life plan workbook

8/7/2019 Life Plan Workbook

1/23

A Step-by-Step Guide forDeveloping, Pursuing, and Achieving

Your Spiritual and Career Goals

THE

PersonalDevelopmentPlanWORKBOOK

MICHAEL A.ZIGARELLI,PH.D.

0


2/23

TABLE OF CONTENTS___________________________________________________________

Get Going on SomethingThat Really Matters

STEP ONE: Get a Clue

STEP TWO: Get a Goal

STEP

THREE

: Get a Plan

STEP FOUR: Get a Gauge

2

7

14

18

20

2002, by Michael A. Zigarelli, Ph.D.All Rights Reserved.

1


3/23

INTRODUCTION

Get Going on Something

That Really Matters

Your life is a series of choices. And ifyou choose to do so, you can do greatthings with your life. Things thatmatter. Things that greatly affect thelives of others. Even things that willbe influencing people long afteryoure gone.

You may not even be aware of thepotential that you have. But itsthere. So if you have not alreadydone so, consider deciding this veryday perhaps this very moment that you willachieve your potentialin life. Make that choice. Verbalize it.Believe it. No one can stop you but

yourself.

Then, use this workbook as aspringboard to success. Its designedto help you reach important lifegoals and to live a life that honorsGod. More specifically, The PersonalDevelopment Plan Workbookis a step-by-step guide that will walk youthrough the process of identifying,pursuing and achieving some thingsGod cares about very much yourspiritual and career development.

The premise of this workbook is nota controversial one regardless ofones worldview:you are morelikely to achieve your potential in

life if you have a plan to get there.Your plan for moving in thedirection God has ordained is termedher a Personal Development Plan(PDP). Youll be invited to constructyour PDP via a step-by-step processthat, as youll see, is logical, time-honored, and battle-tested. Its acumulative process that entailsseeking Gods will for your life,setting life goals consistent with thatwill, developing a strategic plan topursue those life goals, andhabitually tracking your progresstoward your goals.

Much of this is straightforward andeven fun to do, but we seldom makethe time to formally do it in ourfrenetic, over-extended lives.Instead, many people take a cavalierapproach to pursuing their goals, anapproach that often leads to spottyresults, dead ends, wasted time andeffort, and often, later regrets overwhat might have been.

Like other types of planning we do inlife planning a wedding, planning avacation, financial planning, and soon creating a PDP will maximizeyour chances of gaining the resultsyou seek. It will empower you andkeep you on track. It can help you to

2


4/23

do even greater things with thismicro-second that we call life. In theend, it will likely contribute to a lifewell-lived and a distinctive,admirable legacy.

To create your PDP, youll need toinvest several hours up front. Indeed,if you experience the power of thisapproach and truly take it to heart,youll further invest a lifetimerefining, updating, and implementingyour plan. The dividends, though,will be enormous and they will beeternal.

Throughout this workbook, Ill askyou to consider two related areas:Gods will for your spiritual lifeandGods will for your career. Beforeproceeding to Step One, lets brieflyunpack the theology behind thesetwo dimensions.

Gods Will for YourSpiritual Life

God wants us to live a life that putsHim at the epicenter, thatsubordinates our will to His and thatmakes a priority of growth towardholiness. More basically, He createdus for relationship with Him and,through the power of thatrelationship, to be salt and light inthe world. He did not create us tolive a dualistic life, one that relegatesones spiritual life to the pews whilewe live independent of Godelsewhere. Rather, faith and life areto be seamless.

Christian scripture speaksgenerously to this issue, both in the

Old and New Testament,encouraging the believer to committo the Lord whatever you do(Proverbs 16:3), to do everything tothe glory of God (1 Corinthians

10:31), and to let your light shinebefore men that they may see yourgood deeds and praise your Father inheaven (Matthew 5:16; cf. alsoColossians 3:23-24, 1 John 2:6,Psalms 37:5). In Galatians 5, Paulgets even more specific, furnishingChristians with nine distinct measuresof the extent to which God isrevealed in their daily lives. Widelycited and collectively called the fruitof the Spirit, the nine measures are:love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).These dispositions and behaviors areindicators of Christian maturity, areflection of God working in andthrough the believer. Christians claimthis, in part, because Jesus Himselftaught: No branch can bear fruit by

itself; it must remain on the vine.Neither can you bear fruit unless youremain in me (John 15:4).

