The LifePlan

Workbook
A Step-by-Step Guide for Developing
and Achieving Your Career Goals

Michael Zigarelli
1

CONTENTS
___________________________________

Get Going on Something

That Really Matters

STEP ONE: Get a Clue

STEP TWO: Get a Goal

14

STEP THREE: Get a Plan

17

STEP FOUR: Get a Gauge

19

2013 by Michael Zigarelli

All Rights Reserved.

Get Going on Something

That Really Matters
Your life is a series of choices. If you
choose to do so, you can do great
things with your life. Things that
matter. Things that positively
influence the lives of others. Even
things that will be changing lives
long after youre gone.
You may not even be aware of the
potential that you have, but its
there. In fact, youre the only one
who can stop you from achieving it.
Its a choice, and this resource is
designed to help you make that
choice in a way that honors God.
More specifically, The LifePlan
Workbook is a step-by-step guide that
will walk you through the process of
identifying and pursuing the career
paths for which you are gifted.
The premise of this workbook is not
a controversial one, regardless of our
worldview: You are more likely to
achieve the potential God has
placed in you if you know where
Hes leading and you have a plan
to get there.
In the next several pages, youll have
the opportunity to walk through a
step-by-step process that has helped
many before youa logical and
powerful process that includes
seeking Gods calling on your life,

setting goals consistent with that

calling, developing a strategy to
pursue those goals, and habitually
tracking your progress.
Much of this is straightforward and
even fun to do, but we seldom make
the time to do it in our frenetic, overextended lives. Instead, many people
take a cavalier approach to hearing
God or pursuing goals, an approach
that often leads to spotty results,
dead ends, wasted time and effort,
and often, later regrets over what
might have been.
Like other types of planning we do
planning a wedding, planning a
vacation, financial planning, and so
on creating a LifePlan will
probably enhance your chances of
getting good results, perhaps even
contributing to a distinctive legacy
of faithfulness.
That legacy starts with the internals
and then becomes relevant through
the externals, so throughout this
workbook, Ill ask you to consider
these two related areas: Gods will
for your spiritual life (an internal
issue) and Gods will for your work
life (an external issue). The former is
a foundation for success in the latter.

You can skip directly to Step One if

youd like, but it may be worthwhile
to first hear from Gods Word about
what these two dimensions entail. In
doing so, we develop a more
compelling vision for why all this
matters and, pivotally, a genuine
intention to pursue these goals in
earnest.

Gods Will for Your

Spiritual Life

Collectively called the fruit of the

Spirit, the indicators are: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol (Galatians 5:22-23). Such
virtues reveal our Christian maturity
since they are a reflection of God
working in and through us. After all,
it was Jesus Himself who taught: No
branch can bear fruit by itself; it
must remain on the vine. Neither
can you bear fruit unless you remain
in me (John 15:4).

God calls us to live a life that puts

Him at the centerthat
subordinates our will to His will and
that makes a priority of growth
toward holiness. More basically, He
created us for relationship with Him
and, through the power of that
relationship, to be salt and light in
the world. He did not create us to
live a dualistic (or double-minded)
life, relegating our spiritual life to
the pews. Rather, faith and life can be
a seamless tapestry.

Clearly, then, from a scriptural

standpoint, God calls us to remain in
Him and to become like Him to
become fruit of the Spirit believers.
And that maturation process will
touch every aspect of your life,
including, of course, your work life.
Part of your LifePlan, therefore, will
be to examine yourself on many of
these dimensions, to set development
goals, and to craft a plan for spiritual
growth.

Christian scripture speaks

generously to this issue, both in the
Old and New Testament,
encouraging believers to commit to
the Lord whatever you do (Proverbs
16:3), to do everything to the glory
of God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and to
let your light shine before men that
they may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in heaven
(Matthew 5:16; cf. also Colossians
3:23-24, 1 John 2:6, Psalms 37:5). In
Galatians 5, Paul gets even more
specific, identifying nine distinct
measures of the extent to which God
is revealed in our daily lives.

