Tag Archives: eternal perspective

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Eternal Perspective: What Is Your View?

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Christian leadership can be described in many ways. It is servant leadership. It is Christ-centered and it is Bible-focused. Some will say it needs to be meek, gracious, or based on love. But there is one phrase that I seldom hear used in describing Christian leadership. That phrase is Eternal Perspective.

eternal perspective

Serious Oversight

Maybe it is just not a familiar term to most people. Maybe the thought itself is somewhat foreign. Or maybe we have just gone so far to the extreme in our immediate-gratification culture that this idea of having an eternal perspective doesn’t even cross our mind.

Either way, I think this is a serious oversight.

Christian Leadership

In my last couple of posts, I have been attempting to describe Christian leadership. I started in the first post by explaining how it really just boils down to influence – borrowing a quote from John Maxwell – and that we ALL are called to be Christian leaders in our circles of influence. In the next post, I told you how I believe Christian leaders must be intentional.

Today, I want to dig a little into this idea of an eternal perspective and tell you why I believe it should truly be a foundational part of effective Christian leadership. I hope you will come to understand this idea a little better as a result.

Eternal Perspective

First, let’s describe what I mean when I say eternal perspective. Basically, having an eternal perspective means that as we make decisions or take actions, we consider how they will impact us and others in eternity.

Rather than thinking about how a decision will look in 30 days, we think about what it will look like in 3,000 years (and beyond). When trying to decide how to run our business or allocate our resources, we do not merely look at how it will affect our retirement, but also how it will impact eternity.

Scripture Example

Whenever possible, I want to go to Scripture to get our direction. Let’s look at Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

Rather, train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

…The Life To Come

Notice how Paul acknowledges that godliness has benefits for our present life in this world while also for the life to come! This is the perfect example of having an eternal perspective. Training the body also has benefits here, but not so much in the life to come.

So if Paul is recommending this kind of eternal perspective mindset to Timothy, why would it not work in the business world? Why would it not make sense for us to think the same way as we approach every aspect of our lives today – work, school, church, etc.?

Eternal Perspective In Business?

I think it does work. As an example, it is natural for a business owner to think about employees as critical to the success of the business. When viewing it from an eternal perspective, the thinking changes. No longer is an employee ONLY critical to the success of the business. Now the employee is also a soul that needs to find a relationship with God in order to spend eternity with Him.

I do not think this should result in forcing employees to believe in Jesus (won’t happen!). Instead, you can simply provide the resources that would allow (even encourage) it. Resources such as a chaplain program or regular lunch & learn Bible studies could be part of your efforts. Not only will your employees be impacted for eternity, there are productivity and other benefits here and now.

Critical To Following Jesus

I am convinced this kind of thinking from an eternal perspective is critical. In fact, I do not believe we can effectively follow Jesus Christ and think otherwise. For us to attempt to truly follow Jesus while only thinking about the short-term results of our actions or decisions may just be impossible. I think Luke 9:62 fits here:

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Not Easy!

The difficulty in this thinking from an eternal perspective – and I promise you there is difficulty – is that the world does not think this way. Because of this, the rewards of this world often come to those who think short-term. In this context, short-term is any time-frame on this side of eternity.

I tell you this not to discourage you but to set realistic expectations. Do not begin applying this eternal perspective to your work and expect worldly success as a result. They are not connected.

Eternity In Our Hearts

Instead, recognize that God put eternity into our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and that is how He expects us to think. The more we think from an eternal perspective, the more our decisions and actions will reflect it. When that happens, the rewards will come in God’s way (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

Does the eternal perspective make sense to you?

When do you find it the most challenging?

What victories can you name as a result of this thinking?

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The Daily Game Plan: A Must Use Tool!

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If you have ever worked on a life plan for your life, then you know the process can be somewhat overwhelming. You likely know that maintaining that life plan can become a burden at times, depending on how you have it set up. In light of that, I have come up with a tool I am calling a daily game plan that may just be the help you are looking for!

game plan

Daily Game Plan

In my last post, I described how I progressed from modifying and tweaking my life plan to creating a more simple tool called a daily game plan. Birthed out of an idea I got from reading Seven Days in Utopia, this daily game plan is an effort to apply life plan strategy to our daily lives. Take a look at my last post for more on the thought process behind this tool.

