Power of Deliberate Decision-Making

Unlock the secret to purposeful living in this captivating episode! Join us as we dive into an inspiring conversation with a 25-year-old navigating his path forward, seeking guidance and clarity. Explore the profound power of decision-making and its pivotal role in shaping our lives, drawing wisdom from renowned business leader Clayton Christensen. Discover how deliberate choices lead to personal growth and fulfillment.

Key takeaways include:
- The importance of making decisions independently for meaningful progress.
- Insights on balancing divine inspiration with personal agency.
- How commitment to purpose helps overcome life's obstacles.

Don't miss out on this transformative discussion—tune in now to empower your journey toward a fulfilling life!

Just wanted to do a podcast really quick. Just had an amazing interview with a young man as he talked about his process. He's 25 years old. Talk about talking about his process of moving forward in life. And he came in for some counsel and for some direction on how to move forward.

He was on track. I'll tell you a little bit about his process. And and and the purpose of this podcast is to focus on the power of decisions and why it's critical for us to make our own decisions in life. God will not make decisions for us. And there's too many people sitting around waiting for some magical revelation or prompting or this, that, and the other, when the most important thing for us is for us to make a decision.

That's what what I believe God wants us to do. And and let me explain that. And and also drawing on some wisdom from the the one of the most prolific business leaders of the 21st century, Clayton Christensen. So again, back to the story. This young man, he got through with his, bachelor's program and then he was going to go to law school.

He took the LSAT, did really well on the LSAT, and, and then he filled out the paperwork to apply to loss a few law schools. And and then this is a process that I do believe that there is inspiration and direction from above, but it's in the combination of us making decisions. And and again, let me explain that as we try to weed this out. So he filled out the application, everything was on track. I'm gonna go to law school.

I wanna be a lawyer. And that night, after he filled it out, he was planning on hitting the submit button the next morning. He already made a decision, that's what he's gonna do. But something happened that night. He says, I couldn't sleep.

I became super uneasy and super uncomfortable, and I couldn't figure out what was going on. I was heading down a path that I had chosen and then I just hit this roadblock. And and then a thought came to him and says, just put this off for a while. Put this off for a while. And so I said, okay.

I'll I'll put it off for a while. And then that feeling eased up a little bit. Anyway, and that's brought him to South Florida and and then taking a couple months off, and that's how I met him and and, and as he's trying to figure out how to move forward. And then he called me earlier this week and says, hey. Is there a way I can come and and visit with you for a little bit?

And I I'm, I need some direction on on on how to move forward in life. I'm I'm I'm confused on how to move forward. And then he got here this morning, and then we started talking. And then he said to me, well and I and we talked about the decision making process and so so forth, and he said, I've already made a decision. I already know.

Since I talked to you on Tuesday, I I know where I'm heading and I know what I'm doing. Then he talked to me about his process. And this goes, let me let me read a statement from Clayton Christensen. Again, he's the the the business one of the business leaders of the 21st century. He talks about in his book, in the epilogue on well, let me just let me just read you a little bit what he says.

He says the way to maximize the value of the advice of this book, you must have a purpose in your life. And then he goes, a little bit deeper into, what that means. And then this I'm just gonna read one paragraph, and and we'll talk about it. He says, worthy purposes rarely emerge inadvertently. The world is too full of mirage, paradox, and uncertainty to lead this to fate.

And then, this next sentence is, I think, one of the most powerful sentences I've ever I've ever come across. He said, purpose must be deliberately conceived and chosen and then pursued. When that's in place, however, then how the company gets there is typically emergent as opportunities and challenges emerge and are pursued. So we could change that to mean, you know, for us individually as we're choosing our life purpose, choosing our career. Purpose must be deliberately conceived and chosen and then pursued, and when that's in place, however, how you actually get there is typically emergence as opportunities and challenges emerge in our pursuit.

For example, let's say, he says, I am gonna go to law school. That's what I want to do. I've I've made a decision to do that. He didn't make that decision. But if he did, then the emergent thing was, alright.

Which law school am I going to? And then he applies to 5 or 6 law schools. Let's say he get gets accepted to all of them, then he needs to make another decision and move forward as those things emerge, different opportunities. Or let's say, you know, 5 of the 6 rejected him and he was accepted by 1, then he may pursue that path. As that emerge, there's there's different things that can happen.

My process in life, I'm a super, super slow learner, I believe. I mean, it took me 14 years in 7 different universities before I finally graduated with my master's degree in clinical psychology. Because my path, I couldn't I couldn't decide what to study in school, and I am I would consider myself a religious person. I did a lot of a lot of praying. And I constantly would ask the question, god, what is it that you want me to do?

You know me better than and I remember my words. You know me better than anyone else. I just wanna be of service, and I wanna be able to provide for my family, and I wanna be able to find some joy in life, in loving what I do. Will you please direct me in what I should do? And I'm telling you, my experience like the heavens were shut.

