David Lee Martin

Habits.

Sometimes.

Need.

A good.

Kicking.

Here’s some of mine:

• Sabotaging my successes by talking myself down.
• Overthinking to the point of paralysis
• Feeling insecure and inadequate in the company of successful people.
• Fearing failure so never even trying (or procrastinating for so long the idea goes stale).
• Judging my worth by the number of dollars in the bank or followers on the social scales.
• Overestimating what others create and produce,
• Underestimating what I bring to the table.
• Worrying about what will happen tomorrow instead of focussing on what I can do today.

The list goes on.

What habits are you kicking?

Do yourself a favor with a comment or reply to expose those sneaky lies that hold you back. Burn it in the light!

Tomorrow we’ll talk about replacing the old with the new…

Quitting is sometimes the best foot forward.

Here’s an example…

Quit trying to be ‘someone’ and be your God-shaped self instead.

Just BE in His presence.

Enough.

And leave that place empowered to face the day.

God Himself led the way when asked by Moses, “Whom shall I say sent me?”

“I AM has sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14) was God’s reply.

Who are you?

You are!

And that’s precisely who the world needs to hear and meet.

Not a cardboard cutout Christian, or a cookie-cutter creative. Not an echo-echo-echo-entrepreneur, or a wonted well-worn writer copying the latest trend.

There’s an original living in that body of yours, and He or she is waiting to be welcomed.

First by you, and then by the world.

Don’t be swayed by what others see each day in their mirror, embrace yourself warts and all and find ways to express yourself that bring value to others.

In the book of Daniel, I discovered a tip to multiply your impact.

Daniel and his three friends set themselves apart to serve their God. The same God that we serve as born-again believers. The boys were not in church, not cloistered in a synagogue – they were right in the belly of an ungodly kingdom, requisitioned to serve their captors.

Offered seats around the heathen king’s tables, urged to savour the world’s delicacies and intoxicating liquor, they chose instead not to stray. To stay simple and sanctified.

There are so many seductive avenues we can be drawn to.

Compromises both small and large promising success and recognition.

A hustle culture that deifies busyness and bluster.

The constant cry to accumulate, compete, and compare.

It’s a loud world we navigate.

Shhhhhh.

Hush your mind. Still your heart.

Let peace be your umpire.

Sanctify yourself and your work to God as the children of Judah did. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to sit at the table of greed. The greatness they sought was in the eyes of God, not in the estimation of people. They tempered their appetites and believed the Lord to lead and position them as He saw fit.

The results are remarkable:

“…in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” (Daniel 1:20 KJV)

A “ten times better” anointing.

Double-digit ability and insight.

Could we do the same in our domestic, creative, business, and ministry pursuits today?

I believe so.

Settle once and for all that God Almighty is your Papa and your Partner in every pursuit.

Don’t fear or fuss about what others will think or say.

Walk His way. Seek His Kingdom

And you’ll find your way to the final milestone.

Commence. CHECK!

Continue. CHECK!

Complete?

Each stage of development, whether natural or spiritual, has inherent dangers.

Unfortunately, the Complete stage can be a falling-off point.

I’m guilty of this. Speaking with a friend this week, I confessed a recurring creativity sin. I throw myself all in making and creating, then fail to follow through once it’s completed.

I shape something to serve, then fail to sell.

I don’t think I’m the only one.

Take your creations seriously. Respect your readers, listeners, and audience enough to keep the engine running long past the finish line.

Once made, make sure you make ways for people to benefit from your genius.

I’m not talking about being salesy or sleazy, but for sure don’t be ashamed.

What you’ve made deserves the same attention once it’s complete as it enjoyed on the road to completion.

Maybe we should change commence-continue-complete to…

Start

Sustain

Succeed

and the fourth important factor…

SHIP!

Let’s face it. Shipping is scary. That’s why many people get the finish line writing their book or creating their course, only to let it languish on a harddrive.

This is where you go public and your ideas are tested in the real world.

The reality is, that some work, some don’t. But without shipping you’ll never know.

Make certain you ship your work!

Ask the Holy Ghost for strategies to go to market. Don’t be afraid to stand in the streets and marketplaces together with Wisdom and share your value.

“Listen! Wisdom is calling out in the streets and market places, calling loudly at the city gates and wherever people come together…” (Proverbs 1:20 GNBUK)

So many starters, so few finishers.

It’s easy to begin but hard to complete.

Why is this?

This entry into a new venture is often exciting, filled with unknowns that make you salivate.

Then reality hits and the unknowns become knowns. You know that this is harder than you first thought!

Passion wanes and impatience runs to seek a new adventure…

and so the cycle continues.

Intensity vs Consistency

In Christian and creative circles there’s much talk about passion.

Follow your passion, we’re told.

The problem is, passion, as important as it is, is insufficient to take you over.

Intensity or zeal will carry you so far, but often not over the hump. As resistant pressure rises and gravity comes into play passion must be backed by persistence. Both work together to push you uphill, over the top and rolling with the ease of mastery down the other side.

The best way to put persistence to work is consistency.

Consistency will take you a lot further than intensity. So many people make the mistake of pushing like a crazy person for a few weeks, then burning out their reserves of willpower and rolling right back to where they started, wondering why things didn’t work.

Intensity is needed. Starting from stationary requires that the engines fire.

But the effortless power behind motion is momentum. Where the weight of yesterday’s actions propel you through the following day.

To FINISH and complete what you begin requires this commitment to consistency.

That’s one reason I like “daily” as a rhythm for creation.

Daily leaves little wiggle room for excuses.

Small daily steps add up.

Creativity compounds.

and step

by

daily step

you’ll reach

THE FINISH LINE!