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Saving Vs. Investing -- A family leadership perspective on money.
I'm sitting on the couch drinking my coffee and thinking about our money situation at the moment. Making the decision to focus on my passion for writing about family leadership hasn't exactly been adding to our bottom line financially.
I was just about to work up a good worry with a side of self-doubt but I decided to spend a few minutes reading my Bible first.
In 2 Corinthians, the author explains the concept of investing money using the metaphor of planting seeds. To encourage generosity by thinking of financial resources like a farmer thinks about seeds.
Not Enough vs. Plenty
To be totally transparent, thinking about financial resources has been a huge challenge in my personal growth and family leadership. I can sometimes find it difficult to invest time or money into the future because I see a limited amount of resources that could soon disappear.
I'm discovering that the secret is to intentionally see the same resources -- as plenty of seed that must be planted in plenty of fertilizer. And then to have faith that a harvest will come and more time and finances will be created.
For example, here in Wisconsin the christmas tree farms don't seem to mind spending lots of time and effort planting new trees or letting people like me cut down the really nice ones. In fact, the more they plant -- the more they have to sell.
Here's the different perspective that I'm trying to build into my thinking...
- Offense vs. Defense
 | | Photo Credit: Eyeliam | - Creating vs. Maintaining
- Chasing Passion vs. Escaping Loss
- Talent Released vs. Talent Contained
- Proactive vs. Reactive
- Educated Risk vs. Guarding and Protecting
- Multiplication vs. Stagnation
- Letting Go vs. Holding On
- Wide Open vs. Narrow and Closed
- Win/Win vs. Win/Lose
My coffee is gone, but my resolve is firm. I will be confident in my gifts of leadership and encouragement and continue to trust in the Creator of the growth process.
I'm grateful to you, my readers, for the strength of your interest in influencing your families that fuels my passion.
My thanks also to John Maxwell for investing his time and energy into the leadership Bible. It has proven to be a valuable resource in changing my thinking on financial leadership. -- Well worth the investment.
Grow --Invest 1/2 hour today thinking about your perspective on time and money. Are you really spending, or are you investing for future returns? How is this affecting your family and their financial future?
Connect --Identify someone in your circle of influence who's doing money right. Take a moment to call them or send them a card. Tell them you admire their perspective on money and ask them to share a bit of wisdom with you.
Lead --Share this wisdom with your spouse and together find a creative way to teach your children how to use financial wealth wisely
P.S. I use and truly believe in the resources that I mention in this article! Very simply, I recommend them because they work! -- I do receive a commission when you click on one of the links to their site -- It's a nice bonus for telling you the truth and spreading the word about products and resources that improve families by improving leaders.
P.P.S. If you're intrigued by this family leadership blog, why not subscribe? Updates are available via  RSS reader or if you'd prefer an e-mail summary of the updates just sign up here.
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