day 601: Give At The Office

In earlier times, before telemarketing, people would come to our front doors and solicit for a good cause. It became a standing line in our culture to avoid giving that we would say, "I gave at the office". There were times that it was true as many companies did, and still do, run campaigns for charities like Easter Seals, United Way,or The Red Cross and their blood drives, etc. So, it is true that we can say, "I gave at the office". The question is, are we giving enough at the office? What I mean is, are we giving enough of ourselves to others? We have all known people who give way more of themselves to others and they do so almost sacrificially and they become known for being the most giving of all. One of the greatest gifts we have is our time. The impact that can be made by giving a few minutes, or an hour, to someone who needs advice, help, or support can be multiplicative. What we think is nothing can be something tremendous and potentially life-changing to someone else. We can also give of our talents. What we can do to help along someone else with our talents is also so important. And of course, we have our treasures to give back. Our tenth that we should tithe to our church is the right place to start if we are wondering how to honor God for what He has given us. When we give of ourselves and what we have not only will others want to follow that example but God will bless. We read in Deuteronomy 15:10, "Give freely without begrudging it, and the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do." How can we become more of a giver that does so without thinking, much less begrudgingly? We can start today by giving a little more of our time, giving a little more of our talents and giving a little more of our treasures. May giving become a habit in all of us!

Reference: Deuteronomy 15:10 (New Living Testament)

day 600: Underhanded

Wouldn't it be great if we could always count on everyone at the office being straight-forward, to the point, well-intentioned and never underhanded? Hmm, if this was the case, do you think we would still call it work? It just doesn't work this way does it? Dictionary.com provides this list of underhanded synonyms: clandestine, covert, crooked, cunning, devious, dirty, dishonest, fraudulent, furtive, secret, shady, shifty, shorthanded, sly, sneaky, subversive, surreptitious, unethical, unfair, unscrupulous, and wily. As I read through the list, a few people from my career came to mind. It is a bit disheartening to think that I can put names on these words but it is reality. Companies are like small cities (and sometimes big cities) and if we think that everyone in a city is honest, above-board and trustworthy, then where are the other people that cause us to have laws and regulations? Take a look at your company handbook sometime and you can be assured that for every policy you see in there that addresses a problem, that somewhere along the way, someone did something that caused that policy to created. The larger and more detailed the policy book, the more troubles the company once must have had. It's like walking the pages of shame. Yes, people can be underhanded on our jobs and sometimes these actions can be pervasive and built into the culture. But, that doesn't mean that we should be that way. We must be known as the antonyms of underhanded; open, public, fair, honest, decent, honorable, principled, pure, trustworthy, truthful, uncorrupted and upright. Paul tells us as much in 2 Corinthians 4:2, "We reject all shameful and underhanded methods." Yes, we must reject these and not allow ourselves to get pulled into those areas where underhanded could define our actions. So, check and be sure that a corner is not being cut, something that is being in the dark gets brought to the light, and that we have nothing to hide today in what and how we do our jobs.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 4:2 (New Living Testament)

day 599: Hindering

When someone feels like they can't grow or develop in their job then they may also feel like they are being hindered by their boss, by others, or by the company culture itself. No one wants to feel hindered by anything. We want to have unbridled opportunities and anything that holds us back or tries to bring us down we want to rebel against, push away, or even run away from. But sometimes we are being hindered by others and we don't even recognize that it is happening. Careers are sometimes made or ruined in the conversations that take place behind the closed door. Not much we can really do about it other than be pure in our intention, pure in our actions, and pure in how we treat others consistently with support, dignity and respect. If we get caught up in office politics and we have done all the right things then we can hold our head high. But, if we have contributed to being hindered then some of it falls in the category that we get what we deserve. What no one deserves is to have others, either through actions or examples become hindered. If we do anything that causes someone to stumble or miss out on an opportunity then shame on us. If we cause anyone to not want or not be able to reach their full potential then the same should probably happen to us. I have worked with many a person who had in one form or another hurt and held back others by leading them in the wrong direction or setting a bad example that they then followed. I have seen teams be let go because the tone and culture of the team that was set at the top did not any longer conform to that larger culture that was being created and the entire team got caught up in what the leader created and could have avoided. It is a hard thing to watch. We each have a responsibility to not hinder others in any way. If our actions are causing that to happen then we need to change and change now. Paul speaks of hindering others in their pursuit to walk with the Lord but that can be expanded to the other areas in one's life that will, over time, accumulate into something that could also hinder their finding the Lord. The examples we set can be very long-lasting. We read in 2 Corinthians, "We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way that we act..." What could we be doing in how we act, talk, or treat others that could be hindering others?

