All this language about shipping can be confusing, at least to me. Maybe more overwhelming then confusing, shipping seems to be grandiose idea of making great stuff. When really it is a decision to just do the work. You ever wonder what are some things you could ship? (in a non FEDEX or UPS way)

You could decide to ship…

• A blog post every day.
• 800 words on paper every day.
• One new creative idea.
• 25 minutes reading a book.
• 30 minutes on the treadmill.
• One conversation with an old friend.
• A home cooked meal.
• 25 pushups.
• A hand written letter.
• A difficult conversation.
• Make a cup of tea.
• Start a new diet.
• Email your favorite author or blogger for an interview.
• 15 minutes of meditating in silence.
• A scavenger hunt around your city.
• A photo a day. (A PSD a day)
• One less refresh of twitter or a facebook.

Often the temptation of shipping is to focus on the biggest scale rather then focusing on the everyday. Think about the last time you shipped something that weighed over ten or twenty pounds. That probably cost you more then you wanted to pay. Why? Because of the weight, UPS or FedEx had to treat what you were shipping differently. It had its own special delivery. Just like shipping something that is big cost you more then you want to spend, shipping a big project will cost you as well.

Focus on shipping every day and before you know it the amount you can ship will get bigger.

What would you add to the list?

*kyle

Nothing. The simple answer is this absurdity does not happen. Why? Because we know that firemen put out fires. They do not make traffic stops, get in gun fights or eat donuts. Instead they focus on keeping people safe from fire.

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What happens when every day people start to write? An oddity occurs. The oddity of personal passion and public pursuit. The desire to share something but also the desire to be known for sharing something. It can quickly shift from personal to public. The oddity occurs when we start to downplay personal passion and focus on public pursuit.

Part of the problem with living in the information age is that we can watch videos, read books, and even see traffic stops in action, but it doesn’t make us a cop. We just become pretenders with no real authority.

The draw to take shortcuts to notoriety never works. It is an imitation that will quickly be found out. It requires starting every day and realizing that it is a slow burn, your motives start to shift and the pressure starts to cease.

Seth Godin was asked recently about this post and it’s origin. His answer was that it took him 20 hours to finish the post. What seemed to be something that he sat down one morning and scribbled out a list post of ideas to gain traffic in reality took him 20 hours total of writing, editing, and refining.

Julien Smith was asked about this post and said that it took him weeks to write and edit. Even to the point of stressing over which italics to use on certain words. What was a post that certain led to a lot of change for a lot of people was something meticulously crafted for weeks. Not something he wrote before he went to bed the night before.

Sometimes things are not always as they seem. 

The reason firefighters focus on putting out fires and not arresting people is because they do not have the time to focus on both. They have the task of knowing everything they can about fires and how to prevent them. You have the task of being faithful to your craft, letting it breathe, and being true to your calling. Realizing that just because it seems that the people you admire seem to put out great content overnight but really work hours to refine their craft is one of the first steps in this process.

Focus on your fire and do the work.

Yesterday, Stephen Brewster wrote a post on this quote entitled When Is Anything Worth Everything. It is a must read.

The video below is where the quote, from Ira Glass, was taken from.

Video one of a four part video series from Ira Glass of NPR and This American Life

This is a guest post from Stephen Brewster that centers around this image. After tweeting this out on Monday, I realized that we needed to unpack this a bit more. I asked Brewster to post today so that we can take this quote beyond a tweet and beyond a piece of paper and into a discussion.
Stephen Brewster is the Creative Arts Pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville TN. He post daily on his site stephenbrewster.me where his main focus is creativity and the church. He is the most creative guy I know and has been a constant source of encouragement to me and my dreams. He is the type of guy you want in your corner when you are setting out to tackle your dreams.
Do me a favor and follow him on twitter and then read the post below.

In our 20′s, our passions drive us. We believe that anything is possible.
That belief is very true…ANYTHING is possible. The question is are we ready to pay the cost for ANYTHING?

Is ANYTHING worth EVERYTHING to us. Achieving the destiny God has for your life is an admirable goal and a great statement for a college bible study, but have we weighed the cost of ANYTHING? ANYTHING requires a different approach. It requires sacrifice. ANYTHING is uncommon. If we are going to go out attempting to achieve ANYTHING, we have to realize we can’t just be anyone (or with anyone for that matter). ANYTHING requires focus. It requires practice, patience, and the removal of an entitled mentality. Very few people ever get in to the ANYTHING game because the buy-in requires more than what most people are comfortable paying. ANYTHING takes time because we have to start from nowhere.

The education required to achieve ANYTHING is not for the faint of heart. It creates scars, bruises, and wounds that cut deep.

