68. Your Identity is Greater than Your Job Title: Discussion with Mark Collins on Character as Your Calling

Welcome to the first episode of 2025 on the Curious for Christ podcast! I couldn’t think of a better way to begin the year than with an inspiring conversation I had with Mark Collins, founder of Freedom for Life and author of Life Mastery: Living Life by Design, Not by Default. Mark is a transformational leader with a passion for helping people become the hero God created them to be in their businesses, relationships, and lives.

In this episode, we discuss how aligning your identity and actions with God’s truth can help you break free from past limitations, create a life of peace, and embrace the purpose He has for you. Mark’s profound statement, “Your character is your calling,” serves as the foundation for this insightful discussion.

Together, we explore:
• The power of seeing yourself the way God sees you.
• How your thoughts, words, and actions shape your reality.
• Why failure is simply a report card, not a reflection of your identity.
• How to persist and trust God to guide you toward transformation.
• The beauty of co-creating a life with God, grounded in His Spirit and truth.

If you’ve ever felt stuck or disconnected, this episode offers practical wisdom and encouragement to help you move forward with confidence, clarity, and peace.


Reflection Challenge:
Take time this week to ask God to let you see yourself through His eyes. Listen to how He describes you, and meditate on His truth.

Get Connected:
If you feel disconnected from God and need spiritual guidance, let’s talk. I’m here to help you, my friend. Book a free Discovery Call so we can explore how to reconnect with God and live a life of peace, clarity, and confidence.

Resources Mentioned:
• Check out Mark Collins’ Website: Freedom for Life
• Grab Mark’s Book: Life Mastery: Living Life by Design, Not by Default (Available on Mark’s website and Amazon)
• Mark's Course: Life Mastery Program.

Closing Encouragement:
I believe in you and the incredible person God created you to be. Let 2025 be the year you fully embrace how much He adores you—worth fighting for, worth dying for. Let’s walk this journey together, my friends, and discover the amazing plans God has for you.

Don’t Miss Out:
Our next episode drops January 8! Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this podcast with a friend who might need encouragement today.

Until next time, may God bless you richly and abundantly!

Thanks for listening! Your support means the world. Join our Curious for Christ Facebook Group and become an Insider for weekly inspiration and encouragement.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to curious for Christ. This is the first episode of the year. So I want to wish you all. Uh, wonderful. 20, 25. And I wanted to start with a beautiful conversation that I had with Mark Collins. He is the founder of freedom for life and the author of the transformational leadership book, life mastery, living life by design, not by default. Mark has seen hundreds of lives transformed through his life mastery system, and he's deeply passionate about helping people step into the hero they were created to be in their business relationships and life. I wish the same for you. And one statement that really caught my attention from mark is your character is your calling in today's conversation. We'll dive into. How aligning our actions with God's truth and seeing ourselves through his eyes can help us get unstuck experience peace and step into the lives he has designed for us. It's about living by the spirit and creating a life with God. Seeing ourselves through his lens rather than the worlds or past identities or what people have told us that we were or were not. And so without further ado, let's dive into my conversation with mark. Welcome to Curious for Christ. Do you ever find yourself lying awake at night, wondering about God's plan for your life? Maybe you wake up with big dreams, but feel unsure where to start or what your next step should be. If you're curious about exploring your faith and finding purpose, then you've come to the right place. Hi, I'm Alexandra. I too felt lost, unsure of the direction my life was taking. I yearned to understand my purpose and have someone guide me. But I kept telling myself I was too busy, the timing wasn't right, and my lack of clarity prevented me from being consistent, until I found Christ. He brought peace into my life and revealed the way to find purpose, by anchoring myself in Him. In this podcast, we'll journey together exploring the Bible to gain a deeper understanding of Him and cultivate your own personal relationship with Christ. So open up your Bible, put in those earbuds and listen up because God is speaking to you. He is making everything new and you don't want to miss it. Let's get started. Good morning, Mark. It's so nice to have you and thank you for joining me today on Curious for Christ. I was very interested in that powerful statement that you had made, your character is your calling, and I really wanted to discuss that because I think it's a very important topic. Could you share a little bit what inspired you? With this message and how you came to see calling is more about character than position or role or title. Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me, Alexandra. I think for me, it came from a couple of places. It came from my own life and really trying to find meaning and understanding of who I was and the impact I was supposed to have in the world that led to the things that I created. My book, Life Mastery and the course as well, but it really came from a journey of trying to figure out. Okay. Who am I? What's the person I'm created to be the person? I believe I am supposed to be that shows up. Who is that individual and being a person of faith being a Christian unpacking it and seeing it in the word of God and how he treated relationships with the people he worked with. And then in coaching, seeing how the people I work with, including myself before I understood what identity really was. People showing their value and worth by really their title, their role, right? If you talk to somebody, Alexander, you know this, and you say, Hey, introduce yourself. Typically it'll be first off a title, a role, a position. They have, I'm this, I'm that. And a lot of times we take that as as who we are, who we're created to be, right? And so backside of that, the other side, the challenging side is. Many times we think we don't have value until, right? I'm not somebody that is, intelligent until I have my college degree. I'm not somebody that's successful until I reach that position in my job, or I start that and have that successful business. I'm not somebody of worth and value until I have that level of income. And a lot of times we look externally to validate who we are internally, instead of understanding who we're created to be and having our outcomes be a reflection of who we are. And then again, back to that biblical perspective, seeing that God never really brought skill sets to people and had them grow and change to work into positions. He would tell them who they are, and he would tell them the purpose on their life. They're calling the impact that they're supposed to have. And it wasn't some skill set they had. It wasn't some ability they had. It was who they were. And what I find fascinating about that, and I see in people's lives is it's not the things that you're doing, because who you're what you're doing, the things that you're creating, the outcomes that you have in your life are a reflection of who you are, but the what I call the secret sauce to your life, your success and your impact in the world isn't your skill set that you bring to it, but your character, your value, the person you are, your passion, your integrity, who you are as an individual. I'm a pastor as well. And so I wrote it not just because of those things that I talked about, but also because people always come to you and say what's my calling? What's my purpose? What's my reason? And we wait to we believe that I'm supposed to wait till I achieve something. And, that'll be, that'll bring value and worth to me and to other people around me. What I invite people to understand is it's not the things that you're doing. So you don't have to wait till you have a title. You don't have to wait till you have an income level to know that there's value on your life. I believe that you're actually planted where you're at. You're brought into circumstances where you're at because you're the answer, because there's things about you in your character, your worth and your value that will have the impact that God wants to have in the world. You don't have to wait till you have a title or an income. You actually are having an impact right now. You just don't see it. That's great. Thank you. And so it is about Really looking where got planted us and start here and understand that you're the impact. A lot of times we feel like we're unqualified, right? Oh, I can't. I can't speak about this thing because I haven't had all the experience or I can't do this thing because I haven't had all the training. We wait and don't do anything. Exactly. And that holds you back. And what I say is you're the answer to the circumstance. You're walking into. You're not the question to be figured out when you understand that. Now, all of a sudden, it's this person that you are created to be that shows up and everybody benefits from it, right? Yes. I value is in God. Our character or identity is found in Christ. And that alone is enough. When God says, my grace is sufficient for you. We don't need it. Anything else it's sufficient it's true. We often tie our purpose to a job, to a title, to a role. Why do you believe God is more focused on shaping our character rather than assigning us to specific roles? Right? And so it's interesting. I tell a couple of stories, but 1st, I'd say this that a lot of times we are looking for our outcomes to prove our inner worth and in that place. We feel like we have value because we're doing things. And what I see in the word of God is that he's not inviting us to do things to prove who we are, but because of who we are. And so what I mean is, so you take some people in the Bible. So let's take yeah. One of my favorites is Gideon. It's in Judges chapter 6. He's Doing his family chores, which is basically threshing wheat, right? And at that time, the enemies of God were suppressing the people. They were stealing their things. So when they have a harvest, they take all of the harvests. When they had new flocks, new sheep new animals, they would grab those as well. They take all their possessions as it would increase. And, because of the decisions the Israelites made. So Gideon's in this place where he's in a He's hiding in a wine press so that he doesn't get the things that his family has stolen. And while he's doing a family chore, which for him was threshing weight, it says that an angel comes and sits on a rock and says, greetings, mighty man of valor. Interesting phrase for a guy who's in hiding, right? And in that place, first off, God gives him an identity or a mighty man of valor. And then he tells him through the angel that he's going to save his people from their enemies. He's going to defeat the enemies and his people will not suffer any longer. Of course, he has a conversation wanting to tell God why he's wrong and why he's not qualified and why, and trying to