Clearly, then, it is Gods will for usto remain in Him and to become likeHim to become fruit of the SpiritChristians. And that process ofmaturing will touch every aspect ofyour life, including your careersuccess. Part of your PDP, therefore,

will be to assess yourself on thesenone dimension, to set developmentgoals, to craft a plan for spiritualgrowth, and to identify metrics togauge your progress.

3


5/23

Gods Will for Your Work Life

Approximately twenty-four months intohis job, Mark had become quite proficientat analyzing financial statements and at

performing all of the client service dutiesassigned to him. He was regarded as oneof the most diligent employees in thedepartment, he was earning enoughmoney to easily pay his bills, and he wasnow being considered for a managerialslot. Things had fallen in place nicely.Still, something important seemed to bemissing from his work life. Namely,

purpose.

Before him on the desk sat yet anotherbalance sheet from yet another newclient. Mark rubbed his eyes and lookedat his watch. 3:32. He glanced at thestatement. Accounts Receivable: $25,000,Inventory: $68,000... He took a sip ofcoffee and checked his e-mail. Nothing.He peeked his head out of the cubicle tosee if there was someone anyone todivert his attention from the oppressive

parade of debits and credits. No onethere. He looked at his watch again.3:34.

What an empty existence, Markthought. Crunching numbers day in,day out. Answering to clients and bosses,

jumping through their hoops. Spending50 or 60 hours a week simply to makemoney for my faceless company. Theres

got to be something more to work thanearning a paycheck, moving up theladder, and retiring. 3:35.

There is. And the good news is youwon't need to change jobs to find it.

Many people perceive work asmundane and their jobs as little morethan a means to an economic end.Seldom do these people find personalfulfillment in work, even when they

perform their jobs well. Someeagerly await Fridays and lamentMonday morning. Their bosses aretoo critical and their families do notappreciate how hard they work. So toenhance the quality of their worklives and to bring some sense ofaccomplishment, they seekaffirmation by pursuing raises andpromotions, only to later learn thatthe satisfaction they receive isfleeting. Then, work returns to itsroutine, meaningless state.

That's a pretty dismal portrayal, Iknow, and I wish I could say that itis an overstatement. But for millionsof people in the workforce, its anaccurate representation of their dailylives. In fact,American Demographicsmagazine recently reported,

consistent with the results of manysimilar surveys, that more than oneout of every three U.S. workers isnot satisfied with his or her work. Ina U.S. workforce of 100 million, thattranslates into about thirty-fivemilliondissatisfied employees!

But theres something even moretroublesome about this statistic.Because our sense of personal worth

is largely derived from the belief thatwere accomplishing somethingimportant in our lives, perceivingour work as dissatisfying, menial, orpurposeless may cause us to feelinsignificant not just as workers, butas people. Like Mark, we often

4


6/23

experience a personal void as aresult, sensing that we are missingsomething critical in our lives.

And, in fact, we are. This feeling of

emptiness is far removed from whatGod intends for us. God createdwork all work to be primarily aspiritual activity, not an economicor social activity. As is so often thecase, though, man's worldview doesnot comport with Gods intent, andwe thereby forfeit the precious gift ofpurposeful work.

So how, exactly, are we toconceptualize our work? Severalbooks address this questioneloquently, as indicated in the ActionStep below, but just by way ofoverview, we can say that the Bible,from its very first chapter, illustratesthat work is by Gods design.Genesis opens with God working,creating the heavens and the earth,the day and the night, the water and

the land, the sky, the birds and all ofthe animals. God then creates peoplein His own image, calling us toimitate Him in everything that Hedoes, including work.

And God communicates not onlythrough His example that work isintrinsic to our existence. He alsoteaches this directly by instructingAdam and Eve (and us) to Be

fruitful and increase in number; fillthe earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28,emphasis added). To subdue theearth is to cultivate it, to transformit, and to adapt its resources. It is atask that clearly implicates work.Perhaps even more plain in this

regard is Genesis 2:15, which says:The Lord God took the man andput him in the Garden of Eden towork and take care of it. God hastherefore created us to work, taught

us by example to work, andspecifically directed us to work.

But to what end? What exactly doesGod want us to accomplish throughour work? Did He simply inventwork so that we could earn a livingand survive? Thats unlikely. Ifsurvival were His concern, He could,as we do for our own children,simply provide food and shelterwithout requiring any labor. God, itseems, must have created work foranother purpose.

The New Testament reveals thispurpose. Perhaps Colossians 3:23-24says it most poignantly:

Whatever you do, work at it withall of your heart, as working for

the Lord, not for men, since youknow that you will receive aninheritance from the Lord as areward. It is the Lord Christ youare serving.

