Iglesia vs. Fried Chicken

Many years ago, I worked at a church. We had a local missions pastor named Jim*. This church did a lot of work down in Haltom City, and while down there, my friend Chris would go eat at an A-framed, hole-in-the-wall Mexican food joint. He became friends with the owner even though Jim spoke no Spanish and the owner spoke little English.

Jim told the owner he worked with churches to help them grow.

The owner started asking him a lot of business questions. Jim would sometimes randomly suggest things like, “You’re too cheap you should raise your prices 20%” and the next time he visited, sure enough, all the prices on the chalkboard would be raised 20%.

He’d say, “You should sell so-in-so” and it would be on the menu the very next time he went.

Once, the owner told Jim the health inspector was coming and he was worried. Jim said jokingly, “You should just shut your business down for those days and be closed.” Sure enough, the guy did it even though Jim was joking. Pastor Jim was kind of intrigued the business owner would do exactly what he said.

Jim wanted to take me down there to eat, so I went. He introduced me to the owner. I speak some Spanish so I told the guy, “You soy un pastor a la Iglesia con Jim” His face went ashen. “Iglesia???? Jim no work with Church’s Chicken???”

The dude thought Jim was a biz development/growth expert for Church’s Chicken restaurants. It’d been the reason he’d followed everything he’d said to the T. He realized nothing he’d implemented came from a pastor with no eatery expertise. Ha!

*name changed to protect the innocent.

What I Learned About Anxiety During COVID-19

Thesis: Whatever triggers your anxiety is probably closely tied to an idol in your life.

I’ve stated before that I battle with short seasons of anxiety. While the initial episode lasted 5 months back in 2011, typically, if it occurs now, it lasts a week to a 1 1/2 weeks long. Sometimes I’ll go a year or two without a season, and on rare occasions, I’ll get a couple in a quarter. For me, it doesn’t look like a panic attack. It’s just grind-you-down anxiety. I can still function and work during these weeks, it’s just challenging. Nobody really knows I’m in a season except my wife, unless I tell them.

So you’d expect COVID 19 would definitely be a trigger.

I own a marketing agency and our revenue is down 40% so far from some of our clients going on hiatus or the agencies we do white label work for losing their clients.  It would seem natural that I’d be anxious. It’s the perfect storm.

BUT I AM NOT.

As I reflected on why my anxiety was not triggered by this COVID situation and its ramifications, I was reminded about my trigger. My trigger is tied to my idol I wrestle against, not the situation itself.

My idol is to always be seen as competent by others.

Some of it comes from my natural wiring (Enneagram 5, INTJ, high beaver, etc.). Some of it comes from a childhood environment where smarts were super important. The rest comes from getting approval for and recognition for intellectual ability and, thus, striving to be “the smartest guy in the room,” –the architect who can create a system and process around anything.

COVID-19 is not attacking my idol. It just an “is.” It’s a thing that’s happening to everyone. It’s for this reason my anxiety is really low right now. My idol is safe. It’s not a competence issue.

But you know what does attack my idol?

When a person or client calls me and says something that implies dissatisfaction with me or something I’ve done.

This makes me feel incompetent (even if they don’t intend to.) We do a great job as an agency. Our client retention is incredibly high. But everyone who works here, including me, is also human. We will make a mistake at some point (as will our clients). When I get the call or email that implies somehow I wasn’t perfect in our execution or any dissatisfaction from others, that’s a potential trigger.

The enemy comes and says, “You are incompetent. You’re an imposter. This whole thing is a house of cards. You don’t know what you are doing.” Anxiety can rise.

This is a limbic lie. Rationally I can answer argue that I am competent but doesn’t stop the physically accompanying symptoms of tight chest and nausea. Why? Because my limbic part of my brain is unconsciously trying to protect me. My brain is saying, “Bear! Fight, flight, or freeze” even though there is no real bear there.

