If you want some encouragement today (and maybe a fresh way to look at work/life balance), this one is for you.  You'll find some practical wisdom and advice from Simmons' Chief Administrative Officer, Russell Tooley, as he shares about integrating faith, family and work. Also, we'll touch on the theology of work, and the art of being present - whether at work or home.

“I want to grow professionally and personally, but I struggle to follow through on the goals I set (Exhibit A: There is a very expensive and slightly used treadmill that has sat upright and collected dust since Jan 10th). What can I do in the goal setting process that would help me grow in this area?” 

“The idea of contentment in life is intriguing and inspiring, but it feels unrealistic in today’s culture. What does being content look like? How do I experience contentment AND keep pursing growth? I just don’t want get stagnant, if that makes sense?”

2020 is almost over. Finish strong and consider doing one last hard thing this year.

"I’m Only 23."

That was what I told Chaplain Wil Gardner when he offered me a job as a chaplain at Simmons back in 2010. I tried to talk him out of hiring me. I asked him if I could come back in 30 years when I had enough life experience to do and know everything that this job requires of you.

He said what eventually made me commit to Simmons, “Nick, I don’t want to hire you based on what you know. I want to hire you because of how you learn.” That’s what I needed to hear. I just turned 30 yesterday. I thought alot about how much I have been able to learn and how God has really transformed me through books I've read, personal experience I've gone through, and the chance to walk alongside people through some of their most difficult and challenging moments. God has been gracious and the growth has been significant.

Success. We strive after it. We devote an enormous amount of our energy pursuing it. But can you define it? Most often, managers will define success as a healthy bottom-line. And they are not wrong, but there is a tension here, isn’t there. The tension is that you work for a company that has a value of Put People First. Many managers feel the tension to choose either results or relationships. I want to challenge you today that it is not an either/or, but rather effective leaders realize that success is predicated on my ability and willingness to value both results and relationships. So what does that look like and how does a manager make that shift in thinking?

I look around me and all I see is change. Seasons change. Relationships with people change. Companies change. Our bodies change.McDonald’s started selling breakfast all day. Everywhere I look - I find change. But what is it in me that wants to avoid it? And what might my life, relationships and attitude look like if I were to approach change differently?

There is an awful lot going on in our world today. In the rare times that I turn on the news anymore, it feels like a daunting task when I begin to think of what I could do to bring any positive change at all. It can be easy to slip into despair or, as I like to call it, “learned helplessness” - and yet there is still some incredible opportunities that you and I have to have a positive impact on the world around us.

One day I am going to die. How’s that for an opening statement? Not a fun thought, no doubt. But it’s a real one. A friend of mine lost a mother over the weekend, and as I have been thinking about her and her family on my drive to Emporia yesterday, I got to thinking about some important things. Things that often only death can get you to think about.

“Going in circles,” does this describe how you feel sometimes trying to get through a busy, maybe hectic day...?

I was sitting at a table at ONYX Coffee Lab in Springdale with my mentor early one morning in April last year. The focus of our conversation was how to better invest in our family. We had been meeting once a month for the last four months. I had his trust and he had mine. There was a moment where the conversation paused and he asked a question that I will never forget, “Nick, where is your finish line?”

Some people seem to drift through life headed in no specific direction. They are clearly without defined objectives, and it is not surprising that many adopt a lifestyle that lacks meaning and purpose. They just drift through life like a tumble weed being blown by the wind, first one direction then another.