Investing in your future means more than simply putting your hard-earned money into the stock market, real estate, or other ventures.
There is another more powerful investment you can make, one that goes a long way in guaranteeing your future success.
That investment is positioning yourself for future success by finishing well.
I use the term “Lame Duck” for someone who eases up on their effectiveness as their time in a specific role, job, or volunteer position is completed.
These types of people do not finish well before moving to the next assignment or a new company, and in so doing, they miss out on an opportunity to invest in their future.
I have been a Lame Duck. At one company, I was so over the position that it was all I could do to drag myself to work.
There were three outcomes from my behavior:
- I did not learn to invest in my future by enduring.
- I did not serve the company well as I was leaving. They did not get their money’s worth in my final week.
- I did not make a good final impression.
I realized later that my failure to finish well did not benefit me as I looked for new opportunities and open doors.
Now, let me tell you about a friend of mine. After many years of having a good job, but not her dream job, she reached the point where she could quit.
After careful planning, she realized it was time to step into the next phase of her dream.
However, my friend understood the power of investing in her future by finishing well.
She made up her mind that until the day she walked out the door, she would do everything with excellence.
She had made this decision before she gave her notice, and they asked her to apply for two promotions!
My friend’s investment in excellence opened the door of opportunity for promotion.
If she had not resolved to invest in her future by positioning herself for success, she would not have had the chance for promotion.
The Key to Future Success
Integrity is the key to investing successfully in your future.
Here are a few words that describe integrity: honesty, character, principles, ethics, trustworthiness, decency, fairness.
Integrity is about doing the right thing despite your feelings. It is doing the right thing whether another person deserves it or not.
In the Bible, there is a story of a young man whose brothers were jealous of him. They decided to get rid of him by selling him as a slave.
For the next twenty-three years, this young man’s integrity was tested. Yet he endured his various trials with a resolve to finish each one well.
First, he was promoted for his excellence. Then, he was accused of a crime he did not commit and was thrown into prison!
Yet, he continued to invest in his future by doing everything well. He was promoted again, this time as second in authority in the nation of his enslavers.
Because of his position, he was able to rescue his brothers from a deadly famine—and he forgave them.
Here is what happened:
And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they approached him.
And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save life and preserve our family. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five more years in which there will be no plowing and harvesting.
God sent me [to Egypt] ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great escape. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Hurry and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says this to you: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall live in the land of Goshen [the best pastureland of Egypt], and you shall be close to me—you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and your herds and all you have. There I will provide for you and sustain you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not become impoverished, for there are still five years of famine to come.”’
Look! Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that I am speaking to you [personally in your language and not through an interpreter]. Now you must tell my father of all my splendor and power in Egypt, and of everything that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.”
Then he embraced his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him (Genesis 45:4-15).
Investing in your future by finishing well has an effect on you and on the people you leave behind.
5 Ways Finishing Well Invests in Your Future Success:
1. Finishing well brings closure. When you finish well, it allows you to leave knowing that you have given your best. You will not have regrets about things you should have done before you left.
2. Finishing well allows you to acknowledge the people who have invested in you. Expressing gratitude is powerful. People appreciate being acknowledged for their participation in your success.
3. Finishing well ensures lasting relationships. Your relationships are one of your greatest assets. When you finish well, you are investing in those relationships by demonstrating to them that you will carry your responsibility until the end.
4. Finishing well builds your confidence. When you choose to do your best until the end, your integrity and character are strengthened.
5. Finishing well is an ultimate investment in your future. Your persistence instills a work ethic that carries on into your future ventures.
Over the years, I have known many people who transitioned from one thing to the next, both employees and volunteers. I remember most the ones who invested in their future by finishing well. I could easily recommend them when an amazing opportunity came across my desk.
Invest in your future by resolving today to finish well when the time comes to transition to the next part of your dream. The benefits of this choice often pop up unexpectedly, and how you position yourself today effects your success tomorrow.
Sometimes it is helpful to have someone beside you as you plan to transition or are building your blueprint for success. One of my greatest joys is mentoring others who are chasing the next part of their dream.
If you would like one-on-one mentorship, fill out the Connection Form and we will get started together on investing in your future by connecting you to your best.
Remember, you are the best investment you can make!
If you want to invest in your future, find your passion AND the why behind it, sign up for my 6-week online course, Compelled to Change.
In this class, you will learn practical and repeatable strategies to accomplish your dreams and be unstoppable!
Abundant Blessings, Cindy
Cindy Stewart has a passion for people and helping them connect to their life purpose, discover their passions, and live their dreams. Cindy’s latest book, God’s Dream for Your Life, brings clarity to your purpose while unlocking vision of what is possible in the natural and the supernatural. She is an itinerant speaker, an executive coach, and hosts a weekly podcast on Charisma Podcast Network. Along with her husband, Chuck, they lead The Gathering Apostolic Center in Tarpon Springs, FL.
Please email Cindy with any questions or comments to cindystewartauthor@gmail.com. She’d love to hear from you.
Remember, you are the best investment you can make.