Enklings Studio

Missing a Fortune

So yesterday I was having lunch with a good friend of mine at our usual Chinese Food hang out (War Wonton Soup with crispy wontons..mmmm....) and at the end of the meal we got our fortune cookies as usual.  He opened his, I can't remember what it said, but when I cracked mine open there was no fortune.

Well, there's an old saying (now at least a day old) that says: "If you don't have a fortune in your cookie, you are the most fortunate for you get to create your own." 

I thought about this all day yesterday, it was processing in my mind in the background what I would write for myself if I could write the fortune before I knew it.  Here's what I came up with:

 

You have what it takes.  It could be considered a "compliment cookie" instead of a fortune, but there is expectancy in this phrase that leads you to believe that there is something coming or you are in a situation that needs what you have to give.  You have what it takes.

I think this is the message God wants me to hear most and probably wants you to hear most if you are in a difficult situation.  You have what it takes.  I also think this is the message that Jesus delivered to Thomas in John 14 in their discussion about Jesus leaving.  Jesus said:

"'You know the way to the place where I am going.' Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.'"

Do you see it?  Thomas had what it took to get where he needed to go because he knew the way, the truth and the life.  Jesus embodies it, but also imparts it.  What Jesus was saying to Thomas was: "You have what it takes."  Through grace, we all do.  This is what "equipping" is all about for those who have put faith in God.  To accomplish what God gives you, whether your task or situation is easy or difficult, You have what it takes.  He's given you everything you need - the way, the truth and the life.

Set this picture as the background on your desktop for a few days and see if it changes your outlook on your life and what is going on in the world in this season of unrest.  Send this post to the people you know are hurting and let them know that you think this "fortune" is for them. 

You have what it takes.

simply,

Tim
www.enklings.com 2009

Jobs or Sex, What's On Your Mind?

I've been playing around with Google Insights for a while, but this morning I did a search that I thought was interesting and poignant.  These graphs represent the relative # of searches on Google between the words "Sex" (in red) and "Jobs" (in blue):

JOBS VS. SEX Searches on Google:

Three year

As you can see, the gap has been closing and this January, jobs took the lead:

One Year

 

What's interesting is to look at the month of January though:

January 2009

 

 

Apparently, sex is still more important on the weekends... : )  The job hunt spikes back to the lead on Monday though. The exception is Martin Luther King Day, the 19th,  which tells me also that probably people are looking for jobs while they are at work.  Everybody is nervous.

Don't ask what made me think of doing this...I have no idea.  My question though is what could Google Insights tell you about your brand or business?

simply,

Tim - Enklings Studio 2009

Joke of the Times

So a jobless man, a venture capitalist and a homeless man walk into a bar.  The jobless man says to the barkeep: “I’ll have a stiff one, I just lost my job and my 401K is worth nothing.”  The venture capitalist says: “Give me a double, I lost all my money in the market and my mortgage is upside down.”  The homeless guy says, “Barkeep, give me a triple and the whole round is on me.” 

 

The jobless man and the venture capitalist look at him and say; “But man, you live with nothing but an old coat and a dirty blanket on the streets.” The homeless guy replies: “Yeah, but I got the same assets I had last year, I’m feelin’ pretty smart compared to you.”

 

Simply,

Tim 2009

In the beginning...

   

A shout out to Pastor Tim at Grace SLO for a great sermon this morning!

Tim Blair, 2009

Hi, My name is Tim and I'm....

Tim: "Hi, my name is Tim'

Everyone: "Hi Tim"

Tim: "I'm a URLaholic'

Ok, that's the first step....  I just looked at my domain admin page on GoDaddy.com and realized that I have somehow collected 33 URL's (website domains) there:

1FLIGHTBOOK.COM
ENKLING.COM
FAITHPURE.COM
FAITHPURE.ORG
GODSGREATER.COM
GREATHERTHANSTUFF.COM
PICNICPOOL.COM
POPSBLAIR.COM 
READ12.ORG
READTWELVE.COM
READTWELVE.ORG
TAODAILY.COM
TAODAILY.ORG
THEAUTHORSIMPLE.COM
THEBIBLESIMPLE.COM
THEBRANDSIMPLE.COM
THECAREERSIMPLE.COM
THECAREERSIMPLE.ORG
THECHURCHSIMPLE.COM
THECHURCHSIMPLE.ORG
THECLOSETSIMPLE.COM
THEDESIGNSIMPLE.COM
THEFAMILYSIMPLE.COM
THEGARDENSIMPLE.COM
THEGARDENSIMPLE.ORG
THEHOUSESIMPLE.COM
THEHOUSESIMPLE.ORG
THELIFESIMPLE.COM
THELIFESIMPLE.ORG
THEMISSIONSIMPLE.COM
THEMISSIONSIMPLE.ORG
WRITE12.COM
WRITE12.ORG

I also have ENKLINGS.COM and .ORG on Network Solutions.  That takes the total to 35!  I let a few go this year that I knew weren't going anywhere or I would have 5 or so more...ugh....