Reference: 2 Corinthians 6:3 (New Living Testament)

day 598: Patient Endurance

It is a great thing to be able to handle the worst that life brings on us. I see people do this and am amazed at how they get through it, bounce back and return to a sense of normalcy. I am not only talking about those life and death events, I am talking about those instances where everything seemed normal and on track and then in the blink of an eye, a job is lost, a deal falters, a relationship gets destroyed, a financial decision backfires, a market dissipates, a colleague fails, we fail, we fall or we just make a mistake that can't be fixed. What we know is that all of what we expect to be there tomorrow for us is terribly fragile and temporal. We expect it all to last forever but we know that it doesn't really. I got a note from a friend who used to work for me a long time ago. He was asked to "early retire" last week from the company that he had worked for for over 25 years. While he never expected it to happen to him, it did. He now has to bounce back and start anew and do so with the attitude and energy that can get him reemployed. What started out like any other work day, ended with decades of his work life being radically changed. The same can happen or has happened to all of us. All of the above and worse can happen. But, it is not just enough to endure. While that is great and in itself creates an awesome example for others to see and follow, we are called on to be more in control. Paul says this to us, "In everything we do try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind." Paul calls on us to patiently endure. What I hear is that we are to find a place within ourselves where we can wait on what God has in store before we react. We are to be patient with what is happening to us. This is a great challenge and a great call to action. If we can find that we can wait on God in the worst of times, then we will have Him with us in all times. It may be that you are facing your own calamity or test of endurance. See if you can't reverse the order and find your patience in waiting on Him first and then let Him be there with you for the enduring long run.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 6:4 (New Living Testament)

day 597: It Starts Here!

We want our businesses and each person in our company to be a shining of example of the brand or service image that we are trying to portray to our customers. When all of our actions and words align then we get good results and the customer sees, hears and experiences what we desire. But, all it takes is one little slip up and everything gets out of kilter and then what was supposed to be in alignment becomes mismatched, convoluted and confusing. We must work hard to keep everything in alignment and it really starts with each us having our own house in order. That house being our own values, principles, actions and words. It's amazing how quickly a bad action can spread and ruin lots of hard work that went into building a reputation. We can simply follow the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians to see how it is that we should conduct ourselves, "We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord be the way we act, and so no can find fault with our ministry. In everything we do try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind." Yes, Paul is speaking to us as plainly as he was talking to those he taught and mentored. If we are to be people who bring Glory to God in our work and on our jobs; this being our purpose, then we have to have it start right here, right now, to get it right for the long run. We have to be ones whom others look to as examples of how they are supposed to live and work. Reread Paul's words and check and see where you might be falling short and then let it start anew right here, today for you.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 6:3-4 (New Living Testament)

day 596: Just Who Do You Think You Are?

Arrogance, pride and hubris. The triple threat of career killers. I was at a presentation last week where the presenter was trying to be funny by putting down other people. The problem was that the arrogance he exuded was too true to his form and too real for the people in the crowd to think it humorous. There were few laughs. A title in our work life means much but it can also mean too much if we are not careful. Because we have letters before or after our names does not make us who we are. Those letters can define what we do, but should not define who we are. When let those get mixed up then our ego takes over and we are on the way to becoming someone we won't want to be. In the business world, these things catch up with us. We may be able to think more highly of ourselves than others for awhile but when the results falter, or we stumble, or we make the inevitable mistake, then we will find that those who we thought were below us, step aside and will not catch us. So, we have to constantly check our ego and check it at the door when we think we are getting too big for our britches. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, "I don't want anyone to think more highly of me than what they can actually see in my life and my message." How poignant and applicable to all of us. Let's take today and do a little checking to see where we are letting our egos run away on us, pull it back and be sure that we really know who we are.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 12:6 (New Living Testament)

