I have to say I have spent a lot of time worrying about my reputation and what others will think of me.  I have quickly come to realize that no matter how much time or effort you out into “securing” your reputation, that ultimately you cannot control what others say about you when you are not around.  I have experienced this first hand over the last several weeks as I transitioned from one job to another.  My goal was to leave my previous job with a good reputation.  For those who really know me, they know that I did everything I could to leave in a Christ-like manner.  However, human nature is human nature and when insecurity and lack of experience come face to face with meeting the realities of job expectations…guess who gets thrown under the bus?  Coorect, the one who left…the one who cannot defend themselves and is the easy scapegoat.

I have come to realize that I cannot protect my reputation or the perceptions of others, but what I can dwell on is my character.  God knows all things about me and my motives, and I am sure He is absolutely pleased with my character and the way I transitioned to a new career opportunity.  What a lesson for me to live through and to focus in the future more on my inner character then my outward reputation.  I know I can use this lesson even in smaller situations where there is conflict or differences in opinions.  

Where is your focus?  Is it on what others will say about you today or what God will say about you one day when you meet Him face-to-face?

On a side note, we will all meet Him face-to-face, people who believe in Him and those who do not.

Just as growth and success will come at a cost for Shaun and I with Chancellor University Online, following Jesus Christ is not always easy or comfortable. Sometimes following Jesus comes at a cost or sacrifice as well. Following Jesus can cost you popularity, friendships, free-time or even habits we have come to value, good or bad. In my opinion, even in our Christian walk, the level of commitment and success with our relationship with Jesus is a direct reflection on the level of sacrifice and cost we make for Him on a daily basis.

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As a leader, it is one of my responsibilities to set goals and expectations for the team.  I know individual workers have goals for themselves personally, professionally and spiritually.  However, just like a coach of a sporting team, it is my responsibility in the corporate environment to set goals for my staff (the team), often hoping to accomplish far beyond what many of them think may be possible.  There are so many expectations and disappointments when goals go unmet.  There are usually three areas that we have unmet expectations: the people around us, our current situation and the uncertain future in front of us.  We build up expectations in each of these areas on how we think things should go and are often disappointed when they do not go the way we thought.  We need to learn to manage our expectations as well as honor God in the process no matter what.  Managing expectations is a critical factor in leading successful change. If you can manage your expectations, you may have a more enjoyable experience with the people around you, the situation you are in or the future ahead of you. 

“Expectations need to be managed from the beginning, and throughout the process–which requires a major effort of public information and education … Otherwise expectations are unrealistic, and [people] are inevitably disappointed. When disillusion sets in,… people can easily turn against the … agreement they had at first welcomed.”
–Kofi Annan, Secretary General, United Nations, 14 October 2004.

Whoever I am with, wherever I am, regardless of the uncertainties that lie ahead, I will live to honor God. 

Click here to read Part 1

A high bandwidth is needed for the completion of online courses as the student often will often have multiple browser windows open in order to complete a given assignment or task. Student-to-teacher and student-to-student interaction within a course may require an email client like Microsoft Outlook, or special software to enable online chatting. In addition, there are also files to download and upload. These tasks require a high-speed internet connection, such as DSL, as opposed to dial-up. Many educational institutions use companies such as Comcast and AT&T to offer internet connections for less than $50.00 a month, a fairly reasonable cost.

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With so much buzz centering on the growing popularity of online education, it’s important to understand the differences between completing courses within an online setting as opposed to within a traditional, on-campus setting. While there are obvious similarities between the academic structure followed by distance learning students and those who pursue a traditional on-campus education, certain unique characteristics definitely set online learning a part.

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