Comparison is dangerous – “keeping up with the Joneses” has gone far beyond who has the nicer car or bigger yard. Our society is in an extremely dangerous position when it comes to comparison because of our constant exposure to ads, social media, and TV. Even in Christian circles, we silently compete with one another.
There’s a famous saying that comparison is the thief of joy. I believe this is true. I also believe it is the thief of a lot of your money, and a powerful weapon the enemy uses to distract, divide, and disillusion.
Comparison is a leading cause of worry, stress, anxiety, depression, and debt. Comparison damages marriages, estranges parents from children, and ruins friendships. Comparison is a mighty force that is waging a war for the territory of your heart.
So how do we prevent it? How do we guard our hearts, like Proverbs 4:23 says, when we are so inundated with comparison and competition?
The only way to safely guard your heart against the schemes of the enemy is to stay so closely connected to Lord and His Word.
Remember the words of the Apostle Paul, “At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.”
You’re to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than ourselves.”
You’re called to remain “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord….knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain”
You’re not to “become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Instead of checking Instagram, “Delight yourselves in the Lord,” knowing “he will give you the desires of your heart.”
I like the analogy given by Paul David Tripp – whatever you put in a bottle is what will come out of the bottle when it’s shaken up. It would be silly to think milk will come out of a bottle you put water into. The same is true of our hearts – if we are putting in thankfulness, selflessness, and discipline, when comparison comes to shake us up, only thankfulness, selflessness, and discipline will come out.
By filling up on the beautiful truths and wisdom of the Lord, you become satisfied in Christ and grateful for all He has done. Living in gratitude brings contentment. And, when we get to that point, we are no longer slaves to the temporary things of this world. We gain an eternal perspective and can say “No” to things that we can’t afford, and “Yes” to saving and giving.
There have been numerous studies done to show the positive effects serving has on our overall physical and mental health. The best thing you can do to cure yourself or someone else of the comparison trap is to consistently serve others.
There’s a reason serving has such a positive effect on our behavior – because it influences our beliefs. It helps us to take our minds off ourselves and focus on meeting the needs of others.
Look at the words of Jesus in Matthew 20: “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
If you’re struggling with comparison, be intentional to spend time serving others. There are needs all around you – start praying about which ones God wants you to meet first.
To learn more about what the Bible says about your money, enroll in Crown’s online MoneyLife Personal Finance Study. It’s an in-depth course that walks you through how to live as a steward and embrace God’s plan for every aspect of your finances.
Money is often cited as the greatest area of frustration, fighting, stress, and unhappiness in marriage. One spouse wants to budget, the other doesn’t. Neither spouse can agree on exactly how to spend their money or what to prioritize, so budgeting just leads to more arguments. Maybe just the word “budgeting” spawns fights between the two of you, and you’re not sure how to ever make your money and marriage work.
Well, let me tell you – marriage is not the cause of your budgeting problems – it’s actually the solution! Because of this, my wife, Ann, and I wrote a book together to help couples get their hearts united and their finances aligned. It is called, Money Problems, Marriage Solutions.
We need love and money but must know how to effectively manage each. A couple can have a great financial plan and solid budget but still be worlds apart in their heart and mind. External solutions do not address the internal problems that cause strife.
Thankfully, God gave us everything we need to make both work for a lifetime. So, no matter how deep the wounds or how wide the division, there is hope.
You know the saying, “opposites attract”? This rings true for my marriage. I sometimes say my wife and I are as different as a pitbull and a poodle. Her natural response to the world is 180 degrees opposite of mine. But I’ve learned that this is really to our advantage.
Imagine two people standing back to back. They don’t see the world the same way. Picture them interlocking arms. This simple gesture unifies two into one entity. Rotating, they have a complete view of the world. They become a 360-degree couple, capable of protecting and strengthening one another because they “have each other’s back”.
Study your spouse to understand how God uniquely created them. When two different personalities submit to God and His truth, the fruit of the spirit can flow from one another.
“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)
When a man and woman get married, they’re not only bringing two different personalities, they bringing two different philosophies about money into the marriage. That’s why we fight so much!
Your money philosophy is shaped by your family, environment, experiences, and values. You may have a philosophy about to load the dishwasher, or fold the laundry, too! You and your spouse come from two different backgrounds, with different preferences or habits. When you get married, you put some of your preferences aside and agree on systems, or philosophies, together. The bowls go on the top rack, pants are folded, not hung, and saving money is a priority.
But your united philosophy about money will always be incomplete without God. Putting your financial preferences aside to compromise with your spouse will still lead to stress and fights unless you look to Scripture first. God cares about your money and His Word has a lot to say about how you should manage it.
Budgeting should be an essential part of every couple’s financial plan. But if you’re trying to get your spouse to start budgeting, you can’t force them to read this article and use the tried and true line, “I told you so”, if you want to be successful.
Study Scripture together to learn what God has to say about budgeting. Pray for wisdom to know how and when to talk to your spouse about it, and never attack or accuse. Budgeting can bring peace to your finances and your marriage, but that doesn’t mean your spouse will appreciate you shoving it down their throat.
Go to the Lord and ask Him to give you discernment and peace. Then, approach your spouse in humility and love. Don’t catch him or her off guard. Be willing to learn together and always be gracious and humble. Then, make a budget! Talk about your financial goals and take time to be thorough.
Solomon said, “Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.”
You can read more about how to get on the same page as your spouse and make your united financial plan in Money Problems, Marriage Solutions. My wife and I wrote this book from our own experiences with money and marriage. We hope it’s an encouragement to other couples!
