I talk a lot about investing in yourself and your success. A lot of times this can take the form of going to conferences, getting a coach, or going through courses that develop your skill sets. But, today I want to share a success story with you from Matt Cincera that highlights the importance of making those daily deposits into your success. Getting where you want to go won’t just be accomplished with those big lump sum investments like coaching. You also need to have those continual, smaller investments—things you do daily or weekly—that add to your success in order to realize your dreams.
Starting Out With Very Simple Dreams
Matt has been in the technology field for almost three decades. He started out as a software developer and then moved into leadership positions as his career progressed. As he told us “When I first started working, I had very simple dreams of owning a house and building a family and enjoying a long career working in the technology field.”
He knew from an early age that he loved the kind of work that he could do in the technology field. Matt says “I was always involved in science, technology, innovation, and creative thinking and love the process of knowing how things work.” In this regard, Matt was really fortunate to know what his passions are so early in his life and his career. But around the 2008 financial crash, Matt’s job security and future looked less certain.
During that time, Matt told us “I saw my retirement savings cut in half, my job was in a precarious situation working for a major financial institution, and I needed hope and inspiration.” It was around this period that Matt first encountered me, and I was grateful to be able to provide him, and others, with mentorship and encouragement to find a path that offered him both security and the opportunity to fulfill his dreams and passions.
An “Unconventional” 48 Days Eagles Member
Matt is a self-described “unconventional” member of the Eagles community, because he didn’t want to quit his job back then, and he doesn’t necessarily want to do that now. While it’s true that many Eagles and 48 Days listeners or readers do want to leave a conventional career, you don’t have to. The whole ethos of 48 Days is about building the work and life you love. If that work and life for you is built through a conventional career, like Matt’s, that’s perfectly fine!
Everyone is on their own journey, and everyone has their own destination.
48 Days and the Eagles community is here for everyone who’s on their journey, ready to find their passions and talents, and working towards putting all of that into action. But like I mentioned earlier, investing in a coach or mentor, joining a community, and making those bigger investments in yourself—both in your time and your resources—are not the only ingredients to success.
The Value of Taking Daily Action
Many people encounter me and my message, but not everyone realizes their dreams and passions like Matt has. It’s about what you do as an individual, daily, weekly, or monthly over time that really gets you to where you want to go. Keeping with the metaphor of investing, you can read all of the financial planning and investment books on the market, but that won’t make your wealth grow. You have to be the one that makes your money work for you. The same is true for success in your life and career.
And Matt is someone who is really good at making those continual investments in his success through his daily actions—and making those investments work for him. He told us that “I made my dreams become a reality by being a continual learner, investing in myself, and keeping a positive attitude about the work I do and the people I serve.”
Matt’s keys to success are
1) building daily habits of learning and listening to inspiring and positive messages,
2) taking strategic risks at different points in my career to change jobs and being willing to move with my family without certainty of success.”
I love the way Matt described these two keys to his success, because it shows how the onus is really on you to both keep learning and growing, and to take action. And Matt’s investments in his success have paid off handsomely. Today, he is “a technology executive for a major travel and hospitality brand, running a large organization of nearly 2000 people that provides technology capabilities for hundreds of thousands of customers every day.” He’s also been able to “put my four daughters through college, own a nice home, and help family members that aren’t doing quite as well as us.”
Matt Cincera Is Giving Back As Well
Matt has also been able to find fulfillment in his career by mentoring others. He says, “In my role leading a large organization, I am also able to mentor men and women who are growing their careers. It is very rewarding helping others achieve their dreams and goals.”
This just goes to show how the investments you make in your success, when you put them into action continually over time, can pay dividends both in providing you financial freedom, and also facilitating growth and fulfillment. And, not everyone has to quit their job and start a business to do it.
To get to that place of success, freedom, and fulfillment in his career, Matt had to learn some lessons along the way. One big one that he told us about is one that he learned by watching his father: “My father was a truck driver for his entire working life, he was fairly unhealthy, didn’t exercise, and had poor eating habits. He was an incredibly hard-working man but I could always sense he had a regret within him for the chances he didn’t take in life. I saw him look at his work as daily drudgery and he worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a career he no longer enjoyed. He died at the age of 66, and I vowed to not repeat his life lesson of living with the regret of chances I didn’t take.”
Some advice that Matt shared based on this lesson is that “You need to take risks – and realize that sometimes staying put in your current situation may in fact be more risky. Many people are afraid of taking the risk of changing jobs or careers, only to see themselves later in life isolated from a career perspective or worse yet losing a job because their skills have diminished value in the market. I have never wanted to feel regret in my life from things I didn’t try or do.”
Be Prepared To Take Risks In Life
In order to be comfortable and successful in taking those risks, you need to be prepared. That’s where your investments in success come in again. Matt told us that he would recommend to someone a few steps behind him on their journey to “Keep a daily practice of investing in yourself including exercise, positive messages, continual learning, and managing your time well in all aspects of your life.”
Again, those daily investments are so important because they build on each other like interest in your savings account. One big lump sum deposit is great, but continual deposits over time can help you build even more on your principle. As Matt told us “I haven’t been perfect in all aspects of my life, but I can honestly say I have improved a bit every year and that has allowed me to become the person I am today.”
Matt’s Plans For the Future
In the future, Matt said he might consider starting his own coaching or leadership program, but he’s really zoned in on accomplishing some more goals at his current job “before I move on to the next chapter.” Those are some wise words because, like in investing, you have to know when it’s the right time to take those risks, and what risks to take.
What are you doing today, this week, or this month to make a deposit into your own success?
Check out other 48 Days Eagles Success Stories:
• Helping Others Thrive is the Hallmark of Her Success — Coach, Speaker and Trainer Jevonnah Ellison
