Dear Visionary, I'm Sorry | 148

Dear Visionary, I'm sorry. And here's why. The Visionary community, creator community, has failed you and done you a disservice. Because they have left a critical component of transformational content out of their stories and I actually don't blame them for this because they might not have had the opportunity or even the means to share with you what I'm about to share with you, but times have changed and there is no longer an excuse for this. So here it is. Um. so I recently went to Chipotle and I was doing some writing, some script writing for some content for a few hours before then. And I hadn't eaten since probably like breakfast. So yeah, since breakfast and it was a small breakfast. I was starving by this time in the afternoon. And at the time, presently my car. Is not in the best condition. and I haven't been able to repair it. So I've been doing a lot of walking. I mean, I live in the city, pretty, pretty, you know, urban area. So I could get pretty much anywhere without a car if I want to. So I decided to walk from where I was working to Chipotle and I go in there and I get my usual order and I go to pay. And something goes wrong at the cash register. And it like charged me for like half my meal or something. I was like, uh, what's going on here? That's weird. They're like, oh, well, just scan again and it will charge you for the rest of the order. So I do it. And cashiers that were there quickly pick up on, okay, yeah, your card's declining. the guy that was there was like, hey man, don't worry about it, just go on ahead. And, you know, immediately my ego started kicking in, like, no, like, bruh, this is, this is just a simple Chipotle order, let me just pay for this. Something must be going wrong with my card, let me use another card or something like that. And I go on like my phone, my online banking app to check my account. Cause I'm like, what's going on here. I thought I had money in my account and. There was not a mistake, the car declined because I had a negative balance. and I'm going somewhere with this. Every visionary needs to hear this, so stick with me here. now this is not some type of like, how did this happen type of occurrence. I recently just got back from a business trip in Atlanta and I had shifted money from my business account to my checking account which I actually don't know why I did it, but because I should have just used my my What is it called my business card on the trip? But for some reason I guess my automatic cycle of like paying myself I just put extra money in for the trip when I did it that way so Whatever. But anyway, I took a good amount of money out of my business account, put in my chain account so I could have money to spend while down there. And you know, everything was fine. I was able to use my car, spend money and get back home. Everything was cool. What I didn't realize was how much money I had spent. I didn't realize how much money I spent while on the trip. It was more money than I thought, and it completely depleted my account. I think what's obviously implied here is that I'm not rolling in cash. And when I realized I literally did not have any other money to transfer to another card because it would just take too long or whatever, like I, my cards were all on zero basically. I just looked at the guy, I was like, yo, my bad. And he was like, yo, it's fine man, just, he was really cool about it. he kept it, you know, he was, good, good props to do. He was cool. I also think it's probably part of their policy that, you know, you can't take back food. So he's like, you know what, just have it. It's gone. But anyway, since I had just walked a lot, I was originally planning to just sit down and eat my burrito because I was so hungry, but I think the embarrassment of the moment made me like not even want to be in there anymore, so I decided to walk home normally now this is not something that is like foreign to me, like having So A negative balance on my bank account not being able to do things, not being able to drive because my car is broken down and all these things that are happening in my life right now are not new for the season. I'm in 2023 has been a very hard year. But usually when these types of things happen and I'm reminded of my situation, I get depressed. I get pretty sad and I kind of like mosey through the rest of the day because I'm just kind of in my feelings, but something was different about this time. This time I was actually immediately optimistic about my situation, even though I was temporarily embarrassed. I wasn't feeling bad for myself. And this was not even me trying to intentionally, like, overcome some type of sadness. Like, Oh, I got to push through. Like it was literally default. Default was optimism and hope. And this is how I knew I had turned a corner in my visionary journey. Please do not miss this. The reason I'm apologizing to you is because visionaries, creators, those who you are aspiring to be like, have not let you know what it is like to be in the trench while in the trench. Now, of course, they share their stories. Oh, I came from nothing. Oh, I didn't have this. This happened to me. This happened to me. And you can understand that and you can identify with that and you appreciate that they're open enough to share those things with you. But they're sharing it from a place. Of success, a place of opulence, a place of wealth that you are not in at the present time, they're sharing what their past experience was And you can identify with that past experience. I even think of like Mr. Beast, the most popular YouTuber in the world who posted videos back when he had very few followers saying that he was going to have a million followers, that he was going to be the best YouTuber of all time, but even he has scheduled those videos out for the future to release. At least the plan was to release after he had succeeded. And I have seen a trend of creators right now who are kind of doing the Gary V model, which is like document don't create right where they are sharing their journey along the way. They are sharing what they are doing, even with the small wins, even though they in their plans for their vision is not going to be anything in comparison to what they're doing in the future. And I commend those that are doing that. But still, you are just sharing your lesser highlights Compared to your potential future highlights. I have not seen any visionaries or creators secure enough in their vision to share their failure while it's happening. And what I'm saying is that we need visionaries that are so secure. In their vision, in the calling that God has on their life, on their kingdom assignment, that they are okay sharing the hard knocks of life while they are happening. And I'm speaking to myself in this moment. And this is this is not something I am very more private person, period. Even with my wins, I'm pretty private. But the Lord has been working with me on is showing me that. In my weakness, he is made strong, right? And it's okay to be weak. Because you're not weak without hope. You're not weak without a sight for the future. And lots of times, those who are visionaries, those who are looking to make an impact, to have influence, to have some type of role in changing society, feel that if I let people know how things are really going right now in the process, It will position me as weak. It will discredit anything that I try to say. It will make me less of a visionary. None of that is true unless you're living a lie. Then all of it's true and if you're living a lie and you've been presenting yourself as something that you are not, then you got a whole nother problem on your hands that I'm not gonna address in this episode. But the fact that all these things are happening to you in your vision building journey does not make you less of a visionary, actually solidifies you as a true visionary. Because what is a visionary? A visionary is someone who creates what they see, even when no one sees what they are going to create. Your mama can't see it, your friends can't see it, the outside people can't see it. They might see potential, but they can't see it. Only you can see it. That's when you're a visionary. And you act on it and are actively building it. That's when you're a visionary. And I want to share three verses with you to encourage you through this process, to let you know that you are actually on the right track. I think two of them you will recognize and probably have heard before. And the last one will probably surprise you.

