Your talent is a gift from God that you must exercise to benefit the most from it. God also gifted you His grace to empower you to sharpen your talents. The more you work your talents the more they will work for you. 

I am a huge proponent of utilizing entrepreneurship and other economic development platforms to empower people to become their own agents of sustained economic renewal. It's imperative that we help those in poverty rediscover their dignity by teaching them to uncover their God-given gifts and talents and transform them into sustainable income.

American Enterprise Institute just released a new project, Economic Growth: Unleashing the Potential of  Human Flourishing, in which three professors provide a compelling moral and economic case for growth. They believe like myself...

Related: The Unemployment Alternative

This week on Passion In Action TV we will interview Pastor J. Calvin Tibbs, author of the newly released "Massa's Back But Now He's Black?" In this thought-provoking book the author makes a call to the people of the United States to see the present climate of political dissatisfaction and racial antagonism as a modern expression of the master/slave mentality of America's past.

The author sees government-sponsored assistance programs as disguised vehicles by which the assisted trade their liberties for aid and laments the partisanship of both the political Right and Left as having superseded religion and common sense which, the author feels, has substituted popularity for substance and caused a sharp decline in morality and the economy.

Pastor Tibbs, a native of Hampton, VA, is currently pastor of Kingdom Dominion Church in Villa Rica, GA. 

Many Christians struggle with their perception of money, which is one reason why they struggle with their acquisition of money. You could be struggling financially if you grew believing statements similar to:

• "Money is evil"
  
• "Rich people are evil"
  
• "Capitalism is bad"
  
• "Capitalism only benefits rich people"
  
• "Business is only for greedy people"
  
• "Being poor brings you closer to God"
  

With an improper understanding of money and the marketplace, Christians can mistakenly characterize the financial markets as something sinister instead of being a gateway through which God can bring financial blessings. Unfortunately few Christians see a healthy alignment between their faith and the financial markets. In an article by Hugh Whelchel, Markets and Morality from a Biblical Perspective, he mentions a report by The Public Religion Research Institute which stated that a recent survey found that many American Christians believe that the free market system is inconsistent with Christian values. Consider the following from their report:

(RELATED: What History Channel's The Bible Can Teach Christian Entrepreneurs)

I believe the markets are not inherently evil. However, when immoral people absent submission to and direction from God get involved with anything including the financial markets, misuse and abuse are bound to happen.

Read the entire article Markets and Morality from a Biblical Perspective at http://blog.tifwe.org/markets-morality-from-a-biblical-perspective-part-two/

How do you perceive the free market economic system in relation to your faith? Leave your comments below...

This week on Passion in Action TV I will interview Dr. Celeste Owens. She is a much sought after public speaker and facilitator whose personal mission is to motivate and inspire every person to succeed by fulfilling God's bigger dream for his/her life.  Her speaking career began in 2004 as a faculty member with the University of Maryland at Baltimore. An expert on personal growth and trauma, she is dedicated to enriching the lives of others. Because she believes our Heavenly Father has created every person for a divine purpose and each of us has the potential to succeed beyond measure, she gives tirelessly of her gifts and talents. 

As a result of her dedicated service to others, she has gained national recognition, respect and attention for her thought-provoking and inspiring presentations. She has appeared on cable television, and has been featured in local and national media outlets. She is an avid writer whose columns appear in various online magazines. Her first book, The 40-Day Surrender Fast published in 2011, is the guide for releasing your plan, renewing your mind, and restoring your life. 
Watch the live stream online this Thursday, April 11th at 7pm ET only on www.passioninaction.tv. 

You can also watch our previous shows on demand. See you Thursday!

It seems like lately I have been increasingly running across articles on the Internet where people are encouraging company employees to quit their jobs. This is intriguing to me considering the U.S. is still in the middle of a "soft" economic recovery with jobs still being very difficult to come by for so many Americans. Is this a bunch of hubris or is there something to what all these people are saying?

The latest article I read, entitled Why You Should Quit Your Job Now, advocates that employees rethink their employment perspective by rejecting the notion that your current job is going to last a long time, while at the same time pursuing alternative streams of income. The author calls people who operate like this "entre-employees."

