Conversation, careers, and God
- At January 24, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career Advice, Meeting Needs
- 0
Over the years I have grown weary of all the God-talk, including my own. There’s often an emptiness and a lack of ringing reality about it all.
Depends who you are talking to and when; it isn’t always like that to be sure. But most of us are usually better at talking (or writing) than actually living. The living part – that is the hard part. But all the god-less talk isn’t much better either. Really, it isn’t. If you are like me, you have listened to enough secular sermons during the past 10 years or so to sink a ship. And a large one at that; about the size of the Costa Concordia. How this figure of speech got started, I have no idea. But you know what I mean. Day after day, god-less preachers pontificate habitually from some media and university pulpits. Wave after wave of endless chatter, produced by people who often appear to be warm and attractive and sophisticated and lively and completely oblivious to God.
Read More»Unintended consequences
- At January 23, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career Advice, Meeting Needs
- 0
Life is confusing and complicated. On the one hand, a lot of day-to-day details are straightforward and plain. You make a list of things to do and then cross them off when they get done. You set your alarm clock and then wake up early in the morning. You determine a few goals and then go after them. You take charge and take action. Pay and purchase. Plan and progress. Seek and find. Work and succeed. Study and graduate. Ask and receive. Pursue and woo. You do what you plan on doing and it gets done. Simple. Right? So many things in life seem to required focused energy and 20/20 vision. Even when it comes to God. Part of the plain teaching of the Bible is that if you want to know God, if you really do, you will.
Read More»John Holland’s hexagon
- At January 19, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
Draw a picture of a hexagon in front of a group of career counsellors, and someone is sure to mention John Holland.
You will soon hear about a famous sociology professor at John Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) whether you want to or not. You can count on it. Someone will eventually blurt out something about Holland’s Occupational Themes – whatever they are. You will become aware of 14 different RIASEC tests you could take in no time flat. I wonder if anyone has ever been so closely identified with a specific shape?
The small island nation of Bermuda may rightfully lay claim to the triangle, but one solitary individual in the whole wide world has the hexagon; that would be John Holland.
John and his trusty hexagon have been around for over half a century. And while John Holland is now gone, his hexagon remains. I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression: I am thankful for John Holland and even for his hexagon. For his occupational interest tool – and illustration method – has helped many career-confused souls gain a greater sense of self-understanding.
Knowing who you really are makes it that much easier to make major career and life decisions with confidence. But if you can’t identify core areas of interest it becomes very difficult to know where to begin.
So picture a pristine hexagon in your mind, with one of the following letters, RIASEC, parked proudly at each particular point. Traditionally, the “R” is placed on the top and to the left, with the rest of the faithful letters following in a clockwise direction. Got it? Then, in order to avoid the build up of too much suspense, quickly fill in the following information beside each letter:
- Realistic: This is the “‘Git’er’ done” group
- Investigative: And here we have the “Reflect & dissect” group
- Artistic: Followed by the “Creative/artsy” types
- Social: And the “I-just-love-hanging-out-with-you-guys!” crowd
- Enterprising: Not to forget the “Make-it-happen-management-type-people”
- Conventional: And finally, the “Faithful-background-organizers”
You should be aware that you are dealing with my interpretation of John Holland’s theory. But although we are just scratching the proverbial surface here, I think I am getting pretty close to what he was trying to communicate.
So what is all the fuss about? John’s theory suggests that each person reading this fits into some of these categories better than others. Apparently, most people usually find that they fit in three out of the six categories. In other words, three of these letters probably won’t describe you.
Let’s say that you just read this description and instantly gravitated to the artistic group; point number three on the hexagon. And let’s also say that you are actually a hard-core Artistic-type person, very creative indeed, who has just signed up to spend the next four years studying to be a Conventional accountant. Oh, no. John Holland’s theory would suggest that you might as well sign up for a four-year prison term, and that whoever you end up working for may wish that you had.
Okay, so I may be overstating things just a little bit, but you get the idea. Does it make sense to try to ram your artistic self into a conventional-shaped role? No. If you really enjoy working outside with your hands, accomplishing important and meaningful tasks, would it be a good idea to train for a career that involves sitting at a desk all day? Hardly. And if you are as sanguine and social as the day is long, would you really want to commit to a career that involves working alone most of the time? Unthinkable. That would be crazy. If you haven’t been the life of one single party as long as you have been alive, why would you ever commit to a highly relational career? Why?
Sure, you may need to tough it out and do what you have to do sometimes. Many people, particularly in poor countries, don’t have much of a choice when it comes to what they do for a living. But if you can choose, be sure to choose wisely and choose well.
In case you are wondering, I have taken one of the 14 RIASEC tests mentioned above and came out as an IAC. And what am I doing right now? I am focused on typical IAC type work while developing and managing this website. If I was more of an enterprising individual, this website would likely be much farther along than it is right now. But that is alright, because I like to analyze; I like to create; I like routine. I enjoy writing and working at a computer day after day.
