Session 1 – What If It Could Be Different

Action Steps

Answer these questions as completely and thoughtfully as possible:

1. Where do I need clarity?
2. What do I want or need most:
   • In my personal life?
   • In my marriage?
   • For my family?
   • In my work?

Session Transcript

You made it! Welcome to our first session. I’m always excited to kick off a new session because there’s so much value in what we’re going to talk about. Many of the concepts will be a new way of thinking for you about common every day challenges that many busy people are facing every single week.

This is probably hard for you to comprehend because in your work everybody gets everything done on time, if not early; and team members and leaders have plenty of time for company picnics, banter around the croissants in the break room, or long weekends on the beach.

But trust me, most people outside of your work are overwhelmed. Statistically speaking, 85% of people say they are frustrated, confused, or overwhelmed in their work right now – today.

If you take a look around your office right now – fully 8-and-a-half of the 10 people that you just saw are experiencing a high level of stress – right now.

They’re stuck, overloaded, they don’t have the margin to think. They’re frustrated, they’re overwhelmed.  They literally have no idea where to begin. They live every day wondering, “How in the world am I going to get from where I am to where I want to be? Will it be possible in the next few years? Will it be possible in the next ten years? Will I EVER get to where I want to with margin, relationships, or fulfillment in my life and in my work?”

You and I both know that we were meant for a life of significance, but that’s not happening. It seems that every day that passes, we’ve made very little progress, if any. And it feels like there’s nothing we can do about it.

If you’re like most people, you want to live a life that matters, you want to do work that has significance, and you want to enjoy the impact you’re making in the marketplace.

But your life, work, and leadership has not worked out that way. The problem is that the chaos, drama, and complexity we face every day in our life, in our work, and in our leadership demand every waking moment that we have. So, we navigate through life from one appointment to the next, holding on for dear life desperately hoping that tomorrow is better. But it never is.

This course will change that.

What if something could be done about the overwhelm? What if YOU had the power to choose your priorities, the unbelievable power of choosing how you spend your own time? What would it look like if you actually had the margin to spend time with people that you care deeply about? What if you could spend every moment of your work day doing something that you are absolutely, fanatically passionate about?

In this course you will follow simple, achievable steps. Our goal is to help you simplify your life, work, and leadership so you can live with purpose, lead with passion, and leave a lasting legacy.

You’ll benefit from our organizational expertise because we have helped organizations in nearly every market segment experience historical growth including manufacturing, healthcare, government, education, and even in non-profits.

We have worked with leaders in organizations of all types and sizes – from small businesses to large companies like CNN, Staples, Boeing, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Mercedes, US Army, Airbus, Lululemon, Oakley, and many more!

Now, it’s your turn!

If you’re like most of our clients, you’re a successful, high-achiever. You are committed to doing fulfilling and energizing work, living a life of purpose, and building a legacy. You are intentional about personal and professional growth to reach your full potential. And you want to make a lasting impact in your world, and in your work.

But as you’re faced with bigger and bigger challenges, you get stuck at times. Maybe you’re overwhelmed now. Maybe you feel like the leader who sent me this email:

“There’s never enough time. No matter what I’m doing, I struggle with focus, productivity, and effectiveness. I feel like I’ll never catch up. When I’m traveling for work, I am missing my daughter’s soccer game. When I make the game, I can hardly resist the impulse to pull my phone out of my pocket and check my email or check my calendar. I’m constantly wondering if I’m missing something important at work.”

Have you ever felt like your life is so incredibly complex and chaotic, and you don’t know the answer?

We were recording a video a couple of years ago and I remember sitting there listening to the lady that we were interviewing. We were recording her story, and she talked about all of these things that she had done for people all of her life. All her children were coming through adolescence and into adulthood, and then how she served her children and took care of her grandchildren for years as she worked multiple jobs at various times. Here she was approaching 70 years old, and as our interviewer was asking some questions, she said, “The question for me has become, ‘when is my life going to start?’” As I sat there for the first time in my life, I remember thinking, “Is this the way that most people live life? They’re doing all of these things. And because they have to earn a paycheck, they have to work a certain type of job because they have to do certain things for their family or people they care deeply about. They’re doing things for other people never thinking about, ‘What is my life meant to me? What do I want to do to be fulfilled in my life and in my work? What do I need to do to have the margin, so I can spend the time and energy with people who matter most to me?’” So, what is it like for you?

Do you feel like you’re supporting everyone else – their dreams, their goals, their projects – and you wonder when your life is going to start – when it will be your turn? Does it feel like you never have margin or think space?

What we are not talking about is not serving other people. What we are talking about is being strategic in how we’re serving people in a way that allows us to be fulfilled, to create margins, to create better connections and relationships so that we have more to offer the world than just a few frenzied hours, days, or weeks of activity in a lifetime of significance.

I’ve been there, too. And thousands of people we’ve worked with have been there. I know what it feels like to regularly face overwhelm – for success to outpace my ability to manage it. To feel like everything important is slipping away – family, health, faith, and team.

For years, I struggled to make meaningful progress. My success often came at the expense of my health and my most valuable relationships.

I couldn’t figure out why I kept experiencing these significant setbacks. And why my team members – good, hard-working people – struggled to make progress.

In the next session, I am going to share my story with you and why we do what we do at Guidestone.

In the course we’re also going to look at the Downward Spiral that we all navigate every day in our life and our work. Then we will look at the solution to the Downward Spiral. By the end of this course, you will understand how to navigate the path to make better decisions which will simplify many, many more decisions for you in your life, work, and leadership.[/text_block]