Personal Announcement

(Aug 31, 2016)

Six months ago in a blog post, I signaled that a change was coming. I didn’t know how it would play out, but I sensed there was a journey to take. I wanted to understand more about my life mission, so I wrote:

Some people refer to it as your calling or holy discontent or life mission or the reason you were put here. I like what Frederick Buechner says: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

So I went on a journey that included mentoring conversations, soul searching, a few assessments, classes, readings, and prayer. I asked questions like:

• What has made me feel alive?
• What have people said I’m good at?
• When have I felt God’s pleasure?
• What can’t I live without doing?

And here’s where I ended up, which disrupted my life as I knew it—I need to be with people, and help them grow. That’s the answer to all the questions I was asking.

Six months ago, I knew the journey would require change, so I wrote:

But sometimes you have to go narrow in order to go deep. Understanding one’s life mission helps you to whittle away the extraneous stuff that is getting in the way of your calling. No matter how good it is, it may be blocking the sacred place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

And it did require change. Six months later, my life looks pretty different:

• Instead of leading our company’s marketing department, I lead human resources
• I’m focused on growth and wellbeing, instead of projects and tasks
• I spend most of my time asking questions, instead of answering them
• I meet with people all day long

But the change was totally worth it. My new work is thrilling and I love it!

I’m helping people increase their wellbeing, operate in their strengths, and grow in their sense of purpose so they can be wellsprings in their workplaces, families, and communities.

We focus on things like creating awareness of the current state of things, obtaining future vision of where to go, shaping action steps to get there, and removing obstacles in the way.

By the end of this year, I should have enough training, testing, and coaching hours to be officially accredited as a life/leadership coach by the International Coach Federation. But even though I’m not accredited yet, I know enough to help. I’ve gotten started already.

In addition to my day job, I’m opening up time slots for coaching via telephone. Some are filled, but there are still a few left.

So let me ask you, Where does your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet? What makes you feel alive? What are you good at? When have you felt God's pleasure? What can't you live without doing?

Getting there may require change and it may be disruptive, but I can tell you already—it'll be worth it!