If you Google the phrase “how to be successful”, you’ll find plenty of advice telling you which TED talks to watch, which mindsets to adopt, and which steps will help you achieve a fulfilling life. Type “success” into Amazon’s book search, and you’ll get 101 pages filled with books on every aspect of success.
Everywhere you look, someone is willing to sell you the secrets to success. The question is, do you want the brand of success they’re selling?
Our culture obsesses over life and job satisfaction, and that’s a good thing. It’s important that we consider our goals and what’s important to us. But satisfaction is not “one size fits all”. What fulfills me may not hold much joy for you. And what satisfies you today may change in the future.
When I look back on my life, I see that how I defined success in my 20s looks very different from how I define it now, in my 40s with a wife and children. Success is a deeply personal metric, and we need to know what it means to us before we can go out and achieve it.
When I ask people what success means to them, I get very different answers. One person will say, “I want to do meaningful work that improves the world and helps others.” Another responds, “A high salary equals success for me. I don’t want my family to ever worry about money.” A third person might value independence above economic stability, so self-employment represents the height of achievement for them.
All of these are valid pursuits, but the person who desires meaningful work may be onto something. In a nearly 80-year study on happiness, Harvard University researchers “found a strong correlation between men’s flourishing lives and their relationships with family, friends, and community”.
But “meaningful work” is a vague term, and that metric doesn’t resonate with everyone. That’s why you need to reflect deeply on what success and job satisfaction mean to you. (Crown’s Career Direct Assessment can help you find the perfect professional fit and define what career success looks like for you. The better you know yourself, the more likely you are to find meaningful work.)
The quest for meaning and the pursuit of wealth are common themes in discussions about success. But people often commit to those tracks because they sound appealing or because their peers gravitate toward those paths. However, if you don’t consider what meaningful work looks like or what the costs of taking a high-paying job are, you may find that these pursuits ring hollow.
For instance, many people take jobs on Wall Street because they value financial success. But when they’re in the office 60+ hours a week and barely see their families, they realize that wealth isn’t so important to them after all. Now they’re in jobs they hate, and their fat paychecks do very little to console them.
I recently met a gentleman who retired early from his role as a high-paid executive at a multinational, multibillion-dollar corporation. When I asked why he left, he said he couldn’t stand the cutthroat politics and infighting. From the outside, anyone would have thought this guy was the epitome of success. But he was miserable.
After he left the corporate world, he sought opportunities to serve in peaceful, collaborative environments. He discovered that service is what really mattered to him, yet he had chased someone else’s idea of success until it became too agonizing to bear.
Of course, this doesn’t just happen in finance. Someone might take a job in the nonprofit world only to become burned out on organizational bureaucracy and program failures. They joined this field because they wanted to make a difference. But they’ve ended up feeling disengaged and more than a little jaded, and now they’re at a loss for what to do next.
Discovering what success means to us is a challenging process, and it doesn’t happen overnight. In my case, the definition changed during different periods of my life. People often enter a career path believing it will bring them satisfaction, but later realize their values have shifted as they’ve gained new experiences.
That’s OK. In fact, it’s a sign of growth. As we enter new life seasons, we reevaluate what matters. Any parent will tell you that their entire worldview changed the day their first child was born. Bringing a new life into the world puts your priorities into perspective in ways few other experiences do.
But there are many triggers for a change in values, such as getting married, aging, or discovering a new calling. And when that happens, we sometimes find that our professional circumstances no longer align with our values.
However, a disconnect between your desires and your work doesn’t necessarily mean you should quit your job. You may be surprised at how accommodating your employer is willing to be if you share your struggles openly. They would much rather you tell them, “This is what I’m passionate about, and I’d like to spend more time on this area,” than “I’m unhappy so I’m quitting, end of story.” Most bosses will appreciate your candor and help you create a role that satisfies your goals.
When you’ve defined your personal criteria for job satisfaction, you’ll find many ways to meet that standard. Just because your current role no longer resonates the way it used to, that doesn’t mean you have to resign or be dissatisfied. With the right mindset, you can find satisfaction at any job. Here’s how:
If you’re struggling in your work, I encourage you to reevaluate the lens through which you view your life. From a young age, I was taught that everything we do is for the glory of God. No matter what your job or calling, you should do it earnestly and wholeheartedly because all of our efforts contribute to God’s plan. The Bible tells us that if we are faithful in small things, God will bless us in great ways. That is as true in our work as it is in our personal lives.
Now, I know this isn’t always easy. When you’re grinding away on a project and have lost sight of your purpose, it’s very difficult to connect to God’s greatness. Thirty percent of Americans view their jobs as merely helping them “get by”, and it can be very difficult to maintain faith when you’re emotionally disconnected from your work. But that’s when it is most important to offer your frustrations up to God.
In the moments you feel especially challenged, just think of Joseph. The foster father to our Lord, Joseph never lost faith. No matter what challenges God gave him, Joseph persevered. He did not sacrifice his integrity or character, not even during the worst storms of his life. If Joseph could remain faithful, then we can find meaning in our work, regardless of what job we hold.
Viktor Frankl was a Jewish prisoner at Auschwitz during World War II, and he later became a renowned psychiatrist. In his seminal work Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl wrote that people are driven by meaning. In all situations, we must find a meaning greater than our own feelings or ambitions, and then dedicate ourselves to that cause.
Frankl survived Auschwitz in part because his fellow prisoners depended on him. Even the act of peeling potatoes mattered because it meant others would get to eat. Looking beyond his own suffering helped him endure one of the grossest injustices in history.
