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Episode Notes [01:14] Unexpected Email from Employer [05:49] The Deferred Resignation Program [06:34] Initial Reactions and Concerns [08:01] Evaluating the Offer [08:21] Enhanced Standards of Conduct [08:55] Personal Reflections and Concerns [12:21] Seeking Advice and Making a Decision [13:01] Option One: Do Not Resign [14:56] Option Two: Resign [16:44] Insights from Conversations [21:30] Making The Decision [23:51] Final Thoughts and Gratitude Resources Mentioned Sebastian Junger The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson Donald Trump Elon Musk Steve Bannon Russell Vought Derek Sivers Sumner Crenshaw Brian Fretwell at Finding Good Chad Littlefield The Thought Leaders Practice by Matt Church Simon Cowell Beauty Pill Producer Ben Ford Questions Asked Is it legitimate, and can it be trusted? How are you feeling? What questions come to your mind? Where does your mind go? Are you seeking safety? Would this have been an adrenaline rush as you raced to send the resignation response? What an "enhanced standard" regarding loyalty and trustworthiness was? What are these new "enhanced standards?" Are they beyond what my Constitutional oath requires? If I don't resign, how bright will the target on my back glow? My leadership has supported all my work, but would termination direction come from higher up the chain of command? What would you recommend if we talked over coffee? What questions would you ask? How would you use listening? How would you use silence? How is this scenario playing out in your mind and body? What is coming to the surface for you? How might that influence what you are about to say to me? What are the chances of my name popping on a list and getting fired? How about the chances of being part of an official Reduction in Force and early retirement? Would the administration make a better offer? What do I know about the pending job market? What did I expect the workplace to be like and did I want to be there as the contractions took place? Will the administration pay me through the end of September or will they renege? Can I sufficiently build the Curated Questions business to transition by 1 October? - Do I have the faith or confidence to step into this future as a sole practitioner and grow Curated Questions into all I envisioned? Was this purpose calling? What would I expect the job market to look like at the end of summer if I hadn't developed the income streams to maintain our lifestyle? What is your recommendation? Did it change from your initial recommendation? Where in your body are you feeling the uncertainty? Are you processing this scenario in parallel with your decision as if you had received the email? What additional questions should I have considered? Who else should I have consulted with? How would you have changed my risk rating? What is the correct length of the pregnant pause before making an important announcement? What processes would you use in my circumstance, and what would be different? What questions are at the top of your list to get to a decision? Who would be the members of your pantheon you would counsel with to gain clarity? Apart from the heady analysis, what other key practices would you include in your journey through a similar situation?…
Content provided by Pastor Thabo Marais. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Pastor Thabo Marais or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
An attitude can portray many things about us as individuals, especially when it is positive or negative. When we have a certain attitude, it can be revealed through our physical body language and mental attitude towards the things we do. Therefore, it is vital to have a positive attitude and know that God is for you. Never let a negative attitude cloud your ability to change that attitude into a positive one. God has created his children to be positive and diligent, and only a great attitude towards God and His Kingdom is able to transform us into who we are called to be. In this sermon Pastor Thabo clarifies the importance of maintaining a positive physical and mental attitude, so that we may pursue a life that pursues Jesus and His Kingdom with the right attitude.
Content provided by Pastor Thabo Marais. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Pastor Thabo Marais or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
An attitude can portray many things about us as individuals, especially when it is positive or negative. When we have a certain attitude, it can be revealed through our physical body language and mental attitude towards the things we do. Therefore, it is vital to have a positive attitude and know that God is for you. Never let a negative attitude cloud your ability to change that attitude into a positive one. God has created his children to be positive and diligent, and only a great attitude towards God and His Kingdom is able to transform us into who we are called to be. In this sermon Pastor Thabo clarifies the importance of maintaining a positive physical and mental attitude, so that we may pursue a life that pursues Jesus and His Kingdom with the right attitude.
