Life of success

by Cameron Smith

If you ask ten people what their idea of success in life looks like, you will most likely get ten different ideas and versions of success. The world we live in and the environment around us shapes us and we unconsciously  develop an image of what a successful life looks like. From the time we start going to school as kids we start thinking of what success looks like. If we are not mindful, we will live our lives conformed to the image in our mind and strive towards have the successful life we see in our minds. 


Too often we will compare ourselves to people who seem to have more than us and will always be trying to acquire the same in our lives. This is a very dangerous way to live. Yes, it is dangerous. Dangerous because, we can very easily be distracted from what God has called us to do. It is a very subtle thing because we will be busy doing different things but they might not be things that God wants us to work on. 


One of the definitions for the word 'success' is the attainment of popularity or profit. This definition is one that does not line up with the Word of God because a man or women can live a successful life without ever attaining popularity or profit. There are many examples both in the Bible and in the word today. It is not wrong to be popular or to make a profit but it is wrong to evaluate a successful life solely based on popularity and profit. In Genesis 39:2 the Bible tells us that "The Lord, was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian." At that point in his life, Joseph was neither popular nor making a profit. He was at one of the worst stages of his life and yet the Bible says that was successful. He was successful being the plan and purposes of God were being accomplished in his life. 


As Christians we need to evaluate our level of success based on how well we are doing and accomplishing the purpose God has for our lives. It is not wrong to dream big and do great things but the motives need to be judged. Is the dream or desire just to be popular or to look better than another person? Is the dream truly inspired by God and the desire to do great things to glorify God? 


In Mark 8:36, The Bible says, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Gaining the world is not the problem here. The problem is with forfeiting or losing the soul. We will lose our soul when we compare ourselves to others and start running a race that we are not called to run. We need to discipline ourselves to run the race that is set before us and resist the temptation to run someone else's race! (Hebrews 12:1)


A successful life for a christian is one when the person has done all that God wanted done in their life. That is when we will hear the words "Well done. My good and faithful servant." That is undoubtedly a successful life. 

Untitled: Thoughts on the Creative Process by Blaine Hogan (Book review)

If you are a creative person or work and lead creative people, especially in the context of church, this book is an absolute must read! It is an important book for the creatives because Blaine takes you through the process of creating and the price that needs to be paid for creating. It is also an important book for leaders who lead creatives because it helps them understand what the creatives go through in order to create on a continual basis. I have had the opportunity in the last few years to watch and experience Blaine's creative work on the internet and I have always been moved by his productions and art.

In his book UNTITLED, Blaine writes about the creative process, the work that goes inside the creative, the failures, fears and mistakes that will be made and the price that creatives need to pay to create art. It is a book that is short and to the point. If you have read and like books like Poke the box By Seth Godin or Do the Work by Steven Pressfield you will really enjoy this book.

I have attended thousands of church services in my life. Attended them in several countries and been to various denominational and non-denominational churches. I have seen both very good art and very bad art in them. From my perspective there is very little good art and a lot of bad art currently in the church. Since Blaine has a lot of experience leading and creating in the context of a local church (Willow Creek in Chicago), he is someone who knows what he is talking about. It is not just theory but him actually going through the process of creating over and over again. If you are involved in creating art in the local church, this is a short book that you and your team can read to gain some valuable insights into creativity.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is creating or wants to create meaning art.


Here is a video of Blaine talking about the book! 

Blaine Hogan on Untitled: Thoughts on the Creative Process from Clarkvideos on Vimeo.

You can buy the book here! 

My take on P90X workout!

I have been working out on a regular basis for the past few years. It started with me being 'that guy' at the gym who did not really know how to use the equipment and felt overwhelmed and intimidated by other guys in the place. 

Then I was introduced to P90X by my cousin and things changed after that. It was definitely intimidating just to watch some of the workouts but something in me just wanted to try it and I am really glad i did. So far I have finished the 90 day workout routine several times. My goal was and still is to be strong and healthy not necessarily, a six pack so once I complete the routine I take some time off during Christmas or vacation and get back to it later. 

P90X pushed me and taught me a lot about my body and the basics of working out. I learnt about good form and the importance of including weights, cardio and stretching. Tony Horton, who is the instructor does a good job of motivating people to keep pushing.  

If you are looking into workout programs, I highly recommend this workout. It is absolutely tough but you will definitely see results. I did not follow the meal plan all the way but ate healthy and was able to see results. 

You can get more information here and buy the product here! 

Have you used this program and if so what has your experience been with it? What other workout programs have you worked with?

