The On-Purpose Person free book giveaway

Those of you who don’t already own a copy of Kevin W. McCarthy’s book The On-Purpose Person: Mark your calendars, because you’ll be able to get a copy for free April 24-28.

The free edition is a Kindle e-book, and if you don’t own a Kindle device, you can download a free Kindle app for your phone, tablet, Mac or PC.

Free + Free = Good Deal

The On-Purpose Person is a business parable that shows how to take what you already know about yourself and use it to discover your purpose and develop your priorities. Kevin also has print copies available.

Kevin W. McCarthy

In conjunction with the giveaway, Kevin will host a free live webcast:

Power of Your Two-Word Purpose Statement
May 1, 2012, 3-3:30 p.m., EDT

In this interactive online event, Kevin will help you discover your purpose and improve your life. A 20-minute talk will be followed by a Q&A session. Advanced registration is required, so sign up now.

Free + Free + Free = Great Deal!

Your “prison” might be God’s “safe house”

A few weeks ago at Fellowship Friday, Mark Goldstein shared an observation that really helped me reconcile myself to my past.

Mark told us he found a spider in his shower, and rather than let the spider get drowned when the shower was turned on, he captured it in a box to release it outside. But the spider, not knowing about the imminent deluge, ran from the box, resisting confinement.

Photo by Victor Iglesias

How often do we resist being put in a box? Mark’s point is that while the spider saw a danger, it actually got protection from a greater threat it had no way of perceiving. In the same way, God may put us in circumstances we resist or rebel against, but in fact he’s trying to preserve us from some greater difficulty beyond our understanding.

The last few years of my journalism career were like that. I felt stifled. My best skills were not being used every day. I felt, as I said to some prayer partners at the time, imprisoned.

God had me in a box. As I look back now, I realize that had I gone through the depth of the recession as a freelancer, I might not have made it. Instead of a prison, the newsroom was a safe house where I was able to earn a living, build relationships, and hone my editing skills.

Consider whether times you felt imprisoned were really times that God was protecting you from some greater disaster. The apostle Paul tells us that in all things God works for good together with those who love him. But God’s idea of what’s good and ours don’t always match. He’s not working to please us. He’s working to save us.

Start at the finish

Lately at Fellowship Fridays, we've been sharing our top tips from our various fields. I noticed a theme emerging, and it's one of those seven habits: begin with the end in mind.

Whether planning an event, designing a marketing campaign, or writing a blog post, you must know two things:

• Who are you trying to reach?
• What's the desired result?

Success in business--or in any other endeavor--requires planning. Planning requires a goal.

What are your goals? Bring them to Fellowship Friday--the schedule is here--and let's see if we can help you achieve them.

Using your business to be a blessing

Last week at Fellowship Friday, Mark Brisson of Fun Spot shared with us the concept of the Boaz Blessing.

Boaz was able to bless Ruth by having his harvesters leave a little extra behind for her to glean. This gesture cost Boaz little. He gave up a bit of inventory and spent a minute or two giving instructions to his employees.

But his effort meant a great deal to Ruth. In the same way, we can look for opportunities in our work to be a blessing to someone else.

When the Spirit leads us to give, even a few moments of our time or a bit of lagniappe can provide abundantly for others.


We have two Fellowship Friday meetings each week: one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Locations change, so there's likely to be one in your area soon. On Feb. 3, we'll be at BankFirst in Oviedo at 7:30 a.m. and Jason's Deli in Altamonte Springs at 1:30 p.m. For other Fellowship Friday dates and times, check the website.

We hope to see you there, and while we pray we can be a blessing to you, we pray even more that we can help you be a blessing to others.

Examining our profit motive

We sometimes maintain a medieval, monkish idea that wealth ought not be part of our Christian mindset. That money is worldly and therefore beneath our consideration.

Nonsense.

It is not money, but the love of money that is the root of evil. We must consider money carefully if we are to be good stewards of it.

What we must not do is fool ourselves into thinking money will solve our problems or meet our needs. God solves problems and meets needs. Sometimes he uses money to do so. Other times he does it by providing smarts, stamina, or people to help us.