As I promised in the last post, I want to take you through the current version of my daily game plan tool. I will go over each area and explain how I use it. I will also give you the option to download a pdf of it. As I go through this process, be thinking about how you would improve this tool. I am going to ask you for your feedback at the end.

How To Proceed

The best way for you to go through the rest of this post is to [CLICK HERE] for a marked-up, full-screen view of a completed daily game plan. Because each section is labeled to make it easier to follow along, you will likely want to keep this open in the separate tab and flip back and forth between them. If you would prefer, you can also just print a copy. Either way, it will be helpful to have it visible as you progress through my description below.

Section #1 – Key Questions

This first section is fairly simple. As you can see, I put the day and date in the box at the top and then I read through the questions. These questions are some that I pulled together and may change from time to time. You could add your own here.

Sometimes I actually write a one or two word answer to some of the questions. Sometimes I just think about them and leave them blank. The point is to read and contemplate these questions every day. I want these thoughts becoming part of my mindset throughout the day.

Section #2 – Calendar

The next section is a condensed calendar picture of my day – only the highlights. I do not put more than three or four items on this calendar. The purpose of this section is two-fold.

First, I want to think through my day and how it will flow. When I have to write it like this and only have room for the select few events, I have to visualize how they will fit together. The second reason is to remind me of those bigger appointments when I glance over the game plan during the day.

Section #3 – Key Focuses

In this third area of my daily game plan, I write the most important task or project for me to accomplish that day. Sometimes there are a total of three or four of these items when I combine the three categories – Work, Home, Other. More often, there are only one or two items listed here.

While my to-do list is always much larger than this, completing this section of the game plan forces me to determine and prioritize my most critical tasks. This is a great exercise, especially when many days my to-do’s overwhelm me. I find that it is seldom that I do not accomplish all that is listed here.

Section #4 – Outreach & Prayer

In this part of the game plan, I stop to think about the people I am likely to work with that day. Is there anyone in particular, employee or otherwise, that I need to reach out to in a special way? If someone comes to mind with clarity, then I write their name in the space and pray for the opportunity to impact them. If not, I leave it blank.

After that, I write in those areas about which I know I need to pray. This may be something related to my marriage or my children. It could be a pending decision at work or even a habit I am trying to break. Nothing is off limits here (except a confidential request from someone else!).

Section #5 – Potential Problems

This is one area where I have seen the most impact on my days since I have been using this daily game plan. Here, on the left side, I ask the question, “What could go wrong today?” I then write down any potential surprises or obstacles that I think may pop up during the day to come.

I imagine what it might look like if a conversation I plan to have that day ends up going bad. It could be that I might receive bad news in a pending project I am working on. It could even be a temptation that I am not prepared to handle.

Once I determine a couple of likely problems, I ask myself, “How will I (later) wish I had handled it?” This is a powerful question because it forces me to think about how I would script the situation after it goes bad. It is accountability in advance! You would be amazed at how much easier it is to handle a crises when you have already visualized it and scripted your response!

For a detailed description of the meaning of the five terms (Observation, Strategy, See, Feel, Trust), you need to read the book, Seven Days in Utopia!

Section #6 – Scripture Memory

This final section of the daily game plan is the simplest, but also carries power. In the top section, I write the Bible verse that I am attempting to memorize for that week. In the bottom section, I write the verse I memorized from last week.

This rotates each week so I am writing each verse once a day for two weeks. I also glance at the reference during the day and attempt to repeat both of the verses aloud without looking. This may only happen once or twice during the day, but any repetition helps!

Summary

As I said before, I tried this on a half of a sheet of paper at first (8.5″ x 11″ folded), but I am now loading it onto my iPad in an app called Notes Plus. It is fully contained on the screen and I am able to easily access it throughout the day. This seems to work best for me as I am carrying my iPad everywhere I go now.

Like I said before, this is a work in progress. There may be parts of this idea that excite you and other parts that leave you saying, “Huh?” That is fine! I don’t expect you to accept it all as/is and start using it that way. My main purpose in sharing is to start the conversation – both in your mind as well as between all of us.

Take some time and think it over. Ask me questions or give me some suggestions. The only advice I will give is to be determined to keep it as simple as possible! Do not give in to the temptation to add two or three (or more) incremental improvements that end up making it too cumbersome to use.

For a blank copy of this game plan, [CLICK HERE].

What are your thoughts about the game plan?

Does it generate any ideas for you?

What additions/deletions would you suggest?

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Is There Spiritual Drift in Christian Business?