Thankfully, most of us will never experience the horrors Frankl suffered. But that’s all the more reason to learn from his example. If you feel bored or disengaged at your job, take a step back. What purpose are you serving? Who are you helping? How do your clients benefit from the actions you take every day? Connecting your daily tasks to a bigger purpose will revitalize your work and give meaning to your career.
Be vigilant about avoiding the comparison trap. Once you’ve defined, or redefined, what success means to you, use only that metric to gauge your success.
Don’t start scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feeds to see how you measure up to your friends. Yes, they may earn more money than you. They might have bigger houses, nicer cars, and fancier vacation pictures. But none of that matters.
For one thing, their vision of success is not your vision of success. And for another, you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. For all of their material wealth, they may be struggling in their marriages or may be disconnected from their families because of their workloads. Stay focused on your goals and no one else’s.
Remember that God judges you not by material success but by faithfulness. If you keep His purpose at the center of your life and work diligently and honestly, you will have succeeded in His eyes.
Not comparing yourself to other people does not mean giving up on your goals. In fact, setting goals is even more important when you’re not measuring yourself against others’ success. Progress motivates us, and the only way to know if we’re progressing is to set goals.
When you’re feeling unmotivated at work, seek out new challenges. If you work on commission, set a higher bar for your earnings this quarter. If you want to learn a new skill, enroll in an online learning course or professional development program and get started. Then map out a plan for integrating that skill into your daily activities.
Even small goals will create momentum. At Crown, we often advise people to use the snowball method to pay off debt. You start by paying down your smallest debts. Then you apply the amounts you previously owed on those to your larger debts. Your total debt gradually comes down, and each time that number drops, you’re newly motivated to keep going.
Setting personal goals has a similar effect. Your confidence will grow with each achievement, and you’ll find yourself engaged in your work again.
It’s been said that people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses. But they also quit managers and co-workers.
Before you start resenting your work, ask yourself whether people problems may be influencing your professional experience. An unresolved conflict with a boss or colleague can really sour the work environment, especially if you’ve been avoiding honest communication about the problem.
Consciously or unconsciously, you may be carrying stress, anxiety, and hostility into work every day, and that negativity is bleeding into your work. Instead of skirting difficult issues, address them head-on. Ask your boss for a meeting to discuss a negative interaction you had or invite that adversarial colleague out for coffee. Let them know that you’re on the same team and that you want to work together. While you can’t control how they’ll respond, you’ll feel better just having opened the door to conversation.
Having a conflict with your boss can be especially draining because of the power differential. But you can boost that relationship simply by showing up with the right attitude. Before you start your workday, remember that you’re there to help your boss. Your job is to lighten their load and do whatever it takes to support the company. When you’re clear on your role, it will be much easier to maintain a positive, proactive demeanor, and your boss will notice.
Don’t be surprised if your relationship improves and your boss soon starts recommending you for special projects and promotions that spark feelings of deep satisfaction in your career.
These steps may feel overwhelming, especially if you’re beginning a new season and are trying to discern your purpose. But you don’t have to tackle them all at once. You might take the step that resonates most at this moment. Or you might dive into the area that’s most emotionally challenging.
However you approach this time in your life, know that the first step is the hardest. Once you’ve begun to shift your thinking about success and job satisfaction, it will get easier to keep your faith and succeed on your own terms, whatever those may be.
I strongly believe that knowing yourself – your design, how God made you – can have the biggest impact on your job satisfaction. Crown’s Career Direct assessment will help you understand yourself better, by examining your personality, skills, interests, and values. I recommend you take the assessment and schedule a phone call with one of our Consultants if you want a truly satisfying, meaningful career.
Have you ever made a little decision that resulted in a BIG impact?
I know I have.
In 2015 I decided to drink water only for the entire year. Yes, that’s right…no coffee, tea, juice, soda, smoothies or lattes. Nothing but H2O! For full disclosure, I made it the entire 365 days, and felt so good, I’ve been doing it ever since! My only deviation from water is to occasionally enjoy water with carbonation.
What difference does it make?
For one, it helps my budget! I broke the habit of buying a $5 coffee at the airport and malls or buying an expensive soda drink just because I was thirsty. More importantly, it made me realize just how much sugar I was taking in without even noticing! It also caused me to enjoy water, sleep better, and improved my overall health.
Now let’s apply that same type of thinking to our finances.
What if we could make five little decisions that would make a walloping impact on your financial health? I have compiled a list of those decisions that I believe will help you the most. These are my personal favorites, the ones I would tell my children are essential for them, as well as for me!
Right now, you are honoring someone or something first with your finances. It might be the government, Target, your landlord, your utility company or your mortgage lender, but someone is getting the first portion of your income. Replace whoever or whatever is currently first with giving off the top of every source of your income to your church and other ministries that build His Kingdom.
If you cannot give a full 10%, which I think is the appropriate beginning standard, start with what you are able to do cheerfully and don’t turn back. Increase the amount as you are able.
“Trust me on this one!” …Those are not my words. Those are God’s words paraphrased from Malachi 3.
Pick a day and declare, “No more! I will not go another month without saving something from my next paycheck!” Make the decision and then start saving something…even if it is only $5 a month. Save something from every single paycheck or any other source of income.
Open a savings account, buy a small safe, or simply put it under the mattress for now but don’t spend everything you have! This habit will make you wise like the ant from Proverbs 6:6. Little by little you will have money saved for emergencies, stress will go down, and financial stability will one day become a reality.
