John McCarthy - The Purpose Promise: How to Find Purpose and Joy in Your Work

A BOUT THE A UTHOR

John McCarthy is a visionary entrepreneur working to disrupt the status quo of how people look at success. John established his first nonprofit while in college to help students further their self-awareness through retreat. Since then, his passion is to disciple individuals toward discovering how they are made, who made them, and how to find purpose at work and in life.

At age 24, John launched AGI Management, a recruitment firm focused on changing the landscape of the hospitality industry (an industry noted for turnover) by placing great managers with only great employers. AGI Management uses a counter-intuitive methodology of recruiting managers by encouraging them to gain self-awareness prior to changing careers.

Through the 15 years of growing AGI Management, John developed a passion for walking with job seekers toward a more thorough career-seeking process. John embraces the urgency to curb the disengaged workforce in America. Johns leadership and expertise have equipped him with a platform to change the paradigm of how Americans look at work. Find out more at purposepromise.org.

John, his wife, and their three awesome children reside in Cincinnati where they enjoy having fun, investing in the community, playing sports, participating in local theatre, and making new friends.

Acknowledgments

I OFTEN REFER TO THE PROCESS OF writing The Purpose Promise as caring for my fourth child. It takes a village to raise a child, no doubt, and it also takes a community to compile a life-changing and interactive book. I am forever grateful for the humility, acts of service, and wisdom so many have gifted me during the journey of writing The Purpose Promise.

Thank you to those that have stood in the trenches patiently on this journey with me: my wife, Julie; my three kiddos; my extended family; and my wise sounding boards along the journey, including Dave Ping, Danise Distasi, Becky Robinson, Erin Kutcher, Josephine McKenrick, Jan Hamilton, Audrey Hensley, Dan Henry, David McPherson, Jesse Reeves, Janet Slater, and Camille Nuckols.

I have great men in my life. Im grateful for my humble and pious father, John McCarthy. Your steadfast modeling of how to be a man has set the healthy boundaries for my journey in life. I also thank the many men who have discipled me. You know who you are, and Im blessed by your encouragement to be a great husband, father, and friend.

I also thank my mother, Bev McCarthy, whose passion and zeal for life has inspired me to have the courage to move mountains.

I am grateful to the many devout messengers of Christ that impart wisdom upon my journey. I am richly blessed by the life work of Bishop Robert Barron, Bill and Eric Johnson, Kris Vallotton, Todd White, Matthew Kelly, Ed Silvoso, and many other great teachers of truth. Thank you for your courage to carry the application of the Kingdom that God has revealed to you!

Above all, I give all the glory to God for the journey he has set before me. His grace and mercy are sufficient. Through the intimate and enjoyable relationship with my Creator, God, I have gained all the direction needed to walk with him into Purpose, Freedom, and Joy. Thank you!

Afterword

The A-to-Z

B ARRY HAS BECOME A GOOD FRIEND. He and I first met about eighteen months ago when he was on a networking journey to find the right career. He had been downsized and was a senior-level manager. The job market was not favorable to senior-level managers here, so he had many ups and downs on his long journey.

I was his 113th networking meeting. He ended up having over 130 networking meetings. That is not a typo. He had 130 networking meetings before he found his new career. The focal point of most of those meetings was on the N-to-Z, but near the end, Barry took a different approach. He stepped back and defined his success qualifiers by engaging an A-to-M approach. The individual awareness of his Purpose Dreams made all the difference in how managed his N-to-Z more effectively.

That was an exhausting season for Barry. It was fruitful on some fronts, as he made many new and genuine friendships, but overall it was an inefficient process of finding his ideal career. Barry is a very self-aware guy, but he is a doer. His propensity was to get out and find that new job as fast as he could. It is commonplace for career seekers to engage in the N-to-Z ambitiously, just as Barry did; however, without individual awareness and declaration of success qualifiers, the career seeker is not equipped to do the N-to-Z efficiently.

I have great news for you: You will not need to buy 130 cups of coffee in your N-to-Z quest. Now that you have your Purpose Dream Analysis, you have the individual awareness to be efficient in your pursuit of the perfect career. You know who you are; you know what you need and what you want. With your Purpose Dream Analysis you will be able to:

Build your resum based on your highlighted accomplishments on your career graph.

Seek actively hiring employers who are good career suitors based on all of your MUSTS, most of your SHOULDS, and none of your NO WAYS. This ensures you will be operating in your sweet spot of gifts, needs, and wants.

Seek employers that you have identified that are in line with all your needs and wants. These employers may or may not be hiring, but with a wise methodology on building a relationship with them and staying top of mind, you could create your dream position.

Leverage your network wisely. Your network should be your greatest asset among your N-to-Z efforts, but that is only the case if you are intentional about the methodology.

Network effectively and efficiently with concise communication of who you are and the sweet spot you are seeking to fulfill your Purpose Dreams.

Interview with a clear awareness of who you are, where your sweet spot is, and how that has benefited your previous employers.

Interview potential employers about their likelihood to fulfill your needs and wants in the short- and long-term career goals.

Negotiate employment offers that meet your needs and wants from the outset.

Engage in all career seeking N-to-Z activities with purpose, based on your Purpose Dreams.

Career counselors widely communicate N-to-Z best practices. There is some good advice and some not-so-good advice out there. It is not the purpose of this book to detail the best practices of N-to-Z, but one thing is for sure: The A-to-M is the key to unlocking efficiency amidst the N-to-Z. You have the competitive advantage in the career-seeking market with the A-to-M. You are prepped to do the N-to-Z. Now that you have done the A-to-M, your A to Z will conclude with the right career to fulfill your Purpose Dreams.

Please continue to walk with you Purpose Guide during the N-to-Z. Your Guide can help you manage the process. Collectively, we have helped thousands of career seekers obtain their Purpose Dream. Your Purpose Guide was your retreat guide through the A-to-M and is also your guide through the N-to-Z. Doing the N-to-Z alone can be a real challenge, even with a well-developed Purpose Dream Analysis. We are here to help and are grateful to fulfill the process with you and see your Purpose Dreams matched with the ideal career suitor.

If you are having trouble with the steps to navigate the N-to-Z, we are just a click away: www.purposepromise.org

You will not conquer the most difficult journeys in life in isolation!

The Purpose Promise was founded to guide you, the purpose seeker, on a journey toward a richer life. We are equipped and excited to take the journey with you.