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I recently heard a guest speaker at our church that did a fantastic job with his message. As I often do these days, I saw parallels between his message to the church and what we as Christian business owners and leaders need to hear. His message dealt with how individuals, and therefore churches, can experience spiritual drift and how it can be corrected. Let’s look at how this applies to us in Christian business.

spiritual drift

Spiritual Drift Is Common

First of all, Christian leaders of all kinds can experience spiritual drift. This happens when the leader slowly and imperceptibly begins to move in a direction that creates increasing distance between himself or herself and God. It is not intentional or even desired. Most often, it is not even noticed until it has already been happening for a while.

Spiritual drift is not always due to stress or strain. In fact, it may be more common during good times. It happens whether these leaders are running businesses as platforms for ministry or serving as staff members in the local church. No Christian leader is immune to spiritual drift.

Spiritual Drift In Christian Business

Now let’s determine what this drift looks like in a Christian business owner or leader. Then we will talk about three steps to correcting this drift.

As we have discussed before, a Christian business owner or leader is one that views his or her business or team from an eternal perspective. This leader understands that the business is a gift and responsibility from God to be used to create eternal returns. Simply put, the goal of a Christian business is to point people toward God and impact their eternity.

If this is the (simplified) vision of the Christian business owner or leader, then any focus that takes the business in a direction away from that vision is a symptom of spiritual drift.

Examples Of Spiritual Drift

When a Christian business owner or leader begins making decisions that are intended to increase his or her personal comfort at the expense of other employees, spiritual drift could exist. The same is true if this leader chooses strategies that do not honor God simply because competition has heated up around him.

When the Christian business leader loses touch with the needs of his or her employees or customers due to other distractions, spiritual drift is likely. Maybe it is nothing more than a loss of passion for the mission. While seemingly harmless, this issue could actually indicate significant drift.

My Experience With Spiritual Drift

The scary thing, as I mentioned earlier, is that this drift often happens without being noticed. I have experienced this myself in our business.

Over the years, I have had great intentions for all sorts of ways to minister to employees or customers. I have started mapping out the plans, but then something would come along and distract me. It did not seem like that big of a distraction at first, but then it would grow.

Various Causes

Maybe this distraction was a crisis or maybe it was an opportunity that presented itself. Either way, my mind was taken off of the ministry focus. Not a huge deal, but it would certainly delay my progress, right?

Well, if you combine this distraction with a weak quiet time streak or some other spiritual weakness, the impact can be greater than you might imagine. In fact, I have looked up several months later only to realize my ministry plans are sitting on the shelf gathering dust.

Does any of this ring a bell?

What To Do About It?

So, assuming we have all experienced this kind of drift at one time or another, what do we do about it? Is it even critical that we address it or should we accept it as part of life? Will our path eventually turn back toward God on its own? Is there any real danger in this kind of drift?

I would like to know your thoughts on these questions. Submit your comments below and let me know your take on all of this.

In my next post, I will give you three steps to correcting the drift. Stay tuned!

Have you experienced this spiritual drift?

Did it sneak up on you or did you see it coming?

What did you do about it?

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EntreLeadership: Free Book Give Away!!!

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[title color=”orange-vibrant” align=”scmgccenter” font=”georgia” style=”normal” size=”scmgc-7em”]Free Book Give Away!!![/title]

entreleadership

A Free Book Give Away?

You read that right! I am doing my first give-away on this blog. And to start things off, I am offering a free copy of Dave Ramsey’s latest book, EntreLeadership! If you have not read this book, you are in for a treat. Even if you have, you need to give a copy away to someone else you that needs to read it.

How Do You Win?

If you scroll down just a bit you will see the Rafflecopter entry form which outlines a bunch of ways to enter the EntreLeadership giveaway. Just complete as many as you would like to be entered to win?

Why Am I Doing This?

I started this blog in an effort to spread the message of integrating the Christian faith into our businesses. I want to see more Christian business owners and leaders begin looking at their businesses from an eternal perspective and running them as platforms for Christian ministry.

While I know my posts are written toward this effort, I thought I would try to step it up a notch for 2013. My plan is to give away one book a month for the entire year! All I am asking from you is to follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. As you enter, you will be helping me to spread the word about this blog at the same time. We both win!

This Month’s Book- EntreLeadership

When you started your business, did anyone teach you how to invest in your team? How to delegate so you could grow your company beyond you? Who taught you how to find the perfect hire or let people who weren’t a fit go with dignity? Leaders need answers to questions they don’t even know to ask. EntreLeadership provides the answers…and it does it from a Christian point of view!

