Headed into the Monday of the first full week of July, we have found some impressive headlines in the news. Here are a sample. “This ONE change could undermine the retirement security of millions of Americans.” “This ONE thing could help more workers retire with money.” “This ONE decision can change your 401K.” “ONE foolproof way to create retirement income for the rest of your life.” “This solution can be the key to increasing your retirement security.” (emphasis added)

Candidly, headlines are customarily written by someone other than the author. Headlines are worded to 1) arrest our attention and 2) coax us to click on the link. We can filter exaggerated language as we read. Throughout 47 years of conference and trade show attendance, we have also encountered individuals touting a concept, bible study, book, approach to prayer, system for journaling, or product with these (or similar) words, “This (fill in the blank) will revolutionize your (fill in the blank).”

We have found no individual solutions to what ails us over years in ministry and financial services. There has been no Lone Ranger with a silver bullet to change the course of events. Still, we are not cynical! Those claiming one action can revolutionize things have often found the action to have an outsized effect upon their life and work.

Our experience has taught us the course of life is more often positively affected by a number of deliberate decisions than one single event. With that in mind, we offer this handful of ideas that may bring a positive influence into your life and future. NONE of these are original, but we make no apology for repeating them here.

  • Become a disciple of Jesus.
  • Increase your focus on developing the friendship you have with your spouse.
  • Spend more time submitting ideas and plans to God before they are implemented.
  • Be thankful for the good things in life.
  • Determine to spend more time talking about ideas than about people.
  • Commit time and effort to becoming a positive influence in the lives of others.
  • Work on eliminating the use of credit cards and monthly payments.
  • Increase both the amount you give away and the amount you save each year.
  • Plan for the unexpected to happen in your life and accept adjustments than must be made.
  • Focus on hitting singles and doubles rather than hitting home runs in building the financial nest egg.

Here is to living spiritually, emotionally, and financially free in each stage of life.