Just for fun, can I give you a few more examples beyond the Hamilton soundtrack? Maybe something closer to home?
- Weight control: We don’t reduce carbs for a day and make any progress. If anything, the first week we put carbs aside is anything but progress. It’s painful. And angry. But do it for a month. Do it for a quarter. A year.
- Exercise: We go to the gym, put a few plates on a bench press bar, do a biceps curl or two, and wonder why we don’t look better in that tank top. We feel like we did something, but we look the same! But exercise a few times a week for a few months, though.
- Investing: This is the easy example, right? We all understand the power of long-term investments. If you don’t believe me, just google “investment amortization.” Or try it yourself here.
I watched this first hand every year in our churches. We have an annual “Be Rich” campaign where we collectively “Give, Serve, and Love” our community. For our generosity focused week, we ask everyone to contribute what they can (we make it fun, asking them to give $39.95). All the revenue (100%) given to this campaign is donated back out to our community charities and partners. Here’s the point: The first time we cracked $1 million in Be Rich giving, other church leaders and even news outlets took notice. Everyone asked the same question: “How can you possibly generate a million dollars in giving in ONE DAY?” Our answer was simple: “It took us 17 years to generate $1 million in a day!” It took 17 years to build enough trust that we could make this type of bold ask and have people come through.
So what?
As a leader, our microwave mentality and aptitude for comparing drives us to sacrifice a long-term commitment in hopes of a short-term gain. This very well might be the one thing holding us all back.
Popcorn is instant — success is not.
We can’t microwave lasting growth and success.
Here’s the question I’m wrestling with, both personally and professionally:
To what can I dedicate a full year of time and effort?
There are so many possibilities:
- Preaching and Communication.
- Deeper understanding of biblical context.
- Become a better developer of staff.
- Achieving physical health.
- Continuing to grow in my emotional health.
So, can I ask you the same question: To what can you dedicate a full year of time and effort? Where do you want to grow? What gaps do you see in your leadership? What needs to be accomplished in your organization that will require a 12-month commitment?
And a follow up: What can you do to ensure you stay focused for a year? How can you measure progress? How can you monitor steps? Who can you engage along side?
It’s hard to imagine how much we could learn and grow if we just stopped trying to make popcorn.
This article originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
