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Younger generations are often unfairly labeled as lazy, flaky, or not willing to work. When looking at the trends of working from home, flexibility of hours, freedom with benefits and mental health days, we have to consider what exists behind these values, like soul-less employment, or parents who worked all the time. I’ll outline six spiritual principles that (I hope) will reshape your understanding of work. Without these, our younger generation is consigning themselves to captivity and poverty without knowing it.

1. Service: Work is our service to others, not where we go to earn a living. Too many people get this wrong. Most people ask: “What do I get from this company for my time?” This question reflects how work is focused around oneself. The services we provide have a value in the marketplace, which is our compensation. When young workers on my sales team would ask: “Am I getting compensated for this extra work?” or “That’s not in my job description.” I would sit in disbelief. Later, when they would apply for a promotion, I passed over them because they proved to have a transactional commitment, not a commitment to serve. Those at the higher levels are working for the sake of the work (service), not for the sake of the pay.

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:42-43)

2. Humility: Nothing is more off-putting that workers who are cocky or overly certain. The antidote to being full of one-self is to empty oneself. Humble confidence is being self-aware of your strengths and contribution while remaining in a posture of learning and continual growth. Teachability and the ability to receive correction are vital at work. I’ve had employees who crumble under criticism or who constantly need praise or recognition. A humble person doesn’t require assurances. Those who seek recognition, are not humble.

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)

3. Competition vs Excellence: There is a huge difference between being competitive and serving with excellence. Competition is a form of heart disease which is fueled by superiority (pride) and insecurity (envy/jealousy). Excellence is the opposite, when we self-donates the very best we can into every task. Excellence doesn’t half-ass anything. It goes beyond good enough, but it also surrenders the outcomes. Competition is the assertion of will to control or manipulate only the outcome one desires. Good leadership harnesses excellence and in doing so, makes their team extremely competitive.

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:16)

4. Integration: In a Russian nested doll, the smallest doll fits within every doll in the group, but each must fit in their appropriate sized doll to converge into a single doll. Our work ethos must integrate like nested dolls. People today are always trying to work “in their field” of study. That’s great if you can do it, but most college majors do not pay a living wage. This creates a challenge for many starting out their careers. Those unwilling to go where the opportunity exists, will live as non-player characters in their own life. It may take decades to integrate things, but I assure you, nothing is an accident or coincidence. My journey is all over the place and took me some time to integrate all the pieces. The sooner you see this, the sooner opportunities open up. Nothing is “outside your field.”

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

5. Passion vs Opportunity: Mike Rowe wisely said, “Follow opportunity, not your passion.” The worst advice my generation passed on was to “follow your passion.” If your passion doesn’t provide a living wage then you’ll certainly be applying these principles to the opportunity in your life that pays the bills. The deeper issue is when people are unwilling to work on their passion “on the side.” The reality is that these passion projects take decades to develop and they grow us as we grow them. If you start with the opportunity, you’ll develop the passion faster. Something I learned the hard way.

6. Work-Life balance: This phrase is an illusion. The idea of balance indicates these are perceived as competing forces in life. Work and life are not in competition, they are in concert with each other. If you get laid off, why is it bad news? Or why is a promotion good news? Because they directly impact your life. Life is in direct relationship to work. Even beggars work. They have to show up on the median of the interstate and stand there all day begging. Friday is not better or different than Monday except when you hate work. If you hate work, you’re probably hating some or all of your life. Forget balance, find a work-life flow, where each feeds the other. Behind it all is a Godly design that no human has ever escaped. The most freedom you will find is through your work, not despite it.

“If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Once you master the ethos of your inner self, then you can apply the following steps to really kick start your work.

1. Getting noticed in the sea of other applicants. The easiest way to stand out is to think “outside in” not “inside out.” If you are truly qualified for the job, you will know exactly what the hiring manager needs and you’ll embody it.
2. Show up. On time. Ready to serve. This automatically places you in the top 20%.
3. Have a ten-year plan. It takes years to master every aspect of your role. Don’t expect a promotion in 3 months.
4. Work for free. I’m shocked at the number of college grads who had no internship, or who turned them down because they were not paid. Gaining experience is payment enough. A low paying job is not “low-paying” if it’s giving you marketable skills.
5. Gratitude. Be grateful, humble, and serve all stakeholders in your sphere. Never look at a job and feel like you are “above” it. You aren’t. None of us are.
6. Know your boss’s job. Instead of criticizing your boss, work in such a way that you become the least of his/her concerns. Ensure they get all they need without asking for it.
7. Be creative. Set yourself apart in service by mastering your role. If you aren’t outproducing your peers, you have no claim to progress. Once you do, focus on innovation, not emulation.
8. Don’t get comfortable. Don’t focus on your comfort, focus on the work to be done.

If you need to launch a career, or find a new start, or explore how to get unstuck in your present role, reach out to me. Helping people with work is one of my most common discussions in my un-coaching sessions. I hope you can see that the struggle to launch or succeed in a career has more to do with what is going on in our inner self and mind, than it does with the opportunities surrounding us.

Poverty is not lack of money, it’s the mindset that lacks wisdom and forsakes these spiritual principles.

“A rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.” (Proverbs 10:15)

“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.” (Proverbs 28:19)

“A little sleep, a little slumber,  a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” (Proverbs 24:33-34)