Even though you’ve discovered false beliefs, uncovered the lies and know a new truth, there is a time lag between what your limbic system believes and what your neocortex has learned. This is called limbic lag, a process that can be anywhere from a couple of months to years, but it will get shorter as you continue to challenge the false beliefs (traumatic memories) and risk trusting people. You may have fear and panic attacks, but once you go through them without doing the old behavior, your limbic system will say, “Oh, we went through that and actually survived.” The next time you experience the fear it will be less, and you will be able to make a good choice rather than overreacting with a “fight or flight” response. https://www.nacr.org/center-for-12-step-recovery/relapse-and-the-brain

How to Deal With Anxiety Tied to an Idol

Three things must happen.

01. Start the process of tearing down the idol.

I have to implant truth into my mind that counters what the idol screams out to me. For me, it is this truth….

2 Corinthians 3
Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God…

That verse is the truth that allows me to hammer and chip away on the idol of self-competence. I don’t have to be the one ultimately competent…God is.

He is my Provider. He is good. He is great. He is glorious. He is gracious. (The Four G’s)

02. Accept the lag as an opportunity.

When I do experience anxiety, I have to give myself grace and permission. The permission to know that there will be a lag between what I rationally know to be true and what my limbic brain is screaming out at me. It’s an opportunity for my faith to grow during this lag.

In the lag, I learn to fly by the instruments rather than by what I see or feel (to use a pilot/plane metaphor).

03. Know that it will pass (even if it happens to be in the context of eternity).

The first time I experienced anxiety, it lasted months (2011). I thought it would never end. Things got very dark, because I had never experienced anything like it before. Yes, I had worried before but this was different. Crushing anxiety. The thing that I had always relied on–my brain-was now the cause of the problem. I couldn’t think my way out of it. In that long, dark season, the thing that kept me alive was to set the situation in light of eternity.

Even if this thing lasted for years…even if the rest of my life, and even though it felt horrible, it WOULD be undone by the resurrection. And eternity with God makes the current timeframe pale. Some days, the hope of the resurrection was all that sustained me.

But, you know what? It probably WILL pass in this lifetime. Then, when it reoccurs you can tell yourself, “God has brought me through this before and He’ll be faithful to do it again. I’ll rest in His timing.”

So my advice?

  1. See anxiety as an opportunity to discover, identify and address your idols.
  2. See anxiety as a way to see that God is the one truly holding you and your circumstances.
  3. Find an anchor truth in God’s word to hang onto with dear life.
  4. Give yourself the same grace that God does.
  5. Don’t try to be superman or superwoman. That’s not your calling and it’s a recipe for disaster.
  6. Don’t rush the process. That just starts creating anxiety about anxiety.
  7. Gaze at God and glance at your problem, not vice versa.

Maybe this COVID-19 is tied to an idol that is triggering your anxiety. Rather than fight, flight or freeze, reflect and take a step towards God.

Note: If you need to see doctor or psychiatrist, do so. Remember you have a mind, but it’s also an organ called a brain. Medication may help you get to a baseline to better process. If you broke your arm, you’d go see an orthopedic doctor. There is no stigma in that. 

For Sale Taylor Leo Kottke LKSM-6 Acoustic Guitar

Selling my 1997 Taylor LKSM-6 Leo Kottke. This guitar is in great condition and has been cherished and cared for. Aesthetically, it possesses clean, minimalist appointments, letting the Jumbo’s voluptuous Spruce top and Mahogany back curves articulate the guitar’s full-bodied beauty.

It has never been left in the heat or the cold, and always cased when not in use. This guitar was re-fretted two years ago by the master luthier at the semi-legendary Craig’s Music in Weatherford, Texas. It was never used in a smoking environment.

It is uniquely equipped two pickups, a Fishman Natural Matrix undersaddle piezo (I am placing this placed back in and removing the EMG piezo). It also has an K&K Mini-Western Pure. Each pickup is routed to a separate output for incredible diversity of sound–each outputs sends independently and blended through a pre-amp or at the mixing board for a huge, natural sound. (For a quick and simple gig, you can simply choose one output straight to the board and it still sounds terrific).