Lots of folks celebrate when they get a tax refund as if Uncle Sam decided to reward them for their good behavior! While I never like to discover that I owe the IRS money, I don’t like to get a tax refund either.
Let’s say you got the average refund of about $3,600. That means you loaned the US government about $300 a month for a whole year, and then waited for them to send your money back to you and never collected any interest.
Simply adjust your withholding or your quarterly payments to be sure you are paying what you owe or expect to owe, but nothing more. This little decision could mean a lot better cash flow for you. It may also mean you just found the money to start giving and saving some money each month!
Study after study proves that we spend more using plastic.
It may sound like going back to the Depression era for some folks, but the good old-fashioned way of cashing your payroll check, dividing the cash for your budget categories and putting the money in an envelope will never go out of style because of its effectiveness! It works!
If you struggle to stay on a budget, give the envelopes a try! You want to know what I have observed as the BIG impact of this little decision? Some of the folks that I know, who are really great with money, have never stopped using their envelope system, years after they no longer needed to. They say that it allows them to spend worry free!
This starts with a change in your beliefs about debt. Think to yourself, ”do I really have to be in debt?”
For far too many, it has become a game of jumping from one debt to another, from one card limit to another.
Make a decision to pay off your most expensive debt. Just get one paid off. Then do it again…and again…and again. You can do it. It is little decision with a major payoff…freedom. Freedom to stop worrying about the future, about your job, about the end of the month. Using the snowball debt method will work wonders. If you have overwhelming credit card debt, get in touch with Christian Credit Counselors.
These five are not crazy big mountains to climb, just smart steps that over time will change your relationship with God, your financial well being, your relationships and much more!
Taking control of your finances and living in freedom is a journey. Just like any journey, it’s easier with a guide. Crown’s Money Map is the guide to your journey of finding freedom – it’s a step-by-step plan that lays out financial goals and biblical principles for you to learn along the way. And it’s free! Download yours today.
Originally published in LifeWay Magazine, March 2016
Meal prepping can be a great way to live as a faithful steward! Many of the principles, like discipline and planning, involved in meal prepping are biblical. Using your time wisely (Ephesians 5:16) to save money is demonstrating faithful stewardship. And being a biblical steward is all about managing our resources (namely our time, talents, and treasure) to be most effective for the Kingdom.
So here are a few ways to get started. Don’t be intimidated by all the chopping; be diligent to honor God with your time and money!
Buy in bulk. For many people, buying groceries in bulk will save them money and make sense for the meals they’re making. This probably will require a membership to a wholesale club like Costco or Sam’s Club, so be sure to weigh the costs of the membership with the costs saved.
Get the best value on sales. Stock up on meat or other groceries when it’s on sale and freeze it to use over the next weeks or months. Just be sure that you buy extra because you’ll use it, not just to take advantage of the sale.
Eat out less. The average American spends over $3,000 on eating out every year. When you plan and prep your meals ahead of time, you don’t have to spend unnecessary money on overpriced entrees at restaurants.
Cost vs time. Meal prepping does require an investment of time at the beginning of the week when you do your grocery shopping and prepping, but it saves you a lot of time for the rest of the week.
Pick a shop day and a prep day. They can be the same day or different days of the week, just make sure you have plenty of time.
Go to more than one store. In order to get the best deals and sales, you’ll probably have to go to more than one grocery store.
Take your time. When you’re rushed to shop, you may forget key ingredients or buy things you don’t need. When you’re rushed to prep, you don’t prep as much as you should or could get completely thrown off if one thing goes wrong. Carve out plenty of time to shop and prep properly.
Invest in good containers. Resealable containers are going to be your best friend. Look for good sales and rebates on containers that you can throw in the dishwasher and use over and over.
Have a visual. A magnetic calendar or board for your fridge is a non-essential that may be helpful. You can write all your meals for the week on it or use it as a list to keep track of groceries/staples you run out of.
Have a “mustgo” dinner. At the end of the week, make a meal out of any leftovers or remaining ingredients that “must go”. This is your opportunity to get creative!
First, prepare for the prep. You need to take some time to look at your calendar and plan what meals you’ll need and when you’ll have time to prep. Go over the family calendar and circle the days you’ll be busiest. Having those meals prepped will take priority.
Next, plan your meals. Try to pick meals that allow you to reuse ingredients, and brainstorm ways to simplify recipes to save on costs.
Make your grocery list. Go through every recipe twice and make sure you have included every ingredient on your grocery list. Double check the pantry and fridge to make sure you don’t already have an ingredient. Also include a few backup, staple ingredients to always have on hand.
Look for coupons. Check any coupon or rebate apps before you go shopping. Load them on your phone or print them off before you get to the store.
Do your shopping. Never go shopping without your list, and make sure you don’t shop on an empty stomach.
Stick to your list. Don’t get distracted at the store with samples or sales that are not on your list.
Work your plan. Stay on schedule as much as possible – it may require saying “no” to things throughout the week, and you may need to restructure your time to make prepping possible.
Staying on track and working your plan is a key to both meal prepping and faithful stewardship. The two go hand in hand! If you need a visual guide to getting your finances in order, download the free Money Map.
What are your meal prepping tips? Share with us!
Believe it or not, there was a time when people kept in touch via phone calls and letters instead of following each other’s updates on Facebook.
They purchased their clothes and groceries from brick-and-mortar stores instead of outsourcing their shopping needs to their Amazon Prime accounts. And if they wanted to watch TV, they had to be at home in front of their sets when their favorite shows aired. Otherwise, they’d have to catch a rerun, because the on-demand convenience of streaming hadn’t emerged yet.
