Watching our kids raise our grandkids amid today’s materialistic influences is scary. Thank goodness our kids are doing much better parenting than we ever did. I can’t imagine how many more mistakes I would make today, and believe me, I made enough. My love for these grandkids motivated me to write this blog and highlight some wisdom about life choices that might serve all of us well in our journey.
Focusing on our blessings versus the One who blessed us is a pathway that catches us too often.
Being fortunate is not a bad thing by any means; it’s when we choose to make these riches or this success our focus that we start a pathway that is full of potholes, fleeting happiness and a lonely journey. The destructive feelings of envy can pull us towards chasing success and material riches as they blind us to the real riches in life.
Our most incredible riches are the treasures of family, relationships, and the joy of having a positive impact on the lives of others (significance). My greatest blessing of all is my salvation through Jesus Christ. Laughter, memories, sunshine, friends, health, relevance, trustworthiness, and, of course, grandkids are the real riches. The joy of generosity lasts, and gratitude connects us in many ways, making our lives richer.
In the closing chapter of my book Leading with Significance, I point out that we have two choices in life. We can live a life of significance or a life chasing success. A life in pursuit of success is always driven by a thirst for more money, more power, more recognition, more promotions, more, more, more, and yet it’s never enough. Satisfaction and happiness are so fleeting, and we never see a finish line while we are stressed, alone, and worn out from our pursuits.
Our other choice, a life of significance, is where we help build something bigger than ourselves, where we have elevated others and had a positive impact on the lives of others. Our relationships are many and rich. It is a life where we have found and pursued God’s purpose for our lives.
Who hasn’t experienced a blinding spell of envy? Who hasn’t regretted sacrificing precious family time at some point? Who hasn’t sacrificed time off for more success? What choices are we making that don’t increase our significance and grow the real riches of life?
There is no better time than now to reflect and ensure we are on a path that leads to significance. It’s never too late to make better choices and always express gratitude to our Creator.
Would you please share with us the choices that you are making that are adding more significance to your life?
Best wishes on making choices that bring real, lasting joy to your life, my friend. Fishing, by the way, is one of my favorite things in life.
The Rest of the Story
Me: CeCe, I see two more packages on the front porch for you.
CeCe: Well, there is a long tube leaning by the door, which I assume is another fishing rod, and the two packages have your name on them.
Me: Oops, sorry!
“If you were to anticipate how strong a company’s culture needs to be to transform and thrive in the future, Joey Havens paints a beautiful horizon in his book Leading with Significance.” Daniel Burrus
Grab your copy of Leading with Significance to find more magnetic insights to help you on your unique journey.
For more information on my presentations or to access my beBetter blog library go to joeyhavens.com.