How about you? Where do you see yourself? Where do you fit? Click here to find out more about your occupational profile and John Holland’s hexagon.
© Career & Life Direction 2011. All rights reserved.
Building a website
- At January 17, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Meeting Needs
- 2
If you have access to a computer that is connected to the Internet, and you have an e-mail address, you can set up your own website for free. Free is good. And you can do this no matter where you live. You can begin to establish a personal online presence fairly fast, if you really want to.
Today, I am going to tell you how to set up your own free website using a popular blogging platform known as WordPress.
This process is easy looking back, but you will likely feel like throwing your computer out the nearest window at least a couple of times, the first time around. Be prepared to be frustrated, for these things often take longer than you expect. Stay with it, though, and you will have your very own blog/website eventually.
Read More»Bears and boundaries
- At January 14, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 4
Being a bear wouldn’t be such a bad gig. Working in the Rocky Mountains, I bumped into a number of a bears over the years, a few grizzlies but mostly black bears. Quite a life. One adolescent black bear we named “Elvis” used to just sit, or occasionally wander around, by the edge of the treeline while our tree planting crew was hard at work. Day after day we would come to work, on a large cut-block (an area that had been logged) in British Columbia, and day after day Elvis would come and watch us work. Fill up on berries when it is warm, hang-out in the forest, watch the people, hibernate when it gets cold…not bad. Not bad at all.
Read More»Free at last
- At January 11, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Meeting Needs
- 4
“You can’t make me hate you.” This stunning sentence sticks in my mind after skimming through a book by Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Voice of the Martyrs. There is already more than enough sorrow hanging in the air, from the previous post, so I won’t go into his situation in great detail. But this Romanian pastor suffered greatly. He was at the mercy of his communist captors, and they offered him none.
But at least on one occasion, he still responded to his enemies with these words: “You can’t make me hate you!”
A Christmas carol, penned during the Civil War in the USA, suggests that this is not a common human response to pain. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas day” contains this familiar line: “But hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.” How many people reading this can honestly say that they have never been overcome, even temporarily, by this powerful emotion? Confinement. Injustice. After too much of it, for too long, even righteous anger can give way to rage. Hate is strong.
Read More»Corrie’s story
- At January 09, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
Corrie ten Boom has been gone now for almost 20 years. She died on April 15, 1983 in California. It was her birthday. She was 91 years old.
Corrie would have likely stayed in the Netherlands and lived out her days in relative obscurity; that is, if it hadn’t been for the remarkable way she responded to a period of intense suffering in her life. But perhaps you already know her story. If you don’t, be prepared, for it will bring back awful memories of the dark days during World War II.
Adolf Hitler had big plans and a big army. And the world found out what he had planned and just what his army could do on the eve of World War II. Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Norway, Denmark, England, the Netherlands, etc…they all found out, the hard way.
Read More»Pivotal life events
- At January 07, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 0
Joni Eareckson dove into a lake and broke her neck as a teenager. A tragic accident and a pivotal life event. Paul Hewson joined a band with a bunch of guys from his high school in Dubin, Ireland. A pivotal life event for Bono and his little band – U2. Albert McMackin invited a young farm boy to come and listen to a travelling evangelist one day in North Carolina. For Billy Graham, and millions around the world, this was a pivotal life event.
Some things you and I experience in life matter more than others. A whole lot more. They pack more of a punch; they shape our future. In contrast, so many things in life are really neither here nor there.
My first car, for example, was an orange Chevette. A more lemon-like colour would have been more appropriate. As I recall, on one awe-inspiring occasion my “Shove-it” reached the impressive speed of 65 miles per hour. No really, it did. No hills, no tail wind – nothing. Just a beautiful stretch of open highway somewhere in Minnesota. Even now, I can feel the rush and picture the pistons almost popping out of the hood. If only the car-commercial people had been there. It was an event worthy of a national holiday. And, as you can see, this was truly an important moment in world history, and a personal turning point in many ways.
Read More»Direction & Deutschland
- At January 04, 2012
- By Nathan
- In Career & Life Planning
- 2
Climbing your “Mount Everest” will inevitably take more effort than planning the trip. Setting goals and putting together a practical plan to reach those goals takes time and involves hard work. If you do not have a clear sense of direction in your life right now, your energy needs to be focused, first of all, on establishing one. But once a general focus is determined, and hopefully a very specific plan is in place, the work begins in earnest.
It can be discouraging facing the prospect of a long and difficult journey. Are you up to the task? Do you have what it takes? You may not feel like you do, but do not let those feelings deter you. And, if you are looking for some inspiration in your ongoing efforts, may I suggest turning your attention towards Deutschland. That’s right. Germany.
Read More»