We Must Manage Our Career

Marshall Goldsmith, one of today’s top Leadership experts and mentor to some of the top CEOs around the world, tells us that we must always be about the business of managing our careers.  No one else will do this for us.  You must take charge of your career.  Mr. Goldsmith suggests three ways that we can do this:

          (1) You need a strategy — what do you love to do?  what skills do you possess?  what is my strategy for personal development?  what plan am I working in order to achieve my goals in life?

          (2) You need a brand identity — what are you known for?  how do you distinquish yourself from others?  how do you want others to know you?  how will people remember you?  what do you offer others?

          (3) You need a mission — why am I doing what I am doing?  what is my purpose in life?  what do I want to accomplish with my life, my talents, and my influence?  how will my career help me fulfill my mission?

As I have been reading more of Marshall Goldsmith’s books, I have appreciated his thoughtful insight into how we might develop ourselves to reach our greatest potential.   I hope that sharing these thoughts today will help you in your personal life and career.  You are an important person–and you are important to someone!

Now, “For the rest of the story…”

Legendary radio newscaster, Paul Harvey, had a unique trademark to his broadcasting.  Mr. Harvey would begin telling his audience a real life story about an incident, or an individual, and then come to a pivotal point in the story where he would fill in “the missing details/or information” that made the story so fantastic!  Mr. Harvey would then conclude by saying, “Now you know the rest of the story!”  People by the millions would listen to his broadcasts every day just to get the rest of the story!

As I pass through the pages of the Bible, I too would like to know “the rest of the story” about certain individuals.  There’s the boy who gave his lunch to Jesus to feed 5,000 people.  What ever happened to him?  How about that tax-collector named Zacchaeus.  You know, that “little” man that climbed up into a tree and invited Jesus to his house for dinner.  Whatever happened to him?  Or, how about that little girl, Jairus’ daughter, that Jesus raised from the dead.  What kind of young lady did she grow up to be?

It would be interesting to know how their lives progressed from this points of contact with Jesus!  Did they become leaders?  Own businesses?  Lead others to the Savior?  Did they have children?  What went on in their lives?  It would be fascinating to know, wouldn’t it.  The Bible doesn’t tell us any more than the storylines we are given.  The writers of the Bible felt that that was enough to know. 

As for you and me, we are still writing the chapters of our story!  God is writing that story every day by how we live, how we treat others, the decisions we make, the priorities that shape our lives, the daily witness we give.  While we may NOT know the “rest of the story” for the individuals we made reference to earlier, OUR STORY is still being written every day as we trust God’s grace to have it’s way in our lives.  What a wonderful story is being written!  Let’s live each day for HIS GLORY and HIS HONOR!

Who knows, maybe after we’ve passed from this life someone will speak at our funeral and say, “Now you know the rest of the story!”

“You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.”         2 Corinthians 3:2-3

Don’t Let Your Failures Knock You Out of the Game!

If life teaches us us anything, it is that we must work through our ‘failures’ in life and keep pressing on!  Milton learned this truth.  As a young man he opened a business and it failed.  Milton moved out West and started another business.  It, too, failed.  He then moved to New York and started another business.  It failed. 

Milton then started a candy business in Pennsylvania and it took off very successfully.  While this business was prospering, Milton spent extra time working on a new recipe for what he felt would be a very successful line of candy.  After some time, Milton was ready to produce his new product–milk chocolate!  Yes, Milton Hersey, did not give up on his dreams even though he went through failure many times.

Failures in life are difficult experiences to go through, but can become the catalyst for deepening our character, strengthening our resolve, and clarifying our dreams.  Many times after failure we have to fight the temptation to give up and throw the towel in.  I’m sure there are many today who have been totally knocked off track from where they wanted to be by failures that were allowed to destroy their confidence and their dreams.  Like a prize fighter who gets knocked to the canvas, we must pull ourselves together and get back up on our feet and keep fighting.

All failure is not final.  Learn from your failures.  Sharpen your focus.  Strengthen your gifts.  You do have something valuable to share with others.  You are important to someone.  Let your life count for God!

Problems or Opportunities?

The story is told of a shoe company that sent two of its salesmen to another country where most of the people went barefoot.  The company believed that this would be the perfect market for selling its shoes.

After the first week, both salesmen called into the office.  The first salesman said, “Please get me out of here!  There’s no one interested in buying shoes, they all go around barefoot.”  The second salesman called in and said, “Please send me all the shoes you have!  Everyone here needs a pair of shoes!  They all go around barefoot.”

It’s interesting how both salesmen saw the same situation differently!   One only saw obstacles, the other saw opportunities!  One man saw the people as not being interested in what he had to sell, while the other man believed that everyone would want what he had to sell!  What a difference of perspective! 

