WEEKLY WISDOM - YOUR SIGNATURE

Signature:  the act of signing one's name or of making a mark in lieu thereof, any unique, distinguishing aspect, feature, or mark.

I believe that some of the most important words on paper is your signature. Your signature is a representation of who you are, your word, your agreement, your endorsement, your approval, and it precedes your character and integrity. When penning your signature to an agreement, you ascribe to the contents of that document. When you write something, it reveals to everyone your inmost thoughts, perspectives, and feelings especially by the penmanship of your signature.

My wife and I purchased eight homes during our marriage and each time we had to sign real-estate papers agreeing to the terms and conditions. That’s a huge responsibility, but just by us signing the papers, the other party had confidence that we would abide by the terms of the agreement.

Now reflect on your leadership or entrepreneurial ventures. There are always documents that you either design or that you sign the contract agreeing to the terms and conditions. I remember many years ago, I went into partnership with a small startup company, and I was responsible for raising funds for the company, so I reached out to many of my friends and investors to financially support the startup. I had crafted agreements with each of those friends and investors.

A few months later, my partnership with the company went drastically south and they stopped communicating with me and they did not live up to their terms of the agreement. It left me in a very hard place because of the friends and investors that I had influenced to invest their dollars into a company that had abandoned me. By our contract, I had agreed on certain investment terms for them and now it was all on me! What do I do? Do I follow the same course of action as my abandoned business partnership which was to go silent and not connect with my friends and investors or do I keep my word according to my signature?

As a leader among my friends and colleagues, lessons that I was being taught about entering business partnerships, and the legacy I would leave my sons and mentees, I was at a difficult crossroad. Not to mention that my wife had warned me earlier about this partnership and now I faced her heart about what actions I would take in this challenging predicament. I am talking thousands of dollars that I owed to my friends and investors!

Making the integral decision, I honored all the financial commitments of my friends and investors, and I ensured that my household finances were not impacted by the deal that went south even though financially and emotionally it was extremely difficult. It was more important for me to honor the agreements I made regardless of the disappointing and broken business partnership.

Please take to heart regarding Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.”

In case you are wondering, I never recouped the losses from that business venture, but I gained so much more in leadership, lessons, and legacy.

(EQUIPPING)

Exercise Your Power this week 

 1.       Write what your signature (Name) represents.

2.       Determine how your name represents the legacy in your family and share with your children or other family members.

3.       Write down your heart’s desire for your leadership and life.