So here's the first text and it's Galatians chapter six, verse nine. And it says, let's not get tired of doing what's good at just the right time. We will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Now, contextually, this is talking about actually living righteously in not conforming to. This is our sinful nature, but this applies a part of you doing good in general in life, right? Like righteousness isn't just about moral right or wrong. It's also about doing what God has told you to do and obeying, right? If you have a vision. That has been given to you are placed in your heart by God. It is a sin not to build it. And both of them are hard. So if you choose to build the vision, it's going to be very hard. If you choose not to. Life is going to be even harder. So this verse encourages you, like, don't get tired of doing what's good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing. Look, whatever is going on in your life is preparing you for what God has in store for you in the future. You probably would not be even able to handle the blessing that God is going to outpour on you when your vision comes to pass, however it comes to pass. God is doing a good work in you, and he's faithful to see it through. And be patient. Don't give up. Because you're going to reap a harvest in due season. I'm not saying this in a prosperity way. Like this is just legit what I know God needs you to hear right now. All right, here's the second verse. So it comes from Zachariah chapter four, and it's probably something that you have heard of commonly, but you don't really know where it came from or what the context is behind it. But it says, do not despise small beginnings. Do not despise these small beginnings for the Lord rejoices to see the work. Begin to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand. Now, what the heck is this even talking about? Cause we don't, we'd be quoting this verse. We had no idea who said it, where it came from. We don't even know if it's actually in the Bible. We just think it is. So basically Zachariah is one of the minor prophets and. This is, this writing is taking place after the period of captivity and exile in Babylon and the Israelites are coming back to their homeland and they are building the temple again, right? But things are hard, like the vision is there, like God told them to rebuild the temple, but they're like, bruh, this is not going well. Right? And just put yourself as a visionary in their shoes, like what you are building, what you are working. It might not be a temple, right? But you are building something and they're like, and God gives Zachariah this message to deliver to the people of Israel to admonish them and also encourage them. And he has like all these different dreams. It's really, really weird stuff. Honestly, it's very symbolic, but in this dream, it shows one of the leaders of Israel, Zerubbabel, and they're talking about laying the foundation of what they are building. So he's saying like, do not despise these small beginnings because all right, so let me go back to actually the verse nine. So like it says, Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this temple and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven's armies has sent me. Do not despise these small beginnings for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand. Amen. Okay, we get the part. Do not despise the small beginnings. You have to start somewhere with what you're building, but also like, what is a plumb line? Right? So a plumb line that they're referring to in these ancient scriptures is actually like a tool that helps you lay correctly the foundation of whatever you're building, right? It's almost like, like one of those lever things that has like the water air bubble in it, right. And you're trying to make sure that the ground is level so that you're not building the foundations lopsided or like, this is one of those small little tools that will actually help you line the stone of the foundation correctly and accurately. And if you do not use it, the whole sturdiness of the entire structure is at fault. Like it can eventually just crumble because you did not lay the plumb line correctly. And whatever you're going through as a creator, as a visionary, as someone who is looking to make impact for the kingdom and to change your generational line and to do all these things in your life, God rejoices to see the work begin and laying the plumb line is so critical. Do not give up on laying that. foundation correctly, because if you try to skip past it, if you give up, if you don't do it right, if you don't go through this period in your journey, the whole structure is faulty. Are you picking up what I'm putting down here? Like this is God is encouraging the Israelites Through Zachariah to keep doing what you are doing. I know it doesn't look good now. I know it looks pretty bleak now I know you're coming out of exile and you have been through some traumatic Experiences and all you want to do is have peace and comfort I get it But you got to do this first and I am with you through the whole thing and I rejoice in These small beginnings. Alright, here's the last verse that I think you may not be Quite as familiar with 11 says for I know the plans I have for you says the Lord there are plans for good Not for disaster to give you a future and a hope and that's in the NLT There are some other versions that you might have memorized for that verse now I said because you memorized it because that's a very popular verse we see that giant Everywhere and lots of people don't that's that's another one. They don't know where it came from They don't know what the context is behind it. You might but most people don't let's just keep it a bug And this is not the verse. This is this is laying the foundation for the verse. I'm about to share with you. That is actually prior to this. So let's get some context of what's happening, right? So in Zachariah, they were actually coming out of the exile that they were in in Babylon. In Jeremiah, they are in the thick of this exile. They're, they're in this part. They're, they're kind of newly there and they're very, very sad and frustrated with what their situation is, even though they brought it upon themselves because