I remember my first “job” (if you can call it that) as a kid. I would collect aluminium cans at the local football fields after the weekend’s games. It was dirty, smelly, and heavy work, but I quickly learnt the value of money and hard work. A couple years later I upgraded to delivering advertising material to letterboxes and by the time I finished high school I was making good money washing cars. While the money was nice, the character development and values I learned while working were significantly more valuable and enduring.
While studying at university 20 years ago, I will never forget two nuggets of information I heard. Firstly, the average person while change careers (not just jobs) 7 times in their lifetime. (Reference: Career Advice). Secondly, half of the jobs in Western world will no longer exist in 25 years. (Reference: Big Think) . So there I was at university, studying for a career that I would most likely leave in the next 10-15 years. What was I doing to prepare myself for the other jobs that I would have later on in life?
This is when I realised that knowledge and skills can be easily learnt, but a person’s character and values will “make or break” their life. Those small, seemingly insignificant choices that we make every day about what is important in life become a lifestyle on which our careers are based. Most job interviewers are looking for a combination of knowledge, skills, character and values. Who wants to employ (or work with) a person who is constantly negative, lazy and selfish, regardless of their ability to do the job? That was when I decided to make sure I had the character and values needed to be successful for ALL of my life, not just the next 5-10 years. It is crazy to journey through life not knowing where you are going or how you are going to get there.
This life education isn’t taught in regular schools or universities. The truth about life is in the Bible and YWAM has some great courses and teachers who guide me through my journey. So make sure that you take the time to discover your purpose in life, why you are here, and how you will get there. It is an investment into your long-term future of peace, purpose and fulfillment.
Daniel Colwell
Daniel has served with YWAM Townsville for 5 years along with his wife and 3 boys. He loves camping, science fiction and philosophy.
Recent Comments