Let us be clear: faith is a mystery:

• Is it a noun? – Belief in something unseen
• Is it a verb? – Trust in action

The answer to these questions is yes and yes.

Beginning the process of creating your Soul Roadmap™ requires a degree of faith (belief) that you can do this. Continuing the process of building your Soul Roadmap™ and therefore your soul, is an active, intentional growth of this faith (trust in action.)

We understand that this can be daunting, but it does not have to be. We are here as guides, using our life experience in having and living faith. Start your journey with us.

Everyone has been created with a unique original design that was meant to be lived into. Therefore, understanding and discovering who you really are is an essential step to unlocking the development of your soul. Every subsequent rest stop relates back to this one, and none of the other stops can be fully integrated until the “you” piece becomes clear.

We want you to carve out some time. Sit in a comfortable place with pen and paper or a journal if you write in one. Reflect on your family experience. Write down what comes to mind and be completely honest during this reflection. Everyone has a family story. As part of creating your Soul Roadmap™, it’s important to invest the time in writing yours.

This rest stop on the Soul Roadmap™ builds on the family story you write. It will help you develop a perspective of “family” that is broader and deeper than the narrow definition we typically associate with “family” (i.e. mother, father, siblings, etc.)

Some of the important dynamics of family relationships live beyond the limits of the traditional definition of family. There is family available outside these commonly held norms. You can expand your own family story by embracing a broader definition of the concept.

When you work through this stop on your Soul Roadmap™, it removes roadblocks and barriers. In the process, it creates new avenues to living a more fulfilled and complete life.

Much – if not most – of our current culture of work is separated from the deeper parts of us. Work often gets boiled down to something we have to do to pay our bills. It’s common for people to make comments such as “it’s just a job” or “punching the clock” when referring to their work. When this is your view of work, it becomes little more than an exchange of time for money.

In this rest area of your Soul Roadmap™, we reinvent the world of work by bringing all three pillars of our being – our mind, body and soul – to this part of our life. Your work can develop along with all the other facets of who you are at your core.  This results in deeper value and greater fulfillment from your work life.

As with any other aspect of our lives associated with personal growth, work can be viewed on a continuum:

• Work starts as a job
• A job can become a career or vocation
• A career can become a profession

It is possible to use your talents, representing the very best in who you are, at each stage.  Instead of doing only what you can do, you can be who you are meant to be.  You just happen to deploy your gifts and abilities for an employer.

Your Soul Roadmap™ has a great deal to say about this important component of your life where you spend a large portion of your time. Mapping out how your soul relates to each work stage changes all of life, for all time.

If you started with the faith article number 1 and are completing the categories sequentially, at this point you’ve worked through many of the foundational elements of life – self, family and work – as you develop your soul. Now it’s time to reflect on how to balance the resources at your disposal to experience greater fulfillment. The elements within this rest area of your Soul Roadmap™ consist of the three T’s – time, talent and treasure.

Time

Everyone has an equal amount of time – we all have 24 hours in each day to do with as we see fit. How you manage this precious resource plays an integral role in your quality of life and the condition of your soul. Fortunately, time management is a skill that can be developed, and we will help you hone this skill to ensure you make the best use of your time.

Talent

Talent is an endowment. Some people are unusually gifted in a particular niche and depending on how that niche is valued, these people may potentially garner a tremendous amount of attention for their abilities. While we may not all possess tremendous abilities which push us to the top of our field, that does not mean we don’t possess talent.

Everyone has been uniquely and wonderfully made, and everyone has talent. Part of this rest stop on your Soul Roadmap™ involves discovering what your talents are and how to optimize them. The challenge is to recognize your talent and then make the most of it.

Treasure

The final T – treasure – refers to money. For many people, navigating their financial resources poses a tremendous mystery that can significantly impact quality of life.

Some people come from wealth and have an abundance of financial resources. In this situation, it can be challenging to determine how to deploy these resources. How do you manage these resources for personal sustainability and caring for your community? Those who are able to achieve both of these goals typically experience greater fulfillment.

On the other end of the spectrum are people who grew up in poverty. In this situation, it can be challenging to establish solid financial footing and unlock many of life’s opportunities due to a lack of resources. How do you get the resources you need to become financially sustainable and enjoy a fulfilling life?

Most of us fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. We are neither very wealthy, nor living in poverty. In this situation, the challenge is to harness the financial resources you have to the best of your ability in order to achieve personal growth and fulfillment.

While money is certainly not the most important thing in life or the primary factor in your ability to experience greater fulfillment, it is an essential element to your overall well-being. It is possible to be fulfilled and full of joy, in spite of where you are in this spectrum.  Therefore, progressing in your ability to navigate the financial resources at your disposal is an important part of building your Soul Roadmap™.

Reflection is an important component of this process. It creates time to look back at your hard work and evaluate how far you’ve come in the development of your soul:

• In what ways have you changed?
• In what ways haven’t you changed?
• In what ways do you still need to change?

Change is a constant in life. Over time, loved ones are born, loved ones pass away, you experience different accomplishments, new employment opportunities arise, and many other things occur which impact the development of your soul and the fulfillment you experience each day.

As life goes on, it is important to look at your individual Soul Roadmap™ to reflect on where you are on each of these rest stops. The journey along your Soul Roadmap™ is an opportunity to discover, implement and grow. This process is a lifelong pursuit – it is not a path leading to a finish line where you are complete. Everything that grows, continuously changes.

In order to ensure your soul continues to grow and develop as you experience these changes in life, you’ll want to continue using these tools and the skills you’ve developed at each of the rest stops along your Soul Roadmap™. As reflection occurs, we will continue this conversation with you to provide ongoing guidance.