I GOT...FIRED!!!!!!

Okay so, I’m being a tad bit dramatic, but this past Wednesday, for the first time since I began working at the ripe old age of fifteen, I was “let go” from my position as a receptionist for a television production company.

Amazingly, even after I received the call from the company president to “come see me in my office”, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. “Whelp Lord. Here we go”, I said aloud as I boarded the elevator to the second floor. Although at peace, I chuckled at the fluttering in my heart as I entered the President’s office to find him, the exec in charge and the head of HR all sitting, awaiting my arrival.

*cues suspenseful music*

But look, this isn’t about my current state of unemployment, or how much I'll miss my job as a receptionist for a REALLY dope television production company that creates shows for major cable networks. I'll spare you the details. 

Purpose and Provision

During the meeting, while the big man was explaining the whys and whats, I did eventually cry because well, it's kinda what I do. But my tears were not chased through my eyes by fear in my heart, they were evidence of the well of gratitude that had been poured into me for the past two years. 

I cried because while these three business execs sat apologizing to me for no longer being able to "afford the luxury of paying someone to answer the phones", I laughed through my tears and thanked them, with a full heart, for every opportunity they afforded me. 

Honestly, in the two years I sat at that desk answering phones, ordering office supplies and entertaining talent waiting for their call-time, I have done more to bring the vision for my craft and my business to fruition than I had done since leaving the Air Force in 2005 to pursue the same vision.

Let me tell you about it...(see the *fairly short but amusing* video below) 

So, Now What? 

When accepting the peace and purposes of God in faith, there are no "buts"...Will there be uncertainties? Of course. Will there be doubts? Mos def. However, you'll either choose to trust Him or you won't. #iTrustHim 

My choice to remain positive in the face of adversity isn't based on blind faith, naiveté or even arrogance. It is based on PURPOSE. 

I can't even get mad at those who don't find my "silver lining" perspective as realistic...Not everyone is in the same place in their faith walk. But I trust that my life will show what it means to trust God and His purposes.

*BEAM*

a Gospel - Just Do It | Day 6 | #BlogADay

"This is that moment in life when clichés are more than mere rhetoric

"Just do it" becomes gospel

That moment when
Excuses sound easier than the plan
When sleep soothes the pain better than the idea pushing to bring it to fruition

In this moment
Yesterday's failure is either a costly, wandering stream of spilled milk seeping into today
Or the fresh breath of every possibility at birth
May your cries be declarations that this life will thrive..."

Excerpt from 'a Gospel' by Nina C. Brewton (c) 2013

This video from Adrian Bryant sums up exactly how I'm currently feeling in life. Even though he uses the conditioning of athletes to demonstrate his points, the message can apply to anyone: The student, the entrepreneur, the artist...whatever your vision has purposed for your life, "may your cries be declarations that this life with thrive..."

Post by NowLoss.com - Adrian Bryant.

The Time It Will Take | Day 5 | #BlogADay

Piggy-backing off of yesterday's blog, I received this from +Sweetlocs Taylor this morning.

You cannot turn the corner until you get to it. In order to create a breakthrough, you must lay the groundwork for it.

Real value is built with time, effort and commitment. Don’t cheat yourself out of that value by demanding instant results.

When you’re moving in a positive direction, enjoy the ride and give it the time it takes. Even though the fulfillment is not yet complete, you can already begin to experience it.

Don’t be afraid of the time it will take to make real progress. Be thankful for the opportunity to make an increasingly valuable difference as time goes on.

There is great joy to be found in meaningful effort. The longer and more committed the effort is, the more joy you are able to experience.

Cheerfully give yourself and your work the time it takes. Choose a worthy destination, and treasure every step of the journey.

— Ralph Marston

Grow Where You're Planted | Day 4 | #BlogADay

Every day can't be the best day, but every day can be a great day! A great day is had when we find the strength to focus on being grateful for what we have and content with where we currently are. This is by no means a pass to become complacent but those moments will find that we are constantly and consistently growing and becoming.

There are going to be days when we feel like we're at a stand still or worse, spinning our wheels, digging ourselves deeper and deeper into  Those days where nothing seems to be leaning in your favor, everything appears to be going wrong or falling apart.

But do not fret!

In those moments in life when you don't know which way to go or when you feel like you're not hearing the voice of God, give thanks and take that time to prepare for the vision as you see it. Preparation based on your vision will find you prepared to make a move once the move is revealed.

