Jesus Career Counselor Book Review and Giveaway

About the Author- Laurie Beth Jones is an internationally recognized best-selling author, speaker, inspirational life coach, and trainer-offering small group, online, and one-on-one training. Previous titles have spent more than thirteen months on the Businessweek bestseller list and have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time Magazine, CNN Financial, and more.

A business-development coach and consultant to CEO’s and organizations, Laurie Beth has conducted training or provided leadership products for major companies including Tyson Foods, Purina-Nestle, Neiman Marcus, Pfizer, Citi Financial, and American Express.

About the Book – Jesus Career Counselor – How to Find (and Keep) Your Perfect Work. Copyright May 2010. Published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN – 978-1-43914906-5.

Written to help readers get, find and keep the work they love, Jesus Career Counselor weaves together practical self-help concepts, stories, statistics and Bible scriptures. The book is divided into four sections and is centered on the four natural giftings or personalities of peoples, this book explores twelve dreams that God has for each individual. It then instructs readers in how to realize each one of these dreams, no matter their natural inclination.

Readers will learn how to discover their four greatest talents and create their personal Talent Shield, which will help them choose a meaningful career based on their Life’s Mission Statement.

Each chapter serves as a free-standing career guidpost, and includes career exercises, pertinent word definitions, career choices, self quizzes, and reader study guides.

The Review - Jesus Career Counselor is a book that is based on what Jesus (the Holy Spirit) might dream for us when considering our life’s work. It is not about a job description, but rather “a way of living and being fruitful in the world.” According to the author, our life’s work is not our job description, but what is being poured into the world from our soul while we are working.

The author reveals the twelve words that flowed from her pen as she contemplated this idea. The words are: to rise, to risk, to roar, reflect, renew, restore, remain, return, regenerate, revive, release, rejoice. These are “The Twelve Dreams of the Holy Spirit.” Through the author’s research and exploration, she discovered that these dreams “flowed through the pages of scripture” and thus became the framework for this book about careers.

The author uses Fire, Water, Earth and Wind to define the four different personality types and she says that each of us must have some portion of the four elements in order to live a balanced, productive, dream-fulfilling life:

Simply put, fire translates to leadership skills, water becomes relationship skills, earth translates into good habits and character traits and wind becomes the creativity and innovation that are in high demand in every industry in the world. Each element is defined with three of the twelve dreams of the Holy Spirit, and a chapter is devoted to each dream.

Throughout the book, the author cites pertinent bible verses that reinforce that Jesus is the ultimate career counselor. For example, “When Jesus came up out of the muddy water of the Jordan, the clouds broke open and he heard, ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’(Luke 3:22). To me, this is the be-all and end-all of any good career counseling. As God loved and claimed his beloved Son, he loves and claims each of us as his special creation. We have been given a divine connection with our Creator, and in that connection we can find ultimate fulfillment.

As a strong “water” personality type, I certainly related to this three chapter section, especially chapter four: Reflect, which describes the Holy Spirit’s Dream that we take the time to reflect. In this crazy world where everyone and everything moves at lightning speed, how can we tap into our inner guidance if we don’t slow down to reflect? The author provides exercises to help us hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. The author also provides ways that we can seek God’s wisdom, for example, by reading scripture, biographies of others who have overcome difficult circumstances, studying history, attending worship and inspirational services and more.

In chapter one, the author asks that the reader begin the process of finding their perfect work by focusing on four main guideposts that -
1. Explore your mission
2. Assess you personality type
3. Identify your vision
4. Discover your four greatest talents

By the end of the book, after spending time on the career exercises and following the author’s suggestions, I know that for me, writing is the work that I do naturally and it is a career that is fulfilling and honors God. I was not surprised to see it in the list of water occupations at the end of chapter four.

This book is not written just for religious followers of Jesus Christ, it is written for all who understand that our spiritual life intersects with our earthly life in so many important ways. For those who seek an inspirational book that will coach, counsel and guide you toward the career you really want, be sure to check out Jesus Career Counselor.

Also, be sure to check out my earlier post of Laurie Beth Jones article The Top Five Rules for Finding Perfect Work. Here is a slideshow presentation of the same article.

Buy It: Jesus Career Counselor is available on Amazon for $13.59.



Win It - Julie from FSB Associates is offering one copy of Jesus Career Counselor to my readers.

