I recently heard an older successful businesswoman on National Public Radio discussing younger, more attractive counterparts who were subtly vying for her position within the company. She said that while the younger "competition" certainly had a better professional appearance due to a more youthful advantage, the "upstarts" lacked one thing: experience that came with 35 years in the profession.

In short, she summed up her situation by saying that while she could trim down, work hard to regain that flatter stomach (her words, not mine) and purchase a new wardrobe, they could never match her on one thing: experience. Try as they might to read business manuals and smooze with the "big boys" to gain a competitive edge, they would never be able to know where the landmines were laid in order to successfully bring the troops across the battlefield.

Intuition, she stated, doesn't come from a book but from the school of hard knocks. Then she drove her point home with exceptional clarity: at the end of the day, experience always wins over beauty.

It's funny how relevant that observation becomes as one piles on the years. While never a beauty myself, the years have begun to take their toll as the salt-and-pepper hair begins to win out over the solid brown coloring. I simply refuse to use Grecian Formula to roll back the decades.

When you're young it's difficult to see over the hills and valleys on the road you are traveling; as you age you can look back over that same road and know exactly where the hairpin curves are in order to slow down, and where the flat and wide open spaces will appear so you can rev up your engine and make up some lost time.

As outgoing BCA president in 2006 I made a few remarks in my president's address that ended up being better received than I ever dreamed. I have shared those comments with several others on their request in the past 24 months and decided it was time to post them on our website.

I decided to break them down into three or four installments to give equal treatment to each topic. They will follow a variety of professional advancement techniques that have worked for me and I have seen work in the lives of others, as well. I wish I had had someone to mentor me in some of these areas as I navigated life's career and financial decisions.

The point of my comments of two years ago was this: as hard as it may be, don't waste your early years piling up debt that quickly becomes handcuffs that prevent you from reaching your spiritual and professional goals. However, those comments were not just about financial freedom; they were very much entwined in other life decisions such as sensing your career path and finding a way to reach that goal.

Let me begin with a basic understanding so I don't need to keep repeating myself. I will be making these comments based on the assumption that the reader is seeking God's will for his/her life and factors that into basic career decision-making. These observations are not meant for the cold-blooded professional who is wanting to climb as high on the career ladder as quickly as possible, though such individuals could benefit from these observations.

These are just common-sense lessons that are easily accepted but difficult to apply. Unfortunately, very few individuals will follow these because peer pressure is just too strong, especially in American society with its materialistic emphasis. Been there, done that because I'm looking in the mirror as I pen these lines. Some of these guidelines I followed and did very well; others were learned after I decided to cut my losses and make a badly needed course correction. But let's give it a shot, nonetheless.

The installments will generally cover three areas and will be directed at the younger members in BCA: how to advance in your career, the importance of saving early for retirement, and an argument for delaying a house purchase before the age of 30. These are written from the perspective of a longtime denominational employee, a saver (certainly wish I had done more there, and earlier), and both a homeowner and a landlord. I will try to keep each installation to around 600 words (following the lead of other bloggers on this site) to make them easily digestible and not try to overwhelm you with too much information, too quickly.

Well, I've already reached my limit and exceeded it by 150 words. I hope I have piqued your interest enough with what is to come and that you will check back soon for the next installment. Most likely that will be as early as next week.

Until then, remember to go ahead and send in your registration for the BCA workshop in Phoenix. The team putting this years meeting together has done an exceptional job and it could easily be the most profitable trip of your year. It's not too early to make your room reservation, either, at the phenomenal rate of $115. Try to find a room at a Phoenix resort in high season for that pittance.

Trust me, you won't.

By Joe Westbury, managing editor of The Christian Index. The Index, which is now published by the Georgia Baptist Convention, is the nation's oldest continuously published Christian newspaper.