they keep disobeying God. We know that with the whole Israelites, right? but Jeremiah is writing this letter to encourage them in this verse. He'd be coming for them next for most of the time, but this one, he's, he's writing them a message of hope, kinda. Let's start at verse 4 of chapter 29 in Jeremiah. It says, This is what the Lord of Heaven's armies, the God of Israel says to all the captives, he is exiled in Babylon from Jerusalem, build homes and plan to stay plant gardens and eat the food they produce, marry and have children, find spouses for them so that you have many grandchildren, multiply, do not dwindle away and work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare. And if you jump to verse 10, it says, the Lord says you will be in Babylon for 70 years, but then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised. And I will bring you home again, for I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, their plans for good. Not for disaster to give you a future and a hope in those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you says the Lord. I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land. So now we have a better understanding of what that verse 11 is saying for I know the plans I have for you, right? You might feel like you are in a season of exile Captivity like this is not what I saw going on for my life. In fact, some of you might be in intentional Exile and captivity where you had a vision that was so strong that you left the comfort that you were in, that you left a life that you knew was sub optimal for you to go for what God had called you to. And it feels like you have thrown yourself into a self made prison. I'm speaking from experience with this. And you have thoughts just like, just like the Israelites, you have thoughts just like, you know what, Egypt, Egypt wasn't that bad, Egypt was alright, we had food, we had food and we had shelter. You know, the slavery thing wasn't that great, I really hated that in the moment, but right now, going back to Egypt don't look that bad. And there have been times where I'm like, you know what, I knew I couldn't really stay at my job, but that paycheck was solid though. I don't know what your story is, whether you have trying to build something that whether you have left some phase of comfort or familiarity before, had to leave relationships, had to make hard decisions, whatever it is. And sometimes you like, you know what? It wasn't ideal, but it's better than this. That's how it feels in the moment. And God is saying, look, I know you're in exile right now. This is what he's saying in Jeremiah 29. I know you're in exile right now. And honestly, stop trying to look for the quick way out. You gotta go through this so that I can bring you to the future that I have for you. So... Instead of trying to find the quick route out, trying to expedite your vision, trying to build your own future, Build homes, plan to stay, plant gardens, eat the food they produce, marry, have children, have grandchildren, work for the prosperity of the situation that you are in, whether, if you are in your mom's basement, build out a studio in her basement, start recording videos. If you are stuck in a job that you just can't stand work for the prosperity of that company. If you can't afford the equipment that you want to work with, to make what you want to make, whether by the have the employees that you want to have. Or build the team that you want to build, work with what you have and make it prosper while you are in exile and stick with it because God has a hope and a future for you. If you go through the exile, there's light on the other side. And I'm saying this while going through the exile, which is missing from the visionary and creator community.

So as someone who knows that he's going to change the world with his content, if as someone who knows, he's going to be selling tons of books, as someone who knows he's going to be backed up with request to speak on different stages and venues As I know that already because I see it, I see it clearly. I'm sharing with you that my card got declined, Chipotle. And I'm sharing it with you because this is something that's missing in this community. And things that are hard do not necessarily get easier. Or feel easier just because you know, brightness on the other side, but they do get more tolerable when you know you're not alone. So that's why I'm making this video, not for some type of future flex down the road when I could say, hey, look at this when I was here and now I'm here like cool. If that happens, great. If it doesn't like that, then it's whatever I'm making this podcast episode so that you know, you're not alone and that you are more than a conqueror. Don't give, I'm not giving up. I know I'm just, I'm just a few strikes away from gold. And so are you. And I'm sorry no one has been willing and secure enough in their God given identity to share with you what's going on in the trenches while they are in them. But I'm here and I'm leading the charge. And I hope that this has been valuable to you in some way. Y'all community is everything. So if you want to reach out to me, connect with me, Hey, DM me on Instagram. I'll be happy to talk with you because I want to build a community Of true, true visionaries. If the exile that you're going through, if the humiliation and discomfort that you're going through right now is too hard for you to bear, that's perfectly fine. If I'll let you know, you're not a visionary, you're a dreamer. There's a difference. And if you want to be satisfied with the mental masturbation of your dream, that is perfectly fine. But I tell you, visionaries do something with what they see. So if your vision is strong enough to survive what feels like temporary failure, I'm reassuring you... As a compa, as a peer and compa, compa, what's the word, compadre, compa, I have no idea. As your amigo. It's only a matter of time. Do not despise the small beginnings. Lay the plumb line. Do not get weary in doing good. For your time of harvest will come. For God knows the plans he has for you. But right now, build cities, plant gardens. Be merry with what you have and what God has given you in this season. All right guys, keep building your vision every day. Peace.