Monday, July 15, 2013
Best Selling Author?
So after some thoughtful consideration, prayer and of course the "gentle" encouragement from my wife I have decided to embark on writing a book. I have been in New York for over 6 years and before my time runs out in this fine city I think it is probably a necessary risk to take. There is something about living in New York that automatically gives you "street cred" regardless of the industry you work in. While I find it odd, I also feel like I should try and take advantage of it. I am blogging about this as a way to keep me accountable and motivated. Nothing is worse for me than telling a person I am going to do something and having them ask about it later and having to say "Uh, yea that didn't happen" or even worse "I didn't even try."
For me there are two very difficult aspects of writing a book. The first and foremost is trying to figure what to write about. My wife gave me some good advice and suggested I write about something that inspires me. Ummm...only I am not exactly sure what inspires me so that has been a challenge. There are plenty of things that I enjoy: baseball, zombies, PlayStation, fishing etc, yet none of those things do I really want to write about. Baseball is a possibility but I am not sure what I could write about that hasn't been written nor am I close enough to the game to write some sort of controversial piece. I would love to write about baseball but I just don't think my credibility in that area would support writing a successful book.
I also LOVE history, enjoy reading history related books and have credibility as a history major and published author to write this kind of book. The challenges I face here are two fold. First, like with baseball I am not sure what the heck I would write about. The options are vast when writing about history but I also don't want to try and write about something that you can already buy hundreds of books on. I also would need to realize all the research that would be involved and the potential travel as well. For instance I probably shouldn't write a book about Alexander the Great unless I have the budget to travel frequently to Europe, India and Asia. This leads to the second obstacle: time. Writing any piece on history, whether it is a paper or a book requires a lot of research and as a byproduct requires a great deal of time. I don't mind putting in all the work and time but I also feel like the window on writing something while I still live in New York is closing quickly. I am still keeping this open as a possibility. I had a family member who fought in the Revolutionary War, was born in CT and died in NY. I would be very interested in working on a book about one of the battles he possibly fought in (Battle of Long Island/Brooklyn, Battle of Bunker Hill or The Battle of Princeton). Another option would be to try and write something that incorporates my wife's family history and my family history together either in a historical book or perhaps historical fiction. There are just many places where my wife's ancestors and my own ancestors were in close proximity to one another. Again that is going to require research and time and travel so we will see.
The only thing I am really passionate about it being the best husband, father and friend that I can be. More importantly I am passionate about encouraging other men to do the same. Every day I wake up and my sole purpose is to be a better man than I was the day before. Some days that is easier than others. Much of my passion revolves around an intense desire to see men of God raise up and live the kind of life God intended us to and not the kind of life we live by default. Yet I also feel called to challenge all men, not just those who profess to be Christian. With or without Christ men all over the world are living a substandard life and are often only mediocre husbands, fathers & friends. It really upsets me that men are okay with setting such a low standard. Deep inside the heart of every man we desire greatness, yet it seems that men only chase after this greatness in their careers. I firmly believe it is only in Christ that men can obtain the highest potential in these areas but even without Christ men all over the world can and should be better. Just writing these few lines gets me fired up! Which is exactly why this is probably the subject my book should be about.
The second most difficult part of contemplating writing a book is being comfortable or confident the things I want to share or write about will have an audience. I am confident that I am a good writer (only because I worked so hard to be better after being terrible most of my life). I am not as confident that what I want to write, say etc., people would be interested in reading. It seems arrogant to me to "assume" people will want to read what I write, yet that is exactly the kind of mindset you must have if you want to stay motivated. This is especially true on those days when you are not happy with anything you have written. I am still working through this process but have decided regardless of how I feel about it I need to write something. Whether it is read by many or by few I know I need to take a stab at it. God has given me this gift of writing and passion for men to be better (not that we are bad) so I feel I must honor those gifts and passions for His glory. I only hope along the way someone will be helped and their life made better by my efforts.
For those of you who are reading this and are interested in reading more things like what I just mentioned, I have started a new blog that is specific to that topic. You can find it at www.beabetterman.net
Until next time make it an a great one!
Andrew Sloss
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Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Leave a Legacy
"The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone,
but the things you do for others remains as your legacy"
- Kalu Kalu
A few weekends ago Sharlay and I were in upstate New York attending the funeral for her cousin Tyrone Fields who passed away at the way too early age of 48. Tyrone had been diagnosed with cancer and despite receiving treatments it kept coming back. Eventually there was just nothing more the doctors could do. I know everyone (including my wife and I) were hoping for a miraculous healing. Unfortunately, despite a ton of prayers, that never transpired.
To say I didn't know Tyrone well is to say I didn't know him at all. The first and only time I met him was about four weeks before he passed away. He was in good spirits and it was clear even from the short time we were there how much he loved his cousin Sharlay. It was truly an honor to meet Tyrone in-spite of the circumstances and it is a day I will never forget.
At the time of his passing, Tyrone was a minister in training at Friendship Baptist Church in Liberty, NY under the mentoring of Pastor Harry Brown, Jr. From all accounts Tyrone loved serving God and was passionate about seeing the lost come back to Christ.
This had not always been the case and from what Sharlay and the family have shared, Tyrone made a lot of poor decisions when he was younger. The details of those decisions I am not privy to nor are they important. The bottom line is we all make mistakes, many of those we end up regretting and some have significant consequences to us and to others. It is how we learn and grow from them that define us.
Tyrone did not let his past decisions determine his future. Tyrone eventually found his way back to God and turned away from the things he had engaged in as a young man. Regardless of how you might feel about God, Jesus or Christianity, there is no doubt that God touched Tyrone's life in a very meaningful way. Tyrone became resolute to leave a positive legacy for his many children (and especially his sons) and the rest of his family and friends. He had an unwavering commitment to bring the Gospel to the same men he used to run with. He was determined to turn young men, who were following the same path he followed, away from that lifestyle. He purposed in his life to live for the God he served and to let everyone around him know the power of God and His ability to change any life from bad to good. He didn't hide from his past but rather used it to his advantage to reach men who might normally be out of reach.
His funeral was truly a celebration of his life and all the positive things he accomplished. Everyone loved Tyrone. My wife claimed it was the most fun she ever had at a funeral. It was hard to argue the point. As hard as Tyrone might have lived as a young man, he loved his family, friends and God even harder. That was something that was clearly evident at his funeral. People spoke about how he had personally changed their lives for the better. Whether it was helping them find a job, get into school or simply encouraging them through difficult times, Tyrone was a powerfully positive force in people's lives. What an amazing legacy to leave behind. His legacy is a shining city on a hill and a torch to light the way for future generations of his family.
Tyrone left an enduring legacy. His life is a testimony to the power of God and the ability of anyone to turn their life around. It will be important that his family carries on his legacy so that Tyrone's efforts are not in vain.
We can never be certain how long we have on this earth to impart such a legacy. Tyrone only had 48 years. Thankfully he turned his life around before he ran out of time. The resonating effects of that decision were powerfully evident at his funeral.
I can only hope that when I die I have left a legacy that will be celebrated like Tyrone's was. It certainly gave me pause to reflect on my own life and the legacy I have created in my 37 years on this earth. I hope that this blog might also make you stop and consider your own.
This blog is dedicated to the memory of, Gary Tyrone Fields (B. June 1965 D. June 2013) a man after God's own heart.
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