day 1407: Following Instructions

While on a pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago (St. James Way) in Spain, I  asked some of the most committed and courageous faith-driven business leaders I know to guest contribute to Purposed worKING.  Enjoy! - Rusty

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"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. "

In our work lives we are given instructions of tasks to carry out on a frequent basis. For some tasks vary day to day while for others they are more repetitive. Whatever the circumstance it is important we carry out our work instructions as given. The phrase 'cut corners' is used often in business when describing why a person failed at their tasks. It takes strength and courage to do the hard work when cutting corners and seeking the easy way out in order to go on to other things - personal things appears to be the right way to go.

In our faith walk, God reminds us to be careful to obey His instructions passed to us through Moses and not to deviate from them but stay focused on the important things at hand - His will.

God's instructions are not gray, they are black and white and living our lives His way results in success in everything we do. BTW: Success is not defined by striving to obtain earthly wealth but by the peace we have through accepting Christ and the knowledge we will be in relationship with Him for an eternity.

Reference:  Joshua 1: 7-8

Hank Stringer

day 521: Let's Take A Walk

A few years ago, Hank Stringer (friend and co-author of our book, Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business) had this idea for a video presentation that he called "The Purpose Walk". Hank's idea (which still should be done) was to to have an interviewer take a walk with an accomplished executive and talk about that executive's past, values, principles, learning and then culminate with the executive talking about his/her purpose and what it means to them. I thought these would be fascinating segments to watch and learn from. I also like the idea of taking a walk to clear our heads and to think and talk. I know people who just vacate the office at certain times of the day to clear their head. They usually do this alone, but imagine if we were to take a walk once a day with someone we wanted to learn from or hear their experiences? How great would that be? Well, if wanted to do that, we could. It just takes us starting it and asking someone else if they want to get out of the office for a few minutes, stretch their legs and get some fresh air. Who wouldn't want that? Solomon said that we can become wise this way; "Walk with the wise and become wise..". And if we don't have anyone who wants to walk with us, I know someone who always wants to take a walk with us and will allow us to say anything that is on our mind, talk about any problems we have, and take on any challenge or problem that we have. That walking partner is always there and all we have to do is open up ourselves to Him. You might want to consider taking one of those walks today and see where it leads.

Reference: Proverbs 13:20 (New Living Testament)

day 273: Delighting In Weakness?

While I am on vacation, I have asked friends, and encouragers of Purposed worKING to contribute. Today's post comes from Hank Stringer. Hank is a dear friend, an experienced executive recruiter, technology entrepreneur and author, including the co-authoring of our book, Talent Force.


2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (New International Version) says: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

At work we have our strengths and our weaknesses. We have good times and we have difficult times. There are some things we do well and others we don’t. We’ve all experienced the fear of being asked to do something we know we don’t do well, either because we lack the experience or we just have not been blessed with the abilities to accomplish the task at hand. Think of asking the executive to fix the plumbing or the janitor to build the spreadsheets for a new business model…are these weaknesses, examples of the difficulties we sometimes face?

If we react to them as a weakness, if we are embarrassed or hide from our inabilities then yes, by not admitting or addressing them we will not improve in fact we procrastinate and worry which can affect other aspects of our lives. Is this a formula for balanced living and work? No, there is a better way.

God has this figured out. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 he tells us to delight in our weaknesses, difficulties, persecutions and insults. The formula for doing this with ease is easy know that through God’s perfect grace, the gift of His Son who died for our sins and rose again He provides the greatest strength – eternal relationship with Him. Accept your weakness and difficulty as a reminder of His perfect strength.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (New International Version)