Living a life of More Than Enough is a deep desire of many of God’s children. However, there is a process that God takes us through, so that we may cultivate a heart of compassion and resist the nature of instant gratification. From identifying needs around us, to accepting and believing that we are blessed, God prepares His willing children for a journey to the More Than Enough; He teaches and reminds us to bless, break and give, even in our most desperate seasons, so that we may step into the season of More Than Enough in every area of our lives. In this sermon Pastor Thabo Marais shares the seven stages of living in the More Than Enough that God has for us. As we progress from one stage to another, God molds us into who He has created us to be; children who are indeed created to live in the season of More Than Enough.…
We should never underestimate the power of small beginnings, for it is a single word, thought or action that can influence a series of other events to occur. Whether we want it or not, choose it or not, we are all caught up in an event that happened almost 6000 years ago. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo defines the Ripple Effect. There have been two significant events that have impacted mankind for the last six millennia. The first was a single act of disobedience when Adam and Eve ate from a tree they were forbidden to touch. The result was a curse set upon the generations to follow; to live in death and destruction. The second ripple in time was an act of one man’s complete obedience to sacrifice himself on the cross. In that single moment was the gift of eternal life and reconciliation with the Father. Two stones have been thrown, and each of us are living in the ripples created by both. Now we need to make a choice as to which ripple we ride.…
So many people today, whether they are Christians or not, are simply going through the daily motions; directionless and following what the media and society tells them they should want or need. They are defenceless against the negative influences of the worldly and the world. However, Jesus doesn’t want His people to live dependant, disinterested, directionless or defenceless. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo speaks on the topic “From Sheep to Shepherd.” When Jesus came to us, He came as the lamb of sacrifice and through death and resurrection became the Good Shepherd, leading God’s people to truth and freedom. There is a difference between following Jesus as one of His sheep and following Him as a shepherd. As children of God we need to make a choice to accept the commission Jesus has given us and become a leader that gathers, guides, teaches and protects our fellow brothers and sisters.…
As children of God, we must learn to become faithful and wise. A life characterised by faithfulness and wisdom is pleasing to God and, therefore, we must pursue these two things very readily. However, to increase in our wisdom, we must learn to learn, and increase in our learning. By staying teachable and open to learning new things and heeding to wise counsel, God is able to relay new ideas to us, which makes us wiser. On the other hand, our faithfulness is shown by our multiplication. When we are faithfulness with this, God makes us even more faithful and wise. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais teaches the importance of being faithful and wise, as these are intertwined to become the children of God that He has created for us to be.…
Living in the world, it is easy for us to get Disinterested, Discouraged and Dissatisfied with our lives. When it comes to the things of God, we delay and procrastinate in building His house before our own. Yet, with correction God always offers a great solution. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo takes us through the book of Haggai to show us the way back to God, and to offer the encouragement needed to follow His will. It is time that we took a look at our own lives, think hard about it and realise that to, once again, be fruitful means we must sacrifice and give of our time and money for the kingdom. We must understand that it is Jesus’ presence among us that produces the glory in the end.…
The most important relationship a person will ever have in their lives is the relationship with Jesus Christ. After the fall of man, God has not given up His pursuit to reconcile that lost relationship and has created many opportunities throughout history to reach us. It is the day of Pentecost and, in this sermon, Pastor Thabo takes us back to the deliverance of God’s people out of Egypt. He explains how each step, from Passover to freedom, is a direct reflection of the harvest of His church today. God’s law has always shown us how we fall short of heaven’s standards, and it is Jesus Christ who has provided the only way to reconcile with our Father. To become born again means we have become clean on the inside. Now, we are prepared to meet God and receive the greatest gift He gave us after salvation – the Holy Spirit.…
We are all called to be game changers to this world that we live in. Whether it be changing the game to your work place to changing the game in your own sphere of influence, Jesus showed how He was the ultimate game changer by dying for us. It is through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus that we are able to stand here with confidence in God. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais, emphasises how Satan introduced sin into the human nature. We are all born into this sinful world therefore sin is innate in us. But Jesus was the solution to the problem. Through Him death is eliminated and eternal life is now available to those who choose it. We were created to have an intimate relationship with God to become exactly what He has created us to be.…
