact the world? That's when everything changed.  

And we still deal with stuff today, where it's like, man, I have literally no idea how I'm going to come up with this money. And all of a sudden, I just get a phone call or a text. Like, literally, this is crazy. Last January, we put in a huge order for a bunch of products. And we were it cost like seven hundred thousand dollars. And we didn't have it because we expected something to happen, and it didn't actually take off. So I'm sitting here seven hundred thousand dollars that I owed. Like, I didn't even have a loan or anything. I just had people coming to me saying like, hey, you owe this money. And I'm like, I literally don't know what I was supposed to do. But every single day as I'm praying about this, God just kept saying, like, "Wait. You're like at the Red Sea right now. I'm about to part the waters. And you're never going to be in this place again." 

And so every single morning, as I'm like, not sleeping at night, stressed out of my mind, that's what God keeps telling me every single day. And so if I didn't have Him, if I didn't have that word from Him to rely on, I would have been, I don't know what I would have been doing. But I would have been doing something I shouldn't have been doing. 

BIRD: Right. Right.

ZACH: And so I'm praying about it. I get a text at 11 A.M. from our guy saying, hey, this money is due like today. And I was like, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. But I know I'm just supposed to wait. So I'm like, can you hold it for another day? And so I'm like praying, I'm like, "God, okay, what? How am I going to come up with this money tomorrow?" And I get a text from one of the guys that I work with. And I work with all my friends. So it's awesome. And he was like, he's like, hey, something happened last September with the Amazon account. And you have two hundred thousand dollars just sitting there ready to be transferred over to you. And I was like, okay. So all of a sudden, now we're only five hundred short. I know, only five hundred. But like, but still. 

So I'm like, okay, there's two hundred of it. If God's gonna do that, like literally an hour after I get asked for the seven hundred, like something's gonna happen. Get a text from my COO, "Hey, I found an option. I can get you five hundred tomorrow." And I was like, no way! So literally, we like went through this process. And I had like, came up with God came up with the seven hundred within twenty-four hours of it like being needed. 

And so if I didn't have like, if I wasn't like praying about it, if I didn't have that peace, if I didn't know that like, okay, there is something bigger going on here than the issue at hand, it would have been the death of me. It would have been terrible. But because I had that peace, because I had that Word from God, because I have that relationship and knowing that, like, there's no way that He's going to make this fail when we've already impacted so many lives. Then like, I'm good, and it's gonna come at the last minute when I least expect it. 

TERRY: Wow! That's huge, man. That is wild. God is crazy the way He weaves ...

ZACH: Crazy!

TERRY: ... into our story. And kudos to you for just having that trust and being committed to being in that place of trust and patience. Also, in there, there's this theme of like, if you didn't have this faith that you're rooted in, if you weren't connected to something bigger and more significant than yourself, all you would have had to sit in was a puddle of anxiety. 

ZACH: Totally.

TERRY: And so there's something to be said for having that place of peace. That's so powerful.

BIRD: And it seems like that's what happens when you launch with God, when you know that he's a part of your team, in a way. We had an interview with a guy from our church, actually. And he said, He is like COO, or He is the director. I forget how he worded it, but he's basically like, on all of my business cards. I'm not the CEO. Like God is. And when people will ask him like, well, who's the CEO? And he said, it's uncomfortable sometimes. He'll say, like, God, you know, cause He's like, part of my team. He's the one really making this app. And I love that so much. 

And you know, to be like, real transparent with you, Zach, the last year and a half has been rough for us, in a lot of ways. There has been so much good, you know, that's come. But it's been some really hard days. And just like how you mentioned it, there have been messages. We do like Jesus, we call it Jesus time with Bae, on Friday morning.

TERRY: Every Friday morning at sunrise!

BIRD: We listen to messages, and we're literally like jaw drop, staring at each other like that is for us in this season. I mean, scriptures, friends of ours who speak life into us in the most needed times. And so, again, I don't know how I would do any of this without faith. I would be in that puddle of anxiety. I'd be ... I don't even know where I'd be. And so I love that you're sharing that.

ZACH: And a lot of the times it doesn't make sense too. Like, that's the thing. I think, for a lot of us as entrepreneurs, we're like, grind mode all the time, like work, work, work, never take a day off. Literally, like when I wasn't working like with God, there was a six year period in my twenties, where I literally didn't take a day off, because I had a full time job the whole time. So I worked every single holiday. I worked every night. I worked every weekend for six years straight. 