day 595: Happy Is

Let's face it, being happy at work and happy in our work comes and goes. Sure, there are times of stretched happiness but there are also times when we are not happy with what we are doing, or where we are doing it, or with whom we are doing it with. At these times we can get in a funk and and we can let our emotions get the best of us and if we are not careful we can spiral into forgetting the things that we really like about our jobs, our co-workers, and our company. So, how do we ensure that we are receiving the fullest happiness from our work? The answer lies not in what we do, but instead in how we do it. Haven't we all marveled at some point or another about the person who is so happy doing the most menial of jobs? And if we are honest with ourselves we have probably wished for a bit of that simplicity and a lot of that happiness. What we are really amazed by is the happiness that can come from "how" we do the work, regardless of what that work is or will be. If we were to return to the days of when we first started to work and think about how each and every day was filled with something new to learn and something new to master then we would remember that it really was about how we did those jobs not what those jobs were. David gives us a peek into what can bring happiness to how we work and conduct ourselves. In Psalm 119 he says, "Happy are people of integrity, who follow the law of the Lord." Happy is living, and therefore working, with integrity that supersedes all of the office politics, or the career missteps, or the bad boss, or the failing company. Happy is knowing that what we do, we do with the highest of integrity and in a way that models and is an example to others. Think today about where in your work you can up your integrity in "how" you are working. What you will find is that when you do that your happiness, about your work, can only increase.

Reference: Psalm 119:1 (New Living Testament)

day 594: Stress Relief

No matter how we try, stress has a way of hanging around and staying present. We bury it for awhile or we tuck it away after a few days on vacation and then something triggers its return and it starts influencing us again. Not all stress is bad. Actors and athletes would never get to the top of their game if they didn't have some stress to drive them. Nor would we when we have to give the big presentation or close the important deal. We need some of that stress to sharpen and focus us. But, what we don't need is the hang-around and keep us up night after night stress that drags us down and wreaks havoc on our body and mind. It's important that we monitor and know ourselves well enough to know the difference between good and bad stress. It's counter-intuitive but one way to beat stress is to stress our our minds and bodies into other things that take us away from what is bringing on the bad stress. Physical exercise is good, we know that but at some point we can only spend so many hours working out so exercise of the body is not the full answer. Exercise of the mind is also important. But, this exercise must also be really good for us. David tells us the best way to work our minds to relieve the stress, "As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands". If we begin to exercise and discipline ourselves in the commands of the Lord we will find that the stresses of this world will fall away. Let's today, try and see if we can't find what David found in the joy and stress-relief of the Lord.

Reference: Psalm 119:143 (New Living Testament)

day 593: Displacement: Part 5, Malicious Behavior

This is the last post in this five part series on Displacement. We have been exploring what needs to be displaced in our work and the rest of our lives in order to allow other good things to be replacements. The final area to discuss is a both an emotion and a behavior. It has to do with what we will do and to what extremes we will do it to get ahead in our jobs and our careers. It is not unusual to hear people put down other people while we are working. In fact, if you listen carefully for it, it is very common and remarkably widely accepted. "He never called back, She didn't finish the job, He dropped the ball, She let the team down, He blew off the assignment, She never showed up, He could care less, She is only out for herself", and on and on and on it goes. Everyday, all day long. Then we wonder why we fall into the pattern so easily and before we even recognize it we have become malicious in how we undermine or put ourselves in front of someone else. Maybe it is more human nature than we think since it comes out so naturally. There is also an extreme to this that would be found unacceptable to just about anyone but still happens, and this is when actual behaviors show up that cause someone else from being able to do their jobs or being dragged down so that someone else can look better. This is true maliciousness. How do we ensure that we don't go down that road or that we don't get caught up in the wrong words and behaviors? This is where we must replace and displace this with thoughts and words of wanting to see others succeed, wanting to see others grow and develop, wanting to see others do well and wanting all of this regardless of where it leaves our stature or position in the organization. We have to stop putting ourselves first and instead replace this with putting others ahead of us. And yes, this will be alright and no, we won't lose our position because we want to see someone else succeed. Now is the time to get rid of any malicious feelings, thoughts or tendencies. Paul tells us this clearly; "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior." What is in our minds and hearts will become behaviors. Now is the time to get rid of it all. Keep Ephesians 4:31 in your mind and heart. The lesson of displacement is a daily lesson to be relearned over and over.

