Spence Smith - Connecting People To Life

Blogging From El Salvador With Compassion International and My First Triathlon of the Season

Hey friends. My job takes me to El Salvador next week. I'm taking Chris Sligh there to see our work and I'm pretty excited to go back. This will be my third trip there and each time I walk away amazed at what I learned from the experience. Some of my favorite travel stories come from this country. We leave May 12 and get back on May the 16th.

I will have internet and I will be coming to you...everyday...as I always do...blogging. I will talk about what's happening on the trip as well as post some thoughts about other stuff I've been processing.

So stay tuned as it's going to be a fun trip with some great photos and stories that will warm your heart...if not break it.

Also...I don't ever do this...I never ask for prayer publicly...i guess I should more. I know it never hurts. But let me tell you how you could pray for me this next week.

As most of you know, I've been training for triathlons this summer. My first one is May the 18th, Memphis in May Triathlon 2008. So if you are following along that means I get back from El Salvador on Friday, May 16, sleep in my bed Friday night, get up Saturday and drive to Memphis for a 7:30am race on Sunday morning. The distances for the race are 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run.

First. You can pray that we have a safe trip and that the people going on this trip will be affect by the experience in way that will bleed through in everything they do after the trip.

Second. For my health. I'm in great health. But sleep is a must leading up to a triathlon. Nutrition is priority...and not bringing home a Stowaway, as Shaun Groves puts it, is of the greatest importance. I only want to run with my legs...not have the runs down my legs...eeww gross. Sorry.

I will have access to a swimming pool to squeeze in a couple of work outs at the hotel but I just want to make sure the week is smooth and that I get to Sunday morning with very little drama.

I'm off to Dallas today to be with Rebecca St. James and Vicky Beeching. Follow me on twitter. It will be a fun day!

What Inspires You?

There are so many times in my life when I see something, hear something, or smell something and I feel inspired. Inspired to write or to influence someone. Inspired to keep dreaming about something or coming up with another idea. Inspired to be who I am made to be and to own it with the joy of knowing who I am.

Lately, I've been feeling more inspired than ever. Whether it's great conversations with people like Randy, JVo or Anne or just walking down the street and seeing a family walking together...mom, dad, and kids in tow.

Then there are those times when I travel...I get inspired. I might sound weird but smells and landscapes. Center angles of light or darkness does this to me too...I don't know if this sounds weird to you or not...but it's me.

Here's a List of things that inspire me. What inspires you? What is on your list?

1. A Good Movie
2. A Good Book
3. The sound of a live recording
4. The Sound of James Taylor's voice.
5. Songwriters
6. Conversation with marketers
7. Conversations with creative thinkers
8. A great glass of wine
9. The taste of a smooth piece of dark chocolate
10. The smell of rain
11. The sound of the wind through the trees
12. The smell of the air in the rocky mountains
13. The sight of the rocky mountains
14. The sunset over the west texas plains
15. The ocean
16. The laughter of the one you love
17. The view rolling into Sante Fe, NM
18. Walking in Central Park
19. The smells of NYC
20. The energy of a thousand people going somewhere
21. That feeling you get after a great run
22. A great night out with friends
23. Discovering a new city for the first time.
24. Hearing a great song at the right moment that brings you to tears
25. Waking up with a fresh outlook on the day.

FaceBook vs. MySpace - Which One Works For You?

I use FaceBook a lot. I remember when I first heard about it I was deep into MySpace. At the time my MySpace friends list was around 300 and it had taken me a couple of years to get to that number. As time went on though I started to hear more about FaceBook and I thought I would give a try and boy am I glad I did. I was pretty fed up with MySpace. Why? All the ads, the spam emails from people, the bulletins with surveys and getting asked to be the friend of a band I didn't care about. Plus at times, it seemed like there are myspace bots trying to add me as a friend because I'm a guy and maybe I would think your profile picture was real. I mean...how many myspace friends do you know have professional shots done where the women are wearing very little?

yep...no one like that is actually a friend...So one day I deleted my account and started all over.

