All In

In the book The Last Arrow by Erwin McManus, he uses a phrase that struck me as critical for being a leader. He says “leave nothing for the next life.” What he means by that is that we need to give ourselves totally to the cause for which we have been called and not keep reserves. What we do in this life will have huge impact on our situation in the next and we have only one life to give so we should give it our all.

This concept of “All In” tells us that if we want to be successful we need to put all of our time, energy, money, thoughts and everything that we have into what we have been called to do. Holding back is simply not an option for those that want to be a leader. Whether in business, the church, your family, or any other endeavor to which you put your hand.

But what does it look like to be All In? Have you ever experienced a situation where you left nothing on the table or as the sports analogy says to leave everything on the field? What does that mean in your business or your personal life?

I think it means that our focus and our energy and our determination to complete the task is so much a part of everything that we do that we eat, sleep and even dream of its completion or its achievement.

When starting a business it means that in order for you to achieve long-term success you must give up short-term things that stand in your way of accomplishing what you have set out to do.

In your family it means that you need to invest in your children particularly when they are young so that when they are old they will not depart from the things that you have taught them.

It can be applied into every area of your life. What do you think “All In” means in your context? Answering that question is part of being a leader.