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praying for a first ten or five or two?

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For those of you that read this blog regularly, you know I’m a fan (past blog posts) of Seth Godin and his thoughts about marketing, leadership and etc. Three weeks ago he posted an article entitled, First, ten, and I’ve returned to it many times since then. Here is the gist of his thought about “First, ten“…

Find ten people. Ten people who trust you/respect you/need you/listen to you…

Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it. And if they love it, you win. If they love it, they’ll each find you ten more people (or a hundred or a thousand or, perhaps, just three). Repeat.

If they don’t love it, you need a new product. Start over.

Is this ground breaking or new? Heck no. It’s a basic principle. It can be found in the movie Pay it Forward and it is pretty much the principle of “Spiritual Multiplication” – that is pouring ourselves out for the Glory of God, for the sake of others, so that, Lord-willing, they will enter a dynamic relationship with Jesus, and then pour themselves out in the same way. Furthermore, it’s also obvious that Jesus practiced this; however, he happened to have the “First, Twelve” in mind, instead of ten.

So if this isn’t something new, then why is it messing my head up so much? I’m not sure, that’s why I’m writing this. I know that I’m not trying to sell anything, and I’m certainly not trying to peddle something. I’m, with the aid of God, attempting to live, love, and speak in such a way where those around me are going to long to have what I have. No selling. No peddling. No convincing. But a lot of living, loving, laughing, crying, speaking, and more together, in hopes…. In hopes, that something, anything will happen. I guess, it is in this thought, that I’ve been troubled by this blog post from Godin. I pray for ten. I pray for five. I pray for two. I pray. I hope. I’m not trying to win, as Godin mentioned in the post, but in the midst of a culture that is very cold to things of God, it would feel that I’m on the “losing” end more than the “winning” end. That’s it. There it is. That is why this post has been haunting me! That connected with, the last sentence I quoted – “start over” and “find a new product.” While I believe in being a constant learner and always being willing to change our methods, I’m left scratching my head, because it would appear some days that I need to take that last sentence to heart. Especially, as I look at our work here in Prague. I think we have adjusted our methods (“start over”) and we are still praying for ten. Five. Two. Hmmm… Much more could be written, but I will leave on two things – 1) please join in praying for us/me as we/I live, love and speak here in Prague. Pray that God would raise up ten. Five. Two. 2) Be encouraged because Jesus said,

“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18b

amen.

oh seth…

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When I returned from our Novy Zivot (“New Life,” Campus Crusade here in Czech) conference this week, (while getting a spot of the flu) I caught up on some of my blog reads I missed from the last week, and that meant another ‘hmmmm’ moment from marketing expert, Seth Godin. With this I was taken to this video intreview of Seth from the most recent TED conference.


I don’t know why exactly I’m so intrigued by marketing. Maybe it’s because my director has taken a liking to sports marketing. Maybe it’s because my sister works in marketing. Maybe it’s because so much of what I do within ministry has, or shares, some basic marketing principles. I don’t know exactly, but it’s interesting to me. There was one quote that stood out in this interview, it was when Seth was explaining why he doesn’t twitter (which is comedic, because I started a twitter account this week – follow me!).

If I were to do this, or do that, I would turn into a wondering generality. Instead of a meaning specific. -Seth Godin

Hmmm indeed! I don’t know what to do with that, or if I should do anything with it! Nonetheless, it was interesting to me. Maybe it was interesting to me, because I’ve realized that I’m mediocre to marginally good at many things, but not great at one thing. Which is an interesting thought as well. Anyway… What stood out to you from this interview? Anything?

not another blog…

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Okay, I’ve posted on what robs me of my time, productivity and staying on mission, and it would seem that in our day and age of immediate information this will be a battle I fight for the rest of my life. Well, this weekend I got to catch up with a friend who told me about marketing guru, Seth Godin, his blog and his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us; and in doing that, some of my time has been robbed. However, I think it was for the good. As I’ve read his blog and etc., I’ve had many “hmmm” moments and “what does that mean for me here” moments. Check it out! He also just put his ebook, The Tribes Q&A, up and I’ve been looking through it a bit. Here is his answer to the first question, Why do people join tribes?:

We all have a basic need to connect with other human beings. Making friends, connecting with others, sharing experiences, keeping up with popular culture, and keeping up with current trends and developments in your community all are ways and reasons for connecting with other people. When you connect with others in a fashion that allows you to develop a relationship that is especially useful, these long-term connections can be very helpful in guiding you through your life, as well as aid you in feeling happy.
The following are some of the types of more specific motivations for joining tribes:

    Purely Social: To feel less alone and to connect with people (near or far) to pursue shared interests.
    Values + Social: To connect with others who share the same values in a social setting.
    Cultural + Social: To share experiences with natives of the same country, to speak the shared language and observe cultural traditions together.
    Business + Social: To develop relationships with others in the same industry or expand network into other industries/markets.

Really, his thoughts are very intriguing to me. Why? Because I think this stuff applies to marketing, ministry, life and more. It’s interesting and has me thinking about things a lot. I really want to get my hands on his book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, for many reasons, but this quote from From Publishers Weekly, had me at hello!

The book’s helpful nuggets are buried beneath esoteric case studies and multiple reiterations: we can be leaders if we want, tribes are the way of the future and change is good. On that last note, the advice found in this book should be used with caution. Change isn’t made by asking permission, Godin says. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later. That may be true, but in this economy and in certain corporations, it may also be a good way to lose a job.

Okay, I need to get rolling and get some stuff taken care of, since “I find peace in productivity.”

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