I have a younger colleague of mine who has found some success in his young sales role. He was a college athlete which taught him a level of GRIT that has propelled him in the sales world. He’d run through a wall if you told him it would help him be “successful.” I’ve known him since he started at our company about 4 years ago. He started out pretty raw of course, yet has evolved into a pretty sharp young man in his mid-twenties. We had a conversation recently that really hit me and before you can grasp why, I must tell you that he reminds me a ton of myself at his age. You see, he’s doing everything “right.” He’s very busy, which in our business means he’s working very hard to meet and help a lot of people. I’d argue he’s actually too busy now and even a little scattered/spread thin. The gist of our conversation revolved around how well he’s “performing” at work, yet how he is feeling out of alignment personally. He expressed that he wants to make more time for his marriage, for his personal health/fitness, hobbies he enjoys and spiritual life. I sat across from this young man and could clearly see a mirror of myself several years ago as he told me these things. The difference- he at least was aware that he was “letting himself down” in certain areas, and it wasn’t sitting well. I tried my best to express the importance of working on himself first, meaning his relationship with God, his health, his wife and even carving out some time for particular hobbies he loves (joy). I don’t believe one can be truly great at work without being great within first, at least not with motivations that align spiritually and are authentic. I can “run through a wall” in business, yet it’s going to be for broken reasons if I don’t make sure my true purpose is the driving force behind my actions. I also don’t resonate with who people say all you need to do is “work harder” and “do more,” and things will be better later. Guess what, if I told this young man to “do more” or “work harder” he wouldn’t have much left of his true self or what truly matters to him later because he would’ve scarified these things to chase some pipe dream of “success” that ties in with recognition and money. I heard recently that no amount of money can buy you a second of your life back- AMEN! I would also argue no amount of money will fill the void you’ll feel if you’re not fulfilling the true purpose and calling God has planned for your precious life.

Toward the end of our conversation I asked him about his spiritual life. He’s a pretty dialed in Christian young man, so I was glad to hear when he said something to the tune of “I keep praying and asking God to guide me.” He shared that he asks God all the time for advice, which was great overall. Understanding how busy he is and that he feels disconnected from himself and what really matters due to a frantic life, I asked him a simple question… “If you’re praying over and over again seeking His guidance, when is the last time you actually paused long enough to listen to His response?” He just looked at me puzzled for a moment, tilted his head down and admittedly shook his head, as if to say he hadn’t. I feel like we can pray over and over again, yet if we don’t take a little time to disconnect and actually HEAR what God has to say, we might be missing what He’s trying to tell us all together. We all hear/feel God in different ways, but I can promise you from my experiences when I lean into Him I’ve felt, read, heard and understood His responses substantially more. When I lean more and more into “the world” and my spirit isn’t as connected, I amazingly don’t hear a whole lot from God since I’m too busy to pay attention, unless perhaps He flashes a neon sign in front of my face. When is the last time you prayed and actually carved out intentional time to be alone with Him to hear/feel/be in His presence? Amazing things happen in this space and I think this is one daily activity we cannot afford to sacrifice. Pause to connect and feel Him, you just might be surprised at how much clearer your path becomes. This typically doesn’t involve a cell phone, a TV or a crowd of people. I still struggle with pausing at times, don’t get me wrong, but I’m aware of this and working on prioritizing my time around Him. Maybe this will help others who are living a frantic schedule and feeling an element of disconnectedness. How many minutes could you carve out per day for a more fulfilled spiritual life- ten, thirty, sixty? Regardless, I bet every second will be worth it and the other areas of our lives will be thankful we chose to spend time with Him.