People who are in denial about the real state of the modern workforce have an unhealthy W-2 dependency, i.e. they can't see themselves as anything other than an employee who gets a "guaranteed"  check every 2 weeks. In essence they have "W-2 Dependency." Unfortunately for them, the typical 9 to 5 has been going the way of the dinosaurs for a long time, and I believe the pace is accelerating. 

Did you know that temporary employees make up 20% - 30% of the current workforce? And some experts believe that number could increase to as high as 60% within the next 10 years. Corporations are driven to maximize profits by increasing income and decreasing expenses. Guess what the biggest expense is for most corporations? People. So guess where they are constantly looking to reduce their obligations? Temporary employees are much less expensive than full-time employees (mainly because they don't have to pay for their benefits) and much easier to transition in and out of the company based on project-type work.

(RELATED: RePurpose My Career: Success Skills for the Entrepreneurial Economy)

Position for Your Transition
It's not practical or wise for most people to just walk away from their jobs tomorrow. Instead, I encourage you to proactively prepare for your next career opportunity instead of hoping you won't be a corporate casualty. Here are three key aspects of creating an entrance plan into your next career venture:

1. Identify Your Passion. What are your life goals? What is your dream career or business? What type of work do you want to do that requires no external motivation?
   
2. Evaluate Your Professional Skills. What are you excellent at? What skills do you possess that others would consider you great? What are your transferable skills that you can utilize at any company?
   
3. Create Your Plan. Expect the best, but prepare for the worst. Determine the relationships, revenues, and resources you need to have established prior to your transition. Plan your work and then work you plan. 
   

 In future articles I will offer more spiritual and practical advice on how you can continue to break away from W-2 dependency.

Read the full article: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/why-quit-job-now-151346969.html

What are your thoughts? Please leave your comments below...

Annually during this "March Madness" time of the year, the word "passion" is thrown around even more than normal. Often in this season, this word is used to describe the intense physical and emotional efforts of basketball players as they fight toward the goal they have been working for all year. It's an interesting "coincidence" that this is also the season used to describe the process our Savior went through for the redemption of our sins.

In my experience as a business consultant and career coach, when most leaders use the word passion they are referring to common definitions, such as "nearly uncontrollable desire," "intense enthusiasm," or "outbursts of emotion." Unfortunately most leaders confuse passion with excitement. The true essence of passion goes much deeper than mere excitement. Genuine passion toward a cause or purpose forges ahead even after the excitement has died down.   

What many leaders fail to recognize or embrace is the uncommon definition of passion, which is suffering. And although it is uncommon, it actually may be the most significant definition. I wonder why we rarely if ever connect passion to suffering - other than with Jesus. It's probably because suffering isn't something leaders aspire to. It's something most try to avoid.

Well if suffering is too difficult to embrace, what about the word perseverance. Most leaders can agree that without perseverance significant accomplishments won't happen. However, it doesn't come easy. Perseverance must be practiced and proven in order to become profitable.

Passion Isn't Passion Without Perseverance
Recently leadership guru John Maxwell wrote a very enlightening article, Going Beyond Talent: Eliminating 5 Enemies of Perseverance, which describes the close relationship between passion and perseverance. According to Beyond Talent, we must eliminate the five greatest enemies of perseverance to bring greater chance of success. These include:

1. A lifestyle of giving up
   
2. A wrong belief that life should be easy
   
3. A wrong belief that success is a destination
   
4. A lack of resiliency
   
5. A lack of vision
   

(MORE: Passion @ Work Faith Based Career Development Programs)

Your leadership legacy is going to be closely tied to your level of perseverance, i.e. willingness to suffer for what you believe in. What are you willing to suffer through to do something that's never been done before?

Read the entire article at: http://www.johnmaxwell.com/blog/going-beyond-talent-eliminating-5-enemies-of-perseverance

*NEW RELEASE SPRING 2013*
Passion @ Work: 40 Day Devotional to a Prosperous Purpose-Driven Work Life
This unique book will take you on a journey to finding or rekindling your passion that connects purpose to your work and the rewards that result from that union. Learn more...