Here's what I found out. I have several friends on my MySpace profile. 60 to be exact. On FaceBook I have 372 friends. HMMM....

I started my FaceBook profile in August of last year and one month later I started up on MySpace again.

Everyday I get anywhere from 3-5 new friends on FaceBook. These are in coming requests. On MySpace, I think I have 1 in coming friend request a month. Interesting huh.

MySpace feels likes it wants to be more like FaceBook. I mean why not...FaceBook Is valued at $1 BILLION when MySpace sold to Newscorp, Inc. for and lesser amount at $540 Million.

For me...FaceBook is it. I don't get into to all the apps that are available just because my time is limited, but I do love how I can have my Twitter feed change my Status with every new twitter message and how every time I post a new blog post, FaceBook alerts all my friends in their News Feeds.

It really is a great social networking tool that builds my community that much more. FaceBook points my friends to my blog and to Twitter. That's where I want people to go.

I will say that if you are an artist, then MySpace is for you. FaceBook is starting to come along in this area but MySpace still has the market on their Music profiles. However...for all you artist reading this who have a MySpace profile....You can have thousands of friends on your profile, but what good is it if you aren't driving them to take some sort of action towards your career. So they find out when you have an upcoming show or a new cd. But do you know which ones of those friends on your list are your true fans and will buy just about anything from you? Think about it...you need to drill down into that list and find out who your true fans are and market youself specifically to them. You will see a difference if you do. Use your list. Don't let it sit there. If you want to take it one very cool step further, then start your own social network with ning.com. With FaceBook and MySpace, you don't own the contact info on your friends list. With a social network on Ning...you can own the list and the friends...

So...my question is this. Which one works for you? FaceBook or MySpace and why?

This post is a part of Creative Chaos.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: With all the comments I have gotten on this post, it's obvious that FaceBook wins this one hands down. Now...the question is...Do I get rid of MySpace all together? It's one more thing to look after and it's not getting me much in way of readers to my blog or people following me on twitter. Is it worth it? Is it time to clean out the clutter? You decide...

LifeWork 2.0 and Twitter

Yesterday was a huge success for Randy and I for LifeWork 2.0. It was a full day of information and I loved how everyone chimed in when they had something to offer. I want to say thank you to all that attended to make our first go at this such a big success. We look forward to doing more of these in the future as we work with those of you who are interested in hosting a LifeWork 2.0 seminar.

The amazing connector in all of this I think has been Twitter. I have a lot of friends that aren't into blogging and have no idea what twitter is really all about which is why I'm posting this video below for WaterCooler Wednesday.

As much as some of my friends make fun of me, I'm continually amazed at how connected I stay with friends who are on twitter. Twitter helped to promote LifeWork 2.0. It has helped people stay out of harms ways when tornados blow through Oklahoma. It gets a message out to a mass group of people quicker than any email list that is out there and the response is more direct than anything you could image.

You really do get out of it what you put into it. It is a great connector and when some of my skeptical friends try it...they get hooked...so. try it... my screen name is twitter.com/spencesmith.

Plan B - Pete Wilson

Last night after swim practice I went with a friend of mine to Cross Point Church. The pastor at Cross Point is Pete Wilson. He's a fellow blogger and we sat down over coffee one morning a few weeks ago to talk life and blogging and such...It was a great conversation and an encouraging one. I told him I would like to come to church there some day so the opportunity arose and I went.

I'm glad I did. My friend had been telling me what an awesome church it is and how it's really easy to feel at home there. I agree...

The lesson Pete talked about was on Plan B. It was the last of a series and I'm a bit bummed that I haven't heard the rest of the series yet. I know i can check it out online, i just haven't yet.

As you can see, the subtitle is What to do when your dreams are shattered. I sat and listened and I thought. This is exactly the sermon I wish i had heard when I was going through my divorce. It was one of those messages that said no matter what hard times you go through in life, God loves you and wants His best for you.

