Kimanzi Constable's Blog, page 56

I’m Back And Ready

So I’m officially back from my trip to Israel and my emotions are all over the place. As far as the speaking went everything went extremely well. The room was packed and the talk was well received, I also gave away a copy of my book to an audience member.

As far as everything else…… To be perfectly honest, I cried a lot this trip, it was completely overwhelming! To walk where Jesus walked, to see the places I’ve always read about in the Bible was…… WOW! I’ve shared a couple of videos already but I wanted to share one more that I made at the Dead Sea:

 

 

So now that I’m back I want to hit the ground running. I’ve talked to you a lot on this blog, with my videos and books about living and not just existing, after this trip I feel like I understand this principle a lot better. This was an incredible opportunity and experience and I want my life filled with these experiences.

I don’t need to travel across the world all the time to truly live, neither do you. Truly living is about doing what you love, what you’re passionate about and something that helps others, you can do it from anywhere. Whether it’s something as small as taking your family to the park versus watching TV, life is too short to waste it.

Where are you at in your life right now? Are you living or existing?

I pray you are living, if you need help, you know I’m here for you. So…….. how are you living? What is one thing that you’ve done in the last month that shows you are truly living? 

Just a reminder that I could still use your help with launch my book, details here.

 

You Never Know Where Your Dreams Will Take You!

Hello and greetings from Israel! Right now I’m writing this post from a hotel room in Nazareth, Israel. I got into Israel on Sunday and it has been an incredible experience ever since.

I’ve been posting pictures of the amazing things that I’ve seen on my Facebook page. So if we aren’t already friends on Facebook, be sure to send me a friend request to stay up to date. Here is my Facebook profile.

I always knew I wanted to live and not just exist but living has been far beyond anything I could have ever imagined! If you’re existing in life you’re missing out, you’re meant for so much more!

I wanted to share a few videos I made here in Israel, I hope they’re a blessing and encouragement to you:

Is there a BIG dream or goal that you’ve been hesitant to chase? 

My Interview With Author Dave Arnold

 

I had the honor of interviewing author Dave Arnold and hear his inspiring story. He is doing great work, he’s a man chasing his dreams.

In this interview you’ll hear about the way Dave is living out his dreams and helping others in the process. You will also hear about Dave’s book, which comes out Monday.

The  bonuses

Dave is offering several great bonuses when you buy his book during the book’s launch week: February 18-23. The way it works is you buy the book, then email Dave a copy of the receipt to this email address. You will then get access to the bonuses. Here is Dave’s email: davejarnold16@gmail.com

He will also be picking 5-10 random winners for some Starbucks gift cards. Dave is a friend whose dream I want to support, so I also offered to give the winners of the Starbucks gift cards a copy of my first book.

So buy his book and email him to get your name thrown in a hat to win (plus you’ll get an amazing book).

Thank you again Dave for your time and the inspiration!

What is one thing that you need help with to make your dream a reality? 

Why You Need Courage To Follow Your Dream

This is a guest post from Ngina Otiende, who is a writer and trainer who loves helping others take charge of their lives. She’s passionate about intentional growth and relationships and wants to ignite the same passion in others. You can read her blog Intentional Today, follow her on Twitter and find her on Facebook.

A few years ago, I thought I needed a lot of money to start a business.

My mentor told me that I needed an idea. He said money followed ideas.

To illustrate the point, he picked up a plastic water bottle and waved it in front of my face.

“To one person, this used water bottle is nothing but trash, fit for the dustbin. To another person, this is an idea. An idea which will bring money”

I didn’t have money then. But I had a tiny idea. I didn’t think the idea merited a ‘business’ tag. Maybe a hobby. Something to do before I hit it big someplace else.

Eventually my desperation (I  was so broke) won over fear, hesitation and ego.

I began my ‘business’.

With less than five dollars (four hundred Kenya Shillings).

To move ahead in your dream, you must begin to see what your physical eyes cannot see.

You must refuse to be tied by ‘current reality’.

Tolulope Llesanmi says  

“Warriorship has nothing to do with your title or your physical or intellectual stamina or appearance but everything to do with your spirit. “

I have never met or heard of a timid warrior. Sure, warriors feel afraid sometimes but they are always moving forward.  They don’t allow fear to keep them down. They order their lives according to their heart and spirit, not according to their physical environment.

Success has everything to do with what/how we think. It’s about the perspective we keep and the things we decide to believe.

In my case and for a season I allowed my “reality” (an idea too small, lack of money) to dictate  my future.