To Enter is easy, just one mandatory entry.

Mandatory Entry:

1. Are you currently looking for work, stuck in a job you hate or just searching for what you want to do in life? Please comment.

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Many thanks to Julie from FSB Associates for providing the review copy and giveaway copy!

The product(s) featured in this giveaway were provided free of cost to me by the author, the manufacturer, or representing PR agency. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Top Five Rules for Finding Perfect Work -Guest Post by Laurie Beth Jones

Have you ever had one of those Ah Ha moments that Oprah (for one) is always talking about? I had mine as I was reading Jesus Career Counselor: How to Find and Keep Your Perfect Work by author Laurie Beth Jones. Here it is - While I may not be perfect at writing (I'm the only editor I've got!) writing is my perfect work. I am currently reading Laurie's book and it has helped me to officially come to that realization.

Stay tuned! Jesus Career Counselor: How to Find and Keep Your Perfect Work is one of my upcoming book reviews and giveaways. In the meantime, please enjoy this article by Laurie Beth Jones and good luck finding your perfect work!

Top Five Rules for Finding Perfect Work

By Laurie Beth Jones,

Author of Jesus Career Counselor: How to Find (and Keep) Your Perfect Work

Rule #1) Ask yourself "What did I come to this world to do?" What kind of daily work would excite you in the very marrow of your bones? In order to get true alignment, you must establish a clear, written-down mission statement.

For example, mine is "to recognize, promote and inspire divine connection in myself and others." I have 3 verbs, or action words, a core value, and a tribe. This begins the clarity process, and becomes a filter for everything you do.

Rule #2) Know your personality type. Do you love to take risks and take charge, like Fire? Do you bring order and structure naturally to everything you do, like Earth? Perhaps you are more like Water, going with the flow, and rushing to serve those in the lowest place. Or maybe you love to inspire others and bring in fresh ideas, like the Wind. The workplace needs all of these qualities, and you have been gifted especially in one or two of these elements. Find out which ones are most like you. For example, I am a Wind/Fire combination, specializing in Fast Results. Find your special elemental combination.

Rule #3) Sit down and draw a Talent Shield, showing your four highest gifts in symbol form. Ask your friends and family "What do I naturally do well?" My four greatest gifts are my love of God (heart symbol), my ability to speak (mouth), ability to write (pen) and freedom to do all of the above (wings.)

Use your Talent Shield as a filter for any job opportunity before you, asking "Will this work allow a 100% match in my gifted areas?"

Rule #4) Write down a vision of your ideal work day. If all things were possible, what would you be doing on a Monday morning, at 9 am? Who would you be talking to, about what, wearing what? What would your workspace look like?

Fill your vision with details that include not only what is sitting on your desk (if you have one) but also the feelings you are having as you go about your day. This becomes the model you work from as you begin to sculpt, identify, and create your perfect work.


Rule #5) Share all of the above with everyone you can. Network with those who are doing the kind of work you wish you could be doing. Research the industry. Read biographies. Attend workshops. Get educated. Put yourself in the arena of the work you want to have. Show up even to volunteer. Begin to live your mission every day, and you will indeed find, and keep your perfect work.

© 2010 Laurie Beth Jones, author of Jesus Career Counselor: How to Find (and Keep) Your Perfect Work

Author Bio
Laurie Beth Jones, author of Jesus Career Counselor: How to Find (and Keep) Your Perfect Work, is an internationally recognized bestselling author, speaker, inspirational life coach, and trainer; and she offers small group, online, and one-on-one training. Laurie Beth's books on the workplace have sold more than one million copies and been translated into sixteen foreign languages. Some of these titles have spent more than thirteen months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list and have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time magazine, CNN Financial, and more.

Recently named one of the top thirty leaders in the United States by an independent research firm, Jones has been featured in major media outlets and been invited to speak in all pillars of society, such as business, education, health care, government, faith and service organizations, the mass media, and the disenfranchised.

A business-development coach and consultant to CEOs and organizations, Laurie Beth has conducted training or provided leadership products for major companies, including Tyson Foods, Purina-Nestlé, Neiman Marcus, Pfizer, CitiFinancial, and American Express.

For more information, please visit www.lauriebethjones.com and follow the author on Twitter: twitter.com/LaurieBethJones.