Enter The Give Away

Follow the instructions below and then spread the word to others!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Automotive Super Conference Coming Soon!

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Typically, I do not have much advertising on this blog. At the same time, one of my stated goals is to provide resources for anyone interested in using their businesses for an eternal impact. I believe the Automotive Super Conference is this type of resource.

Automotive Super Conference

Automotive Super Conference

For that reason, I want to bring this upcoming conference to your attention. The conference is going to be held in Charlotte, NC at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on March 13-14, 2013.

You can read more by clicking on the banner above, but the Automotive Super Conference is targeted toward auto dealers and their employees. It will be themed around Dave Anderson’s How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK, which I have used for some posts here in this blog. In fact, Dave Anderson will be the keynote speaker as well!

I Am Excited!

I am really excited about this conference for several reasons.

First, I have never heard of a Christian conference in the car business. These just don’t happen in our industry. If it has happened before, then I missed it.

Numerous Benefits!

The obvious benefits are numerous. There will be Bible-based teaching with direct application in every department in a typical dealership. There will be 14 different workshops covering many topics – all centered around the Bible. That is really cool!

In addition to the workshops, there will be sharing of best practices and fresh ideas coming from various panel discussion sessions as well as the breaks and meals in between. This is often where the best learning happens for me. There is no doubt I will come away having learned something.

It is also going to be inspiring to see that none of us are alone in our efforts. Being able to see hundreds of other dealers and industry leaders gathered in one place to learn more about how to honor God with their businesses – that will be awesome! I can’t wait!

My First Workshop!

Finally, I am excited about the Automotive Super Conference because I have been given the opportunity to present one of the workshops! I have not finalized my topic yet, but you know it will be along the same lines as the blog. As soon as I finalize the topic, I will give you a sneak preview!

Spread The Word

My request to you is that you help me spread the word. Tell anyone you think might be interested about this conference and send them to the site to learn more. Like I said, you can click on the banner above or the link below. You can also copy the link and paste it into your emails, tweets, etc.

While the theme of the conference is Bible-based, everyone is welcome. Maybe someone seeking a faith will come to know Jesus because they attended! Who knows what God has planned?!?!

http://automotivesuperconference.com

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Life Plan Process: Overview

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life plan

This is the final post in a series on LIFE planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a LIFE plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

Life Plan Variety

Life plans can take on all sorts of shapes and sizes. They can be fully contained on one page or they can consist of several documents. It really is not important how long or short, thick or thin these plans become.

The most important aspect of the life plan is whether it does its job. If it helps to guide you through life, assists you in maximizing your resources for the greatest impact, and keeps your focus on what you have decided is most important to you, then it has done its job.

I have described to you the components of my own LIFE Plan. You may not want to take this process and copy it for yourself. Some of you may think I go too far in planning. Others may think I do not do enough. Regardless, I hope you find the components of my process useful in helping you to create your own.

Now I want to go into more detail about how I actually develop, revise, and use this LIFE Plan in my life.

Off-Site Session

The first step in my process is the off-site session. I first started doing this session in mid December each year, but have since moved it back into November. Just like year-end budgeting or forecasting, you want to make sure you have plenty of time to fully develop the plans before the new year begins.

Much like my brainstorming session, I like to get away from any and all distractions for this session. Whether it is a hotel room, a cabin in the woods, or a private room in the local college library, I have always been intentional about getting away. I schedule a full day and make sure people know where I am and that I will not be answering the phone.

Prayer

The first part of my LIFE planning process is prayer. This is key to putting my mind in the right perspective and getting God’s wisdom. I do not want to make all these plans and then ask God to bless them and make them His will. I want His will to establish my plans.

Review of Prior Year

I begin my session by reviewing the prior year. The first document I use is the Yearly Audit [CLICK HERE for copy] from the C12 Group. This is a thorough, but also concise, review of the key components in the life of a Christian business owner or leader. It refreshes my memory and helps me to assess my performance during the prior year. I strongly recommend you use this.

The next document I review is my master LIFE Plan Document from that prior year. In this document, I have expanded on all of my thoughts, goals, and plans for the year. I review this document to determine what items were accomplished and may need to be deleted as well as to choose those items to be carried over into the next year.