Gods Will for Your Work Life

Consider this brief vignette. See if it
resonates. Its someone elses story,
but it may be yours as well:
Approximately twenty-four months into
his job, Mark had become quite proficient
at analyzing financial statements and
performing all of the client service duties
assigned to him. He was regarded as one
of the more diligent employees in the
department, he was earning enough
money to easily pay his bills, and he was
now being groomed for a promotion.
Everything had fallen in place nicely for
4

Mark. Still, something important seemed

to be missing from his work life, namely
purpose.
Before him sat yet another balance sheet
from yet another new client. Mark
rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch.
3:32. He glanced at the statement.
Accounts Receivable: $25,100, Inventory:
$68,055...
He took a sip of coffee and checked his email. Nothing. He peeked his head out of
the cubicle to see if there was someone
anyone to divert his attention from the
incessant parade of debits and credits.
No one there. He looked at his watch
again. 3:34.
What an empty existence, Mark
thought. Crunching numbers day after
day. Answering to clients and managers,
jumping through their hoops. Spending
50 or 60 hours a week simply to make
money for this thankless company.
Theres got to be something more to
work than earning a paycheck, moving
up the ladder, and retiring. 3:35.
There is. And the good news is you
wont need to change jobs to find it.
Many people perceive work as
mundane and their jobs as little more
than a means to an economic end.
Often, like Mark, they struggle to
find personal fulfillment in their
work, even when they perform their
jobs well. Some eagerly await
Fridays and lament Monday
morning. Their bosses are too
critical and their families take them
for granted. So to enhance the
quality of their work lives and to

gain a sense of accomplishment, they

pursue raises and promotions and
power, only to later learn that even
here, the satisfaction is fleeting.
Then, work returns to its routine,
relatively meaningless state.
Thats a pretty dismal portrayal, I
know, and I wish I could say that its
an overstatement. But for millions of
people in the workforce, its a daily
reality. Awhile back I read an
American Demographics magazine
story that reported, consistent with
the results of many similar surveys,
that more than one out of every
three U.S. workers is not satisfied
with his or her work. In a workforce
of about 150 million, that translates
into about fifty million dissatisfied
employees!
But theres something even more
troublesome about this statistic.
Because so many of us link our
personal worth to what were
accomplishing, when we perceive our
work as dissatisfying, menial, or
purposeless, we feel personally
insignificant. Like Mark, we can
experience a significant void, sensing
that we are missing something
essential in our lives.
And, in fact, we are. This feeling of
emptiness is far removed from what
God intends for us. God created
work all work to be primarily a
spiritual activity, not an economic
or social activity. As is sometimes
the case, though, our perspective
may not comport with Gods
perspective and we thereby forfeit
the precious gift of purposeful work.
5

So how should we think about our

work? A lot of books address this
question very well, as well see in the
Action Step below, but heres an
overview. The Bible, from its very
first chapters, illustrates that work is
by Gods design. Genesis opens with
God working, creating the heavens
and the earth, the day and the night,
the water and the land, the sky, the
birds and all of the animals. God
then creates people in His own
image, calling us to imitate Him in
everything that He does, including
work.

shelter without requiring any labor.

God, it seems, must have created
work for another purpose.

And God communicates not only

through His example that work is
intrinsic to our existence; He also
teaches this directly: Be fruitful and
increase in number; fill the earth and
subdue it (Genesis 1:28, emphasis
added). To subdue the earth is to
cultivate it, to transform it, and to
adapt its resources. It is a task that
clearly implicates work. Perhaps
even more plain in this regard is
Genesis 2:15, which says: The Lord
God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work and take
care of itthat is, to work in it.

This straightforward, trenchant

passage tells us to conceptualize
whatever we do everything we do
as service to the Lord. In other
words, when we go to school, it is
more than to become educated or to
get a job, it is to serve God. When
we raise a family, it is primarily to
serve God. When we exercise, it is,
first and foremost, to serve God by
stewarding this body He lent us.
Even when we do something as
seemingly frivolous as yard work or
housework, it is for Him. And, most
pertinent here, when we pursue His
command to subdue the earth
when we go to work each day we
are to consider our workplace sacred
ground and our tasks divine service.
Hes our Supreme Boss, our Divine
Manager. It is to God that we
ultimately report.

God has therefore created us to

work, taught us by example to work,
and specifically directed us to work.
But to what end? What exactly does
God want us to accomplish through
our work? Did He simply invent
work so that we could earn a living
and survive?
Thats unlikely. If survival were His
concern, He could simply provide, as
we do for our own children, food and

The New Testament clarifies this

purpose. Perhaps Colossians 3:23-24
says it most poignantly:
Whatever you do, work at it with
all of your heart, as working for
the Lord, not for men, since you
know that you will receive an
inheritance from the Lord as a
reward. It is the Lord Christ you
are serving.

