Business, Boundaries & Bitachon | Michael Safdie

A person has to know that when they wake up in the morning, their biggest enemy is right there next to them, the Yetzer Hara. When a person leaves his house and he goes out into the business world, he has to know this Yetzer Hara in his head, trying to justify anything in anything in the business world. But when a person knows that, he's going to be on guard. When a person lives with faith and trust in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, he knows his livelihood comes directly from Hashem and he doesn't have to do anything that's going to compromise his actions. Meaning, he's faced in a meeting, a multi-million dollar deal, and a woman in the meeting shakes out her hand to shake his hand, and he doesn't, he's going to make billions. He'll be blessed a million times more than he ever thought. Why? Because Hakadosh Baruch Hu is watching us, my friends. You have a man who is faced with a big deal in his new company, and the CEO happens to be a female, and there has to be interaction and stuff. It's like walking on eggs. When a person goes out and he talks to Hashem and he says: Hashem, please. You got to help me. I don't want to be in a situation that's compromised. And when a person strengthens himself and he knows that he doesn't have to compromise, the personal effort a person has to do is only according to the Torah. But if it's not according to the Torah, well, it looks like the guy is doing very good, he's successful, he's going to get whacked, because you cannot go against the Torah and be successful. So when we recognize that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is in charge of my finances, He's in charge of my affairs. He loves me. He wants me to go in the way of the Torah. And guess what, guys? It's a Mitzvah. Every second you're out there, talking to Hashem, working on your eyes, you see something coming down the block and you turn your head, it's a gateway, an auspicious time to reach the Heavens. A person can ask whatever he wants. Why? Because he conquers his Yetzer. That's why we're in this world for, to fight that nemesis, the enemy, the Yetzer Hara, that he's with us from the second we wake up. When we leave our house and we go into the workplace, you deal with people, and you see that Hashem is with you. Behold, the eye of God is upon those who fear Him, upon those who place their hope in His kindness. Hashem’s eyes, His eyes, are the ones that await His kindness. So when you're faced with a challenge, I don't have to do that for my livelihood. Once upon a time, I had to go to Las Vegas. They said: You got to go to Las Vegas, there’s a special show. I said: I never went there. I really don't want to go there. I haven't heard good things about it. They said: You got to go. So I went. I land in the airport, I already smell the air, I get to the hotel, I call my agent. I said: Get me out of here now. I don't have to be here to make money. And Baruch Hashem, I went back right away. I canceled my meetings. When you know Hashem’s sending you a livelihood, and you know He loves you, and when you do the right thing, even if it's against the grain and everybody else is doing it, you will see Divine blessing that you could never imagine. That's what Hashem wants. That's what we should give him. And when a person lives that way, and you work on yourself, it’s a fight! and when you fight, you have Divine assistance, you'll be able to overcome it. And when you hold back from looking, because I know: You know what? It's not worth it. When a person lives this way, he has Hashem with him. He'll see all the blessings, according to the Torah, and have success always.