Day Thirty-Four
GOOD WORK
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do…great work.
—STEVE JOBS
Never underestimate the prospering power of good work. Doing good work is not a drudgery to be endured—it is actually a gift from God! In The Prosperous Soul book, I provide a basic overview of what good work looks like and, specifically, how you can experience richness in each of the eight realms of life through your job.
Today, I want to help you see your job as a vehicle for holistic prosperity. I have given you a blueprint for what your career should be. However, I am sure that, after reading through the chapter in the book, you might be thinking to yourself, “I don’t feel that way about my current job,” or, “I will feel that way when I have my dream career.” Let’s address the nuts and bolts of how to enjoy richness, day after day, in a job that might not be ideal.
The fact is, you can actually enjoy good work even when you are working at a job that might not be your definition of perfect. How so? By maintaining a prosperity perspective. In an age where everything trains us to be negative, fault-finding, dissatisfied, and hyper-critical, learn to go against the flow. Start with your job. If it’s not ideal, you can still make some ideal choices. This entire week has been focused on practical keys that will help you enjoy prosperity in your present vocation while also positioning you for future promotion.
In order to be positioned for increased future success, you must enjoy where you are on the way to where you are headed. Prosperity was never meant to begin then; it is available right now. The only reason we limit prosperity to a future date (when we get that “one thing” or “one break” we are hoping for) is because we have embraced a limited definition of the word. It’s not as much about what we get out of our work as it is what we put into it. Prosperity is not living with the absence of struggles or problems—but embracing them with the passion that drives us to do good work. If you are waiting to do “good work” for when you are in your “perfect job,” you will never position yourself for prosperity.
Doing good work is not about a job. It’s about being fully present and committed to the good that can come from the work at hand—combining the principles of diligence and investment, being purpose-driven in every given moment. God will prosper every work you set your hands to when you approach it from a prosperity perspective—making all work good work. Your work is your signature—shoddy or excellent, either way it testifies of who you are as a person.
Honor God in all the work you do, however frustrating, discouraging, or thankless it may seem. God will promote you in due time if you are faithful in doing good. (See Galatians 6:9.) It is all about embracing the right perspective and working out of that place. You can always do good work—even great work—because, at the end of the day, you know that you are ultimately working for God.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Consider your current job/place of employment. What is your perspective about where you work? What about the work that you do?
Based on today’s lesson, why do you think it is important to have a prosperity perspective on your job?
Write out some practical decisions that you can start making on how you can change the way you approach your job. (Even though it may not be your dream job, you can still prosper where you are on the way to where you are headed. Prosperity begins with your perspective and attitude of heart.)
ACTION STEPS
Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift!
—ECCLESIASTES 5:18-19 MSG
Good work begins with an attitude, not an ideal scenario or circumstances. You can enjoy prosperity in your career right now simply by changing the way you approach your job. You may not be in your dream career, but you can position yourself for increased success by the quality of work you do today.