A Nice Video on Start. by Jon Acuff

As you know I am reading Start. by Jon Acuff and I’m really enjoying it. I find it stretching and challenging and it’s making me really look at who I am and what I do, as well as how I can be and do better.

He posted this video review that was made about the book. (For more on this service, click here.) I thought it explained the concept of the video very well.

Check it out.

Start. Escaping Average

I’m working my way through Jon Acuff’s great new book Start. and I’ve come to the part about escaping average. There’s not a lot of time to write today. I am on two massive deadlines so I’ll have to be succinct and add more later.

Right now, some days I am feeling pretty average, if not a little below. Pretty much the only time I escape this is when I am out there Running A.M.O.K. But here’s the thing, nothing in me wants to be average. I don’t want to be an average husband, father, artist, speaker or an average anything for that matter. I want to invest my best efforts in my best gifts and do something truly remarkable. I want to live a remarkable life that brings remarkable glory to a remarkable God. God is far above average and I want to be like Him.

Who’s with me?

Make this song your anthem today.

Start. Dealing With Fear

I just started reading Jon Acuff’s new book called Start. The basic concept is to move from average to awesome. The first step is very simple. You need to Start.

The first step is to overcome fear. One of the big things is dealing with the “voices in your head” and what they tell you, the way they discourage you, etc. Don’t worry, I haven’t gone crazy and other than “the still small voice” I don’t hear actual voices, but there are those things we tell ourselves and inner voices that keep us from trying to succeed. My confession is fear kicks me around a lot.

He suggests you write down what the voices of fear and doubt tell you and he suggests you share them (actually he tells us to punch fear in the face). Well since I have a blog, I thought I would share them here.

Here’s what I hear. I hear that I’m a loser. That my ideas will never work. From there it can go into a downward spiral. And every mistake I make will somehow ruin me. The truth is all those things are absurd. I am a child of God, I am working toward my dream and the Lord is using the gifts He has placed in me to do some good in the world. These are all the things I need to remember and maybe you do too.

The bottom line from the Bible that we all need to remember is we were not given a spirit of fear but a Spirit of Sonship. The spirit of fear is a lying spirit. You can do great things, you might even be able to be awesome. The first step is putting fear in its place.

The Connection Brand by Jared Latigo

I just finished reading a little book called The Connection Brand by Jared Latigo. It’s very short, took less than two hours to read, but it was really quite nicely done with a lot of great information.

His basic premise is that there are three “superpowers” that allow us to connect with our customers, tribe, etc. They are stand, relationship and psychology and Latigo asserts (and I agree) that we all have strength in at least one of these areas. The tag line of the book really says it all. “Turning your clients into your most dedicated salespeople.” One of the huge questions he puts forth is “Why do you do what you do?” I thought I really had this down, but really thinking on this made me refine and redefine what it is that I do. This is more than just a business book, though. This is a book that will help you better connect with people throughout your life. Written from a faith perspective, this book will help with one of the greatest needs of our disconnected generation, the ability to connect.

I Could Use Your Input…

I am considering my next book project and trying to discern the best way to serve my tribe. What would be most useful to you?

Need a Creative Idea? How About 1001?

I wanted to let you know that my new book 1001: A Sketch Odyssey is finally out. It’s a sketch book that challenges you to draw, create, design, invent and illustrate. It’s a creative tool you can use 1001 times.

Jump start your creativity with 1001: A Sketch Odyssey today!

Steal Like An Artist

There’s a new book out that has been tempting me. So far I have not given in to read it, but I will soon. It’s called Steal Like and Artist. The author Austin Kleon recently gave a Ted Talk on the subject that I thought was quite good. Don’t worry, I haven’t softened on the wrongness of stealing. What the author really seems to be saying is what Solomon said: “There is nothing new under the sun…” I wonder if Kleon would say he stole that as well…

Here’s what Ted said about the above video…
Austin Kleon’s talk “Steal Like An Artist” is a creative manifesto based on 10 things he wish he’d heard when he was starting out. Austin is a writer and artist. He’s the author of Newspaper Blackout, a best-selling book of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. Austin’s talk was delivered as part of the TEDxKC presentation of TEDxChange.

Austin’s work (including his new book) “Steal Like An Artist” has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, and in The Wall Street Journal. He speaks about creativity, visual thinking, and being an artist online for organizations such as SXSW and The Economist.

Who are your influences?

Dave’s New Book Available on Amazon Soon!

Hi everyone, I am pleased to announce that my latest book, a guided sketchbook called 1001: A Sketch Odyssey is complete and will be available from Amazon shortly!

