Stop Guessing: The Playbook Behind Faith, Purpose, and Profit

Founders tell me they’re “working hard.”

They are.

But hard work isn’t the issue.

Guessing is.

And guessing gets expensive.

Expensive in money.
Expensive in time.
Expensive in relationships.
Expensive in confidence.
Expensive in spiritual drift.

Most founders aren’t failing because they lack hustle.

They’re failing because they’re running a flawed playbook they’ve never diagnosed.

In golf, we call it your swing.
In startups, we call it your playbook.

And here’s the part nobody wants to admit:

Whatever the root is, the fruit will prove it.

If your fruit is chaos, fear, inconsistency, and burnout…
That didn’t come from nowhere.

It came from a root system.

And your root system has three layers—whether you acknowledge them or not:

1. Faith (who you trust under pressure)
2. Purpose (what you believe you’re here to build and why)
3. Startup (how you actually create customers and revenue)

These are hidden in plain sight.

Even if you’re faithless (that takes faith).
Even if you’re aimless (that’s still a purpose system—just a broken one).
Even if you’re “just focusing on the product” (that’s still a startup playbook… usually one that avoids the market).

So today, I want to give you a simple, biblical, practical framework:

Stop guessing. Rebuild the playbook.

1) Your Playbook Is Your Swing (and the scorecard doesn’t lie)

Every golfer starts with a flawed swing.

No shame. That’s normal.

But what happens next is the difference between a weekend hacker and a real player:

1. Admit the bad swing is costing you everything
2. Submit to coaching (a PGA Pro can see what you can’t)
3. Train until the new swing becomes yours

That’s the progression from flawed to viable.

Startups are the same.

Most founders don’t have a startup “problem.”
They have a playbook problem.

Their playbook sounds like:

• “If I just keep building, it’ll click.”
• “If I just post more, leads will come.”
• “If I just raise money, the pressure goes away.”
• “If I just hire a salesperson, revenue appears.”

That’s not a strategy.

That’s hope wearing a hoodie.

A viable startup playbook is boring on purpose:

• Problem-Solution Fit
• Go-To-Market
• RevOps repeatability
• Pipeline math
• Retention
• Scale responsibly

And here’s the kicker:

If your faith playbook is misaligned, you’ll build in fear.
If your purpose playbook is unclear, you’ll chase shiny objects.
If your startup playbook is broken, you’ll bleed cash.

Root. Fruit. Always.

2) Haggai: God’s Blueprint for Rebuilding a Founder

God has a system for getting builders back on track.

It’s not vague.

It’s not mystical.

It’s a pattern—and it’s right there in the book of Haggai.

Here’s how it works:

1) A Great Shaking

God allows a shaking to get your attention.

Drought. Famine. Frustration. Stalled progress. “Why isn’t this working?”

And let’s be clear:

The shaking isn’t always punishment.

Sometimes it’s disciplinary mercy.

God shakes what’s removable so the unshakeable kingdom remains.

2) Awakening

You wake up and realize:

“I’m in the ditch.”

Not because you’re cursed.
Because you’ve been building your house your way.

Self-led. Self-protected. Self-centered.

You’ve been operating:

Faithless. Aimless. Exposed.

3) Repentance

This is where real founders get separated from pretend founders.

Because repentance isn’t a vibe.

It’s a 180.

It’s getting rid of the cancer.

It’s naming the sin pattern and cutting it out.

And it’s not just spiritual. It touches everything.

You repent in all three playbooks:

• Faith: “I’ve trusted myself more than God.”
• Purpose: “I’ve built for ego, not assignment.”
• Startup: “I’ve been guessing instead of installing a system.”

4) Revival

When repentance is real, God breathes life back in.

Clarity returns. Courage returns. Discipline returns.

You don’t just feel inspired.

You feel aligned.

5) Reformation

This is where it hits the marketplace.

Your operating system changes.

Your leadership changes.

Your product gets sharper.

Your message gets cleaner.

Your movement gets stronger.

And yes—your startup stops looking like chaos.

6) Transformation (Fruit)

This is the fruit:

• momentum
• provision
• customers
• favor
• impact
• testimony

Not because you got lucky.

Because your root system got corrected.

This isn’t always linear.
It doesn’t hit all areas at once.

But it is a real pattern God uses to rebuild builders.

3) Obedience Is Learned Through Suffering, Then Relationship

Founders hate this part.

Because suffering feels like an interruption.

But suffering is often the classroom.

It’s where God teaches obedience when your pride won’t.

Suffering exposes what you worship.

• When money is tight, what do you run to?
• When you’re scared, who do you trust?
• When it’s not working, do you surrender… or double down on stupid?

Here’s what I’ve seen over and over:

Pain either makes you bitter and self-protective…
or humble and teachable.

And teachable founders get rebuilt.

Then comes the turning point:

Not more information about Jesus.

Relationship with Jesus.

That’s where the new playbook gets written.

Not from a mountaintop.

From the trench.

From surrender.

From daily reps.

Because the goal isn’t to “believe better thoughts.”

The goal is to become the kind of builder who obeys—then builds.

The invitation: Stop guessing. Pick up the new playbook.

If your startup feels expensive right now…

Good.

That pain might be mercy.

It might be the shaking that wakes you up.

So here’s the question:

What are you going to do about it?

The same thing a golfer does when he’s tired of slicing every drive into the woods:

1. Admit the swing is broken
2. Get coached (adopt a proven playbook)
3. Practice the reps until it becomes yours

That’s the path.

And when your root is corrected…

your fruit will follow.

Watch the Startup Church video

If you want the full teaching, the video that accompanies this post is right here on the page.

Come with an open heart.

Bring your real questions.

And if you’re ready to stop guessing—this is your moment.

Gerald Duran
Managing Partner, CanaGlobal
Planting oak trees. Not unicorns.

CTA: If you want help rebuilding your playbook (faith, purpose, and startup), join us for Startup Church / Startup Clinic and get back in alignment fast.