If you’re like me, you may find yourself longing for those analog days from time to time. Oh sure, I enjoy being able to binge-watch the occasional Netflix series whenever the mood strikes, and on-demand car services sure beat waiting for a taxi in the rain.
But every once in awhile, my head spins from how quickly technology is reshaping our lives. There’s little we can do but hold on tight, though, because the times they are a-changin’ faster every day.
As much as technology has changed our personal lives, it’s forcing even more radical shifts in the workplace. Just look at platforms like Slack, the messaging and project management service that’s been named the fastest-growing business app of all time. No longer do people have to hop on calls or schedule in-person meetings to collaborate. Co-workers can reach one another instantly, at any time.
An online presence is now a must-have, no matter where you are in your career trajectory. If someone applies for a job with my company and doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile, I assume they’re out-of-touch or have something to hide — not the impression you want to give a potential employer.
Advances in automation and artificial intelligence will further disrupt the workforce. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on who you ask.
Pessimists such as SpaceX founder Elon Musk believe humans are unprepared for the havoc that will be wrought by AI. Optimists like engineer and XPrize Foundation founder Peter Diamandis believe AI will ring in an era of unprecedented opportunity and spur the creation of millions of new jobs. Then you have the folks in the middle, who think that the workforce will undoubtedly shift but that humans will ultimately benefit from the coming changes.
Technological advances have always led to job loss in the short term but economic booms in the long term. Whether the Fourth Industrial Revolution will follow historical patterns remains to be seen, and the question marks we face can be unsettling. But one thing is clear:
To stay competitive in the evolving economy, you must prepare yourself for a workplace that looks very different from the one to which you’ve grown accustomed.
Here are some tips for getting ahead:
The U.S. education system is woefully behind when it comes to preparing people for the rapidly changing workforce. It’s up to you to keep your skills sharp and relevant. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a great way to do that. Platforms such as EdX and Coursera offer free and affordable Ivy League-level courses in a wide range of subjects.
Companies such as Google and Amazon are even partnering with such services to develop training programs and recruit high-performing participants. A certification in a field such as data analysis or programming is becoming the calling card in the new economy. Google executive Astro Teller predicted that most skills currently taught in colleges will be obsolete within a few years. Candidates who seek ongoing education opportunities will hold a strong advantage over those who rely solely on their degrees to stay valuable.
If you’re enrolled in a four-year degree program right now, supplement your education with an MOOC. Block off time on the weekends or during holiday breaks to complete the extra coursework. You’ll set yourself apart from other graduates if you can tell employers that you have both a degree and an MOOC certification.
Begin to develop specific skills that are attractive to employers. Learn to speak their language, and align your gifting with the traits employers look for when hiring an employee. We want to help you get started, so we put together the Career Boost Formula.
Identify your professional strengths, whether those include software engineering, project management, or creative initiatives. Then look for needs in the marketplace. How does your skill set support companies that are trying to keep up with ever-changing technologies and consumer demands? Wherever your strengths and those needs intersect, that’s the sweet spot.
Go into job interviews ready to articulate what you bring to the company, what problems you’ve identified, and how you will help solve them.
Always be on the lookout for opportunities to go above and beyond at work as well. Volunteering for extra projects, initiating new ideas, and asking your boss for more responsibility are great ways to prove your worth and increase your value as you gain more experience.
The benefits of knowing your value are two-fold. Not only will you be a desirable job candidate and employee, you’ll also experience increased vocational satisfaction. One of the much-touted benefits of automation is that it’s allowing human workers to spend less time on boring, time-consuming administrative tasks and invest themselves in more interesting, meaningful work. The clearer you are on your calling, the more fully you’ll be able to take advantage of these tools, and the greater an impact you’ll be able to make.
Mentors serve as powerful allies as you navigate the professional landscape. They can guide you to opportunities you might otherwise have missed, offer insights when you’re trying to determine your next career move, and provide priceless — if emotionally challenging — feedback when you hit a rut.
Having someone in your corner who understands the trends in your industry and can help you prepare for what’s ahead is incredibly valuable.
Study the success stories in your field. Whose career paths do you admire? Connect with those people and ask what skills they use every day that they didn’t learn in college. Then go out and master those capabilities. There is no better way to advance your career than to learn from someone who has already surmounted the hurdles you’re sure to face.
That holds true no matter what your industry or experience level. Whether you’re a recent graduate just starting on your vocational path or you’re a seasoned professional who wants to stay ahead in the changing workforce, you’ll benefit immensely from working with someone who possesses the skills you want to learn and is willing to share their knowledge with you.
The most successful people do not let life happen to them.
They relentlessly pursue their goals, and they pay attention to what’s coming. Automation and artificial intelligence will bring unprecedented changes to the workforce. By being proactive and equipping yourself with the right skills, you position yourself to thrive in the new economy. Download the Career Boost Formula to get started!
Christians should invest, not simply to accumulate wealth for their own sake, but to increase their effectiveness for God’s Kingdom. Teaching Christians to invest is as important as teaching them how to budget. It’s all part of living as faithful stewards.
Investing is a way to multiply the resources God has given us to provide for our current and future needs. It is also a means to increase what we have available to impact God’s kingdom. The stewards in Matthew 25:14-28 that multiplied their talents were commended for their good work but also entrusted with more talents.
God is faithful to always provide for our needs, and He is not against prosperity. However, we are responsible to be faithful in return to use our resources to honor God.