What about you? What’s messing with your next step? 

Are you allowing

- your pain to dictate your faith?

- your disappointment to decide if you’ll wake up tomorrow and try again?

- your ego to dictate the direction of your marriage?

- your TV and social media to take the time you should be practicing your craft?

- busyness to steal time with your kids ?

- winter to determine if you’ll exercise? (okay that was for me, I dislike walking/running in the cold!)

Thoughts on moving to the next level. 

1. Great possibilities do not lie in the realm of the possible. 

If you are looking for greatness in the realm of “possible”, you are in the wrong universe.

God dreams impossible dreams – He created a world out of nothing.

A few days ago, someone said something that left me discouraged. I felt sliced up, tossed out, hopeless and mad. Later, I realized that I could use the same discouraging words to launch up. Or I could use them to spiral down. “Impossible” could turn into possible – it was all a matter of perspective.

What do you see in your “impossible” situation?

Remember, you cannot chase ‘normal’ and still hope to change the world. Your assignment is unique, as unique as its Author. Yes, the same One who creates mind-blowing things out nothing.

2. You don’t need a lot to start out

As a mentor, I’ve listened to many wonderful stories and dreams about what people want to do with their lives.

The difference between those who do something about their dream and those that don’t? - courage to start small.

You see, we have it backwards. We want things to line up before we step out. I do it all the time, even today.

But that’s not real life. Real life tends to serve early opportunities in small potions. Our little steps build up to giant leaps over time. What little step can you take today?

3. It’s not about you. 

Your life is simply not all about you. Hard to swallow and digest sometimes, but it’s true.

My pastor says “there are people waiting on the other side of your obedience”

Once we understand the largeness, the real meaning of life, we can push through anything and turn impossibilities into possible. Just ask Namale.

All of us have gifts. The bible says that our gifts will take us before great men. Not everyone will be ‘famous’, at least not the earthly kind anyway. But all of us must go before ‘our great men’. There are people to serve, a difference to make, charities to fund, churches to plant, missionaries to send, businesses to build, legacies to leave.

It might begin with you. But does not end with you. You must see that in order to keep fighting.

Are you courageous? What area(s) can you step out more?

 

Living or Existing Launch Team (Team 2)

You’re very busy, I get that. This second team is for those of you who are busy but want to help and I need all the help I can get.

The video explains things but if you’re too busy to watch the video…….

This second team is for those who don’t have the time to fully commit. This is how it will work:

You’ll read the book
Write a review on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles.
Share the book the week of the  launch on social media.

See, that’s not to bad, right? So what will you get for your efforts:

An advanced electronic copy (PDF) of the manuscript that you can read a month before anyone else will get a copy.
A free copy of the paperback before it releases.
Exclusive access to a private Facebook group, where we’ll share promotion ideas and you’ll have direct contact with me. This could also be a good place get some idea’s for your own launch team.
The opportunity to interact with other launch team members and see the behind-the-scenes of a book launch.
A special mention on my blog with a link to your website.

So here is the form, I hope to see you on this second team:

 

My Thirteenth Career As An International Speaker

What?

Yeah, I’ve had a few jobs in my time (12), I talk about them in my first book. I was convinced “this new job was it” and I could finally stop looking.

You’ve probably heard my story a few times so I won’t bore you but it took a while to figure out my true calling in life. It took a while to figure out that I was just existing.

Well, I woke up and determined I wanted to live but what in the world did that mean?

After some soul-searching and much prayer I figured out truly living for me means helping people. More specifically, helping people stop settling so that they can live the life of their dreams.

How could I do this?

I wrote a few books and they eventually did well and as a result I was contacted to speak. The problem is that I was terrified to get up and speak in front of an audience. I thought about traveling to another state to speak and I had to admit it did have some appeal.

It was also my wife and a group of friends that persuaded me to say yes. So it was official that I would be flying to another state to launch my career as a speaker!

Although I still wasn’t sure I could face all those people I was super excited! The flight down to West Virginia was a dream come true. People would ask me why I was going to West Virginia and I told them I was a “speaker.”

After that first amazing experience I hit the ground running, I wanted more! It never occurred that I could go to other countries and speak, I didn’t even have a passport then!

I didn’t know how to go about taking my speaking career to the next level, I just turned to Google. I was eventually able to book an event in Sydney, Australia and I screamed for ten straight minutes!

