Recently I installed three new poles and decorative lights on the driveway approach to our house.  Although I enjoy being a handy man, electrical work always makes me nervous.  I rented a trencher, dug a narrow ditch and carefully laid the line in the trench.  I then proceeded to install the outlets and run the line up each pole before completing the power attachment at our house.  Twice in this process I recoiled with the stinging shock of electric power surging through my arms – but wait – there was no power yet attached.  I hadn’t connected the line to the power source.  Just in the “anticipation” of power I was convinced I “felt” it shock me.

I find I’m not alone in this mysterious happening.  Commonly known as the Pygmalion Effect, scientists say this phenomenon occurs when “a false definition of the situation evokes a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true.”  In other words, once an expectation is set, we tend to act in ways that are consistent with that expectation, even when it’s not true.

Whoa – what about expecting a bad performance review, getting fired, being rejected by a friend, believing that all good jobs are going overseas, expecting bad “luck,” or “knowing” your business is going down the tubes.  Could the false anticipation make that event become a reality? 

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2

Could you reverse the phenomenon?  Do you think you could “expect” good things and have more good things happen?  Read the current statistics on jobs and business in America – you can find unprecedented growth or the worst employment situation in 30 years. 

Yes, I did complete the final hook-up and am now enjoying seeing the actual power surge through the lines to shine in the darkness.  I get a little extra enjoyment knowing that I overcame my fear in completing the task.  Those lights are a daily reminder that sometimes when I feel a “shock” it’s not reality but just a false expectation – that I can overcome.

From the Bible:

“What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.  I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”  Job 3: 25-26 (NIV)

Direction for Today:

Can you describe a time in your life when you “expected” a negative outcome.  What happened?

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Dan is the author of the New York Times best-selling 48 Days To The Work You Love , No More Dreaded Mondays and the newly released Wisdom meets Passion. He has been a guest on CBS' 'The Early Show,' MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Mathews,' Moody MidDay Connection, and the Dave Ramsey Show. Dan has spoken at the White House Christian Fellowship, and is in high demand at national conferences on aging and changes in the workplace, and at universities and churches.  Over 130,000 people have subscribed to his weekly newsletter, his 48 Days Podcast consistently ranks in the top 3 under Careers on iTunes, and the 48Days.net business community is viewed as an example around the world for those seeking to find – or create – work they love. 

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WORK SIX WEEKS A YEAR

Is getting more “stuff” always a reasonable goal?

Henry David Thoreau spent the better part of his life writing about man’s attempt to find truth and meaning through simplified living.  At some point he discovered he could live within the harmony and beauty of nature with a clear conscience and only work six weeks a year to support his lifestyle. 

Henry found it difficult to find a teaching job that matched his style so he worked briefly in his father’s pencil factory.  At age 28, Thoreau built a small house on Waldon Pond and began to devote his time to his writing.  Advocating the simple life, his “Walden” journey began with: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately………..”

This does not describe the typical journey of a college graduate today.  Rather, the expectation is an immediate six figure income and the lifestyle that accompanies “success.”  We live in a society that embraces indulgent consumption as a visible status symbol.  The fabulous house tells everyone you have arrived, even if it takes two incomes and being trapped in an unfulfilling job to make it work.  The house then sets the expectations for the country club membership, private schools for the children and attendance at the right social events.  We work longer hours to pay for the new “stuff” and then have less time to enjoy it.  We plead with God to bless us, but the only relief from the self-imposed pressure would be to win the lottery.

Where do we draw the line on consumption if we can “afford” the extras?  Do you really need all the house you “qualify” for?  Should we really thank God for providing when we finance a car purchase equal to an annual income?  Is a vacation in the Caribbean that much more satisfying than spending a week on a needy Indian reservation?  Is it truly God’s will that we buy into the bondage of debt?  How can we give generously when payments are overdue? 

Perhaps we, like Thoreau, could take time to savor the beauty of nature around us and to smell the fresh roses of everyday life.  “Simplify, simplify.”  “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

From the Bible:

“Give me neither poverty nor riches!  Give me just enough to satisfy my needs!   For if I grow rich, I may become content without God.   And if I am too poor, I may steal, and thus insult God’s holy name.”  Proverbs 30:8-9  (TLB)

Direction for Today:

What would your life look like if you really had a simple life?