figure out, where have you been? God, our lives haven't been great. This is all paraphrasing. So he tells him who he is, tells him what he's going to do. And very shortly thereafter, they come to take The enemies of God, the Midianites come to take more things from the Israelites and they go to war against them. Interesting thing, Alexander, from the time he was told he was a mighty man of valor, told what his purpose was until he lived out that purpose, there was one thing that didn't happen in between. He didn't go to school. He didn't go to training. He didn't have somebody show him skill sets and abilities and talents that he needed to do that. He was not going to school and earn a four year degree, a vocational school, or what have you, to become that leader that he was. The reason he wasn't is because he already was that person. The only person that didn't know it was him. God isn't trying to train you to become somebody. He's trying to reveal to you that you are somebody. And in that place, it's those things that happen. You could look in the New Testament and look at Paul, right? Paul was a devout Jew who was amazingly intellectual, who was believing he was doing God's work by killing God's people. Obviously he had an encounter with Jesus, and then he walked, through the things he did, and basically three quarters of the New Testament was written by Paul. Here's the thing that didn't change in both of those circumstances. Here's the thing that was the same was this man who when he believed there was something right passionately with all of his energy and all of his might went after it. It was the same character he had that was killing Christians that he used bring people to Christ. That thing didn't change your characters. You're calling it was exactly who he was created to be. That was being used in the wrong place. And so in those places, it's your character more than you're calling. It's not you adding skills and all those things that you think you need to become somebody. It's unleashing who you are because you are somebody. It doesn't mean you don't gain skill sets along the way. It just means the skill sets aren't the thing that makes the difference. It's you in it. And if I could give you a last story, and here's where it really came to fruition for me in the baptism of Jesus and Matthew 3, Jesus is baptized. He comes up out of the water, says that the the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. And abided, which means it stayed with him and his voice from heaven came saying, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased and identity statement of who he is not to him, but to the people around him fast forward into the next chapter when he's fasted for 40 days and Satan comes to tempt him the very first temptation he has, you think is going to be the one that knocks him out. That's the very best shot. Satan was to get him. And so the temptation was this. If you truly are the son of God. questioning your identity. If you truly are the son of God, then turn these stones to bread. Basically, if you really believe this is who you are, then prove it to me. And that same temptation is the same one we use today. We feel this need and this necessity. I need to prove I'm a person of worth and value. And so I need to have outcomes to show. I have value, whatever it's a relationship, or it's an accomplishment or what have you a title or a diploma on my wall. But the truth of the matter is your value comes from who you are, and those outcomes come afterwards. It's not the reverse, but most people think it is. And so they live from that place. Yeah, so it really acting out of who God says we are not, outwards approval or even believing the doubts and Satan, which is. He's always going to be there to discourage God's work and discourage us to do God's great work that he has set in advance for us to do. Yeah, it's a great message. You wrote a book and you mentioned that life mastery, living, Life by design, not by default. How do you help people discover their hero in hiding, as you mentioned? And can you describe also some notable transformations that you have observed in people through your work? Yeah, I appreciate the question, Alexandra. Through my course, Life Mastery and the book, Life Mastery, Living Life by Design, it really is trying to bring tools and strategies from biblical instruction for people to actually unpack the person they're created to be. For me, there's 2 overarching themes, helping you discover everything that you're created to be. So you can have the life that you're created for, we know parts and pieces, and we know some of the person we're created to be at any time. But here's the truth of the matter. Unless you understand who you're created to be, you'll always live from what your life has told you are. And in that place, it's not just Satan. That's our, that's telling us to follow this mold or this design or this idea. It's what our past has told us. So our failures, the experiences we walk through the challenges in life, the things people have told us, all of these, when you're a young person starts to have an effect on what you believe your identity is. And just like in the word of God and just like in Gideon's life, right? You know why Gideon knew that he was his tribe was the smallest and he was the least of his tribe. It doesn't say in the word of God that you and I know that the reason he knew he was the least was because that's what he was told. It wasn't a natural understanding that, oh, I'm the least qualified and everybody of all my people. No, it was something he was told and it's not too dissimilar from what we live out sometimes where people give us a projection of who they believe we're supposed to be. So for us, it's really