Here's a popular passage from stewardship season: 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

We are not asked to forgo wealth. We are not told to avoid profit-making. But we are warned against putting our hope in wealth and profit. We are told to be generous with what has been given us. And to know that what we have is given "for our enjoyment."

As we embark on this new year, we encourage you to enjoy what you have been given, and we pray the chamber can be God's instrument in connecting you to the resources your business needs to succeed. May your new year be happy...and prosperous.

Mark and Brodie's Christmas Message

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. We look forward to serving you in 2012 as we continue to build business, build community and build the Kingdom!

12 trends to watch in the coming year

Photo by Frank Hermers • sxc.hu

The website trendwatching.com released its free year-end Trend Briefing. The company’s head of research and analysis, Henry Mason, said, “Even with the backdrop of nations defaulting, we see more opportunities than ever for creative brands and entrepreneurs to deliver on changing consumer needs.”

Here’s a summary of the 12 trends. You can find the full report at trendwatching’s website.

1. Red Carpet
Many firms, including Hilton, Starwood and Harrods are providing tailored services for Chinese visitors. Travel from China is up 20 percent from 2010, and The World Tourism Organization estimates the total number of outbound tourists from China will reach 100 million by 2020.

2. DIY Health
Consumers are taking advantage of technology to track and manage their personal health. Apple’s App Store already offers 9,000 health apps.

3. Dealer-Chic
Deals are now about more than saving money: it’s the pursuit, the status, and the perceived smartness. Consumers are looking for more personalization and more loyalty schemes, and are putting more pressure on brands to deliver brilliance.

4. Eco-Cycology
Companies are increasingly taking back their products for recycling, and do so responsibly and innovatively. Nike, for example, recycles rubber from its shoes into artificial track surfaces.

5. Cash-Less
Coins and notes won’t disappear completely, but cashless payment systems have gone mainstream, with MasterCard and Google working on a system of payments, rewards and offers around mobile technologies.

6. Bottom of the Urban Pyramid
The majority of consumerism is urban, yet in much of the world city life is chaotic, cramped and none too pleasant. Low-income urbanites look for innovation tailored to their unique circumstances, from health issues to lack of space to the need for durability. Opportunities for brands catering to such needs are unprecedented.

7. Idle Sourcing
Making it simple for consumers to contribute will be more popular than ever in 2012. Smarter mobile device sensors will let consumers broadcast information about where and what they are doing, to help improve products and services. For example, Boston now has an app that uses smartphones’ accelerometers and GPS to detect potholes.

8. Flawsome
Consumers think brands that behave more humanly, including exposing their flaws, are awesome. Brands that are honest about their flaws, that show some empathy, generosity, and humor will win over consumers. Domino’s, for example, mounted a news scroll in Times Square showing both compliments and complaints from its customers.

9. Screen Culture
The proliferation of touchscreen devices is bringing about a culture that is not only more pervasive, but more personal and immersive than ever. Companies taking advantage of this trend range from those who make screen-friendly winter gloves to a restaurant chain that installed teleconferencing capabilities.

10. Recommerce
It’s never been easier for savvy consumers to resell or trade in past purchases, unlocking the value in their current possessions. Car dealers aren’t the only ones who can take an old product and offer credit toward a new one.

12. Point & Know
Consumers are used to being able to find out just about anything that’s online or text-based, but 2012 will see instant visual information gratification brought into the real and visual world with objects and even people. Some of these technologies, like face recognition software, are already in the market.

11. Emerging Maturialism
Yes, we’re out of order here, because this one … at the risk of editorializing, it’s hard to address to Christian businesspeople. The folks at trendwatching tell us that, “While cultural differences continue to shape consumer desires, middle-class and/or younger consumers in almost every market embrace brands that push boundaries.” If you read the trendwatching report, you’ll find some of those boundaries might have been better left alone. This idea will be harder for Christian businesses to adopt. But we’d love to hear your ideas about it.

View all 12 full trend descriptions, including examples of brands from around the world already implementing them, at www.trendwatching.com/briefing.