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Dan is the author of the New York Times best-selling 48 Days To The Work You Love , No More Dreaded Mondays and the newly released Wisdom meets Passion. He has been a guest on CBS' 'The Early Show,' MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Mathews,' Moody MidDay Connection, and the Dave Ramsey Show. Dan has spoken at the White House Christian Fellowship, and is in high demand at national conferences on aging and changes in the workplace, and at universities and churches.  Over 130,000 people have subscribed to his weekly newsletter, his 48 Days Podcast consistently ranks in the top 3 under Careers on iTunes, and the 48Days.net business community is viewed as an example around the world for those seeking to find – or create – work they love. 

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We just had a large group of people from around the country here for our Coaching with Excellence event.  As we delved into the dynamics of coaching and the business of coaching the most pervasive question was, “How can I provide ministry and still have a profitable business?”  We gently laid out that providing a service with a heart of ministry does not mean you have to give it away.  Everyone receives a bigger blessing if there is a financial transaction.  The recipient of the coaching will be more invested in taking positive action, and the provider can pass the financial blessing on to family and others. 

Here’s an example of another continuing theme:  “I want to have a retreat center where I can have pastors, couples, struggling kids, orphans, etc. come to be refreshed.”  And my question is  - “Are you inviting people into your home now?  Are you offering to pay the rent for a person in need or to take them out to dinner?  Would you be willing to spend an hour with a young couple going through some challenges?”  And often the answer is “No, I’m expecting God to give me the $2 million I need to start this retreat center?

Really?    I spoke this morning with one of our 48 Days coaches who founded a very large ministry retreat center.  He recently talked with a young couple who feel “called” to go to China.  He mentioned that the local university has 2,000 Chinese students.  He suggested they could invite these students into their home, feed them dinner, engage in meaningful conversations and take them to church.  But the young couple had no interest in any of that.  They are called to go to China and are waiting on God to provide the resources so they can quit their jobs and be fully supported in this worthy service. 

How often do we overlook ministry opportunities because they don't fit our idea of being big enough?  If you’re called to help single Moms I doubt that you need to quit your job and raise support to fulfill that call.  If you want to provide a restorative place for pastors, I suspect you could offer that today, without waiting for a 300 acre ranch.  If you have a strong desire to minister to Muslims, come to Nashville, TN.  Get a job anywhere and you will encounter those of varied faiths.  Let your work provide the interactions that open the door for your ministry.

Or as the Quakers are known to say – “Let your life speak.”

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Is a “toothache” clouding your bigger picture of success and accomplishment?

Shakespeare once stated, “A man with a toothache cannot be in love,” meaning simply that the attention demanded by the toothache doesn’t allow that person to notice anything other than his pain.  In working with people going through job change, I often find Shakespeare's principle to be confirmed.  I see grown men ignoring their wives, hiding out to avoid seeing their friends, watching too much TV and eating foods that blunt their minds.  I see women embarrassed about yet another layoff stop going to church, spend money they do not have, read romance novels rather than inspirational material, and snap at their kids when asked an innocent question.  The “pain” of the job loss seems to mask the health, vitality and success they have in other life areas.

Yes, a crisis will scream for our undivided attention.  However, diverting your focus may in fact be part of the solution.  A couple of years ago I worked with a young man who had just lost $3.2 million in a business deal.  He was totally in the tank financially and in his career.  But rather than fretting about that I prescribed that he would go to the YMCA each morning for 2 hours.  His intense focus there initiated the vitality and creativity that allowed him to quickly spring back to success financially as well. 

Going through an unexpected or unwelcome change in your life provides a great opportunity to take a fresh look at your success in other areas.  Make additional deposits of success in your physical well-being.  The energy and creativity that can come from a sharp mind and body can generate the very ideas you need at this time.  Organize a pot-luck with a group of your friends – you’ll be surprised how many of them are going through a similar experience and providing one dish will cost you no more than eating your own meal.  Pick up a great book to read.  If you read only 10 minutes a day you can read a new book a month – and that can transform your insight and preparation for new options.  Stay connected spiritually.  You’ll realize that in the scope of eternity, this event is probably a tiny spot on the timeline.

From the Bible:  (Think a broken tooth doesn’t cripple you?)

“Break the teeth in their mouths, O God: tear out, O Lord, the fangs of the lions!  Let them vanish like water that flows away: when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.  Like a slug melting away as it moves along, like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.”  Psalm 58: 6-8 (NIV)

Direction for Today:

What is the toothache in your life that is demanding your undivided attention?  How can you continue being “successful” in other areas of your life anyway?

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