How are you looking at your present situation?  Are you focusing too much energy on the problems that surround you, and not enough time on the opportunities that may be waiting to be embraced?  Many times our work demands that we bring a spirit of openness, flexibility, and creativity.  Often, great opportunities are lost because of narrow thinking and prejudiced attitudes that blind people from seeing what is before them.   Too often people move in directions that become predictable and routine.  When this happens, the sense of adventure and risk is lost and new avenues and ventures are lost. 

Every day we need to pray for fresh vision to see clearly the great opportunities that come our way!  And then, with great joy and enthusiasm run out and embrace them!

Baseball’s ‘Big Bird’ Dies

The baseball world was saddened by the news that Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych passed away the other day at age 54.  Mark burst on the baseball scene in 1976 taking the baseball world by storm!  Mark was a quirky, fun-loving, spontaneous good-natured young man who pitched for the Detroit Tigers.  When Mark would take the mound, his antics of talking to the baseball and patting the dirt on the mound, won the adoration of fans all around the country.  He was different.  He was fun.  He made baseball interesting to watch.  A sportswriter nicknamed Mark, ‘The Bird’, after noticing similarities in Mark’s behavior with the Sesame Street character, ‘Big Bird’.  It stuck!

In 1976 Mark Fidrych won the AL Rookie of the Year Award.  He also went 19-9 that season with an E.R.A. of 2.34!  Mark finished second in the balloting for the Cy Young Award in 1976 and was voted to the AL All-Star team.  Unfortunately, injuries sidelined Mark for the next three years and he never returned to the form that he had in that first season.  After 5 years in the big leagues Mark Fidrych retired.

Mark Fidrych is a wonderful reminder to all of us about being yourself.  Mark never tried to act, pitch, or emulate a particular style, of any other big league pitcher.  Playing ball was all about having fun…using his God-given talents to the maximun…being a great teammate…being himself!  That is a great lesson for all of us to learn.  Just be yourself!  Don’t try to copy someone else.  Don’t try to act like someone else.  Just be yourself and use the talents that God has given you!  Play to your strengths!  You are unique!  Celebrate yourself!

The Witness of the Empty Tomb

On this Easter Sunday we celebrate again the witness of the empty tomb of Jesus Christ!  That empty tomb continues to stand as a historical witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!  It was that empty tomb, and the physical appearances of the risen Jesus to His followers, that infused new courage and passion into their lives!  Over and over again, throughout the Gospel accounts, the followers of Jesus tell us that they are ‘witnesses’ to the reality and fact of Christ’s resurrection from the dead!  

The historical fact of the resurrection authenticates Jesus’ claims that He was the Son of God, that He has power to forgive men of their sins, that He is Lord of all, and that He has ushered in God’s reign of grace in the hearts of men.  The resurrection gives validation to Christ’s death on the cross and reveals to us the cleansing power [to forgive our sins] that is in His shed blood, when we put our trust in Him!  Jesus tells us in John 6:46, “The one who believes in Me shall have eternal life.”  Our lives can be changed forever by placing our faith and confidence in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

Many today are searching for meaning and purpose in life.  Others are struggling to find hope and peace.  The empty tomb gives witness to us today that Jesus Christ is alive–and that He has the power to change our lives!  He is the One who can bring true peace, true forgiveness, true love, and true hope to our lives!  I pray that you will find new strength and courage in your life as you consider the witness of Jesus’ empty tomb!  I pray that in reflecting on the empty tomb you will come to believe that Jesus Christ did triumphantly arise from the grave, defeating sin and death, and now offers you the wonderful gift of eternal life!    

May we be reminded of those wonderful words that the angel proclaimed on that first Easter morning, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?  He is NOT here!  HE HAS RISEN!”  (Luke 24:5-6)  

Show Genuine Concern

Oftentimes we find ourselves in workplace situations where we’re meeting our deadlines, we’re achieving our goals, we’re meeting our budget, and things seem to be going along fairly well.  Yet, despite the ‘apparent successes’ that are taking place, something seems amiss.  Morale is low.  The atmosphere at work is blasse.  People seem to be ‘going through the motions’.  There doesn’t seem to be a spark!

Sometimes what managers and supervisors need to realize is that people matter!  While everything may be going alright from a ‘bottom-line’ standpoint, the people at work may be feeling as if they are no longer valuable, or important to the organization.  What people need on a regular basis is a genuine show of concern!  It’s OK to ask how your people are doing.  What motivates them?  What are their fears?  What do they struggle with?  How are things in their personal lives?  Do they feel fulfilled in their work?  How can you as a manager/supervisor help them achieve the things in their work that will bring fulfillment to them?

