Freedom of Choice?

Our culture is inundated with choices. Want a new TV? Look at how many models are available. Plasma, LCD, or LED… 19”, 60”, or anything in-between… 120 Hz, 240 Hz, 760i, 1080p, 1080i…LG, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Vizio, Sony, Panasonic…and where should we buy it?

Growing up, I had 5 television channels and two of them showed the same thing. Now, I don’t even know how many channels I have. I have to set up my “favorites” on my remote… more choices. If you still need evidence that the number of options available to us has gotten excessive, just take a look at the cereal aisle the next time you go to the supermarket. To make it even more interesting, take a four year-old who has just been watching Nickelodeon.

Not only are there a seemingly infinite number of choices available, but we are daily bombarded with marketing that tells us that there is an option out there somewhere that is just right for us – one that will make us happy. So you better make the right choice, or you’ll end up regretting your decision when you find a better option down the road.

The problem with having so many options and making so many choices is that it can easily lead to analysis paralysis. We want to make the right choice, but there are so many options and we don’t want regret our decision… so we make no choice. We procrastinate.

The same dynamic exists in our careers. I read an article a while back that said the anticipated top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t even exist 5 years ago. Think about that. As we have more choices in what to do with our lives, people are increasingly deciding to do nothing – at least nothing significant.

Here’s what I think. Instead of beating yourself up on where you will work, focus on what it is that you were created, gifted, and prepared to do. Guess what – that thing that you were created to do may have nothing to do with your current job, but that doesn’t mean you have to quit your job tomorrow. It just means you have to figure out how to incorporate your mission into your job. Or maybe, just maybe, you were meant to find significance outside of your professional career. What??? A life outside of work? Yep, the most important things you will do, the greatest significance you will find, and the most lasting legacy you leave will probably not be career-related.

 

Meet Your New Teacher

A while back I put up a posting about establishing a Business as Missions enterprise.  I have since enrolled in school to complete my MBA and now another piece of the puzzle is falling into place.

I have always thought that I would enjoy teaching.  The thing I enjoyed most in my corporate career was conducting training and teaching.  Though I never really did much to cultivate this interest, it blossomed again on my trips to Belarus to teach English.  Upon returning from the last trip, I even remarked to Sara how much I enjoy teaching.

I thought about it some more and decided to seek out a career in teaching.  Even though I lack a teaching certificate, I thought that with my engineering background and the teacher shortage that we always heard about prior to the recession, I would be a shoe-in to teach high school Calculus or Physics.  Well… cracking the shell of the public school system is not exactly easy without a teaching certificate in Georgia.

This is where I finally put two and two together.  I am already planning on going back to school for a Master’s degree in business and there are plenty of teaching opportunities at the college level.  Hey, it couldn’t hurt to look.  Shortly after this realization, I found out I was on our church’s budget and finance team with an accounting professor at a local college.  She told me about a possible teaching opportunity in the math department.  This was only a couple of weeks before the fall semester was to begin, so I was really interviewing more for the spring.

I didn’t really know what my chances were, but for the first time in a really long time I was very excited about a new direction in my career.  I got a call from the chair of the math department last week.  Due to heavy demand, they are adding a class and beginning this fall (next Monday actually), I will be teaching a college mathematics course.  My goal is to eventually become a tenure-track professor, but I have a lot more schooling to undergo before that can occur.

I think this will be a great compliment to my desire to establish a BAM.  I will get to leverage my educational background and contacts to help others establish businesses and I’ll get some great real world experience that will help me teach my students.  I guess I’m writing this to let you know that although it may take a while and there may be many roadblocks, it is worth the effort to keep plugging away in your search to discover your mission.  Too many people get discouraged and give up.  They settle on doing what is familiar to them day after day and dreaming about retirement.

God has a purpose for your life.  Ignoring that purpose for the sake of your present comfort will never allow you to find significance.

 

Back to School

 

Break out the Elmer’s glue and the notebooks; I am officially a student again.  I have enrolled to finish my MBA and will begin classes this August.  I began my MBA ten years ago when we lived in Indiana, but was unable to finish because we moved halfway across the country about once every two years.  Back then, my goal was to get an MBA to better prepare myself for the promotions and raises that were sure to come my way as I charged through the business world.  This time, my aim is quite different.

