The LIFE Question: Accidental Success By Design

The LIFE Question

Accidental Success By Design

Chris F. Walker

ISBN 979-8-88943-965-3 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-966-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Chris F. Walker

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why Write This?

Why Write This?

Breaking Ground

Chapter 1

The Initial Struggle

Chapter 2

Choose a Path?

Chapter 3

Find Self-Worth

Chapter 4

Be Happy

Chapter 5

Tangible vs. Intangible

Chapter 6

The Power and Control of Thought

Chapter 7

Take Action

Chapter 8

Discover Your Calling

Pouring the Foundation

Chapter 9

Seek Truth, Not Bias

Chapter 10

See the Whole Picture

Chapter 11

Needs vs. Wants

Chapter 12

Value of Time

Chapter 13

Fight Addiction

Chapter 14

Clear Away the Clutter

Chapter 15

Wise with Your Money

Cornerstone and Structure

Chapter 16

Success Is Relationships

Chapter 17

Communication Is Key

Chapter 18

No Is Required

Chapter 19

Focus on the Fruit

Chapter 20

Bad Fruit vs. Bad Soil

Chapter 21

Mechanic and Detective

Chapter 22

Vengeance Is…Mine?

Chapter 23

Live a Life That Attracts

Chapter 24

Become Your Champion

Chapter 25

Always Keep Perspective

Chapter 26

Put Life into Balance

Opening the Door

Chapter 27

The Life Question

Chapter 28

Prepare for Opposition

Chapter 29

Is Good Good Enough?

Chapter 30

Bedrock, Foundation, Cornerstone, and Purpose in One

Chapter 31

Life Has a Manual

Chapter 32

Power in Testimony

Chapter 33

The Next Generation

Conclusion: Accidental Success by Design

Accidental Success by Design

A shattered life

left him with nothing

but questions…

In modern society, trouble and hardship seem to be the new normal, no matter who you are. Financial difficulties, relationship turmoil, negative self-imagery—all of it leaves us feeling like we've fallen far short of the dreams from our youth, and eventually we look back to ask, Where did I go wrong?

This is exactly where a young man finds himself in The Path when he finds himself on an unexpected journey. Bankruptcy, adultery, and even killing impel this man to question everything. He discovers some challenging but powerful answers as he comes face-to-face with his own failures in his career, his family, and his marriage.

The Path is a journey that a lone man takes, but the answers he finds can be applied to anyone's life. So join him on the road to revelation and encounter an eye-opening experience just like he did!

Your life will never be the same—but you have to take the first step!

www.ChrisFWalker.com

This workbook is designed to lay the groundwork for amazing results. We strip away everything and get down to the naked truth of how people accomplish amazing goals.

Would you like to be more influential at work?

How well will you do at that upcoming meeting or interview?

Do you want more communication or passion in a relationship or friendship?

How about finally achieving financial success?

Naked Success! arms you with the tools you can use for noticeable results in your life. These principles are some of the best-kept secrets of the world's most successful individuals. They are universally understood and accepted by heads of governments, corporate leaders, and individually wealthy and influential people.

Download your free workbook!

www.ChrisFWalker.com

About the Author

Into his hands, and for his glory, design, and purpose, I commit the lessons, works, and influence of this book, Amen.

For my children

I pray this book will serve my children well. The lessons contained within are from decades of life experience. I hope they can learn these lessons earlier in their own life than it took for me to learn them in mine. I pray this knowledge will benefit them with more time to grow wiser and better than I can ever be.

Make the Most of Your Reading

As you read each chapter, a view about a certain topic is shared. Many of these topics are related to each other, and growth in any one area may help create a different or a more refined view of another. You should read the book a few times, and I hope it will inspire you to read other works to continue your growth.

While you move through this book, you will find references to other sources. I have no affiliation with any of these individuals. I list them for two reasons:

First, to build trust that the concepts found in this book aren't some random thought generated by my imagination but are foundational truths agreed upon by multiple experts.