Finally, I review my LIFE Plan Dashboard from that prior year. Which of my goals did I hit, exceed, or miss completely? I look for patterns of positive habits established or those I struggled even to start.

Prayer & Brainstorm

Once I have a decent feel for how I performed against my plan for that year, I begin praying and brainstorming about what needs to change and what needs to stay the same for the upcoming year. I ask God to direct my thoughts to those areas where He wants change in me.

I take notes on anything and everything that comes to mind. I really enjoy this time because nothing is off limits. I do my best to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart and guide me. I do not want to come into this time with any preconceived ideas.

Prioritize and Review

From here, I prioritize what came out of the brainstorm session along with the plan from the prior year. I make the necessary revisions to the master LIFE Plan Document and save this draft.

I will likely make minor revisions and tweaks to this document over the next few weeks as I set goals for each area. As I do this, I also add the applicable goals to my LIFE Plan Dashboard and calendars. My goal is to have a set of completed documents by the end of December so I can start January with a clean slate!

Weekly Review

I have mentioned David Allen’s Getting Things Done in past posts. One of the best things I learned from Allen was the weekly review. Without this part of the process, it is easy to find yourself two, three, or four months down the road without having accomplished the first item on your life plan.

Essentially, the weekly review is a time I close my office door and plan out the next week. I review the prior week’s accomplishments, my known To Do’s for the upcoming week, my calendar, and my LIFE Plan Dashboard. I prioritize what needs to get done and lay out a rough idea of when I can work on each item.

I take this time every Saturday and would be completely lost without it. I am by no means perfectly efficient with my time, but the weekly review has brought me to a point where I think I am a 7 or 8 on a 10 scale.

Not only am I more efficient, but I am accomplishing more in my LIFE plan than I would otherwise. I am reminded of the airline pilot who announced, “We are lost, but making good time!” My weekly review helps me to make good time and my LIFE Plan makes sure I am not lost!

Nothing More To See Here

life planFolks, that is basically all of the details of my own LIFE Plan. As I said before, it is not perfect, but it works for me. I hope you gained at least some small idea that will help you be more effective with the life that God has given you.

Even if your next step is to create a life plan as simple as the one shown here, then you are at least getting started! I cannot claim this one as my own, but I sure do love the drive and vision!

I will say again, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment or email me privately via the Contact Page.

How do you plan on a regular basis?

If you spent more time in planning (with God’s guidance), do you think you would be more effective?

What are the obstacles that keep you from doing a better job with planning?

Originally posted 1/31/12

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Life Plan Process: Technology

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This is the fourth post in a series on LIFE planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a LIFE plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

Life Plan Components

So far, I have told you why I think you need a life plan. I have shown you how to create a life plan master document and dashboard. In this post, I want to share with you the way I use technology as a part of my life planning process. Before you ask, I will walk you through my Weekly Review process in the next post!

Too Many Technology Choices!

Obviously, there are more technology choices out there than Baskin Robbins flavors of ice cream. I know this makes it tough to choose the right one. So, I did the best I could and ran with what I found. My point in telling you this is that my choices are just that…my choices. You may find something that works better for you.

If so, great! If you do not want to go through the search process, then I welcome you to try what I am using. You may even choose some and ignore others. You may even stick to pen and paper. Truly, it is not important. What is important is that you get started with something! Don’t let this subject keep you from beginning your life plan.

Hardware

First, I will tell you about my hardware. I use an iPhone, iPad, and an HP laptop. I am not an “Apple” guy (no Mac for me at this point!), but I do love the iPhone and iPad. Everything I do syncs automatically and wirelessly between all three of these products. (The one exception is that I have to sync my iPhone and laptop with iTunes to sync my Contacts.)

I could get by without the iPad, but it has been a treat to use (I am still getting used to it) the more I learn with it. So at least for today, I mainly use the other two.

Software / Apps

As for my software/apps, there are four main products that I use. In each case, there are several products on the market, some paid and some free, that are similar in most ways. Again, these are not necessarily the best, but certainly work well for me. Every app listed below works on all three of my hardware products and syncs automatically.

Google Docs

This is probably the guts of my LIFE plan process. This is where I have uploaded my LIFE Plan Dashboard. The Dashboard is in a spreadsheet file, along with several other sheets I have added over time. In this one file, I have sheets that track my progress toward my goals.

