Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

Personal life

Is It Right To Pray For Business Success?

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Prayer Integrates

Many of us grew up with a compartmentalized view of life. The wisdom of the day went along these lines: “Your personal life is your personal life. Your business life is your business life. Don’t mix the two.”

While there is something to be said for keeping healthy boundaries and focusing appropriately, there is a dangerous downside risk to one’s ethics and behaviors. As we separate our spiritual life from any part of life, we’re dis-integrating.

The cost of being off-purpose in real dollars and human terms is incalculable.

As we advance from the agrarian age to the industrial age to the knowledge age and head into the age of purpose and meaning, integration—not disintegration—is the norm. Central to each individual’s personal life is their spiritual life or faith. If you are inclined to pray in your personal life, perhaps the role of prayer in your business life is a concept you’ve never considered.

Can I Pray for Business and Career Success?

  • Pray unceasingly.
  • Pray from your spiritual tradition for wise guidance, profitable relationships, and right decisions.
  • Pray for your co-workers, clients, team members, vendors, and competitors(!).
  • Pray before you go into a meeting or start on a sales call.

Just don’t pray as some sort of prosperity gospel or demand on God. To pray for business success isn’t really prayer. It is a demand and expectation for a result, not a relationship. Placing your agenda ahead of God’s agenda is akin to self-idolatry. It is the arrogance of telling God you know better. Pray, but trust God for the result that is best for your maturity and growth.

Formal and Informal Prayer

There’s formal prayer where you get down on your knees in a praying position clasping your hands together and perhaps using a book of common prayer or a guide. You may be in a service at a house of worship or next to your bed saying your prayers.

There’s also informal prayer. Invite prayer to be a casual part of your everyday walking about. Take one-minute prayer breaks. You’ll be amazed how much dead time opens on your schedule.

  • Do you wait for the hot water to come or the bath to fill? Pray.
  • Do you wait for a meeting to start? Pray.
  • Do you commute to work, drive to appointments, sit at your office desk, etc.? Pray!

Recognize these seemingly empty minutes and redeem the time with a prayer.

Our Unfair Advantage by Dr. Jim Harris
Click the book cover to buy it at amazon.com

“But Kevin, I don’t know how to pray for my business.” I hear that from time to time. A great resource for you is Our Unfair Advantage, written by my Christian friend and colleague, Dr. Jim Harris. Discover the why, what, how, and importance of getting counsel from your most important “silent partner”—the Holy Spirit.

Pray, Don’t Prey

Don’t, however, prey on people or use your faith as a means to excuse yourself from excellence, rationalize your mistakes, or create personal entitlement.

If integrity is an important value to you, then be sure to hold dear forgiveness as a complementary value. Master the art of being aware of your defensiveness, calming yourself, acknowledging your errors, asking for forgiveness, and giving thanks for the lesson learned.

You’ll become a more authentic and trusted leader when you can admit and right your wrongs within the scope of your control and authority.

This On-Purpose® Business Minute explores the power of being “on the job” and praying for owners and employees alike. What do you think? Is it right to pray for business success?

Is Your Business Running You Ragged?

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If your business is running you ragged, then it means you’re using old strategies in the new economy.

Is it time for an update? Perhaps this holiday season is a time to contemplate and reconsider your priorities.

In the 20th Century’s Industrial Age, much of the prevailing “wisdom” of the day was along this line of thinking: “Keep your personal life separated from your business life.” This compartmentalized approach to life provided clear lines between work and family. By and large, it worked to preserve a certain measure of sanity for much of the industrialized population that was engaged in routine, mindless work.

The downside of separation, however, is the dehumanizing of workers and poor business ethics.

When people are human resources then they are assets—commodities bought and sold by management. When we act one way on Sunday and another way on Monday, our decisions are easier and expedient but not necessarily morally sound or even best business practices.

The 21st Century, however, is in full swing into the Knowledge Age and the knowledge worker.

Separation of one’s work and life isn’t so easy because we carry our work in our heads.

It was easy to walk away from a milling machine, but keyboards surround us at work, at home, and on our smartphones and tablets. The lines between home and work are blurred beyond recognition.

The situation is so severe that many service companies offer “Work–Life Balance” programs to address the growing problem of employee workaholism, health, and burnout. Time management is nearly a joke anymore in this 24/7 society where our noses are glued to our apps.

Now as we stand on the edge of the Age of Purpose and Meaning where separation is a liability, just what are we supposed to do?

Do we separate? Do we balance?

The On-Purpose® Approach provides answers for the New Age. Balance in your life is a false ideal. (See: Do You Want A Balanced Life?) The 21st Century way of doing life and work is integration with healthy boundaries.

An integrated life has a point of integration—your purpose.

The more we are pushed upon, the more we need to know who we are and what is our purpose in life so we can resist, rest, and rebound. A solid core to our life enables us to establish appropriate boundaries so “Our yes can be yes, and our no can be no.” The risks of not knowing who we are is unhealthy to our body, mind, and spirit.

Gain Health! Gain Your Life!

When your business is running you, then you’re not running your life. Use the On-Purpose® Approach to run ahead and find the margin you need. The On-Purpose Peace and The On-Purpose Person set is an amazing coaching or small group experience to help you get ahead of your life so you’re in charge and on-purpose.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Why Am I Fearful?

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Does fear interfere with your life, business, or career?

What’s your fear? What are you fearful of? Where in your life do you say, “I am afraid of … ,” yet you know it is a hang-up—not a danger to your life or limb?

Would you like to be at a place where you can say, “I am not afraid” … and mean it? Read on!

Fear, like pain, is partially designed to be our friend, not our foe.

  • Fear keeps us from being in harm’s way.
  • Fear protects us from injury, peril, and even death.
  • Fear provides for self-preservation.

This is our good or helpful fear.

Bad or harmful fear debilitates our inherent motivation and destroys our confidence. The ripple effects beyond oneself can damage relationships, opportunities, jobs, finances, and more.

  • Fear can be an occupying foe taking up unjust strongholds in our spirit, mind, and body.
  • Fear can lead to anxiety that spawns a panic attack that triggers the fight or flight reaction.

This fear is unhealthy in every aspect.

Fear is not to be necessarily avoided; it is, however, to be understood.

Fear is a God-given guidepost to growth and healing. Facing fear, however, is not a solitary endeavor. Be wise and seek the help of a professional counselor or therapist skilled in working you through your fear in a progressive manner.

Why bother?

If you’re locked in unhealthy fears, your aspirations and dreams are muted.

When fear prevails it is hard to be on-purpose.