Second, this book focuses on the broad and wide spectrum of how all the topics covered work together to create a bigger picture. You will eventually want to go into greater detail with each individual subject, and those references are a great place to begin that journey.

This book is presented as a metaphor, one of building a grand structure: bedrock, foundation, cornerstone, structure, and purpose. Following along with the word image will help define each concept more clearly.

Into the hands of the perfect and most patient Teacher, I trust the lessons contained in this book. Only through his wisdom will anything discussed here reach its full potential.

Introduction: Why Write This?

Why Write This?

Let me begin by explaining I started my journey through adulthood as a devoted atheist. I believed myself to be in complete control and have total authority over every aspect of my life. I eventually took the lessons I learned from such a life and applied them to a study of faith. That study led me to become a Christian. As I continued to learn, I developed a more refined and complete view of the world. This book attempts to share those views.

I have only been on this earth for a few decades, yet the changes that have occurred in that time to our society amaze me. The type of language we use, the lifestyles we live, parenting methods, education, music styles, even our sense of humor have continually been changing and shifting. As we have managed to grow in many ways, I do believe we might be causing more harm than good in some crucial areas of life.

The average amount of debt for an individual has drastically increased. Our ability to create lasting effects through our work, and the home and family dynamics have taken some pretty serious beatings over the last few decades. More and more people are becoming lost in their search for happiness. It seems seeking happiness today tends to lead us down a path that robs us of self-worth and joy. We seem to be moving toward the belief we are only successful when we achieve some definition set by an unknown source that establishes guidelines and goals that we simply can't meet.

Marriages are failing more than ever. Children are becoming less likely to become independent and functioning adults. People seem to believe individuals display bravery by publicly sharing their battles against some form of unhappiness. However, when a law enforcement officer is shot dead in the street or a soldier is killed in battle, it is just considered an occupational hazard.

For example, one of the largest social disagreements today centers on the generation known as the millennials. Among this generation, lack of accountability coupled with an unrealistic sense of entitlement has reached epidemic levels. They believe it is far more important to have a large following on social media than it is to build a deep and meaningful relationship with a single person.

It's so bad now that if people want to be kind and generous to a homeless person, they plan a way to video the whole event to be posted to the Internet. This way they can share with all their followers how generous they are, but they are only doing it for the selfish reason of gaining even more recognition from people they will most likely never meet.

What about the homeless person? Their humanity and suffering gets swept aside, and the true nature of generosity gets lost in the selfish ambitions of the so-called generous giver.

Others complain about how selfish these millennials are. The sad reality is, people are willing to point out the flaws in the newer generations but forget to acknowledge or accept the fact the previous generations are the ones who taught their children these traits. The older, wiser generation also fails to remember that when they first graduated high school or college, they did not have everything together yet either. Some of them still don't.

We live in a society now where both mom and dad work every day. They spend all of their time away from home and then fill their spare time with escapes or releases from the burdens the world places on them. All the while the kids are watching their parents' behavior, which teaches the children that television, Internet, and group activities are more important to their parents than they are. Is it any wonder why they begin questioning who they were meant to become or what it means to grow into a mature adult? They see and mimic what their parents do and then highlight the traits that make them happiest and accentuate those activities. This pattern is not new and, in fact, has been slowly gaining momentum for generations.

We get sold on half-truths that train us to fall short of a full and abundant life.

We are told, Go to school and get good grades. Good grades will get you into a good college. A good college will get you a good degree. That good degree will get you a good job. Then a good job will give you lots of money, and you will be happy.

This myth insinuates that the only way to become happy is to get a lot of money given to you by an employer. That employer will not even let you work for them unless you hold some piece of paper that costs tens of thousands of dollars. Worse, you are obligated to indebt yourself to get one. The starting point to a lifelong marathon has been pushed further and further back by miles even though the finish line has remained the same.

