Back in October 2008 I had the great privilege of being able to attend an event where Dave Ramsey was speaking. I had a chance to shake his hand and take some photos of Dave speaking but most of all I was able to hear what he had to say and apply it to my life. What was great about the session was it was his normal financial engagement, it was on business leadership, and it was great. If you think Dave is animated on TV or radio, you should see him in person. The photos below are just a sample of his session.
I was listening (or actually watching) an interview with Dave Ramsey a few days ago on Fox News where he was speaking about a couple in pretty dire shape at the moment. His comment about their situation was, “just remember, life is not a snapshot, it is a movie”. It is amazing to me how one person can have so many different pieces of great advice, but he is absolutely correct, our lives are not a snapshot, a single moment in time, they are fluid, and moving through time, not just a piece in time.
I went back and looked at one entry I did May 1 2008 called Time Lapse Video of My Work Day // What’s in a Day where I did a YouTube time lapse video of my 8 hour work day. At the time it was a typical day. Now, some 8 months later it is just a shell of what my normal day is like and as each day goes by, that snapshot in time is more and more outdated, especially in my current position.
What this means is whatever your current situation is, it is only what it is right now, but don’t look at it as if can and won’t ever change. If it is good or bad, it is still going to change as time goes by. If things are so dire right now that you can’t imagine how your life will get any better, just hold on, time will move things along like it always does and your situation will change.
Great words from Dave Ramsey. Not necessarily new or earth shattering, more like obvious, but sometimes it takes someone saying it out loud for it to sink in and become a permenant part of our thinking. Surrounding yourself with motivated and intelligent people like Dave does doesn’t hurt either.
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You may be thinking you don’t create anything but I wanted to know, do we pay attention to the difference between when we consume something and create something? I listened to an album by Chris Tomlin this morning on the way to work, but I didn’t create an album. I also consumed a message by Rusty during our Tuesday men’s meeting, breakfast, read several blog posts, and bought something at Best Buy (none of which I created).
If you say initially, no, I don’t or haven’t created anything, I would ask then, have you taken a photo, written a blog post, spoken at a conference or meeting, or given birth to an idea? Creating can be like paying taxes. You go throughout your day and once the day is over, you don’t even realize how many times you paid taxes throughout the day. Every time we buy something, download something, eat, fill up our gas tanks, use electricity, we pay taxes, so like wise, we create in various ways throughout the day too.
This country in particular is all about consuming, but what are we consuming compared to what are we producing that others will consume? Most of our consumables today are in the form of mass produced items made in China (thanks Biscuet), but that is not all we consume. Most of those are physical products, products “where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19). So is creating something what we I should be more focused on, right? Depends.
As with everything, we need a balance, but what if all we did was consume? Can we live by only consuming in one area, like information? What if that information was God’s word? Of course, the idea is how often do we consume God’s word. Where is the balance, and when do we need to take what we have consumed of God’s word and start creating? Do we create from consuming God’s word? Absolutely.
Just ask your worship leader or pastor. Part of their job is directly converting the consumption into a creation. For most of us, we have to consume more. Drink in the Word like a Coke or cup of coffee and have it become a part of us until we have the ability to grow the coffee beans, ship them to a manufacturer, grind them up, sell them, and brew the coffee without ever thinking about what steps it took to get from point A to point B.
This is one of the things I am trying desperately trying to focus on this year. I am amazed at how hard that is to do when working inside the walls of the church. Initially, I was thinking, ok, now I can be immersed in God’s word all day since I am working in “ministry” or at the “church”. Oh course I knew this wasn’t going to be the case but I have found it no easier to go deep into God’s word and consume Him now, than I did before I walked into the building with a staff label instead of a attender label.
So I am telling myself to consume more, but can you really have one without the other?
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I did something last night I have not ever done in all my music and digital life. Download a full length (well EP) album from the iTunes store (Prospekt’s March). You may be saying, who cares, but last week Apple dramatically changed the way their music is handled on their iTunes platform by finally offering their music in a DRM (Digital Rights Management) free version.
For those unfamiliar with DRM, in brief, it is a generic term that refers to controlling access to digital technologies (or files) to limit their use. Sony (Sony BMG) have led the fight with restricting use of just about everything, but basically it is what keeps you from being able to take a song that you have legally acquired and burn the CD to your iTunes library, or move the file from multiple devices like your computer to your iPod, to your iPhone (also see this post).
Years ago, instead of the music industry embracing this new thing called an iPod, they tried everything they could do to kill it. He we go, a way to actively spread our product to millions of users… what unbelievable potential to reach new customers, but no, they fought everything about it, and their industry has taken one of the biggest nose dives in history.
It is a lot more than that, but it is one more way the music industry has continued to try to commit suicide over the years instead of embracing technology. There has been such an outcry to get rid of DRM that Sony had to remove it from their physical CD’s a while back, but Amazon’s music downloads followed suit, and now, finally, iTunes has as well.