Last year I ended up speaking at 12 conferences. Eight in different states all over the United States and four in countries across the world, I literally spoke on four continents. As I’m writing this post I just got an email confirming that I’m speaking at a conference in Atlanta in March.

So my thirteenth career as a speaker has started off well, I feel very blessed. As a result I get many requests asking me how I find and book events? Good question.

For a while I have tried to answer as many emails as I can but it’s getting overwhelming. So to answer these questions I have created a guide on how I find and book speaking events, it’s called The Dream Chasers Guide To Speaking.

*Disclaimer*

This guide is one of the gifts I offer when you join my Launch Team.

This guide is the process I use to find and book events worldwide. If you have a desire to launch your speaking career then this guide can help you do just that.

As with all my products, I offer a 100% money back guarantee. I’m not here to “get” anyone, my goal is to help you live the life of your dreams. If speaking is part of your dream, my hope is that this guide will make that dream a reality.

So that’s it! If speaking isn’t your thing, I appreciate your patience.

What is one dream you want to make a reality this year?

The Living or Existing Launch Team (I Need Your Help)

It’s almost a miracle that I’m writing this post. Over the years I have dreamed of many things and never did anything about those dreams. The dreaming was fun and a lot easier than the hard part of taking action on my dreams. Who wants to do all that work anyway?

Two years ago it got to the point where I had to do something because I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. That journey has brought me to today. Today is a very happy and victorious day.

I would like to officially announce a call to join the launch team of my first traditional published book. This book is my dream come true. This book is proof that anyone can live out their dreams despite their current situation.

My goal for this book is to do well but it goes far beyond that. My goal is to start a movement of people who stop settling, stop making excuses so that they can live the life of their dreams.

If you have been settling in your life then my prayer is that this book is your wake up call. I was where you are and I can tell you truly living is so much sweeter!

I have been blessed to have so much amazing support from so many people, it’s overwhelming at times. I want to ask for a little more help launching my dream.

So what will the launch team do?

If you’re picked to be a part of this team, I ask that you agree to a few simple things:

Read and review the book online (Amazon, Barnes & Noble). I ask that you write at least two posts on your blog: one announcing you’re on the Living or Existing Launch Team and one reviewing the book the week of the release (May 1). I will be available for interviews if that’s easier than writing a post or feel free to do both.
Spread the word any way you can during the week of May 1 (when the book launches), especially on ALL of your social media networks.
Interact with the rest of the launch team and participate in the community to help come up with promotion ideas (we’re open to experimenting). There will be a private Facebook group set up for this.

I’m going to be “all in” for this, so I ask that you take it seriously, this is my dream. Please don’t sign up if you don’t have the time or energy to dedicate to helping get the word out in every way you can.

I need people who believe in starting this movement and spreading this message, I need YOU!

What’s in it for you? 

Besides helping people start on a journey to change their lives, I’ll be giving away a few things:

An advanced electronic copy (PDF) of the manuscript that you can read a month before anyone else will get a copy.
A free copy of the paperback before it releases.
Exclusive access to a private Facebook group, where we’ll share promotion ideas and you’ll have direct contact with me. This could also be a good place get some idea’s for your own launch team.
The opportunity to interact with other launch team members and see the behind-the-scenes of a book launch.
A special mention on my blog with a link to your website.
Some freebies that you can use to chase your dreams:

Your Gift

An electronic copy of my first book, Tales of The Everyday Working Man and Woman. This book is all about work and my journey through jobs that I hated. It’s a REAL honest look at what the average everyday working man and woman goes through and how to escape that.

An electronic copy of The Dream Chasers PlayBook. This is the guide I used to go from those jobs that I hated to becoming an international speaker, best-selling author, and consultant. It’s a step by step guide to chasing your dreams without ruining your life.

An electronic copy of The Dream Chasers Guide To Speaking. Have you ever dreamed of traveling the world while speaking and teaching? Last year I spoke on four continents and this year I will be speaking in Israel in a few weeks.  I created this guide to show people how to find and book events, it’s packed with tips and tricks to launch your speaking career.

You’ll get access to a one hour Q&A session with me where you can ask me anything, literally anything! It will be a good chance to network and get helpful ideas, tips and tricks to help your dream. 

Join my launch team to help my dream and enjoy these bonuses as a thank you for your help!

The invitation for the launch team opens today and will close on Monday, February 18, so don’t delay!

On Tuesday, February 19 I’ll be emailing the team members thanking them and letting them know what’s next! I hope to be emailing you

JOIN HERE 

Can you help???? 