Reference: Ephesians 4:31 (New Living Testament)

day 592: Displacement: Part 4, Slander

I found myself the other day not being able to hold it in. There is someone with whom I have been working for a long time and I found out that what I was being told about a personal situation was not the whole truth and what had been the reason for months of carrying the load of this person came to look like was just not true. I found a confidant who has also been involved in the situation and I unloaded. After I made it clear on how I felt, I felt better, but not really. What I felt like later in the day was that I had let my own emotions take over and in some way, the words I had said about this other person felt almost slanderous. While I knew that they would never be repeated, I felt bad about what I had said. Then shortly after that, I got a note from the person who I had spoken to about the situation and I was reaffirmed in how I "could" feel this way, but challenged on how maybe I needed to look at the situation differently and with a more open mind. I thought about the words I had used. I did challenge myself and realized that the words I had used should have been replaced and displaced with words and feelings of understanding and a second-chance. It is easy to malign and slander someone else. The work world is full of it each and every day. It is harder to find the words that show caring, understanding and even if disappointed, still encouraging. These are the words and emotions that we need to use to displace slanderous words. I was taught that if you can' say something good about someone, then don't say anything at all. I forgot that lesson last week but have relearned it. Paul told us that there is no place for slander; "Get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander...". We have to let the words that add to bad emotions go and today would be a good time to start.

Reference: Ephesians 4:31 (New Living Testament)

day 591: Displacement: Part 3, Harsh Words

We all know the language that we use at work has a huge influence on our reputation and our ability to influence, be successful and also be an example to others. Let's assume that if you are reading this that you have already committed to (or are working on) removing words that we know to be not acceptable in living the type of life that we desire. So, since those words have been eradicated then let's explore the other words that just because they don't come in four letters, can be just as damaging. What we want to have flowing from our mouths are words of encouragement and words that reinforce an optimistic and uplifting sentiment. But, in order to have those words be the natural stream that flows we have to remove, or displace, those words that do not set that tone. These words, which are much harsher, have to go away in order for the other better words to become a part of our regular vocabulary. If we constantly use harsh or bitter words then the same mouth will struggle to be filled with kindness, gentleness or encouragements. It would be so much easier if one size fit all and there was a list of words that we could practice removing to make room for better others, but it doesn't work that way because each word for each person means something different and even what we think is easy and not harsh, can be interpreted to be so with different people. This is why we have to work so hard to replace and displace the words that others would think harsh. We each know what the most obvious words are, but we have to dig into ourselves to know which ones mean "what" to others. Paul says that they just have to go; "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words...". Today, take a few minutes to think about the words that you have been using and which words, directions, criticism, or sarcasm have you been using that have to go so that the other good words have room to grow? Removal of harsh words can be a real game changer in how you can interact and have better relationships with others.

Reference: Ephesians 4:31 (New Living Testament)

day 590: Displacement: Part 2, Rage And Anger

Yesterday we started a learning about displacement theory and how we must remove certain things or add others things to change the level of anything. Today, let's explore what it would be like to bring extreme happiness and extreme satisfaction to the workplace. How many people are truly, extremely happy and satisfied in their work and jobs? Not many that I know but the ones who are stand out and are admired by just about everyone. Those who don't admire them are usually the sourest of people and they just can't stand to be around happy people anyway. So, what do we need to get rid of in our attitudes to be extremely happy? The other end of that spectrum is beyond anger, it is a boiling point that is called rage. Rage is defined as violent anger or burst of extreme anger. Usually we don't see the external manifestations of rage in the workplace since we all know what happens when that does; people usually lose their jobs. But, that doesn't mean that we don't feel anger and rage inside of us. Who among us haven't clinched a fist and jaw and wanted to scream out? Or maybe even that pen has come flying out of the hand and found itself on the other side of the office? Or that email flame-o-gram was about to be sent and then we held it back? Yes, we all have anger and some rage inside of us that if we want to find a place of extreme happiness we are going to have to replace and displace. Let's search ourselves today and ask God to help us to recognize those trigger areas in our lives that surface our anger and rage and then remove them from us! Paul tells us this in Ephesians 4:31, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger.."

Reference: Ephesians 4:31 (New Living Testament)

day 589: Displacement: Part 1 - Bitterness

I have found that those at work who are the most tenderhearted and open with feelings of acceptance of others are the people who in the long run are found to have strong and deep relationships with others. They are also the people who seem to gain the greatest amount of commitment with whom they work. Wouldn't it be great to have a more accepting and open heart to others who makes mistakes or who are not up to the same performance or standards that we are? In order to be more like this, we have to think back to our grade school science lessons. Remember when we were taught about displacement and how the glass totally full of water would either rise or fall with what was in the glass or not? We learned to displace the water with other objects like rocks, etc. The water would either overflow or go down with the changes of the objects in the glass that were not water. The same can be said of our attitudes. If we want to be more accepting, more tenderhearted, more open to others, then we have to remove something else for these areas to expand. What we have to to do is remove bitterness that takes hold inside of ourselves. Paul tells us this in Ephesians 4:31, "Get rid of all bitterness....". If we hold onto our bitterness we can never see the attitudes we want grow and be more a part of us. Today, start displacing any bitterness that may be hanging around so that the right attitude can fill the rest of you.