This straightforward, trenchantpassage tells us to conceptualizewhatever we do everything we doas service to the Lord. In otherwords, when we go to school to

become educated, it is to serve theLord. When we raise a family, it is toserve the Lord. When we exercise, itis to serve the Lord. Even when wedo something as seemingly frivolousas yard work or housework, it is forHim. And, most pertinent here, when

5


7/23

we pursue His command to subduethe earth when we go to workeach day we are to consider ourworkplace holy ground, our tasksfirst and foremost as service to God.

Hes our Supreme Boss, our DivineManager. It is to Him that weultimately report. It is He whocreated our work, not as a curse andnot as just a means to a paycheck,but to allow us to glorify Himthrough it.

This is the true meaning of work.Moreover, in emulating God byworking, we become more like Himand thereby gain dignity, self-worth,and fulfillment as a human being.

Note also that none of this dependson what type of job you have.Whether you are digging ditches asa missionary in China or diggingditches for a construction companyin Texas, your work can give gloryto God. Homemaker, homebuilder,

or home run hitter, you can beserving the Lord in every facet ofyour work. An often-related storyalong these lines is that of JohannSebastian Bach, the great composer,who inscribed S.D.G. on all of hiscompositions, standing for Soli DeoGloria: to the glory of God alone.Bach was an independent contractorwho perceived himself as completelydependent. He could have been his

own boss, but like Rembrandt,Michelangelo, and countless othersof their time, he accepted directionand inspiration from a wiser Boss.

Now, hundreds of years later andthousands of years after the Garden

of Eden, Gods purpose for workremains the same. He calls each of usto view work through His lens,finding genuine purpose and truefulfillment in everything we do from

nine to five.

ACTION STEP

Visit the Articles Libraryon the website

Christianity9to5.org

Once there, read some of

the articles under theheading Work for God inall we do. You may findespecially helpful thearticle by Doug Shermanand William Hendricksentitled: Five ReasonsWhy Your Work Mattersto God.

6


8/23

Step One: Get a Clue

To Discern Gods Calling on Your Life, Beginby Assessing Your Gifts and Your Character

I sat down with my friend Paulrecently and he taught me a fewthings. I always seem to learnsomething from the man. Yeah, hestutters a bit and hes not the mosteloquent speaker. But I have no

doubt that God speaks through thisguy. If I concentrate, I am truly ableto discern Gods will though him.

I asked Paul a pretty heavy question,but one that was weighing mightilyon my mind: How do I know whatGod wants me to do with my life? Ihave some definite ideas about what Iwant to do, but if there is some divineplan for my time here on earth, Iwant to discover and follow that planinstead.

Paul told me, in his quintessentialno-nonsense manner, that I basicallyhad to play detective, searching forclues to unlock the mystery. Thiswas no game, though. The stakes arehigh, he said. The consequences arereal. Paul said that there are at least

three places that I can look for cluesabout Gods intent for my life: I canlook to God for direct counsel, I canlook at how God has designed,gifted, and equipped me, and I canlook to the opinions of good friendswho know God.

The Three Clues

Regarding the first clue, Gods directrevelation to me, Paul told me that Ishould do more of what I wasalready doing reading scripture,

praying for counsel, meditating tohear Gods voice. Specifically, he saidthat all scripture is God-breathedand is useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training inrighteousness (2 Timothy 3:16) andthat I should also pray continually(1 Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians4:6). Additionally, he told me to findsome good resources regarding howto improve my prayer life and my

scripture comprehension. Since thattime, I have found the followingresources to be invaluable:

Hearing Godby Dallas Willard Prayerby Richard Foster Celebration of Disciplineby

Richard Foster How to Read the Bible for All Its

Worthby Gordon Fee andDouglas Stuart

Christianity 101 by GilbertBilezikian

The second clue, Paul confided,involved looking at myself in themirror -- looking very closelyand wellbeyond the physical appearance (1Corinthians 11:28, 2 Corinthians

7


9/23

13:5, Galatians 6:4). What wasinside? How had God created me?Paul said that God gifts each one ofus in specific ways and that thesegiftings indicate what God might

like us to do with our lives (Romans12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:28,Ephesians 4:11). Paul also said that Icould look to the virtues that werebeing manifest in my life to see howthese might complement the giftings.Was I strong in patience?Compassion? Self-control? Joy?(Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:12-17). What kind of hard-wiring hadGod set in place in the womb?Discover those qualities, Paulasserted raising a finger, and yourewell on your way to discoveringGods purpose for your life.

