Faith & Work

Early in my adulthood, right when I was finishing my bachelor’s degree at Cal State Fullerton, my children's Mother and I were newlyweds living in an above-garage studio apartment in Anaheim Hills, CA.

In this studio apartment, I had several revelatory experiences that have stuck with me throughout my life. The first was a visitation from my now 7-year-old daughter, Ellie Dawn. I was finishing a full night’s sleep, and as I approached waking that morning, I had a dream that I was already awake. At the end of my bed was a little girl peeking over the edge with a smile. She had chunky brown hair and a face I would never forget. Then I woke up and realized it hadn’t actually happened—I’d been in a dream state.

In that moment, I knew I was going to be a Father. When my daughter was about 3 years old, one day I looked at her and realized it was her.

This experience taught me to never discount the realness of revelatory dreams.

The second revelatory experience of note—one that has guided my life ever since—was a dream I had while living in that same above-garage studio. The dream opened to a scene where I was kneeling in a marketplace with cobblestone pavers. A beautiful fountain stood in the middle, surrounded by shops along the edges of the courtyard, and a congregation of people knelt on both sides of me, filling the space.

As we knelt in total silence, I looked to each side and recognized two people from my childhood. After that recognition, a mighty cloud filled with the glory of God descended from above and came to rest in the air above the fountain. It was immediately known to everyone present that this cloud was the Lord. The emotional intensity of this dream felt as real as—or more real than—any experience I’d had while awake.

It took the congregation and me a moment to adjust to the glory of God that had descended upon us.

Once we did, God spoke to us from this glorious cloud:

“All within the sound of my voice are called and chosen to lead this generation to the eighth seal.”

Then I woke up with a burning impression to write down what I had just experienced. So I did.

This dream happened more than a decade ago, and I have been working ever since to first comprehend and then magnify this calling. This for me is a continual practice.

As a Bible-reading Christian up to that point, I had only ever heard of seven seals referenced in the scriptures. I researched the topic and found very little on the eighth seal. Over time, however, I began receiving further understanding on the subject, along with an increase in transcendental experiences that have guided me to my continuously evolving level of awareness about God’s statement today.

At this point in the article, you may be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with business?” :)

So let me answer that…

We cannot—and shouldn’t—partition our lives between work and faith, especially if we want corporate culture to thrive.

World-renowned best-selling author, twice named the world’s most influential business thinker, Kim B. Clark Chair, and Professor at Harvard Business School, Dr. Clayton Christensen, articulated this point eloquently in his best-selling book The Power of Everyday Missionaries. "He emphasized that we’re engaged in work about 60 hours a week Monday through Friday, and if we believe it’s inappropriate to share the gospel at work, we’re blocking off the majority of our life from that sacred work". This quote emphasizes the idea of not letting artificial boundaries hinder sharing the gospel in everyday settings, including the workplace.

I remember reading this book early in my professional career and being deeply inspired by Dr. Christensen’s courage and tact in living and sharing his faith regardless of his environment.

This is how my calling and election play into my professional career.

After a decade of seeking and receiving understanding about how I am supposed to be one leader among many who lead this generation to the eighth seal, I have come into alignment with what that actually looks like.

The vision is a world without highly avoidable human suffering. In my faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe the end state of this planet will be a society where celestial beings dwell here with us. We will live in peace, safety, and health with the divine, and the economic needs of all people will be met—yielding “no poor among us.”

This is the vision for the world that myself and others are called to fully manifest. It’s a moonshot of a goal (no degrees of glory pun intended).

With this vision pulling us forward, there are a variety of avenues for progressing toward this goal. The three I have dedicated my life and business to are:

1.  Products & Services: Growing up in a home where Dr. Milton Friedman was venerated basically to sainthood, I am a firm believer that free enterprise has the ability to solve the majority of issues we face in our world.

2.  Legislative: Conversely, there are still areas where it is the proper role of government to facilitate change rather than the market.

3.  Art & Media: This one is equally as important as the first two. Sharing ideas, inspiring our generation, and storytelling through all forms of art and media are critical to spreading the vision.

All three avenues have proven capability to change how we think, how we feel, and how we live our lives.

These three avenues—geared toward the North Star of leading this generation to the eighth seal—are what I have incorporated into my startup business, High Noon Product.

In this business, I consult with companies, leading the production of outcomes across these three areas of focus that move humanity forward toward its celestial destiny.

Hence the business name “High Noon,” an homage to the glory of this earth in that vision state… “glory as bright as the sun at noon day.”

With all of this said, you can read a more detailed overview from a challenge-vs.-solution point of view in my previous article titled “Our Vision For The New World.”

For this article, I wanted to focus on the high-level calling that drives our vision forward.

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