Dream Again

A few months ago I gave myself permission to dream again. I had been so inwardly fustrated with doing and not seeing the results that I desired. I took sometime off from doing music videos and projects for other people besides weddings in 2013-2014 because I felt like the projects were sapping the life out of me. It wasn’t the projects that were sapping my creativity but the people I was working with. Working creatively with people can be hard. You may not always agree and people tend to slide into your role as a director. Needless to say I needed sometime to dream again.

Working with others is rewarding I absolutely love it. However, I need creative freedom as a director and writer. Taking the step back allowed me to dream again. If you have been dry in your creativity its time to re-evaluate why you are doing what you do. Are you writing and shooting for money? Are you an accountant for the pay? Why did you get into what you are into? I got into creativity because I wanted to forge CHANGE.

My husband and I watched Belle last night and I was inspired. The movie was well written, the actors, set, and cinematography were all perfect. The message of the movie was heart wrenching. What are you willing to do for change and love? 

Take a moment today and dream again! The names of what I do have changed company wise. From The Uprise, Arise, Kingdom First, Colab and now Creative Thought Media but the vision remains the same. Bring change in the world of media. Will you dream with me? What’s your dream? What’s stopping you?

Why You Should Do What You Love

Last night Adam Smith blog had a conference. While we were on the conference call he encouraged us to Write With Heart. Those words rang in my ear and echoed from the first time that he said them to me on a podcast interview we recently recorded. The same words were echoed in the January’s edition of Inc, magazine by Peter Diamandis. He encouraged entreprenuers to “do what you’re passionate about, because that’s when you do your best work”.

In this crowded world everyone has something to say. What will set you apart from the crowd? Doing things with heart will set you apart. I have launched a lot of ventures. As a serial entrepreneur while exploring, building and launching you discover what you are passionate about. After launching a food business last year I realized that I am extremely passionate about food, fitness and the quality of food. However; I quickly learned that my vision was larger than my current abilities. I desire to own restaurant fitness centers not a per meal plan service. I couldn’t do it with heart. So I stopped.

Doing it with heart requires:

  1. Passion – If you aren’t deeply passionate about your venture it is going to be extremely hard to see continued success. A friend of mine owns a photography/film company like my husband and I. He is not passionate about weddings but he is extremely passionate about business. For him his passion for business and creativity allows him to shoot 48 weddings a year with love.
  2. Purpose – If you don’t know the purpose behind why you do what you do it will be extremely hard to do it with heart. Define what you are doing and why? The why behind it keeps you focused on what you are doing.
  3. Goal – If you don’t have a plan with goals you won’t do it with heart long. Goals measure if you are headed in the right direction. Goals help us to push when our hearts grow weary. Goals remind you the process is valueable when we want to quit

Launching out into the deep of a dream is an act of faith and an emotional experience. When we do what we are passionate about it feels less like work and more like purpose. Although the road seems long you will be able to keep going forward regardless of the obstacles when you do it with heart.

The New Year Is Here

The new year is rounding the corner and for some it’s a time of reflection. While on the phone with Deer Park I had a brief moment of reflection. As I am listening to the guy take my request I wondered if he is content or designed to work at Deer Park. I know when I was working as a 9-1-1 operator and child abuse social worker the phones drove me crazy at times. While sitting stagnant taking inbound calls every moment in bettwen was filled with considering what I would be doing if I wasn’t at work.

 

I am sure that many of you reading this post aren’t content with your jobs or the use of your talents. I am sure when you look in the mirror you think of all the things you would like improve about your physical frame (say no to plastic surgery). Can I ask you this question? What is stopping you? I am sure it’s either procrastination, fear, doubt, or both. This year I have been afforded the opportunity to do with my time as I desired without worrying about where my next check was coming from however; before that time I was plotting my escape. I have never been content at any job that I have worked. Everyday I woke up with the mindset that I am one day closer to working for myself. One day closer to being a full time writer and director. One day closer to being finanically free. One day closer to allowing the Lord to form and shape my day. One day closer to losing the next inch off  my body (I am 4 inches down from last year this time). One day closer to spending more time in the Word and prayer. One day closer to being made in His image.

