The Next Big Thing

A few weeks ago, I was listening to T. J. Mousetis' podcasts (click on the link if you're interested in listening to them!).  On his podcasts, T.J. shares advices and tips from his ten years of experience running businesses.  A little background: he began walkinlove ten years ago in order to fundraise for a mission trip. He realized his passion for designing tshirts. With hard work, dedication, and passion, walkinlove has grown to be a successful business. And when he married Brooke, he joined her wedding photography business and they had a really great business until they retired from photographing weddings. I really enjoy listening to the podcasts and I think he shares a lot of wisdom. One thing that he shared that really stuck out to me is episode four - "The Big Break Myth." In the episode, he shares how when he first rented a kiosk to sell tshirts, he ordered hundreds of shirts and had big expectations for it. He thought the tshirts looked great and thought they were going to get sold out really fast. They did sell a lot of tshirts, but it was only enough to strike even. He found out that it wasn't always the "next big thing" that helped his business move forward throughout these ten years. Rather, it was the constant dedication and improvements he daily strived for that led to the next big break. And often times, people think - "If I get ______ or if I do ______, it'll be my break." For example, "If I make an instagram and facebook for my business, then business will start booming." He made a lot of comments about a photography business (since he has a lot of experience with it). A lot of people think - "If I take really cool shots and post it on facebook then I will be booked." But what's important is that you practice taking a lot of pictures and get better at your skill. You need to keep learning and return the pictures to your clients in a timely manner. We often think that once we get the next thing, everything will change. What we fail to realize is that it's the little things that matter.

I think this applies to more than just businesses. In our Christian lives we have such great hope and expectations (which isn't bad), but we set extremely high standard for ourselves. When we don't achieve the high standards, instead of persevering, we give up. For example, you may want to start having devotions with God every day. I remember in high school, I would try to start doing devotions. I would go strong for a week or so, but then I would miss a day and then just stop. If you have never done devotions, chances are, you will miss at least one in a week (speaking from experience). But if you keep persevering (though you may miss days here and there), you find you enjoy spending time with God in the mornings. It's where we can find peace in the midst of our chaotic world. 

Even though I don't know how things will unfold, I do have dreams and hopes that God has given me. Yes, it's important to have a vision and dreams. But moreso than waiting for big things to happen, I think it's more important to be faithful to the little that I have now. We often forget that although the little things seem insignificant, it's what matters. If we cannot be faithful to the little that we have, how will God entrust us with bigger things? All the little things we do daily will grow - and we will look back and see that we have grown. One things I've been trying to do the past couple of months is to take more pictures and practice typography. It's tough and frustrating at times (also that it takes 30 + min to make one thing and you look at it for one second, haha), because I want to be there, but I'm here. But I love looking back even just to a year ago and seeing how much I learned!  I don't know where these things will lead me, but I hope that it will encourage others and ultimately glorify God.