3 Lessons from Kevin Durant’s Win

Y’all know I don’t even blog on a Tuesday, but that Golden State win was blog worthy for anyone who is passionate about taking a non-traditional career path. I particularly wanna talk about what I learned watching KD (Kevin Durant) for those of you who are not fluent in basketball (and don’t feel bad I only know a little basketball). 

So, here’s the back story for those who don’t know and for those who do don’t judge my sketchy details. Durant used to play for OKC the team was great, but couldn’t win a ring. He left and people accused him of chasing a ring and not being loyal…blah…blah…blah 

Since GSW are celebrating a win that means he chased that ring in the right direction and here are three things we can learn from his pursuit. 

Three lessons from KD’s win:
1️⃣ To level up sometimes means you have to leave the space and place where you’re most comfortable. You might be functioning well there, but are you fulfilled? Yes, Durant, Westbrook, and the bearded one were an awesome trio, but they couldn’t take him where he wanted to go. Many people criticized his decision, but it looks like a smart choice. Be careful when listening to critics because most often the people criticizing you can’t get you where you want to go, but will be quick to tell you how to get there. 

Kevin Durant Photo Credit: Salt Lake Tribune

2️⃣ Be appreciative enough of the gift to be humble and wise enough to know you’re gifted and conduct yourself as such. In the face one of basketball’s greats, Bron Bron KD didn’t falter or faint. There was no time for to think man he’s great I wish I was too. He played in his greatness. 

3️⃣ Because you’ve lost before doesn’t mean you can’t ever win. Stay in the game.  

Now when you’re ready to stop playing by the rules you usually play by and ready to work with a winning team to #getyourInheritance book a Publishing Pow-Wow and evaluate your marketing game, so you can bring home the championship. 

Did you learn anything from last night’s game or the series? Share your insight with me.

Pathways to Your Passion: Hello August

The eighth month of the year is here. For teachers that it the dawn of another school year is on the horizon, for parents it means their kids are someone else’s problem, and for us dreamers it’s time for us once again to reassess our goals.

You might be tired of these blog posts about goals, but come December you’ll be thanking me for holding you accountable. So, where are you? I’ll go first.

Here are the writing goals I began the year with: 

I am nowhere near where I need to be to finish and begin all of these projects, but not because of procrastination. My writing career under went some changes. In the process one of the items on my vision board  came to fruition (I’ve launched my own publishing company).  I did complete Tempted to Touch–it’s with the editor now undergoing inspection. That’s all that I’ve finished. I started working on a new novel and these characters will not go away. All of the projects on my list are important to me, but new projects that popped up have become my main focus. That leaves me with only one option it’s time to re-prioritize my goals. If you need to do so as well then do it. 

They are your goals and flexibility is allowed. The only thing not allowed is giving up.

My revised goals now look something like this: 

• I’ve begun a new novel, Children of God-set in the Dominican Republic and it will tackle the events that have transpired there this summer with regard to their anti-Haitian legislation. That can’t wait. I must finish that. 
• Begin Birthright (special collaboration project) 
• Finish Riches of Grace

Now it’s your turn–have you met your goals? on track to meet them? in the process of revising them?

There are only four months left in the year yes squeeze all the pulp out of 2015. 

#WriterWednesday: Comparison Kills

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:

for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Hebrews 13:5

You are gifted. You are a creative force to be reckoned with, but something is killing you and stunting your progress. Do you know what’s killing you?

You are killing you by comparing yourself, your success or your seeming lack thereof to other author’s successes. Stop committing writer suicide–comparison kills.

4 Ways to Change Your Focus

1. Become a trailblazer–while it’s important to know what’s out there, what’s going on, and what’s trending you don’t become a staple by following the trends. Trailblazers are monumental. Trailblazers don’t try to conform with the norm, but they operate their gifts the way they want. Many Christian Fiction novels are set in the south or a small towns, but all of my work has New York City as it’s backdrop. Why? New York is who I am as an author. I am asphalt not green grass. Now, I could imagine small town living to grab the audience and keep up with the trend, but in my mind every girl living in a small town is named Misty and speaks with a twang, but I know New Yawkers and they’re in my heart, so I write what’s in my heart. I’m blazing my trail. I don’t have time to look at the fire beside me while generating my own.

2. Know what you deserve-You don’t deserve anyone else’s success. Furthermore, you don’t want it either because you have no idea what the price of that success was. You deserve to be successful, but you can’t have the success that God has promised if you’ve got your eyes on someone else’s. Trust in His word and in the plan that he has for each one of us, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer. 29:11) Repeat this verse each time you find yourself eyeing someone else’s success and get happy about what God has for you.

3. Be Consistent. Be Flexible-Consistency mingled with flexibility is what makes a brand or an artist successful. Think of your favorite author or musician who’s been able to span decades. They consistently produced work, but they were flexible enough to grow with their audience. Stop looking at the accolades of authors around you and keep producing good content and just like a diamond buried in the earth someone will discover you.

4. Get Real-Some authors have teams of people promoting them, some authors have publicists that they work with on a regular basis. If you don’t have any that then be real with yourself–there are two things you can do. Either you save some duckets so that you can afford a team or publicist or pat yourself on the back for your efforts and keep going until you reach your destination. Get real about how long it takes to become a success. Rome wasn’t built in a day neither was Oprah, or J.K. Rowling. 

Bottom line stop trying to walk in other people’s shoes they’re not your size. Walk in the blessings and the calling that God has placed upon you. Own it each day and celebrate you each day. 

What advice do have for authors who committing writer suicide by comparing themselves to others? 

Pathways to Your #Passion: Connect to Your Source

The pathway to your promise isn’t a straight one. There will be boulders that you have to try and circumvent, there will be tiny pebbles that will appear to be minuscule yet cause you to stumble greatly. There will traffic jams that will make you believe that you will never reach the other side of your passion on time. But time and success are relative when you connect to your source.

I don’t know what your picture of success looks like and I don’t know what date or time you’ve stamped and connected to the moment in which your success will be cemented in the sands of time, but you must know this, “for promotion cometh neither from the east, nor the west, nor from the south. God is the judge: he putteth one down, setteth up another.” Your success isn’t dependent upon all of your elbow grease, your networking, the midnight oil you burned, although those things are necessary factors in the equation. If you want to reap a harvest you have to sow some seeds, but the rain comes from the heavens and heaven is His throne. You must connect to your source to reach the other side of your passion.

Connect to Your Source:

1. Let Him in on your plans and intentions. Be honest with God, He can take it.

2, Let Him in on the timeline you have. Again, be honest with God, He can take it.

3, Ask Him what He wants and realign (trust me, you will have to realign) the vision you have for your success.

4.  Spend time in prayer and even fasting to get into the heart of God and really understand what it means to walk, run, and ride, to your passion with Him by your side backing you.

5. Then get to marching. Your pathway might look different and you will feel different, but once you’re connected to your source reaching the other side of your passion will be a blessed journey and you will experience success before you experience success. Remember your success is not dependent upon you or anyone else, but in you putting your trust in His righteousness, in His abundance, in His faithfulness, in His provision, and in His vision.

How do you currently connect to your source?  How have you found strength to carry on? Do you feel better knowing that your promotion and exaltation is in God’s hands?