I think when I look back on my past marriage I never factored in that there would be a plan B. Plan A was to be married for a lifetime to the one woman I love. For me I was always very hopeful that this would always be the plan, but when things didn't work out...plan b steps in. The problem is you never really know what plan b is supposed to be until your actually in it. Even then it's hard to see the direction of the plan.

You can check out the series by clicking HERE.

Birthday Thank You’s, Michael W. Smith, MIchael Olson, and Compassion International

Yesterday was my birthday as most of you know. It was a day filled with major travel delays due to weather which got me into Orlando about 3 hours later than I was planning on. The trip was quick and at the end of the day this is what I had experienced.

Throughout the day I would check emails, blog comments, facebook, twitter messages and voice mails. Without the voice mails and phone calls, I counted over 150 birthday wishes from you my friends and readers. I plan on thanking each of you individually but I want to throw this out there as a big whopping THANK YOU!!!!  to all of you because it really made my day. I’m really thankful for you all and the community we build together in our powerful section of the internet. I was a bit overwhelmed with it all yesterday and it just goes to show the power we all have in each other’s lives.

As for last night, there were a couple of things that stood out as being a great night. First, I got to be with some of my dearest friends for a few hours of hang time. These guys all work for Michael W. Smith and we have spent a lot of time traveling together seeing the world. Michael Olson, who is Michael’s drummer, played a solo set as the opener. (Michael Olson has his own career as a solo artist and is an incredible singer.) At the end of his set he played a song he wrote from his experience in being in Uganda in the past month. He lead this song into a Compassion video we did with Michael W. Smith in Kenya last year. Click HERE to view the video. Olson came back out after the video and delivered one of the best 5 minute sermon n the poor I have ever heard. This wasn’t just a presentation folks. It was a sermon. I was moved. By the way, did you know there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible talking about the poor and 80% of pastors have never given a sermon on the poor? What's with that?

When Michael Olson was finished, intermission started and people were sponsoring children left and right. Our volunteers were absolutely incredible. Well organized, thoughtful, engaging and beaming with smiles. You couldn’t have asked for a better night.

In the end we got 215 children sponsored. Not bad for a crowd of 3,000 people. If you are reading this blog and you sponsored a child at the show. I want to THANK YOU for making a huge impact in the lives of these children all over the world. My heart leaps in tears as I think about the look on those little faces when they find out they have a sponsor. Please write the child you sponsor...ahhhh...it’s the sweetest part of the relationship.

The last cool thing of the night was meeting one of my blog readers. April. April has a blog called Discovering His Plan. Click HERE to say hi to her. I was standing at the Compassion table and I hear this voice call my name. I turn to look and there is standing April and her husband. Now usually when this happens it because they are fans of Big Tent Revival. But NO!!! She reads my blog and had been given tickets to the show!!! So when she read I was going to be at the show….then pow!!!! The wonder of the internet and blogging came to life! She just wanted to say hi! Now that’s cool.

By the way...Mom called and said that outfit I’m wearing in yesterday’s picture was hand made by her and that’s what sweet little babies like me wore back then...

Again...everyone...thank you for making a difference in my life. Let’s grow the community and connect people to life.

It's My Birthday!!! I Have Something To Say!

Today is my birthday. I haven't been really good about telling people it's my birthday so what a better way than on my blog!

I’m proudly 38 years old and my mom popped me out at 10:31am. I just want to say thank you ahead of time to all my family, friends, fellow bloggers and readers for the birthday wishes. (seriously...i was cute right?
Hey Mom...what's that I'm wearing in this picture?)Anyway...

On this day I have a few things to say.

1. I’m thankful for my family. My mom and dad raised me in a great home and I have never gone without because of their hard work. Dad worked hard in business and mom worked hard with raising three boys with dad and as a family, we had a blast growing up.       

2. I have the greatest friends a guy could ever want. They love me well and we have fun times together and hard times together. Life is sweet with the friends I have.

