Why Pokemon Go Isn’t the Worst Thing in the World

If you haven’t yet heard of Pokemon Go you’ve been living in a cave. It’s a game you download to your phone by way of an app. It uses GPS technology and algorithms to send players on a mission. The mission is to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures who appear in the real world.

iPhone Kids

Pokemon Go was released in the U.S. on July 6th. Since then it has taken America (and other countries) by storm. We spent a day of our vacation in historic downtown Franklin, Tennessee, and were amazed that the majority (really!) of the people walking down the street that afternoon were playing the game. Rarely have we witnessed such a cultural phenomena. It was even featured on the network national news.

There is some negative publicity about the game revolving around accidents crime. But for the most part, considering the millions of players, the game is going well. I, for one, would say that this mostly harmless little game isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Here’s why:

  1. Some of the so-called “gyms” are at churches. It should come as no surprise to you that I think this is a good thing. The church I serve happens to be used as a “gym” (a place where Pokemon battles take place) for the game. Some churches have really taken advantage of this and have provided cold water for players, have had one-on-one conversations, and have used it as an opportunity to serve people.
  2. It gets people moving and interacting with their environment. In order to catch the little creatures you have to move. People are discovering their neighborhoods and seeing places they’ve never seen before. Granted, much of the time their face is in the screen of the phone, but they have to look up every once in a while to see where they’re going. It’s also getting people out for at least a little bit of exercise.
  3. It’s intergenerational. I’ve seen kids playing alongside their parents. Adults are playing and now have something in common with children. It’s bringing people together over an admittedly silly topic, but it’s bringing people together nonetheless.
  4. It’s fun. The world is a dark and serious place…especially lately. Why not use a popular game as a fun distraction from it all?
  5. It benefits local business. Museums, National Parks, and malls have seen an uptick in business. A little boost to the economy helps people keep jobs and businesses make profit.

Sure, there may be some negatives to this whole craze. But let’s just enjoy the fun for a little while. When Pokemon Go is played correctly and safely it can have a positive impact on people…maybe even a positive spiritual impact.

What do you think about Pokemon Go?

How to Build a Business in 3 Years

The other night I went to a birthday party. It wasn’t a party for a person. It was a 3rd birthday party for a business. Our future daughter-in-law, Emily, started the jewelry business three years ago with an idea and a web site. She threw such a beautiful party. I wish you could have been there. If you want to build a business you could do worse than follow the trajectory of this Nashville-based shop.

Jewelry

Even the birthday party itself was a savvy marketing tool. The first 25 people to come to the party received a free gift, including a tote bag and a ring. There was a steady stream of people coming through the shop. They checked out all the new products and sampled some snacks and drinks. People purchased jewelry and got a sneak preview of new lines that are coming soon.

Emily built a business that now has a large studio, a retail storefront, and even her own employees. Her jewelry is sold at retail outlets and by wholesale. She sells on her web site and at craft fairs all over the country. The proceeds from the business are enough to provide Emily’s only income.

As I’ve watched Emily from afar, I have observed her keys to building a successful business:

  1. She has a vision. From the very start Emily had in her mind a vision to build a business. You see it in the jewelry she made from the very beginning. Emily would go to the local flea market, find interesting pieces, and turn them into jewelry. Re-purposed pieces became her brand which then evolved into a very simply eclectic line today. The vision also included mercy and giving. Ten percent of the proceeds of the business go toward helping Honduran women start jewelry businesses of their own to support their families.
  2. She has persistence. Emily doesn’t give up. Even when their are unhappy customers or the setback of financial loss she fiercely moves forward and uses the difficult times as a lesson to build her business in the future. Her persistence has moved her from her home, to a primitive studio, and now to a beautiful space for making jewelry with a retail store in the front.
  3. She has foresight. Emily is always two steps ahead of the game. She knows enough to be planning lines of jewelry for the future. When she plans ahead it gives her team the opportunity to get ready for marketing, future orders, and opportunities for more creativity.
  4. She has a positive attitude. Don’t think for a minute that Emily hasn’t had setbacks. They have come from time to time. But what I love about Emily’s attitude is that she never seems to pessimistic or down when she encounters a cranky customer or makes a business mistake. She literally shrugs these things off and takes another step forward. There is always something to learn when you build a business…
  5. She has a hunger to learn. Emily listens to business podcasts and reads the books that feed her desire to learn. When you walk into her studio you will see a stack of books that any respectable business person should be reading. Emily knows that any business owner should never ever think they know it all. She should continue to be a student each and every day.