If you desire to be entrusted with greater riches, you need to be faithful with few (Luke 16:10-11). This means learning to be content with what you have and disciplined in your management of a little.
1. To Further God’s Work.
In Acts 4:34, the believers sold their own land and possessions to meet the needs of other believers. God blessed some with a surplus to be used in the future.
Obviously, those that have more are able to give more to God’s work. That doesn’t mean that everyone will, but I encourage you to be generous in how you give.
2. To Care For Your Family.
Having a surplus doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give it all away. Giving and saving are both biblical principles, and stewards should have a proper balance between the two. We are to give first to advance God’s work, save a portion to ensure we have an Emergency Fund, and then begin investing. Investing can be a wise way to save for college tuition, to provide for yourself during your later years of life, or to leave an inheritance for your children.
3. To Be Free.
When you have planned for your future and have the ability to personally fund your living expenses without working, then both your time and money are available to be used for the Kingdom.
The biggest reason not to invest is if you have the wrong heart attitude. There are many heart attitudes that are out of alignment with Scripture, but I have found these four to be the biggest offenders.
Greed: the desire to always have more and have only the best. “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1 Timothy 6:9) Christians should not invest out of a spirit of greed. Remember that nothing you have here on this earth will last in eternity. Greed is a reflection of our discontentment with what God has provided.
Pride: the desire to be elevated or esteemed because of material achievements.“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Timothy 6:17) Investing to feel better about yourself or to show off to others will always lead to more discontentment and does not further God’s purposes for your life.
Ignorance: the desire to follow your own path without seeking counsel or seeking the counsel of misguided people. “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22) Especially in today’s digital age, there is no excuse for being without capable counselors. Seek wise, godly counsel, and make decisions supported with research and wisdom.
Envy: the desire to achieve based on jealousy of other people’s success. “For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (Psalm 73:3) Contentment, not comparison, is the goal. Focus on all the wonderful blessings the Lord has bestowed upon you, and do not concern yourself with “keeping up with the Joneses”.
Seeking contentment in every area of your life will bring you financial freedom. But first you have to understand what the Bible says about money, so you can adjust your beliefs and behaviors. Crown’s online MoneyLife Personal Finance study is an in-depth course that explains what the Bible says about every aspect of your finances. It’s a course designed to help you become a good and faithful steward, and to live in financial freedom.
Remember the one guaranteed investment is God’s Kingdom – He guarantees that you are laying up for yourselves treasures in Heaven!
We live in a culture that prioritizes success but doesn’t give us a great definition of what success looks like.
Sure, we can go on Facebook and see endless “success” stories. Our friends, relatives, and distant acquaintances post their successes all the time — their new job, the big promotion, the house they just bought, the lavish wedding they just threw. It’s easy to scroll through those milestones and judge ourselves against them. We feel that we, too, must be able to boast about a high-profile job or material achievements to qualify as successful.
But as we all know, social media doesn’t tell the full story. I’ve met plenty of people who hold those fancy job titles — Vice President of this or CEO of that. And many of them are miserable.
Their jobs sound impressive, but they hate the work or resent the fact that they have to spend so much time away from their children to hang onto that coveted position. Investment bankers who seem to be living the high life may be mired in debt, spending their nights drinking to forget their money woes. We equate external achievements with success and are surprised when those don’t bring the fulfillment we expected.
That’s because success is what you define it to be, and everyone has their own metric.
A person might decide that for them, success means having a close relationship with God, a happy family environment, and a meaningful role in their community. But then they head over to Facebook to see what their friends are doing. They feel inadequate because they don’t have big houses or impressive career updates to share. Suddenly, they become deeply unhappy because they’re measuring their success according to someone else’s metrics. They’ll never feel they have enough if they carry on that way.
Each of us must define success for ourselves and measure ourselves only against those goals. We have to become self-aware enough to know that by some people’s standards, our lives won’t look like much. But that doesn’t matter as long as we’re pursuing what truly matters to us. Just because our college roommate’s house looks like something out of MTV Cribs doesn’t mean we need to run out and buy a McMansion, too.
Hewing to our own definitions of success is especially important when it comes to our careers. In my experience, understanding how you are designed to work is one of the biggest factors in having a biblical mindset on what success looks like. Of course you or I would feel like a failure if we are stuck in a job we hate doing. Our own metric of success changes when we are in a well-suited career. Crown’s Career Direct assessment helps connect your purpose with your passions – it was created to help you understand how you are designed to work. This understanding then leads to job satisfaction, and a biblical mindset of success.
We’re raised on stories of people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and we internalize the idea that we have to do something big to change the world. But not everyone can be Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, and you can build a meaningful career no matter what your job is. Here’s my advice on how to do it:
You cannot make an impact if you have one foot out the door. When you take on a new job, invest yourself both mentally and emotionally. Trust me, your boss knows when your heart’s not in your work. You might do enough to avoid getting fired, but you’re never the one staying late, volunteering for new projects, or offering ideas. If you’re so preoccupied with finding the next opportunity, then perhaps you’re in the wrong field.
Instead of wondering whether something better will come along, go all in. Take your work seriously.
Find meaning in the tasks you’re assigned each day.
Not only will you derive more enjoyment from this attitude, you’ll also become more valuable within the company. If your goal is to wake up with a purpose each morning, find a company that inspires you, show up ready to give your all, and become an indispensable member of the team.
Our culture has been infected by FOMO — Fear of Missing Out. The desire to see and experience everything we can, leads people to move quickly from job to job, always drawn by the allure of the next big thing.