Lastly, Paul taught me that otherpeople godly people whom I knowand trust could benefit me greatlyin my quest. I should ask them whatthey see in me, what they sense God

is calling me to do. Specifically, Paullooked me right in the eye and saidthat we in Christ are competent toinstruct one another about thesemost important of issues (Romans15:14) and to admonish one anotherwith all wisdom (Colossians 3:16).He even offered to me the advice ofan ancient sage who wrote thatPlans fail for lack of counsel, butwith many advisors they succeed

(Proverbs 15:22). I could see in hisexpression that he was dead serious.In humility, I had to approach somefriends and solicit their advice aboutwhat God might intend for me.

So I set out to do all these things,donning my detective cap,determined to unearth whatever Godhad in store for me. I admit, though,that I thought it somewhat strange

that I should have to go through thiscircuitous process. Why didnt Godjust leave a note on my desk? Whycouldnt he just send an email? Itwould be a lot more efficient thatway much less doubt, much lessguess work, much less workgenerally. Then I rememberedsomething that Pauls mentor taughthim: God does not want us to becomplacent in this process. He wantsus to be active, to seek Him. He isglorified in our commitment to findHim, in our searching Him out, inour persevering to do something forHim that is attainable, but notnecessarily easy. God communicateswith us when we seek His face. Asalways, Pauls mentor was right ontarget: Seek and ye shall find(Matthew 7:7).

8


10/23

ACTION STEP

The following activities should help you identify clues aboutGods purpose for your life. Complete the activities inearnest, recording your insights in the Get a Clue

Worksheet. When you have finished, integrate theinformation into a profile of your gifts, strengths andweaknesses to get a clue about what God might be calling

you to do with your life.

Activity 1Get a Clue from Self-Assessment

Complete two assessments that are

available on the websitewww.assess-yourself.org. On thatsite you will find the MotivationalGifts Test to measure your spiritualgifts and the Christian CharacterIndex, to measure strengths andweaknesses in your Christian virtue.Both assessments are free of chargeand anonymous, so be candid incompleting them. The more accuratethe information you enter, the moreaccurate your results will be.

After completing each assessment, besure to print out your results and toinclude notable gifts, strengths andweaknesses in your Get a ClueWorksheet.

Activity 2Get a Clue from Your Friends

Sometimes God speaks throughpeople, especially people who areclose to Him. And if those peopleknow you well, too, they are well-positioned to speak into your life.

This activity entails seeking thecounsel of those Christians closest toyou. Ask them what they discern tobe Gods will for your life. Spend lots

of time listening and little time talking.Without revealing to them yourresults from Activity 1 above, see ifyour friends opinions comport withthose results. Consider whether theyclarify, illuminate or extend thoseresults.

There is no one right way to do this.I would recommend, though, thatyou schedule some time when youwill not be interrupted and that yousimply explain to your friend thepurpose of the conversation. Then, agood opening question might be:Given what you know about me my gifts and talents, my strengthsand weaknesses, my personalitytraits what do you think Godwants me to do with my life?

Whatever your friend says, be sureto write it down as he or she says itor very soon thereafter, and be sureto contemplate it closely. Then entera synopsis of the conversation inyour Worksheet.

9


11/23

Activity 3Get a Clue from Direct Revelation

God is our ally in this process. Ibelieve that He will reveal much to

us, if we have ears to hear.

Throughout the centuries, peoplehave heard God and understoodHis will primarily through Hiswritten word, the Bible, and throughtheir prayer life. So Activity 3 isrelatively open-ended andunstructured. You are to set aside acertain amount of time daily for aslong as you deem reasonable tospecifically seek Gods intent foryour spiritual and professionaldevelopment.

What is it that God desires for youto be and to do? Ask Him regularlyand read the scriptures, keepingtrack of what you hear.

Activity 4

A Supplemental Clue: DefiningExperiences That You Have

Found to be Clarifying

For some further guidance aboutwhat you might be called to do withyour life, consider looking back.Oftentimes, the experiences that wehave found to be most satisfying canprovide clues regarding Gods planfor our lives.

For instance, you may recall that afew years back, you served at a soupkitchen or assisted for a day withsome disabled kids and that youfound the experience strangelyfulfilling perhaps as fulfilling as

anything you had known to date. Butthen you went about your life,allowing that moment of possiblerevelation to dissipate. That mayhave been a potential epiphany that

went unnoticed.

