All posts tagged: Success

Discovering that Less truly is More: Part 2

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Planting seeds would be a mess if we dug one hole, threw in every seed we had and hoped for the best. Sometimes we think that the more we have the better off we will be., or the more we do the more successful we are. Fortunately, and I mean, fortunately, that isn’t the case. In most things in life, less truly is more. I am a person who does believe in the art of multi-tasking. If you provide childcare like I do at times, then this is a necessary art form. But in cases of being creative in general and pursuing your vision, doing one thing or very few things at a time will often reap better results and a heartier harvest. Some studies have shown in the case of online shops that ten is the magic number. When people are given too many items, they feel overwhelmed and will drift off to something else without actually buying anything even if they liked many things. ‘Less’ affords people the chance to be decisive without being …

Waiting Like Bamboo: Learning to Progress One Step at a Time

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Over the years, I’ve been asked by several people I know, like I know you have been too, ‘what is your plan?’ They ask because they know my dreams. They ask because they have seen my struggle, and from their vantage point and sometimes even my own, it seems like nothing fruitful is happening. That seeming reality couldn’t be further from the truth. I once heard Joyce Meyer talking about growth and waiting on God. She talked about how she’d learned bamboo shoots, once planted, will spend up to five years growing deep roots before actually breaking through the surface. But once they break through they can grow a foot in a matter of hours. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” ~PSALM 119:105 That teaching was so encouraging but the reality is, nobody really wants to wait like bamboo. We want the deep roots TODAY and the foot-by-the-hour growth TODAY. All of this makes me think about the deceiving phrase of ‘overnight success.’ Again, one sees bamboo stretching …

Be Still & Be Successful

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“Be still and know that I Am God…”~PSALMS 46:10 Instead of trying, diving into the current trend of “hustle and grind” in order to achieve success, let us, as Children of God, the Ultimate Creator, set our hearts to seek His face. Proverbs 9:10 tells us the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. To ‘fear’ the Lord is not to tremble because you are scared but to be in awe and to hold Him in reverence. When we fear Him, when we set our hearts and minds upon Him, then we are able to see through the lens of truth, who He is, and who we are in Him. When we know who we are in Him, then we know our position. We know that we are righteous ( II COR. 5:21) so we are assured that we are destined for success (PSALM 1, ROMANS 5:17) in all the things He has called and created and purposed us to do. More than anything, when we set our minds to a task, we …

Pre-Equipped for Success

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“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago…I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” ~JEREMIAH 1:5 NLT, EPHESIANS 2:10 NLT The Lord sanctified and appointed you to the call and purpose, vision, dream already inside you. To be sanctified is to be set apart for a specific purpose. His Word ensures us that He is our Shepherd and that we lack nothing. This means that you have all you need to succeed and become all that He has called you to (Psalm 23). (See Creatively Established) Consider the work of a potter (Jeremiah 18:1-5). When he takes a lump of clay, he has already decided what he is going to create. Let’s imagine that this potter has decided to make a mug to drink coffee from. When he puts his hands to the clay to fashion the mug, he …

Success is in Your Hands: Faith for Creatives

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And they overcame him [the evil one] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…” ~Revelation 12:11 *Bracets added The scripture says we overcome by the word of our testimony. When it comes to being successful when it comes to victory, one of the greatest ways to secure this is to tell it, not only for the encouragement of others but to remind yourself when you begin to face other trials. Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. ~PSALM 37:4-5 Success and victory go hand and hand. Both are a mark of triumphing over an obstacle or challenge or in the case of this scripture the enemy of our very lives and souls, Satan. Here is my testimony that I share as a seed of faith for you. In 2015 I was laden with change; change in calling, change in career path, change in vision, change in relationships. Every …

The Measurer of Our Success: Faith-Filled Encouragment for Creatives

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Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Each day is a new opportunity to step out in faith and make strides toward your vision. Sometimes, the lens by which we rate our productive success, causes us to lose heart, and even drive, to continue with the work we’ve done or planned to do. Other times, we find that although we’ve planned to-do a list of specific things, our hearts and minds are driving us to do something totally unrelated, and we struggle to stay focused on the well-rounded plans we set for ourselves. We want to do our best, after all. We have plans for our future and that future can only be realized if we stick to the task. Let us remember, that as we walk out of one week, and prepare to enter another, that if we have submitted to the trusting faithfulness of the Lord Yeshua Jesus, that He is …

5 Ways to know You are on the Road to Writing Maturity: Wisdom from the Writer’s Journal

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Writing. We don’t just do it because we love it. Most of us do it because we have to. The blessing of this ‘have to’ is that we actually enjoy it. What I find most enjoyable are the moments I realize I’ve gained a greater level of freedom with my craft as I mature into my craft. So how does one know they have achieved greater levels of maturity? Here are 5 helpful hints: 1. You are no longer concerned with the timelines of others: So what your writer friend has successfully published 2 books within the last year and you have yet to dish out your debut novel.  A ‘good-for-them’ is not a ‘bad-for-you’. They aren’t your competition. ‘Keeping up with the Jones’ or for Millennials, the  ‘Kardashians’ is NOT an issue for you. You’ve learned to write at your own pace and respect the flow of your creativity, while celebrating the successes and milestones of others. You realize your only competition is your own potential. Are you achieving it? 2. You no longer …

The Lies We Tell Ourselves: 6 Harmful Creative Writing Untruths & 7 Truths to Keep in Mind

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Being creative is a gift. Whether you are a dancer, a vocalist, a painter or even a landscape architect, you will run into a wall-of-lies that will try to eat away at your creative growth and momentum. Here are 6 lies that I find most of us writers face in regard to our manuscripts and craft, and 7 truths to keep the lies at bay. 1. My story is too long: Sure, very few people want to read a dictionary but the reality is, you aren’t even close to that large a tome. Truth to keep in mind: Babies always lose a few ounces just after birth. First drafts will do the same with word count after you begin editing and revising. So just allow your creative juices to flow, write what comes to mind, and do some trimming later. Build your house first, before you start tearing down walls. 2. My story is too short: Your story may be a novella or even a short story and not a full-length novel at all. Truth to …

Writing Tips You’d Give to Your Younger Self: 5 Words of Wisdom from Blogger Blonde Lucy

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Welcome to the Writer’s Journal, a place where creative wisdom and encouragements are shared with all at the table! Part of developing as a wordsmith or visual artist comes with learning, not only from our own process but gleaning wisdom from those around us. This is what the Writer’s Journal is all about. This week, we have the pleasure of  learning from a super blogger and brilliant wordsmith: BlondeLucy, the mind behind Blondewritemore blog. I encourage you to not only eat of her wisdom here but follow her blog as well as these other platforms: Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/blondewritemore Twitter: https://twitter.com/blondewritemore Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/blondeusk/ Thank you, BlondeLucy, for stopping in and sharing. The pen and pad are yours! 5 Encouragements I would give to my younger writing self on what is most important about writing. By Blonde Lucy   As a fresh faced and eager newbie writer, you need lots of encouragement. Writing is not easy and at times, it can reduce you to a snivelling wreck.  This is what I would say to my younger self:   Forget the Writing Course at the …