Random Fridays. July 15th

1. Difference between nutritional doctors and medical doctors, and the need for more nutritional doctors. Good documentary. 
2. Learnt of a great example of leadership from Alexander the great here. 
3. Good panel discussion between Mark Driscoll, Albert Mohler and others about the relationship between seminaries and local churches. You can listen to it here. 
4. Some great resources to help you with creative blocks!
5. Really loving this book right now! Highly recommend it. 

Faith in action

This is a devotional that I recently wrote for Streaming Faith. 

The subject of having faith in God is something that seems very elementary in our walk, but a closer look at faith might change that. Everyone of us who is a christian became one by placing our faith in God. But if we don’t examine ourselves on a continual basis, we will soon find ourselves placing our faith in everything but God.

It all starts with believing. You cannot act on something if you don’t believe. It is important that what you and I believe is in line with the word of God. Believing in God is not the same as having faith in God. Faith requires action. We see this over and over again in the Bible. Every time God..... You can finish reading it here....

5 ways to develop commitment

The word 'commitment' is defined as the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself. I wrote about the importance of commitment here. It is one thing to know the importance of commitment but actually being committed is another thing.

Without committing or really engaging, it is impossible for us to reach the goals we have set for ourselves. With that in mind here are some keys to developing commitment:

1.         Have a clear purpose: When you work towards a goal, it is easy being committed in the beginning stages. But as you start facing pressure the temptation to quit increases and that is where you need something bigger to hold on to. That is where a sense of purpose will help you stay committed for the long run. It might be to loose weight, expand the business, reach more people etc. Always ask yourself the purpose for the goal and keep that the focus.

2.         Have the right tools: Do your homework and find the best tools that you can get. There is no point in wasting energy and time doing things ineffectively. If there are tools that can help you accomplish things in an effective way, use them. This will help you avoid frustration and burnout.

3.         Be accountable: Don't work on things by yourself. To the best of your ability try to have someone tag along with you. Even if they don't work on the same goals, be accountable to them. This will help you push towards the goals and stay committed.

4.         Create a reward & punishment system: Take some time and create a system by which you can reward yourself for accomplishing the things that you have set out to do but don't stop there. Create a punishment system as well. Punishment can be very different from person to person. For some people shame is very effective, for others it might be loosing money. Figure out what works best for you and work with that.

5.         Tell others: By telling others about the goals that you are working on, it will force you to give it your best and work as hard as possible at it. Since nobody likes to fail, you will stay committed and think twice or thrice before you quit.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these points? What are some other ways that you can develop commitment?

Turning dreams into reality.

I have big dreams and I have no doubt that you do too. I also realize that there are many small things and some big things that need to be done in order to make the dream a reality. As I learn and grow I realize that I will not be able to accomplish the goals and make the dream a reality if I am not really committed.

Commitment takes guts. It might be easy to dream, but making it a reality takes hard work! It is hard to fight against the resistance. Hard to say 'no' to certain people and also hard to hear others say 'no' to you.

But again, if making dreams a reality was an easy thing, then everybody would be doing it. Since someone has to do it, why not you? Why not do the hard thing? Why not make the commitment to press through and fight the resistance to see the dream become a reality!

Lack of commitment is the biggest reason for not getting things done.

It is the reason we don't accomplish the things that we set out to do.

It is the reason we give up when we face a resistance. It really doesn't matter where the resistance and pressure comes from. Fight it with everything you have, because on the other side is the reality of the dream you have been dreaming about!

An Interview with Jason Anderson

Pastor Jason Anderson of Living Word Bible Church in Mesa, AZ recently released his first book. He travels to many countries around the world preaching the Gospel and teaching believers.

I recently had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his book. Here is the interview. 

1. What is the journey? 

Simply put, many people address life and vision as though it were a sprint. Others have recognized that the complexity of growth and faith requires patience, and they will see life more as a marathon. Neither is true if you wish to grow perseverance into patience or self-control into godliness. Life is a journey. This statement compels us to understand patience.

2. When and how did this idea of ‘the journey’ become real to you?

The idea of the journey was a gift from God. He urged me to read and reread the story of the exodus as told throughout Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. Five books of the bible dedicated to leading people from slavery into the Promised Land.  If God dedicates that much space in the word to one seamless story, recanting many details in multiple places, well, that means something, doesn't it? As I studied deeper and deeper, created a timeline, studied feasts, it suddenly became clear of a pattern that goes from slavery to Rest.  For instance, there are many stories that we follow to the Promised Land, across the Jordan, having stopped off in Egypt, and spent time in the wilderness. It's Abrahams story, Christ's Story, the Israelites story, they all have these four elements in them.  Thinking in terms of being enslaved to the law, we can see Saul was under the law (wilderness living); David operated in grace, experienced some wealth and success but was constantly battling (Joshua's promised land experience), and then Solomon, a picture of rest, success, prosperity, forty years of peace (Gideon's Promised Land experience, one battle, forty years of rest).  So many pictures tying together found me digging in deeper to see how God has created a single plan, a simple path, where God's word is literally a lamp unto my feet.