You see, God created our work not

as a curse and not as just a means to
survival, but to allow us to glorify
Him through it.

Thats the primary purpose of work.

Moreover, if we genuinely work to
please God, He changes us through
that activity, cultivating our
character and making it more likely
that others will see God through us.
When properly conceived, our work,
as it turns out, may be less intended
to make us happy than it is to make
us holy.

inscribed S.D.G. on all of his

compositions, standing for Soli Deo
Gloria: to the glory of God alone.
Bach was an independent contractor
who perceived himself as completely
dependent. He could have been his
own boss, but like Rembrandt and
Michelangelo and countless others of
their time, he accepted direction and
inspiration from a wiser Boss.

Note also that none of this depends on

what type of job you have. Whether
youre digging ditches as a
missionary or for a construction
company, your work can please God.
Homemaker, homebuilder, or home
run hitter, you can be serving God
and others in every facet of your
daily work.

Now, hundreds of years later and

thousands of years after the Garden
of Eden, Gods purpose for our work
remains the same: S.D.G. Dont
fall into the trap of thinking about it
any other way.

An often-related story along these

lines is that of Johann Sebastian
Bach, the great composer, who

ACTION STEP
Visit the Online Library at
www.Christianity9to5.org and
read some of the articles under
the category Your Work is Your
Ministry.
Consider how this perspective
about work differs from how we
usually think about work. What
difference does it make if we
finally adopt that divine
perspective as our own?

Step One: Get a Clue

Assess Your Strengths and Your Passions
to Identify Some Potential Career Directions
I sat down with my friend Paul
recently and he taught me a few
things. I always seem to learn
something from the man. Yeah, he
stutters a bit and hes a couple
millennia older than I am, but I have
no doubt that God communicates
through this guy. If I concentrate, I
can often get a clearer picture of
Gods will from him.
I asked Paul a pretty heavy question,
but one that was weighing on my
mind: How do I know what God
wants me to do with my life? I have
some definite ideas about what I want
to do, but if there is some divine plan
for my time here on earth, I want to
discover and follow that plan instead.
Paul told me, in his quintessential
no-nonsense manner, that I basically
had to be a detective, searching for
clues to unlock a mystery. This was
no game, though. The stakes are
high, he said. The consequences are
real.
My friend suggested that there are at
least three places that I can look for
clues about Gods intent for my life: I
can look to God for direct counsel, I
can look at how God has gifted me,
and I can look to the opinions of
good friends who know God well.

Three Clues
Regarding the first clue, Gods direct
revelation to me, Paul told me that I
should do more of what I was
already doing reading scripture,
praying for counsel, meditating to
hear Gods voice. Specifically, he said
that all scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in
righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16) and
that I should also pray continually
(1 Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians
4:6), meaning I should try to remain
mindful of God at all times and in all
decisions. And this was a big one.
Another clue, Paul confided,
involved looking at myself in the
mirror -- looking very closely and well
beyond the physical appearance (1
Corinthians 11:28, 2 Corinthians
13:5, Galatians 6:4). What was
inside? How had God created me?
Paul said that God gifts each one of
us in specific ways and that these
giftings indicate what God might
like us to do with our lives (Romans
12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:28,
Ephesians 4:11). Paul also said that I
could look to the virtues that were
being manifest in my life to see how
these might complement the giftings.
Was I strong in patience?
Compassion? Joy? (Galatians 5:2223, Colossians 3:12-17). What kind
8

of hard-wiring had God set in place

in the womb? Discover those
qualities, Paul asserted raising a
finger, and you may get a clue about
what God made you to do.
Lastly, Paul taught me that other
people godly people whom I know
and trust could benefit me greatly
in my quest. I should ask them what
they see in me, what they sense God
is calling me to do.
Specifically, Paul looked me right in
the eye and said that we in Christ are
competent to instruct one another
about these most important of issues
(Romans 15:14) and to admonish
one another with all wisdom
(Colossians 3:16). He even offered to
me the advice of an ancient sage who
wrote that Plans fail for lack of
counsel, but with many advisors they
succeed (Proverbs 15:22). In
humility, I had to approach some
spiritually mature friends and solicit
their advice about what God might
intend for me.
__________________
It may seem strange that we should
have to go through this circuitous
process to get Gods counsel.
Frankly, Ive often wished to find a
burning bush. Much clearer and
more efficient.

