I’m currently reading a great book on keeping your life simple. One of the chapters that struck me talked about your job. He used 4 key alignments to look for in your work life. He used a job as a template but I wanted to add a business as well, as I believe strongly in business ownership here in America (a very important part of freedom). I’ll mostly be writing from the viewpoint of being a part of LIFE Leadership, the company I work with. Feel free to add your work place to this list though or your own business and see if they line up. If not, what can you do to change that and get your workplace in line with these areas.
Alignment 1-Passion
Passion according to this author is identifying our God-given passions and finding jobs (or a business) that align with them as closely as possible, we can put ourselves in position for great satisfaction. How many of us or people you know seem to be just living life without any passion or excitement? Most seem to never really find any great satisfaction with their life’s work. Most of the conversations I’ve had with people in this position are from people who followed what everyone told them to do, just find a good safe secure job and you’ll be fine. After a few years most of these people find themselves unhappy, mostly due to not being passionate about what they are doing. It’s ok to take some steps back and maybe even take less pay (use a financial fitness guide to help you live on less) so that you can be in an area where you’re excited to wake up everyday and work. It also helps to find people who are passionate about what they do and ask them questions. Those would be the ones who are always alive, you know the type, cause most of us growl and grumble at them. Two books that have helped me and could offer insight to passion and purpose would be Resolved by Orrin Woodward and PAiLS by Chris Brady.
Alignment 2-Culture
The author asked how does the culture intersect with your passion, personality, priorities, and relationship style? Is this a place where you can thrive? Two extremely good questions. How many of us get into jobs that go against our priorities? Or workplaces that say one thing, yet mean another. My wife for example works in a place that preaches family, yet if she were to actually spend her off time with family or make family a bigger priority than work she would basically get passed by for any promotions even if she was the best qualified (one of many reasons why corporate America is no longer for us). Ask yourself, is the environment I’m in on a regular basis helping me grow personally and professionally? Does the culture really stand for what they believe? Very important questions. If you don’t get the answers you’re looking for, then it’s time to move on. Don’t stick around for 30 years, find a culture that is already created or help to create one that matches your passion, priorities and values. A book that could be of help here is Launching a Leadership Revolution by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, specifically the section on Tri-Lateral Leadership Ledger (TLL) and the 5 Levels of Influence. Also our LIFE Live seminars. We have created a culture of growth and trust within an organization. I can leave a $100 bill on my seat with my notebook and it will still be there when I get back. Also in our environment or culture we have less than a 1% divorce rate, really good seeing the rest of our country is almost to 60%. I would consider culture to be one of the most important of the four, we are a product of our association. Remember when mom and dad wondered who you were hanging out with, it shouldn’t be any different as adults.
Alignment 3-Challenge
The author goes through different levels of challenge, from being not challenged at all to being overly challenged and stressed out. He makes a good point that our work should be challenging. We have all been in workplaces where maybe we were not challenged, not really where you wanna be, work is boring at that point and you just can’t wait to leave. Others are way over challenged and forget other priorities, like home and simply things like rest. The author recommended finding a place where you are AC+ (Appropriately Challenged Plus). He says that in this level of challenge you feel an excitement, a need for God, a need to work as a team. You’re in just enough over your head that you must swim hard and fast, but you’re not drowning. This is up for you to decide where you’re at. With finding your AC+ you also have to make sure you’re keeping your priorities in line. Know sometimes you may have to work longer and harder for a season but that’s where communication comes in with your family. Keeping everyone updated and on the same page and knowing when those long hours will be over. For those reading that work with me in LIFE our challenge comes with Power Player, it does give us that excitement, need for God and a need to work as a team. It’s just enough of a challenge to get you out the door and working with people, but it won’t drown you. For everyone else who owns a business or works at a job, think about challenge and what it looks like in your life. Are you not being challenged at all? Are you in over your head challenged? What does AC+ look like for you?
Alignment 4-Compensation
It’s a beautiful thing when passion and pay align, allowing you to do something you love and be well paid. If this is your situation, thank God on your knees every day, because you are living the dream. Very few people ever experience the perfect balance between passion and pay. It is one of life’s rare and precious blessings-Hybels
He covers a great topic here because as we are living our purpose and passions it does help to make an income, after all most of us enjoy eating, clothes to wear and a roof over our heads. So don’t act like compensation isn’t important, because it is. It’s not the most important so it helps to make sure we have our priorities in line and living responsibly with the money that God has blessed us with (which most of us as American’s are doing a poor job). But the author was right, when you can make a good living doing what you’re fully passionate about what a blessing. Not everyone though has that blessing, but he offers two formulas that help us live our passions while also providing a living.
Low Pay+High Passion=Supplement Your Income
There are countless ways to build an extra income here in America. You can start a small business. You can join a networking company, in today’s age this is becoming more and more popular. I would encourage you to look at the LIFE Leadership IDS and CAB brochure. Also read The Leadership Train by Orrin Woodward and The Business of the 21st Century by Robert Kiyosaki. Either way find something, it doesn’t take much to make a few extra bucks that will allow us to move closer to our passions.
High Pay+Low Passion=Supplement Your Passion
There’s a lot of people who have high paying jobs they can’t leave because they provide well, or a business that supports their family. What this author recommends is that if you can’t make a living working your passion then find a way to fill your passion outside of work. A lot of times this can come through volunteering or starting small group studies. One of the things I love about LIFE is that even if you didn’t make a living you can still be passionate about what it allows you to do. I’ve had two friends pay off over $20,000 worth of debt in less than a couple years just applying the information from our Financial Fitness pack. I have a handful of other friends who have better marriages today from applying our Marriage pack into their lives, some of those friends were tossing the word divorce around. Most people I know would be passionate about that and be happy doing it for free.
My prayer for you is that you would take these concepts and match them up with your life. Look them over and study. What can you do to align your life with your priorities, your passions. It will take some changes and sometimes a few steps backwards, but I believe it would be worth it if it led you to where you truly wanted to be.