With iTunes Plus, you get high-quality, 256-Kbps AAC encoding. All free of burn limits and digital rights management (DRM). So iTunes Plus music will play on iPod, Apple TV, all Mac and Windows computers, and many other digital music players.
So what does this mean for all of us? Maybe nothing if you don’t buy legal music, listen to audio books, watch movies, have an ipod or digital music device. For the rest of us, it is huge. In the past I have purchased the bulk of my CD collection from Amazon’s used CD market. Most of the time I can buy a used CD for a few dollars and have the freedom to do whatever I want with the CD (not something the artists really love since they don’t get royalities from most of the used market). I can burn it in any quality I want and I always have a backup that doesn’t depend on any one company or the whim of DRM, all for a reasonable price around $5-$10 (including shipping).
For years (I would say since Napster failed), I refused to buy any music via download from Amazon or iTunes because of the DRM restrictions, and haven’t even really looked at what is available from iTunes. Â Now for the first time, I am checking out the music on iTunes instead of physical CD’s from Amazon’s used market.
A brilliant move for Apple’s bottom line when multiplied by their millions of users. And for Apple, that’s what it is all about, their bottom line, but it’s more than that. For me, now that I have the ability to buy DRM free music on iTunes, my options and alternatives have expanded dramatically, the artists will get paid on sales (so do the labels for that matter), and I can do what I want with the file.
The quality of the downloads is great, an ACC 256kbs file is fine for me. I am currently reburning my entire catalog into ACC 256kbs files anyway, and I can do whatever I want with the file. What I was amazed at is how much more you get with an iTunes album than what you get with the physical disc.
With the Prospekt’s March album, I got the digital booklet in high resolution pdf format (this is the CD artwork in digital form) and the Viva la Vida video. Many albums comes with additional songs only available from iTunes. This isn’t an end all, I will still buy some used for the price and backup, but something I have waited for from iTunes for a long time.
A Price Worth Paying For?
That was a really long way to say that more artists are going to be downloaded and heard (and hopefully paid), especially beyond the big labels. Just because iTunes came to an agreement with Sony doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect the independents (Indie’s). Some CD’s you just can’t buy a physical copy or they are some outrageous price on Amazon. This will help, but on iTunes it also comes with a price. That is $.30 per song to upgrade. The one last ditch to hold on to DRM. For those like me who never purchased anything prior to now, no big deal, don’t have any non-DRM free music. For those who purchased anything on iTunes, you are held hostage at $.30 per song for old music, sorry.
I love music. I don’t have a problem with paying for music, never have, but I won’t buy it with restrictions like DRM placed on it in the past. Artist put time and effort into creating and producing something I value, and to put a price on it, gives it value, and I understand and appreciate that. Several years ago my son told me how much music he had downloaded on his computer, some huge 50-100 gig of music files. He later then told me he had deleted it all. Not because he hadn’t purchased it all, but because he hadn’t listened (or learned) any of the music. Something comes with the fact that you paid for the music. You listen to it, learn it, understand the message the artist might be trying to give, or trash it because you don’t like it, but you listen to it.
Have you ever received a free CD and not listened to it. I have. But I can’t recall ever buying a CD and not listening to it, but ridiculous restrictions like DRM has kept me (and I am sure many others who want to obtain music legally) from buying a lot of music. Perhaps this move will be a good thing for the artists as well as iTunes, I know it is for those who love to listen to music.
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Today was our first and last full day on the gulf coast. For January, the weather was beautiful but very very windy. We went to one of our most favorite places in the Perdido Key area, the Gulf Islands National Seashore. We never really stay for more than a day or two down here but you pay for a 7-day pass ($8) and have access to one of the most wonderful white sand beaches on the Alabama/Florida gulf coast shore lines.
Every time we have been here the 5-7 mile stretch of beach has only a handful of people (today almost no one) and it seems to be one of those few areas in the country that still has pristine beaches and little sign of city life. Our other favorite area like this is over on the Outter Banks of North Carolina which also has some of the most untouched beaches in the country. So for my Friday Feet post today, here is my feet image, and also a few more. Tomorrow is it back to Auburn and back to work.
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I would like to say that every day is filled with a bike ride and a walk on the beach, but at least, today, it was. We use to spend quite a bit of time in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and Perdido Key, but haven’t made it down here in the last 6 months. This is our absolutely favorite time of year to be down here. The beaches and parks are usually empty, the temperature is still pretty nice.
After getting some work done at home we drove down to a bike trail in Orange Beach that is easy to find but not on many maps or searches. The Hugh S Branyon Backcountry Trail, which starts and runs through Gulf State Park, is a paved trail that have several different 1-2 mile sections that runs through the sand dunes and some beautiful nature areas. We have driven by several times in the past but never stopped to ride the tail.
Of course no day would be complete down here without a walk on the beach. We made it over to the sand just in time to see the sun set. I walked a few miles down the beach and then we had dinner at a restraunt there on the beach, The Hangout.
I am always amazed at the beauty of the beach and the ocean. I have seen it so many times, in many different states and countries and it still has some magical, almost mystic quality. A place that for one reason or another allows you to remove the routine of life and the busy world around you and leaves you with sand and water… but a lot of sand, and an unreal amount of water.