Want to build a business or any kind of organization? Follow these five steps and you will be well on your way to success. Before you know it you’ll be throwing your own birthday parties.

What would you add to this list?

How to Get Yourself Into a Creative Zone

A creative zone is a tricky thing to find. You sit at the blank computer, canvass, or craft table and find your brain whiter than the screen. I have gone through this same struggle as I carried out a writing assignment this summer for a publishing company. Sometimes The Resistance showed up as I sat down to write.

White Room

But I found that a simple little three-step process helped move me through that paralysis. Here’s what I do:

  1. Find a comfortable place. For me it’s in the middle of our open-concept front room. I have a large table where I can spread out books and paper to help with my research. There is a relatively comfortable chair. Finally, I have the comfort of the room and windows all around me letting in the great outdoors.
  2. Spend some time bringing your brain into focus. For me that involves a small amount of time poking around social media. It’s a way that I let others unknowingly help me brainstorm ideas. When I see what others are saying and posting it fuels my creative spirit.
  3. Set your mind to the topic at hand. Once I shut off the social media I find a way to condense my thoughts into a single, one sentence theme. While I literally stare at the blank screen I focus on that one sentence theme and come up with an opening sentence for whatever it is I’m writing. That opening sentence is usually enough for me to find myself completely in the creative zone. The typing starts and I find it hard to stop.

Distractions are sure to come. But when they do, a creative will sit back down and start the process all over again. Yes, it takes time. But time spent creating something is time well spent.

If I haven’t reminded you lately I’ll remind you again: The world needs the art you have inside of you. Please don’t hold it in. Be bold and share it with us today. We will be better for it.

How do you get yourself into the creative zone?

How to Meet a Deadline and Enjoy It

There’s nothing I like more than beating a deadline. It wasn’t always that way. When I was in college I stayed up half the night to write a paper due the next day. Now I appreciate the joy of crossing the finish line early.

Writing 2

As I write this I’m in the middle of creating ten sermons. Creative Communications for the Parish contracted me to provide these homilies. They will be used for a 2017 sermon series based on quotes from Martin Luther. Pastors will use them to ease their burden as they work their way through the season. I signed the contract on May 19th and the sermons are due on August 1st.

The carrot dangling in front of me is the check I get when I turn it all in. The stick beating me from behind is the deadline looming on August 1st. More than that, next week we’re leaving on vacation. But there is a certain joy in the whole process. It’s certainly not easy to crank out ten sermons. But the opportunity to exercise real life creativity fires me up.

Here’s how to enjoy beating a deadline:

  1. Reward yourself with real rest. I’m looking forward to enjoying vacation without a project. It will be nice to have a real vacation away from the daily routine of work and an extra added task to complete. A summer sabbatical means refreshment for a new activity year starting in the fall. When you finish early you get extra rest and time for enjoying other things.
  2. Focus on the fun. With every task you take on there is a benefit. The fun for me with this project is honing my creativity and writing. This whole project benefits my daily ministry and work in countless ways. When I remember that it becomes for me an educational game.
  3. Take advantage of your competitive nature. You know you have it in you. I know I do. My competitive nature tells me I’ve got to turn in these ten sermons before the deadline, even if it’s just one day ahead. When I do it will be a major “win” for me. A win for me gives me more satisfaction than most anything else.

What’s your tactic for meeting deadlines?

Short on Cash? Try a Vacation in Your Mind This Summer

Creativity can even happen on vacation. Especially if you’re short on cash. While others have the resources to travel the world, at this point in our lives my wife, Tammy, and I aren’t quite there yet. So we make it our practice to put ourselves into a vacation mindset on a regular basis.