3. In the book, you write about "The Rest". Give us an idea of what it is?

REST: It's Abraham sitting at the entrance of his tent, resting, having been blessed by God in EVERY way.  It took him a lifetime to get there, the only hero of faith in the book of Hebrews who "inherited what had been promised". It’s Jesus in the bow of the boat sleeping through the storm, and then calming the seas not because He had to, but because He could. Jesus knew the word would carry Him to the other side. Complete trust in God had Him sleeping knowing full well that He was going to die on the cross, not on a boat. REST.

4. What do you want the reader of the book to walk away with?

I hope mostly the reader will leave seeing that every day is an opportunity to grow. An opportunity to believe more, give hope, share love, stand in faith, move a mountain, heal the sick, give a gift, and serve another. GROW.

5. Other than The Bible, what books have impacted you the most and how?

All time favorite book has to be John Maxwell's Winning Attitude.

6. What is a big idea that you are thinking about a lot and gets you excited these days?

What gets me excited - big idea?  I'm excited every day that The Journey is gaining momentum, distributed in stores around the nation, it is positioned to impact people. This is getting me up in the morning and praying. Mostly, I just love teaching, and playing with my family.

You can pick up a copy of the book at Amazon. 

Rest like Jesus

There is a pretty familiar story in Mark 4:35-40, where Jesus tell his disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side."

³⁵ On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 

In this story we see that both Jesus and His disciples were experiencing the same situation and storm but the the way they reacted was very different. On one side we see the disciples panic and think that they were going to die and on the other hand we see Jesus resting like there was no storm.

As Christians we know that storms are a part of life and we also know that Jesus is our example on how to live our lives. Since we know that there are going to be storms that are unavoidable in our lives, we need to make sure that we prepare ourselves to act the way that Jesus did. 


We often find ourselves reacting the way the disciples did because in most cases we don't trust place our faith in God's Word. We know this because of what Jesus said after calming the seas. In verse 40 he asked them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”. If the disciples truly placed their faith in what Jesus said they would not have panicked because He clearly said, "Let us cross over to the other side."


So the real question is do we believe God's Word and do we really place our trust in Him? How we react in the storm reveals a lot about who we really are. It would do us good to learn from Jesus and rest like He did when we face our next storm. Let the Word do the work. 


Rest in Him and you will cross over to the other side. 


Why is it hard for us to rest in a storm? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. 

The Journey by jason Anderson - Book Review

A few days ago I started reading The Journey by Jason Anderson and here is a quick review of the book.

I think the book is a great read for every christian. It matters very little if you just started learning about Jesus and became a Christian or if you have been one for decades. There are things you will learn from this book that will help in your personal journey no matter what stage of life you might be in.

The author writes the book in a conversational style and draws parallels between the Israelites' journey from Egypt to our Christian walk with God. So if you are feeling stuck or just need to make sense of what is happening and where you are in your life, this book might just help you answer those questions. 

Faith in God ...

1. ... is a gift from God. 
2. ... is a servant. 
3. ... works by Love.
4. ... gives.
5. ... takes.
6. ... can move mountains. 
7. ... is the victory. 
8. ... is the currency in the Kingdom of God. 
9. ... is the substance of what we hope for. 
10. ... is the evidence of the unseen. 
11. ... comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. 
12. ... does not consider the circumstances. 
13. ... is no respecter of person. 

and when we have IT, God is pleased! 

Life manifesto

I came across this manifesto while I was checking out HOLSTEE, so I thought I would pass it along. 

Learning to learn well

Learning is choice and it is a process! It is something that takes commitment.

Anybody who wants to grow and develop themselves have to make the choice to learn. Often times we sit and wait for the right opportunity or right people to come by us in order to learn and that is something that we need to stop doing.

The reality is that we can always learn from everybody and everything around us. We can learn from businesses, sports teams, politicians, history, books, mentors, movies and the list can go on and on. The reason I say we can learn from everybody and everything is because we can learn both what to do and what not to do or how to do and how not to do certain things.

For example, there are both good and bad business leaders. There are good and bad examples in every area of life. We can learn from peoples success and from their failures as well.