Reference: Ephesians 4:31 (New Living Testament)

day 588: Rest Time

We work hard and then we work harder until we work ourselves to a point of being totally wasted and burned out. I have written before how important it is to take time to rest and recharge. As we are coming out of The Great Recession it feels like we are going to need to be as rested and recharged as we can be as the economy recovers and the work comes back. But, how can we rest when we have so much already going on and we don't want to miss an opportunity? It's a great question and even trying to answer it for ourselves can add stress and wear us out even further. What we all have to do is find a place where we can rest and find a place where we can unplug. All of this is getting harder in our fast-paced always connected world. But, we must rest otherwise we can't perform at our highest level. If athletes did not rest their bodies then they would under perform and eventually breakdown from injury and once that happens for an athlete they may never recover. The same can happen to us if we push ourselves too far and too fast. We break emotionally or we make a bad decision or our judgment fails us. These can be unrecoverable instances that had we been rested we never would have made. As believers we have a place of rest that we can reach for that will recharge us each and every time. We don't need to walk away to rest. We just need to walk towards the right place of respite. Paul tells us in Hebrews 4 where to find that rest; "For all who enter into God's rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world." If we can find the same rest from God that He received after creating the world, then that is the best rest of all.

Reference: Hebrews 4:10 (New Living Testament)

day 587: The Foolish Leader

I have always been amazed at the leaders who are willing to look foolish in order to get things done within their company. The best example I can think of was Herb Kelleher the founder and long-time CEO of Southwest Airlines. Mr. Kelleher became famous for dressing up in costumes, playing along with jokes and becoming the symbol of good, clean-loving fun for his airline. Later, another airline executive has tried to do the same as Sir. Richard Branson brought his own style of foolishness to his company. I had the opportunity to work with David Novak, the current (and only) CEO of Yum! restaurants. David was not a prankster or one who would don a costume, but he was not afraid to put on a Green Bay Packers (congrats by the way) cheesehead as he was rewarding and recognizing Pizza Hut employees or carry rubber chickens in his briefcase for recognition to KFC restaurant workers. What strikes me about these leaders is that they so love their work and are so passionate about their companies and their employees that they let down their guard and allow themselves to be human and yes, sometimes foolish for the sake of relating and being proud of their companies. Too many leaders get caught up in their own position and lose their humanness and the special touch with those around them. Our own King David was one who was not afraid to be foolish in his leadership and love for the Lord. We read in 2 Samuel, "He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord. I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord." Maybe what we need to do is allow ourselves to fall back in love with what we do and then let our joy and love show through in real emotions and maybe even what we once would have thought as "foolishness".

Reference: 2 Samuel 6:21 (New Living Testament)

day 586: The Good Boss

Last week I wrote a blog for the U.S. News and World Report, which got picked up by Yahoo, entitled, "How to Work with a Bad Boss", (http://money.usnews.com/topics/author/rusty_rueff). I don't usually carry my blogs from other places that I write into Purposed worKING, but what I wanted to do here is point out that we also have many examples of good bosses sprinkled all throughout the Bible. As we have been exploring Purposed worKING for the past few years, we have seen many of those examples and can marvel in the earthly work that most of the Godly people we read about in the Bible had to do in order to have the credibility and the ability to relate to the people to whom they later ministered. We don't know about the years that Jesus hung out with other carpenters but if you have ever been on a construction site then you can only guess the characters that he witnessed and interacted with daily. By the time he started sharing his messages to others, I believe he was partly so effective because he could relate to the people and spoke in their language and into their concerns, cares, fears and emotions. At work we often talk about the best leaders being those who came from the shop floor or worked their way up through the ranks. The best bosses and best leaders understand their people at the granular level of who they are. When the Queen of Sheba said to Solomon, "How happy these people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day listening to your wisdom", she was saying what a good boss and leader he was. Let's start using the examples of good bosses that we can find in the Bible and learning from their traits and characteristics and build our own leadership model based on a learning that comes from them. I know you will find all all you need to be a great boss!