Take some time to recall at leastthree such experiences from yourpast. Think about your mostfulfilling experiences pastsuccesses, achievements, andenjoyable tasks. What talents, gifts,strengths and skills were mostimportant to the quality of theexperience? What was the mostenjoyable facet of the activity? Whataspect of it left you fulfilled? Mostimportantly, through thisexperience, in what direction mightGod have been pointing you?

Write down your conclusions in theWorksheet and consider them injuxtaposition with the otherinformation youve compiled from

Step One.

Putting it All Together: WhatDoes this Mean for My Future?

Bobb Biehl, a noted Christianpersonal development specialist, hasaptly recommended that we seek andaccept jobs where we can flow in ourstrengths and gifts at least 85percent of the time. From all the

information you have compiledthrough these activities in Step One,identify the best jobs / professionsthat are a fit for you, i.e., where youcan operate in your giftings the vastmajority of your time. Record thesein the final row of Worksheet.

10


12/23

Get a Clue Worksheet

Clues Task Strengths / Gifts / PassionsW

Gr

Clues fromSelf-Assessment(Activity 1)

Complete the ChristianCharacter Index andthe Motivational GiftsTest at www.assess-yourself.org

Clues fromFriends /FamilyInterviews(Activity 2)

Ask two or three godlypeople whom you knowbest (parents, siblings,friends, etc.) whatthey think are yourgreatest strengths,what you arepassionate about, and

where you mostrequire growth.


13/23

Clues Task Strengths / Gifts / Passions

WGr

Clues fromDirectRevelation(Activity 3)

Ask God about yourstrengths andweaknesses, and aboutHis plan for your life.Attempt to hear Hiscounsel through thisand through yourreading of thescriptures. Record yourdiscernment here.

Clues fromDefiningExperiences(Activity 4)

Reflect on threeexperiences from yourlife that you havefound most fulfilling.Look for and recordcommon themes(especially strengthsand passions) across

these experiences.


14/23

Clues Task Strengths / Gifts / Passions

WGr

Summary ofthe Clues

Assimilate andsummarize the columnsto this point.

Jobs /Careers

Identify those jobs /careers that may makethe most fruitful use ofyour strengths, giftsand passions.


15/23

Step Two: Get a GoalWhat Are You Really Trying to

Accomplish, Anyway?

The Parable of the IneffectiveMeeting

It was the meeting from beyond thegrave and there was nowhere to run.Kelly sat fidgeting in her chair, a chairway too far from the door to exitdiscreetly. Next time, she told herself,shed arrive early and get a seat on theescape route.

After two hours of platitudes and pap,Kelly listened as well as she could. Shetried to appear engaged, nodding,occasionally jotting something on hernotepad something that of coursewould be instantly round-filed upon the

groups exodus. Kelly didnt speak,though, at least not in the past 90minutes. No sense prolonging the agony,she reasoned. If the conversation were

going somewhere, if something wereactually getting done, then shed have allsorts of things to say. But with thechatter meandering from one pet agendato the next, verbal contribution was

pointless.

In the wake of this agony, Kellycontemplated sending an email to the

group, an email that would say whatwas on the minds of many in thatmeeting. She had it all planned out inher head. The memo would havelamented the inefficient use of time and

would have suggested guidelines forfuture meetings guidelines that reallywould just boil down to setting clear,relevant objectives and remaining

focused on those objectives throughout themeeting.

However, Kelly never got around totyping up that corrective. Seeminglymore important matters assaulted her asshe approached her desk after the meetingand consequently, no memo was sent andnothing ever changed. Ironically,everyone knew what needed to be doneabout meetings, but no one did anythingto fix them.

Have you ever felt like Kelly did inthat chair? Have you ever been stuckin a blab session masquerading as ameeting? There may have been anobjective or two at the outset, butthen the group just wandered, onetangential comment giving license tothe next. Little was accomplished.Important objectives were leftorphaned. Critical time was wastedfor all.

If this resonates at all with you, thenyou surely understand the folly ofnot setting and sticking to clearobjectives. Identifying goals andunremittingly pursuing those goalsis how things get done well.

14


16/23

And what is true for meetings is truefor life generally. This Parable ofthe Ineffective Meeting is actually aparable about ourselves when wehave some goals in life but allow

distractions to sidetrack us frompursuing those goals. Just as theconversation moved away from thegoals of the meeting, culminating infew results, so too, some of thethings we do in life move us awayfrom our real goals. As a result,many of us tend to make glacialprogress toward what we really wantin life, an outcome that is frustratingand disheartening.