 

A few months ago, I was approached by someone that I respect greatly and they asked me about partnering with them in an endeavor called “Business as Mission”.  I honestly didn’t know exactly what a Business as Mission was, but said yes anyway because it sounded really cool.

 

Here’s the idea behind it.  While many missions are non-profit and rely on charitable donations to provide basic needs for people (food, water, shelter, healthcare, etc.), Business as Mission (BAM) takes a different approach.  The idea behind BAM is to work with people to help them establish a viable business.  The idea is not to give them a handout, but to teach them how to earn a living.  Since it is a business, it is a for-profit entity with the idea that if you give a dollar to a charity, the people who benefit from it may get 75 cents but if you put a dollar into a BAM, it will generate $1.50 of income.

 

This is not to say that charities and traditional mission work is bad.  They certainly have their place and are superior to BAM in many applications.  However, there are times when people would rather build their future than have it handed to them.  You’ve heard the saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”  Our plan is really more geared toward making the horse thirsty.

 

Best of all, it takes the principles of business and uses them for good rather than greed.  I’m sure there will be many obstacles, frustrations, and failures along the way, but I am confident that this is the type of work where true significance can be found.

 

I’ll keep you posted.

 

Summertime

With an early Memorial Day this year, the unofficial kickoff for the summer season is practically here.  For most people, summer brings back nostalgic memories of their childhood – cookouts, fishing trips, swimming, camping, ballgames, playing outside all day until the sweat and dirt combined to make a paste that, unfortunately, was unable to repel mosquitoes… yeah, I was a dirty little boy… and stinky.

Some of our best memories occurred during those three months when there was no school, no cold weather, and no Nickelodeon West in HD.  These days, there are a lot of things in a child’s life that compete against the formation of those fond memories that you enjoy.  I-Pods, internet, 16 channels of cartoons 24/7, video games, Facebook, Twitter… the list things that distract kids (and adults) from real life goes on and on.  This is why it is imperative that parents be intentional about providing opportunities for kids to discover the world around them and there is no better time than the summer months to do so. 

I know, easier said than done.  While it may seem impossible to pry your kids away from the TV or computer, I believe that their attraction to these forms of entertainment is a learned behavior.  And to a large extent, it is learned from us.

Which is easier – taking a kid hiking and allowing them to explore the infinite wonders of creation or sitting them in front of SpongeBob while we pay the bills?  I don’t want to sound sanctimonious here because I have been guilty of using the digital babysitter numerous times.  I just want to caution you from using a television, video game, or computer as the default method of keeping your children occupied.

 I’m not a child psychologist, but ever since we became parents, I’ve had the opportunity to closely observe child development every day for the past few years.  Here are just a few things I’ve realized:

• Every child is unique (duh)
• Most children would rather do than observe – “Let me try, let me try!”
• Kids are curious and inquisitive
• A child has more energy than the Tasmanian Devil with a Red Bull intravenous drip
• Children are imaginative and creative

Think about what happens if your child spends too much time in front of the tube (RANDOM STUFF ALERT – Calling a TV “the tube” is really a misnomer because hardly any televisions still have picture tubes – it’s sort of like calling a CD a “record”, using Tivo or a DVR to “tape” a show, or “dialing” a phone number).  Sorry… back to the topic.  When a kid spends too much time watching TV, they are not fostering their unique curiosities and passions.  Rather, they are taught to be interested in whatever the latest market analysis and trends indicate that the majority of kids are interested in.  Additionally, any learning that occurs comes from observation rather than participation, there is no outlet for their boundless energy, and their imagination and creativity are stymied.

I know, you’ve heard all of this before.  Now – keep in mind that the purpose of this blog is to help us find significance in our adult lives.  All of those things that are lacking in a child’s life when they spend too much time watching TV or on the computer are lacking in our lives when we make an unfulfilling career the focus of our time and effort – there is no fostering of our unique curiosities and passions, there is no outlet for our imagination and creativity, and we end up being observers in life rather than participants.

Just as television keeps the kids occupied, maybe your career is simply keeping you occupied.  Perhaps it’s time to get a little sweaty and dirty.  Take some time this summer to explore.  Who knows, you may even enjoy it.