I would get nothing. So I started to look at all these options. Do I go into business? Do I go into accounting? Do I go into computer science?

Do I do I go into psychology? And so, as I was going through this process, it took me a number of years because I I wouldn't make a decision. So I just would go to this school and that school and then another school, and it wasn't working out. Finally, I found a school that it was either a law school or a clinical psychology program, And I considered both. Do I wanna go into law?

Or do I wanna go into psychology? And I pondered those 2, and I finally made a decision. Where before, I knew I needed to go to school for me personally. I'm not saying that's for everyone. But for me, it was like, no.

You need to go back and get your education. So when I would quit and drop out of school, because I'd get frustrated with it, because I was hitting a brick wall, because I was not really pursuing anything I wanted in a in a career, in a in a in a certain track in school. And then different life things happened and then dropped out. My wife got sick with cancer, dropped out, worked 2 jobs, and then I've got the prompting, I need to go back to school. I started school again, and then, didn't like it and dropped out.

Anyway, finally, when I made the decision, this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get my bachelor's degree in liberal studies because I know I need a degree, and I still am not completely certain what I'm gonna do, but that I am gonna do. And then once I was committed to that, all my worries and anxieties went away. And then I went right on as soon as I got my bachelor's degree, I go, alright. If I wanna make a living, I can't do anything really with a bachelor of liberal studies degree that I knew of.

So I'm gonna go on and get my master's degree. And once I made that decision and was committed to it, then then it was just straight on. But I had to make the decision myself, and it took me like I would say, when I say I'm a a slow learner, I was sitting around waiting for God to tell me what to do, and he wouldn't do it. He was trying to get me to use my agency to make a decision on my own, because it's not gonna be in my best interest to constantly be told what to do. Now, if, and this is what I believe also, so this process of making decisions, purposefully, on our own, if you're heading down the wrong path, you will know it soon enough.

But you have to make a decision first and pursue it before God will intervene and say, this is not the right path for you. I'm gonna give you some real negative feelings and brooding feelings that you're not gonna be able to get over them. I mean, you can resist them if you want and continue. And that takes some wisdom and understanding to figure out if it's just difficult to get through an assignment or a project, or you're really getting a message you need another direction. And to me, they're very distinguishable.

I could tell the difference between those two because the many times in my life, it was like, no. You do not wanna go down this path. No. I know you made a decision, but I'm telling you this is not the right path. Other times when things like I was in my graduate program and it was just horrendously challenging and difficult, I was working full time, going to school full time.

It was like there were times I would, you know, sit with my wife and I said, I just can't do this anymore. It's too much. And then, I'd go to sleep and wake up the next morning and she would just gently say, get your shoes on and go to work. Go to school. And I had the energy and the reframe to do it.

It was super hard but it wasn't that same negative. You're on the wrong path. There are differences between those 2, and I encourage you to examine those in your life. But the key concept to what I'm saying in this podcast, Let me read this statement again by Clayton Christensen. Purpose must be deliberately conceived and chosen and then pursued.

And then that's where commitment to your chosen task comes in because there are gonna be challenges. It's the obstacles well, there'll always be obstacles and challenges. Right? You'll be in school and you'll get sick. You'll the kids your kids will get sick, or you'll be financially struggling.

Those are just obstacles, and there are always ways around those obstacles. And that comes from being committed to your purpose. But, one, we each must choose for ourselves. It's not going to be given to us what to do. And here's the interesting thing with this young man that I met with.

He says, before I made the decision, he says, I felt like I was in hell. And one definition of hell, from his perspective, was hell is not being able to progress. Right? Damnation, a dam is damned, things are blocked. And when we're not making decisions and and deciding on a purpose on specific things, then it is that you're stuck.

You're not making progress. And when we are not making progress, we experience what it's like to be damned. And so, if you are in that place, if you are struggling to find a purpose or meaning in your life, begin by making a decision. And I promise you, as you begin by making one decision, and then you build on that decision, and you use your agency and your God given right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness through your own ability to choose, you will find your way. That you are are the instigator of all things.

You have to make things happen. You know, and I've heard these many statements before, and it's becoming clearer to me. God can do nothing with us, save according to our faith. We first must decide. We first must choose.

And then pursue that through commitment, and there will be power infused into your life that will help you get over any obstacle that you're dealing with. And, again, the question, if you're dealing with anxiety, depression, and really, really difficult relationship issues, you know, every day perhaps you just need to make a decision on how you're gonna pursue that day. What exactly are you gonna do? And then time box things and then go and intently pursue something. And you keep pursuing things until until the windows open up a little bit more and things become a little bit clearer.

But again, I know I'm reiterating this this, this sentence, but I'll close the podcast with this. Your purpose in life must be deliberately conceived and chosen and then pursued.