Finishing Well Step 7: Devote—Finding Your Accelerant

Apply the accelerant to your impact by finding your unique "10" and building a legacy that outlasts you.

This is the last post in a seven-part series on finishing well.

When we were raising our children, we lived near Jerger school and it had a slide that was legendary. Tall, steep, and, by today’s safety standards, probably dangerous! They’ve since removed it, but I’ll never forget the secret to making it unforgettable. 

Waxed paper.

Waxed paper turned that slide into the thrill of a lifetime. No exaggeration, you hit bottom doing at least 50 mph (ok, maybe a little stretching). 

The waxed paper was the accelerant.

A lot of founders are here at step 7 of finishing well. They’ve built their business, done the work. But they are stuck at the top, hesitant to push off because they don’t have a catalyst to move them into the next season.

Step 7 is about Devotion. It’s about finding your unique “10” and applying the accelerant to your impact.

The Sobering Reality of the Finish

Dr. Bobby Clinton of Fuller Seminary once conducted a massive study of biblical characters. He looked at hundreds of leaders in the Bible to see how they ended their lives. His discovery was haunting: Less than one-third of them finished well.

They may have started strong, had mid-life breakthroughs but the majority faded out, compromised, or simply got stuck in the past.

Finishing well never happens on accident. Devotion is required. It requires a shift from the “Dabble” phase (where you explore possibilities) and the “Discern” phase (where you prune away the good to find the best) into a season where you give yourself fully to your highest calling.

Finding Your “10”

Each of us is a “10” somewhere. There is a specific intersection where your experiences, your screw-ups, your relationships, and your spiritual gifts converge and allow you to offer something no one else can.

We all have a sweet spot—that unique intersection where our specific screw-ups, relationships, and hard-earned skills collide to give us an edge no one else has. 

Take a guy like Dudley Moore. Instead of heading straight for a rocking chair when he hit his “victory lap” season, he looked at the flooring industry he spent a lifetime in and saw a massive shortage of workers. He didn’t just retire; he is now channelling forty years of experience into helping the local schools build a floor installer’s institute. Dudley isn’t just clocking in anymore. He’s passing on a trade secret.

Cathedral Thinking

When the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris caught fire a few years ago, the world watched in heartbreak. But almost immediately, the conversation shifted to rebuilding.

The original builders of those great cathedrals knew a secret we often forget: They would never see the finished work.They laid stones for a roof they would never sit under.

That is “Cathedral Thinking.”

Finishing well means building something that outlasts you. It means having a purpose for getting up in the morning and enough resources to sleep at night, but it also means investing in a story that continues when you are gone.

I see this in our Breakthrough Groups. I think of Robert, one of our original members. He was stuck. He had a plan for his first business, but he couldn’t see the path for his second business.

Through the patience of the group—peers who asked the hard questions to clear the fog—he found his devotion. He recently told us:

“My impact will be bold and intentional. I am moving toward deeper engagement with the 160 business owners I interact with each year.”

He stopped talking about himself and started focusing on how to make his “teammates” shine. That is the accelerant.

The Rhythm of the Finish

In Psalm 71, there’s a brilliant roadmap for this kind of focus. Nicky Gumbel talks about three rhythms that keep leaders steady during the chaos of the second half of life: prayer when the transition feels entirely overwhelming, patience when things aren’t moving at the speed of your ego, and praise—deciding you’re going to stay grateful regardless of what the balance sheet looks like. 

As the Psalmist puts it, the goal is to declare your strength to the next generation, rather than just hoarding it for yourself.

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation.”

That is the heart of Step 7. You aren’t just leaving your family money; you are showing them how that money was lived out through hard work, faith, and integrity. You are dealing with the “mud” of the past so the future is clear for those following you.

What Does It Look Like for You?

Reaching a point where you can work when, how, and with whom you want is an incredible milestone. But that freedom isn’t just for leisure—it’s for impact. 

If you’ve spent decades building a business, leaving its future to chance completely misses the point. 

Walking through a real, intentional succession plan is like putting that waxed paper on the slide.

It’s the catalyst that takes you out of limbo and launches you into a season that actually matters.

A Final Inventory

As we close this series, take a moment to look at your own “Devotion”:

• The Sweet Spot: Where are you a “10”? What is the one thing you do that brings the most joy to you and the most glory to God?

• The Cathedral: What are you building today that you will never see finished?

• The Accelerant: What is the one decision or conversation you are avoiding that is keeping you stuck at the top of the slide?

• The Teammates: Who are the “truth-tellers” in your life who are helping you clear the fog?

When we eventually meet our Creator, we all want the “positive” to outweigh the “derogatory.”

We want to know we didn’t just build an empire, but that we passed on a torch.

The slide is ready. The next generation is waiting.

What is the one thing you will devote the rest of your life to?