Success in Reverse: Start at the End and Build a Life That Matters

What if the secret to success is starting at the end?

Most people plan their lives forward. They take whatever step looks easiest, then the next one, and hope it all works out. Twenty years later, they look up and wonder how they got where they are.

Success in Reverse turns that around. Picture the end of your life first. What do you want the people who knew you to say? Then work backward, one rung at a time, until you know exactly what to do today.

Kip Havard spent nearly thirty years leading technology teams through mergers, system consolidations, and constant change. Along the way he learned that the people who succeed aren't the ones with perfect plans. They're the ones who know where they want to end up and are willing to rebuild the path to get there. In this practical, faith-filled guide, he shows you how to do the same.

Inside, you'll learn how to

- Define what success really means for YOU, not for your neighbor or the world
- Count the cost of your goals before you start, and decide what you will never trade away
- Take the Funeral Test and discover your true calling
- Build a Success Ladder by planning backward from your destination to today
- Put the big rocks first using the Eisenhower Decision Matrix
- Set realistic milestones and stay accountable
- Turn your spare time into your greatest advantage
- Create an environment that pulls you toward your goals
- Push through failure, stop making excuses, and refuse to compromise
- Pay it forward and leave a legacy that outlasts you

You'll learn from Nehemiah, who prayed AND planned. From Eric Liddell, who walked away from the race he was favored to win and still took home Olympic gold. From Colonel Sanders, Thomas Edison, Joseph, Daniel, and a nervous Sunday school teacher whose one conversation in a shoe store set off a chain that led to Billy Graham.

Every chapter ends with discussion questions and one concrete action step called "Your Next Rung." The book also includes a Success Ladder worksheet, a Wheel of Life assessment, annual review questions, and a collection of Scripture for the climb. It's ideal for personal study, small groups, men's and women's ministries, and mentoring relationships.

You don't need a perfect plan. You need a clear destination and the next step.

Start at the end. Then go climb.