 

Out of Time

Undoubtedly, there are things that you would like to be doing with your life but you feel that you simply don’t have the time.  When you add up the time spent getting ready for work in the morning, the time spent at work, working from home, and commuting, your job can easily consume 12 hours each day, leaving you with about 12 hours.  If you get the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night (yeah right), you’re down to 4 hours.  Add another 2 hours per day for preparing meals, eating them, and cleaning up afterwards and you have 2 hours left.  Add 45 minutes for exercise and travel to/from the gym and you are left with only 1 hour and 15 minutes to spend with your family, help your kids with homework, feed yourself intellectually, grow spiritually, and find some form of recreation.

 

So what can we do in order to find more time to do the important things?

 

Well… I’ve looked everywhere and you cannot “find time”.  All you can do is decide what to do with it.  If we look at how we spend our time, there doesn’t appear to be much we can cut out.  Usually sleep and exercise are the first things we delete from our schedule, but when we do so, we undermine our ability to effectively use the time that we have.

 

The obvious area of opportunity here is that huge chunk of our day spent at work.  But we have to work, or else we can’t support our families, right?  Not so fast.  I know there are situations where a single mom may be working two jobs simply to make ends meet and her time spent at work is truly an investment her children’s future, but I also know of plenty of professionals whose families have an abundance of material possessions; however, they are impoverished when it comes to the things of real worth. 

 

I think we need to ask ourselves if our jobs actually support our families or if they support our ego.  That’s a whole posting in itself, so I won’t go into it now.

 

What about the time spent working?  You can’t just stop working… and if you cut back on the hours that you work, you may be perceived as a slacker or lazy.  These days, that could lead to a serious reduction in your hours at work.  What can we do?  We can’t add more hours to the day and it seems that we can’t cut anything out.

 

I believe we need to change our thinking.  Instead of compartmentalizing 12 hours per weekday for work and using the 1 hour and 15 minutes left over at the end of the day to feed ourselves intellectually, grow spiritually, find recreation, and grow as a family, what if we added those aspects to our work?

 

What does that look like?  We need to ask ourselves if we are growing intellectually at work.  If not, then we have reached a plateau that will lead to discontentment and we need to look for some opportunity to grow.  Is your career in line with your spiritual beliefs?  This doesn’t mean everyone has to join the ministry full time.  We should; however, understand our spiritual gifts and apply them in manner that will give glory to the One who grants them.  What about recreation – is it possible to find recreation at work?  I think it is if our careers are based on our passions.

 

That’s what it really boils down to.  If we take that large portion of our day that is spent at work and use that time engrossed in the things that we are passionate about, then we may just find that we come home fulfilled rather than frustrated and exhausted.

 

You see, I don’t think our problem is a lack of time.  Our problem is that at the end of the day we feel that our day has been lacking in significance.  That’s why we wish we could do all of these other things if we just had the time. 

 

Find a way to add some significance to your workday and see if it doesn’t add to your job fulfillment.  If you’re a boss, understand what makes your employees tick and incorporate that into their objectives.  Show your children that you are passionate about what you do because you work towards the fulfillment of your mission daily.

 

Fear of Failure

Have you ever considered that it may be easier to succeed than to fail?  With all of the work and worry we put into our quest for success that may sound absurd, but think about it.  What the broad population considers “success” is usually nothing more than the sacrifice of our time and talent in a career for which we have no passion so we can rely on the security afforded by that career.  Or maybe we are in the right career, but for the wrong reasons.  Rather than using our career as a platform for our mission, we squander opportunities for real significance and choose instead to make selfish ambition our mission.

 

Face it – we are afraid of failure.  We think that if we fail, people will regard us as incompetent, lacking talent, or just plain dumb.  But consider the alternative.  If you have not experienced any significant failure recently, then I can speculate the following about you:

 

·         You chose to structure your life and circumstances with low risk in order to eliminate failure as an outcome

·         You lack courage

·         You lack faith

·         You are frustrated and bored with your career/life

·         You know that you should be doing more with your life, but constantly make excuses to justify inaction

·         You feel that you are full of potential (…but never seem to live up to it)

·         You allow pride for what you have to overshadow the possibility of what you could be

 

Why are we so afraid of what others will think of us?  Why are we so afraid of failure?  Here’s my theory:  If we are not pursuing our mission – if we are not doing what we were created to do, then there is a disconnect between who we are and who we know we are meant to be.  When this disconnect occurs, our defensive mechanism is to make other people think we are successful even though we are miserable.  We are not finding fulfillment in what we do, so we try to seek it in what others think of us.

