Luke 12:33 “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Last night I jumped into a Clubhouse room and the last question came from a college student asking for one piece of advice from each of the speakers. I somewhat muddled through an answer, but later upon reflection I remembered the first word of wisdom I received from my mentor at Goldman Sachs. He took me to lunch, sat me down and said “John, you have to remember that this is not a short term game. You’re going to have friends and peers who at any point in time are going to be moving up the ranks faster than you, making more money than you, and are looking happier than you. But if you optimize for the short term, you’re going to lose at the game and you’re also going to be miserable. You must have a long term perspective.” It’s been really hard to heed his advice, but I’ve done my best and looking back I can absolutely say that his wisdom has proven out. Now that I’m in venture capital, where you don’t even know if you’re any good at this until ten years into it, the time horizons are even longer than when I was a trader. But I guess as a child of God, I know that my time horizon is actually not measured in years or decades, but in eternity. When I truly align my heart with God’s and take an eternal perspective, I’m fine not to get credit for something I accomplished, or to get blamed for something I didn’t do, or to see others achieving more than me in the short term. I know that my father in heaven has the best in store for me and that it’s all going to work out in eternity. Somehow when I get my heart into that place, God also sorts out the circumstances in the short term too. Lord, help me to have an eternal perspective today. I love you so much. In Jesus’ name, Amen.