 

How do you wake up? In 2015 make it your daily responsibility to complete what you started and fulfill your God given purpose. Don’t allow yourself to sabatoge the plans of God in this new season. It’s time to be productive and consistent. What are your plans for 2015?

I was a Liar

 

 

I was a liar, not your average liar but a BIG liar.

A habitual liar to be exact.

 

I always knew how to tell stories.

 

They called me a master manipulator.

 

I called it getting out of trouble, temporarily that is.

 

However, I got caught in my lies often.

Instead of telling the truth I would opt to continue lying.

 

Even when the truth was exchanged for immunity.

 

I still lied.

I don’t think anyone in my family knew that my lying was an expression of my ability to tell stories.

 

I often wish someone picked up on it.

 

My life would have been different.

 

They may have fostered my writing & storytelling ability.

 

My ability to write still amazes me. It’s still new to me.

 

I remember as a child watching movies.

 

I watched a lot of movies.

 

I was bred as a direct in some cases.

 

My lies often put me on punishment and during those times of punishment I could write or read.

 

I wrote songs and poems.

 

I read novels and business books.

 

At the at of 12 I read “Waiting to Exhale” and the movie came out that year.

 

I was amazed by the directors and actors ability to capture the words of the author.

 

I never thought I could make films until I was in my late twenties.

 

I owned video cameras all my life.

I never thought it was possible to write and direct.

 

I was never a great writer.

 

I went to 13 different grade schools.

 

I always lacked the basics of mathematics & grammar.

 

The lack of proper writing skills discouraged me.

 

In college I loved writing papers.

 

College gave me the opportunity to write and read.

 

As a double major and double minor I figured out a way to take more English classes than my majors allowed.

 

I loved having the ability to read, dissect and write about classics.

 

I was a storyteller.

 

If they would realized my lies were the basics of storytelling I would have majored in English & Film.

 

I would have been further in my career.

 

These are the lies that my mind tries to tell me.

 

Instead, I have a massive arsenal of stories to tell because I was a liar and it wasn’t known that I was a storytelling writer.

 

Today, I tell stories the proper way. Today, I’ve turned those lies into truth filled stories that tell the greatest story alive.

 

I now use words and cameras to speak of our relationship in this dirty orbit with the God of all of wonders.

 

Today, I am a creative communicator.

 

Today, I remember Pinocchio.

 

I remember watching him tell lies and his nose grow.

 

I remember sitting in my aunt’s bedroom while it played for the first time on HBO.

 

I remember how amazed I was that everyone knew he was lying.

 

I am a former liar turned storyteller.

What has shaped you? Feel free to comment.

Comparison the Thief

Comparison-is-the-thief-of-joy-2
com·par·i·son
kəmˈperəsən/- Literally, to compare one thing with another by noting similarities and differences. (Strong’s Dictionary)

Too many people are comparing themselves.

In a really bad way! I believe we are stopping ourselves from moving forward because of this comparison.

Peoples lives & accomplishments should be our motivation not our example of what we should want.

If Shonda Rhimes has three shows on primetime and I am just starting my web series that should not be my measuring rod.

Comparing ourselves to ourselves doesn’t allow us to appreciate where we are in that season of life.

Comparison is poison. It pollutes every area of your life. Most woman compare their beauty to another women’s beauty never seeing there own beauty.

Men compare themselves as well i.e. one’s strength to another’s.

Who cares what amount of followers, likes, comments etc someone else has. That isn’t your platform. Just keep working and appreciate the people who allow you into there thoughts and visual lens.

To compare is unwise (2 Cor 10:12). Let us all begin to appreciate where we are and where we have been without bringing in outside forces of pollution. Our biggest enemy is ourselves and our only comparison should be placing ourselves against the image of Jesus.

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