Back in the Saddle

A year ago today my pursuit of my passion could have taken my life or left me significantly disabled.  I thank God that I came away unscathed (well with no lasting injuries anyway) and a year later I’m on a different path but still looking forward to the day I can get back on a ramp

My mom called me this morning with kind of a somber tone in her voice.  She asked me how I’m doing with everything and if today was hard or something to that affect.  Not quite sure what she was getting at I said, “no I’m just fine why?” READ MORE

The Elevator Speech; Don’t Miss Your Opportunity

So you scored an invite to a gathering of major players in your industry.  Later that evening you spy the president of XYZ company across the room and know you’ve got to talk to him before the night is out.  Kinda like that cute girl across the room that you never could work up the guts to go talk to, you start scheming up an excuse to start up a conversation.

Your luck improves and a while later someone introduces you to the man.   He follows the name exchange with the all too familiar “So, what do you do?

How will you respond? READ MORE

Networking 101: The Importance of Showing Up

So you’ve got a passion.  You want to be a photographer, a journalist or the resident expert on antiques.  Whatever you passion is, there’s guaranteed to be other people that are interested in the same thing or better yet, they are in need of someone with your particular skill set.  Your job is to smoke them out and convince them why you are the person they’ve been looking for.

This can happen in a number of ways, all of which I call the art of showing up.  Regardless of your particular niche or industry, the first step towards becoming the go to person in your field is making a presence at all the places that like minded people are participating in that particular craft.  That might be a convention, an event or even just showing up regularly online to forums, discussions or leaving comments on blogs.  You have to first, make your presence known and second, prove that you actually know your stuff.  If you show up and people discover quickly that you really have no clue what your talking about, you probably should have reconsidered your field. READ MORE

Prone to Wander

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Is there any limit to my power?’”

The Israelite’s were getting ready for a BBQ.  After complaining for the umpteenth time that they had it SO good while they were slaves in Egypt, they began complaining that they wanted meat to eat.  God had provided an infinite supply of manna but, as is the case so often with us, they wanted more.  So they started crying out for meat.  God in his goodness answered their cry by telling Moses they would have meat to eat, so much in fact that they would become sick of it.

Moses, always taking the logical approach questioned, “But there are 600,000 soldiers here with me and you promise them meat for a whole month?  Even if we butchered all of our flocks and herds would that satisfy them?” Numbers 11:21-2

God responds, as I feel He so often does in our lives, “Is there any limit to my power?”  Verse 11:23

So often we define Gods might by our circumstance.  So many times in my life I’ve questioned what God is doing or why he’s allowed a certain situation into my life.  I’ve thought, “I’m on track, I’m doing the right things, why this?  Why now?” READ MORE

Entrepreneurship 101: The Platform

So you’ve got an idea and you want to get it out there.  Whether it’s a product or a service, the most important aspect of making your brand known is having a platform.  Advertising, word of mouth and other forms of marketing are incredibly beneficial but if you don’t have a platform for customers to come back to where they can learn more about you or your brand, you’re fighting a losing battle.

In this day and age a website or a blog is the simplest and most important platform to have.  Regardless of the product or service you’re offering, if people don’t know you exist they’ll never find you.  Even more, if you’re out in the world and you know you could satisfy a need for someone but don’t have any samples of your work that you can direct them back to, it’s likely going to be a hard sale.  A website or blog is the easiest and most effective way to get your name or brand out where it can be seen. READ MORE

Waiting With Purpose

I’m in one of those moods.  For all of the excitement and traveling I’ve been doing and the experiences I’ve had over the last couple of years, I wouldn’t change a thing.  But every once in a while I get in a funk and get to wondering like so many, “When’s it gonna happen?  When am I going to meet someone?”

It seems like that, above all other areas, is the one young people struggle with the most.  And rightly so.  God said in Genesis, “It is not good for man to be alone.”  We are wired for relationship.  In fact that’s why God made us in the first place.  To live in relationship with Him. READ MORE

What Makes You Come Alive

I’ve told my story at least a hundred times.  I’ve talked about setting my sights on Southern California somewhere around the fifth grade with every intention of living and working in the midst of the industry that I love.  To some that’s all it is, an industry.  It’s a hobby that I’m pursuing and have been able to make living at for a little while.

At 25, I’ve had more jobs than I can count.  I started mowing lawns and working in my fathers hardware store at ten years old.  I’ve worked in retail, management, recreation and residence life.  I’ve served as an equipment manager for a football program and paddled people through class IV rapids.  I’ve hung drywall, gutted houses and operated heavy equipment.  Most recently I quite a “corporate job” in pursuit of what many consider a hobby.  READ MORE

Simple acts of Service

I’m staying at a holiday in Express in Delmont PA.  Not the first place I would expect to get a lesson in service but sometimes we find the most amazing things in the most peculiar places. READ MORE