Book Report: The Ministry of Business

Do you want to achieve a happy and successful entrepreneurial life? Not just success in business or financial abundance but really understand the value of true happiness?

If so, The Ministry of Business by Steven Hitz, co-authored by James Ritchie will be a great guide for your entrepreneurial journey. I believe this book was intended to help aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs but the principles taught here was beneficial to all who wants to have success and a better control of their lives. Hitz shared personal stories of his ups and downs as he makes his way through pursuing the successful life that he wanted. Steven and James taught great and wonderful principles that can be applied in our life, both in our business pursuit and in our family life as well.

I want to share some of my favorite ‘Aha’ moments and reflections while I read this splendid book.

My personal favorite was the chapter about a warning not to have a double life. The author emphasized that our personal and business lives must be congruent. The values that we sincerely hold and implement in our home should be the same values we apply in business setting, workplace or in any other position in our lives.

It is very hard to live a double standard. I found it remarkable when Hitz shared his business relationship and partnership by involving Ginger, his wife, in making decisions for his business.

He counseled,

“Consider your spouse or life partner your number one advocate and source of strength”

then he continued,

“always build a relationship of trust and transparency with your spouse or life partner.”

After reading this chapter, my wife and I decided to emulate this amazing couple’s example. In every business decision that I will do, I must make sure that my wife will be involved. My entrepreneurship journey should not be a one-man show. I have a life partner, my beloved wife, who will be my companion in every aspect of my life – be it in family, business, or spiritual decisions.

Another principle in this book that I found valuable is the formula for happiness. Hitz shared the 6-step formula he learned from his mentor, James Ritchie, that can help every individual find success and happiness. And even though as successful as they are now, they are still implementing this formula in their lives.

Hitz further emphasized that it is important to master your personal victories so your public victories will follow accordingly. Applying the formula for happiness is a portion of mastering our private victories. I wrote the formula in my journal and made a goal to apply this on a daily basis. I know this will set a good foundation for my personal victory.

By the way, what I love about the formula was it’s not just intended for temporal pursuits, it also has a spiritual significance which makes it more powerful.

Creating your own Personal Constitution was the next topic I like to mention.

Personal constitution is your own written document that reflects on the person you want to become. I consider this as your future ‘You.’

This, for me, is the climax of this book.

As I do this activity, I came to drill down what I really wanted to become 5, 10 or even 20 years from now. I happen to found out what I truly value in my life and to prioritize them accordingly. My family, integrity, financial well-being, and education are some of the things I included in my personal constitution. This prepares me to re-evaluate and re-focus my long-term and short term goals.

In addition, I came to ponder about my daily tasks. With this activity, it helped me comprehend a famous quote,

“The journey to a thousand miles, begins with a single step.”

It helped me picture out a clear vision where I want to go, then plan the steps on how to go there. In short, I created my personal constitution with a roadmap of my entrepreneurial journey.

These principles and activity I have shared are just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot more valuable contents you can learn from this book which you can apply to become successful in business and in your life. The book contains chapter summaries, applications, and reflections which makes it easy to follow and apply its teachings.

So, if you want to take your business to a more deeper level of personal meaning and purpose, I definitely recommend you grab your copy of The Ministry of Business and start your way up to a happier and more successful entrepreneurial life.