starting to unpack that. And the foundation of everything we do by helping people unpack their identity. Again, living from who you're created to be, not what your life has told you that created value comes from who did God make me to be? And what does this man or woman look lived out? And it is identity. And so for us, it's, it starts with identity, which means it starts by, not discouraging or acting like your experiences didn't happen, but setting your experiences of your life. Aside and setting your outcomes aside your title, your role, your position, all the things that the world and sometimes we think make us who we are. You are who you are apart from your outcomes and your experiences. With those 2 set aside, who's the person looking back in the mirror, your character, your value, your integrity, your passion, right? Those things that make you. You can actually look throughout all of the Bible, and what you'll see is character traits of individuals. We talked about Paul, but you can see it all over the place with David, with Peter, with John, with anybody, with Joseph, with Esther, there's characters or people throughout the Bible that you see their character lived out, and it's their character that made the difference in their life. It's who they're created to be. So that person looking back in the mirror, who is that individual? And so for the people we work with. One of the tools we use is to create an I am statement. I tell him I'll give you the first two words. The rest is from you. The first two words are I am. So for me, an example would be I am a man of integrity and worth. I am a person of passion. I desire to be able to have great impact in the world and to love deeply those people I care about. I'm a person of strength and fortitude who has a absolute tenaciousness when it comes to accomplishing the things that I believe I'm created for. So what are those things that make you? You notice everything I said wasn't an outcome. It wasn't a trophy on a wall. It wasn't a diploma. It wasn't a vision of what my past has told me. But really, who did God make me to be? And as people of faith, when you're creating that I am statement, I invite the people I work with to start with a conversation with God and say, God, who did you make me to be? And in that place, have that conversation and write those things down because you'll never hit a target you don't see. And for us, it's so important. Having that target of, okay, if this is who God created me to be, then this is the target I'm aiming for. This is the person that will show up in my life. Because he hasn't made you for your pains in your past and the limitations of others that have been put on you. And he's not made you specifically for your outcomes or the things that you want to have as an accumulation of your life. He's made you as an individual just like Jesus. This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. His mission in the earth hadn't started yet. He'd done things, But his mission hadn't started until after those events, but he was spoken of value in who he was before he began. Because his value wasn't in his outcome as Savior. He was a Savior because of his value as the Son of God on the earth. In that place, isn't that the same father wants for all of his children? In both of those places, it's really letting that out. And some examples, I think of a lady that we've worked with. Her name is Evelyn and Evelyn had a has a job, has a husband, has children, has family, has community around her, but inside she was a woman who didn't feel that she was somebody of value and worth. I had a husband who loved her, had a job that she was succeeding at, right? It wasn't that the outcomes of her life were horrible. It was that she had no sense of value. It's that quiet thing that you tell yourself that nobody else knows. They see the outcomes of it and the way you express yourself. The emotions you have and some of those things, but it's that internal part. And for her, there's an internal understanding from her past in her childhood that said that I don't have value and worth. And in using some of the tools and strategies, the one we talked about identity and others, she was able to start to see that. This innate value of who God made her to be that she wasn't a sum total of her past and what other people have said and how other people treated her, but there was a value that was upon her. That was beyond what all of those people had seen. And then living in that truth, she was able to see it, the outcome of which wasn't just this internal value and strength of, oh, man, I do have value, but it's in the relationships where you can trust people. Your husband, where you can give yourself to your children, where you can be in relationship and it wasn't determined by outcome and you weren't guarded against, letting people in too far. Because what happens if I'm vulnerable, this authentic woman showed up in amazing, transparent ways and continues to do so because she felt that this was an ability I had, I already have that. I'm not trying to get my value from other people. Therefore, I can give my value to other people. Yes, mindset is very important and set our minds on things above is essential. I see it in my work as well. I cannot start the day unless I have my mind set on God and with the heart of giving, especially with the podcast or, being a life coach and even in my own family, I can have the same outcome, but if my mind is not set on God, I do not, I may not feel loved by my husband, him doing things that are very loving. I may not feel that way and therefore my experience is not the same because I miss out on all the blessings because I do not see. Life with the eyes of God, or I don't see others with God's eyes. It's very essential. And I thank you for doing this work to help people with that as well. You mentioned struggle setbacks It's easy to feel like failures when those happen. And you mentioned that, other people may also tell us who we are or are not that may influence. But sometimes we just face also just challenges in life. And how do you encourage others to view these moments more? As character building or to keep our eyes on God instead of, just shifting and believing Satan's lies about others and, feeling like a failure and see these as defeats. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a great question. Alexandra and I, and there's this phrase that I use with the people I work with. It's this you believe you are, you'll become. And what that means is if you're, if you think you're a failure waiting to happen, then the things that aren't going right in your life, you'll use to prove it. If you believe, as I tell the people I work with, you're the answer to the circumstance you're walking into, you're not the question to be figured out. When you believe you're the answer, then all of a sudden challenges come up and solutions happen rapidly. You don't have, like in many cases, right? I wrote my book and the title on purpose, living life by design, not by default, life mastery, living life by design, not by default, because many times we think we live life by default, which means negative, disempowering emotions happen. And I try and overcome them and counteract them with my thoughts or with my favorite scripture. And eventually I get around to finding solutions to the challenge I'm walking into, but in that place of living from who you are, understanding you're the answer. God's given to the circumstance, not the question to be figured out. Now, all of a sudden, those answers, those solutions, those ideas those abilities to really find a thing to pivot and do things in a different way that will still bring the overall outcome that you desire and God designs. You're able to find those easily and immediately in those places. So in that place, you're able to live it out. And it really comes from a place of understanding that your thoughts matter. Your thoughts are worth, if I don't feel I'm somebody worth loving, I can't receive love from people, even if they're loving me. Yeah, it's a self fulfilled prophecy type of. Absolutely. Proverbs 23 6. It's a core scripture in our mastering your thoughts section of teaching and the chapter in my book. It says this, it says, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he? Now, the scripture is in context to a wealthy man. The author is telling the reader that be Careful with this wealthy individual. He's acting generously on the outside, but as hard as differently, he says, as he thinks in his heart. So is he, but in there is a nugget and instruction of truth that God gives us that. Okay. So if my thoughts are leading me to the life I'm living, what I tell people is this, your thoughts are either aligned with who God. Created you to be, or they're lying to you. There is no in between. There's only one truth and it's the truth of what God says you are, who he says you are in the life he says you're going to live. If you're telling yourself something, I'm a failure, or I'm not worth loving, or I guess I don't get to have these things in my life, right? If you're telling yourself something contrary to what God says, then you're lying to yourself, and it's not any harm or foul. Again, I wrote the book Life mastery, living life by design, not by default, because most of the time, all of us are living by default, believing that emotions just happen, negative thoughts just come, and I have to react to them, not realizing that I can choose the thoughts I think, and I can actually align my thoughts, remind myself that the words in my mouth, the meditations of my heart be pleasing your sight, that meditation is another word for your thoughts. So if my thoughts align with who he says I am, if I remind myself by proactively by design, not by default, proactively remind myself of who I am on a daily basis, that man or woman starts to show up. Yes, thank you. That's so true. So what are some practical ways that you would suggest people to integrate to apply those biblical principles to their lives? So that they. Live by design and not by default. What can they do on a daily basis? What are some practical ways to apply those principles? Yeah, that's a great question. And it is something done on a daily basis because. Life happens on a daily basis, right? Stress happens. Challenge happens. Great things happen to amazing stuff as well. But life happens at whatever level it happens on a daily basis. And sometimes you need to remind yourself of who you're created to be because your life may want to tell you something else. So practical tools. The first is started with your identity again, who you are apart from your experiences in your past. It doesn't mean they don't matter what I desire. And what I believe God has designed is that your experiences don't get to tell you who you are anymore. So you walk through them, you work on the healing that you need to have in them, you acknowledge what you've done and learned in them, but you don't use them as an identity statement, but simply an experience to walk through. And on the other side, your accomplishments as well. You can do amazing things and you will do amazing things for God. He's designed you for great impact in the world, but he doesn't want your accomplishments to tell you who you are anymore. So it starts with identity statement. Who are you created to be? That I am statement. If you write it down, you've done two things. First off, you've reminded yourself of who you are and you've given yourself