This is also a tragic outcome becauseit doesnt have to be that way. Just asKelly and some of her colleaguesknew what had to be done settingmeeting objectives and pursuingnothing but those objectives in themeeting no one did anything aboutthe problem because moreimportant things got in the way. So

too, more pressing matters get in theway of our personal goal setting,eclipsing the possible, derailingdevelopment, cementing the statusquo.

Things can be different for you.Setting goals, keeping those goalsin front of you, and relentlessly

pursuing those goals will help youmove toward the destinations God

has ordained for you. In Step Oneabove, you completed severalactivities to further discover Godswill for your life. Now your task is touse that information about yourgifts, strengths, passions andweaknesses to set short- and long-

term goals that enable you to live amore God-honoring life.

As noted in the Action Step below,you should construct goals for at

least two areas of your life: goals foryour spiritual growth and goalsfor your career. You may set goalsin other areas, of course (e.g., goalsfor your life as a spouse or parent),but for our purposes here, only a setof spiritual and career goals isrequired.

I would also recommend that youconsider using the acronymSMART as a guide for goal-setting. SMART goals are thosethat are Specific, Measurable,Achievable, Relevant (to your lifeand interests), and Time-Bound (i.e.,they have some sort of timetableattached to them).

Setting Your Spiritual GrowthGoals

Setting spiritual growth goalssimply means articulating your goalsfor becoming more like Jesus Christ.If youve completed Step One of thisworkbook, youve already done muchof the groundwork here. Considerbeginning this goal setting processby returning to the Weaknessescolumn in your Get a ClueWorksheet. If your worksheet lookslike mine, that column will providefodder for more goals than youmight care to articulate!

Theres a lot of terrain you couldcover there, regardless of howsanctified you may already be. So be

15


17/23

judicious in selecting those areaswhere you have really discerned Godprompting for your development.

Setting Your Career Goals

To articulate your career goals, startby completing the following exercise(it may also assist you with some ofyour spiritual goals aw well). Thisexercise has helped many to clarifywhat it is they should be doing withtheir time in the workplace.

The Retirement Speech Exercise

After reading the following excerptfrom a book entitled Faith at Work(Moody Press, 2000), think throughthe retirement speech you would likesomeone to deliver in your honorsomeday. Think big. There are noboundaries here. The more thoughtyou put into to this exercise, themore clarity you should receiveabout the goals you could set for

yourself in your work life andperhaps, in your life generally.

Fast-forward the tape of your worklife to a few years down the road.Youre now retiring. Theres adinner to honor you and all theothers in your cohort who haveearned the gold watch (or pewter

plaque, depending on the generosity

of your employer). Look around theroom. Whos there? Who is speakingwith whom? Whats the mood in the

place? Do people seem to be enjoyingthemselves? From across the room, aco-worker glances over at you andwhispers to a friend. The friendresponds with a nod, eye contact and

a casual wave. A lot of people aretalking about you tonight becausethis is your night. What are theysaying?

The time comes for the obligatoryshort speeches commemorating,thanking, sometimes roasting theretirees. One by one, employees cometo the microphone to share storiesand raise a glass. Some stories are

funny, some are touching, some seemmerely polite. Obviously, there wasntmuch to say about that person. Thenup steps the person slated to say a few

words about you, your career, yourcontributionabout all youve meantto the organization. What will this

person say? What is it about you thatwill be remembered as significant?What is it about all of those years about all of that effort that this

person thinks really mattered?

If you would, let that set in for asecond. Dont sell yourself short by

rushing through this exercise. Whatsbeing spotlighted in this short speech?

Accomplishments? Securing clients?Work ethic? Your personality? Whatwill stand out when others reflect onthe job to which you gave your life?

Now take this scene one last step.Imagine for a moment that the

person at the podium is not your co-

worker, but Jesus Christ Himself.You didnt know he had a ticket tothis shindig, but there he is, scars andall. He even managed to somehow

get around the jacket-onlyrequirement.

16


18/23

You listen in awe at whatschronicled over the next few minutes.Everyone in the room is captivatedby just how different this speech is

from all the others. What Jesus

emphasizes as important is quiteunlike what was emphasized by theother speakers. Had you only knownJesus opinion on what your goalsshould be on the jobhad you onlybeen able to see what was preventing

you from pursuing those goalshadyou only heard His words decadesago

Unlike the other speakers, though, heelects to sit down with themicrophone and right next to you.The room falls strangely silent more quiet than it was for the others

as he says your name. A smilecomes to his face, a smile of caring, asmile of friendship. He says yourname again. Im going to tell you

good folks what this employee did atwork all of these years that reallymattered, he begins.

