Category Archives: Motivation

Compassion + Craft = Movement

Posted on by
Reply

Any time during the last 8 years or so that I’ve been asked, “What are you passionate about?” My answer has consistently been, “People… I am passionate about people!” A statement that isn’t birthed out of hope or desire, but out of a sincere conviction; I really do love humanity! Somewhere through my journey this passion for community has become compassion. This compassion desperately drums up vision for how to the human life an experience of living rather than simply existing.

Journey with me for a moment…

Think of the person/people in your life who are hurting the worst, have created a living hell of anxiety and depression for themselves, or due to insecurity continue to make decisions that are inevitably going to be self-destructing.

… this person might even be yourself.

Having had the opportunity to live through quite a few experiences that could have completely wiped me out, I am invigorated to think that someday my passion for people who are going through things that feel the same as my experiences, just might find hope, peace, and self worth.

Where this emotion that I feel for humanity comes to life is when I am rubbing shoulders with people, living along side of them in the good and the not-so-good, when my home becomes their home. Just recently I realized that what I was missing to make this an everyday reality was a craft… This is where I have missed the boat for so many years, and others who have true passion miss the same boat. When heart breaking compassion and the application of a craft come together, you/we have a greater opportunity to create a movement. By using the word “movement” all I mean is that we create something real, something that moves inside of a community, stirs up the hearts of a people, facilitates a genuine expression of community. I don’t want us to get our heads caught in the clouds because I said movement, if it ends up being a global work, then amen! Please do not lose sight of the beauty, power and glory of impacting a town/city.

My compassion is pretty clearly laid out. The craft that I have chosen to explore is coffee.. an incredibly complex beverage that will only grow in quality and appreciation for years to come. I am pursuing this craft with Cartel Coffee Lab, one of the nations leaders in providing coffee as a specialty beverage.

20121002-074956.jpg
Where is it that your heart breaks for humanity? What aspects of the human experience do you pray for? How do you day dream for a better life for those around you?

What do you do that can make this a reality? What are you good at? Where can your creativity flourish?

Thanks for reading… Please feel free to answer the questions I have posed for you in the comments section so you can receive some encouragement and/or feed back!

Much Love
DG

I am a writer.

Posted on by
1

Today is the first day of Jeff Goins’ 15 day writing challenge, and my objective is to declare the truth that I am a writer!

Through the years, I have gone through patterns of being consistent and inconsistent as a writer, however, that doesn’t negate the reality that I was created to communicate. One of the primary ways that I have seen influence as a communicator is through writing… because of this truth, I will never stop writing, no matter how consistent I may or may not be.

Risk it. Live it. Be it.

Posted on by
1

Beautiful people… Let this be an encouragement to your journey today!

There is something beautiful about ripping your heart open in the presence of another human, risking rejection, and being vulnerable for the sake of being a better/more true version of yourself! Of course it is hard. Of course you might get your heart-broken. Of course you are afraid of rejection. But, fear has never allowed anyone to experience joy.

S#!T Donald Miller Says

Posted on by
9

It is the evening of Valentines day, which also happens to be my dad’s birthday. I have been [successfully] fighting off some frustration and temptation for the last couple hours by re-designing my Twitter background, and multitasking on my oversized ‘to-do’ list.
But…
I almost gave up for the night.

You know the feeling; that overwhelming experience of loneliness, pain, lethargy, or any combination of the three. As if they had all three decided to jump me, I was successfully getting my ass kicked by the reality of being single alongside my desire to be a good husband and father, the memory of my father’s death, and a momentary desire to not fight for all the Lord has put in front of me.

While uploading the new Twitter background, I was surfing the waves of tweets over the last couple of hours, and as if God Himself decided to speak through Donald Miller [again] I read this, “Loneliness isn’t a destination. It’s just a place you pass through. Hoping a lot of folks keep moving tonight.”

Because temptation and frustration can be static at times, like a snowy TV [if you can remember the 90's] that has no reception, I was still fighting to be distracted amidst my multitasking. As I read …Hoping a lot of folks keep moving tonight, I thought, “fuck yeah, Don! Tonight is to fight, not retreat”

And so it is…

With a playlist on shuffle, and the obnoxious sound of cars spinning their tires trying to make it through the snowy parking lot of my apartment complex, I am asking the Lord to heal me. This is where the fight comes in; half of healing is white-knuckling it through the action[s] that have left you scarred in the first place. Loneliness, is one of my least favorite feelings, because it is the one I am the worst at managing.

