Good morning & happy Monday!
“Life is precarious, and life is precious. Don’t presume you will have it tomorrow, and don’t waste it today.”
– John Piper, pastor / author
In 2008 when I started my career at Northwestern Mutual, I remember being told a statement that most certainly resonated: “Your friends will become clients and your clients will become friends.” Now, when I was told this I had just started a straight commission career and I was scared out of my mind. I was excited and ready to tackle the world, but I was most certainly anxious about no base salary. When I heard that statement, I remember thinking “I don’t need friends, I need clients!”
Well, 15 years later I can most certainly tell you that my friends are my clients and my clients are my friends. I am so blessed to have a career where I interact all day with my friends! In fact, when my wife asks me how my day went, I tell her about various engagements I’ve had with my clients and she often comments something along the lines of, “So you basically hung out with your friends all day?” Indeed, I do. 😊
I actually no longer consider what I do a career, I really feel it is more of a calling. It is my prayer that Intentional Wealth is so much more than a financial planning firm. It is my prayer that this practice not only enriches the finances of my clients, but also enriches their entire lives.
This last quarter of 2023 has been a difficult one, as I have had two precious clients (friends) pass away unexpectedly. Whenever you get such shocking news, it provides an opportunity to ponder life … how precious it is … and how fragile it is.
My friends, we never know when our time on this earth will be over.
A few years ago, on a long car trip, I asked my wife to make sure to keep me alert as I drove. She found a website with a series of ‘would you rather’ questions. Most of them were silly: ‘Would you rather have smelly feet or have bad breath?’ ‘Would you rather run into an alien or Big Foot?’ etc.
But then she came across a question that I still think about: ‘Would you rather know when you will die or how you will die?’
Wow! Where did that come from?!?
I thought about it for a while, and I said I am really glad I don’t know either. Those are not my calls to make. For that I am grateful. I serve a God who knows those answers, but I don’t need to know. I just need to trust that His plan is best (way easier said than done sometimes).
So, what do we do with this one-time life we have? Binge watch Netflix? Maximize our enjoyment and pleasure? Accumulate as much wealth as possible?
Although there is nothing specifically wrong with any of those, I believe we have a higher calling. A purpose much greater.
This will look different for each one of us. We have different gifts, talents, resources, influences, backgrounds, and experiences. We can use and utilize those to impact our world in very real and meaningful way.
In Ephesians 2:10 Paul writes, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Before we were born God had a plan for our lives! Think about that for a moment, that is MASSIVE! In a world that struggles so much with depression and anxiety, I find such tremendous joy in thinking that the creator of the universe has a plan for me. It’s a sobering thought.
Now, I don’t fully know or fully understand what that plan is for me. I doubt I will ever completely figure that out on this side of eternity. But what I do know is that I must faithfully pursue the course one step at a time as I journey through life.
As we are right in the middle of the Christmas season, I would just like to encourage all of us to step off the proverbial treadmill and take a deep breath in to revel in the joy and beauty of life. Even with all its drama and problems, life is an incredibly beautiful thing, and today is a blessing. The older I get the more I realize how fast it passes and how precious it is.
Please use today as an opportunity to cherish life.
I am so grateful for the opportunity and privilege to be a part of the story you are writing. Make it a great week ahead!