But great careers are built with time.
It takes years to hone your skills, understand your industry, try on different roles, and create sustained value. Jumping from one interest to the next keeps your contributions at a surface level; real meaning is cultivated through years of experience.
I have a friend who loves to travel. But for him, travel isn’t about immersion in different cultures. It’s a way to tick off boxes on his “been there, done that” list. He’ll fly to a foreign country, spend just enough time there to snap a few epic pictures, and then leave with a fresh new stamp in his passport. He’s probably visited more countries than anyone else I know. But has he experienced the profound growth that comes with spending time in one place, learning about another society and its history? I don’t think so. The traveler who goes off the beaten path and seeks out authentic experiences may have a sparser passport, but they also have deeper memories of the countries they’ve visited.
The same holds true for career decisions. One person might hop from job to job, always seeking the more impressive title or the sexier company. Another might stay with the same organization for 10-15 years, slowly moving up the ranks and getting to know the business. The former has a more exciting track record on social media. But the latter has made a far greater impact in their industry.
When you’re young, it’s easy to focus on materialistic gains, flashy accolades, and exciting opportunities. But as you grow older, you’ll wish you had invested more in your work. You’ll regret trying to do everything that sounded interesting instead of drilling down into the one area that really inspired you.
The key to job satisfaction is creating your own definition of success and then investing completely in your chosen work. Understanding your unique design is an integral piece of this puzzle. If there’s a particular outcome you want to achieve, keep it at the forefront of your mind. Above all, don’t let yourself be distracted by other people’s achievements — or their Facebook brags.
We like the idea of retirement. After all those years of working hard, progressing in our careers, and making sacrifices, we feel like retirement is when we’ve finally made it. We see it as a season to enjoy all the luxuries we’ve convinced ourselves we deserve. Reaching 65 is heralded as a time when you can quit your job, kick your feet up, and let Social Security serve you for a change.
But this attitude about retirement is not biblical.
To fully understand what the Bible says about retirement, we have to go back to the beginning – when God first created man. In Genesis, God creates Adam and gives him charge to work and manage the garden. He is to have dominion over the Earth. God gave Adam a job!
Granted, Adam got to skip the interviewing process, and couldn’t exactly provide any references, but God chose him for the job and gave him a clear job description. Adam enjoyed his work and the (literal) fruit of his labor.
Then sin entered the world.
What this tells us is that work is good. It was created before the fall of man. It was integral to how God designed us, and always part of His plan for us. Research supports God’s original design – that working keeps our bodies healthy, our minds sharp, and our lifespan longer.
So we know that work is good. But does that mean retirement is bad?
The only mention of retirement found in the Bible is in Numbers 8:25. It refers to the Levites (the priestly tribe of Israel) living off the tithes and offerings of God’s people and retiring at the age of 50.
There is no other direction found in Scripture that would suggest we should retire. That doesn’t mean retirement is sinful, but it does mean it should be viewed from a different perspective.
So the problem with today’s attitude towards retirement is that it completely negates an integral aspect of God’s design – that we were created to work. It also normalizes something that was never intended to be normal – not working.
Now please hear me – I don’t think retirement is evil, wrong, or bad.
But I believe that retirement for Christians should mean freeing time to devote to serving others more fully without the necessity of getting paid for it. It is time to repurpose how and why you invest your time and resources.
I will warn you that the attitudes I want you to adopt are contrary to what our society will tell you that you deserve. But Romans tells us what we really deserve – to pay the ultimate price for our own sins. By grace, Christ paid that price for us, and we now have the opportunity to live our lives contrary to the rest of the world.
To adopt the right attitude, we first need to examine our attitude towards work.
We should see it as a blessing, a daily, outward expression of worship, and an opportunity to learn more about God’s brilliant and unique design for each of us. It’s God’s provision for you and your family (even if it’s not what you dreamed of doing).
Those that live for the weekend, and find no satisfaction in their work, are robbing themselves of a blessing. Ecclesiastes 2:24 says, “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God…” Be joyful in your work, and remember it’s the Lord you’re working for, not man (Colossians 3:23).
Next, we need to examine our attitude about retirement. Instead of quitting it all and moving to Florida when the first piece of mail from AARP arrives in your mailbox, be diligent to save and willing to serve. If we adopt this mindset and devote the last years or decades of our lives to serving others, then the Lord really will find us doing His work when He returns (Luke 18:8).
Now, regardless of whether or not you plan on exiting the workforce, I would encourage you to save like you’re going to.
If you are forced to quit working for health reasons, a healthy savings and investment account will allow you to support yourself without assistance from the government or your children. If you continue working, you will have a cash flow to use as a tool for the Kingdom.
The Bible is clear we are to save. It’s also clear we are not to hoard.
So, work to put together a plan to save for retirement NOW. The earlier you start, the better. But if you’re in your later years and haven’t started saving, now is the time to start. You can learn more about what kind of retirement accounts are available here.
Here are some questions to answer as you plan:
Stewards save because we trust the Lord, not because we trust money.
So when it comes to retirement, remember that you are saving to be used by God, not to spend frivolously. Remember that He is “able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
I believe it is best to try to continue to work and/or volunteer in some capacity. It’s good for your mind, your heart, and your soul.
More and more seniors are launching what’s known as “encore careers” in retirement, venturing into new fields of business with years of experience and more cash to get something off the ground. Maybe you are passionate about a project and can devote the time and energy to it in retirement. Perhaps you want to mentor younger employees in your field to help them excel in the workplace.
