Do the Work: The Daily Choice to Become Who God Created You to Be

When I talk about personal development, I'm not talking about believing you don't need God. I believe the opposite.

God is the author and finisher.

He gives us our identity. He gives direction. He gives wisdom. He gives grace. He changes things inside of us that we cannot change by ourselves.

But dependence on God doesn't eliminate personal responsibility. There are things God has given us to do.

If I have goals and aspirations for my life, but my current habits cannot carry me there, something has to change. I may need new habits. New practices. New rituals. Different thinking. Different language. Greater discipline. Greater humility. Better stewardship.

I have to develop.

And development doesn't happen overnight. That's why it's called development.

For a long time, I thought results were the goal. Eventually, I learned something different:

We focus on making a million dollars. But first ask: Who is the person capable of responsibly producing and stewarding that million dollars?

We want the promotion. But who is the person capable of carrying the responsibility that comes with it?

A man may pray for an incredible wife. But another question is: Am I becoming the kind of husband capable of honoring, loving and keeping a healthy marriage?

Instead of only asking God, “Give me more,” I've learned to also ask: “Who do I need to become to faithfully carry more?”

I became a father at 17 years old . I had responsibilities that I wasn't fully developed enough to carry.

Later, I spent time at Byron Boys Ranch. I remember looking around at my life and beginning to recognize something: This wasn't the life I wanted.

I missed my son. I valued my freedom differently. I regretted decisions I'd made.

I began recognizing that I couldn't get the life I wanted while continuing with the same values and habits that had helped produce the life I had.

I didn't know the words personal development then. I didn't know the frameworks. I just knew I needed more—and I needed to be more than what I currently was.

As I got older, sales became one of the places where this lesson became real. You can learn a script, overcome objections, work long hours, become persuasive and make money.

But sales skills alone won't necessarily teach you sticking power, resilience, stewardship, service, ethics, going the extra mile, or what you do when nobody is watching.

There were things I did earlier in my life that I'm not proud of. At times, I believed I could halfway do the work and still finesse my way to the result.

Eventually, your character has to become capable of carrying what your talent produces.

There was a period of several years when I invested more than $150,000 into personal development —seminars, conferences, training, events, books, speakers, and experiences designed to challenge my courage and thinking.

I wasn't looking for one magical seminar that would fix my life. The more I learned, the more I realized how much there was left to learn.

Income became a byproduct of becoming better.

Financial freedom may have been one of the original catalysts, but eventually the reason became bigger than money. I wanted to become a better man, father, husband, leader, steward, and servant of God.

For me, the process has become increasingly simple.

Identify the areas of your life that are holding you back.

Seek wisdom, teaching, mentors, books, tools and strategies that shine light on areas that have been dark or unclear.

Get leverage on yourself, create structure and take action every day. Never miss two days in a row.

Go 100%. Keep it simple. Build accountability through a partner, mentor, coach or community.

Do the development until you see growth in the area—then do some more. Teach someone else and duplicate what works.

IDENTIFY → SEEK → COMMIT → ACT → REPEAT

One of the ways I think about development is raising the waterline . You elevate your standard, then live at that standard long enough that it becomes your new normal.

At first it takes tremendous effort. Think about an airplane taking off. It requires significant thrust to leave the ground.

That's where many people stop. They try something, get uncomfortable, get distracted, stop, and start again.

Transformation requires enough focused effort for the new standard to actually take hold.

Confidence isn't always something you talk yourself into. Sometimes confidence is the natural result of knowing: I prepared. I practiced. I prayed. I studied. I trained.

I kept promises to myself when nobody was watching.

You don't have to fake that confidence. You have evidence.

Many people organize their entire lives around their jobs and then give personal development whatever energy remains. I believe we need to reverse some of that thinking.

Prayer. Gratitude. Scripture. Health. Fitness. Learning. Relationships. Character.

Those aren't leftovers.

Protect the time. Develop yourself. Then go serve.

The Bible is filled with instruction about how we live, think, work, serve, steward, persevere, renew our minds and treat other people.

The Perry Group isn't about discovering some hidden formula God forgot to tell everybody else.

Biblical personal development isn't “Look what I can accomplish without God.” It's: “God, show me who You created me to be. Show me what You've placed in my hands. Give me the humility and discipline to faithfully develop it.”

Romans 12:2 says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. For me, that's not theoretical.

It can look like waking up and thanking God before the world gets my attention. Worship. Prayer. Water. Gratitude. Scripture. Journaling. Listening.

Then asking: Who can I serve today?

Start the day from contribution rather than consumption. Move in a direction that honors God. Stay teachable. Stay humble. Keep renewing your mind. Keep developing. Then walk it out.

Doing the work doesn't mean earning God's love. We don't become disciplined so God will finally accept us. Grace comes first.

But grace isn't an excuse to intentionally remain unchanged.

You will fall short. I still do. You will have bad days. The question isn't whether you'll execute perfectly. The question is: What will you do next?

Get up. Reset. Learn. Repent where necessary. Receive grace. Then continue.

Over the years, I've had opportunities to teach and influence thousands of people, directly and indirectly. And I've learned something: Having good information isn't enough. It has to stick.

Growing up in the Bay Area during an urban, hip-hop era shaped how I communicate. Words had rhythm. Ideas had to connect. Things had to be memorable.

It's part of why The Perry Group will use frameworks, stories, music, media, videos, printables, exercises and practical tools.

Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On the left write WHO I AM TODAY . On the right write WHO I BELIEVE GOD IS CALLING ME TO BECOME .

Be honest about your habits, strengths, weaknesses, disciplines, inconsistencies, thinking and responses under pressure. Then look at the gap.

Choose one thing . Not twenty. One. Find the information. Make it a must. Practice it. Ask God for wisdom. And start.

I learned something a long time ago: I couldn't get the life I wanted with the same values and habits I currently had.

I needed more. And I needed to become more than what I currently was.

Today, my reason for continuing that work is much bigger than money. At the end of my life, I want to know that I pursued what God gave me to pursue. That I served. That I developed what He entrusted to me. That I didn't only do what was easy.

Ultimately, I want to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I'll keep learning. I'll keep growing. I'll keep surrendering. I'll keep getting back up. I'll keep becoming. And I'll keep doing the work.

GOD GETS THE GLORY.

— Claude Perry The Perry Group