One of the things I’ve learned from my investment advisor is that more important than the amount of an investment is what is done with the cash invested. Two people may both have a crisp ten dollar bill to save each week; one puts it in a shoebox in their closet for safekeeping and the other makes a contribution every week to a high yield account. The result will be that at the end of 30 years, there will be a huge difference in the balances. Yes, the shoebox has been a safe place for the first person to put the weekly cash, but unfortunately it did nothing to increase its value in stark contrast to that of the compounding interest earned by the other saver. In the end, the amount of the investment really didn’t matter, but the actions taken greatly mattered.
Likewise, Jesus told a parable in which each of three servants was given a sum of money to take care of for their master. In a nutshell, two of the servants invested the money and returned a significant profit to the master, while one buried the money and only returned the exact amount entrusted to him. The master blessed the two who invested their money and chastised the one who only returned the original amount. Once again, the amount of the money didn’t matter, but rather what was done with the money is what made the difference.
I bring this up to make the point that all of us have gifts, talents, and abilities entrusted to us. The amounts are different for everyone, but what makes the difference in their value to the world around us is what we do with it all. I’ve known people with a great amount of natural ability, yet they do very little with it and their impact is minimal. I also have known others who have less ability, but have made a tremendous impact because they use every ounce of ability they have to the fullest. It is not the amount of the ability that matters, it’s what is done with it that counts. Bishop T.D. Jakes states, “We are called by God to be the very best stewards of all the gifts, talents, and opportunities entrusted to us in this lifetime.” I not only agree, but I believe that this is a foundational principle we must embrace if we are to be the leaders we say we desire to be. My challenge for myself and to all of us is to make sure that we are using what we have fully, not holding anything back so that we can be the most effective leaders we can be and so that we can live a life of rising to the level of the potential within us. Anything less than that is horrible stewardship.
If we have a talent or are presented with an opportunity and we don’t do anything with it, I believe we will be no better than the servant chastised by Jesus for his lack of action. Jakes states,
“There is nothing worse than reaching the end of your life and wondering what could have happened, or should’ve happened, but somehow didn’t happen. The sad memories of a lost opportunity have made many people bitter the rest of their lives. Often it is not the fatigue of the Olympic competitor that is debilitating as much as it is the feeling that if he had lunged farther, or pushed harder, he might have been holding the golden cup of victory as opposed to the bottled water of defeat.”
So I ask each of us, what gift or talent do we possess but aren’t using to their fullest potential? Or, what opportunity is before us begging us to have the courage to step out and step up that has the potential to change our lives and the people we may ultimately touch?
You’ve heard me say before that the best leaders are self-aware leaders. They know who they are and what gifts they hold in their hands. They pay attention and are aware of the opportunities before them. The key to their future is what they do with it all.
Be a leader of action. Do something with what you have. You’ll regret it if you don’t.
Lead well.