Today, I want to talk to you about something essential. Many people never find their passion in life and spend their entire lives wondering what they’re supposed to do with themselves.
I will show you how you can change all that and finally figure out what you’re meant to do. Wouldn’t it be great to find your passion in life?
God wants you to do new things with your life. As He presents His plans to you, He will give you dreams that may overwhelm you.
They will force you to trust in Him rather than your own strengths. If you are not ready to launch yourself with a leap of faith, you’ll stay on the launchpad, not achieving your moonshot.
To live the life God wants to give you — and the one you are longing for — you need to adopt the right mindset. To quote Steve Magness, an expert on health and human performance, “Mindset matters! The lens through which we analyze the world influences everything.”
When Peter received a new vision from God, he felt overwhelmed, but he was ready to embrace the change. God told him to eat pigs and bugs. He could have said, “No way!”
He did not hold on to his usual customs.
You, too, must be willing to let go of your routine and prepare for the new things God has planned for you.
It all comes down to adopting a growth mindset. In the words of the world-renowned Stanford University psychologist, Carol S. Dweck, “People with a fixed mindset — those who believe that abilities are fixed — are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset.”
Simon Sinek, the British-American author and inspirational speaker, also believes in the importance of adopting a winning mindset. He writes, “Leading with an infinite mindset in an infinite game does move us in a better direction. Groups that adopt an infinite mindset enjoy vastly higher levels of trust, cooperation and innovation and all the subsequent benefits.”
Because of maintaining an open mind, Peter flourished. When the conservatives of the church criticized him for eating with Cornelius, he said, “If God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” Peter’s growth mindset enabled him to see what other people couldn’t and allowed him to help them to understand God’s plan.
Alinka Rutkowska, the CEO of Leaders Press, publisher of best-selling books about business, concludes, “The greatest weapon in any entrepreneurial arsenal is not money—it’s mindset.”
For the first ten years after graduating from university, I believed I should not focus on my professional success. I thought God would not like it if I earned too much money. I adhered to the motto, “I don’t live to work. I work to live,” misinterpreting it to justify not being as successful as I could.
But then, gradually, I came to understand what success as a Christian really meant.
If you think, as Christians, we shouldn’t pursue earthly riches and recognition, you are right. Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
There is nothing wrong with being humble. After all, Jesus became the ultimate example of humility when He took the form of a servant.
We must carefully distinguish the difference between humility — which Merriam-Webster defines as “the freedom from pride or arrogance” — and false modesty — merely pretending not to want wealth or recognition.
But there is nothing wrong with success, either.
In fact, the Bible mentions success many times. In the Book of Joshua, it says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
The Book of Proverbs says, “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”
In the same way, God wants your life to have the most significant impact possible. As Paul said, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul dedicated his life to winning the prize of truly answering God’s call. I have competed in many long-distance races in my life, and I can tell that you must seek success to do well. Likewise, in our walk with Christ, we must strive to follow His lead with excellence.
I encourage you to adopt a Godly view of success. What would this type of success look like in your business? How could you achieve it?
If we truly follow Jesus’s formula for success, we forego personal recognition and focus instead on saving people and restoring Creation. As Paul concludes, “To him be glory forever.”
If our success gives all the glory to God, it is healthy.
If we pursue personal recognition, we mistakenly adopt this world’s values.
As part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, He taught the crowd the Golden Rule: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” This was a revolutionary idea that challenged people’s attitudes by suggesting they stop focusing on themselves and instead concentrate on helping each other more.
As an example of the Golden Rule, Jesus mentioned the Roman law that required people to help soldiers carry their equipment for a distance of up to a mile. When the crowd booed this seemingly unfair mandate, Jesus shocked them by saying, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Jesus was asking the people in the crowd to think of the soldiers as tired men who needed help rather than as oppressors of their freedom.
He was challenging them to change their attitudes.
Jesus made an important point that day: following Him means changing your attitude because serving God is not about yourself; it is about helping others.
That is a difficult concept to grasp, especially in today’s individualist society where so much of the focus is on “I, Me, Mine, and Myself.”
If you embrace Jesus’s Golden Rule, you may not receive accolades, likes on LinkedIn, or a high-powered career, but you will achieve the kind of success that truly counts.
To find your passion and live a purposeful life, you must first mentally clear the way by opening your mind to God’s new ideas.
Any one of the obstacles we talked about can hold you back and keep you from living your best life. Eliminating these obstacles and cultivating a growth mindset are vital but may take time and patience. Remember that it will be well worth it in the end because you will find your passion in life.
