Insights from Ken Blanchard!

I've been spending the past couple of days surrounded by church leaders and church "planters" at the Exponential Conference here in Orlando. I have such an incredible compassion and respect for those who sacrifice their comforts, security and lives for the purpose of bringing light to the ends of the world or right next door.


One of the keynote speakers is Ken Blanchard. After a lunch story-telling session, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Mr Blanchard. After thanking him for a very inspiring presentation and his life's work...I asked the author of The One Minute Manager, Situational Leadership, etc. what he believed were the top 3 opportunities for church leaders today. His response was insightful, clear and applicable to ALL leaders.

1. Know your Mission...be able to clearly articulate it, share it with others, inspire others by it and most importantly live it.

2. Be a Servant Leader...once you set the Mission, "turn the hierachical pyramid upside down...lead by serving your people...egomaniacs make horrible leaders.

3. Keep to you Mission...stay focused on who you are and don't allow mission drift.

This advice also applies to us personally as we search for our own life's work or maybe just our next job:


1. What is your Mission? Why are you here? What is the purpose of your life? What are your unique gifts, talents and motivations? Many describe it as your Calling. What type of vocation fits with your personality, skills, motivations and values?

2. Do you lead to be served or do you lead to serve? Often we can fall into the trappings of position power, status, title, influence and the like and forget about those we are leading.

3. If you know your life's mission...how often are you derailed or distracted from it? Another speaker today said that the greater the work, the more critics and naysayers you'll have. We all have our own agendas and we can try to "hijack" the mission of others or criticize them if we don't understand or agree with their life mission.
I look forward to reading Mr Blanchard's latest work Lead Like Jesus...what better model of a servant leader, great motivator, and life changer?

Enough for today

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. ~ Exodus 16:4

“God makes a promise. He will give you manna – or grace – when you need it, but not before. That means you will be anxious if you forecast the future because you are making your prediction based on the manna you have left over from today, and there is none. What you don’t factor into your prediction is that you will receive fresh grace when you need it."

~ Dr. Ed Welch, from Peace that passes all understanding

 - TableTalk Magazine, Jan 2010

These words resonate with me so clearly this week as I prepare my first career transition seminar...Coping with Job Loss.  So much of the anxiety and fear we face is from this "forecasting" into the future (whether tommorow or six months from now)...What will happen when my severance/savings runs out?  Will I have found another job in time? Will I lose my house, will I have to file bankruptcy, or will I lose my children's future education...the list of what-ifs goes on and on. 

We spend our lives trying to store up money, belongings, accomplishments only to have them stolen by stock market crashes, mortgage crises, and having our identities stripped away by corporate down-sizing. 

“Without realizing it, we begin to look for identity, meaning and purpose, and our inner sense of well-being horizontally…important things (like family, work, housing, money, etc.) become all too important to us because they become the places we look to for our rest…they not only do not give us rest, they become the reasons for the endless cycles of worry, anxiety and fear…”

~ Paul David Tripp from Thinking Biblically about Worry 

- TableTalk Magazine, Jan 2010

This daily dependece on God seems to be the point.  I can chose to depend on and trust God for my future, or I can chose to fret and worry about my needs. Either way, I can't control what's to come, I can only do what I believe is best today. 

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

~ Matthew 6:25-27

WORDS TO LIVE BY...

The business of business

Boy! It's been a crazy 2 weeks...setting up business accounts, working with my web designer, new business cards, filing with the State, IRS, etc...I have a new found appreciation for folks who run their own business. I knew there would be a lot involved...but man there's more than I ever thought!

I thank God I have a wonderful friend who is also my CPA, financial planner, and tax advisor! I told her the other day if it weren't for her - I would have very likely been stopped in my tracks by the sheer frustration and confusion of all the forms, calls, faxing, paperwork, errands and stuff involved with just starting a business.

It has been so difficult to stay focused on the real purpose for doing all of this.  I've spent far more time doing the "business stuff" than the actual work I want to be doing. What has kept me going is the continuing support and surprising new opportunities I never thought were available. 

I was in my credit union last week to setup a business account and later was introduced to the Financial Services Rep who after me telling her about my new business, she says I should send them some info about the career transition seminars I'm working on as they might be a good fit for the monthly seminars the credit union sponsors for their members.  Wow...so cool!

I hope I can just keep up!

Career Transition Series

I'm working on developing a series of seminars for those impacted by job loss. The series topics will include:
Coping with Job Loss
• God’s Sovereignty and Fear
• The Grief Process
• Staying healthy, physically and emotionally
• When to get more help…
• Resources and Links

Hearing God’s Calling on your Life
• What is a Calling?
• How do I identify My Calling from God?
• Translating Your calling into a Vocational Identity
• Identifying Marketable Skills
• Resources & Links

Developing Your Personal Marketing Materials
• Do I Really Need to “Market” Myself?
• Resumes – Types and How-to’s
• Cover Letters
• Social Media
• Avoiding Scams
• Resources & Links

Preparing for Job Interviews
• Types of Interviews
• Developing Your “Success Stories”
• What to Ask in an Interview
• Negotiating Job Offers
• Resources & Links

What might I be missing?