Living with the End in Sight

About The Podcast

Jerry Wallace has worn many hats over the course of his life—military man (including serving as a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), student, businessman, college professor, writer, and family man. It’s all given him a wide-ranging perspective on life and success. One thing, he says, has never changed: “The foundation of it all is God’s word.” Jerry shares with Paul Amos how trusting in God’s plan leads to true significance in life—whether in business, family, or in any other area of life.

Show Notes

Additional Resources

Surrounded by Heroes by Jerry Wallace (forthcoming)

Timestamps

0:00 — Intro

1:27 — Jerry’s background and military service

9:13 — Transitioning to life outside of the military and rediscovering God

12:31 — How Jerry’s faith helped guide him to a successful business career

19:52 — Jerry’s motivation for becoming a college professor and writing a book

23:53 — Guarding our minds and hearts while still finding the good in things

27:58 — Achieving true significance by following God’s plan

37:08 — Leaving time for reflection and prayer

Discussion

1. Discuss Jerry’s statement that “for every attic quality, there’s a basement quality.” Do you have any qualities, personality traits, or talents that, while positive, have the potential to be negatives if you lean into them too hard or misuse them? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where one of those assets ended up causing trouble for yourself or someone else? How did you realize things had taken a bad turn, and how did you finally “rein yourself in”?
2. Would you describe yourself as having a generally positive, optimistic outlook? If so, how do you maintain that outlook in the face of personal setbacks and troubling developments in modern society? If not, what negative things do you find yourself dwelling on that might be contributing to a negative mood or worldview?
3. Jerry says that he has made Philippians 4:8 an essential part of his life’s philosophy: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Do you take any of that to heart in your own life? What sorts of true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable things do you think about on a regular basis to motivate you and lift your spirits? If you don’t have anything like that in your life right now, what blessings or true and admirable things could you be more mindful of in your day-to-day routine that might keep you from going into negative mental places? Philippians 4:8
4. What have you done in your life that you would describe as truly “significant”—in terms of what they meant to you, the impact they had, what kind of accolades or admiration they drew, etc.? What motivated you to do those things? What kept you going in pursuit of those goals even when you faced hardship or disappointment? How did God’s teachings figure into all of it?
5. Have you ever achieved something that seemed significant in the moment, but you later realized weren’t truly significant, fulfilling, or positive? What was different about your pursuit of those achievements from the truly meaningful achievements you cited in question 4?
6. Try the thought exercise Jerry cites from Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, in which you imagine a funeral where it’s you in the casket. Who are the family member, friend, and business associate who would get up to speak at your funeral, and what would you want them to say about you? Is there anything you’d like them to say about you, but that you don’t feel you’ve truly achieved or exemplified yet? What are some things you could do or changes you could make in your life to get closer to that ideal?