I am very excited to kick off a series of guest blog articles by friends of mine. I've asked several people I know to write about some specific topics. Many of them are singers, artists, film makers, or pastors out there making a difference in this world. Their stories are inspiring to me. I know we will all be blessed by them.
To kick off the series...here's an entry by Rob Thomas (many people think we're blood brothers...we're not, but I always claim Rob and wish we were! Love him!) Thanks, Rob! Be sure to click the links and check out Rob's company endorsed by just about everyone you can think of!
Brandon has been a good friend for a long time and I am honored to hold the reins to his blog... at least for one post.
In 2001, I was newly married and told Haley (my brand new wife) that I wanted to start my own company. I now know that she was a little nervous, but supported me anyway. I started a company called BedHead Productions and basically did videos for anyone who needed one. I enjoyed it very much, especially the business side... buying equipment, sending invoices, doing videos, burning DVDs, etc.
I really liked it all, but the whole time, I actually had a bigger goal. I wanted to make videos that pastors and teachers could use. I thought perhaps I could create sermon illustration videos (2-5 minute videos) and impact people in a way that oratory speaking maybe couldn’t.... not to replace it, but to enhance and compliment it.
Because I was staying busy with BedHead projects, I found it hard to find time to make these videos. I found that my dreams of doing them slowly started to become a burden for me. I always thought about these videos and I just couldn’t find the time to do them. In 2002, I finally completed my first one called Are You Amazed?. After it was shown at a large Bible Study Fellowship gathering, I knew I had to complete Igniter Videos, Volume 1. I wanted five videos on this DVD and only had to do three things:
1. Complete the 5 videos
2. Create a website to buy the DVD
3. Create a database to store the customers
It took me almost two years to do this. In my journal, I often referred to this project as a burden... a God burden. A beautiful burden. It was the burden of doing it that forced me to turn my dream into a vision, a vision into goals, and my goals into a to-do list. In September of 2003, I finally finished it... and I’ve been creating these videos ever since.
My question to you is this: Do you have a beautiful burden? If you do, is it time to push through and do it? I am so thankful that I did... God has taken me on a journey I never would have expected and I have loved it tremendously.
Bio:
Rob Thomas is the president of Igniter Media and also helps run a media conference called the Echo Conference. You can find him at http://www.twitter.com/robwthomas or http://www.ignitermedia.com/
Here are a couple of my favorite examples of Rob's work...(the last is a taste of some of the comedy work by a couple of characters he's named "Johnny and Chachi". Love it!)
3 comments:
Great blog series idea, Brandon. I love it.
OK, Rob, I am writing a book, stories of my life in memoir form and I am hoping to find a way to make it real, readable and redemtive - and distributable.
My dream is to write in a way that connects with people, offers some sense of redemption, and points people toward God in a way that is plausible.
Fajita,
That sounds amazing. Please let me know when you have done it.
This was interesting to read for me! Our older son, Patrick, is making videos/documentaries & is a one man company. He's felt burdened by not enough hours in the day to write, shoot, edit, dream, change his new son's diapers, give enough attention to his precious wife, but I think if he reads this, his burden of being stretched so thin, might become a "beautiful burden" for him! After all, he's young, in good health, seeks God for direction in his life, is loved, loves his family & friends, & dearly loves his work! Pointing him to this post is a way of "mentoring" or bolstering him. Thanks to you AND BST for this post! Andee Cone
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