They tell me I should write a blog post weekly. They tell me to be consistent. It's what will bring an audience, they say. To have the most influence, you must show up daily on social media or in inboxes, evidently. This may be the wrong thing to say, but I'm sick of trying to follow those rules. It just seems so manufactured. I want to post when I actually have something of value to say - something that I think may help someone. I don't want to waste my time and yours by depositing words on a screen simply because they say I should. That seems manipulative and fake. Honestly, I struggle with loving people who manifest those qualities, so becoming that type of writer makes me want to vomit.
I do understand what they're getting at. We're all just trying to be successful in our chosen fields, and if we can find the best way to do it, then that's a win. But as I pay attention to who I listen to the most in my field, it isn't the one who is most present in my inbox or who I see every day on my feed or in my stories. It's the two or three who are genuinely passionate about helping me. I may only see them a few times a month (or some I actually do see almost every day), but they want to help me more than they want me to buy what they're selling. They've learned something, and they want everyone else to learn it, too. With those people, I feel like I receive a gift when I read their stuff - not like a constituent they're trying to get to vote for them.
It's the givers I listen to. The genuine servants out for nothing more than to draw up alongside someone and lend a hand. And if I happen to like their book or program enough to purchase it, great. If not, they're trusting God with it all. That's the writer I strive to be - the one who performs her job the way God instructs and lets Him handle the outcome. That kind of mentality will free up a person to give and love without tethers.
I understand that there are business plans and organization. There is nothing wrong with those things, and I think they're needed to keep everyone in an organization on the same page and going in the same direction. But when those plans border on scheming and finding ways to trick or tempt someone into purchasing something, I just can't go there.
I wonder if anyone else feels like I do. Are you feeling this way in your job today, too? Are you just wanting to be the employee or boss or parent or business owner God made you to be, but you keep hearing all the ways a person in your position "should" be doing it to be the most successful, whatever "successful" looks like in your field? Today, would you like to join me in having a different perspective? I'm concentrating on gifting my reader. When I write, when I share, when I create events, I want it to be about gifting. Helping. Since Jesus Himself said it is more blessed to give than to receive and called us servants, I feel like this is a biblical way to look at our jobs and roles in life.
Living to give instead of living to receive.
Every year I pick a word to focus on for the upcoming year. In 2017 it was ENOUGH because I was struggling with thinking I was good enough. Last year it was WONDER - a reminder to keep my eyes open for the wonder of what God can do in a life. This year, I think it just may be GIVE. If I can live to give, maybe people will feel wanted more than needed. Loved more than used. Then maybe they will be more able to receive what it is I'm wanting to give them in the first place: a glimpse into Jesus' love for them.
Ideas for Response:
+ Pick a word for you to focus on in 2019
+ Journal: What would it look like for you to live a life of giving and just following Jesus instead of manipulating outcomes?