Ultimately, we don’t get to take anything with us when we go to Heaven. So let’s adopt our roles as stewards, and devote our lives to managing the time, money, and relationships God has blessed us with. If you want to learn more about what the Bible says about your money, and how to live as a biblical steward, enroll in Crown’s online MoneyLife Personal Finance Study. You can go through the 7 weeks individually, with your spouse, or with your group from church. The study is made up of comprehensive, interactive lessons that will help you learn timeless biblical principles and practical ways to implement them.
Did you know in the new “gig” economy, the average person will change careers 8-14 times in their lifetime? That may sound like a lot but it’ll soon be the norm.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with changing careers; what matters is the motivation behind your change. That’s the difference between a serial job changer and someone taking advantage of the gig economy.
We all know at least one serial job-changer. They’re the bright, motivated folks who never stay in one position for long. Their résumés are dotted with impressive but short-lived accomplishments because for them, the grass is always greener at another company. Perhaps you’re a career chameleon yourself, always looking for a better set-up or a higher salary.
In my experience, serial job-changers blame external circumstances for their dissatisfaction. What seemed like a dream job fell short because of an ornery boss. A plum position soured due to a coworker’s negativity. The seemingly freewheeling startup was more bureaucratic than they expected. They feel stymied by the corporate hierarchy and don’t understand why they’re not advancing faster. So they seek a new job where they can earn more money and status in less time.
Unfortunately, these restless souls often find themselves in a career cul-de-sac by the time they’re in their mid-thirties. By rotating from job to job every couple of years, they’ve burned a lot of relationships. Their former colleagues don’t have many positive things to say when asked for a reference, which makes it quite difficult for them to land another job.
Once you hit a career cul-de-sac, you’re stuck. There are no quick turns onto the career superhighway; the only way out is to backtrack. While your peers rise higher in their fields and enjoy the accolades that come with spending decades dedicated to a single industry, you’re forced to take a pay cut as you start over in an entirely new field. Instead of riding the momentum of a well-cultivated career, you’re only beginning to build relationships and a track record of success.
People who find themselves in a career cul-de-sac suffer deep pangs of regret. Few things sting worse than waking up in your mid-forties and realizing you’ve spent your entire professional life chasing the next shiny object. If only you had tried to work out your issues with that one cantankerous boss or made more of an effort with those difficult coworkers, you might now have been enjoying the prestige and comfort that accompany career longevity.
The difference between successful professionals and those in a cul-de-sac comes down to mentality. Are you running away from problems or running toward opportunities? Folks who job-hop every few years flee at the first sign of struggle or frustration. Those who stick with their jobs understand that there’s something to be gained even in challenging situations. They may not plan to stay with the same company forever. But they know they stand to gain long-term if they’re willing to work through their issues.
Whether you’ve hit a career cul-de-sac already or you simply want to avoid the pattern, the following strategies will help you run toward opportunities and maximize your professional success:
Unless you’re pursuing a military career or are a rising star at a Fortune 500, you’ll need to spend a few years in each position or company you choose. Careers in which people move quickly from job to job are the exception, so study the average success story in your industry. How long did the top CEOs spend in management positions before they graduated to the C-Suite? What types of experience did the highest-earning salespeople accumulate before they hit their strides? Seek out a mentor who can help you develop a strategy to reach your goals and who can offer counsel when you feel the urge to jump ship too soon.
There’s nothing wrong with ambition. In fact, you’ll need plenty of it to build a remarkable career. But success is cumulative, and you should create real impact before moving to your next job. Seek ways to go above and beyond on company projects, offer thoughtful insights into the organization’s long-term strategy, and approach your supervisor with constructive feedback that helps your team. People will remember your enthusiasm and contributions, and a glowing reference from a former manager is worth its weight in gold.
Want some advice on how to hit those home runs? Check out our Achiever’s Guide to Job Satisfaction.
Relational harmony is crucial to a stable career. If you burn bridges at every job, you’ll have a difficult time landing future positions because past employers will refuse to give you positive references. A lack of references signals a huge red flag to future employers because no one wants to work with someone who expects other people to clean up their messes.
Co-worker relationships are a great barometer. If your colleagues feel positively toward you, you’re on the right track. But if you dread going to the office and complain constantly about your fellow team members, it’s time to adjust your mindset. You won’t do yourself any favors if you make yourself and your co-workers miserable while you figure out your next step.
Shot of a group of coworkers discussing financial ideas while sitting on business meeting in the office. Group of business people sitting at desk and using laptops.
If you aren’t sure if you’re running from a career problem or running towards an opportunity, take a few minutes to answer these questions as honestly as you can.
1. Would your old company hire you back?
2. Would your boss give you a STELLAR recommendation?
3. Do people miss seeing you leave?
4. Is there a big hole to fill upon your departure?
5. Are you getting a pay raise, better title, more responsibility, etc?
If the answer to these is “no”, then there’s a good chance you are running away or being forced out – you’re not running to a better opportunity. If you think you may be ready to leave your current job, take a minute to check out our Achiever’s Guide to Job Satisfaction. It will walk you through a few simple questions to help you know what your next steps should be.
When you run from problems, you act on in-the-moment impulses. But if you can pull back and see your current job in the context of your entire career, you’ll understand the importance of maintaining good relationships and making real contributions at each step on your path.
If you hit the restart button every year or so, you will never gain the momentum needed to build a thriving career. However, you can cultivate a rich, fulfilling life simply by reframing problems as opportunities and running toward them wholeheartedly.