I have a separate sheet for each of the following Focus Areas and Goals:

Reading List – books I’ve read, how I rated them, and progress toward goal
Listening List – audio books and messages I’ve listened to, rating, and goal progress
Exercise – exercise time and activities, progress toward goals
Scripture – all memory verses (1 per week) I am memorizing
Teaching – each teaching session I’ve led (topic and time) and goal progress
Blog Stats – tracks traffic metrics and goal progress

I use Google Docs for this because I can access it from any computer with internet access. This way I can do my review whether I am at my own computer or not. I can also access it on my iPhone and iPad.

Toodledo

Toodledo is my To Do list on steroids! In this app, I keep all of my tasks and projects. Using the general philosophy from David Allen’s Getting Things Done, I try to keep everything listed in here and not on my mind.

This app is very flexible in the way it allows me to schedule tasks, group them in folders according to Focus Area or by projects (with subtasks), and tag them any way I want. It sends reminders by SMS text or email (or both!). Whether I am in the car with only my phone or in the bed reading on the iPad, these reminders keep me straight and on task!

Google Calendar

Since I am already using Gmail and Google Docs, it makes sense for me to use Google Calendar as well. One of the things I like about Google Calendar is the ability to create multiple calendars and overlay them with each other, any way I want.

My wife keeps a calendar for the family and kid events. Anytime I want to plan family time or a date night out, I can simply click on her calendar and it overlays mine to show me the free times! This really works well for us.

In addition to my main calendar, I keep a simple reading and listening calendar along with one for my teaching/training schedule. These allow me to leave these calendars hidden except during my weekly review time. This way, my main calendar is not too cluttered.

Evernote

Evernote is an amazing app that will do much more than I currently use for my LIFE plan process. Essentially, it is an electronic storage cabinet for any kind of document or file you want to put there.

For starters, I have my main LIFE Plan Document stored there. I also have a Weekly Review Template, which is just a checklist for my Weekly Review process. I also clip articles and ideas for future training sessions here.

All of my blog posts are written in Evernote and my prayer “notebook” is there. I also have a template there for my non-fiction book “net-outs.” I keep the net-outs from every book there as well.

All of this is available to review and edit on any computer with internet connection, but you can also download any or all files for offline use. When recently on vacation in Jamaica, this came in handy!

Summary

I assume this may seem like too much to some of you. I don’t disagree. At the same time, until I build habits in some of these areas, this process really helps keep me on track.

While I do not expect anyone to copy my process, I do hope my sharing has helped generate some ideas for many of you. If you have any questions about any of it, please feel free to ask. I will help where I can!

Are you using any of these tools or something similar?

How are you using technology to strengthen your performance?

What tools are you using that others may find useful?

Originally posted 1/29/12

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How To Create A Life Plan Dashboard

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This is the third post in a series on life planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a life plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

LIFE Plan Document

In my last post, I gave you a detailed description and break-down of my main LIFE Plan document. I described my Roles, Focus Areas, and Goals. I gave you a couple of samples from these areas. I also gave you access to download my [Title Page Summary] and [Godly Father Role].

As you can probably guess, combining all of these pieces into a complete document makes for a long document. The length of the document made it difficult to quickly review it on a regular basis. While I considered cutting it down, I just could not figure out which parts to eliminate.

Dashboard as Summary

So, as a result, I decided I needed a “dashboard” of sorts. With a one-page summary, I felt I could use this document in a weekly review process. I used a compilation of several resources I had found (and created a spreadsheet that would represent the month to month living out of my LIFE Plan. This Dashboard is made up of many sections, or “Gauges”, that help me keep my overall LIFE plan at the forefront of my mind.

Roles, Focuses, and Goals Gauges

For the first section, I started with the eight roles and laid out the sheet in a way that would allow me to see all eight Roles and the corresponding Focus Areas. Then, I left three blanks under each Role for monthly Goals. Each month, I update my monthly Goals, leaving the Roles and Focus Areas the same throughout the year.

Take a look at the picture below to get an idea of what I mean. (Note the Roles and Focus Areas have changed…this is part of my dashboard from December 2010)

life plan

Remaining Sections

As I have said several times, this whole process has evolved over time for me. You may want to stop right there and let your dashboard include only your Roles, Focuses, and Goals Guages. I started here, but have since added to mine. I will share the rest of my Dashboard with you and let you decide if any of it is interesting to you.

Strengths Gauges

In his book Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham describes how working on your strengths is the best strategy. At the end of the book, you take a test and are told your top strengths. I really found the material to be enlightening and began determining how I could apply it to my life.