I think people are attracted to the beach because it represents life. Water that is living, breathing, and a constantly changing yet every time you go to the same beach, it looks relatively the same. Taking a walk a few miles down a nice white sand beach (especially in January) is a spiritual thing, and I will take a walk any chance I get. Here are some photos from the day.
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It seems that January has gotten off to a nitro-fueled pace. We started this new series (Alive) that I am personally already struggling to keep up with. Anyone else? It is about mid-week in the first week in January so I figured by now almost everyone has given up on some of their “new years resolutions”, but in light of my post yesterday on how to be creative, I tried to keep my own list in my mind as I went through the day.
So who inspired me us to be creative today? For me, I started off the day with an unbelievable speaker, Eddie Gran, the former running back coach from Auburn. He spent much of his career with Tommy Tubberville from Miami to Ole Miss, to Auburn, and of course in light of the current coaching situation is looking for a job. He presented a great testimony which I know had to inspire many who were able to come hear him speak.
Was I able to achieve any creativity on my own. Who knows. I wanted to dive deep into my own journal, take some photos, and listen to some new music, but for this day, here is my short list of others who gave me some inspiration for the day.
- Eddie Gran – Leading a Christ Centered Life (oh, and the former Auburn football running back coach too)
- History of the Internet Video // (from Brad)
- Anne Jackson – Talk Less – Listen More on Church Conferences
- Georgia Christal – No English Churches in Verdun
The last one requires a little explanation. I am amazed at how I keep learning from my mother-in-law. Since her death in April I have been pouring over here journals she wrote when she lived in Europe. She did what most of us are trying to do now with the Alive series, write. I have been putting her journal one day at a time in a blog called My Life in France.
I sit here and wonder what is or isn’t acceptable in worship. Why do we do this or that, why don’t we do this or that. Her entry in her journal today was short, and to the point, and really hit the spot. This is what she wrote on February 2, 1992:
No English speaking churches in Verdun so we drove to the American Cemetery located in St. Mihiel, France (where 4,000 Americans from the war are buried) and had our own private worship in the chapel there.
Now that is inspiring, at least to me.
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Well this is start of the first full week of the new year, and actually the first official week in my position here at work. I want to say I am getting settled in but I think I did that in the month of December. As I sit here in a borrowed office for today I am thinking about so many new things going on here at Cornerstone that makes it an exciting time here, and a busy time.
This week we started a new series called “Alive”. We will be going through the book of Colossians for the next month, and at the same time starting a walk through journaling our thoughts and questions as we study through this book.
The creative minds over here decided to do something different and actually engage (not that we don’t try to do that anyway) with everyone on a different level. We started a website (http://www.thealivejournal.com) that corresponds to a paper journal everyone received on Sunday.
As we walk through the book, the website will be updated with new scriptures and an application each day for the remaining of the series. A fresh approach and something that will hopefully catch on with others. I know writing is like many other things in life. The more you write, the better you get, and the more you write.
How Do We Continue to Create?
How do we continue to create? It doesn’t matter if you are working for a church, a school, self-employed, or whatever, creativity is important, it keeps our minds “alive”. Opening up and becoming more creative is something I strive to do each day, but I don’t buy into the notion that there are creative people and people who are not creative. Everyone is creative, but not everyone allows it to come out, or deems it to be important.
Looking ahead I don’t want this to be the pinnacle of creativity this year. To me, there are basically three areas of creativity (I know there are many more but follow me here) that pretty much encompass everything else; writing, o-graphy (that would be photo-video), and music. So, to me, the key is how to grow in each of these areas and find new ways to create in each of these areas.
Anne Jackson wrote a great piece today, The Death of Publishing as We Know It: Who Holds the Smoking Gun? that talks about how the publishing industry has screwed itself into the ground by publishing so many mediocre books. True, we are not all writers, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t write. As a photographer I would say the same thing. Just because you are not a professional photographer does that mean you are never going to pick up a camera again? My key for myself is to write more, shoot more, and read more.
So, as some say, here is a “mind dump” in no particular order.
10 Ways to Create Original Ideas
- Write more, read more, and learn more about media
- Surround yourself with creative minds when you can
- Ask someone for help or suggestions
- Expand what you normally do and be different
- Get out of your routine, go outside your normal elements
- Remember your focus – what is it, making money, salvation, discipleship?
- Don’t copy —- take, redesign, and create something new
- Don’t be afraid of the box – throw the box out and don’t worry about what is “correct”
- Think for yourself. Don’t let others tell you how to think. Study and think for yourself
- Be prepared to fail and try something else
Number 7 is a little vague I know. What I mean is what we read from Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Most “new” is something that was improved upon from something or someone else. So find something good and make it great. My problem is always “finding the new”.
This is really my list for myself. I have never felt like I was a very creative person but most of that is because I refused to let it surface. It had no real purpose. Perhaps the older I get the more important it is and the harder I have to work at it to get better.