But Ive come to realize that God is

pleased when we strive to hear Him,
when we are active in our
relationship with Him, when we
faithfully wrestle with the hard
questions and even with His silence.
Ultimately, God communicates with
us when we persevere. Seek, Jesus
taught us, and ye shall find
(Matthew 7:7). So why not take him
at his word and do your best with
the following Action Step?

ACTION STEP
The activities on the next
few pages may give you
some clues about Gods
purpose for your work life.
Complete the activities as
carefully as you can,
recording your insights in
the Get a Clue Worksheet.
When you have completed
the three activities, use the
From Clues to Careers tool
to identify some promising
vocational options.

Activity 1
Get a Clue from Self-Assessment
Complete the Christian Character
Index and any other assessments you
find interesting at www.AssessYourself.org/surveys/. Also complete
one of the many spiritual gifts
assessments that are freely available
online. I recommend the one from
Rock Church in San Diego (42
questions):
www.sdrock.com/giftstest/

Other gifts assessments you may

want to consider are currently
available from:
Building Church
www.BuildingChurch.net/g2s.htm
(125 questions)
Spiritual Gifts
(96 questions)
www.SpiritualGiftsTest.com

Elmer Towns (90 questions)

http://elmertowns.com/?page_id=90

All of these assessments are free of

charge and anonymous, so be candid
when completing them. The more
accurate the information you enter,
the more accurate your results will
be.
After completing the assessments, be
sure to print out your results and to
include notable gifts and strengths in
your Get a Clue Worksheet.

Activity 2
Get a Clue from Your Friends
Sometimes God speaks through
people, especially people who know
Him well. And if those people know
you well, too, they may be in a
position to speak into your life.
This activity entails seeking the
counsel of those Christians closest to
you. Ask them what they discern to
be Gods will for your life. Spend lots
of time listening and little time talking.
Without revealing to them your
results from Activity 1 above, see if
your friends opinions comport with
those results. Consider whether they
clarify, illuminate or extend those
results.
There is no one right way to do this.
I recommend, though, that you (1)
schedule some time when you will
not be interrupted and (2) simply
explain to your friend the purpose of
the conversation. Then, a good
opening question might be: Given
what you know about me my gifts
and talents, my strengths and
weaknesses, my personality traits
what do you think God wants me to
do with my life?
Whatever your friend says, be sure
to write it down as he or she says it
or very soon thereafter, and be sure
to contemplate it closely (even if you
dont like it). Then summarize the
conversation in your Worksheet.

10

Activity 3
Get a Clue from Direct Revelation
God is our ally in this process. He
will reveal much to us, if we have
ears to hear.
Throughout the centuries, people
have heard God and understood
His will through His written Word,
the Bible, and through their prayer
life. So Activity 3 is relatively openended and unstructured. Set aside a
certain amount of time each day to
specifically seek Gods intent for
your spiritual and professional
development.
What is it that God desires for you
to be and to do? Ask Him regularly
and read the scriptures, keeping
track of what youre learning.

Take some time to recall a few such

events from your past. Think about
your most emotionally and
spiritually fulfilling experiences.
What talents, gifts, strengths and
skills were most important to the
quality of the experience? What was
the most enjoyable facet of the
activity? What aspects of it left a
lasting impression and are perhaps
calling you back to it? Most
importantly, through this
experience, in what direction might
God have been pointing you?
Write down your conclusions in the
Worksheet and consider them in
juxtaposition with the other
information youve compiled from
Steps One and Two.

For some further guidance about

Gods calling on your life, consider
looking back as well. Oftentimes, the
experiences that we have found to be
most life-giving can provide clues
regarding Gods plan for our lives.
For instance, you may recall that a
few years back, you served at a soup
kitchen or assisted for a day with
some kids with disabilities and that
you found the experience strangely
fulfilling perhaps as fulfilling as
anything you had known to date. But
then you went about your life,
allowing this moment of possible
revelation to dissipate. Was God
speaking to you? Maybe that was a
potential epiphany that went
unnoticed.

11

The Get a Clue Worksheet

Clues

Task

Clues from SelfAssessment

Complete the Christian Character

Index at www.AssessYourself.org/surveys/ and
complete a spiritual gifts
assessment of your choosing

(Activity 1)

Clues from
Interviews
(Activity 2)

Gifts / Strengths / Passions

Ask two or three spiritually

mature people whom you know
well (parents, siblings, friends,
etc.) what they think are your
greatest strengths, what you are
passionate about, and in what
vocations you might excel.