In a sequel to Buckingham’s book, StrengthsFinder 2.0, author Tom Rath details out a list of 10 strategies for developing each strength described. I picked the top two or three of those actions for each of my top four strengths and put them on my dashboard.

Take a look at this picture to see how this looks.

life plan

Final Gauges

Across the bottom of the LIFE plan Dashboard, I added four more sections based on what I felt was most important to review regularly. You may substitute your own categories here, but I included the following:

1. Prayer Focus – a listing of various ongoing areas in which I focused my prayer
2. Reading/Listening Plan – a list of the books and audio for that month
3. 360 Assessment – my top ten concern areas from a 360 degree assessment of me
4. Scripture – a list of references to the 15-20 verses I am trying to memorize

Here is a visual of these gauges.

life plan

Closing Quote

To close out the bottom of my LIFE Plan Dashboard, I wanted something to keep me focused on the big picture. I learned in my C12 group that I should always be ready with a conversation-starting response to the question, “What do you do for a living?” I used this answer to close out my dashboard.

I work for an unusual company. It is an car dealership group that is a Christian company. We are trying to learn, and to show, how Jesus would run a company if He were the boss.

That’s It!

So, there it is! That is my LIFE Plan Dashboard, in all its glory! If you want to see the entire document together, just [Click Here].

Some of you are thinking I am crazy and others are thinking I am weak. That is fine! I can handle it!

Regardless of what you are thinking, I encourage you to do something similar. I will go into more detail about how I use this Dashboard in my final post in this series, but for now, I urge you to think about what you could create that would be easy to review on a weekly basis. Keeping your life plan in front of you in some shape or form will keep you closer to the path God has revealed to you.

What is your reaction to this dashboard?

Do you see how you could benefit from a weekly review of your life plan?

What do you see to be your next step in the life planning process?

Originally posted 1/26/12

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How To Create A Life Plan Document

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This is the second post in a series on life planning. In this series, I am sharing with you the basics of a life plan and why you need one by going through the details of my own LIFE planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do (or even just parts of it) and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

The Components

As I said in my previous post, there are many components that you can use as parts of your life plan. I can break my process into three main components – the Plan, the Dashboard, and the Technology. In this and the next two posts, I am going to describe each of these components in detail. In the final post, I will describe the process I use each year to review and update my plan for the new year.

Side Note: In case you did not notice, I use all CAPS when referring to my personal LIFE plan – it stands for Living Intentionally For Eternity.

LIFE Plan – Main Document

Let’s talk about the LIFE Plan first – the main document for me. This document consists of three parts:

    -Role Descriptions
    -Focus Areas
    -Goals

To create this document, I drew heavily from Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In this book, Covey talks about the various roles each of us plays in our lives. For me, I am a husband, father, steward of God’s business, etc.. In each of these roles, my responsibilities and goals vary.

Role Descriptions

As a result of the material in this book, I based the structure of my LIFE plan on what I defined as my roles. Here they are, in order of priority for me:

    1. Sold-out Disciple of Jesus
    2. Intentional Individual
    3. Loving Husband
    4. Godly Father
    5. Faithful Steward of God’s Business
    6. Servant Leader at Church
    7. Compassionate Neighbor
    8. Loyal Friend

For each of these roles, I have written a brief summary description of what I believe that role looks like. Essentially, I used Covey’s Habit #2, Begin With The End In Mind.

I have cited the Scripture upon which these descriptions are based. I have written these descriptions in the form of positive affirmations to help me visualize my living out each role with maximum effectiveness. These role descriptions go beyond just the one year and represent what I want to look like at the end of my life.

Here is an example of one of these descriptions:

Example Role Description

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    Sold-Out Disciple of Jesus

    As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I love the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength(1). It is my first and most urgent priority to seek to know God in a way that is real and that serves as my primary motivation in life. I believe in a true eternal life and therefore I live this life with an eternal perspective(2) at all times.

    (1) Matthew 22:37
    (2) Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

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Focus Areas, Goals

In addition to the role descriptions, I have decided on 3-5 main focuses for the upcoming year under each role. These focus areas could be areas where I need improvement. Or they could be areas where I need to start exploring something new. They may even be something I am going to stop doing!