I am including the K&K pre-amp (retail $348), which can blend both pick-ups with EQ or be used on one output if desired. The case is very structurally sound and I had new latches placed on 2 years ago.

This is a stellar touring guitar and was used in the studio on several CD projects.

For the entire package, I am asking $1,795. The guitar alone sells for $2,399 currently. Leave a comment with questions or call to purchase 817-889-1487. I will contact you as quickly as possible.

Click Thumbnails to Enlarge

LKSM-6 aLKSM-6 bLKSM-6 cLKSM-6 eLKSM-6 fLKSM-6 gLKSM-6 hLKSM-6 iLKSM-6 K&K Quantam Blender

 

On NASCAR Initiation: A Semi-humorous Account

Our NASCAR tickets were hot in our hands as my 10-year-old son and I headed out to our first ever race at the Texas Motor Speedway, also known as the Redneck Roohaha. I had tried to get myself psyched up for the vast amounts of backwoods culture we might encounter but no amount preparation could have prepared me for the onslaught.

NASCAR is basically Wrestlemania on steroids.  The warriors weren’t the Von Ericks or the Great Kabuki, but sheet-metaled steeds. And the crowd was definitely the same, except there were 100,000 packed into the bleachers each carrying a wheeled chest of highly coveted cargo, Coors Light. As race-time neared, Foreigner took the stage. The creaking rockers belted out Hot Blooded as a  co-worker was posting up Facebook pics of herself and a friend on the infield, imbibing Four Loko’s, what I hear is the most God-forsaken drink ever invented.

My son and I flipped on the driver scanner we had rented, but being novices, we had no sound of the sweet serenade of pit chiefs checking their connections with their drivers. I toyed with the radio only to realize I was a victim of my own race ignorance. This was the Sprint Cup series not the Nationwide. The tweak of a button set the scanner crackling to life, as the driver’s introductions began.

I was not aware that there was a universal NASCAR villain, but that became quickly apparent as the name Jeff Gordon echoed over the P.A.  A chorus of boos and hisses erupted from all the sleeveless shirted, jort cladded men and women sitting around us. You would have thought this man had intentions to bring down another large American skyscraper, but it turned out to be even worse—he was Californian.

My son was growing impatient for the start. A rousing National Anthem ensued, whereby I realized EVERYONE here was from a Red State as they sang passionately with various food-products-on-a-stick held gingerly over their hearts.  After the invocation, my son leaned over and said, “So this is a Christian event, huh?” Please God, I know you love these people dearly, but please don’t leave Christendom solely in their hands.

“Gentlemen–no Danica in this race, START YOUR ENGINES!” Upon this command the rubber pawed beasts roared to life with a noise like that I have never heard before.  They eased around the track following the pace car. You could sense each longed for speed as fans stood to their feet. And then it came, the drop of the flag. We sat on curve #1 and as the cars came by a shockwave of sound and wind rumbled over me. My son clutched his earphones tightly to his head, fearful of the exaggerated reports he had heard of instantaneous deafness if his aural precaution were to lapse for even a millisecond.

We watched the race continue with little event. About lap 50 my son said, “All they do is go in circles? Let’s go.” I wanted to get a bit more of my money’s worth so I bribed him with food. “How about a Fletcher’s corn dog, just like the state fair?” Okay he nodded back. I didn’t know if he really heard what I said. We got the golden fried corndog. He slathered it with mustard and ketchup and we headed back to the stands.

And Then It Happened.

