Month: August 2011

When Plan A is the Only Option

~ Kandyce ~ 6 Comments

Do you believe in your dream enough to allow it become your only option?

 

Not purple.  No, not lilac.  Not aubergine. Amethyst!  YES, that’s it!  A shopping buddy tried to convince me that “these purple chairs are close enough, and the price is unbelievable! You won’t have to go through the hassle and expense of a reupholster. Just get these,” she said with a repugnant look that begged the question, “why does everything with you always have to be so precise?!”

The answer is clear.  Once I envision a thing, all other options consequently become obsolete.  Even if I can’t quite capture it in my mind’s eye, my heart and spirit knows it well.  And it is that knowing that propels me forward.  My vision becomes focused like a laser.  There are no obstacles.  There is but one answer and nothing will prevent me from finding it.

I’ll sacrifice.

I’ll wait.

I’ll keep searching.

But I won’t accept a substitute or counterfeit.

Now of course we are not just talking about chairs.  We’re talking about life, or more specifically the purpose of your life.  As unique as your fingerprint, so too, is your life’s purpose.  Once that purpose is discovered and God has revealed how you are to uniquely package that gift, is there ever a need for Plan B?

No!  Your Plan A is perfectly designed to support you and fulfill your destiny in this earth. Plan B will leave you in want and can never completely satisfy.  Sure, it can sometimes serve as a stop gap along your journey to Plan A, but it is not the ultimate destination.

If you’re searching today or feeling as if there’s “something else” you’re called to in this life, I invite you to go back to your starting point.  Don’t be afraid to switch gears in an effort to reposition yourself on the right road.  Utilizing your unique gifts and talents will make you a priceless commodity.  Your gifts will make room for you.  It is only in that place that you will find true fulfillment, joy and contentment in your work.

The Gut Whisperer

~ Kandyce ~ 1 Comment

“Learn to let your intuition—gut instinct—tell you when the food, the relationship, the job isn’t good for you (and conversely, when what you’re doing is just right).”  Oprah Winfrey

As I rounded the corner to pull into the parking lot – car, after car, after car, after car – back dropped by the most uninspiring, single-story, brown brick, flat roofed façade, the literal sick feeling in the pit of my gut answered a question that my mind had yet to pose.  “I can’t do this anymore,” I quietly uttered as I shift the gear of my black Cadillac (I know…fit for a funeral) into park.  Listlessness fell over me as suddenly as the impact of a head-on collision.

Sound familiar?

“How long will you waver between two opinions?” the prophet cried. How many afternoons must we drone along, desperately trying to manufacture passion for work that does little to satisfy or stir creativity?  How many “mental health days” do we need before we realize…or accept the fact that something has gone awry?  What will it take before we decide to submit to a much-needed course correction?  For me, this was the day (or the straw) that finally broke this camel’s back.

Deep within my belly began to unfold a reality that words or reason could have never accomplished.  There was a truth to it – an authenticity reminiscent of the guilt felt after taking the last cookie from the cookie jar.  But only this time, I was the person being robbed!  And yet, I also stood in the shoes of the thief!  I was robbing the world of the gift that I was created to give.  My gut rendered a guilty verdict that could only be reversed by giving back and sharing with the world everything that I had been holding hostage.

I’ve decided to step out and begin to march to the rhythm of the beat of my heart.  I listened to the brain in my belly, that still small voice, beckoning me to step into my rightful place.  And so this blog serves as a small, but the first of many gifts to you.

Before you close your email or web browser, I want you to consider the thought: What are the whispers from your gut?  Are you exactly where you want to be, living the life that you’ve always dreamed of?  If so, congratulations!  Keep running, and don’t look back!  But if you’re feeling frustrated and dissatisfied with your life – if you’re sensing that sick feeling in the pit of your gut, then I invite you to join me in the journey to authentic living.  I dare you to discover your unique talents and gifts, and begin sharing them with the world around you.

“Then indecision brings its own delays,

And days are lost lamenting o’er lost days.

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute;

What you can do, or dream you can, begin it;

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Living In Your Sweet Spot

~ Kandyce ~ 6 Comments

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking?  Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Do you have the gift of helping others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then everything you do will bring glory to God…” (1 Peter 4: 10-11, NLT).

Whether it’s coaching little league baseball, designing a home, or curating a Michelangelo exhibit at the Louvre, there remains an undeniable peace and sense of fulfillment from performing a task so naturally and effortlessly, it feels as if it were designed expressly for you.  This place is called purpose, destiny…your divine design: living life in your sweet spot.

While certainly not the first of its kind, Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life ignited a flame of wildfire-like proportions in the hearts of those endeavoring to experience life in that sweet spot.  For many of those burning hearts, over 30 million to be exact, Warren’s book was their Kingdom Come! Why then, almost 10 years after its debut, are so many of us still tossing and turning, restlessly searching for the answer to the book’s subtitle: WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?

While simplistic in theory, rediscovering our innate talents and abilities often proves to be anything but.   After years of cultural conditioning, our natural free spirits become weighted under the tomb of societal norms and we slowly and unconsciously lose our sense of self.  It usually isn’t until we have a degree or two in tow, have worked years in a job that doesn’t suit us and become frustrated that we realize, “oh no!  I grabbed the wrong bag!  This isn’t my suitcase…these aren’t my clothes!  THIS ISN’T MY LIFE!”  By this time, many have major financial and familial obligations.  Although we’re living out of someone else’s suitcase, we conclude that there is too much at stake to make a move now, and thus, we settle.

In his book, Cure for the Common Life, Max Lucado suggests that the key to living in your sweet spot is finding work that “honors God, helps others, and thrills you”.  I tend to agree with that assessment and strongly believe that if your daily work demonstrates these three attributes, you have achieved the noblest vocation.  Acclaimed author and career authority Dan Miller often says, “It’s not a ‘risk’ if it fits you.”  If that is true then, why stop after the discovery of your passion?  Take the leap of faith required to live life extraordinarily.  Why settle for a generic “off the rack” life when God has promised a life “tailor made” for you alone?  Selah.