Today’s my last day at EnergyCAP, the family business where I’ve worked for the last 18 years. In July, I stepped down from my full-time Human Resources role to serve part-time. I wanted to spend more time developing my own business, Chris Heinz Co., and the Life Calling Institute.

But after trying that for a month, I decided it wasn’t working. I couldn’t give either workplace the time, focus, and attention they needed. So, I chose to leave the family business and...

Freedom almost didn’t happen. In 1780, William Wilberforce began his political career at the young age of 21. Four years later, he became an evangelical Christian and thought he should leave politics and enter professional ministry. He pondered this decision, fearing he would not be serving God if he stayed where he was.

For him, it was a pivotal moment. And a pivotal moment for freedom.

Writes poet Erin Hanson:

“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you...

I've been sharing quotes from my reading lists. As was true for Winter 2021, Fall 2020, and Summer 2020, this latest lineup features diverse characters:

• Human behavior researchers
• Businesspeople
• University professors
• Lawyer
• Catholic saint
• Leadership coach
• Holocaust survivor
• Pastors

Thanks to them, living and deceased, for their works:

“More often than not, our values are what lead us to the arena door—we’re willing to do something uncomfortable and daring because of our...

As of today, I’m no longer working full-time at EnergyCAP. I’ve moved to part-time status to make room for growing Chris Heinz Co. and the Life Calling Institute. I’m grateful for my history and excited about the future.

Five years ago almost to the day, I posted this on Facebook:

It was an opportunity to shift my career from software marketing to personal development. Like new steps, I didn’t know how it would go, but I knew that personal development was the kind of...

The Catholic Sisters smelled the stench coming from the apartment. When they knocked, an elderly woman timidly answered the door. Her toilet had broken and embarrassed to call for help, she had been relieving herself on the floor so that two rooms were filled with excrement.

After the Sisters cleaned up the place, the woman asked, “See, don’t you love me less?” to which they quickly replied, “See, don’t we love you more!” Love covered her shame when she...

A study looked at the early lives of 300 exemplary people who left indelible marks on the world. These were 300 world changers like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Gandhi, and Clara Barton. They contributed in various ways across various times and in various industries but held some things in common. What did the study find?

Among these 300 exemplary people:

• 75% were troubled by poverty, broken home or difficult parents
• 74 of 85 fiction writers and 16 of 20 poets saw...

My Winter 2021 reading list was made possible by many exciting and diverse people. There were athletes and activists, scholars and entertainers, preachers and businesspeople. Some were a couple of these at once!

I'm grateful for their lessons, stories, and inspiration, which all came at a cost to them. Their marks have made their way into my life and work, and if you follow the Life Calling Institute or other blog posts, you'll see them too. 

We previously shared our Summer 2020 and Fall...

If you hang around motivational speakers, influential teachers, and inspirational coaches long enough, you’re bound to hear something along the lines of, “Just follow your passion.” As if following your passion is all you need for everything to work out. But what if you do follow your passion and then go bust?

Like I did. Several times.

Passion can be a powerful indicator and companion in life calling, but it can also get you off track. It turns out passion is...

_{Photo Credit: Mark Gulezian/NPG; Copyright National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian}

If you ask me who in history I would like to meet, Harriet Tubman is at the top of my list. I just finished a spectacular book on her called, Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom, by Catherine Clinton. What strikes me most from the book is how well-equipped in abilities, strengths, and qualities she was in order to become the person she became and do the things she did.

Unpredictable Outcomes

You may not predict...

I am so grieved and upset about the news reports of sexual misconduct and abuse by a very well-known international Christian leader. I am sorry for his victims, family, ministry supporters, and the damage this will do to the cause of Christ. This isn’t the first time a leader with a prominent life calling has fallen, and it won’t be the last.

But let his fall teach us something about our call. You don’t have to be famous to learn something here.

Depth of character matters...