SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

You Inspire Others by Your Art

Steve Pressfield  in The War of Art said it best “The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.” No truer words have been said and yet many don’t even know they do it. We spend hours laboring to master our craft. To fine tune it so it will be perfect. Then we release it into the wild for public view and it lands like a wet sock. All our work we feel was for nothing. Stay true to yourself. Those words you write. The lines you draw. Whatever your craft, your art may be. Others notice. They are watching you and you inspire them. Sure you may not get the accolades and comments or traffic you were hoping for. The key is you did not let fear stop you, you punched it in the face, you created art. We live our lives hoping to make a big splash, yet we sometimes miss the ripple. The waves we create by our actions makes all the difference in others. Many people are ready to quit, throw in the towel. A kind word, a shared struggle, an example of sticking it out, that is all they need to hold on. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~ JQA Click To Tweet So as you labor late at night or early in the morning honing your art while others sleep. The hours may be long, […]

Why Finding Your Calling is Better

As leaders many of us work for a living. We follow the career path that we chose. The thing is people change. What we loved to do twenty years ago, we may no longer feel called to do.
Many of us make our career our calling, yet finding your calling is so much better. It is in this that we find the peace that has been promised to us.
We strive to climb the corporate ladder and increase our pay, for what? To find ourselves chained to our desks for years? I don’t think so, better yet I know that we are meant for more. Each one of us has been marked with a calling. We were chosen and just need to find what that calling is and practice.
“Therefore, bretheren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;” ~ 2 Peter 1:10
Our calling has been chosen for us. Biblically we have been instructed to work hard at our calling. It does not say be “diligent to make certain the career He has chosen.” It states simply to be “diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you.” You have been chosen and called to do great things.
Finding your calling can be a bit of a challenge. It involves tuning into your inner “voice”.
What are you good at? Where do you excel in life. What makes you happy? Leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction or fulfillment.

When You know it is Worth it

There are moments in life when you know it is Worth it. Ever have that moment of clarity that makes your struggle worthwhile? That moment when you are ready to throw in the towel and it happens. When you are full of self-doubt and prepared to quit. That is when He intercedes and puts someone or something in your path.  This is not another hurdle to leap over, this is the reminder that it’s all worth it. Those sleepless nights when you can’t shut your brain off are worth it. The conversations that you have with yourself are starting to make sense. The words that you are unable to speak, yet crave to give a voice to be heard. The audacious goals you set for yourself so long ago. These all make up the moments that I thought they may be a struggle, they and you are worth it. That sigh of relief when your car or credit card is paid off. That time when your art work is used to announce a marriage or a newborn. Maybe it is when you get sweaty palms and butterflies before your first TedX speech. Whatever level of expectation it is, it is worth it. Perhaps it is the time you use the story of David to bring others to Christ and to find their purpose. Or you create a pod cast that highlights the achievements of others. Or it is the time you shared your wisdom to help other bloggers become better beyond the posts they write. […]