We can learn how to react or not react in certain situations. We can learn how to treat people with respect and how not to abuse people around you. We can learn how to handle pressure and make decisions  and on and on......

So the next time you find yourself not learning and growing or complaining about the lack of opportunities and mentors, take the time to think about the people around you and start making a list of things that you can learn from them. As you start learning well, the mentors and opportunities that you are looking for will eventually show up!

Yes YOU can!

I know it looks like things are getting tougher. Things don't look like they will work out. Most of the plans that you had are falling apart. Success seems so far away.

BUT

The good news is that the story does not end here. You are just in the middle of your story and journey. There is a lot more that God wants to do IN you and THROUGH you! Don't give in to the temptation to quit.

He has called you and He has enabled you do to what you are supposed to do! The Holy Spirit lives on the inside of you and He is there to help you! Success is not a destination. It is not measured by what you possess. Success comes from knowing that you are pursuing the plan that God has for your life and that you are growing into the person God has called you to be.

Don't compare yourself to others. Make sure that you are growing and moving forward in God's plan for your life. No reason to quit or give up now! Remember what God promised in His word!

Philippians 1:6 ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:20-21 ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Quick update!

For all of you who still check this blog from time to time here is a quick update on what I have been doing for the last two months.

• I am currently living in Hyderabad, India.
• I work at The Kings Temple.
• I am involved in and oversee various parts of the ministry here at the church.
• I will continue to write for Streamingfaith.

That is a quick snap shot of what is happening with me. Thank you very much for visiting the blog.

Knowing vs. Doing

Parents know that their actions speak louder than their words to their children but most of them use words to influence their children.

Leaders know that leading by example is much more effective than 'preaching' to their followers but most of them 'preach' rather than lead by example.

People know that giving advice to others is easy but living out the same advice is much harder but most people tell others what they need to do instead of living out the same advice in their own lives.

There is a vast difference between knowing something and actually doing it!

Be among the few who actually do and not just know!

It can be hard but the results are worth it!

7 reasons why you should get over it

After the highly anticipated NBA game last night between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, Scott Williams told us to 'Get over it'. Here is why you should.

• You will waste time if you dont.
• You will waste energy if you dont.
• You will dwell on the past instead of preparing for the future.
• You will harden your heart instead of keeping it sensitive.
• You will become angry for the wrong reasons.
• You will become selfish.
• You will begin to resent people.

and if non of those reasons are good enough then this should be a good reason to!

I know it can be tough, but that is never a good reason for not to get over it!

The purpose of planing

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

It is important to plan not because everything you plan will happen or that things will go according to your plan but it is important to do so to build your confidence. Everyone has examples of things not going their way or as planned. The key is learning how to improvise. There are always going to be many factors that cannot be managed or be predicted.


It is the same in life and leadership. A good leader knows how to improvise and make decisions when things don't go as planned. Sticking to the book or the rules will not always work. Learning to adapt quickly and improvising is necessary. This does not mean you never stick to the 'book' or rules. Having rules is good but to they also have to be flexible.


So go ahead and plan and plan well. Boost your confidence and have an expectant future but when the unexpected happens be quick to adapt and improvise.

Actions speak Louder

I have listened to this song at least 20 times since I woke up this morning! It has several artists from Reach Records.



100% of the proceeds of the song go to build an orphanage in Sudan. You can get more information here and buy the song here!

Don't delay! Do it now! Great music and even greater cause!

Are you watering the camels?

In Genesis 24:15-20 we see the story of Abraham's servant traveling in search of a young women who would be suitable to marry Issac.

Genesis 24:15-20 (New King James Version)

¹⁵ And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

¹⁸ So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

Rebekah did something that the other young women around her did not do. When Rebekah saw a man and his camels in need of water she did not just provide the man with water but went above what was "required" of her and provided water for the camels too. She went the extra mile to serve. This was not an easy thing to do because camels drink anywhere from 20-100 gallons of water and the Bible says she provided water for all the camels! That was a lot of work considering they did not have the kind of plumbing that we have today!

Rebekah did not know that she was being watched and that she would be making a choice that would alter the rest of her life but she did it anyway. She served.

We never know who might be watching us and how a particular reaction might change the course of our lives. We need to get to a point where we serve and help people around us as a lifestyle and not as something we do only at certain occasions.

So who are the camels that you are not recognizing and watering in your life. Sometimes it might lead to increase and elevation and other times its a opportunity that you and I have to serve and spread the love of Christ in the world.

Be wise and look around you, there are a lot of camels that need to be watered. Will you?