the ability to continue to meditate on the truth. It is the truth of God's word, but it's also the truth about you that he desires for you to have. And so we have a three step transformational strategy. I'll just momentarily talk about one. It's mastering your thoughts, your words, your actions. I've already talked about thoughts, who you believe you are, who you'll become. What you speak out, you actually announce to the world and to yourself who you're going to be. So when you start to say negative things about yourself, It's just, as you said, self fulfilling prophecy. God's actually created us and created our brain so that the things that we vocalize, they're not just an announcement to everybody else, but they're announcement to our own brain to say, okay, you're a failure. Let me find decisions and directions and actions and ideas to make that happen. Or you're an answer. That's going to solve this challenges. You're walking into the very same thing happens there. Here's the thing that's challenging for most people. They grab a generic scripture or their generic affirmation, and when negative thoughts happen, they remind themselves of who they are. I'm the head and the tail, not the tail. I'm the first and not the last. And yet all these things that we're doing, and it's not that there's no truth in the word of God, but the problem is there's no truth in how you're saying it and what you believe. And so those affirmations, I'm a person of strength. I'm a person of strength. You can say it until you're blue in the face. And most times it won't work because your brain tells you your thoughts to you. That's not who I am. We've created an I am statement to remind you of who you are and to be a constant reminder of who you are. So I tell the people I work with your affirmation should align with your identity, not some idealized version of somebody else's life that you're trying to measure up to. The affirmations we use are that identity statement that you take and some other things that we use as well. And in that place, if you remind yourself in the morning and evening, if you remind yourself every day of who you are, you'll start to see that man or woman show up. And so life will be successful. You'll have the amazing things challenges will come up and you'll walk through them. They won't shake you. They'll just help you grow. And by the way, that is, to finalize that question you had about what's the correct perspective on failure. Many times we think it's an identity statement. It's not the thing that has failed. It's me that has failed. And in that place again, you'll confirm who you believe you are. But what if. The things that you haven't succeeded at. I tell people this failure is simply a report card telling me what I need to learn next. It's not a statement from God saying you're a failure. You're never going to succeed in this thing. You're never going to have a relationship. You can't finish college. You're not going to start that business. You're not going to succeed in that job. It's not saying any of those things. It's a report card that says, oh, I need to learn how to. whatever, how to figure out finance for my business, how to have a vulnerable and authentic conversation and relationship, whatever the thing is that you haven't succeeded at yet. Isn't it the determination that you'll never succeed at it? It's God saying, can we grow in this area so you can do it the way that you're created to do it the next time? That's great. Thank you so much. Thank you for your work. Definitely. Is there a final thought that you had in mind that you'd like to share with our listeners? Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate that. I tried to succeed my way to having value through business, through academics, through athletics. I tried to personal develop my way towards value through books and courses and teachers and ideas and they brought incremental change and growth. They didn't bring transformation. And so I created, of course, life mastery that is transformation. I believe will transform your life, but there's 1 ingredient that it. Can't provide that you have to and it's the one thing I did right throughout all of that journey in my life getting to this point. It was refusing to give up on myself, refusing to believe that person I believe God created me to be wasn't going to show up on my daily life with confidence, assurance, passion and purpose. So in that place, the one thing I did was I continued to bet on myself when I tried something and I believed it was going to help me and I fell back down to some sort of behavior or actions or ideas that I didn't like, right? I didn't say, okay I guess it's not meant for me. It was challenging. There's times of desperation of believing and crying out to God and all of those things. But the one thing I did right beyond reaching out to God every time was refusing to give up on myself until the person I believe God created me to be started showing up in my life. That is the key ingredient. That's the secret ingredient for you really transforming your life into what God has created it for. To be for you, if you're willing to bet on yourself one more time, however many things you've done 100. I've been where you're at. The one thing I did write that I would encourage you in is bet on yourself one more time believing God is going to lead you to the transformation you're hoping for, that outcome that you believe you can have is actually going to happen. If you refuse to give up on yourself, if you continue to seek out God, and if you bet on yourself just one more time And see that person show up in your life, you'll have the transformation you're hoping for just bet on yourself and it'll come to pass. Thank you. That's