David Lee Martin

The devil hates the voice of God’s people. The last thing he wants is for Jesus loving radicals to stand up and share their message of truth. The creative life is all about stepping out and making some noise, so it’s no surprise that satan sends his best to the field to shut them up.

But there are five smooth stones that the Holy Ghost provides that will slay any giant that stands in your way. When you have them in your pouch, you’ll always be able to face off Goliath and his brothers.

Sure, they will taunt you. Absolutely there will be times when you’d rather run – but armed and dangerous, comfortable in your own skin, you’ll run with slingshot swinging towards those loud-mouthed naysayers, not away from them.

You are a Christian! A Christ-filled, giant-slaying, angel commanding force of Heaven.

You’re a creative! A conduit for God spawned ideas and a shining, blazing light in the darkness.

It’s time, dear friends.

Who are these uncircumcised Philistines standing in your way?

Procrastination?

Perfectionism?

Fear of failure?

Ignorance?

Isolation?

Every ugly one of them will eat the dirt and you’ll hold their severed heads in your hands!

Are you ready to wage war against normal? Bust through the status quo and let your humungous light shine?

I hope so because your conscription papers have been drafted, the revolution has begun, and an army of creative Christian artists, authors, and entrepreneurs is gathering.

Today is the greatest day of opportunity that the Body of Christ has ever known. We’re throwing off Saul’s armor and remembering who, and whose, we are.

I’m calling you to artistic arms.

Urging you to uncompromisingly share your worth to the uttermost parts of the earth.

YOU, my dear brother or sister, are uniquely called by God to bring something awesome to the table.

Head to the river, ready to discover your awesome, and choose a few smooth stones that will sail through resistance and leave your excuses and fears dead in the dust.

FAITH – The first smooth stone. The foundation of every successful endeavor.

INSPIRATION – The in-breathing, empowering breath of Heaven filling your being.

EDUCATION – You’ll not just know what you need to do, but be clued up how to do it!

APPLICATION – You’re a doer of the word and work necessary to make your value viable and visible. You’ll be out there on the field while others cower in the crowd.

CELEBRATION – A community of Jesus people who share the journey and rejoice with your every step and victory.

That’s what I’m talking about!

Whatever the enemy throws at you to throw you off course, you’ll always have a comeback.

Your aim is set – to share your worth.

Your gait is great – moving forward every day toward your creative goals.

Your victory is certain – Jesus the King is a partner in your prosperity!

The seed sowing story is the cypher that unlocks all of the parables.

Jesus said, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?” (Mark 4:13 NLT)

One facet that I’d like to shine a light on today is the man who sowed on shallow soil, namely a shallow experience of God and a cursory knowledge of His Word. With no root in himself the scorching challenges of life sweep in, and his commitment is washed away.

This creative life requires a rooted “why?”

I find myself way too often asking the “how?” question. It’s relevant, and not wrong to ask, but is only a few layers deep. Why do I say that? Because just knowing “how” never guarantees that we’ll do it, even when we do have the instructions.

I see it often, in my own life and the lives of those around me. Most of the time we have a goal. We may even state it and make it public. We then excuse our inactivity toward that goal by pretending we don’t know-how.

But most of the time I have found that I DO know the next step I need to take. The problem is, for whatever bizarre reason, I am stubbornly refusing to take it. The reasons run deeper than just lack of knowledge.

How many people know they need to exercise and don’t. Is it because their HOW is weak? Nope. It’s their WHY that needs work!

Or the would-be book writer? The budding business entrepreneur?

Our craving for security and defined and definite outcomes dons binoculars and looks way off in the distance. Let’s take fitness as our example, but the same is true for your creative projects.

Instead of looking for the next step, a few press-ups, and a gentle jog around the block, our binocular vision sees the bronzed adonis we think we want to become, and the “how?” of that vision is simply impossible. We throw in the towel before we do our first rep.

We look into the distance and see the bestselling author life we long to lead, not the first paragraph of chapter 1 we should sit down and write today.

I’m not wanting to minimize the power of dreaming or visionary framing of the future. Just pointing out that sometimes such inflated expectations leave us floundering emotionally.

Breakthrough comes when we feed our WHY with reality. Why the adonis dream? Because the television, magazines, and media, have painted an unrealistic picture of what constitutes manliness or womanhood? Why the big dream of stage fame or musical glory? Because the measure of the world always parades numbers (often preceded by a dollar sign) as the only rule of worth.

Your WHY must root deeper than that.

You have a designed and significant purpose on this planet, given by God Himself. Unfortunately, the world thrusts its inch-deep reasons upon us through social media, movies, magazines, cereal packets, and posters, until our resolve is so drowned in their noise that we can hardly hear our own heart speak.

Why do I write?

Is it for the dollars and the fame? Ask my 15 followers (exaggeration deliberate for emphasis) and they will tell you. Ask my bank how money flows out to care for my kids and daily needs as quickly as it pours in and they will let you know.

