Friday - Food for Thought p2

It's another beautiful Friday. The past couple weeks have been both rewarding and challenging in new and different ways. I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Austin with my wife for my birthday. And we, at Over, continue the challenge of working across continents with each other. But in everything we experience in life there is wisdom to be gained and mistakes to learn from. These are a few of my own.

Things I'm learning

Don't believe the hype. The new car. The new gadget. The new (fill in the blank) all become outdated the moment we take them home. I remember as a child watching commercials and believing the emotions the advertising agencies were selling me. If I had "this product" then I would feel "that way" about myself. The "hype" of anything new, other than life in Christ, is overrated. So don't put your hope in the hype because it will only leave you empty when dust and scratches cover it.

Be the first to smile. When you're walking down the street or walk in to a restaurant always be the first one with a smile on your face. I'm convinced there's not a person on earth who won't respond to a warm, friendly smile. In my own experience I feel like I've always been the one responding to people's emotions with equal or lesser value. You never know what someone else is struggling with in that moment when you meet them (whether they're serving you drinks or passing you on the street)... so show them some teeth and smile.

Things I'm struggling with

Biting my tongue. It's hard to keep your thoughts to yourself in a day in age when we've all been given a platform to do just the opposite. Everywhere I turn it seems everyone has a comment. Negative or positive, we've all been given a voice. I have had a difficult time in the past keeping my tongue from slipping and saying something stupid, and it's something I'm still working on, but the more I see Jesus the more I see value in putting thought before my words.

Things I'm inspired by

Reading The Hobbit. I don't know why anyone never told me to read this book earlier. I literally wake up thinking about it and go to bed reading it. My wife can attest to the fact that I'm not a very avid reader, but this book is so captivating. To me it feels more like a piece of poetry, at times, rather than a narrative. I would highly encourage you to pick up a tangible copy, feel the pages between your fingers, and read it this summer.

The truth. We live in a world where so much of what we hear and see on a daily basis is founded in deception and self-gratification. But when the truth comes and shines its light, you can't help but smile. That's why I love when my friend Doug Roberts writes about the Church. It is not self-seeking or deceiving, but it is the simple truth that Jesus himself proclaimed and spoke about. Or in simple terms, it's like a cool spring on a hot summer day. Read it for yourself in three parts: Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3

Friday - Food for Thought

I know Fridays are notorious for being the worst time to post anything online. But whatever, I want to try my hand at a new series of short, to-the-point posts about things that I've learned, struggled with and was inspired by over the previous 5 days. It might be silly, serious or just down right vulnerable. Whatever the outcome, I hope it inspires you.

Things I'm learning

- Communication is key. All the time. Learning that my communicating is not so much about me saying something as it is about making the other person feel heard.

- How to tie a fly. I just bought a book from Ovris called the "Fly-Tying Guide" that I'm really excited to spend time with in my garage in the evenings and weekends practicing different knots for fly fishing.

Things I'm struggling with

- Procrastination. This week, leading up to my Skillshare class, I feel like I'm back in grade school when I waited until the night before to do my entire science class project. I know a week seems like enough time, but I've really felt overwhelmed and honestly a little inadequate to even be teaching this class. But I am finding it helps if I can make myself a small, bite-size, list of things to accomplish in a single day. That way I don't feel the full weight of the project looming over my head.

- Comparing myself. It doesn't matter how many times I say it loud, I know that comparison is the thief of all joy. But just saying it doesn't do any good. It's really feels like an uphill battle to protect my heart from being completely overtaken by thoughts and feelings of inadequacy. It helps to remind myself that there will always be those ahead of me and behind me.

Things I'm inspired by

- Teamwork. Being a part of a great team makes all the difference in your attitude towards working. I've worked for some real A-Holes in my time, and then I've worked for some real gems. Our team at Potluck is one that I am thankful to be a part of and that truly inspires me to achieve greatness.

- iPhone photography. This may sound silly, but when VSCO released their updated app this week it was an instant game changer. Not just because it has flat design or whatever, but because they've taken a risk on building an entirely new platform to showcase your photos without adding all the fluff of social networking. And yes, the design is absolutely stunning and the filters are beautiful.

Planning for Papahood: Part One

As you may or may not know, my wife and I are expecting our first little Steedling.

I have heard it said that a woman becomes a mother the moment she finds out she is pregnant, and a man becomes a father the moment he holds his child for the first time. I feel inclined to believe that's true at this point in time. Everything seems so surreal right now. I don't think I can fully wrap my head and heart around what it will be like to see my child for the first time. Joy, Peace and Fear are a few of the emotions I feel right now.