Find peace where you are while allowing yourself to become all that you've been created to be. Even trees continue growing while their seeds mature, until they are carried away by the winds...

Hunger Feeds Hunger | Day 3 | #BlogADay

As humans we have the responsibility to care for mankind and meet the needs of others through our giving. 

As artists and business-minded people we are able to feed the same perpetual hunger that is within everyone to dream and to see that dream come to fruition. Too often, we allow our own hunger to keep us from giving someone else what they need to realize their dreams. 

Hunger comes in many forms. We all have physical (bread), creative, emotional needs, etc. The hunger of the individual changes based on their individual need. Your experiences and current position in life are thus so that you may use them to meet the need of someone else. 

Do not allow your own hunger to keep you from feeding someone else's. We live a life of abundance, leaving enough for everyone. 

The question is are you willing to give as needed?

2 Corinthians 9

Love Your Lane | Day 2 | Pt. 2 | #BlogADay

What About Me?

I do not consider myself a just a singer nor a musician but rather an artist and an entrepreneur. After years of "supporting" other artists with constant road-trips to events, posts and emails about their new albums, books, gigs, etc., God spoke to me ever so clearly, telling me that the time had come for me to focus on His will for my life. Now, while sowing is required before a harvest, we cannot get so caught up in the sowing that we don't prepare for the harvest!

During this time, it occurred to me that I conveniently neglected my own spark. This flame, continuously extinguished because I was too busy adding fuel to others' fires, often too tired and worn to put forth any effort to bring my own vision to fruition. I was guilty of believing in the talents and abilities of others more than I believed in myself and THIS is not how God created us to be. If I am a creation of The Creator, why am I not creating?

I was guilty of believing in the talents and abilities of others more than I believed in myself and THIS is not how God created us to be. If I am a creation of The Creator, why am I not creating?

A final lesson: Over the years I've come to understand the greater purpose of discernment. With that I've learned that, although my name may not mean much to the masses, it is mine. I've had to learn the hard way that my name can't be associated with every name. Once that association has been made, it is nearly impossible to disassociate yourself. Choose wisely...

I cannot stress how important walking in purpose and using discernment is in our business and ministry dealings. As with our romantic relationships, just because someone is good to us, doesn't mean they are good for us!

I am grateful for every connection and supporter that I am blessed to have shining light on the vision that God has given me. I am most grateful for 

Peace, Love and Light,

*BEAM*

Love Your Lane | Day 2 | Pt. 1 | #BlogADay

The Purpose Driven Church

#Support

This idea that members of various artistic communities around the country refuse to support one another is not totally true. While every community has it's "divas", the majority are very humble, hard-working people, doing all they can to find their way along the path that they've been called to.

The truth of the matter is, many of the people in our artistic community are merely associates in passing. They are familiar faces whom we recognize from our social media networks and/or from being out and about in our respective cities. With people's individual endeavors, day jobs and family obligations, one can't possibly be there to support everything that everyone in their community has on the calendar.

With that being said...

Our circle of direct support is often just like our circle of "BFF's": The fewer the better. Quality is truly better than quantity and I personally, would rather have 10 or fewer SOLID people in my core who can influence their respective communities than have 100+ people "support" me out of presumed obligation based on familiarity, community or association. (See diagram from "The Purpose Driven Church"). Having a strong, smaller core is essential to impacting the masses.

Not everyone's purpose is directly related to mine and that's okay! I'm learning to LOVE MY LANE, trusting that God has appointed every connection I need to bring HIs purpose to fruition and an audience prepared to receive what I have to offer!

Peace, Love and Light,

*BEAM*

Continue reading: Part Two

#TheLostFiles - 'Noise' - 10/5/10

Noise.  The world is full of noise.  And distractions…

Some days I wake up and it rings in my ears immediately…other times, I was restless during a night’s sleep thinking about what I would say to the noise…who would listen to mine…sometimes, we dream of noise.

This week, I decided to detoxify my body. Through disciplined consumption of fruits, some vegetables and, protein, and other fluids, it has been my goal to cleanse my body of any toxins that may be present in an attempt to jump-start my progress towards physical fitness goals.  It is my hope that this detox will supplement the healthy choices I’ve been making for about three months now.  I also seek to remain motivated and dedicated to the healthy lifestyle that I have finally found my way back into.

I decided that now would be a good time take a step back and re-evaluate where I stand professionally.  I have recently become frustrated with my position in life all over again.  I see the vision God has given me daily…it tugs at my heart every time I see a young person struggling with the do’s and don’ts of life – with the relationships their in, with the transitions that they go through. 