Vacation

Admittedly, we live in a place where it might be easier to do. We live in Orlando, Florida, one of the vacation capitols of the world. So we have purchased annual passes to Walt Disney World. Just the other night, on the spur of the moment, we met a friend of ours at the Disney Boardwalk and then made our way into EPCOT. We all decided that, in our minds, we were on vacation, even though it was only for the evening.

But no matter where you are you can find a place to take on a vacation mindset. And it doesn’t even have to cost you anything. Go to a local park with a picnic. Explore an area of town you haven’t yet seen. Take a dip in a public pool or lake. Take your bike on a new trail.

The key is to make it a mindset.

  • Let go of the concerns of the day
  • Free yourself from the worries of work or school
  • Focus on the fun right in front of you
  • Make the agreement with others that you are “on vacation” together
  • Enjoy searching for something new

This summer you can take a break no matter where you are. Even if your Paid Time Off is in short supply, you can take advantage of evenings and weekends. Put it on your calendar and make it happen. You deserve a break.

You may not be able to travel the world, but you can make the most of the unexplored places right in front of you.

I’d love to hear about your creative summer “vacation” in the comments below.

10 Ideas to Bring Sizzle to Your Summer Creativity

Summer is a great time to bring sizzle to your creativity. Even though much of the world drops down a gear over the summer, creativity is never on vacation. In fact, it might just be the time you find your creativity kicking into high gear. Summer often brings a more relaxed atmosphere with school out, travel, and longer daylight hours. I have found that when I’m more relaxed and less stressed, it’s easier for me to elevate my creative game.

Campfire

So here are 10 ideas to bring sizzle to your summer creativity:

  1. Sit around a campfire. Watching the sparks fly and hearing the embers sizzle is just the ticket to dream a little. Let your imagination run wild as you watch the fire slowly dim down.
  2. Walk on the beach. Whether it’s the ocean or a local lake, simply being close to the water, listening to the waves, and taking in the fresh air is more than enough to light a creative fire. Go out there with the predetermined intention to come up with three creative ideas.
  3. Read something you normally wouldn’t. If you tend to read fiction read a non-fiction book. If you tend to read non-fiction read a novel. Here are ideas for each… Fiction: Motherless BrooklynNon-Fiction: Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind.
  4. Take a day trip. It’s not always easy to plunk down big bucks for an extravagant vacation. What about simply taking a couple of day trips this summer? Here are 20 of them right here in Florida alone. I’m sure there are plenty where you live, as well.
  5. Watch a sunset. Find a place where you can view a spectacular sunset. Most every state has picturesque places to do just that. Anna Maria Island here in Florida is one such place. As you watch the sun set imagine what the people are doing where the sun is coming up.
  6. Ride a bike. You could ride your own bike or, even better, get to a big city and rent one of those bikes by the hour. As you do so, notice the new things that are passing by all around you. Make up stories in your mind of the things you see.
  7. Learn a new skill. With the extra time you (may) have, try to learn something you always wanted to know how to do. Pick up the guitar. Try watercolors. Write a poem. There are all kinds of online tools and videos to help you out.
  8. Go to a garage/yard sale. But go with the mind to find something unique and interesting…something you wouldn’t find anywhere else. Use the object or item to inspire a creative project.
  9. Have a picnic. When was the last time you did this? Go to a local park and bring your lunch. Creativity comes in when you try to make your picnic as “gourmet” as you possibly can. Then, as you eat, look for further inspiration in the natural surroundings.
  10. Go see that summer blockbuster. Even if it’s not your cup of tea, go see one of the big blockbuster movies that comes out this summer. Jot down some of the creative elements you see. What can the creative moments in movies teach you about your own creativity?

What would you add to this list?

The Thankful Way to (Begin or) End Each Day

What’s on your back burner? James Clear talks about the “four burners” we have going in our life: health, work, family, and friends. The theory goes that in order to be successful you have to cut off one of your burners. In order to be really successful you have to cut off two of them. Clear explains that there are ways to work around keeping all four burners burning, but every choice has a cost. One way to find your way through all of this is to be thankful.

