Choose to live the life Christ has for you.  Be proactive.  Don’t just sit on the shore and get beat up by the waves, ride them.  Don’t let life happen to you, but happen to your life.

Don’t be cool, be real.  Don’t Be Normal, Be You!

How can we emerge?  I believe we emerge by humbling ourselves.  I believe we emerge when we understand Christ’s love for us, and love others in return.  I believe we emerge when we put to work the unique talents and passions God has given us.

What can we do to emerge?  We need to be seeking God daily.  “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you”.  Without Christ we are dead, we are lost, we are wondering.  Even with Christ we can sometimes feel  like this, but that is not the Christian’s reality.  We need to seek counsel and examine ourselves.  How were you made?  What are your unique talents and passions?  What can you do with those to serve God and others?  Serve in your strengths and boast in your weaknesses.  Serve in your strengths because that is where God has equipped you, and boast in your weaknesses because that is where God is most evident.

Understand that emerging, is not about your glory, but God’s glory.  That’s why we are here.  To glorify God in all things.  He does call us the salt of the earth and the light of the world, but that is really Christ in us, and we experience this by humbling ourselves before Him daily.  This applies to work, relationships, private time, your actions, your thoughts, how you handle your emotions, everything.

I’ve talked about purpose before, but where does hope play a role in our lives?  How can a misunderstanding of what hope is lead to constant frustration and a lack of satisfaction with your life?  First let me define hope. 

Hope is not in something that is unknown, but in something that is sure to come to pass.  Hope isn’t wishing.  Hope is a statement of faith.  An example of what hope isn’t would sound like this, “I hope that I am a great business leader one day, and that I can change the world.”  This is a wishful statement.  An example of what hope would sound like is this, “My hope is in the truth that God will use all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”  This is a statement of faith.  It is not a shallow statement, but is a realization of the sovereignty of God in our lives.  We can run toward it with confidence.  It brings us peace in troubled times.  If your hope were in becoming a great business leader, then every obstacle would lead to frustration, and even when this position was granted you, you will still not be satisfied, for our human nature always wants more.  Or maybe it wasn’t what you expected.

If you place your hope in, and believe your purpose is your job title, then when that title is stripped away from you, you will feel as though you have no identity.  This is not true. 

For the believer, your hope should be in Christ and that hope should sustain you through such an event.  You should also understand that your purpose was never found in your job title, and so you will not be shaken when you lose it, but you will be empowered to gratefully move forward with your life.  For the unbeliever, I pray that you know you are made in the image of God, and that you can hope in something that truly satisfies, and truly gives you unshakeable purpose. 

With a correct understanding of hope and purpose, you will create much greater opportunities for yourself.  Not necessarily financial opportunities, although that may come as a result, but opportunities to effectively serve who it is you are called to serve.  This understanding of hope and purpose removes the focus of self, and clothes you with selflessness.  This is joy.

Change is inevitable.  The average job last 3.2 years and the market place is ever evolving.  Relationships come and go.  Money comes and goes.  LIFE HAPPENS.  But if you find your “ness” you will never lose your direction.  To put it in a more palatable way, let’s say your “uniqueness”.  God has given you your own unique personality, talents, dreams and passions.  Biblical values allow the core of who you are to remain unchanging while the world around us is constantly shifting.  That means when you lose your job, take a financial hit, or a relationship falls apart, that your world isn’t turned upside down.  Your life wasn’t those things.  Your purpose isn’t those things.  Don’t allow the application of your purpose, to trick you into thinking it is your purpose.

Are you struggling in some area of your life?  How has God equipped you to glorify Him in this situation?

What’s your – Ness?

Think about this… 80% of people in the work place don’t enjoy their work.  Many of them went to college still don’t know what they want to do.  Why?  Isn’t college supposed to teach you more than your field of study?  Where do you learn how to earn a living doing what you love?  Where do you learn how to successfully enter the work place? 

Imagine this.  What if you took that same $45,000 and invested it in something you’re wired for, something you’re passionate about?  That’s what the most successful people in the world do.  They do something they were made to do, and love doing.  They are constantly, and enthusiasticly learning and growing in their profession.  They are applying their life’s purpose to their work.  Their work is meaningful, not some mundane, boring, predictable job. 

If only 25% of people who start college actually graduate, and work in their field of study, I think it’s appropriate to say NO to college unless absolutely necessary.  Unless of course you’d rather throw $45,000 in the trash, instead of investing it in something you love, which in reality yields a lot better results.

As my parents used to say,”You’re playing with your life.”

When I was growing up my father, grandfather and mentors, always stressed “do it right the first time”.  I am passionate about doing the best you can the first time.  Plan to be diligent.  Do everything with excellence.  What does this look like for the high school student planning his or her college career?  Or a college student bouncing between majors?

It looks like this….

