This is your 10-year plan. | You need it.

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If you follow through, I believe today's article will positively impact not only your life but your business too.

People normally draw their 10-year plan, our businesses, careers and nations too, usually have that 10-year plan, that big thing that is almost too good to be true.

A good example is in the church, we usually have a magnificent image of the complete building that the church intends to build within 5 or 10 years. We look at it every Sunday, we contribute towards it today in preparation for then.

The same happened to some church that I was part of about five or six years back. A few months ago I decided to pay that church a visit, and they asked the youth in the congregation to stay behind for a short meeting after the main church service, which short meeting I decided to participate in. As some of us gathered, others simply went their way as the youth leaders tried to get them to stay. A group of teenagers managed to escape, but while they were a considerable distance away. I stood up and called one of them by name and asked her to attend the meeting, after which she and her group conceded to come for the meeting.

The group of teenagers heeded to my voice, not because it was sweet and nice, but because I had been their Sunday school teacher five years before then. 

Five years back, those who where 9, 10, 11, 12 were now 14, 15, 16 and 17 years old, respectively. 

Five years back, most of the youth leaders always complained about how hard dealing with children was for them every time children's church needed their help. 

A group of international pastors in a conversation agreed that on average, the children's church is the most struggling ministry in the world, which is why we normally end up with magnificent church buildings that are empty.

When planning for the 10-year vision of, let's say a bank, have you considered that your target future customer is only 10 years old right now? Instead of investing in marketers to get you new clients in 2031, how about you pay a school a visit and say Hi to your "customers" now in 2021.

The point is, if any entity plans to last more than 10 years, it needs to be paying attention to the age-group that is 5 - 10 years younger than its target customer, because normally we consciously or unconsciously tend to pay attention to those that have been around and paying attention to us even long before we necessarily needed them. Take for example a bank that offers student accounts. 

As we pay attention to the material needs of our 10-year vision right now, let's also pay attention to the people we intend to serve then.

Allow me to depart with this interesting story:

There was a wealthy, 80-year old man, from a family that has kept their wealth until now the 5th-generation (him being the 5th generation great-grand child). He was asked by a friend about the kind of things he was investing his money in and he replied, "I just planted thousands of pine trees on 60 acres."

"You are 80 years old and planting pines?" the friend wondered, seeing that there is a very high chance he will not be alive by the time the pines are fully mature.

He replied, "Do you know how wealthy my great grand children will be?"

"A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous."

Proverbs 13:22

We need to teach ourselves to look beyond our individual lifespan.

Lovely Wednesday.

Till next Wednesday.

God bless you.