Art and passion are not counted in pennies alone.

I’m blessed to be able to say I pay my way with my words. Thank God, because I’m a head and heart man, not a handy one. Ask me to build a website or write a book, I’m your man. Ask me to hang a shelf, and you’d better get ready to make a call to someone else to rectify the disaster I leave in my wake.

But once you get beyond the basics and the bill are paid, you better be sure you have an enduring sense of purpose that goes beyond meeting your immediate needs. That way when your securities are challenged, or criticism comes, you’ll have a deeply rooted WHY undergirding your business and the way you show up in the world.

I’m saying all of this because storms will blow. Challenges will come. The artistic, entrepreneurial life is not a millpond, it’s an ocean. There will be times when you lay back and contemplate the stars with wonder filling your heart, and others when you’ll be hunkered down shielding yourself from the driving rain, wondering why in the world you set out from shore.

In those moments, it will be your WHY that keeps you afloat.

Why do I write? Because words are my world. God has called me and anointed me to penetrate hearts with truth and beauty, bringing His Kingdom to bear on the reader’s soul.

I’m called to equip saints for ministry and lead the unbeliever to repentance and recognition.

My words are His works emblazoned on the page.

He is my muse, and I am His ready writer. God’s quill.

My joy is His glory, to lift His name, and accept and express who He has made me to be.

For you, it may a song, paint on canvas, or Youtube videos. It could be cakes on plates or hats on heads. God is not limited in His expressions. The only limitation He faces is our willingness and obedience, or lack of it.

Will you be true to your heavenly call?

I can think of no deeper WHY than God and His purpose at work in our hearts.

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13 KJV)

Work out what He is working in and all will be well.

Being present in the present is sometimes a challenge. The propensity to exist in the past, either glorying in what was or lamenting what could have been, or getting lost in the future, always pining for what might be, keeps so many of us locked out of the wonder of now.

How do we root into the present and experience the moment? I’m certain there are a multitude of techniques to centre oneself and enjoy this instant unencumbered with what went before or what might become, but the one I want to focus on is the simplest of all. Gratitude.

A Tankful of Thankful

Having tankful of thankful is one of the greatest ways to bring your soul home and be reminded who and whose you are!

With regard to thankfulness I’m the chief of sinners. My unthankful moments, forgetting the mountainous weight of proof declaring God’s goodness so easily, are more than I would like to number or confess.

At times these transgressions of attitude are sins of omission. I just fail to be thankful for the grace I enjoy, or perhaps even worse ascribe the blessings of life to accident, happenchance, or the fruits of my own strength and genius.

Other time they are sins of commission. Overt gripes and the swirling pool of self-pity suck me in. “Why me?” is so much easier to ask when the eye is on what I haven’t, than what I have! I embarrass myself with just how absorbed I can become with my tiny plot of life, and forget that there is a screaming, breaking, yearning world wrestling for breath right outside my door.

A Million (And More) Reasons…

Breath.

Sky.

Rain.

Water.

Sunlight.

Trees.

Food.

Friends.

Children.

Health.

Arms, legs, fingers, and feet.

Intelligence.

Possibilities yet to be realised.

Connections.

Desire.

Passion.

Protection.

A safe place to stay, and energy for another day.

Sunrise at the break, sunset at the end, and the hours in between.

Bird song to begin the day.

Dishes to wash up proving food that was eaten.

Clothes to wash because of bodies well clothed.

Tasks to be done because opportunities abound.

Joy in the small things.

Some money in the bank, enough for my needs.

Hope and expectation for the future.

A light that works, and books to read. Electricity

Words to share, and faith in God.

A voice, however small, but big enough to encourage another.

Love to bring, sometimes even a song to sing.

Dancing in the kitchen.

Holding my loved ones.

And forgiveness.

Forgiveness for all of the times I forget all of the above and a million more grace-given blessings.

Right now, this second, in the moment, with no future I’m vainly reaching for, or past that is not wiped clean by your mercy, I thank Jesus for all that I am and all I have.

All I will become can take care of itself for now. The seeds of tomorrow are sown today, and that’s where I choose to live with my tankful of thankful and sow from a heart of gratitude!

One of my favourite Scriptures speaks about how God calls things that are not as though they were. He spoke light into being before light existed. He determined the outcome before he began.

“God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” (Romans 4:17 KJV)

Not to liken our creative work to the genesis of the universe, but there’s a principle here that works well when we are developing our training materials.

Begin with the end in mind.

Focus on outcomes, not just incomings. What is the result your audience can expect because of their investment with you? It’s a time investment, yes, and an investment of their money, but the real currency at work here is trust.

Your customer has invested because they trust you to lead them to an expected outcome.

This is where the inflated promises of so many courses and sales pages leave many well-mannered people marooned on the island of despondency. They begin with a bang of hope and expectation and end with an all too familiar whimper of disappointment. I have been there on many occasions, and I’m certain you have too.