For each focus area, when applicable, I have listed one or two clarifying goals. Here is an example of a focus area and goal:

Example Focus Area and Goal

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    Faithful Steward of God’s Business (role)

    Focus Area: Mentor & Teach
    This is something I believe God has gifted me to do. I will be more intentional about scheduling this time in 2012. I will focus mainly on the management staff and the Leadership Team.

    Goal: 25 Hours of actual teaching (not including prep time)

[/box]

Summary

In essence, these three parts (Role Descriptions, Focus Areas, and Goals) make up my entire LIFE plan main document.

So that you get an idea of what one full role portion of the plan looks like in its entirety, you can [Click Here] for a copy of my Godly Father role plan for 2012. You can also [Click Here] for the Title Page Summary I wrote for the beginning of the document. While it is not detailed above, it may help you get a clearer picture of my approach.

I have said it before and I will say it again. I am sharing my plan in an effort to get you started. Your plan may look very different. It may be more involved or less so. Either way is fine.

Seek God First

The important part is that you seek God and ask Him to impress on you what your plans and direction should be. You can certainly do this on your own, but I do not believe that is His desire for us. If we start with His plan (and stick with it!), we will experience the fulfillment for which we were designed.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to comment here or email me privately from the Contact Page. I am not an expert, but I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.

In my next post, I will describe my LIFE Plan Dashboard.

Is this what you were expecting?

Do you see the benefit of this kind of plan?

What one obstacle is keeping you from getting started?

Originally posted 1/24/12

Posted on

4 Questions About A Life Plan

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This is the first post in a series on life planning. In this series, I will share with you the basics of a life plan and why you need one. I will also go through the details of my own life planning process. Neither my plan nor my process are perfect. In fact, they are evolving from year to year. My hope is that you can take what I do and use it to create your own plan.

life plan

Why A Life Plan?

Why in the world do I need a life plan? Who actually does that anyway? I mean, isn’t it too stressful or time-consuming to go to all the trouble? I just take one day at a time and make the most of life. I don’t want to lock myself into anything.

For these and various other reasons, few people actually go as far as creating a life plan for themselves. We are certainly familiar with, and see the need for, planning when it comes to building houses or buildings, managing huge projects, and even weddings or careers. But when it comes to our lives, the only one we will ever get, most people simply “wing it.”

Does this make sense to you? We have more invested in our lives than we do in anything else. We have greater expectations from our lives than we do most any project we will work on, right? So if this is true, would it not make sense to spend some time planning for it? Would it not stand to reason that we should attempt to maximize the life and resources God has given us?

Okay, so you are beginning to see a potential need for a plan. You are not quite convinced yet, but you are willing to read a little further. Good! Let’s continue!

What Is It?

What exactly is a life plan? Effectively, a life plan is a map of how you want to live your life. It takes into consideration your resources, current position, your intended destination, and the impact you want to make along the way. It gives you a general path to use as you navigate the twists and turns life throws at you.

A life plan cannot guarantee you that life will or will not go a certain way, but it can give you a much more active role in determining where you go and how you end up. A life plan cannot assure you of specific results, but it can help you get the most out of your resources as you reach for your goals. Much like a GPS system in your car, it will not prevent unexpected course changes due to forces beyond your control, but it can help you get back on track as quickly as possible.

So, I hope that you are a little closer to making a decision to create your own LIFE plan. If you are, there are two more questions to answer.

When Should I Start?

The next question you should ask is “When” to start. Well, I have heard it described in this way:

The best time to plant an oak tree was ten years ago. The next best time is right now!

In light of that, I would recommend you start as soon as possible. Your first efforts at this process do not have to be perfect. You would literally laugh if you saw my first plan (if you could call it that)! Perfection is not the point. Progress is the point.

I encourage you to determine right now that you are going to do this. Do not worry about how it is going to look or what anyone else might say if they saw it. You are not doing this plan for anyone but you and Jesus.

Assuming you are ready to take the leap and get started, you only have one more question.

How Do I Do It??

How exactly does one go about creating a life plan? What are the steps? What are the components? In the next several posts, I will guide you through the answers to each of these questions. I will break down the components of my own plan, as well as the steps I take each year.

When we are done with this series, you will definitely have a better idea of what a life plan looks like and how to create one. You should also see the benefits to starting your own. You will even have resources you can use in your own process. As we go, please make sure to ask questions and get clarification on anything that is unclear.

What are your thoughts?

Do you see the need for a life plan?

If you already have one, have you seen the benefits?

This post was originally published 1/22/12