Posts Tagged ‘Business’

Titans, Part 3: Get Old, Get Rich, Retire

// December 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Leadership, Men

I was doing my year end review of my “retirement” accounts this week. This is the time of year when I take inventory of what I have and then, like a good steward, I reposition certain assets and plan how much I will save in the next year. I know many of you men, you do the same thing. You are taking inventory and stock of everything you have and thanking God for what he has given you in the past year. Not a bad habit to get into. But there is something eerily empty about these words: Get old, get rich, retire. Let me absolutely ruin your day with this statement. “Jesus could care less about how much money you have in your retirement account.”  Everything in the way Jesus lived screamed out, “this is not my real home.” What if we lived spending ourselves and all our loaned resources for the advancement of the Gospel?  Money does not define a man.  Here are a few of myths we as men have bought into:

Myth #1 You should retire…and as early as possible - This is a lie, don’t believe it. It is not found in the Gospel. I have no problem with growing old being able to take care of yourself and your wife, but Jesus never said make all the money you can so you can have a life of leisure and no responsibilities. I hear so many people say, “we deserve it.” No, we deserve nothing. Humanity doesn’t “deserve anything” but death and separation from God. Americans have a distorted sense of entitlement. Jesus gives us privilege to be forgiven and live like him. If I just offended you read Luke 12:13-21 and let Jesus convince you. Personally, I don’t plan to “retire”. Retirement is for people who have lost their purpose and are ready to die. I never plan to live the “good life”. I can’t see Paul as he is writing Timothy at the end of his life, “once you have fought the good fight and stored up enough money to buy your second vacation home, golf and vacation for the rest of your life…in short, take it easy Timothy.” Physical limitation will be the reason I “retire”.

Truth: You should give away as much as possible

Myth #2 You should pay for 100% of your kids’ college education - College education is a luxury for those who work hard and value it. Many parents give their kids college education as a way to feel better about themselves. Many parents assume debt for it. Parents, you can’t give it if you don’t have it. If you make the decision to take on enormous amounts of debt for your kids’ college education, you are enabling them to abuse your finances. Borrowing to give is the farthest thing from biblical stewardship you could do. Paid for college education is the culmination of a user mentality that we have created for the next generation. You are stunting their growth and teaching them to use the system. I’m not saying don’t pay anything, but assume no debt and if they can’t deal with that, you owe them nothing.

Truth: Empower your children to figure out how to pay for it themselves.

Myth #3 Die with a huge inheritance left for your children – There is nothing in scripture that mandates you leaving a huge inheritance for your family.  I can make more of an argument from scripture that you should die with very little resources, giving everything you have away to those who need it, not heaping excess upon our children so they will squander it.  I have seen more families split from greed when their parents die.  I know some of you are going to quote Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…” But please balance this verse with the fact that the disciples were told to take nothing with them when they followed Jesus. They were not guaranteed earthly financial prosperity as they followed Jesus. Many parables speak directly against the greed present in one’s life as you become more rich. More likely than not, the disciples who followed Jesus were not rich men and had limited or no inheritance to leave.

Truth: Focus more on the spiritual inheritance you will leave to your children rather than the financial inheritance.

Live purposefully, give generously, and never rest until your whole life is spent advancing the cause of Jesus.

Titans, Part 2: The Tug Of War

// December 8th, 2009 // No Comments » // Leadership, Men

Does anybody else feel the tug of war? The one between family and work. How do I prioritize? Does a man or woman who has a family have a disadvantage in the workplace against the new single, agile worker? Try this quote on: “When it comes down to it, the single most important activity in your whole day is prioritization.” This one has saved my bacon countless times with the wife and the boss. Without prioritization you lose focus and end up somewhere you never intended, often times in a knock down drag out with the boss or worse the spouse. I have compiled a short, simple prioritization process below that has helped me sift through the tug of war. I hope something here helps you.

#1 Know what is important to you – This is about values. Are you willing to sacrifice irreplaceable time with loved ones for a newer car, a vacation home, a bigger house? If you are single, dating, or planning to be married, you better be talking about this with your future spouse. Please do this, or your marriage will suffer.

#2 Have a tool that works for you – (i.e. calendar, tasks etc) This is about choices. Are you willing to be disciplined? I have coached many men who don’t schedule their life. inevitably, this is the road to disaster, Here is a saying for you…”be sure your schedule will find you out.”

#3 Use the tool like a bad smoking addiction – This is about repetition. Prioritization is a daily, weekly, continual activity. Especially if you are just starting out, you will have to build disciplines into your life. You need to schedule time to schedule yourself.

#4 Over communicate with everyone – This is about consideration. Are you willing to let your spouse trump your calendar? With your family it is NOT better to ask forgiveness rather than permission, it is foolish. If I can give my boss 24 hour notice to missing a meeting it helps build credibility. I am also finding it helps if my wife uses the same or similar tool as I do.

When all is said and done, You can always get another job, but you were created to have one spouse. Agree or disagree?

Titans, Part 1

// December 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Leadership, Men

I am sitting next to two guys, it is obviously an interview.  One man touting his resume trying to convince this corporate exec he is the one who will take this sales team to the next level.  Two men who obviously woke up early in the morning, put on their best clothes and are here to take over.   By listening to one, I would have thought he already owned the company.  There is an endless comparison of who sold more, how much, when, what great obstacles they overcame.   I can see them as two prehistoric men comparing their kills from their latest woolly mammoth hunting excursion, (Or maybe for my Oregon friends, your last trek into the wilderness to kill a deer.)

Men, we are an interesting breed.  We get passionate about conquering, capturing, and controlling things.  Let’s face it we are obsessed as a species with power, possessions and pride.  But here is the what if…What if there were a group of men that were equally or more passionate about living the ways of Jesus as they were with their business ventures?  So many of us ride off on the train to the big city in pursuit of Titan-hood and leave our families at home to suffer. I know a lot of business men.  I respect business men.  These men pour their lives into providing for their families, this is a good thing.  Is it possible to pursue both though?  What will it take for us men to stop pursuing vacation homes, season football tickets and a bigger house in the nicest neighborhood?  I will be exploring this with you over the next 5 blogs.  What do you think?