The vision is vivid.  And although I recognize the colors as mine, and even some of the shapes and smells of the vision, too often, I place that vision on the back burner to support the dreams and ideas of others.  To promote music and events and people who I believe in…oftentimes failing to support and believe in myself.

Through the use of social media, I have gathered an outstanding network of people.  Many who are visionaries and driven towards success just as I am.  We build daily  and encourage one another regularly and I know without a shadow of a doubt, that many of these vary people will be some of my greatest supporters when the time comes to buy my book, promote my shows or invite me to speak to their youth group or organization.  Many have already displayed great potential in being a part of the network that God will use to catapult my vision to levels that I have yet to imagine.

Facebook and Twitter both started out as a great way for me to network and promote artists/events that I support but it QUICKLY became a whole lot of everything but that.

Again, a lot of what I long to do professionally is based around social media. From promoting artists and events that I'm involved with to networking and promoting myself as a writer/speaker/vocalist, social media can be a phenomenal tool...

...on the same token, being that I am such a transparent and social person, it is easy to get distracted with simply being a "life commentator" (as I've been called) and being "social" instead of focusing on the potential business...

I want every tweet to be meaningful, that way, when people see me in their timeline, they truly value what I have to say and not just disregard my tweets because I'm talking about what I made for dinner...

If I am to build a brand and use social media as a means of building that, then, it needs to be more purposeful...

  

Communication. 

“Everything is driven my communication.  We are constantly talking to each other…determined to be heard.  “The enemy has us so busy communicating with each other, that he’s using systems to make us talk to each other…” and in turn, we’re failing to communicate with God.

Our communication with each other is an expensive trick…we’re being charged to talk to each other.  It’s costly to keep speaking to each other and even more costly to not speak to God.

The Gospel of Now (0500)

This is that moment in life when clichés are more than mere rhetoric

"Just do it"is gospel

That moment when
Excuses sound easier than the plan
When sleep soothes better than the pain

That moment when
Yesterday's failure is either a costly, wandering stream of spilled milk seeping into today
Or the breath of every possibility at birth
May your cry be a declaration

Less than 100 won't be enough today
Yes you awake with barely twenty

Where is your passion?
Did you waste its value on a lover who was never yours to have?
Or did you bury it

Beneath the weight of every regret you've ever consumed?

No

Neither was it in the yesterday you left behind

That spark abandoned

Extinguished by haunting doubts

As the sun so graciously rises on your tomorrow

Passion inspires from within
It breeds infinite possibilities waiting to take their first breath
Procrastination kills progress but, you're no murderer
Do not abort your dreams before you ever feel them kick

They are alive withinyou
Purpose made love to faith
Creating your vision
Just because you have yet to see them
Doesn't mean that they don't share your heart beat

He's not coming back,but you're still here

Your regrets aren’t as strong as the life within you
It has no hands with which to hold on with
If it's close, it's because you refuse to release it

Run with all your might
Press with all you've got
Passion isn't meant for tomorrow
It's purposed for the moment you wake

Dreaming is meant for sleep

Life is meant to belived with passion
As passion needs life to live
Rediscover yours
Let it breath, rekindling it's fire
Then, walk on out the gospel
Just do it

#ThrowbackThursday - The Habit of Disappointment

From the archive: 1/30/11 - I woke up feeling quite disappointed in myself. From my excessive use of blue cheese dressing to my failure to write consistently, I've been slippin'...

Layered in between the blue cheese and my loss of significant use of words you can find too much sleep and not enough prayer. Over-eating and lack of cardio...

It is believed that it takes 21 days to form a new habit - whether that habit be good or bad. I have found this to be true, which is why it is detrimental to our continued growth that we not "wait til Monday" to go back to the gym or the beginning of the month to start eating right.

If it takes 21 days for a new habit to be formed, NOW is as crucial as ever. Although I woke up disappointed for various reason, I can't allow myself to remain disappointed for too long. NOW, not tomorrow, not next week, NOW is the time to take an honest assessment, shake off the disappointment and keep it moving.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Romans 8:1 shares a great promise to those who are in Christ. Now to just STOP walking according to my flesh...self-control in every area...

Every day that we wallow in what we didn't do yesterday is throwing God's gift of today back in His face! 

TODAY is what we have. Shake of the habits that keep you bound in disappointment and GO FORTH in the gifts of grace and mercy that we receive with each new day!