You Can Change Your Life's Path Without Costing You Your Livelihood

Another friend has been contemplating changing his path, too. He works in Academia - Administration mainly with some classroom teaching on occassion. He's a big, immediately likeable guy that exudes charisma that just makes him a pleasure to be around. His passion is clearly educating others. He gets a real kick out of others embracing their learning opportunities, before doing what they thought was impossible: Graduate from college! There is nothing more gratifying than helping others achieve their dream and live better lives. However, this idyllic job opportunity isn't meeting other core needs of his life. Now, his current job is a good job. He is appreciated for his work. He has growth potential. Ok, what is the problem here? It's a heart condition. The work-life and fulfillment levels have dropped dramatically. What's missing?:

• More time with his wife
• More time wiith his newborn baby (angelic little creature...and we all said, "Awww".
• Having more control over his work and the tasks he pours his life energy into
• Engaging more of the people and things that make his heart sing

He wants a life that gives more meaning and purpose than a paycheck and less fulfillment in his personal life. He's tired of less time doing what is best in his heart and mind. What he's looking for isn't just a job, but a pursuit that fits with his financial value, life's values, and what he values in his life. There are three things he's after and they are all non-negotiatable (for him and for you). Sometimes, we can get by without fulfillment in our work, but it's only getting by and you lose a piece of yourself in the process every day. My friend mentioned how each day was one day further away from where he wanted to be. This is common among all of us. The realization that we should be somewhere else or doing something else that is more valuable, important, clearer, Godly, etc. This nags at us all. Wondering about those three things: Key emotions, tasks, and a clear idea of what it all should look like when you do arrive at Fulfillmentville!

Part way through our chat, he states, "I hope you are writing another book." I told him, I am! There is more to life than being a dutiful breadwinner, which is where he and many others have gotten stuck in life. You can be a dutiful breadwinner doing what fills you up and everyone wins, not just your job, your family, or your bill collectors. You get to win, too. You! I shared with my friend that he's looking for a 1 - 2 degree shift from his current path: first in his mind/heart and then with his feet. I do not advocate leaving your job immediately without a parachute or plan - if you doctors tells you to do so that's another story. Here's how it works:

1. Complete your "Filter of Life's Must Haves and Dos" - available in my workshops coming up in May 2012
2. Research and evaluate those life pursuits (social, spiritual, career, relationship) that are valued and important
3. Immerse yourself in activities and relationships that bring you closer to the thing you love
4. Evaluate your financial needs and potential for any new career pursuit fitting your filter's requirements
5. Continually refresh your mind around steps 1 - 4, while actively seeking and affirming your new direction.

I leveled with my friend. I've left many good jobs. I've continually, by God's grace and his plan for helping me share this message, have landed in increasing better situations...closer to my dream of financial independence and work-life balance (what we all want and deserve). It's time you took the plunge by learning how you can make your 1-2 degree shifts toward that amazing life supported by the thing you were born to do. Drop me an email at learnit2012@gmail.com.

Be Well - John

Peace Is An Immovable Rock (Embedded in Your Purpose)

Hey Friend,

I was pondering a tweet and this gem emerged from my thoughts: "Peace is an immovable rock. You cannot embrace it in motion. You cannot pull it along with you. You can only be present with it." This thought is rife with richness that came from a place beyond my mind's borders. When I think about the peace entering my life, much of it comes from tapping into my gifting and shifting my life's path to accommodate it. I have met and chatted with many people who are well intention about their life, and end up living in the shadow of their Greatness.

Tonight, I chatted with a friend with a great home life and a less than stellar job situation. He's a fabulous technology talent, who has been a dutiful bread winner. Well, no matter how noble our intentions, we cannot live in the shadow of Mt. Greatness without growing cold. We cannot summit on Mt. Greatness without an arduous climb through the thinner atmosphere of self-doubt, uncertainty, and desertion by those ill-equipped for your ascent toward greatness. Whether we stand by and watch ourselves die beneath the veneer of "Doing the Right Thing" versus striking out on the often times misunderstood path of your true calling, there will be a price to pay. And, only one of these prices will give you a rebate, while the other will cost you your life!

The Rebate comes from striking out toward the summit of Mt. Greatness (small steps to really big ones) will bring you closer to the divine and the divine existance you seek, on a journey of your choosing. The Veneer existance is a perceived safety net. While the bulk of your stuff is held in place, your soul slips through tiny holes in your safety net. It saves your stuff, but not you. It supports the facade of a life well lived or not, but not you. Aren't you worth more than your stuff, unsupportive relationships, and anything thing else that robs you of the light in your eyes.

