this blog entry is inspired by a talk i heard yesterday by phil pringle.

“ask god to give you a vision, and then think of yourself from that future.  don’t think it’s just going to happen, get organised.  and get strategy.”

this morning i was journalling and some visions i had that really spoke to me came to mind.

there have been many times i’ve been inspired by that vision or image that god gives me, get excited… but then don’t do much else with it.  and then get reminded of that vision a while later.

however, taking the simple next few steps of thinking of myself from that future.. and then coming up with strategy to get from where i am now to the vision that god has given me has given me clarity with what i do with my time now.   i realised earlier this week that what i do with my time doesn’t make sense to some people, but that’s ok.  at least for now!  it’s ok cos’ i know the visions god has given me, the burdens he’s placed on my heart, the gifts he’s given me and what i am to do with them.  i can see certain areas clearer than others, and that’s ok too.

for now, i have had a passion in the area of wealth and money…  and am investing time reading books and online resources on this topic from all sorts of view points.  the book i’m reading now that i’ve mentioned previously is by kris vallotton called poverty, riches and wealth.  this morning, i read kris’ viewpoint on the difference between riches and wealth and it certainly challenged me!  i’m not 100% clear where the future will lead, but i’m taking one step at a time learning more about this, putting it into practice through investing in shares and property.  and one of the things i most look forward to is coaching and helping others in that area!

for those of you who don’t have visions of your future, spend time asking our creator god for a vision.

and for those who have visions, ask god for strategy on what the next steps are.

and it doesn’t matter how small that next step is… i learning that small steps create habits, and habits set you up for a future!

have an awesome day everyone!

i’ve been researching a few things for the faith + work course i’m teaching at c3 college, and heard this brilliant talk by tim keller on the sabbath.

whilst the content of the whole talk was amazing, what i was struck by was his prayer at the end… where he prayed for “many people who underwork because they are afraid of failure.”

it’s over 24h since i last heard that talk, and i’m still drawn to that phrase.

as someone who does majority of my work at home for various  personal projects, i have to say that it is a constant challenge of mine to concentrate for a full work day at my maximum capacity – and i wonder whether i could be more productive with my time if i weren’t afraid of failure.

for those of you who work from home, what are your thoughts on that?  do you find that you underwork at times because of a fear of failure?

sometimes we use words that mean something to one person, but mean something slightly different to someone else.

it’s vital to understand what the other person means, yet in reality, we all see things through filters.  person a says something, meaning x, but person b hears it and thinks that means y.  and i also filter what people say because of who they are.  if person c and person d both say the exact same thing z; there’s no doubt that i take into account the character, personality and what i know of person c and d to understand what they mean by z.

i reckon most fights and debates could be resolved if we took more care in using the right words before communicating to others and also taking time to understand what the other party is trying to say before we jump to conclusions.  and perhaps sometimes technology today doesn’t help.  it’s much easier to understand tone through someone’s body language or voice than it is over sms.

one of the most valuable things i’ve learnt through starting up my own photography business is that both the receiver and the sender are responsible for miscommunication.

i’ve been fascinated for the longest time about being the best version of yourself, achieving, doing all you can with what you have.  i wouldn’t quite go as far as mae in the movie the circle, where she says that she is most scared of “unfulfilled potential”.

i’m not so much interested in what natural abilities or gifts or talents one has, but more what you do with what you are given, or born with.. or even harnessing that to the fullest potential.

yes, i’m constantly asking the question, “why”.  why do we do it this way?  especially when i can spot inefficiencies in processes.

what makes someone fulfil 100% of their potential, versus someone that say achieves only 10% … or dare i say, even less than that?  is there something that we (the collective community) can do to, perhaps an environment that can be cultivated, so that we help others reach their full potential?  call me a dreamer, an idealistic, but i have no doubt that the world will be a better place if everyone individually were living the full potential in every area of life.. their best life.

reading this article about heath ledger, i can’t help but be saddened that he didn’t live longer. it sounded like he would have impacted a lot more people if he hung around.  talented in everything he put his hand to… “he was really good at everything”, his friend wrote about him.   for those of you who are living in australia, i’m really keen to see this exhibition – if there’s anyone else interested, lemme know and we can head to canberra together!

and what’s the point of living out your fullest potential you might ask?  it’s not the end goal to get to that pinnacle, but for the benefit of others.

it always is for others.

so shine brightly…. the world needs you!!!

this is one word i’ve deliberately emitted out of my vocabulary.

nowadays, busy is a word used almost like an award to indicate that what you’re doing is significant, like something to brag about.  that if you live a busy life, you must be important.

according to dictionary.com, it also means you are not accessible.

don’t get me wrong. i live a full life.. but it’s intentionally filled with people i want to hang out with, things i want to do and actually, it’s full with space.

space to think, breathe, relax, sleep, recharge, read, have fun, surf, ski, play

space to spend with friends, space to spend time with God

and space for emergencies

joel a’bell had an interesting take on the old testament law of harvesting (e.g. deuteronomy 24:19), where the israelites were told not to reap the harvest of their land right to the very edges of their field… but to leave some for the poor and the alien.  so that they are able to glean from our harvest.

joel commented that some people have maxed out their time, energy, space, mentality, emotion… and as a result have nothing left for others.   i’ve experienced this when i’ve met up with some people and there have been many times where i might have wanted to share something deep with them and needed their friendship in particular times.. but as they just didn’t have time.. and over a period of time, i’ve lost touch with these people.   i don’t want to miss that opportunity to help someone.  i used to pack my schedule one after the other, but now, if i’m meeting with friends, i’ll deliberately leave space after so if our catchup goes over time for whatever reason, my schedule has allowed for that buffer.  whilst the old testament might have described the poor and needy as financially poor, i think today, there are a lot of people poor of emotional support.

 “if i harvest right to our time and emotional boundaries, than i’m not interruptible and people who need help can’t glean from me” – joel a’bell