Everything can't be a priority

I have 11 businesses and projects. And roughly three hours a day to build them. So... the math really does not math.

Last week I wrote about Proverbs 19:2, and about confusing movement with direction. That forced a pretty uncomfortable question. Not which business. Not which project has the most potential. What am I actually trying to build with my life?

Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

I landed on Stewardship for Christ as my North Star. But here's the problem. A North Star isn't very useful if I keep walking in eleven directions at once.

So I ranked all eleven

I love starting things. I love seeing a problem and thinking, I could build something for that. And unfortunately, I always seem to actually build it.

So I sat down and ranked every business and project I have going. Not by which one I liked the most. Not even by which one could become the biggest. I looked at which ones actually deserved my limited time right now.

Because between my full-time job, being a husband and dad, church, relationships, health, and everything else that comes with life, I have about three hours in the morning to build. (if I get up on time...) That's it.

Stewardship isn't just what I do with those three hours. It's also what I'm willing not to do with them.

What got parked

Some projects I genuinely believe are good ideas. They're still getting parked. Some have potential. They're still not getting my attention. Some I really want to build. But wanting to build something doesn't automatically mean I should.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

Maybe part of maturity is recognizing that not now doesn't necessarily mean never. Because if everything is important, nothing really is. And if I give eleven businesses 15 minutes each, I haven't really given any of them my best.

Where it landed

So I'm narrowing down. A few things get my attention. Some get maintained. Some get parked. And some might eventually need to die completely.

I'm still ambitious. I still want to build businesses, create wealth, solve problems and see what I can make out of the ideas God has given me. But I'm trying to learn that stewardship isn't doing everything I possibly can.

Maybe the question isn't how do I find more time for all of this. Maybe it's what has actually earned the time I already have?