In one of Apostle Paul’s letters to early Christians in what is now modern-day Turkey, we find this interesting statement I have paraphrased; ‘the heirs of a big estate who are young children, even though they own everything their father had, will remain subject to guardians and trustees until they grow up and reach the maturity date set by their father’.
This is no less true in our journey of life. You won’t enter into the future you dreamed of until you are mentally mature for it. And should you arrive there by whim, graft, or sheer happenstance, be sure that it won’t be too long before you are catapulted back to where your mind can comprehend.
Lasting success on the outside – and by this I mean the achievements of your life’s purpose far more than I mean the attainment of crazy wealth – will always be predicated on a maturation of who you are on the inside.
To grow out of childhood and step forward into impact, you will need to radically elevate three things: your plans, your understanding, and your conversations.
Every great campaign begins with a plan. Every great plan begins with an inventory. You have to take a very honest look at your capacity. Make the most brutal estimations of your skills, gifts, and networks. Be real, be harsh, be super thorough. Ask yourself: “At my current quality of focus, speed of execution, and trajectory, am I likely to ever hit my goals in the next couple of years, months, or weeks?” Who am I becoming? Where am I heading? Craft a plan from the findings of these honest assessment you have made and set goals based on that plan.
Yet goals are not enough; you need to elevate your understanding. You need to direct your mind to a very select group of skills. Be intensely focused on developing these skills that speak directly to your life goals. As well as other skills that cut across any job. Hunker down and devote as much time as you can squeeze out to becoming an expert in these skills. This is not a call to only ramp up on your knowledge of AI or some new technology. Tech will always evolve. Some life skills will be forever relevant. Build life skills. Master them as well as the technical skills that allow you to become exceptionally proficient at the execution of your goals.
Lastly, you need to elevate the quality of your conversations; this has implications for the circles you entertain. You will never arise above the conversations you have and the circles you maintain. You have focused on material that refines you and skills that empower your success. Now elevate your conversations to reflect that focus and your new proficiencies. Speak less about material things and more about the immaterial achievements and societal impacts you want to make. Let that be the core of your preoccupation.
Let it also be the principal basis for the relationships you take out time to cultivate and those you take great care to diplomatically avoid. Find relationships in particular that challenge you. As you seek new conversations and circles, a new reality will emerge. Everything in existence will begin to converge and contrive to make your words reality.
Invariably the things you have thought, the skills you now better understand, and the new conversations you maintain will produce maturity. Maturity will unlock the future and grant you the capacity to enter into the fulfillment of God’s purpose for your life.