Hats or hardware?

Bill Hybels concludes Chapter 8 of Simplify with an illustration from one of his favorite replenishers, sailboat racing.

One kind of sailboat-racing event is a regatta.  A regatta usually consists of seven to ten races.  Points are awarded in order of finish in each race.  The crew with the lowest overall score is the winner and receives the champion’s trophy- aka “the hardware.”

Winning crew members of each individual race receive a smaller prize, usually a hat from a corporate sponsor.  Sailors care little about the hats- it’s the hardware that truly matters.

In one particular regatta the crew Bill was part of had a chance to win the hardware.  All their boat had to do was stay ahead of their closest competitor to win the race.  They didn’t have to finish first.  At one point, the crew lost focus and tried to pass other boats in front of them.  Their tactician, an experienced America’s Cup racer, got them back on track: “Boys, it’s hats or hardware.”

Bill states that having a life verse is our hardware:

“Having a life verse is one of the most powerful tools I know for simplifying your life.  Like a lighthouse in the darkness, it keeps you on course.  It helps you make wise decisions about where to invest your time, energy, and gifts.  It drives you to live each day with fervency and passion.”

Today’s question: What life verse have you selected or are you considering?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The seasons of our lives”

Hats or hardware?

Appropriately challenged- plus

Today Bill Hybels discusses the third foundational alignment to filter our former, or any potentially future job, through.

3.  Challenge.  Pastor Hybels observes that operating at the optimal challenge level brings the deepest job satisfaction.  He asks: “At which challenge level do you thrive?  The logical answer would seem to be “appropriately challenged.”  Wrong.

When people are under-challenged on the job, their skills atrophy and motivation comes to a dead stop.  Effort becomes lackadaisical and depression may set in.  Most people eventually quit.

At the appropriately-challenged level, people accomplish work on their own power.  There is no need to rely on other team members or on God.  The required amount of work is getting done, but there’s no sense of adventure or job importance.

If someone stays at the dangerously over-challenged level for very long, something will break.  No one is exempt from this law.  Something will blow and initial gains made will come crashing down- personally, vocationally, or both.

Pastor Hybels states the best work is done at the level of appropriately challenged- plus.  This level is above “appropriately challenged,” inching toward the low end of “dangerously over-challenged.”  And it’s our job to get to the right challenge level at work.  The author concludes:

“Finding the appropriate level of challenge at work is a key part of simplifying your life.  It’s like tuning your engine to operate at peak efficiency.”

Today’s question: At what challenge level would you place your previous job?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Pay versus passion”

Appropriately challenged- plus