Corbin had set down his corndog on the aluminum benches next to him. Behind us sat the king of all things hillbilly, appearing unshaven and unshowered. He had a pot belly, which he filled by drankin’ whiskey straight from a Mason jar. He was definitely feeling like this was his house and his people as he belted out a “Woooooohoooooo.” And then it happened. I had noticed he was shoeless.Probably left them back in the Airstream, no doubt.  Soon his shoeless, fungaled feet slipped on the back of our aluminum bleacher. But they didn’t stop quite there. His yellow-nailed big toe wrapped around Corbin’s corndog and just rested there, caressing golden cylinder of processed meat with slow massaging motions as the coolness of the mustard and ketchup oozed between his toes. He just made a face that said, “Man that feels goooood.”  Corbin sat wide-eyed in disbelief as I threw up in my mouth a bit. Through the roar, Corbin gave me a look that said, “Dad, please, please, Dad!” Needless to say, the corndog went uneaten and we hightailed it back to the car, having had a thorough enough NASCAR experience to call it a night without fear we had missed something. We have been fully initiated!

Creative Cover Letter Gets Results

Click to open in your web browser. Click to magnify if necessary.

The job market is still tough. You must do something to break through the drudgery a hiring manager is experiencing as he goes through cover letter after bland cover letter. (Trust me, I just read through 80 resumes for a position we needed filled).

My recent job landing came through unique efforts and opportunities. It all started with my creative cover letter.

I was determined to have a unique, humorous approach to my job search. I started a temporary Facebook account in which I loaded in the content I wanted, did a screen capture. I then edited the screen capture with Photoshop mock-up of a Facebook wall and used humorous status updates that reflected the true value I could bring as employee. After converting this to a pdf, I then attached this creative cover letter to my traditional cover letter, and my resume and began launching it out. I made sure the title on the pdf file of the creative cover letter had a catchy title. I experimented with different titles including Whacky Cover Letter, Unorthodox Cover Letter, Funny Cover Letter, Facebook Cover Letter,etc. on different launches.

The Results

I had for some time sent out a serious cover letter and resume into the black hole of monster.com. Five days after creating the cover letter, I, on a whim, decided to check craigslist for some freelance copywriting opportunities. I came across the opportunity for a social media manager position at a mid-cities public relations agency. I shot my creative cover letter out on a Saturday  morning and within 15 minutes had a call back from the company COO. He asked if I could come into their boutique public relations firm for an interview for their social media manager position. During the interview, it didn’t take long for me and the COO to realize I was a “wee bit” overqualified for the position. As we ended our interview, the COO mentioned that he felt for some reason, I really needed to meet his wife, the company CEO. Two days later that meeting happened, and she led off the conversation saying the creativity visible in the cover letter compelled her to meet with me. Her staff had vetted me and she was impressed. I was made an offer on the spot to become Senior Account Executive.

Lessons to draw upon.

Be creative. Do something to set yourself apart. Consider an add-on to your traditional cover letter.

Be willing to use atypical channels (yes, craiglist even).

Don’t fall into the myth that you have to know someone within the company. While it does help, it isn’t always necessary. I had absolutely no connections to anyone within the public relations firm.

Keep up your hope with hope (help one person everyday while you job searching).

Take the interview even if it is a company you’d like to work with but not the exact position you desire. On the other hand, if it is the exact position you want but in a company you’d never want to work for, skip it, unless you merely want to practice interviewing. Get in the door of your preferred companies or businesses, shine in the interview, and trust God with the details.

A Christmas Video of Hope: Don’t Miss This

Taking a break for all the strategic marketing talk to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas! I want to share this video with you as a true reminder of the meaning of Christmas.

Jesus Christ left the riches of heaven to come to the squalor of earth, lived a life in perfect obedience and union with the Father. He was crucified to undo the sinful affects of the Fall and our own failures, was buried, and resurrected from the dead. He now sits at the right hand of the Father as our advocate. He will return to establish a new earth. (If this all sounds farfetched see tomorrow’s post on great reads on the rationality of Christianity). This was not merely to perform an act within history, but so that you and I could be ADOPTED into a new spiritual family. If you are a Jesus follower, celebrate your radical adoption like Meredith, with overflowing gratitude.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of iadoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ… The Apostle Paul Romans 8

Three Reasons Why You Should Start Your New Year’s Resolutions Now

After a late night of parties and day of black eyed peas and bowl games, many of us draw a line in the stand, and promise ourselves (and God, at times) that we will resolve to make some grandiose life change. Problem is, this rarely works.  Simply look at any gym’s attendance pattern following January for proof.