 

If you want to improve your drawing skills and enhance your creativity, this book is for you! If one were to classify this book, it might best be called a guided sketch book. There are other guided sketch books out there, but this one is a bit different. Beyond improving your drawing skills, my purpose in creating this book is to build your creativity. There are things in this book to design, invent, reimagine, etc. There are illustration challenges, character design challenges, branding and graphic design challenges and on and on. There are Whatsits (nonsense words to fire your imagination to create), combined image projects, cartoon and comic challenges and much, much more. Basically, this book contains 1001 different prompts, each designed to boost your imagination and creativity. So how should you use this book? Very creatively… Work through it in order, or at random, pick and choose ideas or work cover to cover. Keep extra paper nearby to build on your ideas. Do the projects literally or move beyond the literal to your own interpretation. Invent things, design things, do a challenge a day, use the book as a curriculum for an artists group or a creative retreat, grow a prompt into a whole new project. The possibilities are endless. There are no wrong answers and you are only limited by your own imagination and creativity, both of which will be built up as you work through these pages. Remember creating is fun, or at least it’s supposed to be, so push yourself to learn and grow, but don’t forget to… Have fun creating!

A Week of Stories

Well I am on vacation this week and I am having a great time. In preparation for this year’s new program, Story, I am spending a lot of time enjoying great stories. In addition to reading the parables of Jesus, I’ve been enjoying some work by modern and classic storytellers. Here’s some of what I’ve been checking out:

I finished reading Winning the Story Wars by Jonah Sachs. This is a marketing book that looks at stories and how to use them to spread your message. While this is a business book and not a Christian book, there are a lot of principles in this book that could be applicable to the ways we communicate the Gospel and promote our ministries.

I watched the movie Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This amazing film deals with the idea of manipulating people by manipulating their dreams. It is really action-packed, and a movie you really have to pay attention to. I absolutely loved this movie and it helped me to see how to handle mulltiple storylines simultaneously.

One of my Christmas gifts was the movie, The Avengers. As a cartoonist/comic artist, I’ve always had a thing for comic books and comic movies and this is a great one. Imagine bringing many superheroes, not to mention super egos, back stories, etc. and you have a recipe for some great conflict (an essential element in every great story). These heroes would probably destroy each other, were they not drawn together by a common threat, forcing them to join forces to save the world.

Just before vacation, I received a notice on Facebook that a publishing company was releasing C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy for the Kindle at a discount. I never even realized that this series existed, but it’s wonderful. I read the first book Out of the Silent Planet in about two days. It’s a great read typical of Lewis’ allegorical storytelling. I downloaded the whole trilogy for $6 and it is worth a lot more. I’m two chapters into the second book Perelandra, and it is showing signs of being as good as the first one. Don’t miss this series.

This morning I caught a matinee of The Hobbit. This is a fabulously well-made film that NEEDS to be seen on the big screen. Peter Jackson takes some liberties with the original text, it is a wonderful interpretation. I’m told this is the firt of three movies, and all I can say is I can’t wait for the second installment.

Still to come this week, Lord willing, are The Amazing Spiderman and the film version of Les Miserables. I can’t wait.

Great quote from Aslan…

I woke up about 2:30 this morning, unable to go back to sleep, with a million thoughts going through my mind simultaneously. I got up and wrote a few notes, then laid on the couch attempting to return to sleep. That didn’t happen. My son Chris had reminded me earlier in the evening of the DVD he got me for Christmas last year, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn TreaderI had not yet watched it so I put it in.

I had forgotten how amazing that film really is…

Near the end of the movie, Aslan and Lucy are having a conversation. Lucy is growing up and will not be able to return to Narnia and as she stands at the edge of Aslan’s Country (which to me represents heaven). It goes like this:

Lucy Pevensie:   Will you come and visit us in our world?
Aslan:   I shall be watching you always.
Lucy Pevensie:   How?
Aslan:   In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.

By that point I was a sentimental mess. Maybe it was the fatigue or maybe it was because my Spirit resonates with this story. C.S Lewis represents Christ with the Lion of Aslan. To me this is entirely appropriate as Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He is with us always and His name in this world is Jesus. Yes He is the Savior and the Sacrifice but He is also the mighty lion, rampant and King who has already overcome the world! It’s eternally important that He is our savior, the lamb slain to set us free, but the lion part, the king part is important too. He our Lord and Defender. In the movies, Aslan the lion charges in when all hope seems lost and saves the day. Kinda like Jesus.

C.S. Lewis used Aslan to paint a picture of Jesus. He told a story that took us to a magical world, so that we could know our Aslan better, by his real name: Jesus!

How can you tell the story of our Lord and Savior?