Joy

Getting to watch them take their first bite of chocolate cake. Watching as they learn to take their first steps. The first time they ride a bike. Bath time. Story time. Doodle days with Dad. Walks in the park. Attempting to explain the mysteries of the world to a child who probably grasps them better than I do. Watching them as they sleep. Listening to them talk. Letting them know they are loved. Encouraging them to try again. Telling them about God... these are just a few of the things that bring my heart joy.

Peace

In the midst of all thing that could go wrong, I still have peace. Just as Jesus spoke to the storm on the sea of Galilee, so too he speaks to the storms that arise in my soul, "peace, be still." As I've been meditating on the fact that there is a miracle going on just beneath the skin of my wife's belly, I keep coming back to the words David wrote in Psalm 139:

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

This is where my peace comes from. While I sit here and wonder what sex our baby is, or what kind of things they will experience in their life, their Creator knows them full well.

Fear

I believe there are two kinds of fear in this world; the 5 o' clock news kind of fear and the reverent fear of the One who made everything. I'm not sure how the two relate to having a baby, but I do know I've already begun to experience a hint of fear when I think about the great responsibility it is to raise up a child in this world. I know it's not healthy to get ahead of myself, and I fully trust to learn by making mistakes and the wisdom and guidance of those around us, but I don't want to discredit any emotion through this process. I believe fear, just like joy or peace, can be a healthy part of planning for papahood.

Creative Direction Part Two

I guess it's been a couple weeks since I wrote my last post on the transition to working with Over. Well the good thing about writing your own blog is that you don't really have any specific deadlines to meet. I prefer to wait until I have something of value to share, before I sit down and attempt to arrange my thoughts in nice, neat little sentences. Enjoy!

Communication is key

If you work in a space where you sit across the room, the desk or the toilet from your co-workers, consider yourself lucky. The greatest challenge of working remote is also its greatest reward, learning how to communicate more effectively. When you work three states away from your other teammates it can be easy to lose sight of what's going on day-to-day. Even as good as the tools we use are (i.e. Basecamp, Skype, etc.) it doesn't replace the real magic of being face-to-face. It takes a certain caliber of person to be able to handle the responsibility of working remotely as well as continuing to communicate what you're working on.

Spare no feelings

You should know I am a big believer in grace. Grace, to me, is the ability to see your own flaws in those around you and then cutting them all some slack. But, I'm also a big believer in high standards, especially when it comes to doing work. I don't mind sparing your feelings to tell you how I feel for the betterment of the design. I prefer to challenge your design decisions and figure out how you arrived there, instead of just telling you it's not good enough and leaving you to figure it out on your own.

However, we humans are susceptible to finding our identity in our work. That can lead to some really heated conversations when you start challenging the very core of someones design. But that's exactly where I wish to get to, the very heart of the matter. I would much rather help someone see that their identity isn't found in their work, than just simply pat them on the back and say nice job. Our souls don't really need anymore of an ego boost, in fact just the opposite is true. We would all do ourselves a favor if we learned how to better rule our souls and not be lead by emotion.

Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

I've been stuck on this post by Regina Brett for the past two weeks it seems: 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on. Most of the one-liners she gives sounds like something I would say. But this one in particular, "Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful" really speaks truth on multiple levels. It isn't about the things you have in your design/life so much as it is the things you decided to leave out. That's what separates the good from the great. It isn't enough to just call your design/life "minimal" anymore. You really have to sweat and struggle with the details. You have to be willing to be wrong. You have to be willing to be honest. You have to dare to be great.

Part of my struggle recently has been waking up every morning with the notion that the greatest way I can lead my family is to serve. Doesn't matter if I feel like I'm winning or losing, because in marriage it's never a competition. This simple truth has really begun to ooze its way in to the way I work. One of my favorite passages of scripture says it best:

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty." Zechariah 4:6

This is great news. It takes the pressure off. It frees us up to seek first the Kingdom. When the eyes and ears of our spirit understand the truth here, we our free to bring all of who we are in to whatever we do without fear of being rejected. We know who we are and where we are going. So whether we're designing apps, or taking out the trash, we can have total peace about where we are.