Writing

It can be pretty overwhelming to stay healthy, excel at work, devote time to your family, and cultivate solid friendships. When I reflect on those four things I realize that it is next to impossible to have all four going and glowing well. If I devote too much time to work, my family suffers. If I don’t leave any time for exercise my health suffers. If work, family, and health crowds into all my time I may find myself without friends.

But what if I dedicate just a minute amount of time to be consciously thankful each day for something in each category? It won’t buy me any time or help me with any of the trade-offs, but it will give me a better attitude to work my way through the challenges each day of keeping all four burners burning.

In order to help me do that, I have a small notebook. I use it every night before I go to bed to write down four specific things for which I’m thankful. The more specific I can be I’ve found, the better it is to keep me grounded and moving forward with a positive attitude.

For example, here’s what I’m thankful for today:

  • Health: I’m thankful I have recovered from the cold I had last week
  • Work: I’m thankful that the member of our church I visited in the hospital today is recovering well from cancer surgery
  • Family: I’m thankful for my wife’s creativity and hard work in the new little business she started this week
  • Friends: I’m thankful for the friend who texted me these encouraging words: “You are doing amazing work in very difficult times for the ‘Church’ in our culture”

I have found that the act of simply writing these things down is enough to calm me down, get me ready for a good night’s sleep, and help me wake up with a positive attitude. I’ve also found this to be helpful at the beginning of a day to get things off on a thankful and positive note. Either way, it’s an incredibly helpful practice.

What are the four things you are thankful for today?

What Are You Missing About the People All Around You?

I love human interest stories. They’re the ones they tag onto the end of a newscast to keep us watching right up until the final commercials. They’re the ones about interesting, unique, or extraordinary people. Many are centered on folks you’d walk right past on the street never giving a second thought. Yet they have a unique story or an unusual gift or talent.

Drummer

One of my favorite recent human interest stories is from CBS. It’s about Richard Renaldi, a New York City photographer who is working on a series of photographs called Touching Strangers. He brings together on the streets of New York City people who have never met and poses them in portraits like intimate family. You can watch the CBS human interest piece on Richard’s project here.

What is striking about the piece is that the people in the portraits usually have two very different reactions before and after the picture is taken:

  1. Before the photo is taken they are reluctant. You can see it on their faces and in their body language. How would you feel if someone pulled you together on the street with someone you had never met before and asked you to actually touch and have your portrait taken? It’s uncomfortable.
  2. After the photo is taken they are pleasantly surprised. The people in the CBS story say things like: “I felt like I cared for her. It broke down a lot of barriers” and “We are probably missing so much about the people all around us.”

It’s a good reminder. What are you missing about the people all around you? How often do you take the time to actually get to know people? What do you know about your waitress or the person behind the cash register?

Steve Hartman, the reporter who does the piece for CBS, suggests that these portraits capture “humanity as it could be.” Now I’m not suggesting that taking intimate portraits with strangers will change the world. But I am suggesting that a little intimacy in the form of a simple conversation where we do most of the listening could most definitely be a great start.

I was once involved with a community organization that had us sitting down and having conversations with people. These were usually people from a completely different end of the political spectrum, from a different side of the city, or from a different race or nationality. I can tell you from experience that these simple conversations brought about great friendships that would have never happened otherwise. I’m still astonished at the relationships that were formed when people simply asked questions and listened to one another.

What are you missing about the people all around you? How about initiating a conversation today? Ask a question, then sit back and listen. Take a picture together.

You might just get a glimpse of humanity as it could be.

When have you been surprised by a relationship that you never saw coming?

The 5 Steps To Transformation

We could all use a little transformation in our life. Whether it’s transforming from a student to a professional, single to married, from one career to another, or transforming from blasé faith to bold and adventurous faith, transformation is a necessary part of living in a changing world. Sometimes transforming is easy and other times it’s incredibly painful. But laying out the story of an intentional transformation can be incredibly helpful both to individuals and to organizations.

