Several years ago I came across a quote from Goethe that struck me enough to make a copy for future reference.  Recently, I’m witnessing frequent evidence it is working in my personal experience.  The quotation is, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.   A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”

A couple weeks ago, what I view as a very significant example of providence moving in response to my commitment to become an expert on the subject of saving retirement occurred.  Out of the blue, I received a follow up call from Edward Jones asking me if I would be interested in reconsidering employment as a Financial Adviser with them.  It has been well over a year since my last communication with them.  It soon occurred to me that they could play a very meaningful part of my commitment to become an expert helping people save their retirements.  Their method of doing business is perfect for my style.  They have a fabulous training and development program to equip me.  And they have a great company culture and the kind of people I would love to work with.  I’m committed to give it my all to see if I can land this opportunity!  Let’s see if providence continues to move.

I’ve come to the realization that I need a bigger vision for our lives if I expect it to “move” me to consistent action.  Actually, my first recognition of this was setting on our balcony at the Ihiani Hotel two years ago when I had a strong two hour session with myself.  As I enjoyed that Hawaiian scene, I wrote my letter of commitment to myself that I would not continue to live the mean existence we were living in my job at that time.  The Lord subsequently moved me out of that job and has given me a great opportunity to create our new future.  That future includes both a better destination as well as a better journey to the destination.  They are actually one and the same.  Here are the current components of my vision for our journey/destination.

My bigger vision is to become a nationally recognized expert on how to help myself and others overcome inadequate retirement resources and income.  My vision is that my new career will be big enough for it to provide us the kind of income that will allow our lifestyle to include the following components.

1.  Spend two months each year in Hawaii with visits from Brett and Marc, Amy and the girls while there.

2.  Spend a couple weeks with Brett in Seattle each year.

3.  Payoff our mortgage and all debt.

4.  Build sufficient retirement resources, though I still want to continue my career 15-20 hrs/wk for as long as God allows.

5.  Do what I can to help Marc and Amy make their business a success.

6.  Continue my personal growth, creativity and innovation.

Many years ago, the Lord penetrated my consciousness, changed my life and set me on a different course that has brought me to the place I am today.  There were several significant pastors and Christian authors that have shaped my beliefs and my journey.

Over the past five years or so of reading and personal research the Lord has continued to show me application of my beliefs to my practical personal growth.   He has provided me some significant contributors along the way like Stephen Covey, Michael Gerber, Robert Kiyosaki, Tim Ferriss, Jonathan Fields, David Allen and Jim Loehr.  They each have contributed a lot to my approach for personal growth.

During this time, I occasionally heard the name Tony Robbins but had the impression he was a “motivation guy” with little other substance.  A few months ago, he began to become involved with some of the internet marketing experts I follow.  I began to notice that the things he had to say made sense and explained some things I had not been able to understand clearly before.  So I began to check him out and sure enough, there was a lot of substance there that would explain his popularity.  I began to read his book, “Awaken The Giant Within” last week.  I’m amazed not only how much he knows about what can create progress in our life, but also how clearly he explains it.  It’s been a real eye-opener for me that I feel sure will shape my progress for years to come.

I’ve decided to begin using this blog as my personal journal of ideas and thoughts that occur to me concerning my personal development.  I need a place to keep this on-going record and this blog will work as well as any place.  Over the past two or three years I’ve read a ton of books and done considerable personal research concerning my personal development and career.  I have notes everywhere that I’ve scratched down, but there’s little or no organization to them.  They could be a lot more useful to me if they were organized, so I hope to accomplish that here with my future thoughts.  Maybe I’ll eventually work-in my old notes as well.

“For things to change, you’ve got to change.”  That’s the hard part – YOU!   You’ve got to change!  Sometimes change is forced on us  and other times we initiate it.  But even if we initiate and welcome the change, it isn’t easy.  Change is new territory and dictates that you’re going to be facing a whole lot of unknowns.  Unknowns bring with them a bunch of challenges, frustrations and fears.  All of these tend to slow down the intended positive results we hoped for when we made the change.

The great outcomes we were looking for when we made the change often elude us because YOU take your eyes off the outcome you were looking for and begin focusing on the fears that result from the unknowns. Of course, you have to deal with the unknowns and that’s fine.  But we have to remember two important principles while we’re in the midst of dealing with  unknowns.  First, don’t loose your vision.  Keep your eye on your intended outcome.  Second, don’t let the unknowns create fears that slow you down or even kill your passion.  Easier said than done, but we have to do it!  Write these two principles down and hang them someplace where you will see them all the time.  It will help you keep your mind focused on where you want to go and overcome the hardest part of change; the YOU factor.

Keeping these two principles ever before us, we can then deal with the unknowns standing between us and the intended outcome we were seeking when we made the change in our life.  How do we eliminate the unknowns associated with our objective?  What are the best methods of getting past our lack of knowledge, experience or insight?  That discussion will be the subject of our next  visit together.  Please feel free to add your thoughts concerning the “hard part” of change.  Till next time, thanks for the conversation.

Jim

It is a very interesting new chapter in my life now as I actually step into that whole new world I’ve been thinking deeply about for the past couple years. I have finally escaped the work I’ve done for the past 30 years and the release I feel now is hard to describe. It’s like getting out of prison. Oddly, even though the current economy is the bleakest it has been since the Great Depression, I feel more excited about the future than I have for years. There is so much opportunity out there to do work that is rewarding and really makes a difference. And I am free to choose the work I want to pursue; what is most important to me. If I had fully recognized the way this change in my life was going to make me feel, I’d have taken the leap years ago.

If any of this rings a bell in your experience, you might want to think about where you are versus where you want to be. And then remember the expression, “For things to change, you’ve got to change”.

Thanks for reading,

Jim Vickers

You know, you come to a time in your life where you think, there’s more to life than this!  Maybe you’ve worked long hard hours for years and you’re tired of the same old daily grind. You might be asking yourself if you’re fulfilling your potential.  What have I been missing all these years?  By now, you are approaching your so called retirement but you feel in your gut that you haven’t turned every stone yet. You’re not ready to hang it up, even though you want to get away from what you’re doing now. 

For some, the recognition comes gradually.  For others, it comes in a flash of insight.  “Hey, I don’t have to continue living like this!  There’s a whole new life out there!”  The time comes when you realize that it”s time for a change.  If any of this sounds familiar to you, how to deal with this time for change is what this  “Work Longer”  weblog is all about.

How your “time for change” works itself out may be different for each of us, depending on what you want from your “whole new life out there”. For some, it’s a matter of greater achievement, more financial security or higher recognition. For many, it’s the freedom to pursue personal passions, whatever they may be.  It could even be a combination of two or more of these objectives.  The point is, how do you make the transition from where you are now to where you want to be? What is your path?

The interesting thing you notice when considering the path at this stage of your life is that the path itself is now as important to you as the objective. It used to be that the objective was the paramount consideration. Now you recognize that the journey is as important as the destination. That’s different! And that difference is bound to alter how you go about the transition from where you are now to where you want to be.  In fact, if you look close enough, the path of transition is actually an integral part of “the whole new life” itself.

So the questions for you the reader are threefold. Does this discribe where you are now? How would you discribe the “whole new life out there” that you dream about?  And do you have a path for that journey?  We’d love to hear about you.