3. I’m grateful for the things I have learned from my past. Some great times and some bad times. But grateful no less.

4. I look forward to another year. There are many things brewing in my life that are incredible to me. My job gets better all the time, which I love, and my life outside my job becomes clearer everyday to the point where i feel like I really have a life.

So...what am I doing for my birthday? Well...I’m getting up at to be at swim practice at 5am. I come home and shower and go get on a plane to be with this guy in Orlando for the night. It’s a work trip, but some of my greatest friends will be there and that’s worth it to me. It wouldn’t be the first time I have traveled for work on May 2.

I come home Saturday and spend time with family and a couple of friends to round out the weekend as well as get ready for LifeWork 2.0.

In closing...I want to tell you something most of you have seen in me but maybe don’t really know about me. When I jump on board with something, I go for it. I believe in it and I become infectious about what I’m into.

I was reading this post by Seth Godin today. It’s titled Self Promotion and it talks about the difference between being Me-Centric and You-Centric. It’s a powerful post I hope you and click over to read. Below are a couple of examples to show you before I sum it up.

This is the dichotomy between Me-Centric and You-Centric.

I published a book so I need you to read it
vs.
There’s something you need to read, so I wrote about it.

Or

I'm fifty and I just made an album because it was time for me to make one.
vs.
These songs won't let go of me and I want to share them with you because they matter.

What I take from this post is knowing that when I believe in something, I tell people about it for no other agenda than I want them to be motivated to do something about what I’m telling them. If I tell them about training for a triathlon and they feel motivated to do the same...it’s not because I’m doing it. It’s because they say they can do this too.

It’s the beauty of showing your heart for something. Believing in something. Telling those around you about something they too should know about.

I could also say that at the core, this is why Randy Elrod and I have developed LifeWork 2.0. We believe these are concepts you should know, use and feel empowered to change culture with the tools that sit right at your finger tips.

Life is a process for me and the thrill I get from sharing with people what goes on in my life is more than I could ask for on a day like my birthday.

If you want to run. I will tell you where to start. If you want to blog, we can tell you what to do. If you are facing a major life change, I can tell you what I did to get through it.

But I can only tell you any of these things because I BELIEVE in them.

Let’s continue to build the community. Influence people, change culture, and make a difference. What are you going to do toady to make a difference? Remember...again...sometimes it only takes giving someone a smile.

Today is the day YOU can start to make a difference. What’s holding you back…

Have a great day friends...You mean the world to me.

Working With Artists That Get It - Chris Sligh

One of the perks of my job is I get to work with some really smart artists that are go-getters. Chris Sligh is a go-getter. He and I sat down for coffee yesterday and talked about Compassion International, the tour he is starting today and lots of other things going on in his career since becoming one of American Idol's top ten from last year's season.

I've heard the new cd he releases on May 6 and it's really good. Chris has a blog site actually...he has three and they all tackle a different side of life for him. from my mind to your eyes,  theological digressions, and the adventures of sligh

I'm telling you all this because in this day and age, in order to be a working artist, you need to find ways to engage your fans and let them in to your world a bit more than the occasional website update or myspace bulletin. You have to engage people where they want to be engaged. In order to do this you must know your vision for your career and where you want to take it. Knowing what you will live with and do away with clears the path for success and being able to respond quickly means the world to your fan base.

I like Chris. He gets the big picture and is not letting life...or his career...pass him by. His life does not live in creative chaos, but lives in a focused life of wanting to make a difference. I'm excited to see where his relationship with Compassion goes and to see how he processes the fame from American Idol. He is strong and he is not new to what he is doing.

Meeting like we had yesterday give me hope for the future of artists in general because guys like Chris have the energy to be on the cutting edge without letting others do it for him.

You will find that my sweet friend of an artist, Vicky Beeching is very much the same way.

If you are a pastor of a church, an artist, speaker, a CEO, business owner, or blogger. You have an audience, fan base, or clientele that wants to be virtually closer to who you are. Show them. Don't be afraid.