My Next Steps

A Compelling Year of Next Steps

Last November, I began sharing my personal journey of living every day with purpose, direction, and intention. In the process of seeking clarity, I’ve taken several “next steps” that have allowed me to make significant progress in my personal life and in my professional life. I’ve spent a lot of time reading, reflecting, and writing. I’ve spent a lot of time in conversation and in contemplation. I’ve spent a lot of time in silence, in study, and in searching. And I’ve spent a lot of time traveling down a mysterious path, but I'm gaining a better sense of clarity, purpose, and peace. I'm finding direction and living a balanced life with daily intention while embracing the mystery of my future. All of this has made for a truly compelling year.

Next Step: Design Your Life, Make Daily Progress, Enjoy the Process

My personal mission is “to love, enjoy, inspire, encourage, and positively impact those within my circle of influence.” This mission requires daily action, and I’m blessed to be in a profession where I can live out this mission on a daily basis. I know that I am by no means a life planning expert, and I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers. I do, however, have some insights that I have found valuable and worth sharing. There are common themes, messages, and life lessons in the hundreds of personal and professional development books, articles, and research papers I’ve read. Every resource has its own nuance to living life better, but really it seems to come down to three simple themes. Living life better requires that we design our lives, make daily progress, and enjoy the process. If we are intentional about designing our lives, we will have a plan based on a purposeful vision. If we make daily progress, we are working to become more optimal in our daily lives. If we have the attitude and mentality that allows us to enjoy the process, our lives become truly compelling. My common response to “how are you doing?” has always been, “living the dream.” I say that with a little grin, knowing that life is not all rainbows, flowers, and unicorns, but with the intention of building my mindset. This response is my habit because this is my attitude. In my quest for a compelling life, I seek to enjoy and cherish every day. This is my dream. And I’m living it.

Next Step 1.0 and Next Step 2.0

So keeping my mission in mind, I recently took what I believed to be my best Next Step. I’ll call this Next Step 1.0. This step was to develop a life planning course for teens. Through the Brown County Career Resource Center, this course was offered and taken by thirteen amazing BCHS students. I found the experience of designing and teaching the course very valuable to me personally, and I received positive feedback from the students who took the class. I also heard feedback that this kind of class would be valuable for adults as well. So I’m currently planning my next Next Step. I’m calling this Next Step 2.0. This will be a class with the same content and resources I used with the teens, but redesigned with adults in mind. My plan is for this course to be deep yet conversational. My hope is that this course provides an opportunity for growth by participants and by me as a leader as I continue developing and refining the material and presentation. If all goes well, my hope is to continue down this mysterious path with a third “Next Step.”

Next Step 3.0

As you know, I am on a daily quest to live a more intentional, optimal, and compelling life. While on this quest, I’ve definitely been intentional about planning and designing my life. I’ve also spent a great deal of time working to optimize my life by experimenting with actions, habits, and systems that help me make daily progress. I want to enjoy the process of building a truly compelling life, but the question is "what makes a life compelling?" To me, true satisfaction and joy in life comes from contributing to the greater good. Building meaningful relationships, seeking commonalities and unity, showing kindness and compassion, and lifting up and helping those in need. This is where I find myself in regard to my vision for Next Step 3.0. To give a little context, I lead worship at our local jail once a month. Through this experience, I’ve gotten to know a lot of guys who truly need purpose, direction, and intention. These guys truly need help finding their next step. And I’m finding myself in a position where I could possibly bring these life-planning lessons in to these guys who need it most. In the process developing this Next Step series of classes, I’m finding a desire to reach out to and connect with my world in a meaningful way. In a practical way. In a compelling way.

Mystery, Peace, and Next Steps

I’m not exactly sure what my next steps will look like, but I’m certainly embracing the mystery with confidence and peace. I’ve found that the more I let go of the details, the more clarity I find. The more attention I place on direction rather than a destination, the more focus I find. And the more I keep my eye on the process rather than the outcome, the more peace I find. The key is the next step. Continually taking mine and continually encouraging others to take theirs.

So today, take yours.

And enjoy the day!