 

“Wait a minute,” you think, “that’s not me.  I’m not held captive by what others think of me.” 

 

Oh really…  Then why do you feel prideful when you succeed in a career that offers no fulfillment?  Why are you afraid to step away from your standard of living so you can pursue you mission?  Why do you turn your back on the most important aspects of your life so that you can advance in a career you sometimes despise?

 

If you never fail, you are not getting anywhere close to realizing who you could be.  You are content to remain enshrouded in the safe harbor you have built up around yourself. 

 

Go out and fail some.  Then you can experience some true growth.

 

The Great Decession

 

Ok, “decession” is not a word.  It doesn’t even make sense, but since “repression” was already taken, it is the term I’m giving to what we are going through now.  The Chicken Littles are running around saying that we’re heading into another Great Depression.  Well, we’re not there… yet.  However, what we are in is worse than what we have called a recession in the past.

 

By definition, a recession occurs when the gross domestic product (the value of all of the goods and services we produce) shrinks for two consecutive quarters.  We’ve been there since December 2007.  By definition, a depression… uh, there is no agreed upon definition for a depression.  I think economists shy away from it because it scares the daylights out of us.

 

Let’s compare/contrast where we are now to where we were around 1929:

 

Unemployment

The Great Depression – 25%

Now – 8.2%

 

True, the population of the US is much greater now than it was in the 1930’s – 8.2% of our current population of 300 million people is 24.6 million, which is pretty close to 25% of our 1929 population of 12o million people (30 million).  However, there are other factors to consider.  First of all, one out twelve people experiencing unemployment is a lot different from one out of four.  Nonetheless if you are one of the 8.2% without a job, it is of little consolation that we are only at one third of the unemployment rate we endured during the Great Depression.  Another big difference now is the diversity of work available.  Back in the 30’s we basically had agriculture, mining, and some industry.  Now, you have a plethora of opportunities even in the worst job market since 1983.

 

Charity

The Great Depression – Millions of homeless, starving people resorted to begging and relying on the charity of others for their next meal.

 

Now – Numerous CEOs making millions of dollars have resorted to begging and relying on the American taxpayer for their next “mil”.

 

The Stock Market

The Great Depression – From October 1929 to 1932, stocks lost about 80% of their value.

 

Now – Though stocks are taking a beating, the Dow would have to go down to about 2,800 to be at 20% of its October 2007 high of 14,000.

 

Money Supply

The Great Depression – From 1929 to 1933 it is reported that 10,763 of 24,970 commercialized banks failed and the money supply fell 30.9%.

 

Now – Because of what happened in the 1930s, we have a wiser Federal Reserve (believe it or not) that would likely take more drastic measures to prevent the money supply from falling so sharply.  Yes, this would lead to inflation, but it could stave off the drought of credit lines.

 

Policy

The Great Depression – Policymakers sought to increase prices (and thereby, wages) by decreasing production.  The thought was that if we had a reduced supply, prices would go up and wages would follow.  Of course the problem with this strategy is that if production is decreased, fewer workers would be needed and fewer people would be able to afford the now higher-priced commodities.

 

Now – I think we all know that creating jobs is the way out of this mess.  A lot of talented people are getting laid off and are left wondering what to do next.  I think America needs an entrepreneurial boom.  We need to stop giving taxpayer dollars to huge companies that are hemorrhaging money and start offering more assistance to small businesses and people who taking the initiative to begin their own economic recovery.

 

Living Conditions

The Great Depression – People lived in cardboard boxes known as “Hoovervilles” and used newspapers to try to keep warm.

 

Now – We complain about not being able to sell our 2,500 square foot homes while watching American Idol in high definition.  I’m not trying to marginalize our current condition.  I know a lot of people are truly struggling to figure out their finances and face losing their homes, but even in our toughest economic times, we have it pretty good.  If you don’t believe me, consider this:  50% of the world (that’s over 3 billion people) live on $2.50 or less per day, 80% of the world lives on less than $10 day, and according to UNICEF, in 2005 up to 30,000 children died every day due to poverty.  You’re probably thinking, but that’s in lesser developed countries.  Exactly.  That’s my point – we have it pretty good.

