For some twenty years, I have asked attendees at my Career Planning workshops to prioritize the following five elements that drive each of our life’s course: career, country, family, God, and self. After analyzing this situation and the highly varied responses received through the years, I’ve determined that the optimum sequencing of life’s developmental building blocks to best ensure that living beings will have their best opportunity to succeed in and enjoy life is as shown below. See if you agree.

Your career and family welfare will advance in direct correlation to your level of commitment to developing your self…

1.  Self

Less than one attendee in 20 has placed “self” at the top of the priority list because they mistakenly think that self is meant to identify with the amount of attention people give themselves before others – including their families and children. When actually self is intended to measure to what degree a person is able to develop his/her personal being. Only an individual who has committed to fully developing his/her God-given talents can become a truly effective parent, spouse, citizen, leader, career professional, etc. Your career and family welfare will advance in direct correlation to your level of commitment to developing your self.

2.  God

I position God (religion/spirituality) second because life’s challenges can from time to time leave us without hope to such a degree that only spiritual guidance will see us through life. Belief in a spiritual being of your choice is the most effective way to ensure development of one’s self.

3.  Family

Because the family unit is the building block that sustains life – dysfunctional families fail society every day, which means parents have a responsibility to each other, their children and mankind to raise their children within enduring stable family environments. Broken families weaken the fiber of life.

4.  Country

Because bad economies undermine business, political strife undermines confidence in the country and government over-spending cheats our grandchildren – it is imperative that citizens be knowledgeable about and participate in government. A weakened country undermines the lives and careers of every citizen.

5.  Career

You may be surprised that I have placed “career” as the fifth and last element within life’s natural order. My reason for doing this is because careers will have the best chance to flourish only when the prior listed four life-directing elements pave the way.

Whether you specifically agree with the sequencing presented above is far less important then your determining what sequence best serves your life’s purpose and living by it – because randomly developed lifestyles will rarely take you to your promised land.

(See my November 2008 Golf Course Industry magazine column entitled “Life’s Natural Order” for a more definitive discourse on this subject.)

* * * * *

This is the last blog message in the Job Securing Tip series. The 2010 blog schedule will address the following topics within a series format in the order presented:
1. a Chapter Management Manifesto
2. an Assistant’s Career Manifesto, and
3. a special series entitled, Irrefutable Career Truths.