A client said this to me the other day after we had presented the findings of a research project. Why did this surprise me? I hope that every single client we work with has a passion for the information we are helping them to compile and making meaning of. It surprised me because I had never heard it put this clearly before, as if the whole of the organization had been waiting to learn what we learned together. I have never felt so valued.
Some of you may know that I am writing a book about building lasting business relationships. I was opining the other day with a colleague that perhaps there are already enough business books on networking, even though I hope that I can bring a new perspective on the topic. He said, “There are never too many books on a subject.” Selfishly, I am happy to hear that. What I think it means is that each one of us is uniquely created to see subjects from a God-given viewpoint that no one else in the history of time has exactly the way that we do. What it means is each one of us is necessary, valued, and important.
Another leader I work with says that he is “in pursuit of transcendent books.” When I asked him what transcendent means to him, he said he is looking for books that say things that are lasting, life-giving, and change the way people think. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of transcendent is something that “lies beyond the limits of ordinary experience.”
What do we aspire to by seeking out information that is beyond the limits of the ordinary experience? I think we are looking for the best version of ourselves, our God-given essence. That essence is always bigger than we can possibly imagine and even our whole lives will not be enough to fully live into it, because God has made each of us more magnificent than we dare to believe. Most of us were taught not to think too much of ourselves because that would be the sin of pride. Recently one network leader was sharing his organization’s accomplishments with me. Was that pride? I don’t think so, because he summed it up by saying, “God is getting bigger.”
I think that is what God intended all along, for us to pursue what we are passionate about, to grow into our essence, our purpose, and as we are growing, for our God to get bigger.