“What went wrong?”

I had just processed the last refund, and I finally had time to wrestle with that question.

Someone had used my online crowdfunding website to launder tens of thousands of dollars of stolen credit card funds. And the way we had things set up with our payment processor, Stripe, meant that my business partner and I were financially responsible. Every time I clicked “refund,” the money came directly out of our already thin startup pocketbook.

So, what had gone wrong?

I’ll spare the technical details, but here’s the core takeaway: we built for speed and market demand but neglected long-term impact. We followed Facebook’s famous mantra—“move fast and break things”—when, perhaps, a bit of Steve Jobs’ perfectionism could have helped us avoid breaking what really mattered.

Despite being labeled by personality assessments a “visionary” with a future-oriented outlook, I often sacrifice the best of the future for the convenience of the present. Like the toddlers in the infamous “marshmallow test,” I snatch the one treat in front of me marshmallow now instead of waiting for the promise of two later.

I hit snooze; I scroll through social media; I procrastinate at work; I take the easy route in parenting when discipline or intentionality is needed;and I indulge in one too many “cheat meals.” Sound familiar?

But why do I (and so many of us) make such short-sighted decisions?
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Three Reasons We Sacrifice Long-Term Success for Short-Term Comfort

1. The future is uncertain, but the present is known
   We’re wired for survival, and part of that wiring makes us prioritize immediate rewards over uncertain future outcomes. The future feels abstract, while the present is tangible and real.
2. We’re conditioned for shortcuts
   We live in a world of instant gratification—fast fashion, fast food, and Amazon Prime—where everything is designed to satisfy our desires immediately. Delaying gratification has become countercultural, making it hard to invest in something that requires time and patience.
3. We equate speed with progress*
   Somewhere along the way, we’ve been conditioned to associate busyness with productivity. But busyness often masks inefficiency. Speed without intention leads to mistakes. We rush to hit short-term goals without asking whether we’re truly building something that will last.
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How Do We Build for Eternity?

To find this useful, you’ll need a worldview that assumes the truth of eternity. If we don’t share that worldview, my hope is that seeds of hope are planted in your heart, pointing to a future that won’t end.

New Testament scholar N.T. Wright wrote a beautiful article called, “Jesus is coming, plant a tree.” He argues that we should steward this earth and make it more like heaven because, one day, heaven will come to earth. The beauty we cultivate here will last and be recycled into eternity. It’s counter to the idea that the earth will burn away, leaving us to float on clouds playing harps forever.

But this perspective prompts a key question: even if the world were ending tomorrow, would your actions today reflect something eternal? Or are you simply chasing the fastest solution to the most immediate problem?

Of course, there are immediate issues—hunger, pain, disease, anxieties—that need attention now. But are you addressing those with an eternal perspective? Or are you simply hustling your way to fleeting success?
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Start with the End in Mind

Are short-term and long-term goals in conflict? Not necessarily. They can align, but it requires intentional planning. Start with the end in mind—a principle from Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that you must say “no” to good opportunities to say “yes” to great ones. This often means turning down quick wins in favor of long-term success. As a leader, the question isn’t just whether your team can hit a short-term target, but whether they can do so in a way that sets your organization up for sustainable growth.
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Mastery Requires Both Impatience and Patience

One of my favorite acronyms is M.B.T.A.—Massive Bias Towards Action. I can get stuck in dreamland, forgetting that the future's success requires intentional steps today. Yes, we need to start with the end in mind, but we must also take action in the present.

Author James Clear puts it this way:

"Mastery requires both impatience and patience. The impatience to have a bias toward action, to not waste time, and to work with a sense of urgency each day."

The patience to delay gratification, to wait for your actions to accumulate, and to trust the process."

So, there’s important work to be done. We must reconcile the urgency of “move fast and break things” with the excellence of Steve Jobs' culture. We need to act quickly when appropriate, but we must always ask: are we truly building something that will successfully last?
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Success vs. Lasting Success

Success can be easy. We can always redefine the metrics to suit our current goals and give ourselves a success sticker. But lasting success is something different. It’s harder, requires more sacrifice, and often demands delayed gratification. I’m not suggesting we stop building products or services with a finite shelf life. Many things we create will become obsolete. But is the creation of those things our ultimate metric of success? Or is it the impact they have? Some things—like relationships, integrity, and legacy—cannot be easily replaced.

Clayton Christensen famously said:

“I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched.”

If we build for eternity, we’re not just building for dollars. We’re building to impact lives, leave a legacy, and contribute to something greater than ourselves.
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Conclusion

So, what’s your decision-making filter?

When faced with a choice, are you building for now, or are you building for forever? As you move forward in your business, your relationships, and your personal growth, ask yourself: am I creating something that will last?

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

What you build today can either be a temporary fix or a stepping stone to eternity. The choice is yours.
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*Use of AI in this blog: The title, outline, concept and writing was all my (Matt's) original thoughts and language with the following exception: 

• I was struggling to find a compelling third reason for why we sacrifice long-term success for short term comfort. ChatGPT helped me brainstorm the third.
• Grammerly's AI helped to edit this blog.
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