A pat on the back, a smile, a word of appreciation, and words of encouragement go a long way with those who work under our supervisory capacity.  People want to know that they are genuinely valued and that their work is making a difference.  Morale in the workplace will pick up when each member is made to feel significant and a valuable part of the team.  Learning to be an encourager will benefit everyone, and help you become a better leader!

Learning To Forgive Others

All of us know what it is like to be hurt by others.  Sometimes the actions of others are intentional, and other times they’re unintentional.  There have been times when we felt taken advantage of, abused, used, and manipulated.  Those times were painful and difficult for us.  When we searched our heart we felt that we had ‘gone the second mile’; we had ‘given our best efforts’; we had ‘done over-and-above everything asked of us’; and we were still disregarded and dismissed.  

Whatever the situation may have been, we cannot go on throughout life letting bitterness and cynicism mark our behavior.  To rise above the hurt of the past, we must learn to forgive others and move beyond the pain that we have experienced.  To forgive is not always easy, but it is the necessary thing to do.  When we forgive others, we allow ourselves the opportunity to heal and not be controlled by the hurtful actions of others, or the negative things that happen to us in life.  As someone has so aptly stated, “Forgiveness does not make others right, it sets us free.”   

We must also remember that along with learning to forgive others, we must also learn to forgive ourselves.  When we look deep into our own heart, we realize that we have not always made the best decisions, or exemplified the right attitudes in dealing with stressful situations.  While I cannot control how others act toward me, or what they say about me–I do have control over how I respond when hurtful things come.  I am not responsible for how others treat me, but I am responsible for how I let my heart (and mouth) repsond to others.  When I learn to forgive myself, I am also learning how to extend forgiveness to others.  Forgiveness is a beautiful thing that God brings to our lives so that we can heal and move on in life with confidence and well-being.  

This Easter season I hope that all of us will take a moment to reflect on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  That death made it possible for all of us to experience forgiveness in our lives.  As Paul says in Ephesians 4:32, “Therefore brothers, be kind and tender-hearted towards one another, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you.”  That’s GOOD NEWS!  That’s where freedom begins!  That’s where we find peace of mind and heart!

If you have been struggling with a difficult and painful situation in your life, learn to forgive those who have caused the hurt.  It may be difficult.  It may take time.  But you will find great freedom and healing when you are able to do that.  Remember, Jesus Christ has made it possible for you to experience God’s rich forgiveness for your failures–and He will give you the strength to put life’s painful situations into His Hands, and extend forgiveness to those who have brought hurt into your life.  Let this Easter season be a time of renewal in your spirit.  Don’t go on carrying grudges and shaking your fist at everyone–let Jesus cleanse your heart with forgiveness!  You’ll be glad you did!!!

We’re Never Alone With God at Our Side

The other day I heard this song on the radio by Third Day.  It is called, Revelation.  It describes a person who is struggling to find direction in life, and help with knowing which way to go.  He realizes that God is the One who can give him guidance.  The song is a prayer that he will commit all his ways into God’s hands.  When I heard this song being played it really spoke to me about the place where I find myself currently, and brought great encouragement to my life.  I hope it speaks to you, as well!

REVELATION  by  Third Day

This time I know that you are holding all the answers
I’m tired of losing hope and taking chances
On roads that never seem
To be the ones that bring me home

Give me a revelation
Show me what to do
‘Cause I’ve been trying to find my way
I haven’t got a clue
Tell me should I stay here
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I’ve got nothing without you
I’ve got nothing without you

Don’t Let Your Faith Become ‘Bland’

Do you feel that your faith brings ‘energy’ to your life?  Does it make you ‘more confident’?  Does it bring a sense of ‘optimism’ to you?  I’m afraid that many would have to confess that their faith has become ‘dry’, ‘routine’, ‘boring’.  I don’t believe that our faith is meant to be that way!  I believe our faith is to bring zest, vitality, adventure, and flavor to our life.  That’s what salt is, and does! 

Jesus told His followers, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).  In other words, as a Christ-follower, my relationship with Jesus is to bring something positive and life-changing to my life.  And, my faith should bear influence in how I live every day, how I make decisions, how I relate to people, how I handle stress, and how I care for others.  Too many Christians are just “going through the motions”, without any real life-changing power that is making a difference.  Jesus doesn’t want my faith to be ‘bland’, he wants my faith to add flavor and zest to my life!

Why not ask Jesus today to make your life salty so that others will thirst for Him!  

I want my life to impact my world for Jesus!  I want others to come to know His love.  I want others to be transformed by His grace.  I want others to know His resurrection power in their lives!  These are exciting days to live as a Christian and let our influence for Christ be felt!    We need to set the pace with our living, and not just our words!  People need to see our faith in action!  Salt is not made to stay in the salt shaker–it is meant to be poured out!  Give yourself in love and service to others!