Tag: Life

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Two weeks ago, I attended my first silent retreat. I’m not sure I’ve ever spent so much dedicated time in prayer and meditation, but something within my body settled into that slow and quiet rhythm faster than I anticipated.

While I expected to be bored or anxious, my soul welcomed the opportunity to get still and simply listen.

This week’s intention

Since the retreat, I’ve worked to bring more quiet and presence into my busy workweek. I forced myself to get up from my desk and spend 20 mins outside in nature each day.

For most of the time, I simply close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the birds, insects and whistling trees. It’s a magnificent symphony that anchors me in a beautiful, and ironically more productive, place.

My intention is to listen more deeply.

This week, I hope you also find a way to listen for the hidden, or often ignored sounds, in your life. Close your eyes during a conference call and really hear the unique tenor of someone’s voice, pause to appreciate the majesty of laughter, or go outside and listen to nature.

Whatever you pick, practice listening for it at least once a day. I’ll have more on this topic next week. See you then!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Send them my way.

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“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

                                                                               -Heraclitus

A few years ago, I heard the quote above in a graduation ceremony. I’ve said it over and over in my mind since first hearing it.

It’s been a simple reminder that life is constantly changing around me and within me.

This week’s intention

Summer is slipping away and changes are coming whether we want them or not. I’d rather embrace them and I hope you will too.

This week, ask yourself what you want to change in your life, if anything?

My intention is to welcome change.

Journal on these three questions:

  • How is the world around me changing for the better?
  • How will this year have changed who I am?
  • What impact am I having on the people around me?

Spend this week in reflection and prayer and try your best to enjoy these fleeting summer days. See you next week.

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

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Our thoughts and prayers are bursting at the seams. There’s an endless need to send them into the world, toward our own country, and to help the people we love.

But what else, if anything, can you do?

This week’s intention

We need to give up on the idea of perfect service or perfect giving because it is significantly limiting our impact on the world.

“My actions are too small to make a difference.”

Does the idea above resonate with you? For most people, it does.

We think that if we aren’t a wealthy philanthropist or able to quit our job to work in politics or launch a cause, we can’t do anything to make this world better besides pray.

Prayer is comforting and powerful, but you may be called to do more. This week, I simply want you to make time to ask yourself the question: What else can you do?

My intention is to allow myself to be moved to action.

Try to keep in mind that action can be small, but it has to be deliberate and tangible. Something will always be better than nothing. Pray for discernment and direction.

Hoping you have a safe, productive, and soul-stirring week. See you soon.

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

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July is the best summer month in my opinion. The cold winter is completely wiped from memory, outside activities dominate, and none of the back to school work has started.

I write more in the summer because my day job and home life are less demanding. I use a lot of my free time to write, and while it’s technically work, I experience the flow of doing something just because I love it.

What do you love to do?

And are you doing it often enough?

This week’s intention

When we engage in work that we have a deep spiritual connection to, it can offer a similar experience to prayer or mediation time.

Specifically, I know I’m in flow when:

  • My mind clears of the non-stop internal chatter. When I’m focused on work I love, I’m also enjoying the rare mental silence that allows my heart to awaken to “being” and not just doing.
  • I find my place in the world. When I write, I feel part of a system that connects us all at our core. I know I’m doing what I’m called to.
  • Peace comes over me. This one is hard to describe, but I feel no doubt or second guessing about where I am and what I’m doing. I just relax in gratitude.

My intention is to spend more time in flow.

How often do you experience the things I described above?

If you aren’t in a state of flow as often as you’d like to be, spend this week journaling on how you might invite more flow into this summer (and your life overall).

What activities put you in a completely different state of mind? Is there a way for you to do more of the work you love (even if unpaid)? How are you spending your free time and would you benefit from making changes?

Think on it and I’ll see you next week!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

 

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This week’s post includes an excerpt originally published in July 2014.

Sometimes the concept of being independent can feel in direct conflict with the interdependent nature of love.

Choosing to love others can be scary and it requires giving up some of our emotional independence and security.

But love is by far the most powerful emotion. It drives us to action and it’s contagious.

The more you choose to love, the broader the group you are willing to love becomes. And you may find yourself willing to fight for them.