Oh, and you need to start establishing and building immaculate credit because you will not be buying anything with money anymore. Instead, you will use credit that will always have an additional interest attached to it. In fact, it has even reached a point where people believe it is better not to buy things at all. Instead, we lease, rent, or subscribe our way through life. The concept tells people to work for someone else to get money, give that money to those who do own things so you can utilize them for a short time, then give it back. The practice leaves us answering to someone for our pay, then handing our money over to others who own everything we use.

Combine these two half-truths, and you get an economic paradox that causes misery. We learn, falsely, that money is happiness; yet we no longer control our money. We work more than ever to get the money we don't control to use things we eventually have to give back. Meaning, after all our best efforts, we own nothing tangible. If we work hard for money because money brings us happiness, then what do we do with our money (happiness)? We use it to temporarily rent something that never becomes ours and leaves us with nothing. Is it any shock so many people seem to be broke and unhappy?

Sadly, this only focuses on money. Where in this search for happiness do we address how to be proud of ourselves? How to measure our self-worth? How to build deep, meaningful, and rewarding personal relationships? What about being a good parent? How about becoming a reliable and helpful confidant to our friends?

The reality is, we can say, Money will not buy happiness, but our actions scream, I will forgo everything else, all in pursuit of money!

If we are so wise to the fact that money will not buy happiness, then why do we glorify those who have money instead of those who have a wonderful marriage or are the greatest of role models? Our children see these actions, and they witness the contradictions. Then they imitate these actions in their own lives.

In the good grades leads to happiness formula, what happens if someone doesn't get good grades? What if they do not get into a good college or any college? Without a degree, do they have a chance at a successful career? If not, then have they already lost happiness before they are even old enough to have their first legal beer or glass of wine?

Not to mention all the pressure from others who believe fun and happiness are found not in money but in alcohol, drugs, or dangerous and harmful behaviors? Is it shocking that alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs become the tools used to fill the gaps left by this lie?

It's amazing to me how many people believe the good grades myth is the only means to achieve success. If someone fails to get those good grades, they often accept his or her fate and just resign themselves to be miserable for life because they failed to follow the plan. In a way, it's almost like throwing someone in prison for their first couple decades of life before they even have the chance to taste real freedom. Then, after high school, they are set free. Will they even want to leave? After all, prison is the only life they have known.

Others who buy into this concept but fail to achieve it will feel it is righteous of them to confine themselves to their fate but try to give their children a better shot at accomplishing the life they failed to achieve. While their intentions are noble and loving, they are not necessary and don't produce the intended result.

I realize some people may be very upset with my last statement, so let me just try to put a little more context into the thought by posing these two scenarios.

In the first scenario, a parent accepts they will not achieve true happiness in their life and feels it is just too late for them. They commit to working themselves to death to give their children as many possible chances to try for the same thing they as a parent failed to achieve.

Or, second, a parent who takes complete control over their own life and actions, works just as hard as the first but does so in a way that eventually provides the parent with the success and happiness they have always craved in their own life. Then they show and teach their child how to do the same.

The truth is, our children are influenced more by the life we live than by the words we say. Armed with that fact, I would argue a parent can do far more good for their children by breaking out of the cycle, overcoming their obstacles, achieving happiness and success in their own life, and then saying to their children, Let me show you how you can do the same. Not to mention, the parent then gets to enjoy life.

A child whose chances to get ahead come at a complete sacrifice of the parent could very well grow up to become successful, but they may carry some guilt knowing the price it cost their mother and/or father. Will they feel that they accomplished such a wonderful life at the expense of their parent's happiness? Will they even be able to take pride in their success, or is the pride robbed by the parent's sacrifice since the parent paid the price and the child got the reward?

On the other hand, what of a parent who overcomes their own obstacles and achieved personal success? Their child will simply wonder when and how they can achieve the same. That child will even have an example to follow.

Then there's another risk. What if the parent achieves their success through the sacrifice or abandonment of their family? This will breed resentment. So a parent must learn to love and prioritize their family while accomplishing the success they aim for through the use of healthy principles and values. No small task, I grant you, but it is truly the best goal to pursue.