 

 

Bread Man To Best-Selling Author, What?

For years and years I wanted more but never did anything about it? Sound familiar?

Bread Man

Everyday as I went to a job that I hated I dreamed of doing so many cool and exciting things. Since I started work at midnight everyday, I had plenty of time to think. I thought about all the things I could and wanted to be, those were some happy moments.

Then last year I took a chance and followed my dream of being a writer. The only problem was the book completely flopped, that was a rough time. I had some friends that encouraged me to figure things out and they were right.

Fast forward to today. My books have sold a few copies and I started speaking. As a matter of fact I was just booked to speak at a conference in Jerusalem, which is very special to me as a Christian.

This has been an incredible journey that has been filled with fear, doubt, happiness, joy and everything in between. Is there anything I would change? Yes, I wish I had taken action on my dream sooner.

The one thing that I want you to take away from this post is that you can do it too. We are surrounded by opportunity that we NEED to take advantage of!

Even if you have a great job/career, is it what you really want from life? Or do you dream of something more; something others would say is crazy?

Whatever your dreams are they are possible. Here’s the plan to make them a reality:

Figure out what your dream is.
Do some research to figure out your dream.
Take small steps (take action)
 Keep taking them.

Wow, I just gave away the secret (wink, wink), I talk about these steps in greater detail in my first published book releasing this May. Don’t forget, February 4th I’m forming a launch team and I could really use your help

So what is your dream? Is there anyway I can help?

My dream now is to start a movement, to see thousands if not millions of people who stop settling and chase their dreams. How cool would that be?

This is your year! This is your time! I’m excited for you!

It’s an honor to have you read this blog, thank you. Thank you for being a part of my dream.

What is one dream you have that other people will think is crazy? 

 

The Power of Meaningful Work

This is a guest post from Dave Arnold who is a writer and speaker living in Michigan. He has worked in a variety of church and ministry roles for the last fifteen years. Dave also works with new immigrants in the Detroit-area, helping them to adjust to their new life. Dave is passionate about helping people belong and discover God’s best for their lives. His first book, Pilgrims of the Alley: Living out Faith in Displacement, comes out Feb. 18, 2013.

Have you ever felt frustrated in your job? As if you were spinning your wheels or tirelessly attempting to please your boss?

I think we’ve all be there, right?

For years, I attempted to fit into a mold others wanted me to fit in, namely, my supervisor or superior. And although I was engaged in work that mattered (working as a pastor in churches) something was missing.

Seth Godin in his groundbreaking book, Linchpin, says it this way:

“Some artists think they need a boss. Someone who will not only pay them, but also tell them what to do. The moment this happens, the artist is no longer an artist. But the moment you treat that person like a boss, like someone in charge of your movements and your output, you are a cog, not an artist.”

That was me: a cog, wanting someone to tell me what to do and attempting to measure up to their standards.

Godin defines artists not necessarily as painters or sculptures; but someone who engages in something meaningful that touches another human being.

With that said, we are all artists! And as such, we need to engage in meaningful work. How?

Let me suggest these two ways:

1. Know the difference between calling and drivenness. When you are called to something, it’s much bigger than a paycheck or a position.

Pastor and author, Gordon MacDonald, in his book, Ordering Your Private World, says, a driven person is “the kind of person who sees life only in terms of results. As such he has little appreciation for the process leading to results.”  A called person, on the other hand, is someone who knows who they are and has, according to MacDonald, “an unwavering sense of purpose.”

When we have an unwavering sense of purpose, it gives us peace and allows us to rest our heads on our pillows each night believing what we do matters.

Drivenness, however, leads to stress and that uneasy sense that we’re not doing enough and thus, not good enough.

2. Seek to benefit and serve others through your work. Our work becomes meaningful and full of purpose when it flows out of us and impacts others.

Drivenness, on the other hand, is all about getting ahead and moving upward, oftentimes at the expense of others.

This is not to say we should seek to be “starving artists.”  There’s nothing wrong with making a profit from doing what we love. But the moment our work moves from what we can give and how we can bless to what we “deserve” and what is our “right” is the moment we’re off track.

And if we consistently listen to those voices we’re doomed and our work moves away from meaningfulness and becomes self-focused.

With that said, I am convinced God places us in different, and oftentimes, challenging circumstances to force us to face our fears and do meaningful work that really impacts people.

We may think “I could never do this.” But God says, “You can… and you will if you take the step and believe.”

