johnthurman.net

John Thurman Over the past few days, thousands of us who work in disaster response have been watching the Weather Channel more intensely that the most devoted sports fan. Whether a volunteer with a faith-based organization like the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Organization or veteran-based group like Team Rubicon, the Cajun Navy, and folks like myself who work with Federal State, and Local Agencies we are preparing for our various deployments. What you may not know is that Lowe’s, Home Depot, and other big box hardware stores will be sending trucks filled with saws and […]

Continue Reading

  Step 3 – Take Action Recently, I was watching A Night at the Museum 2, and there was Amy Adams, one of my favorite actors portraying Amelia Earnhart, one of America’s aviation pioneers. Amelia Earhart, what a powerful legacy of a woman, a person who experienced some extraordinary events all because she was willing to take action. Here we are in 2018, and it seems that ever so often there is a new story about this woman who disappeared in 1937 while attempting to cross the Pacific. That has been over 80 years, and […]

Continue Reading

Albert Einstein said, “Genius is the ability to focus on one particular thing for a long time without losing concentration.” Excerpt From The No Fear Entrepreneur So many entrepreneurs and ministry leader fail to build their business/ministry because they are trying to do too much. The primary reason they experience frustration, as opposed to feeling a sense of accomplishment is a lack of focus. Dr. Tom Barrett “Focus is the birth canal through which dreams become a reality.” While many people tell me they are multi-taskers, the clinical research suggests the opposite. As a business […]

Continue Reading

  Did you know that many entrepreneurs and ministry leaders start off with a great plan, product or idea only to do a face plant down the road? While there are many great stories and articles about why startups fail or succeed I want to spend a few minutes sharing some insight on some of the attitudes that can lead to failure and how to avoid them. Years ago, I was talking to a friend who was also the pastor of a very dynamic congregation, and I asked him, what were some of the potential […]

Continue Reading

  The deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade have unfortunately brought into focus the alarming rise in suicide among Americans. I have to admit Bourdain’s suicide caught me off guard. I have always admired his ability to bring people together over food. I have appreciated his snarky attitude, and his uncanny ability to expand our understanding and appreciation of other cultures through the most common and intimate interactions we humans can have, breaking bread together. In the past several years, I have had the opportunity to travel the globe, particularly in the area of […]

Continue Reading

Why is it that some people succeed in starting a new business, ministry opportunity, or creative enterprise and others fail? If you read or listen to motivational books you learned the importance of knowing you’re why, identifying your passion, developing a business plan, understanding your niche, having goals with measurable outcomes, and having a tribe. While every one of these is a requirement to pursue your dream there is one vital ingredient missing in the formula. That key component is grit or hardiness. While anyone can develop hardiness, researchers have identified certain characteristics. According to […]

Continue Reading

What are you planning on doing this Memorial Day weekend? It will be the official launch of summer, there will be swimming, BBQs, wine festivals, camping, all types of fun activities. My wife and I will hit the road to visit our daughter’s family in the beautiful hill country of Texas. I will be praying for you safe travels as I hope you will pray for mine. With all the commotion of this weekend, it will be easy for us to forget what Memorial Day means. Memorial Day is for the American troops, men, and […]

Continue Reading

    Author’s Note: Due to security concerns, the names and locations in this story have been altered. In the Summer of 2016, I was on a short-term deployment to the central sub-Sahara as a part of a stress assessment team. During my stay, I made new friend James. James and I had visited several times during my TDY, and today he was going to take me to a small Lebanese restaurant. I always enjoyed time with a kindred spirit. James is a career diplomat who is filled like an overflowing cup with joy and excitement […]

Continue Reading

     Success will never attack you! In my previous article, I asked a question about your definition of success. In this article, I want to share some thoughts about success from a biblical perspective. A key part of God’s design is to create and bring an increase. These are vital factors to understand as you build your business/ministry. From a faith perspective, success is not measured in fame, money, prestige, or how many toys you have. It is measured by how many lives you touch. These can be lives you touched personally, through the […]

Continue Reading

Is it ok to be successful? Now and then I love to ask people this question. As a person of faith, I am always amazed how many Christians have a tough time answering that question without qualifying their answer. Many of my more secularly minded friends were less likely to try and qualify their answers. I will talk about that in another article. Second question; How do you define success? One of the leading fears I discovered while working on The No Fear Entrepreneur, was the fear of success. I had heard about this, and […]

Continue Reading