Don’t be the person who over-promises and under-delivers. Lean to the opposite. And with that in the frame, this gives all the more reason to clearly define your deliverables.

So many promotions weigh in on the financial outcomes and puff up the dollar payoff, but fail to emphasize the reality that there are generally many working parts to a successful business. Making money and selling well online is not as push-button as most sales pages lead you to believe. If it were, with all of the courses and resources we have purchased over the years, the entrepreneurially minded internet-savvy community would be overflowing with beach lounging millionaires.

If we came to natural, on the ground, brick-and-mortar, business carrying the same mindset people often come to online opportunities with, we’d be quick to think the person needs their head examined. I want to expend a tiny amount of money, minimal effort, and virtually no time, and get a remarkable financial deluge in return. Sounds reasonable, right? Yet so many come to the next shiny object on the row with that kind of thinking.

That’s not to say miracles don’t happen, or that there are not a multitude of magnificent opportunities out there with stellar ROI. The thing is, the return is on INVESTMENT. Here’s the rub – the investment that we are talking about here is not the money you pay for the course. This is not a slot machine. The investment is what you expend in effort after the purchase to diligently apply what you learn. The purchase is just the threshhold where the real investment begins.

As the course creator, you want to ensure that after the initial event (the purchase) there is not an Everest to climb before results are seen and enjoyed.

Carefully consider the outcomes you can cultivate, and lay the ground as smoothly as possible for your new students to quickly move to tangible results using their newfound knowledge and skills.

The clearer and more attainable the outcome (resulting from your coaching/course) the happier your students will be, and the more satisfying your own journey together with them.

What will you teach online?

And what will be the tangible outcome, not for you, but for your students?

You don’t have to offer a ballooned bagful of vague promises and fantastical happy-ever-afters, because most of those are sitting somewhere at the end of the rainbow. This kind of thing just leads people down the garden path.

Instead, make your promises concrete, manageable, and quantifiable.

Outcomes, outcomes, outcomes!

Keep that in mind, and when you are creating the inflows (the content you deliver) to help your student it will ensure that they are streamlined and on point, and that each one leads one more step toward a desired outcome for your audience.

My wife loves lists. I find post it notes with mini lists of to-do’s all over the house. I’m not such a list man as she. More a scribble on whatever scrap of paper is at hand man. Not a great way to stay organised, admittedly.

But I do have one list that I take great care to cultivate. My email list.

In the online eco-system email is the lion of the tribe. Social media is seductive but fickle. Building your base on social media is like squatting on somebody else’s property. At any moment, the landlady or landlord can evict you without notice and with no explanation.

An email list, on the other hand, is owned. The people who have legitimately shared their permission and details with you have done so willingly, and within the bounds of your agreement requested that you use their details to maintain contact and build a relationship.

List building is not a mystery. It is an exchange. Much like a purchase, but this time the currency is permission. You can offer an enticement, an invitation to progress the relationship through a micro commitment, and if the offer is valuable and beneficial a name and email are exchanged for the goods.

Like most realms of expertise, list building has its own lingo.

• Landing pages
• Lead captures
• Lead or Reader magnets
• Opt-ins
• pop-ups
• subscribers
• autoresponders
• funnels

Despite being a massive, and very important subject, essentially it boils down to just two things.

An offer,

and an opt-in.

The offer can be anything from an invitation to receive updates from your blog, to an entire online course, or a coaching call.

The offer will be fitted to the market you are selling to, and the road you plan to take them on.

All traffic and subscribers are not created equal, and quality leads result from quality offers. Encouraging people to opt-in to receive a free iPad won’t necessarily bring you the folks you are looking to know. It will bring lots of people who want free iPads, for sure, but most likely a very small percentage of them with be keen to continue the conversation beyond that initial transaction.

Making your offer relevant, valuable, and visible is the key. Relevant and valuable specifically to the people you want to bring through the front door, and who will be potentially interested to continue the journey further inside your kingdom. Visible because an offer not presented to a prospect is pointless.

This is where social media and other platforms can play their part. They act as the wide net that channels the relevant future friends toward your hook. They allow reach and targeting otherwise difficult to engineer.

But the aim is not a like or a comment, it’s a click to the page where you ask for their email.

And once the invitation is accepted, the relationship begins.

In a noisy marketplace even here you can be drowned out in the deluge that we call an inbox.

Carefully craft your messaging to speak directly to your prospects. Let your love and grace ooze from every interaction. Construct pathways that layer value and relevance, and sincerely seek to share something of worth.

Once someone is on your list, you have the opportunity to carry them from the threshold of your house all the way to the sanctuary, but even here let’s be careful. Don’t propose marriage on the first date. Don’t just say that you care. Show them that you do by layering honesty, value, and vibrance to your communications. Then they might eventually care what you say.

The purpose of a list may vary. For me, the above is my aim, albeit badly executed at times.

What about you? Why do you want to build a list?

Let me know, and where you plan to begin. What offer will you present to your prospects that might entice them into the ongoing conversation you would like to engage in with them?