12

Clues
Clues from
Direct
Revelation
(Activity 3)

Task

Strengths / Gifts / Passions

Ask God about your strengths and

giftings and about His plan for
your life. Attempt to hear His
counsel through this prayer time
and through your reading of the
scriptures. Record your
discernment here.
Another window through which we
can see Gods calling is this:
Reflect on a few experiences that
you have found most fulfilling or
meaningful. What have you loved
to do? What causes have stirred
your passions? Look for and
record common themes across
these experiences.

13

From Clues to Careers

To identify some potential career directions, juxtapose the Worksheet information about your strengths and passions
with your financial realities, using the diagram below. Aiming for the intersection of these three realms has been a
practical and powerful way that many have gained clarity about potential vocations.

Strengths

Passions

Where are you gifted? What can

you do better than most people
that you know? Where do you
have a comparative advantage?

What is it that you love to do?

Or, are there some causes that
you care about very much?

Strengths

Careers in this
intersection may be
the best possible fit
for you

Passions

Financial
Needs

Financial Needs
What will pay the bills? What
level of income is required to
care for your needs and those
of your dependents?

14

Step Two: Get a Goal

Clarify What Youre Really Trying to Accomplish

In Step One you completed several

activities intended to help discover
how you might contribute to the
work God is doing in the world.
Now your task is to use that
information to set some goals that
will make that potential contribution
a reality.
Goal setting, when done well, can be
a powerful tool to get lasting results.
We can construct goals many areas
of our life, but the two on which well
concentrate here are goals for your
spiritual growth and goals for your
career.
As a practical matter, consider using
the acronym SMART as a guide
for goal-setting. SMART goals are
those that are Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Relevant (to your
broader mission), and Time-Bound.
That may sound a bit contrived you,
as many acromym-based methods
are, but this is one acronym thats
worthwhile. Goals are more useful
tools when we create them this way,
so let me briefly unpack this.
Specific goals are focused and welldefined. To become more generous
might sound like a motivational
stretch goal, but its lack of specificity
renders it ineffective for guiding our
actions. Consider instead something

like: To give ten percent of my pretax business and personal income to

faith-based causes.
Measurable goals, as the term
implies, are those whose progress
you can track. Without being able to
assess progress toward a goal, how
will you know whether youre doing
the right things to achieve that goal?
Set goals for which you can create
metrics (like the ten percent
framing from the previous
paragraph).
Attainable goals are reachable or
realistic, given your circumstances or
abilities. One of the most robust
results in goal setting studies is that
if people dont consider a goal to be
attainable, they will not pursue it in
earnest.
Relevance to your mission is
fundamental as well. Goals exist to
serve a larger, focused purpose, so
try not to get sidetracked. In our
context here, if it doesnt matter to
God, as best we can understand that,
then perhaps we turn our attention
elsewhere.
Lastly, time-bound means that the
goal has a target date by which we
will achieve it. Regardless of whether
the target is short-term or long-

15

term, for each goal that you set, try

to specify a deadline. Without one,
we risk having our important goals
eclipsed by the seemingly more
urgent matters that emerge daily.

Setting Your Spiritual Growth

Goals
From a Christian perspective, we can
think of setting spiritual growth
goals as articulating our goals for
becoming more like Jesus Christ. If
youve completed Step One of this
workbook, youve already done much
of the groundwork here. Those
results will imply not just strength
areas, but opportunities for
improvement as well. Select a few
and become intentional about finally
making progress.
One caution: Be careful not to overdo
it. Theres a lot of terrain each one of
us could cover here. So be judicious,
setting goalsor maybe its just one
goal for one virtuewhere change
would be particularly meaningful.
Keep it simple for now to get some
traction.

Setting Your Career Goals

Building on your career path
conculsions from Step One, try this
exercise to develop a worthwhile set
of goals for whatever career you
choose. Its an approach thats been
helpful to a generation of my
undergraduate and graduate
students. Perhaps it will be to you as
well.
Beginning with the end in mind is
a proven productivity principle. It

turns out to be pretty helpful with

career planning as well. If you
complete it in earnest, you may glean
surprising insights into not only
what you should do with your work
life, but how you should do it.