So why should you then be encouraged to begin your New Year’s Resolutions now?

  1. Starting early will ease the psychological tension to see your resolution as an all or nothing proposition. If you miss a day at the gym, keeping all your financial records up to date,  or steal a smoke, you won’t throw in the towel as quickly by telling yourself, “See I knew this would never work.” Instead, tell yourself, “I am moving towards _________ (you fill in the blank, smoke free living, healthier living, a more God centered life, et al.), and I had a setback today but am getting up and moving forward.”
  2. Starting now allows you to view the desired action as an experiment rather than a resolution. You can tell yourself, “I am going to try this for a month and see the results. At the end of the month, I will decide if this is a realistic resolution.”
  3. Stops you from etching another 30 days of negative habits into your mind. Psychologists have shown that we are creatures of habit. The sooner you begin slight disruptions in negative habits, the better.

So begin your experiment today by filling in this blank: The one change I could make which would most make a difference in the way I want my life to look is______________________. (By God’s grace, of course).

 What is your blank?

How Preparation H can be Your Friend. What?

So you were up super late last night. Let’s say it was for a red eye flight and not that MMA fight at the local sports bar. Now you find yourself slapping for the snooze button in a less than familiar hotel room. What? Oh yes, that huge pitch meeting to the multimillion dollar client. You head over to the sink, splash water on your face in a futile attempt to snap to it, and look up in the mirror only to notice, you have bag eyes. Not the normal, I’m getting older bags, but I’m so tired these are the size of cow udder bags. (Yeah, gross). So what do you do?

If you are a smart business person, you realized the potential for this and threw a small tube of Preparation H into your toiletries. You see, no pun intended, Preparation H isn’t merely for the lower regions. This lovely shark oil substance is an inflammation shrinking cream that works wherever you apply it. So a small dab on your finger spread under those tired eye will begin shrinking the bags. I suggest applying it 30 minutes before you shower and letting it sit. Be diligent not to get it in your eye ball or tear duct, as that will create red eyes, which will lead your client to other conclusions. Make sure you wash it off before you leave the hotel room or you risk looking like a prize heavyweight fighter at your meeting. (I also suggest using a separate tube for your eyes if you are also a hemorrhoid sufferer, as it just seems a little risky to use the same tube for both.)

Where did I get this tip? Early morning news anchors often use this little under eye perk up trick to look their best.

Finally, a little relational advice. I wouldn’t mention this practice. Once I was at a church giving a message, afterwards someone saw me in the hall and said, “You look a little tired today.” To which I responded, “Yeah, I forgot the Preparation H.” Her mouth hit the floor and I was in a hurry for the next message and had to head back towards the platform. I tried to find her after the second service but couldn’t. To this day she probably thinks, “TMI, that guy is weird and we are looking for a new church.” Still, it works.



My Unorthodox, Creative Cover Letter

Job searching in the “new normal” is tough. You need a creative cover letter to set yourself apart in these post-recession times. Use your creativity to your advantage whenever appropriate.

Jordan P Fowler Cover Letter-FB Style | Click to open in your web browser. Magnify if necessary.

Here is my cover “letter” I am using for my current job search. It is a jpeg link that opens in a prospective employer’s browser. The jpeg has the look of a facebook page complete with humorous status updates that all contain a subtle ‘value add’ I bring.

(Disclosure: The text you read above has an embedded subconscious message telling you to ‘call jordan now at 817/889.1487 to schedule his interview .’  If you know someone who needs a marketing/business development person or strategic processes and leadership, send them my resume and a link to the FB cover letter or my more serious, professional cover letter if they are a bit more dour).