“None of us are born as passive generic blobs waiting for the world to stamp its imprint on us. Instead we show up possessing already a highly refined and individuated soul.
Another way of thinking of it is: We’re not born with unlimited choices.
We can’t be anything we want to be.
We come into this world with a specific, personal destiny. We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are who we are from the cradle, and we’re stuck with it.
Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it. ”
I remember when “Jars of Clay” arrived on the Christian music scene in the mid 90’s. Having been a musician in my younger, wilder days, I had a real love of quality music and musicianship and was struggling with what popular Christian music was offering at the time. It was contrived, uninspired, and frankly hard to take too seriously.
They were a watershed event in a tired music scene. Having won a Gospel Music Associated contest which resulted in a studio album release, critical acclaim, and even large mainstream success, they embarked on what is now a 20 year career. We have been fans from the start and I used up most of my fingers counting the times some subset of my family had seen them perform live. Once we even saw them in a large arena in Houston with 10’s of thousands of other fans.
So, I found it a little surreal sitting in a living room with about 40 other folks, about 5 feet from the four members of Jars last night. What were they doing in a home in Boerne, Texas with a few dozen folks on a Sunday night? About halfway through the show I realized why they were really there.
Stephen Mason, guitarist, said that if they hadn’t formed their ministry, Blood:Water Mission, 10 years prior, they likely would have hung up their instruments long ago. Despite the popularity, financial reward, Grammy Awards, and creating music that had been enjoyed by (and even ministered to) millions, it would not have been enough to keep them on the road. Finding a transcendent and unique purpose, was the essential fuel to get them to 20 years and a living room in a small Texas town.
They were humbled and honored to be part of something so large and impactful. They took no credit even as the Blood:Water representative they had with them announced they just celebrated providing sustainable water sources to their 1 millionth African! They felt they had received far more than they had given.
It helped remind me why I left a successful corporate career to coach individuals and organizations. I passionately believe that we are not “generic blobs“, here by accident.
- God meant something when He meant us
- We are all uniquely created and wonderfully made
- We have a role to play in the larger story of God
- The glory of our lives will not be in our commercial success, but in the way we glorify Him though changed lives
It is why our corporate coaching starts with discerning a unique vision. It is why our individual coaching lients start with an executive Lifeplan retreat. It is in that unique and transcendent vision that a life worth living (both individually and corporately) is found.
Are you operating with a clear understanding of why you exist?
Is your business, organization, or family, operating with a clear understanding of the unique and transcendent role it is to play?
Is it about time you took the time to figure it out?