Dandelion

Nancy Duarte is an expert in helping people and organizations tell their stories. She recently discovered the five stages of transformation as she wrote a new book with Patti Sanchez entitled IlluminateThe book helps people lead transformation in their own lives and in their workplaces by working through its five stages. You can see the following five stages in most of the movies you see:

  1. Dream: The protagonist has a dream and wants to achieve it.
  2. Leap: The protagonist takes the leap and sets off toward the dream.
  3. Fight: The protagonist faces an epic battle or challenge and ends up going into a cave to decide weather the journey is worth the reward.
  4. Climb: The protagonist decides the journey is worth the reward and continues to climb the mountain.
  5. Arrive: The protagonist arrives at the fulfillment of the dream.

It dawned on me that the church I pastor is making its way through these very stages. Our church is 66-years-old, and as it is for many churches in a “mid-life crisis,” we stepped back to take a look at what a transition or transformation might look like. That process began when I arrived nearly four years ago:

  1. Dream: We sat and listened to each other about what our dreams, goals, and aspirations are as a congregation. We wrote them down. We came up with a mission statement that described those dreams: “A joyful community of the caring Christ.”
  2. Leap: We took the leap by making changes to our governance structure. We changed the way we planned and participated in congregational life. We created ways for grass roots activities to be easily implemented.
  3. Fight: Change is never easy. I wouldn’t say there were fights, but there were and are challenges as all this takes place. Our leadership group is currently “in a cave” making sure that the journey is worth the reward (hint: it always is when the Gospel is at stake).
  4. Climb: Climbing can be difficult. There can be growing pains. But the climb our church is embarking upon is discovering new and better ways to love and serve our immediate community. It also includes using new media to show and share the love of Jesus.
  5. Arrive: We haven’t arrived at all that…yet. But we make sure to celebrate small “victories” along the way. We’ve produced highly successful and fun events like an Oktoberfest, a sit-down dinner auction, and a 50’s style sock hop. A trivia night is in the plans.

A great exercise for all of us would be to sit down and map out these stages toward our own transformation, whatever we may dream it would be. Why not take the time to do that right now? It could mean a new and exciting transformation is in the works for you.

What would you saw are the steps or stages of transformation?

3 Ways the Right Friends Inspire Creativity

The other day we got a card in the mail with the envelope addressed like this: “My Good Friends – The Eggebrecht’s.” What a wonderful piece of mail to receive. Not only is it phenomenally fantastic to receive an actual handwritten piece of mail these days. It’s even more exciting to receive one addressed like that. It’s a reminder what a good idea it is to surround yourself with friends that inspire your creativity.

Friends

The card inside the envelope was proof that it’s inspirational to be around people who are “good.” The opposite is also very true. When you find yourself around people who are negative it will stifle your will to make something new. When you find yourself around people whose motives are questionable you will find yourself worrying more about the relationship than the freedom to do new things. When you find yourself around people who are always serious your brain probably won’t be able to make interesting connections.

Sometimes it’s best to simply exclude yourself if at all possible from people who bring you down. It’s not helpful for your career, your demeanor, or your creativity. You can read more about that here. The better thing to do is to surround yourself with people who are positive, loyal, and fun.

  1. The right friends are positive. The friend who sent us the aforementioned card in the mail is always positive, has a smile on her face, and is a joy to be around. Positivity breeds creativity. When those around you are positive it’s much easier to be positive when you are on your own and in need of creating something new.
  2. The right friends are loyal. Loyalty is a rare commodity. People in our lives far too often come and go. Friends that stick with us are the ones that bring a sense of stability in life. Where there is stability there is confidence. When you are confident you are much more apt to create something new and beautiful.
  3. The right friends are fun. If you can’t have fun with your friends when will you have fun? We have a group of friends that loves to hang out with each other. We go to a Trivia Night at an Irish Pub on Wednesday nights, we go out to dinner, we gather together at each other’s homes. There’s just something about a fun evening with friends that provides a boost of energy and creativity the next day.

When you find, and stick with, the right friends you will be prolific in your creativity. Creative things often have to be made in solitude. But the fuel for that creativity often comes from the people around whom we find ourselves on a regular basis.

What have the right friends taught you about creativity?

P.S. I created a t-shirt for creative people just like you. If you’d like one you can get it here.