Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how the world celebrates you for what you achieve?
[00:00:05] They yell your name. Think of any championship game that you've been a part of or have watched. But how about this? God cares more about who you are becoming.
[00:00:17] That's what we're going to talk about today.
[00:00:19] Because you can win everything. You can have the title, you can have the income, you can have the recognition. You can have all of the things that you think is valuable, but still feel like something. Something's missing.
[00:00:33] Emptiness doesn't come from failure. Emptiness is actually a signal. And it's a sign that success without integration actually leads to disconnection. Listen, I'm Ryan. Welcome to Shifts and Ladders. We're doing a little something different here. You know, make a comment in the. Make a comment if you like the new setup. Doing something a little different here.
[00:00:56] But what I want us to do is kind of anchor ourselves really in the. What Jesus was talking about.
[00:01:03] And let's start with what Jesus said. I'm going to start in Mark, chapter 8, verse 38, something that many people know, but it says this. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul?
[00:01:18] So let me give you some context here. Jesus is calling his disciples to true discipleship and warning about misaligning his ambition.
[00:01:29] Something that is huge in our world. We can gain the world version of success and lose touch up with who we are, who we are, and who we are in God.
[00:01:39] Because true success guards but doesn't gamble our soul.
[00:01:44] I'm going to say that again. True success guards does not gamble our soul. All right, this is where a lot of individuals and leaders live today.
[00:01:55] We're successful on our papers, on resumes and articles. But really, those are things that are covering up a scattered soul. It comes to mind in Kanye's College Dropout. There's a interlude in it that says, you know what's going to keep me warm at night? That's right, those degrees. Just paper. Is that really going to keep you warm at night?
[00:02:18] Is that really going to bring you the joy and fulfillment that you're seeking in your life? I suggest that it doesn't. And I feel like God's given us a framework for us to go into what it looks like to be a layered and integrated individual. And it's usually through three layers. So let me help you align success that actually serves your soul. Okay, and we're going to start with this. The first one is mindset. Okay, Starts with your mindset.
[00:02:51] Bible says in Romans 8, 20 sorry, excuse me. Romans, chapter 12, verse 2 says, Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. This is the thing that Paul is getting at in that scripture. Your outer world can never really rise above your inner story. It just can't. So what I'm gonna need you to do is do a personal check in with yourself that says this. What is my definition of success? Sorry, I gotta get some coffee right quick. What is your definition of success?
[00:03:22] Who told me that version of success is right? And is that version of success aligned with God's truth or actually someone else's expectation? Achievement without alignment will always lead to anxiety.
[00:03:39] You are always aligning yourself to a moving target to perform, but really never becoming.
[00:03:46] That's a lot of work, y'. All. I mean, that's tiring. It's exhausting. So when your mindset is actually rooted in truth and in not approval, peace will follow the progress.
[00:03:57] So you can actually find yourself moving towards something that gives you and grows the fulfillment and joy for the purpose that God's placed in your heart.
[00:04:09] That's mindset, everyone. So the next one layer two systems. I know that's a very corporate word system. Let's use the Jane Clear context habits.
[00:04:21] A system is actually a habit, but you put it in a human circumstance.
[00:04:27] Let's give an example. When someone tells you to get ready for the day, okay, Your parents might have told you, or you just tell yourself get ready for the day.
[00:04:38] You say that one word, but in that one word or phrase is implied several things. Wash your face, brush your teeth, put your clothes on, take a shower, whatever you need to do. There are several things and actually those habits are called systems that your brain automates under the phrase get ready for the day. So it's a system. And a system is typically something that's outside of us too. We are made up of several systems. We have seven systems in our body. We live in a solar system. Systems are a God ordained circumstance, very practical.
[00:05:12] But a system, a successful one, actually are ways that help your soul breathe so you can have the structure and space to be you.
[00:05:21] So it's not just a productivity thing, it is actually a spiritual kind of rhythm. So in atopic habits you usually come from an identity. James Clear speaks on this. But it's actually rooted in a spirit realm where you become first and then the systems of becoming support who you are. So once you build those systems, who you are comes out without having to worry about how.
[00:05:50] Just be okay. So how about this. So if your calendar has no room for rest or for anything that is assigned to you, your soul is actually strangling and gasping for air. You have no space. That's what a system does.
[00:06:05] It gives you space for breath so you can create. You can be, you can think, you can create. Today we have our phones, we have all these kinds of things that distract us from actually sitting with ourselves. But it's necessary for you to be able to be an integrated and full person, because the more your calendar is full, the less space you have to be. Jesus gives this example. I mean, if I'm going to just be honest, Jesus is the perfect model for human life. Jesus withdrew often to pray. He woke up early in the morning at the dew of the day when no one was doing anything and had quiet time with him and the Father.
[00:06:45] Sometimes he would just go, like, steal away, go to a mountain, he'd say, hey, tell the disciples, go to the other side. I'll meet you there for a minute. I need to recharge, right? Even though he was fully God, fully man, he still needed space to grow and withdraw. This isn't weakness, though. It's his rhythm. This is what Jesus himself did. And integration means designing your days and your life to sustain your peace and purpose, not to sabotage it. All right? Now, layer three is strategy. This is where we start putting what we build into practicality. This is where your purpose meets performance.
[00:07:28] And most of the time, we spend more time on performance than we actually do. Layers two, one, and two. All right? So this is where you do and flow out of who you are.
[00:07:41] Okay? Once you've built it, understood the systems, you do, and then you do where you're becoming.
[00:07:50] You do what you're becoming.
[00:07:52] Yeah, you do what you're becoming. So a strategy is born out of alignment, okay? Not anxiety.
[00:07:59] If you are actually working to respond or react correctly. If you are building a strategy to react, that's not the space to create.
[00:08:14] You're striving to fix a problem and not flowing from who you are. So you can only really build well from peace instead of pressure. And that's when your work becomes ministry, because you are flowing in the best version of yourself.
[00:08:33] Okay? So we have mindset, we have systems, we have strategy. These are the three things and layers that you need for proper integration.
[00:08:47] And let me give another word for integration. Wholeness.
[00:08:50] Wholeness, okay? Wholeness is important. All right? So maybe right now you're achieving your goals, you're knocking them out, but you feel like there's a cost involved. You're feeling less like yourself every time you achieve another goal.
[00:09:11] So maybe it's time to seek integration and become whole again. Renew your mind, reorder your systems and your habits and align your strategy with who you are in your soul.
[00:09:28] Because this is the thing. Real success just doesn't let you keep building. It's who you become while you are building it that matter. We're going to continue on this incredible journey of integration and wholeness. I think it's important because any kind of shift you make, you're going to be you in the midst of it. And we're going to be helping leaders and individuals align who they are with how they live so that success becomes an output of the peace that you gain. If you love this and you've been blessed by this, subscribe Share we're on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Let somebody know Special if you know someone who is struggling to find wholeness and always seeking, I believe this is going to bless you and bless those around you. Until next time. We'll catch you in the next one. Peace.