If you don’t already know these things about me, then enjoy some insight…
I am a huge fan of attention, I’ll blame this one on only child syndrome.
Generally, I don’t have to spend much time alone if I don’t want to.
There is a reality of pain and loss that I refuse to separate myself from.

The three facts listed above often lead me into situations where I end up walking away bruised, or scarred. However, there is more to me, a self-worth I protect, proclaim and possess through every situation, but this one. Rather than giving in, I am in pursuit of healing from my attention addiction, which makes days like today difficult, and make me all the more thankful for S#!t Donald Miller says…

If you aren’t very familiar with Donald Miller, I suggest you start here.

 

 

Claim it. Be it. Explain it.

Posted on by
2

This morning I updated my status w/ this statement: “If you’re going to claim it, be willing to be it. If you’re going to be it, be ready to explain why.”

It got more attention than I was anticipating, but I guess that’s the great part about words; they always have the ability to inspire!

Allow these words to inspire you however they may, but for the sake of conversation, here is what inspired me to write them…

This morning, I woke up with a wandering mind, which isn’t necessarily uncommon, but this morning it was revolving around some specifics.

Identities.

Whether they be sub-cultural, relational, spiritual, political, or professional, I often see a lack of conviction to the things that we claim. This observation has led me to think that people are far less of what they actually say they are; for whatever reason this is a lack of being. And unfortunately, when there is a lack of ownership behind the words spoken about ourselves, there is also a lack of explanation behind them.

This is a call to introspection and self-evaluation!

If you’re going to claim it, be willing to be it. If you’re going to be it, be ready to explain why.

•DG•

 

There is always crossover.

Posted on by
1

Jeff Goins is a new friend of mine. 

And he is brilliant!

Jeff is a writer who writes about life, by writing about being a better writer, a ballsy writer, and a writer willing to take the risk. Through our short, but intentional friendship I have learned a lot about myself, by talking about writing. He recently released two e-books that will likely change your entire life, if you read them.

He has been kind enough to let me share a coupon-code with all of you… Whether you are a writer, or an artist, or a barista, please take advantage of this, you will not regret it!

Check out his most recent post that has a link to these wonderful e-books HERE.

When you get there… use ‘stopstalling’ as your coupon code.

Stop Stalling.
Take a Risk.
Initiate.
Follow Through.

Was it Really Desire?

Posted on by
2

If you step back and think of the hundreds if not thousands of things that you have internally thought, or verbally expressed as a desire, you might feel that heavy weight of failure…

Stop right there!

 Your lack of discipline isn’t the reason you didn’t follow through with those “desires”, and it wasn’t your lack of drive either. You didn’t follow through because you didn’t actually desire those things.

They just sounded like a good idea.

And in the defense of the good ideas in your brain, they are likely beneficial things for your life. Now, in your defense, not all good ideas are the right idea; even the best idea at the wrong time in life can be disastrous.

Rather than going back and dissecting the last two, eight, even fourteen years of your life, just make it easy and accept that you’ve failed more than you’ve succeeded. Then move forward!

First determine what your true desires are during this season of life. It might be a desire and need to [re]organize your finances. Maybe the holidays put a few extra pounds around your waist and you want to get that beach body ready for June. Or, what if that idea for a bakery, a blog about your view of human interaction, or your plan to feed and clothe the homeless in your city is ripping you apart from the inside, like a tornado showing no mercy on a trailer park?

Fear can no longer be your excuse, because it’s not that you’re afraid; your level of desire just hasn’t reached desperation. When you arrive at this stomach turning feeling of desperate desire, then you must ignite discipline.

Desire and discipline must run hand in hand, if both are present. Allow discipline to guide your desire, while your desire fuels the discipline necessary to accomplish the task.

 

Dig deep.
Start fresh.
Create a routine.
Build a support structure.
And please…
DO NOT TURN BACK.