Show #347: Is there Godly aspiration and ambition?

Show #347: Is there Godly aspiration and ambition?

Folks, today I bring you show number 347 and the title is “Is there Godly aspiration and ambition?” And we have a special guest. A guest who I’m intimidated by. Why? Because my dad, Dan Miller of “48 Days To The Work You Love Fame,” says this guy is, and I quote, “The best interviewer I’ve ever seen.”

And I’m interviewing…that guy.

The point of this show is to bring you the best in inspiration. If there is any hope for you to have a successful life, you must have…hope. And that hope must be fueled. This show today folks, is high octane fuel.

Who is our guest? The  acclaimed interviewer and broadcaster, Ken Coleman. He’s the host of The Dave Ramsey Show video channel, the top-rated EntreLeadership podcast and author of ONE QUESTION: Life Changing Answers From Todays Leading Voices, which you can get now at DaveRamsey.com. Ken resides in Franklin, TN, a place I called home for a decade, with his wife, Stacy, and their three children, Ty, Chase, and Josie.

Ken has interviewed the biggest of the big when it comes to leadership,

  • Robert Kiyosaki
  • Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Donald Miller
  • Seth Godin
  • and in recent interviews, Dan Miller Aug. 31 and Tom Ziglar on April 27 of 2015.

Since i haven’t been asked for an interview on his show, we invited him onto ours!

This show is going to be a bit longer than normal, because I want you to hear a 27 minute clip from Ken. It was given at a Convocation at Liberty University, at North America's largest weekly gathering of Christian students. Ken talks about how to find God's will for your life by finding your "sweet spot" - the spot where your biggest strength and your greatest passion intersect.

It’s a profound and moving talk. I’m going to give it to you here, but then Tom Ziglar and I are going to be joined by Ken to chop at a root of the talk.

We’re going to hit on aspiration. Should we aspire to much? To more? Or should we count our blessings and be content with, well…wherever we happen to be?

That may sound simplistic, but it’s a root issue regarding so many things,

  • contentment
  • fulfillment
  • despair
  • anxiety
  • purpose or purposelessness

So unless you’re 110% at peace with where you are and where you’re going in life, this show is something you should pay close attention to.

In the Show we played the audio from Ken's talk, which you can hear in the following audio player. But here on the blog I'm also going to give you the actual video of the entire talk:

KEN COLEMAN VIDEO

THE SHOW

That was an inspired message. I’d say also, anointed. If you aren’t inspired, convicted or even troubled, well...that’s not possible. You wouldn’t be listening to this show. I know you were moved. So now we’ve got Ken with us live, as well as Tom Ziglar. And what I want to dig into is - aspiration.

I’ll explain in just a moment. But first I want to welcome you Ken, it’s literally a gift to hear your message, and now, get to dig into it. Tell us your personal Zig story!

> Ken relates his experience as an 18 year old in college, and how he was forever impacted by a quote from Zig.

Ken, before we focus on YOUR message, I want to know, from all the amazing interviews you do, when I ask this question, who is the first person to pop into your mind. And then of course, why. Who of your fairly recent interviewees, from one of your questions they answered, or just something they offered, stopped you in your tracks? Maybe in the interview, you kept rolling, but later, after the interview, later that day, the next morning, something stuck. What was it and why?

> Ken shares the person and experience.

OK, so in your talk to the Liberty University students, you outline the big question of all our lives…”What should I do with my life? Why am I here?”

Then, “How do you answer it?” And you cite, “Finding your sweet spot.” You then delve into the next question, "How do you find it?" Which you answer with, “Find the intersection of greatest strength and passion. Find your sweet spot, step into it and have the faith to stay until God brings you the opportunity you are prepared for."

I love this Ken. It’s a cry of my heart, for myself and others. It’s much of what I’ve devoted my vocational life to. Helping people free themselves from the shackles of life in order to freely pursue and embrace God’s calling for them. But, and this is where I want to drive us now…it presupposes someone has aspiration
. Or ambition.

I know some people hearing this, struggle here. Some may want more, and others WANT to want more. They understand where they’re at is not enough. They aren’t fulfilled. They struggle with the monotony of life. They wonder, "Is all there is?" They feel some despair. Some depression. But it’s not acute. They have much to be grateful for. They are somewhere on the level of discontent, and they are seeking. When it comes down to it, they struggle with aspiration and ambition. Is it really OK? Does it point to discontentment that they shouldn’t have?

> Ken outlines aspiration and ambition are true if grounded in a desire to be "significant".

Next, what about those who, truth be told, believe there SHOULD be more, but just don’t have the fire? On one hand I want to ask, how do you jump start aspiration? Fuel it? But if someone is questioning whether it’s even ok, then that’s the wrong issue. It’s going back to what you hit on in your talk, Ken. You said, “You only have to make the one impact that you were called to do.”

Does everyone listening truly believe they are called to something? I won’t even say “something great” because there are too many definitions and there is too much baggage around what is “great”. So lets just say, called to something specific and worthy. An assignment from the King.

> Ken shares a person of faith, must in fact acknowledge you were created by god, you have a purpose.

Ken, you got on a soapbox and said, “How dare you live like a zombie!” I’m assuming you are speaking to…those that are listening. Those who are awake. Eyes to see and ears to hear. It’s NOT for everyone. There will always BE zombies. Mindless worker bees. Do we need them?

In my work advocating self-employment I used to have people ask if I thought everyone should be self-employed? And if everyone was, and nobody was working in the factories, I and everyone else wouldn’t have a microwave and a cell phone and all the easily affordable amenities we have. But it’s a moot point. We’ll always have mindless workers. The point, for all those hearing this, is…YOU ARE HEARING THIS. Why are you listening?! You, by proxy of hearing this, are NOT destined to be a zombie. To be anonymous. To not make a contribution with your calling.

Ken, is that the heart of your message? That we all have a God appointed calling which we must accept, pursue and fully engage with?

> Hear Ken's answer and the entirety of all he gifted us with...in the show!