Life Lessons from the Corporate World

I work full time in a corporate setting. I will be working here for 11 years this year. When I first started, I was the only other person in my department besides my boss. Fast-forward to three years ago, we grew to seven people. These were made up of people raring to make their mark on the corporate world. Some were a few generations behind me. But then I realized it was time to move on. The writing had been on the wall for a while. It took me a while to understand. Corporate worlds tend to go with those who are fresh and new. I had been there too long.

Advice Number One: One cannot always be in control. Only God is in control. All. The. Time.

I think life happens when you aren’t looking. Looking back, it was clear there needed to be a shift in focus, a change. It was then that I asked to move to another department where I could work on things that were more interesting to me.

Advice Number Two: In life decisions such as this, give yourself time to think it over: talk to your best advisors.

In the former place, I took a lot of stress. The job presented a great deal of challenges from different parts of the company and from outside parts, too. But I was getting burned out. It was a lot of the same old stuff, with the same old hurdles in different configurations.

Advice Number Three: Go with the flow. Let the Spirit guide you. Don’t always think you have to have all the answers.

When I transferred, It felt good. I felt like the shackles of whatever imprisonment the old job had on me were freed from my hands.

Advice Number Four: What it really boils down to is whether the place you are in is where your salvation will be.

The other place I was at wasn’t congruent with my salvation. Salvation in terms of better health, less stress, a new focus, a growing up.

Advice Number Five: When a job makes it challenging to behave in a Christian way, or changes you from your true self, or endangers your psychological and physical well-being, then it’s time for a change.

Now that I’m in a different place, what is so great is that I have rediscovered old loves, especially writing. With my dad’s help, I renovated the spare bedroom into a “studio” where I have my desk and laptop. That is where I create essays, stories, blogs, and other writing projects. I applied to grad school and now I’m in classes to obtain a master’s in fine arts and creative writing.

Advice Number Six: Find where your spirit wants to grow and pursue it. Whether it is being a writer, a dancer, a poet, or a master gardener.

I feel as though what I went through two years ago was a godsend. It gave me the courage to reinvent myself. That’s key to growth as a human being. Nothing is permanent. God prunes us in ways that will make us better than we were.

Life has so many possibilities, stages, and phases. We need to learn to recognize the signposts. Where to turn and how to cope. We should reach out to those who are in our lives who can see objectively, and who give good advice. We must turn to prayer and meditation. It’s OK to ask God: What do you want from me? How do I cope with this dilemma?

Advice Number Seven: In looking at life, we should be courageous, bold, and creative.

Being courageous, bold, and creative was like stepping into what seemed to be an abyss. I remember someone in a retreat say: If the choice one is determining makes us feel good, then it’s OK to move toward it. If it makes you feel shaky and unhappy, it’s not where God wants you to go. But I realized that God was in this from the beginning. I could see His handiwork in what was happening in my life. I felt like He planted the seeds, and He gave me a thumbs-up to do the things I decided to do. He opened up my horizons, and that felt good.

There are times when I look back and feel how tough it was then. But I must shift my focus on what is here and now: homework, a new novel I’m writing, family and friends.

Advice Number Eight: Take some time to think of how things look to you at this time in your life. Pray for insight and enlightenment. There’s a new world out there for everyone.