The Retirement Speech Exercise

Fast-forward the tape of your
work life to a few years down the
road. Youre now retiring.
Theres a dinner to honor you
and all the others in your cohort
who have earned the gold watch
(or pewter plaque, depending on
the generosity of your employer).
Look around the room. Whos
there? Who is speaking with
whom? Whats the mood in the
place? Do people seem to be
enjoying themselves?
From across the room, a coworker glances over at you and
whispers to a friend. The friend
responds with a nod, eye contact
and a casual wave. A lot of people
are talking about you tonight
because this is your night. What
are they saying?
The time comes for the
obligatory short speeches
commemorating, thanking,
sometimes roasting the retirees.
One by one, employees come to
the microphone to share stories
and raise a glass. Some stories are
funny, some are touching, some
seem merely polite. Obviously,
there wasnt much to say about
that person. Then up steps the

16

person slated to say a few words

about you, about your career,
about your contribution about
all youve meant to the
organization. What will this
person say? What is it about you
that will be remembered as
significant? What is it about all of
those years about all of that
effort that this person thinks
really mattered?
If you would, let that set in for a
second. Dont sell yourself short
by rushing through this exercise.
Whats being spotlighted in this
short speech? Accomplishments?
Securing clients? Work ethic?
Your personality? What will
stand out when others reflect on
the job to which you gave your
life?
Now take this scene one last step.
Imagine for a moment that the
person at the podium is not your
co-worker, but Jesus Christ
Himself. You didnt know he had
a ticket to this shindig, but there
He is, scars and all. He even
managed to somehow get around
the jacket-only requirement.

Unlike the other speakers,

though, he elects to sit down with
the microphone and right next
to you. The room falls strangely
silent, more quiet than it was for
the others, as he says your name.
A smile comes to his face, a smile
of caring, a smile of friendship.
He says your name again. Im
going to tell you good folks what
this employee did at work all of
these years that really mattered,
he begins.
You listen in awe at whats
chronicled over the next few
minutes. Everyone in the room is
captivated by just how different
this speech is from all the others.
What Jesus emphasizes as
important is quite unlike what
was emphasized by the other
speakers. Had you only known
Jesuss perspective about what
your goals should be on the job
had you only been able to see
what was preventing you from
pursuing those goals had you
only heard His words decades
ago

ACTION STEP
In light of what you have learned from reflecting on your
spiritual condition and from thinking through Jesuss
retirement speech about you, write out two sets of goals:
a set of spiritual goals and a set of career goals for the
few years or so (perhaps longer, if it would be helpful).
As a guideline, ensure that the goals you set are SMART:
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant to your life
mission, and Time-bound.
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Step Three: Get a Plan

Create a Strategy to Pursue Your Goals
The goal was to persuade Pharaoh to
release the Hebrew slaves. The goal
was to take Jericho. The goal was to
defeat Goliath. The goal was to
convince the world that Jesus is the
Christ.
Throughout scripture, we see lofty
goals pursued by quite ordinary
people. Each goal required a plan to
get there, though, and in each case,
God provided that plan. Without a
plan, goals are merely hopes.
This may be an obvious point, but it
its worth underscoring: Were more
likely to achieve the goals we set
in Step Two if we have a plan of
action. Less obvious, perhaps, but no
less true, is that no matter how lofty
those goals, if they are in Gods will,
God will assist you to meet and even
exceed them. So here in Step Three,
youll have an opportunity to
construct at least two brief plans,
one for pursuing your spiritual
growth goals and one for pursuing
your career goals.
There is no one right way to do this,
so weve not created a cookie-cutter
template. I can say, though, that
however you do this, your spiritual
and career plans should furnish
you with clear destination points
and a roadmap for the tasks ahead.

For example, lets say that your

strengths, gifts and passions pointed
you in the direction of the teaching
profession. Consequently, you set a
career goal to be a high school teacher
and a spiritual goal to gain more
patience with others. Your plan of
action, then, would conceptualize
employment as a teacher and Christlike patience as destination points
targets that youll strive to attain.
Thats pretty straightforward. The real
work of Step Three is mapping out the
journey toward those destinations,
identifying how youll achieve the
training and credentials to teach, as well
as the means by which you intend to
grow your patience.
It may benefit you greatly if you also
create a timetable for making progress
(e.g., read these books on gaining
patience by the end of the summer,
finish my degree by 20xx, and so on.)
This links nicely to the time-bound
dimension of your SMART goals.
Beyond that, its essential that you
consider the threats to your progress.
What might inhibit your journey? What
obstacles stand in the way of reaching
your goals? Think about such
impediments as you plan and consider
strategies for overcoming those
obstacles.

