Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

One year ago today, I walked away from a steady long-term career in insurance asset management and stepped into a new calling.

I surrendered everything that I had known for my entire adult lifetime.

I didn’t know where life would take me, but looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Here are 7 things that I learned or were solidified over the past 12 months, in no particular order, plus two additional bonus lessons for people of faith:

1.  Money isn’t everything. From a purely financial point of view, last May was a terrible time to leave. I was in my prime earning years. The company was on a strong growth trajectory. There were financial incentives for me to stay until age 55. The sensible thing to do would be to bide my time and push ahead.  But I knew that I would be simply going through the motions if I didn’t make a change. Life is too short to be spending most of your days doing something that doesn’t make you burn with passion. So, it was time to burn the ships. Since then, I have found contentment and blessings in other ways that would not have been possible if I had stayed. The conventional rules aren’t for everyone; chart your own path and do what’s right for you.
   
2. Career and life aren’t always up and to the right. When you’re young, you’re always striving for the next promotion, the higher pay, the better title, the corner office, and all the perks. You think you know what you want to do for the next 5 years, 10 years, etc. What’s your long-term development plan?  You get asked in interviews where you see yourself. The truth is that you don’t really know. Like the stock market, there are highs and lows. Sometimes you need to be willing to move to the side through a lateral move or humble yourself through sacrifice to a less prestigious role in order to reach new heights.
   
3. Be willing to try new things. Take on some low risk experiments; you don’t know what you will learn about yourself. You don’t need to completely walk away like I did, but take a small step of faith in the direction that you want to go and see what happens. Embrace the discomfort of not being the expert in something. You may find that you were missing out on more than what you realized.
   
4. You don’t need to have everything figured out in advance. For all of the biggest adventures in my life (leaving to go to college, the first day of my internship at Nationwide, getting married, having children, starting a second career, etc.), I honestly didn’t have the slightest idea how it would turn out. Instead of trying to map out the entire plan, what’s the next best step? You have more ability to figure things out as you go along than what you realize. When you let go of fear and start moving, another next best step opens up, and after a while looking back, the staircase will appear, and you will have gone much further than you could have imagined.
   
5. The value of honoring people and treating them well, even if there’s nothing that they can do for you in the moment.  In the past year, as my circumstances have been changing, there have been many situations where seemingly innocuous interactions and unremarkable moments have led to breakthroughs that I could not have foreseen. Your reputation precedes you. Your complete impact may not be visible to you. There may be people talking about you in arenas that you have not yet entered. By loving, serving, and valuing others, you will make a difference and will stand out.
   
6. Blessings can come from unexpected places when you least expect it. When I first decided to step away from my corporate career, I had a tentative plan to go back to graduate school so I could work for a church. Then, I started applying to churches. After a few swings and misses, I found a role where I could start right away that didn’t require further formal education.  After several months in that role, I thought that I was going to a senior leadership role for a local nonprofit. During the final interviews, I got a call to consider a role at the church closer to home where we were still members but had stopped attending due to my role elsewhere. I had no idea that there were any opportunities there.  Now, my commute is shorter than it’s ever been at 15 minutes, and I have been regularly able to eat lunch with my wife. I can sleep in a little and still get home earlier every day. Nothing like this was on my radar screen a year ago. I truly believe that if you consistently do the right things, eventually you will see the blessings of the harvest.
   
7. Leadership is influence not a title. When I gave up my “leader” title, I didn’t stop leading the people that were on my team. I still had their trust and the ability to impact their lives. I deeply miss the people that I left behind, but it brings great joy to reconnect with them and continue to value and serve them in new ways. Similarly, some of the greatest joys that I have seen are situations where I wasn’t the one making the final decision, but I was able to provide advice and inform those outcomes. How many times have we all seen where the true leader wasn’t the person in the corner office?  I’ve come to better understand this principle and be OK with not having the ultimate authority over the decision. However, I still love to lead and am considering how that will manifest itself in the future. John Maxwell does some excellent teaching on this topic if you want to dig deeper.
   

The following two items are targeted specifically towards people of faith.

1. There is no distinction between business and ministry. Business IS mission.  I used to try to conform to the mantra that there are two things that you don’t discuss at work - religion and politics. I would do my work as unto the Lord and be different, but I didn’t see my work in a secular role as ministry. Later, I came to understand that the marketplace is a mission field, probably the greatest opportunity to interact with and make impressions on people who are nonbelievers. I intentionally worked to be a servant leader who was not trying to self-promote at the expense of my staff and coworkers. Now, after having worked directly for churches over the past year, I more firmly believe that there is no line between secular and sacred.  Churches have a great and under appreciated opportunity to equip their congregations to be a light in a dark place in a way that breaks down preconceived notions of who Christians are. Churches can also create and support redemptive businesses that serve and connect with their communities. We can break down barriers by meeting needs.
   
2. If you are faithful and seek Him, God will get you to where He wants you to be. Put your trust in Him. I believe that both of the roles that I have had over the past year were intentionally arranged by the sovereign God. Seek Him first in prayer and fasting. Figure out how God speaks to you and listen. God may not want you to be comfortable. You will have to take up your cross and follow Him. It may be difficult, but press on toward the goal of the heavenly prize. Submit your plans to Him, and He will show you what path to take. There are good works prepared in advance for you to do; He will guide you to them.
   

I am praying that God blesses you as richly as I have been over the past year.

If you have made a similar transition and learned something from that experience, please share your lessons in the comments below or send me a note.

Finally, if there’s anything that I can do to help you and add value to you, please reach out.  I look forward to speaking with you.