This week’s intention

When I think about the American story of independence, it is not a story of “going it alone”. And it is not a story of putting one’s own interest first.

It is a story of hope, trust, faith and teamwork. It is a story that has love’s voice all over it.

Often with historical figures, like the now infamous Alexander Hamilton, we forget that he was simply a human being. We forget that he had to conquer real fears to stand up for freedom. He, like many throughout history, chose to fight not just for himself. He fought for the many people around him and the generations that would come behind them.

My intention is to fight for the independence of others.

So when we celebrate independence here in the United States, we don’t celebrate a select few being free to prosper on their own terms. We celebrate being free to make the lives of others and the lives that come after us better. And there are many in this country and all around the world that still need our help in fighting.

I hope to keep them on my mind tomorrow as I celebrate independence. And I hope this holiday week will leave you refreshed with a renewed strength to serve.

Enjoy and see you next week!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

 

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I didn’t enjoy when people asked me to help work on their resumes. Friends asked often and it became a burden to find time to work on them all.

At least that’s what I told myself.

But honestly, I can work on a resume quite easily; it doesn’t take me much time at all. I’m not sure why I felt so much hesitation to do it.

It’s funny how the talents that come easiest to us are often the hardest to give away.

This community is for those navigating the intersection of spiritual life and business – two things that often seem in conflict with each other.

How do you balance making money with getting paid in love, respect and legacy?

Should you work to support those who need you most or those who can afford it?

These are real and constant dilemmas as we work to bring our full spiritual selves into our work lives. And there are no easy or simple answers.

This week’s intention

It’s hard to figure out how much of your time and labor to give away for free. This is especially compounded if you run a business of your own.

So this week, we are going to focus on this dilemma and how you craft an answer for yourself. There are no exercises but just a few questions to spend the week reflecting on.

Think about your gifts and your livelihood:

  • Should you be sharing your talents for free? If so, which ones?
  • How much is enough?
  • How much is too much?
  • Is money the main way you feel compensated for your time? If not, what other things bring you value?
  • What do you think is expected of you based on your spiritual beliefs?
  • Do you want to change your behavior in any way?

These are hard questions so take your time. See you next week!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

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We all want to be of service. We want to make a difference.

Yet service can seem like an out of reach goal that is only achieved through long hours of volunteering and great sacrifices.

But it isn’t the enormous undertaking we tend to think of. Service is a spiritual decision to use our lives to improve the experiences of others and it doesn’t have to feel like work.

This week’s intention

Last week, we focused on sparking new thoughts and starting the journey out of a rut.

This week, I want to stay on the idea of new experiences, but focus specifically on reminding ourselves how much impact we can have on the world.

My intention is to serve others and create new thoughts.

Below are 10 easy ways to serve this week in 5 minutes or less. Choose a few and set a goal to get them done. Journal about the thoughts they spark in you.

  1. Tell someone a joke. Laughter is good for the heart.
  2. Save someone from a work conversation they aren’t enjoying. “Hey I hate to interrupt, but can I borrow you for two minutes”.
  3. Contact an elected official via social media to quickly advocate for a cause you believe in.
  4. Actually take your reusable bags or coffee cup into the store with you.
  5. Text someone a specific compliment. (e.g. “I admire the work you do.”)
  6. Plant something.
  7. Pray for someone.
  8. Make a small unrestricted online donation to a grassroots charity you believe in.
  9. Teach someone something. Anything.
  10. Give someone your undivided attention.

It is often the smallest actions that point us in a new direction. Before you can make your next career steps, it helps to remind yourself that you have the power to change someone else’s world. This will help you discern how you want to use it.

See you next week!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

 

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My youngest son turned 15 last week. He inspires me by the way he welcomes each new year with fresh excitement. His joy is the opposite of being stuck in a rut.

I’ve counseled hundreds of people that feel stuck in their careers. They know that they aren’t experiencing the anticipation for life that they once had, but they have no idea how to move forward.

I tell them to start by simply sparking new thoughts.

This week’s intention

I’m sure you’ve seen this quote before:

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” –Lao Tzu

The quote illustrates how our thoughts lead us to the outcomes in our lives. Yet often when we feel stuck in a rut, we seek to free ourselves by immediately making changes to our actions or habits, without first doing the work to change our thoughts.

