Life Changing Investments

“Leadership development compounds.  The more you invest in other people and the longer you do it, the greater the growth and the higher the return.” ~ John C. Maxwell

When you farm, what you sow, you reap.  In business, what you invest, either accumulates or deteriorates, it depends on the investment.  But one thing is for sure investments are an essential part of life, not simply monetarily, but also relationally.

We are faced with many prospective investments, in everyday life that plea for our attention.  We can invest in assets, we can invest in organizations, we can even in ourselves but until we learn to invest in others, are we truly making a difference, is it a worthwhile investment?

Who are ‘others’ anyway?  Yes, others are the poor, needy and outcasts, but the category of ‘others’ consists of so many more. As John Andrew Holmes once said, “The entire population of the universe, with one little exception is composed of others.”

So how do we deal with this how can we invest in others if there is so many of them, it’s overwhelming!   John C. Maxwell summarized his investment surmise when he said, “Success is having those closest to you respect you the most.”  Ok so ‘others’ means those ‘closest to you’, that seems a bit more manageable; but Andy Stanley as finally challenged, “Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone”[1].

Choosing only one person to invest deeply in is a much more viable and much impacting way to invest in others.

What and how can we invest in others?  Your investment in another person can come from your talents and resources but ultimately it has to come from your time.  How we, spend time on other people will determine the magnitude of our effect on their lives.  Notice I used ‘on’ rather than ‘with’ that is because when you spend time on someone it forces you to think of time as the depletable resource that it is.  Furthermore when we spend time on others it’s a sacrifice, it’s an investment that can change a life forever.

Living for others, paraphrasing Albert Schweitzer, is not without its challenges but the fruit is worth the labor!  So go and do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.  It’s more than a life investment; it’s an investment of a lifetime!

Sincerely,

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^“15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” ~ NIV Joshua 24:15

Jordan D. Ulmer

Cited:

1. One, Not Everyone. Dir. Andy Stanley. North Point Community Church. N.p., 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.