I turn 35 this month.

Age is just a number, but there is significance with each year.

I’m considering my 35th birthday as my “half 70th birthday.”

If I’m half 70, and these first 35 years have flown by, then it’s time to turn the volume up to 11 and get after it.

Today I want to talk about 10 ‘P’ words I’ve been considering as I approach this upcoming day.

#1. Am I Living With Correct PRIORITIES?

Months fly by, weeks fly by even faster.

I need to lock down good habits so that when I look up again in how many ever years I’m somewhere where I want to be.

Am I spending my time and energy where I want to? Am I living by my values and my priorities?

Warren Buffet suggests that you write down 25 things you want to do before you die.

Then he encourages you to choose your top 5.

Then he says never think about the other 20 ever again.

I want and need this kind of laser focus.

I want what I choose to say yes to, to be of great value.

In order for that to happen, I will have to start saying no to a lot of good things, so I can say yes to the few things for which I was created.

I don’t have complete clarity for this laser focus yet, but that brings us to our second P.

#2. How do I excel at my PURPOSE.

What was I created for? Why am I on the earth right now, in this time in history.

What are the unique gifts that God has given me that only I can bestow?

What am I actually passionate about? What am I so convinced is so valuable that I’ll press through any hardship because of it?

I’ve tried my hand at a lot of things in the past 35 years. I’ve put a lot of tools in my tool belt. But which tools do I need to toss aside, and which ones do I need to sharpen and use more?

I’ve got some vague categories.

Jesus, Communication, Individuals.

But how do I narrow those categories down, so that when an opportunity or distraction comes my way I can filter it and say no to it.

Whenever I listen to good music I want to make music. But is that a distraction and a youthful pipe dream? Or is that something I should be pursuing? Same with photography? At least once a year I consider getting back into photography.

Maybe Michael Hyatts framework would be helpful here. He used P words too.

#3. How do I go deeper in PRAYER and God’s PRESENCE?

What does my prayer life look like over the next 35 years?

And how do I dive deep into God’s presence?

How do I behold His beauty? And from this heart posture get transformed into His likeness?

How do I position myself to make the foundation of my life the love of God?

You can’t give what you don’t have.

I know these things need to be a priority, the first priority.

I guess the answer is being super disciplined about prioritizing that quality time with the Lord, communing and listening, and recognizing His presence through out my day.

Prayer seems so simple, yet so profound.

#4. What does it mean to PROTECT and PROVIDE for my family?

I read Kingdom Man by Tony Evans. and I really enjoyed the framework he provided for men, we are called to do 3 things. Protect, Provide and Guide.

Am I capable and equipped to protect my wife and child.

What does protection look like besides physical protection.

What does it mean to protect them spiritually, mentally, emotionally?

A quote I’ve been seeing around is:

“You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training.”

That’s a good word. So good in fact I’m gonna let you read it again.

“You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training.”

What kind of training do I need to be investing in?

And what does provision look like for my family?

Am I building assets to change the legacy of the Baker family? I’d like to build more assets, what if I built one a year?

Should I be growing a giant garden? Storing food?

Will I leave an inheritance to my children children like the book of Proverbs says a good man does?

“A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children,
but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”

Proverbs 13:22

#5. What does the PURSUIT of my wife look like over the next 35 years?

Jess and I recently celebrated 10 years of marriage. And I’m so grateful for my her. How do I continue to be the best husband for her over these next 35 years and beyond?

This first year of having a child was a giant transition. I’m not complaining, Fatherhood is amazing, but it is a huge huge adjustment and change to my way of life.

If you know someone who is in their first year of raising a child, extend lots of grace to them.

This year has been a blur, and I feel like I’m now just starting to wake up even though Jess has had the majority of sleepless nights.

This past year has been the busiest we’ve ever been. It’s also the most time we’ve spent apart on a daily basis because of our busy schedules and varying responsibilities.

So how do I make sure that our trajectory is connection, closeness and intimacy?

Jess and I are realizing our need to connect and schedule a weekly date time without our son in the midst of our busy busy schedules.

#6. What does being PRESENT look like?

A revelation I’ve had recently is a lot of my frustration comes from not being fully present.

When I’m wishing I was somewhere else, or dreading something upcoming, I’m robbed of being in the moment, and that steals my joy.

So how do I make sure that I’m fully present for everything I’m doing?

Sabbath is a helpful discipline that we’re implementing. I turn my phone off for 24 hours and try to say no to other outside obligations.

The priorities for Sabbath are intentional recognition of God’s presence, thankfulness, rest, and family. Oh and good food too.

I think creating a place for my phone will be helpful as well. Putting my phone in a basket instead of my pocket when I’m home will make it so I’m not as tempted to pull it out and look at it all the time.

Also I’d like to be consistent about implementing phone hours. The phone gets turned off at a certain hour in the evening, and only turned on the next day once I’ve done some things in the morning in my ideal morning routine.

This will make it so I don’t start my day reactively, but proactively.