ACTION STEP

In light of what you have learned fromreflecting on your spiritual condition and fromthinking through Jesus retirement speechabout you, write out two sets of goals a set ofspiritual goals and a set of career goals for thenext year, five years, and twenty years. As aguideline, ensure that the goals you set are

SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable,Relevant, and Time-bound.

17


19/23

Step Three: Get a PlanDeveloping a Strategy for Reaching

Your Goals

The goal was to persuade Pharaoh torelease the Hebrew slaves. The goalwas to take Jericho. The goal was todefeat Goliath. The goal was toconvince the world that Jesus is theChrist.

Throughout scripture, we see loftygoals pursued by quite ordinarypeople. Each goal required a plan toget there, though, and in each case,God provided that plan. Without aplan, goals are merely hopes anddreams.

This may be an obvious point, but itis an important one: to reach the

goals you set in Step Two, youllneed a plan of action. Less obvious,perhaps, but no less true, is that nomatter how lofty those goals, if theyare in Gods will, God will assist youto meet and even exceed them! Sohere in Step Three, youll have aformal opportunity to construct atleast two plans, one for pursuingyour spiritual growth goals and onefor pursuing your career goals.

There is no one right way to do this.I can say, though, thatyourspiritual and career plans shouldbe specific and they should furnish

you with a clear roadmap for thetasks ahead of you.

Youll likely find it helpful to mapyour plans to each of your goals.For example, if your strengths andgifts pointed you in the direction ofthe teaching profession and,consequently, if you then set aspiritual goal to gain more patience

with others and a career goal to be acollege professor, your plan of actionwould conceptualize Christ-likepatience and employment as aprofessor as destination points.Your plans would map out thejourney, identifying the means bywhich you intend to grow patience aswell as the credentials you willpursue to move toward your careergoal. It would benefit you greatly ifyou also create a timetableformaking progress, e.g., read thesebooks on gaining patience by the endof the summer, finish my degree by(fill-in-the-date), and so on.

Furthermore, it is essential that youconsider the threats to yourprogress. What might inhibit yourjourney? What obstacles stand in the

way of reaching your goals? Thinkabout such impediments as you planand consider strategies forovercoming those obstacles.

Finally, there is the issue oftrackingyour progress. Effective strategicplanning requires measures by which

18


20/23

one can identify whether one isprogressing, stagnant, or

backsliding. It is to that issue thatwe turn in Step Four.

ACTION STEP

In whatever format you find helpful, write twoseparate personal development plans, one forpursuing your spiritual growth goals and one forpursuing your career goals. To some extent, these willbe related plans insofar as Christian formation and aGod-honoring career are related, but youll be well

served by distinguishing the plans.

For each plan, be sure to:

Map your action items to the goals you set in Step Two(you may want to create a spreadsheet for this)

Put a timetable on each action item (After reading Step Four) Create measures to track the

extent to which you are making progress toward thegoal

Remember, your Personal Development Plan is a living,evolving work-in-progress. As you learn more aboutyourself, and as your interests and life circumstanceschange, or as you discern more from God, be sure toupdate and refine your plans.

19


21/23

Step Four: Get a GaugeConstructing Measures to Track Your Progress

You get what you measure. Its anold adage. And its often true. If youwant to save more money, startkeeping better track of where yourmoney is going. Youll probably endwith more than if you had not paidattention to your budget. If you wantschool children to improve in mathand reading, require schools to test

them frequently in these areas.Chances are, the schools will makewhats measured a higher priority.

No doubt, you could add many moreexamples of this principle. Note,though, that the converse is true,too: we often become complacentabout the things we dont monitor.I have several friends, for example,

who got married and then put theirmarriages on autopilot, neglecting toever gauge their spouses evolvingneeds. Not surprisingly, theunmeasured needs ultimately becameunmet needs, leading tounanticipated needs for maritalcounseling! The counselors wiselyadvised them, among other things, tokeep closer track of what the otherperson wanted from the relationship

and to make such assessments ahabit. You get what you measure.

Its not an automatic cause-and-effect, of course, but the principle is auseful one. We tend to be moreattentive to the things whose

progress we track. As a result, weare then better positioned to makechanges in those areas.