There is still the question of people who do, in fact, accomplish the myth. They got good grades, went to a good college, have a nice career, and make a high salary. Yet they still seem to face issues like divorce, shallow friendships, struggles relating to parents and children, and a completely selfish look at life. They often ask, I did everything I was supposed to, so why shouldn't I just do anything I want now? Later, they feel isolated and alone. They too have missed the point of what it takes to accomplish true and lasting joy in life.

These concepts are the main purpose behind why I have committed to this work. I believe success and happiness are attainable for anyone and everyone. Does that mean everyone will succeed at his or her goals in life? Unfortunately, no. The harsh reality is not everyone will make the necessary changes and grow in the proper areas, but that doesn't change that within every one of us are the tools and means necessary to accomplish whatever we truly desire.

When you lay on your deathbed and look back at your life, will you believe you were a victim of circumstances? Will you believe other people or the world prevented your dreams and you were powerless right up to the end? If you already think that way, I hope this book can help you see you are more powerful than you believe.

If you are the kind of person who already wishes to forge your own life, but you continually struggle, then I hope this book will offer you some views and concepts that will help set you on the best path. I pray these lessons will keep you from facing an If I only knew how to… feeling.

If the principles and concepts of this work are something you have already accepted in your life, then I hope this book will inspire you to step out and begin helping others.

However, it is not my intention to teach anyone anything with this book. Rather, I hope to share my views, principles, and values in a way that may be of assistance to anyone who reads it. The truth is, even if you do not agree with some of what I discuss, by simply reading this, you will expose yourself to other possibilities and can then use your better judgment and ideas to decide your own future.

A wise mentor once told me, If you buy a book, you help the author. If you read a book, you help yourself. If you learn to apply what comes from a book, you can change the world. I believe this wholeheartedly; and I pray this book can be a tool you use to forge your dreams, desires, and ambitions.

I should mention I do not hold some fancy degree. In my life, I have had the privilege of meeting and speaking with many individuals who are far more educated than I am. So, while I may not have some of the large vocabulary relating to these topics, I can, with confidence, say this book shares the truth. For each section, I strive to find examples of the topic from a historical, philosophical, and biblical source. I do this to help you feel confident the knowledge and content of each topic are the main points rather than an attempt to force anyone into my way of life. On the contrary, I aim to arm you with tools that will help you determine your own life.

The reality is, everything starts at the individual. People are so focused today on fixing the world and fail to solve the true nature of where the problems originate from—that is, the individual. Whether it is a relationship, a family, a community, or an entire society—all of these areas begin with an individual. From there, individuals group together for a larger purpose. If the group is made up of emotionally healthy, principally strong, and educationally enlightened individuals, then anything they do in conjunction with one another will produce good results. If the group is made up primarily of people lacking in these areas, then the individuals will expect the group to make up for their shortcomings. The problem is, the group can only produce what the individuals within it are capable of. It only works in one direction, but society today believes the opposite. The main focus of this book is to help the individual focus on making themselves better and how they can then fit into a larger dynamic, bringing with them these qualities.

This book is broken down into four sections: Breaking Ground, Pouring the Foundation, Cornerstone and Structure, and Opening the Door. These sections resemble a similar process to how you build a large and commanding structure. Each stage will eventually need to be completed in order, but to fully understand how each stage will contribute to the final structure, it is better first to read the entire book from beginning to end. This will help build a better comprehension of each topic individually and the larger picture. Once you understand each piece of the puzzle and how they will eventually fit together, then come back through and work on each stage in order.

Some readers may be wishing to explore the concepts of this book merely to help enhance or fix certain portions of their life. However, I have found the vast majority of people who undertake this process eventually choose to undergo a complete life overhaul. Almost like life really does come with a reset button, and armed with these new tools, they start their game over again.

Regardless, I'm very excited to see what will happen to your story. So let's get started.

Part I

Breaking