great. Yes, definitely. Definitely. Like you do. And right. He had failed. But then that one that next. He was going to, to be successful. So yes, you want to stop and we are just done with the struggles and defeats. That's when actually God can do amazing things. We have to show up. We have to do our part, right? It's a collaboration with God, not just God alone doing the work. Yeah, absolutely. It's a relationship. It's a relationship. Thank you so much, Mark. Where can our listeners find you and your work? I will put all the links in the show notes. Just let us tell us a little bit. Yeah, absolutely, Alexandra. I'm a, I try and be a one stop shop. So my one stop shop is my website, which is freedom 4 life. net, freedom 4 life. net. Of course, I have Life Mastery. You can see that with all its bells and whistles and, the extensive training that's within that. My book. Life Mastery Living Life by Design, not by default. I have an ebook version on my website, so you can get it on any of your devices, take it wherever you go. You can also get my book on Amazon as a hard copy or paperback. You can get everything on Amazon, so it's there as well. And if you want to reach out to me directly, it's at markmark. freedom for life. net and ask me any question you like about your Life Mastery journey. Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you for your time. I really appreciated this conversation that I think would be very valuable with my listeners. So thank you. Thank you so much, Alexandra. It's been a pleasure. I hope you enjoy today's episode with mark and that you also learn a thing or two. Here are some key takeaways that I'd like to leave you with along with some key Bible verses number one, the power of identity, the way we see ourselves influences our decisions and outcomes. When we align our identity with how God sees us, we break free from past limitations and external validation. And this allows us to move forward with peace. And confidence knowing who we are in Christ. Second Corinthians five verse 17 says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone. The new is here. Number two mastering thoughts, words and actions. Transformation starts with mastering our thoughts, words, and actions. What we believe about ourselves and speak over our lives directly impacts the way we live affirmations and identity statements rooted in God's truth. Help us create the life he has designed for us, rather than relying on external influences. Romans 12 verse two says do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Number three. Failure. Is a learning opportunity. Failure is not an indicator of our identity, but a report card. That tells us where we need to grow trust that God will guide you to success in his time. James one verses two through four says consider it pure joy. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Do you see it as a test of your faith and not a testimony of how big a failure you are? Right. And so we have to align our thoughts with God's and see things the way they really are. Otherwise, we're not going to stand you guys. Number four, don't give up on yourself. Even when we face setbacks, we must not give up on ourselves. And that's why I have created the curious for Christ Facebook community. That's why I'm doing this podcast. I want you to see. That you're not alone in this. And I want to remind you of the truth. That only comes from Christ and trusting God will lead us to the transformation and outcomes we desire. As long as we remain persistent and faithful in the process, we have a part to play and a responsibility here. Philippians one, verse six says being confident of this, that he, who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ. Jesus. Number five, creating a life with God. True peace and fulfillment comes from creating a life in collaboration with God grounded in his spirit. By seeing ourselves through his eyes and not the worlds. We can live with purpose, ease and confidence in all areas of life. Jeremiah 29 11 says for, I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future. As we close today's episode, I want to leave you with this. Take some time with God this week and ask him. To let you view yourself through his eyes, listen carefully to how he sees you and let me know what he shares with you. You can share in the comments, leave a review. Share this podcast episode with someone who may be interested. And send me an email. I'd love to hear your experience. If you feel disconnected from God and need some spiritual guidance this year, let's talk, I'm here to help you. I'm here for you. My friend. I go now to bit dot L Y forward slash curious for crisis coverage and book a free call. So we can talk about how to help you reconnect and live a life closer to God with peace. Clarity and confidence. I believe in you. And I know you are incredible. I want to give you all the encouragement for 2025 to see yourself the way God sees you. He adores you. You are worth fighting for Your worst. Dying for. And while I may not know all of you personally, I wish I could. But I know the one who created you. And that's an amazing God that we have right there. I look forward to sharing all the goodness that God has in store for you this coming year. And until next time as we kick off our first Q and a episode of the year on January eight, have a wonderful first week my friends. Hi, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you like to take 30 seconds and share it with a friend who may also struggle with knowing God and His purpose for their life. Also, leave a review on applepodcast. com. Podcast, and let me know what topics you'd like to hear about in the future. Your voice matters. I'll meet you back next Friday for another episode.