Creative Direction Part 1

As you may or may not know, I have recently joined the team at Over as the Creative Director. Now, personally, titles don't mean much. A title is a title is a title. But it's what you do with that title that really makes a difference. I think this is why I've never tried to brand myself under a different name. I've always felt a greater sense of freedom by branding myself and being able to change at will. So I feel like one of the greatest lessons I'm going to learn this year is how to inject that same sense of freedom and liberty I've had on my own into a different brand/company. On one hand I feel a great amount of pressure and on the other I feel total freedom. Whether or not I like the title "Creative Director" it comes packed with responsibility. But the great part is that I can trust myself to lead by my past experiences. I'm not pretending to know it all, or that I'll always make the right decisions, but that I will learn from my mistakes and celebrate my victories.

One of the reasons I decided to take this position with Over is I started thinking more about my future than just the here and now. While I experienced some great success last year on my own, I am really excited by the leaps and bounds I will make this year with my new team. It may sound weird, but I am not the smartest person on our team, and I think that's the perfect place to be. Otherwise, what's the point? However, more than knowledge and skill, my team is full of grace and hearts of gold. That right there makes all the difference in the world.

Do it Again

This morning as I braved the cold morning air on a dog walk my thoughts went back to this beautiful G.K. Chesterton quote I read yesterday:

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.

Specifically my attention was turned to the way the clouds were drawn in the sky. And the way the sun rises every morning and we take it for granted. But I take great comfort in believing that God doesn't take these things for granted. I have to believe He loves waking us up every day with the same thing, but in a completely new way. It's almost as if He is trying to teach us something.

Then I thought about my own work. What I do day in and day out. What I get tired of doing over and over again. What I wish I could be doing instead. Focusing on the future instead of the here and now. But the truth is that there is joy in the monotony of the everyday life. In my own experience, God has been found more times in the mundane rather than the extraordinary. Not saying He isn't there in the magical things, because He is, but I think He loves to hide himself in the ordinary in hopes that we may go searching for Him.

So what things are you growing tired of doing over and over again? How do you think God might be speaking to you through the mundane tasks of life? Hopefully this helps stir up some questions and thoughts and dreams in your own journey. I know it sure did for me.

Thoughts on Instagram

Ever since waking up Tuesday morning in central California all I've heard from friends, both online and off, is smack talk about the new terms of service from Instagram. I posted a question that same day on Zerply asking, "What do you think about the new IG ToS? Instead of just complaining about it, what do you propose as a better alternative?" I've read through all the comments and agree with most, but I've been slow to offer my own opinion on the matter. For one, who am I but another clang against the cymbal when I speak negatively about not just a company, but the people who actually make up that company. So instead I want to offer my opinion from a different perspective. Are we so naive to believe that a free app could, and would, continue to serve us forever without asking anything in return. How's that old saying go, "nothing is really free". Yeah, that still remains true today. Nothing that's happening here should surprise us. The problem isn't so much that companies like Facebook, and now Instagram, want to use our information to sell it online for their profit. The problem is that we don't care because we have become too dependent on these social networks to fill the voids in our lives. Sure, we have good excuses like it helps us stay connected with family and friends, both far and near. But what ever happened to sitting down and writing a letter? Or what about the telephone? You know, that thing you use to connect to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc..

So what's the solution? Do we band together and form the "Instascram club" and delete our accounts? Do we post photos on Instagram with comments about waiting until the new Terms go in to effect and then we will be leaving for good if they don't do what we want? Do we just stand by and do nothing? No, no and definitely not. To be honest it's kind of hard to say if there is a solution. I mean, it feels good to see that Kevin Systrom has already taken note of the outcry from the IG community and begun to rethink the verbiage of the terms, but to me that just feels like putting a bandaid on a giant flesh wound. They might as well just post a photo of a giant sucker if we're to believe that is the solution. Honestly, the damage has already been done, Instagram is now under the giant thumb of Facebook. I'm not judging them for the acquisition, heck I don't know who wouldn't take a billion dollars. But what happens from here on out is directed by their end goal, making money.

I think what we have to ask ourselves is do the benefits, of using Instagram, outweigh the consequences? Only then can you make a decision for yourself. Don't be just another angry member of the mob. Think for yourself. I have a friend that has already deleted their account, with good reasons, and I respect that. I have other friends that are looking at other alternatives to share their photos. I too have been thinking about other avenues of sharing my photos. Flickr has a new app that is pretty nice, but I still yearn for the ease of use that has made Instagram such a success. But my soul is old and it twists and turns with all the choices that technology offers, so I'm considering reverting back to analogue (for a time) and get my hands on some prints. That tradition of loading the film, adjusting the aperture and actually pressing the shutter never gets old.