FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED
When I was a child, my parents often drove through the area where they grew up. As we rode, this particular house always caught my attention. It was under construction, but you could tell it would be impressive. It was a ranch house with a brick exterior and two car garage.
As I got older, however, the house remained the same. I went to middle school, and it was still under construction. I graduate high school, and it was still under construction. I graduated from college, and it was still under construction. Just recently, they tore the house down. After all those years, the owners never finished the house and the land has been re-purposed.
Why did I start this blog entry with that story? I hope it will serve as a segue into the clarion call I hope to provide. You may not be building a house, but perhaps you have an incredible idea that’s still under construction. Maybe the idea doesn’t inspire you as it did before. Well, it’s time to get that idea off the shelf. Your idea has world-changing potential. It’s time to finish what you started!
As I read my Bible, something leaped off the page that I hadn’t noticed before. Toward the end of Genesis 11, a man named Terah was on his way to a place called Canaan. This is the place God eventually described to Abraham, Terah’s son, and it was a place that would be a blessing to Abraham’s offspring. But, Tera stopped short of his goal in a place called Haran. He never resumed his journey, and he died in Haran. He didn’t finish what he started.
I’m sharing this blog with hopes that your conclusion will not be like Terah’s. Finish what you started. To help you break through the stall in your pursuit of your idea, I have included some of the reasons we stop and some thoughts to help you resume action.
REASONS WE STOP MOVING ON OUR IDEAS:
(1) CHALLENGES: Sometimes the journey is much harder than anticipated. It costs more money. It requires more time. People aren’t that into what excites us. Challenges can slow you down to a crawl.
Challenges that do not consume you should serve as confirmation. Even if you only have a spark left of what used to be a wildfire of passion, that spark is telling you something. You’re stronger than you thought. The challenges that seemed so overwhelming did not outlast you. Now that you survived, it’s time to start moving again!
(2) COMPETITION: People who have incredible ideas are often very gifted. That often translates into endless invitations to participate in other endeavors. You may approach the additional opportunities as a way to enhance your ability to execute your idea, but you’re wrong. Devoting a little of yourself to a lot of things means you’re not focusing on anything.
If competing priorities have stopped your progress, reevaluate where you invest your time. Think of how much you could accomplish with laser focus directed at your incredible idea. I’m sure you can get back on track if you simply eliminate some of your commitments.
(3) COMPLACENCY: Sometimes we feel like we’ve gone far enough. We settle for mediocrity when excellence is within reach. That’s complacency.
If you’re complacent, you’re only hurting yourself. You have some much potential buried inside of you, and you should never settle. You owe it to yourself to maximize your potential, and that involves executing your idea. Get going!
(4) CONNECTIONS: Lastly, at times we’re not around the right people. Our dreams are beyond the capabilities of the people we have invited to help us. Worse, the people we solicit for help may not prioritize us like we feel we deserve.
Just because the right people aren’t in place now doesn’t mean they never will be. Hang in there. You may have to keep moving by yourself for awhile, but the right people are coming. You will connect with people who have what you need and aren’t too selfish to help you execute your idea.
Perhaps COVID-19 was the pause you needed from challenges, competition, complacency, and connections that have veered you off course. An idea that can change our generation and world may be buried inside of you, but we’ll never know unless you make a move. Stopping short of your potential is not an option. Go for it! It’s time to finish what you started!