I don’t want my phone to steal from quality time with my son. But right now I catch it doing so.

(Don’t blame inanimate objects)

I’ve got to manage my availability to the world, otherwise I will be pulled in a million directions, and I’ll find myself reacting to everyone else’s desires instead of my own. Prioritizing other peoples priorities, and left with my soul desolate and my family suffering.

It’s so tempting in ministry to give everyone besides your family your best self. That’s not fair to anyone.

Clarifying my purpose and priorities will help me choose what to say yes to so I don’t secretly wish I was somewhere else. I’ve got to say no to life sucking things. And even say no to good things, that will rob me of time and energy for the best things.

These are some things I’ll be implementing in 2020 to help with that.

I will no longer accept anonymous feedback, and if I do I will make it public. I’m going to start an anonymous feedback post that I will update so I bring that feedback into the light.

I will choose to not work for clients that want the best deal. If frugality is their priority than they want as much out of me for as little in return, and that’s not a fun business relationship.

If I’m not 90% excited about an activity, I shouldn’t commit to it. Because attending things out of obligation isn’t good for me or anyone else.

#7. How do I schedule time for PAPER?

As I’ve talked with some Bible scholars I admire, I realize they read a TON. The books they are reading aren’t easy leisurely reads.

I’ve consumed a lot of audio books, but unfortunately a lot of these Bible related tomes aren’t on audio. Which means I have to schedule time to sit down and have some focused reading time.

I also need to be scheduling time for writing. Long swaths of focused uninterrupted time. Right now I’m writing this through my lunch break, because focused uninterrupted time is not at a premium. So I need to find these few hour segments and make the most of them.

What subject matter am I intrigued by that I want to learn about over the next 35 years?

#8. How do I grow in PATIENCE?

Gosh, real talk. I’ve hit levels of frustration this year that I’m not proud of.

Busyness, lack of sleep, unclear communication, and outside feedback have at times gotten the best of me. And by best of me, I mean the worst of me.

How do I plan to mitigate against chaos?

“Most of our panic stress is due to poor planning.” @jimjessbaker

So what’s my plan?

I’m growing in this area. I’m learning to identify what actually is frustrating me. And once I’ve identified it, I can come up with a strategy to battle the frustration. Often times breaking it down into steps so I can see the bite size chunks I need to take instead of trying to eat the whole cow and feeling overwhelmed.

#9. What am I doing about the POOR and needy?

Widows and orphans are pretty important to God. The poor and needy and exploited are also important to Him. It’s easy to turn a blind eye to what’s happening in the world, but homelessness in Hawaii is at an all time high, and slavery in the world is the highest it’s ever been. There are people on the earth right now starving to death because of corrupt governments. What am I doing for the voiceless, underprivileged and exploited over the next 35 years of my life?

Currently we partner with a ministry here in Hawaii that is helping the homeless but is there more I can be doing, either hands on or through giving?

Is there some type of awareness that I can be bringing to this subject?

Where can my resources and time have the most impact on this issue?

#10. How do I smash PASSIVITY?

Don’t withdraw. That’s been a recurring theme in the past month.

How, when life happens, do we not run to bed and crawl under the covers?

How do I get out of fantasy mode, and put plan and action to these dreams?

How when there is a disagreement or strong opinion, can I show up and be respectful but still not back down, especially if it’s something I think is important.

I’ve got to add an 11th after writing this post.

There were some other great suggestions as people have interacted with this content. imProving on Purposeful Prayer. Someone mentioned prosperity, which I think goes in the providing category. Productive passionate, patient, peaceful papa. I think peace can go with the patient category. So here’s my bonus 11th.

#11. What will I be a PROFESSIONAL at when I’m 70?

Yesterday I listened to the Entreleadership Podcast where they interviewed Steven Pressfield. War of Art is on my top 3 books, so I loved the interview.

My takeaway from the interview was that you have to identify yourself as a professional.

An amateur will skip work to go play golf, a professional is disciplined and puts in the work.

What are the daily disciplines of super high achieving professionals? How many hours of deep work are they putting into their trade?

Do those things.

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So I guess this whole post boils down to a couple things.

1. With a foundation of prayer and God’s presence, clarify my purpose, so I can live by correct priorities, identifying as a professional and putting in the work.
2. Bring peace and protection to my family through pursuing my wife and providing for my family, and use this foundation to care for the larger community including the poor and needy.

So… the ten ‘P’ thoughts as I approach my half 70th birthday…

Am I living by correct PRIORITIES?

How do I excel in my PURPOSE?

How do I go deeper in PRAYER and God’s PRESENCE?

How do I PROTECT and PROVIDE for my family?

What does the PURSUIT of my wife look like over the next 35 years?

How can I be more PRESENT?

How do I grow in PATIENCE?

How do I make time for PAPER?

What am I doing about the POOR and needy?

How do I smash PASSIVITY?

And the bonus 11.

What will I be a PROFESSIONAL at when I’m 70?

Which ‘P’ word is speaking to you as you read this? Comment and let us know.