A young man or woman who understands that their purpose is to glorify God, and understands that God has given him or her a specific personality and unique talents.  It looks like a person who understands that  Biblical values are unchanging, and completely dependable.  No matter what is going on in your life, you can turn to God and His Word to find truth, love, and direction.  It’s also important that this person trusts God with the dreams and passions that He has put in his or her heart.  

Understanding your God-given personality traits, talents, values, dreams and passions, empowers you live out your ultimate purpose, which is to glorify God in all things.  The young high school or college student who begins to learn these things will be extremely well equipped to enter the workforce successfully.  Do not make decisions in haste, for that surely leads to poverty, as stated in Proverbs.  Don’t make huge life decisions without seeking counsel and carefully planning your steps.  We’ve all done it and found ourselves looking back wishing we would have asked for advice, and taken the time to make a wise decision. 

Results?

50% of all students who enroll in college drop out.  Only 25% of students who began their college career graduate and find work in their field of study.  Here are the top 10 reasons students drop out of college: not fitting in socially, educational burnout, unprepared academically, financial constraints, personal and family issues, too much partying, the school isn’t a good academic fit for the student, setting sights on wrong major, no guidance or mentors, external demands related to part-time and full-time employment.

90% of these can be avoided by carefully planning your college career.  If you understand your personality, natural talents, values, dreams and passions, you can effectively choose a college and a major that fits you very well.  By spending time researching colleges, their programs, their social networking opportunities, their academic culture (arts centric, or sciences, etc.), and overall environment, you can eliminate a ton of heartache, and increase your chances of successfully finishing school and actually using your degree.  Plan everything.  Plan how many credits you’re going to take (start conservatively so you don’t get in over your head), plan how you’re going to provide for yourself, plan how much fun you’re going to have ensuring it doesn’t interfere with your studies, plan to be around productive people, plan to seek guidance and mentors.  By doing these things you will greatly increase your chances of being a successful college student, and you will be well prepared to enter the workforce in an area that you LOVE!

Plan your work and work your plan.  Diligence equals guaranteed profit.

So what can we do to prevent it? 

Problem #1 – Staggering Drop Out Rate

Students tend to drop out because college is not what they expected, either academically, socially, or both.  They also struggle with a lack of motivation, inadequate preparation, and poor study skills.  80% of students change their major at least once.  On average they change majors at least 3 times.

Solution:

Look inside first.  Like many adults struggling in the work place, students have not learned how to assess themselves before choosing a college or an appropriate major.  Students need to understand their personality tendencies, strengths, values, dreams and passions, before moving forward and jumping into something they’re so unsure about.  By doing this, they can more accurately search for a college that fits them, instead of carrying the burden of constantly trying to fit in at a college, while being distracted from their studies.  You know, the reason they’re at school in the first place.  Knowing yourself, and your unique set of strengths, is what makes you valuable in the work place, so why wouldn’t begin to understand yourself when searching for a college? Parents who are paying for their kids schooling, this is crucial, if you do not want to throw money at college, only to have you child drop out.

Problem #2 – Mountains of Debt

Students are borrowing tons of money, and dropping out, leaving them with no degree but tons of debt.  There are also many who do finish school, but never use their degree, again wasting tons of money and spending years paying off the debt.

Solution:

DON’T BORROW MONEY!  Work your way through school.  You can apply for thousands of scholarships online, and RECEIVE them.  It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s the right way to do it.  Don’t listen to people who tell you student loans are good debt.  Good debt is an oxymoron!  Debt ONLY works against you.  How can anything that works against you be good?  Don’t go to the school your friends are going to, just to be with your friends.  It’s possible that once you get to college you’ll grow apart.  It happens everyday, and happened to me.  It’s your life, and when you’re done with school, it’s YOUR debt.  Start of in a community college if necessary, then move onto a more expensive school to earn bachelor’s degree.  I know most students are eager to have that “college experience”, but that is like cotton candy.  It’s big and fluffy on the outside, but you put it in your mouth, and it’s gone in 5 seconds.  Go to school to learn.  To learn what you love.  Remember, the borrower is slave to the lender!

Problem #3 – Failing to Enter the Workforce Successfully

80% of people in the workforce say that if they had the chance, they’d change jobs in a heartbeat.  These people used to be college students, who spent the time and money to receive they’re degree, only to find it sitting on the shelf gathering dust.  The degree didn’t provide for their dreams the way they’d hoped.

Solution:

Again, Search your heart.  You need to learn who you are.  Take personality tests; evaluate your skills and abilities, values, dreams and passions.  This is 75% of the process to finding the work you love.  If you would have begun doing this BEFORE choosing a college and degree, the chances are you’d love your work, and not find yourself cringing every time you look in the mirror on Monday morning.  Seek out life and career coaches who can help provide you with a plan to move you toward your goals.  These people get you results!  They are not interested in wasting your time or your money, but in serving you.

Don’t be the “average” college student.  Average is broke and confused.

God Bless