Perhaps, it is time you ventured out of the shadow of your Mt. Greatness and it's perceived safety net, and explore the life you've been missing. You deserve it. Here's what you can do for the next seven days to find the peace hidden in your purpose:

• Reflect on what fills your heart with laughter
• Volunteer your time doing the thing you love most
• Find, read, and write about the life you desire in your heart - you have a free pass to not worry about how, when, where, or with whom (those are merely byproducts anyway)
• Love Someone, Hate No One
• Forgive yourself

And, journal your thoughts after 7 days. On day 8, consider your Mt. Greatness and climb it responsibly!

God Bless,

Sometimes, You Have to Break Up with Yourself

Hello Readers,
Neil Sedaka wrote a song called "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." He's talking about the pain he felt breaking up with the person he loves. It is equally hard breaking up with those parts of yourself that keep you down. It's really hard. It's hard realizing:

• Life is living me instead of me living it
• My comfort zone is a prison and I'm the jailer
• My highest priority is not the highest priority of purpose for my life
• I am seeking life's purpose, when it found me years ago and I denied it
• And, the beat goes on.

Too often, we give life's circumstances carte blanche in shaping what we think, are, and do in life. Life is not our master. Life is a by-product of the choices, large and small, that we make that form the tree and fruits it bears in its season. A good life is the result of tough realizations, sound judgement, and hard work based on:

• How deeply we invest thought - broadly and clearly into our life's choices
• How well we researched and/or sought wisdom from trusted, learned advisors and God, to identify value gaps in our own thinking
• How well we prepare ourself for success or recovery from failure
• How effectively and consistently we shield our minds from negative people, thoughts, and actions
• How consistently we act in our best interest instead of reacting to options, others, and outcomes
• Finally, having an unwaivering willingness to change who, what, when, where, why, and how of those limiting life ways, so we can live authentically and successfully with ourselves and others

Yes, breaking up with our limiting life ways is hard to do. However, it is the only way to make room for a healthier, limitless, and authentic life. Do the hard work, plant a strong tree, and bear good fruit for yourself and others. And, don't forget about your unique gift/talent, which figures prominently in everything you do.

Live Well,

John

Want Success? Take a Tip from The Sun

If you want success in life, follow the pattern of the sun:

1. Rise early
2. Peak around noon
3. At evening, settle into working quietly behind the scenes

No successful person made it out alive doing 8-5. Once you discover your gift, you will realize how the sun has been teaching about perserverance, persistance, and profit, by simply rising, peaking, and quietly working behind the scenes when most people are sleeping. The sun never rests, so like the good book says, "A little sleep, a little folding of the hands..."

Amen,

Contentment is the Source of True Happiness

The source of happiness is contentment. Happiness, like a fog, occasionally rises from the ocean of contentment. True contentment offers lasting, more satisfying experiences of work, charity, spirituality, and clarity of action in all things.

When you experience contentment, not complacency, you will be grounded in what matters most in your life. You and your Maker are harmonizing, most days, and making life's decisions together, which lead to greater contentment. Too often, we invest heavily in OTHER people's definition or perceptions of happiness. The only one that matters is yours and those nearest/dearest to you.

Find God, His contentment, and He'll make sense of your toughest decisions, connect you with rich experiences, and prepare you for life beyond this one.

Don't Give Up

This has been an incredibly long year for many Americans. We've suffered many losses: physically, mentally, emotionally, politically, and economically. It is with difficulty that I raise my head this holiday season, and say, "Rage against the dying of the light!" As long as you have presence of mind, hope in your heart, and faith in something greater than yourself, you will survive, God willing, thrive in the sunlight of a brilliant tomorrow. Hang on one more day. Marshall your wits one more time. Get up, get up, get moving...I know you are weary, but eternal rest is not for you now. Get up, get up, get moving. Don't let this economy tell you what you can't do! Tell it, no, show it what you can do! Stand up! If it knocks you down, stand up again! This recession is not your master. It does not own you. It does not define you. Don't give it more due than it's due. You are stronger than you know now go, plan, share, build, and thrive in your thoughts and actions geared toward an industrious, beautiful life beyond recession's cold, post-capital melt-down! Go forth and give your heart, give to those in need, help the orphan and the widowed, and put a little aside for yourself and the Lord - watch your life expand, inspire others, and be everything you dreamed...if you just DON'T GIVE UP! You have to be in the game of life to win it or have a draw, which is far more admirable than giving up, so don't.

Be Positive in a Negative World

After feeling pretty pitiful about (fill-in the blank), I stopped and decided that the recession will not shape my future. The Bible says, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." We must change our hearts and minds, before changing the world (Ours and the Globe). Positive thoughts will lead us to positive actions and outcomes. For this, I am thankful in the season of giving.