Fast-Starting a Career of Consequence

Raised in a lower-middle-class family that only occasionally spoke of God, Fred Sievert received an unexpected visit from God when he was twelve. Despite his subsequent experiences as an adult, transitioning from a math teacher to the president of a Fortune 100 company—a journey driven by an aggressive pursuit of the American dream—his habit of thoughtful reflection and his spiritual longing from that one encounter in boyhood informed his decisions for the rest of his life.

Whether it was during meetings with presidents of the United States, a chance encounter with a long-forgotten acquaintance, or on family trips, Fred developed a habit of prayer and listening. The significance of what he heard during these reflections, his choice of actions, and the experiences themselves—events that seemed random at the time—only became clear many years later. As he began telling the stories of his life to his family, for the first time he truly understood how every step of the way, and particularly during hardship and disappointment, God had been by his side, whispering, advising, and helping him make course corrections along his journey.