When the budget needs to be cut, often we zero out the learning and development for our staff before anything else. Here is the problem. If your leaders are empty, if they are void of ideas, if they are uninspired or unmotivated or isolated or just exhausted -- then you aren't going to be able to move your mission forward.

Last month I was on a flight to Seattle. I boarded early and made my way to seat 7F to settle in for the nearly four hour flight. Everyone was on board and in their seats when a flight attendant approached me and said, "Excuse me Mr. Stevens, the pilots would like to speak with you."

That was a first…

I've long been a believer in pastors having side hustles well before I knew that's what they were called. The term "side hustle" has a long history that has changed over time but has emerged in the age of the internet and Uber and Etsy with a new meaning.

A side hustle, as defined by Entrepreneur.com, is "any type of employment undertaken in addition to one's full-time job. These are often freelance or piecework in nature, providing a supplemental income." 

My worth, sometimes without thinking about it, can be wrapped up in what I do. Or how I’m perceived. Is this true for you? When that identity goes away, whether by choice or not, you can lose your balance in life. Identity will change several times over your life. When it changes, you will find out how much it mattered to you.