 

I didn’t plan on putting up another posting about the economy, but it’s hard not to talk about it these days.  I know that some of you are struggling.  I recently found out that one of the plants where I used to work will be shutting down and some of the readers of this blog are now trying to figure out what’s next.  Sometimes we gain perspective from the decisions we make.  Sometimes perspective is forced upon us.  Whatever your situation, it is essential to remain optimistic.  I know… easier said than done.  I’ve learned that optimism does not come from believing that you will get what you want.  It comes from appreciating that you have what you need.

 

Nipped in the Bud

I’ve been a dog lover all of my life.  When I say “dog lover,” I am talking about real dogs not those yappy, manicured, four-legged mammals that more closely resemble a really loud and obnoxious cat than man’s best friend.  I had an encounter last week that has caused me to rethink my interactions with the pooches of the world.

 

During one of my runs last week, I came up behind a young couple walking two large dogs.  I passed one of them, a chocolate lab/mastiff mix and nodded at the owner.  The second, a bullmastiff, was slightly ahead of the other.  If you don’t know what bullmastiff is, think Turner and Hooch.

 

I’ve never had any fear of dogs and didn’t think anything about running past this animal that looked more like a small horse than a dog.  As I passed the dog, it decided to say “hello” by taking a bite out of my right hindquarter. 

 

When I tell this story, I can’t help but use a Forrest Gump voice and explain that “I was just running” when “something jumped up and bit me.”  I’ve roughhoused with dogs and got the little play bites before, but this one actually tore my shorts, broke the skin, and drew blood.  I currently have ten tooth marks and a nice bruise.  

 

To make matters worse, 38 cases of rabies have been reported this year in the county where I live.  I checked with the owners to make sure that the dog was current on its shots because I didn’t want to start foaming at the mouth until someone took me out in the woods to end my earthly existence in the likeness of Old Yeller.

 

I’m not sure where I am going with this, but it’s not every day you get bitten by a 150 pound dog.  It seems that the things that end up hurting us the most are not the things that we fear, but the things that we are comfortable with.  The irony of this is a lot people spend their lives avoiding taking chances and trying new endeavors because they are afraid they may get hurt or fail.  But in truth when we take a chance, we are more cautious and alert.  It is when our daily existence is nothing more than going through the motions that we can be lulled into putting our lives on autopilot.  When we live a life of routine, boring adequacy we sometimes overlook the pitfalls of leading such a life.

 

I’m not saying that we always need to be on the lookout for danger and living in a constant state of paranoia.  I am imploring you to make decisions that require you to be alert rather than just mundanely running through life with a false sense of security.

 

What’s Really Most Important to You?

Take a minute and ask yourself what you would be willing to die for.  Whoa, that’s a big question to get hit with right off the bat!  But think about it.  For what would you willingly give your life?  Have you thought of few things?   

 

Now, what would you be willing to live for?  Well… they should be the same things, right?  If you would be willing to sacrifice your life for something, it only stands to reason that you would be willing to live for that same thing on a daily basis.

 

What were you thinking of when asked what you would be willing to die for.  The typical answers are your family, close friends, religious beliefs, your country, social justice, etc.  Did any of you think you would be willing to die for your career, a promotion, a raise, a bigger house, or a new car?  Of course not – that’s ridiculous, right?

 

Now, what do you really live for?  I’m not talking about the rare occasions where you get to take center stage for your noble cause.  What do you live for on the average, run-of-the-mill day?  If you’re like most people, you’re probably focusing your efforts on those very things that you would never be willing to die for.  Don’t you see how we’ve got this totally mixed up?

 

When you live for the things that you would be willing to die for, your life becomes filled with your passion for those things.  But most of us chose to place our daily efforts on our careers and our own selfish ambition.  We waste time worrying about our house, our bank accounts, or what other people think about us, leaving little time and energy to dedicate to those things that we said we would be willing to die for.

 

You can only die for something once, but you have the opportunity to live for something every single day. 

 

Poll of Job Dissatisfaction

There is a cool new feature on this site that allows me to do polls.  I thought I would give it a whirl with the question below.  I’d like to know what frustrates you the most about your job.  If you are retired or no longer working, just answer with what frustrated you the most while you were working (if you can remember that far back…).