My intention is to rekindle my connection to joy and spark new thoughts.

This week, I want you to try one or more of the activities below. Each one will help shape your thinking and help get you going in a new direction.

  1. Be still and quiet. Notice that I didn’t say pray. Prayer is speaking to God. Stillness is allowing time to listen.
  2. Cook for someone. Sure you can eat some too, but cook with the intention of serving and nourishing another. Any recipe will do.
  3. Spend time with children. There is something about a child’s energy that neutralizes defeat and rekindles possibility.
  4. Find art that moves you. I consider my favorite books to be masterpieces. They remind me that humans are capable of beautiful and extraordinary work. Sometimes I really need that reminder.
  5. Take up someone else’s cause. We all have struggles that are unique to our position in life. Help someone else with theirs. Embody the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous quote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
  6. Help someone in the way that only you can. If you aren’t sure what that is yet, refer to #1 on this list.

More on new experiences next week!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

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I don’t know about you, but I’m not a saint.

When I look across my life, despite an enormous amount of grace and joy, there are things I regret. I’ve hurt people and, at times, failed to be the person I thought I was.

But that’s not my whole story, and I hope it won’t be my legacy.

I’ve also loved deeply. I’ve been fiercely loyal. I’ve encouraged and protected. And I am working to use my life to help you find greater meaning in yours. That is the legacy I am trying to build.

What legacy are you working to build?

This week’s intention

People are a complex mix of good and bad. All the things we do (and have done) are part of who we are. It has taken me time (almost 40 years) to be at peace with that. I’ve worked to forgive some of my past faults and focus instead on my current actions.

My intention is to point my actions toward the legacy I want to leave.

“Legacy” appears as just a word, but embedded in that word are a bunch of questions.

  • What will I use my skills and talents for?
  • How will my life make a difference?
  • Who will I serve?
  • How do I want to be remembered?

This week, I want you to sit with these questions. Pray and journal on your ideal answers to them. It’s OK if you don’t know the answers yet, but asking the questions will awaken your journey.

Wishing you a peaceful week. See you soon!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.

 

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I’m grateful for this long weekend because I’ve been really tired. And getting more rest is the only thing that can help.

Feeling uninspired, however, is not the same thing. It depletes our energy and motivation in similar ways, but it shows up in our life and work differently.

So are you tired or uninspired?

TIRED

UNINSPIRED
  • “I wonder if anyone would notice if I got 15 minutes of sleep here at my desk.”
  • “I wish I wasn’t here today. All I can think about is laying in my bed and watching TV.”
  • “I keep trying to work, but the light from the screen is giving me a headache.”
  • “Wow, have I been on this site for two hours? I can’t get anything done today.”
  • “Where did I put my keys? Not again!”
  • “I’ve been staring at my keys for the last hour. Is it time to go yet?”
  • “God, please give me the strength to get through this commute and get some rest tonight.”
  • “God, please give me the strength to come back in here tomorrow. I need the money.”

This week’s intention

You go to work regardless of how you feel about it. You have bills and responsibilities.

But staying in an uninspiring job will take a toll on you physically. It creates the illusion that you are constantly tired, when you are actually sad, frustrated, drained and in need of distractions.

Bad jobs steal our energy and squash the very motivation we need to get out there and find better opportunities for ourselves.

My intention is to honestly assess my work life.

This week, I want you to be honest with yourself about the state of your work life. Take out your journal and answer the following questions:

  • How often do I feel tired at work?
  • Do I actually need more rest or is this job draining me?
  • What is stopping me from seeking new opportunities – energy, fear or motivation?

Spend this week reflecting and praying for clarity. You can’t fix your work life until you see it clearly. If you are tired, you need to be proactive about finding more time for rest. If you are uninspired, you need to get ready to seek something new.

That’s enough for now, just assess what you truly need. See you next week!

Working Whole is available on Amazon and all major online book retailers.

WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled 

#workingwholebook

Learn more about Simply Service, my work and me at Purpose and Kourtney’s story.

Meet me here to connect more often.

Know someone else that needs peace and inspiration in their work life? Please share.