Archive for August, 2011

You Have Permission

permission

You have permission.

You have permission to try new things.

You have permission to explore new ideas.

You have permission to stretch your thinking.

You have permission to make mistakes.

You have permission to fail.

You have permission to do what others said wasn’t possible, or to at least to try and prove them wrong.

You have permission to push the boundaries.

You have permission to think outside of the box. Heck, blow up the box.

You have permission to color outside of the lines.

You have permission to not settle for second best.

Why?

Because God has gifted you.

Because God has qualified you.

Because God has already given you everything you already need.

Because God has called you.

Because God has chosen you.

Because if you don’t no one else will.

Because the world desperately needs what God has put inside of you.

Because the world won’t be the same without the unique contributions you have to offer.

Because if you don’t try and fail you’ll never learn.

Because if you don’t learn you won’t grow.

Because you don’t need to wait for permission to live out what God has called you to do.

You have permission to start that project.

You have permission to write that blog post.

You have permission to create that video.

You have permission to paint on that canvas.

You have permission to create something awe-inspiring.

You have permission to be honest and let people see your scars because they will point to your Healer.

You have permission to help the world catch a glimpse of God’s wonder.

You have permission to take your brokenness and let God make something beautiful from it.

You have permission to do the impossible because with God all things are possible.

If it’s something worth doing why haven’t you started yet?

You have permission.

It’s Here!

itshere



It’s here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[I know that excessive use of the exclamation point is a no no, but this moment it's appropriate.]

Outspoken is a real book.

The proof arrived late Friday afternoon.

UPS said it would be here by 3 PM; it arrived at 6:45 PM. Officially the longest day of my life.

I proofed it all weekend. And yes, seeing things in print show more errors than you can imagine.

Final edits are being made as we speak.

It will hit Amazon in print and Kindle format and be available at STORY on September 15.

We did it!

Here’s a video sharing the moment I opened the package:

Opening Outspoken from Tim Schraeder on Vimeo.

Be Present.

bepresent

 

This past Sunday I was going about my usual routine: church, brunch with friends and then an afternoon of catching up on personal projects, blogging, and some reading at my neighborhood coffeeshop.

Then, the unthinkable happened. The contents of my freshly brewed latte  spilled onto the keyboard of my MacBook. The screen went black. Moments later I hailed a cab to the nearest Apple Store, clutching my MacBook like a parent taking an injured child to the ER. Within 15 minutes the Apple Geniuses were hard at work trying to revive it. They came back with some not-so-great news: my computer would need to be sent away for repair and there was a good chance my hard drive may be lost. I’d have my computer back in 5 days.

Working remotely, not having a computer renders me useless. And it’s forced me to do something I haven’t done in awhile: to be present.

Being present isn’t always easy in a world that has multiple things vying for your attention. Your family, friends, and followers are all looking to you. Every time your phone chimes there’s a new message, tweet, or text waiting for a response or action.

And, as young leaders, we get the world we live in and know that we need to be present in real life and have a presence online. We live a divided life, offline and online. We have friendships with people we’ve never even met before. And our community might not always be people who live in close geographical proximity to us. Our world is changing, the way we communicate and share information, tell stories, share ideas, and do life is changing. But nothing compares to being present.

One of the greatest experiences for me at conferences or gatherings is taking online relationships offline – meeting people in real life. Recognizing people by their avatars and seeing that there’s much more to who they are as an individual than their 140-character sound bytes.

I’m thrilled that this yeat at Catalyst, we’ll be challenged to be present.  To put away the distractions and be in focused relationship with those around us, and most importantly, in our relationship with Christ. Although I’ll be there ironically blogging and tweeting, I’m thrilled to hear what the great lineup of speakers have to share. I hope I’ll see you there. Let’s take the online, offline – and let’s grow and be challenged to be present, together. Register today. Best rates end Thursday.

And, while I wait for my MacBook to return, I’m enjoying my iBattical, and using a friend’s PC. Pray for me.

My Awkward Interview with Seth Godin

One of the consistent themes of the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit last week was humility. Since it’s the Monday after, I want to put some of what I learned into action. So here’s a step in me humbling myself: my awkward interview with Seth Godin.

A little backstory: Seth Godin is one of my heroes. If you don’t know him, he’s a daily blogger and one of the leading minds in the world of marketing. I tell people I read two things every day: my Bible and Seth Godin’s blog. His thoughts and ideas have deeply influenced me and in December of 2008 I had the opportunity to spend a day with Seth at his office outside of New York City. I was one of 25 finalists for his Alternative MBA Program and flew to NYC to meet with him and the other finalists. I didn’t make the final cut but that experience, without a doubt, was one of the most affirming experiences I’ve ever had. And, it’s been amazing to see what some of the people I met that day have gone on to do… people like Al Pittamapalli, Jon Dale, and Clay Hebert to name a few. You can read more that experience here.

So, fast forward a couple of years, I’m backstage helping with blogging for the Willow Creek Leadership Summit last week [which was crazy in and of itself] and all of the sudden am told that in about 2 minutes I’m going to be interviewing Seth on video. Mind you, I was totally in the zone for note-taking and now I’ve got under 120 seconds to prepare my mind for the fact I’m getting an incredible opportunity to interview one of my heroes. The WCA staff was awesome and gave me some ideas of questions to ask, but to be honest I was totally nervous and unprepared to interview him in a room full of production staff, lights, and cameras.

Well… I think I choked, but I did ask Seth a question I thought was important… what would you tell people/churches who think they are innovative and have already “arrived”?

Despite the awkwardness of my nervousness, I think Seth had some great things to say which is why I wanted to share this video.

If it it’s worth doing, what are you waiting for?

Enjoy.