And so like, that was ingrained in who I was. Like, if I want something, I have to figure out how to make it happen. And one of the biggest things that I've learned over the last year or two really, is to like, okay, if God is in control, and He has his hand on this, I don't need to be like running myself to the bone, like for no reason. He's going to open the right door at the perfect time. And things are going to happen that I would have never expected to happen in the first place. 

And every time that I come to that conclusion and realize that, like that is the case, that's when everything changes for me. And so I one of my friends was always like, "You got to get down to the pace of grace", he called it. He's like, "You're running like full steam ahead. Your hair's blowing in the wind at all times. But when you step into that pace of grace, and you take a step back and spend more time in the Word, spend more time in prayer, more time in worship, more time in service of other people. That's when like, it may not make sense. Like, I don't think I have enough time. But when I spend my time wisely, I have more time than I could have ever imagined. It's just like tithing. Like you may not think that you have ten percent to give like how are you going to live off the other ninety percent. When in reality, every time that you do tithe, it's like oh, wait, I actually have way more than I ever expected. And it's the same with our time. And it's the same with what we put our attention to. And so when it comes to grind mode, if we slow down and spend our time on the right things, we're going to be able to work less and get more.

BIRD: Oh, yes, that's so, so good. And honestly, something that I struggle with, something that I have questions about. Like, how do you balance resting in faith and putting in hard work? You know, as entrepreneurs, I know those who are listening, we are used to leading and making things happen and developing products and doing the marketing strategy and hiring the people. And so it can easily turn to be us-focused. Like, well, I have to work to get things done. But what I think God is trying to bring me to, it's been a long process of like, release, let go and let Me. And I think I have faith. I think I trust God until I'm up till 6 A.M., you know, stressed, like I was pregnant, like up all night. Like that's not trusting God. That's not resting. And again, I just struggle with that balance.

ZACH: Yes. one hundred percent. I totally feel that and I've I struggled with it my entire life. And I, I still struggle with it today. But it has been one of the greatest lessons that I am in the process of understanding right now. Because it's like, man, when you take off control, granted, I'm an enneagram 3. I like to control things. I like to figure out how to make it happen. But when you do actually let go and let God take control of it, that's when you're going to hit levels that you would never expect.

BIRD: You know, it's funny, you literally just said the words the lyrics to the song, actually, it's an old song. But PJ Morton has a version of it that recently just popped up on my Spotify. Again, one of those God winks. And it's like, "When I let go, and I let God that's when things start happening. When I start looking at the past, when I stop trying to figure out what's gonna happen in the future. It's when I let go, and I like God, that's when things started to change." And I really feel like that something that I think God's been ministering to me. So thank you for saying that. 

ZACH: Awesome. 

BIRD: You know, another thing when I think about when I think about launch with God, is that like, it's very freeing, right? Because like, what if God really put this business in our hearts? What if it really is of God and from God? Then, you know, it's his to complete, right? If he's Alpha and Omega, it's not so much on us, because we're with Him. He's our teammate. And so, I think it might have been freeing, too.

ZACH: Yeah, and I think a lot of people think, okay, because it's from God, I'm gonna, I'm able to drop everything else and just do this. And I don't think that's the smartest way to do it. Personally, I with The Brand Sunday and The Bible Study, for two years, I was paying 18 other people before I paid myself one dollar. I had a full time job. And I was running a multimillion dollar business at night, like on my free time, because I said, I wasn't going to leave it until I knew that I was taken care of, and everybody else around me was taken care of. 

And I think a lot of people, I think a lot of young entrepreneurs specifically, they just quit everything, and just go all in without knowing how they're going to make it in a month or two. And that I don't think is the smartest way to go. I don't think it's wise at all. 

I think it's totally normal and okay for us to have a full time job, and then start something on the side. And even if that takes two years, maybe it'll, it'll never become your full time job. But I don't think it's wise to leave everything behind, and go all in on something until you know for sure that it's the right time. Because if you look at any time in Scripture, God plants a seed. And a lot of the times it's years and years later, when it actually comes into fruition. So I might have an idea tomorrow, like, we print our own stuff, I could get a book out in four months. But is that the right time. And a lot of the times in my past, I've chased after things, because I had the idea in the moment. And then it doesn't do nearly what it was supposed to do, because it wasn't the right time. 