The funny thing about ANYTHING is that everyone is waiting for it. Those who have paid the cost before are cheering you on. Those who are not yet where you are look at you to pioneer. ANYTHING is special…it’s magical…it’s really hard work. And we need you to prove that ANYTHING can still be done and inspire others to achieve it. ANYTHING is in you. It’s beating loud in your chest at night. It’s wanting you to fight for it like you fight for acceptance or honor or freedom. We need you to go out and chase your ANYTHING because your 20′s provide the opportunity for ANYTHING to happen.

How can we go after ANYTHING and EVERYTHING?

*Brewster

“I have learned more in the past 6 months than I have in the past 6 years” is probably not a good conversation starter that you want to use on your parents any time soon. But the simple fact is, I am learning so much about life, leadership, and business right now that I have a hard time keeping my excitement to myself.

Do not tell my parents this, but College was a huge waste of time. Forgive this obvious ignorance, this is not to be a blanket statement. Not all of college is a waste of time, but there were aspects that seemed rather pointless. The money spent, the time wasted and the pointless classes all have led me to believe college isn’t all that it is cracked up to be. College can be more like a place to hide rather then a place to excel.

Dream with me here, what if instead of going to college right after high school we started a business, traveled the world, moved to a different city, or even invested the money in the stock market? What if we did it all different then what we were told to do?
(more…)

An exercise for you:

-Grab a piece of paper (yes a real piece of paper)

-Write at the top “If my life was a story, what is the plot of my character?”

-Answer the question.

I hope that you can fill that sheet of paper with words.
If not, keep reading below.

For most of us (myself included) we know we are a character in a story, a story that is bigger then ourselves, a story that has an overarching theme. As a character in this story we interact with other characters each and every day. Some of these characters have defined purpose and plot, other characters are more like “extras” that sit at the bar sipping on a cocktail trying to blend in. But sometimes it is easy to get lost in the story, to lose sight of where you are going.
Simply put, you lose purpose and meaning.

I have to ask the question again:

Are You A Character In Search Of A Plot?

Still don’t know the answer?
Here is a way to distinguish if you are in search of a plot or not:

If you have no plot:

• You start projects only to stop them half way
• You find yourself spending money on items that you think will bring happiness only to find you want more
• When challenged you shrink back rather then step up
• You are always asking others for things rather then giving away anything
• You listen to Ke$ha (okay that is sort of a joke, but seriously don’t do this)
• You tend to react with anger rather then patience when dealt setbacks
• You constantly compare yourself to others

If you have a plot:

• You live from a place of response not reaction
• You have clear life goals and plans to accomplish them
• You speak less and listen more
• When faced with a “no” you keep moving forward
• You don’t just consume you produce
• You spend less time looking for answers and more time asking questions

The way you answer the question above will determine the direction your life takes. Often times the plot does not reveal itself until we spend some time searching for it out. If you find yourself feeling like a character in search of a plot spend some time writing out the last three months of your journey notices recurring themes and situations. Spend time going through the characteristics of those who have a plot and those who do not have a plot and see check which applies to you.

The plot will never reveal itself until we are willing to see it.

Question: Is there anything you would add to either list?

*kyle

I was reflecting on some teaching of Jesus yesterday and I came across Luke 6.

In Luke 6 we see Jesus picking Apostles. He chose 12 of them. Now to be honest I have always glazed over this part because I already knew who the apostles were and it was just a bunch of names that I didn’t want to read. But the other day verse 12 leaped off the page.

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles

In college I had a class called Christian Spirituality. It was a legendary class taught by a legendary professor. The class consisted of an entire semester spent going through the book of Mark and then a 3 day retreat in the woods that was led by our professor. One of the things I remember about this class was when our professor was teaching he would have us underline any time Jesus went off to pray. It was glaring all throughout the book of Mark that Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer and conversation with His father.

Fast forward back to the yesterday. As I sat there reading this passage I was reminded of the book of Mark, I was reminded of how pathetic my prayer time is, and I was reminded that Jesus was seeking guidance.

I think often times when I need to make a big decision I definitely look for advice, for guidance, and for encouragement. I spend time in prayer, talking with friends, and doing a lot of talking to myself. But what I hardly ever do is act. This isn’t a post about how we need to spend more time praying and seeking advice (though that is definitely true) this is a post about how we need to act. That is what struck me so much about verses 12 and 13. Jesus spent time in prayer, but then when morning came He chose twelve apostles that would go on to lead the Church.

It is so easy to over spiritualize things. To think that we need a sign, a miracle, or an act of God to step forward. Often times all we need to do is act.

*kyle