When we become born again we expect our lives to change and the situations we find ourselves in to become better, but with little effort from ourselves. We are told, “Ask and you shall receive,” yet have very little patience or perseverance to see our prayers manifest. We have heard in the previous sermons that, in order for our lives to change, we must be the Game Changers. We need to create a purpose within ourselves and we must lean on the foundations to build strong lives within the kingdom. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo takes us deeper into what it means to be a Game Changer. God is a spiritual being and when you become born again you are reborn into that spirituality with His DNA. And,like Him, you are reborn with an extravagantly generous heart. Generosity is an attitude that shows what you are made of, and who you are part of. Jesus came to exemplify the Father, who is the very essence of extravagant generosity and compassion. It is this part of us that makes us the Game Changers, not just in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us.…
We know that in every society and every community there are those who struggle and those who prosper. Many times we find ourselves on the side of those who struggle and constantly wonder how to change our situation to be the one who prospers. If we look closely we see that, quite simply, those who prosper focus on the basic foundations and build upon those. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo speaks about the importance of God’s foundations. When Jesus came He did not come to do away with the principles that God created, but to restore them and then build upon them. Many of us have grown comfortable with the way the world is, but God wants us to change our mediocre situation to a prosperous one. To do that we must embrace God’s word, trust it as the truth and be obedient to the principles. God wants us to be ‘Game Changers,’ and that means to value the fundamentals and build on the ultimate foundation – Jesus Christ!…
So many of us go through life surviving our situation, maintaining the status quo and missing opportunities to be part of something bigger than ourselves. However, we need to realise that God did not intend for us to live mediocre lives. We have an anointing and a God who speaks to us continuously with new ideas and opportunities to change the landscape around us – to be Game Changers! In this sermon, Pastor Thabo MARAIS speaks to us about Jesus as the ultimate Game Changer. He came to us with a game-changing purpose, a game-changing message and a game-changing commission. As children of God, we also have that DNA and were meant to be the element in our current situations that create such a significant shift that takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. To become a great leader we must not only become self-aware, but be aware of the needs and emotions of others. We need to create a purpose within ourselves that serves, improves, helps and inspires.…
It is God’s desire for His people to live by activated faith, not just their knowledge of faith. In order to to activate our faith, God brings us to the heat, in the form of our leaders and challenges that we face as Christians. Since faith is what you believe put into action, we must believe in our God who is bigger and stronger than any circumstance. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais, speaks about the importance of activating our faith in God and releasing the power of God in our lives. It is essential for us to live by activated faith to face what is to come.…
We all dream but sometimes we have to ask ourselves of why we dream. Joseph, a significant character in the Bible, was known for dreaming in a way that showed supernatural visions. It was amazing to see how God used Joseph's dreams to put him in a place where all he could do was depend on God. Even though Joseph was put in a pit and prison, God still took care of him and made sure that Joseph was not harmed. Within this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais, emphasises how important it is for us to stay faithful and true to our Father despite the fact that we may be put in our "pits" or "prisons". Every dream shall come to pass if it is in line with God's will. Dream a new dream as we serve a big God.…
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, as He took our sin and died on the cross for every person. Every person is already forgiven and has the choice to have eternal life through repentance. Due to Jesus’ sacrifice for us, He allows us to make a demand upon His blood so that we may be set free from sin. In this sermon Pastor Thabo Marais shares the good news for everyone to hear. There is power in the blood of Jesus, to save mankind and to heal any sickness and disease. Jesus’ blood can still bring restoration and breakthrough, if a personal demand is made.…
God wants his people to have His grace and peace multiplied in their lives, yet so few Christians live fully in either. We still struggle with the hopelessness of sin, moral conflict, passion and other fears that violate God’s perfect will. We speak negativity into our lives instead of praising and giving thanks for how God has taken us from where we were. We try to build a relationship with God through a church service or through what others say. However, a truly deep relationship can only be built when we spend time with Him in prayer and in reading the Word. In this sermon Pastor Thabo explains how God’s grace is given to us through His son Jesus Christ, and that in accepting this grace we also receive His peace. Therefore, in order to have grace and peace multiplied and increased in our lives we need full, personal, precise and correct knowledge of who Jesus is and who the Father is. We find encouragement in that we are in the right place to find that connection with Him, rest is up to us.…
An attitude can portray many things about us as individuals, especially when it is positive or negative. When we have a certain attitude, it can be revealed through our physical body language and mental attitude towards the things we do. Therefore, it is vital to have a positive attitude and know that God is for you. Never let a negative attitude cloud your ability to change that attitude into a positive one. God has created his children to be positive and diligent, and only a great attitude towards God and His Kingdom is able to transform us into who we are called to be. In this sermon Pastor Thabo clarifies the importance of maintaining a positive physical and mental attitude, so that we may pursue a life that pursues Jesus and His Kingdom with the right attitude.…
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