And so I think a lot of it comes down to like, you need to sit in it, you need to pray about it, you need to wait until God says jump until you actually do jump and leave things behind. And it's totally normal. And it's totally okay to have a safety net for years and years. Like we have so much more time than we actually realize, if we didn't spend as much time on Instagram and Netflix and anything else. Like you have so much time, especially young people. It's insane how much time you have. 

Most millionaires didn't make their first million until their late thirties. And then we're over here looking at dudes that are crushing it on social media, making a million bucks at twenty-two. And you're like, oh, I'm twenty-six, I'm behind. No, not at all. Like you most likely are going to fail a lot. And that's okay. And then if you keep going and stay in it, then you're going to see some form of success later on. But it's never in the amount of time that you expect it to be. 

TERRY: That's huge. 

ZACH: So, like chill out. 

TERRY: I hear something in that, that basically says, and I say this without judgment for anybody's story and experience and what they've lived. But there's something powerful in that, where we can almost believe the lie that we're in a position of trust, when we're actually maybe in a position of like, not being thorough enough or not having a game plan, where it's like, "That's it. I'm quitting everything. I'm all in because God called me to do this." Right?

ZACH: Right.

TERRY: But what if God said, "You know what, I'm not gonna give you the cake. I'm gonna give you batter and some eggs and send you to the store because you need to get your own sprinkles and like, you need to slow bake this thing. So what are you doing in the meantime, like if you really trust me?" You know what I'm saying? 

And I think it's paradoxical, right? It's kind of like that whole notion of like, flexing is actually a sign of weakness, right? Because if you have actual strength, you're willing to be in a more vulnerable position. 

ZACH: Wow! 

TERRY: When you think about the actual posture of a flexed muscle, any strength that's in that has been expended in the process of creating the flex. But a muscle that's loose and agile and at rest is a muscle that can lift things, carry things, make things happen. And so I think there's something big in that, one, of us getting enough rest, and not like going crazy and buying into hustle culture. And then again, even as paradoxical as it might sound, being okay with having that safety net. Like, even with us being parents of three kids, like, we absolutely want to make sure that bills are paid, and we trust that God will provide. And at the same time, we want to be faithful to what he's called us to do, you know?

BIRD: Yeah. And I think, especially to, like you said, those young people who are wanting to just leave, jump ship and start a business. There's so much value in so much gold in that corporate job. Like, you know, what I am doing now in my businesses I learned through the grit of investment banking. If that would have been removed from my story, it would have been real rough. 

Terry, before we launched our gym, he was working at so many different studios around town, learning the in's and out's of how to run a studio, what people like, how to make a cool playlist. And now all of that's in our business. And when we launched The League, we actually did not have a job. We were all in because it was gonna be pretty hard to have a job and run a gym. So you have to really think about, you know, the season you're in, the type of business you have, and on and on. But we had a plan, right? Going back to that business plan. We even had a contingency plan in our budget for months of operating capital, because I had learned that most businesses fail because they don't have enough operating capital. I was like, okay, we'll add more in that to our investors. And so it was, you know, thoughtful, and I just like, God told me, so I'm gonna do it. 

TERRY: Right.

BIRD: The Bible says there's decency in order, right? Deeds without works is dead. So there's like a balance to that. So, I so love that we're talking about all of this. 

TERRY: So good.

BIRD: So for anyone out there who might not identify as Christian, you know, what would you say for them? Are there any takeaways that they could have? Or how could they apply any of this? And again, I say that, because a lot of the audience might not identify as Christian, but I know that there's still so much gold in this for them.

ZACH: Totally, I think everybody wants good things to happen to them, and good things to happen to the people around them. And so no matter what your business is, it doesn't even have to be a Christian business. But you can somehow be positively impacting the world around you. And I think, no matter what, when you're doing that, even if it isn't rooted in faith, it's going to come back and bless you in return. And so I think, even if you aren't a Christian, like just have some sort of aspect of giving, of helping others, rooted into the framework of what you have. And from there, it's going to essentially turn into something way bigger than you could ever have dreamed.

BIRD: I could not agree more. Oh, I love it so much. 