Heres a typical example:

Matt and Linda have been trying to loseweight for some time now. Theyve made and broken New Years resolutionsmore times than they can remember.Theyve tried fad diets, read countlessmagazine articles about the latest

panacea, and dutifully watched Oprahwhen the guru-of-the-month dietician

graced her stage. They even triedwriting a mission statement for losingweight and setting some goals, completewith timetables and deadlines (Matts anMBA, after all).

For all of their effort, they have seensome progress, but it has generally been

fleeting. Lose five pounds, gain back fourpounds. Lose five pounds again, gainback eight. Those holidays can really bea killer.

Then they finally got it right, joining aweight reduction program that closely

tracked their daily intake of food. In thisprogram, each food and beverage isassigned a number of points, based onthings like its caloric and fat content.Matt and Linda are permitted to eat somany points worth of food each day.Consequently, throughout the typical day,they meticulously count how many points

20


22/23

food theyve consumed, seldom exceedingtheir allotted daily total. They stuck tothe plan, they lost the weight theyintended to lose, and theyve kept it offever since.

What changed? Why did this latterapproach help them reach theirweight loss goals, while the formerapproaches did not? The difference isthat Matt and Linda implemented asystem that had good measures inplace to control the weight lossprocess. Their original attempts setworthy targets and were replete withgood intentions, but the absence ofmeasures undermined their ability tostay on track. There was nothingexcept their own will to regulatetheir intake of calories, fat, fiber, etc.,

so progress toward the goals washaphazard. Under their new system,there is daily accountability andscrupulous measurement of theextent to which they are

progressing. Matt and Linda got agauge and it changed everything.

Designing Your Own Measures

Thus far in this workbook, you havedone some self-assessment, set goals,and drafted a plan for pursuing thosegoals. To make lasting progress,though, you should complete yourplan by constructing your ownmetrics for tracking progress towardthose goals. Hence, the final actionstep:

ACTION STEP

For each goal you have set, develop some way of measuringyour progress. Add these measures to your plan from StepThree.

If your plan includes growing in self-control, for example,youll need some good measures of your self-control. Maybeits the number of times you raise your voice every day.Maybe it entails getting weekly feedback from your spouse.Maybe it means using the CCI instrument from Step Two everysix months or so. Whatever the measures you choose, be sureto have one or two for each goal.

The same is true with your career aspirations. You have a planin place for moving toward your desired destination. Now you

need a speedometer and odometer to tell you how fast and faryou are moving. Develop some gauges. Perhaps its a quarterlypersonal retreat to reflect on your progress. Perhaps themeasure involves others providing feedback. Regardless, putsomething in place to monitor yourself and to hold youaccountable.

21


23/23

About the Author

Michael Zigarelli is the Dean of the Regent University School of Business in VirginiaBeach, VA. He is the author of several books, including Management by Proverbs, Faith at

Work,Cultivating Christian Character, and Ordinary People, Extraordinary Leaders. Dr.Zigarelli is also the editor of the Regent Business Review (www.regent.edu/review) andthe creator of Christianity9to5.org.

About the Regent University School of Business

At the Regent University School of Business, our mission is: TTo honor God by

developing extraordinarily competent, entrepreneurial people who lead with excellence,

integrity, and innovation, guided in all things by Jesus Christ. We graduate students who

have the skills expected by the worlds leading organizations, who think and act

entrepreneurially, and who are empowered by a deep love for God.

Here at Regent, we take seriously our call from God to prepare people for marketplace

success. In fact, our students are our ministry. And as such, we do something that youwont find in other business schools: We give personal attention to students professional

and spiritual needs. Jesus ministry was to individuals, and so is ours.

We invite you to consider becoming one of the individuals to whom we minister. But, ifyou do feel called to this place, be prepared to work hard. This is a rigorous program that

will stretch you and prepare you to compete with the best B-school grads in the world.

Also, be prepared to make lifelong friends along the way. Our program is highly

interactive and meticulously designed to build community among students and faculty.Most importantly, be prepared to look more like Jesus when you accept your diploma

than when you accept the invitation to join us. Plain and simply, youll find no otherbusiness school that makes spiritual formation a higher priority than we do. By Gods

grace, our alumni rave about the permanent transforming effect their program has had on

them, both professionally and spiritually.

Thats because when our students walk across the stage on graduation day and wave to

their loved ones, theyre prepared for successreal success. Success in Gods eyes. As a

Regent graduate, you too will possess the tools and the worldview to make a difference inyour sphere of influence. Indeed, youll be prepared to pursue Gods call on your life,

whatever that call entails.

To learn more about the Regent University School of Business,or to apply online, visit us at:

www.regent.edu/business

life plan workbook

Documents