Reference: 2 Chronicles 9:7 (New Living Testament)

day 585: Morning Words

Ever notice how our mood and reactions in the morning are very dependent on the words of others? In fact, our whole day can be influenced by the first words that are spoken to us in the morning. The same can be said from others about the first words they hear from us. I have always been an early bird so other than the whispered, "Have a great day and I love you" to Patti in the dark on the way out of the house, my next words are likely to be to other people who I am interacting with on a "work basis". I have learned over the years to choose those words carefully as my words may well be the first words they hear of the day as well. So, we are both vulnerable and also both highly influential with what we have to say to each other in the morning. I am not one for small talk so I tend to jump right in and get going before I allow someone else to say, "Good morning". It is not a good trait of mine. What I have learned over the years is to temper myself and allow others to "wake up" by hearing something good from me and also allowing them to tell me something good that has happened to them. The simple exchange of, "Good morning. Hope your day is off to a good start. How was your evening (or weekend as Monday mornings are even more critical)?", can go a long way in setting the tone for the conversation and this person's day. Solomon reminds us of how our morning words can go awry if we are not deliberate and thoughtful, "If you shout a pleasant greeting to your neighbor too early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse". But, it was well-intentioned you say to yourself. That's not really good enough. We need be thoughtfully-intentioned as much as well-intentioned. This morning may have already started for you, but tomorrow, try to find some new "morning words" and see if they make a difference.

Reference: Proverbs 27:14 (New Living Testament)

day 584: The Annual Message

This is the time of the year when companies and organizations that operate on a calendar year budget start releasing their annual results and send out their annual report with an annual message from the CEO. The same happens in our government with the State of the Union message that occurred last week. As listeners and readers of these "annual messages" we intently focus on the words and the words behind the words and words between the words. We are looking for the message that is the "truth" that we can hang onto and from these set our own agendas. These annual messages become important for direction setting and also a tone or mood that gets set for the year, or at least for the time being. While there is usually some consistency in the messages from one year to another, there are usually new ideas and concepts that are introduced and we get to learn more about them as the year unfolds. Those that were not so successful from last year, fade or get glossed over and left out of the message. This is why it is important that we, on the receiving end, work as hard at listening, understanding, and comprehending the messages as the person who is delivering it. If not careful, we can find ourselves becoming lazy when it comes to taking in a message. We need to fight that tendency and be intellectually curious and desirous of the messages. The reason being is that we need to be aligned and in-step with the messages if we want to find ourselves being successful in our work. Those who don't listen, or don't care to listen, and then try to apply the messages to their own jobs and work can find themselves working hard, but working on the wrong things, or worse yet working counter to the overall organization's mission and goals. Paul actually reinforces this messages in the book of Hebrews when he speaks of the messages that were/are being delivered about Christ, "So we must listen carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift from it." Paul is telling us how to live our spiritual lives and if it is good enough for our spiritual pursuits, then we can carry the same principle to our earthly work. So, next time a message is being delivered that will have impact on you, take the extra time to listen. Read the speech or the letter all the way through and ask questions to assure your understanding of the topics. If you do this, beyond being better informed, you may find that the pursuit of the truth provides a new motivation in how you do your work.

Reference: Hebrews 2:1 (New Living Testament)

day 583: Reliability

When we start to think about a trait that can carry us very far in our careers, or on the flip side be a career killer, that trait is "reliability". If there is one thing that we need to be able to count on with people at our jobs is their reliability and follow through on what they say they are going to do and when they are going to do it. When we begin to see signs of unreliability then we stop looking to those people for what we need to get done. Before long they are marginalized and in this day and age, anyone who is being marginalized doesn't get to hang around long. So, reliability can become a real lynch pin attribute for us. Here is the secret to it all, always be sure and never put yourself in a position where you can't commit to what is being asked of you, and when it is time to deliver, always over deliver on what is being requested. We all know the power of going the extra mile and this holds up in all that we do. Part of how we are going to bring glory to God in our work (our purpose) is being an example of reliability and a role model to others in this area and it can be super powerful. After all, we follow the One is who always reliable. Solomon tells us how bad it is on the other end with unreliable people, "Putting confidence in an unreliable person is like chewing with a toothache or walking on a broken foot." Let's suffice to say, it's really bad. Where are you showing well as it relates to being a role model for reliability and where are you struggling? Putting a little attention on this area of your life can yield great results.

Reference: Proverbs 25:19 (New Living Testament)