TERRY: I love also too how the tagline after the title of "Launch With God" speaks to building a business that matters and living out purpose. So even if somebody doesn't launch with the motive of honoring God, and maybe they don't identify with the same worldview, there's something so powerful about understanding purpose. And in fact, me speaking as a person of faith, I think that the, the most prominent feature of my faith is purpose, the question of God, what was I created to do? What am I purposed to do? And so I didn't have to go seeking what my purpose was. My purpose found me when I was like, what am I good at and uniquely skilled to do that can elevate other people's lives, and that I carry a passion for? And it's just like, that's the light switch. That's purpose. All else doesn't matter. That's what I'm going to pursue. And I think that it's so incredible that this new literature you put out speaks exactly to that. And I feel like that can help anybody. 

ZACH: Come on! Thank you, man. Shoot, you're a spokesperson. Let's go. I appreciate it. 

BIRD: He is so good.

TERRY: I'm just so, and well, let me say this too, candidly. I mean, that's kind of you and I appreciate that. But just sharing candidly, I don't say that with the intent of like hustling your book, or getting advertising for you. To the listeners, there was no prior conversation of like, "Yo, we're gonna champion the heck out of your book."

ZACH: Right.

TERRY: What I'm saying is, people need to understand, people need to get down in their heart, people need to grasp with their mind, I think, let it settle in their spirit, that you are purposed for something. You're uniquely designed for something. Every life has purpose. There's not a single womb that was cranking out humans in vain, right? 

ZACH: Yes, yes.

TERRY: Think about how your mother nearly died several times in your lifetime. And how she continued to see the surpassing goodness of God come through. She continued to see healing take place and the words that she put into you where you no matter what, even if you feel like you have nothing to be grateful for, at least you have your life, right? And so it's like, man, I have this one life to live. What's the meaning of this life? What am I purpose to do? And when I understand that thing, like, "Man, let's go do it." 

And it might for some people be to be an educator pouring into our youth. It might be to, I don't know, run a grocery store. That's what my dad does. He works in grocery, started sacking groceries as like a teen. And now he's vice president of a big grocery conglomerate. There's different walks of life for everybody. But for some, it's to start something. And whether we're the person sowing the seed to start a business, or we are the answer to somebody's seed sowing. We're the leaves on that vine connected to that vision, helping it to advance. There's purpose in every single bit of it. 

And so I'm just grateful for you, and for the voice that you bring into this space, because you are uniquely called, followed by purpose to bring exactly that. You ignite a passion and an inspiration in people to ask that question. What's my purpose and how do I go change the world with it? So thank you. 

ZACH: Thank you, man. Thank you. That means so much for real.

BIRD: That's incredible. Y'all "Launch With God, How to Build a Business That Matters, and Live Out Your God-Given Purpose" by Zach Windahl. Go pick it up. I think everyone will be able to get so many practical tips from this. And I think it's a real game changer. "Launching with God." 

So I'm so glad to have had you on the show. I know that those who are listening will want to connect with you. So how can people find you online? How can folks connect with you?

ZACH: Totally. On Instagram under @zachwindahl. @thebrandsunday. We have thebrandsunday.com, zachwindahl.com. On Amazon, every social media, all over, Zach Windahl.

BIRD: I love it. I'm going to be sure to link each and every one of those in the show notes. So anyone who's listening can scroll right on down, and click on those links to connect with Zach. Thank you so much for being on the show. You are such a light. 

Side note, Terry, when he was telling me about you, he's like, let me show you this video on Instagram that he did it. And it was you with this guy answering like, what a hundred or thirty-nine questions about you. I was like, cracking up so hard, and laughing so hard. I was like, I totally want to have him on the show. So thank you for being such a light and for all that you've brought to the world. You're incredible. 

ZACH: Thank you. 

BIRD: I loved that conversation. I'll be honest, I needed to hear it more than anybody else. Like I mentioned, I'm in a season of really trying to sort through a lot of things. And this is just superduper timely. I encourage you to connect with Zach online, to buy his book "Launch With God". I really believe there are so many practical tips for any entrepreneur even if you don't identify as Christian. And I'm really glad that you leaned into this conversation and tuned in today. Like I mentioned, I will link all the ways to connect with Zach here in the show notes. 

As always, thank you so much for tuning into Bird Means Business podcast. Thank you for subscribing on Apple Podcasts and for following us on Spotify. Make sure you tell every entrepreneur you know about this episode so that they can launch with God too. 

Talk to y'all next week.