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Finally, there is the issue of tracking

your progress. Effective planning
requires measures by which we can
identify whether we are progressing,

stagnant, or backsliding (recall the M in

the SMART goalsthe progress should
be measurable). It is to that issue that
we will turn in Step Four.

ACTION STEP
In whatever format you find helpful, begin to create a LifePlan,
a strategy for pursuing the goals you set in Step Two.
One part of the plan should describe how you can achieve your
spiritual growth goals; the other part should focus on your
career goals. To some extent, these will be related pieces
insofar as Christian formation is a foundation for a Godhonoring career, but youll be well-served by distinguishing the
plans.
Theres no one right way to do this, though some find a
spreadsheet a useful tool for keeping things organized.
Regardless your approach, you may want to put into your plan:
Specific action items for each goals you set in Step Two (e.g.,
complete a Masters degree in education, read that bestselling
book on gaining empathy)
A timetable for each action item (e.g., finish the degree by
May, 2018; read the book by the end of the summer)
The major threats you anticipate to achieving each goal (e.g.,

insufficient funds, no accountability)

After reading Step Four, add to your plan a way to track your

progress toward the goal

Remember, your LifePlan is a work-in-progress. Dont fall into the
trap of trying to make it perfect and try not to get paralyzed
because you dont have all the answers today. For now, simply put
together a first draft, perhaps show it to someone you trust, and
then improve it as you gain more clarity.

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Step Four: Get a Gauge

Track Your Progress to Stay on Course
You get what you measure. Its an
old adage and its still around
because it tends to be true.
If you want to save more money each
month, start keeping better track of
where your money is going. Youll
probably have more saved on the 31st
than if you simply ignored your
budget. If we want school children to
improve in math and reading, require
schools to test them frequently in
these areas. Chances are, the schools
will make whats measured a higher
priority.
No doubt, you could add many more
examples of this principle. Notice,
though, that the converse is true,
too: We often become complacent about
the things we dont monitor.
I have some friends, for example,
who got married and then put their
marriages on autopilot, neglecting to
ever gauge their spouses evolving
needs. Not surprisingly, the
unmeasured needs ultimately became
unmet needs, leading to
unanticipated needs for marital

counseling! The counselors wisely

advised them, among other things, to
keep closer track of what the other
person wanted from the relationship
and to make such conversations a
habit. You get what you measure.
Its not an automatic cause-and-effect,
of course, but the principle is a useful
one. Were more attentive to the things
whose progress we track. As a result, we
are then better positioned to make
changes in those areas.

Designing Your Own Measures

To this point in the Workbook
youve done some self-assessment,
set goals, and drafted a plan for
pursuing those goals. To make
lasting progress, though, you should
supplement your LifePlan with a way
to assess your progress for each goal.
A weight loss measure is easywe
get a scale. For our intangible
spiritual and career goals its a bit
more challenging, but not less
important. So heres, the final action
step:

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ACTION STEP
For each action item youve created in your LifePlan, develop
some way of measuring your progress (if youve set SMART
goals, this should be feasible since the M in SMART stands for
measureable). Add these measures to your plan from Step
Three.
If your plan includes growing in patience, for example, youll
need some good measures of your patience. Maybe its the
number of times you raise your voice every day. Maybe it
entails getting weekly feedback from your spouse. Maybe it
means using the CCI instrument from Step Two every six
months or so. Whatever the measures you choose, make a
priority of actually using them.
The same is true with your career aspirations. You have a
plan in place for moving toward your desired destination.
Now you need a speedometer and odometer to tell you how
fast and far youre moving. Develop some gauges. Perhaps
its a quarterly personal retreat to reflect on your progress.
Perhaps the measure involves others providing feedback.
Regardless, put something in place to monitor yourself and to
hold you accountable. Thats a key to permanent progress.

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For more resources like this one, please visit us at

www.Christianity9to5.org
________________________
Michael Zigarelli is a Professor of Leadership and
Strategy at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, and the
former the Dean of the Regent University School of
Business. He is the author of several books, including
Influencing Like Jesus, Management by Proverbs and
Cultivating Christian Character. Michael is also the
creator of Christianity9to5.org and Assess-Yourself.org.
Contact him at [email protected]

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