In my upcoming book, Pilgrims of the Alley, I tell the story of the Jewish Holocaust survivors who lived in Displacement Camps in Europe after World War II. Many of them lost relatives; others, while in the camp, hoped to locate missing ones.

But what strikes me most is how these survivors learned to thrive in the Displacement Camps. They reinstated the arts, started newspapers, schools, religious holidays, weddings took place, and children were born.

We have one life to live. We are called to thrive and not waste what’s been given to us.

So let’s thrive. Let’s tap into the power of meaningful work!

What type of work makes you feel alive? What is one thing you can do to move toward meaningful work?

How To Start and Market a Profitable Online Business (Part 6)

Just a reminder that I’ll be needing your help soon. On Monday February 4th I’ll be opening a call to form a launch team for my very first published book. I’m so excited not only to have this dream come true but spread a message of hope. This will be a fun experience for all involved and I’ll be giving away some free goodies that I think will help you as you chase your dreams.I hope you will help! 

So here we are at the end of this series. I hope it has given you a few new ideas and provided you with tremendous value. I get asked all the time about getting away from a job that someone hates and how to create a lifestyle of freedom and value.

Waikiki Beach

The thought of being able to pick up and go where you want, when you want is very appealing. Writing and releasing two ebooks, speaking all over the world, coaching and consulting has really changed my family’s life. My goal with this series is to be able to help you change yours.

A little review

So we started off by establishing the fact that you are one of three types of expert:

Knowledge
Research
Results

You can fall into either of these and if you combine it with a lot of research about your topic, you can start something amazing. Once you figure out where you fall and what topic you are passionate about, you can use all the tools we have available to us.

We went through several options to monetize that knowledge (if you missed it, feel free to go back and review). I hope you see that you can do a lot of this for FREE or very cheaply, you also can learn how to do a lot of this on your own.

We then moved on to talk about marketing in the last post. The most important part of your marketing effort is to identify your target audience, figure out who they are and how they consume information. Once you know what they’re all about, you can create things that will help them and that they’ll buy.

It all starts with quality

You ARE an expert at something and we do have amazing technology but if you don’t create something quality all the tips/tricks in the world won’t help you.

At the end of the day the reason I do what I do is to help people change their lives. In the past I only focused on the money and my business went nowhere. Once I focused on helping people, the money did follow.

More important than that is the people who have believed and have taken action on their dreams, that brings me so much joy and keeps me pushing forward!

Why do you do what you do? 

Create something amazing, something that you know will help your target audience. Talk to them, help them and you’ll be surprised how far they spread your message.

The key to social media

One of the biggest and best ways to advertise is through social media, it’s where people are at these days. Even Google recognizes this and with this latest update more of the search results are coming from links on social media.

If you aren’t involved in social media, your reach won’t be very far -Click to Tweet (Thank you). 

One of the best tips I’ve heard about social media was this: decide where you’re going to be active and where you’re going to be present. I don’t know about you but I don’t have all day to spend on social media.

So how do you spend enough time on social media to be effective with your marketing? It all comes down to leveraging your strengths. For some that might be Facebook, for me personally I love Twitter. Nine times out of ten you’ll find me active and engaging on Twitter.

I am active on Twitter but I have a presence on Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube and Linked In, you can connect with me on any of these places (please do) through the social media buttons on this website. Active means that’s where I spend the bulk of time that I dedicate to social media, but present means that I still give something and engage on the other profiles.

Present means that I shouldn’t look at your Google Plus profile and see that the last time you posted something was two months ago. People will lose interest quickly and stop following you, they can’t share something that isn’t there.

So where can I find you and where will you be present? Think about it.

If you want to be effective with the marketing of your online business through social media, then you can’t be pushy or over-share. There’s a temptation that the more you link or share your website or content the better it will do: that’s false. 

Your marketing efforts will go a lot farther on social media when OTHER people share your content. When someone posts some of your content and shares it with their friends, they’re far more likely to check it out then if you were the one to share it.

The cool thing is that when you create great content people will always be willing to share it. Remember, if you move the needle for someone, then they’ll broadcast that everywhere. Their friends will check out the content and share it with their friends, and on it goes, that’s how content goes viral.

Thank you

Thank you for your patience during this six part series, you truly are amazing! If you have been on the fence thinking about starting something online then I hope this is your year. At the end of this year it would be a dream come true to see many thriving with their online endeavors!

If there is anyway other way I can help, please email me at kimanzi@talesofwork.com. I’m here to help, so don’t hesitate to ask!

Have you started an online business? Please tell us all about it!