Defining Your Core Themes: Spirituality
Daniel was a successful, bright and up-and-coming attorney at a prestigious law firm. He had spent the last 14 years of his career building up his practice and honing his expertise as a trial lawyer. In spite of all this, Daniel knew something was missing in his life and career. A devoted family man, he was involved in his church and community, but that wasn't enough.
In recent years, Daniel was less and less satisfied with his law career and found it to be ever more challenging to prepare for court cases.
When I first encountered Daniel, in the course of our discussion, I asked him what he really wanted to do in his life. He hesitated a moment and looked at me in a very serious manner and said, "You probably will think this is silly, but I want to bring as many people to the Lord as I can." He had always been a deeply religious individual and being in a courtroom in a contentious environment began to wear on him.
Additionally, as we discovered in his history, Daniel was an intelligent individual and realized that the legal field did not provide the proper intellectual stimulation that he needed. The combination of inner conflict with being a litigator, the lack of intellectual stimulation and his strong desire to do something intimately associated with his spiritual side resulted in Daniel leaving his career in law.
Finding a More Meaningful Career
Daniel is now a key executive in a college campus ministry program. After several years of being involved in the program, he seems to have found his niche and consequently has increased his level of satisfaction and contentment 100 fold.
Daniel is a classic example of someone who has always felt deeply about some aspect of his life, in this case his spiritual side, but had never seriously considered pursuing a career in this area. He felt that volunteer work and being involved in his church would satisfy his needs. Oftentimes, one's vocation and strong interests outside of work can be the very thing that satisfies one's Core Themes.
The power of Daniel's Core Themes led him to making the right decision for he and his family. Daniel's decision was a courageous one when you understand that he walked away from a successful career in law and was facing the prospect of having to find a profession where he could still support his children, his wife and the family dog.
|
Career Case Studies