I've got some really good ideas for most of these, although I don't even remember faithpure.com.  Must have been right before I landed on www.thelifesimple.com.

I think what urls you own is the new millenium's bookshelf.  You can tell a lot about a person by what urls they own.  It should be obvious to you that simplicity is goal of mine in every aspect of life.  If you're curious about any of these, let me know (your dying to know what picnic pool is, aren't you?)  I'm looking for 2009 to be the year most of these get going. 

Just so you know, I'm not buying any more urls until I get these going, "being on the URL wagon" is one of my New Year's commitment to my wallet!  Check up on me....

What urls do you own?

simply,

Tim, 2009

(By the way, this is in no way to demean what AA does. I have known many people who have been helped out of addiction through the AA process especially when I was in the student housing business.)

God>x Stuff

 

By request, here's some God>x stuff on Zazzle.com!  I think you change change the color of the shirts and stuff if you want to - just pick a light color!

Tim Blair, 2009

Sustained Change

My friend Ron Potter of Team Leadership Culture, LLC showed me this principle of Sustained Change:

Basically to create sustainable change, you have to get back to the beliefs and assumptions of those who are part of the change and modify or change the beliefs and assumptions.

If you only change or modify Actions, the change will just be a quick fix and is unlikely to be sustainable. The same when you just change the systems or Re-engineer, there will be greater change, but unlikely sustainable.

I've found this to be true in leading change in organizations. If you don't get to the core beliefs and assumptions and make changes there, change is unlikely to be sustained.

simply,

Tim, 2009

Killer Brands by Frank Lane

Just finished "Killer Brands - Create and Market a Brand That Will Annihilate the Competition" by Frank Lane and advertising and marketing guru out of Atlanta.

My good friend and mentor, Howard Potratz is a friend of Mr. Lane's and since Howard thought so highly of him and the book, it was a must read for me. Howard was right.

Here's a book that anyone and everyone who has anything to do with marketing and advertising should read.  It is packed full of examples old and new and is spilling over with the wisdom of Mr. Lane's forty years of industry experience. 

Inside you'll see the two things you need to know about the world: Choice and Expectation.  You'll also learn the three steps to create a killer brand: Focus, Alignment and Linkage.  It all sounds pretty simple but as Mr. Lane states: "The task of creating a Killer Brand falls into the category of simple, but difficult."

This book is a "How To" on creating a great marketing plan and thinking through all the steps to creating and sustaining a killer brand which is defined as one that "exists when an entity derives a disproportionate amount of success in its category becausee of a compelling and differentiated expectation that comes to be associated with its name."

You need to read this if you have anything to do with making your company, mission, church or non-profit successful.  That pretty much means all of you.

simply,

tim blair, 2009

For The Tough Times - Max Lucado

I read "For The Tough Times - Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope" by Max Lucado this week.

What a wonderful and timely book of hope from a masterful speaker and writer of love! 

Knowing that God loves you, especially in dark moments like the world is experiencing these days, is critical for remaining hopeful.  Knowing that God is in control, that nothing happens outside of his control, that no one, even the evil one, is able to thwart God's purposes is an important part of our survival kit for 2009.

I recommend reading this a couple of times and buying a few for friends you know that have lost jobs or worse, loved ones.  I truly is a peek inside of heaven.

simply,

tim blair, 2009

New Look For Enklings Studio

With the New Year still fresh in my mind I've put a fresh coat of paint on the Enklings Studio site.  I've created a few new banners from shots I took in Scotland and Wales a few years back and I'll be changing them up from time to time to give the site a little more life.

 

Along with changing up the site a bit, I and hoping to feed the site with a lot of new content and ideas for of faith,business and life. 

Keep a watch on my other sites as I think there will be some amazing things happening this year with thelifesimple.com, Read12.org and write12.com. 

I'm also helping out a small non-profit Mediterranean Harvest For Life and their sister company Global Institute For Transformation (GIFT).  Those site are at:

Mediterranean Harvest For Life
Global Institute For Transformation

Let me know what you think about all this!  If you know of any small businesses or non-profits that could use some help with growing their businesses, pass my name along!

Simply,

Tim, Enklings.com 2009