My message to you today is this; do not trivialize the gifts you have been blessed with. There is no gift without meaning or use to others. You find meaning in life through the actioning of your gifts in service to others. The fulfillment does not appear in what you receive for your services. It appears in your heart when you see those who you served walk away strengthened, equipped, hopeful, joyful, better off.
For years, I have trivialized my own gift of financial knowledge and acumen. This subject came naturally to me and it’s what I do best with the least effort. I have used these gifts in service to companies that build vehicles, create pharmaceutical technology, and distribute medicine. The outputs of my work in these fields have helped serve others through the collective efforts of the broader companies themselves. As necessary as corporate financial planning is, and as necessary as transportation and healthcare are, why do I feel partially empty? Why do I not feel that fulfillment from serving others through the companies’ outputs?
My theory is this, seeing the end customer matters. I did not get to see customers drive off in their brand-new Ford or hand them the keys and see them light up with excitement. I did not get to speak to customers and resolve their medication prior approval issues and hear the relief in their voices when their life-saving medications were approved. I do not get to pick, pack & ship the medications we deliver throughout the country. I get to work with my team, primarily on a laptop at home, to ensure that the financials around these businesses are in order. In corporate, finance is a support function. We support the larger ecosystem, which is necessary but impersonal.
These reflections have assisted me in seeing that I can use my financial mind in direct connection with people. I desperately want and need to see that my gifts are in service to the lives of others in a personal light. I want to remember the faces, stories and names of people I have served when my time on Earth comes to pass. I want to have memories beyond the screen, beyond the spreadsheet, beyond AI, and beyond the corporate world. So, I must go above and beyond how I earn a living. I must seek to not limit the scope of my gifts by my worldly view. There are so many people, so many lives, that can be changed forever by simplified personal financial advice.
I will seek to become a coach. Someone who can listen, educate, connect, and steward the resources of others. To do so, I will volunteer through my church to provide complimentary financial coaching. I will also connect myself to consumers who are seeking the protection of health, accident or life insurance. It’s time to stop trivializing my gift. It can be used for so much more than one job at one company. I’m going out of my comfort zone to feel again. To serve others so that I may be fulfilled with how I spent my time on this rock of ours. You have something to offer directly to others. Go and serve, you will be rewarded one way or another.