1) Favorite Quick Vid on the Bible: The smart and funny author Eric Metaxas speaks on the authority of the Bible.
2) Favorite concept for books: No more half-read books…maybe.
3) Favorite Laundry love: Generosity at the laundromat and powerful result.
4) Favorite Smoothie maker: if you’re familiar with comedians Tripp and Tyler, you know this isn’t a new video, but such a classic.
5) Favorite Daddy-daughter duet: love this Dad singing with his girl.
This was the first year of officially declaring October 10th as #LiveFully day. And it was also the first time we’ve ever tried to use Instagram as a means for people to “submit” videos for a contest.
In many ways it was an experiment, and I’m real encouraged by the participation and videos that were shared to celebrate the full life of Jesus.
Before announcing the winner, I wanted to share a few of my personal favorites:
Best Rap Most Creative Best Action Cutest Best Ending
Although there were some really great videos, at the end of the day, a winner has to be chosen for the huge prize money. (Well, maybe not huge, but something.)
Karen Reynolds from Lilburn, Georgia! (Instagram: wrenreynolds)
Here’s why we chose Karen’s video as the winner:
1. It captures her everyday passion of teaching fitness training to others
2. Her caption shed beautiful light on her own personal journey of living fully
3. She dives into the pool in her clothes (c’mon that’s just fun!)
4. And lastly, this was actually her first post ever on Instagram. Not a bad way to start.
Congratulations Karen! And thanks to everybody that participated. I can’t wait to build off this for next year’s 10-10 celebration.
Why?
Well, the logic is pretty simple. The Bible verse that inspires #LiveFully comes from the words of Jesus in John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
So it made sense that the date 10-10 would be a great one to celebrate the full, abundant life that Jesus offers and gives to his followers.
Although we have big dreams for what this annual celebration could become, this year we are starting very simple. It begins with the question,
“What does living fully look like for you?”
We want to know what the answer to that question is.
But here’s the thing. We want to see it in 15 seconds. Yep, that’s it.
To celebrate #LiveFully day, we are holding an Instagram Video Contest. We want you, your family and friends to capture what living fully looks like through 15 second videos on Instagram.
Given that brief amount of time, these videos will obviously be short and sweet. We aren’t expecting Oscar-level quality. We just want to see you living fully. This could mean doing what you love, laughing, eating, or adventuring (that’s not a word but you know what I mean).
These videos are meant to be fun, and the more creative the better! Although I consider this more of a celebration than a contest, we will be selecting our favorite video and the winner will receive a $50 Amazon Gift card.
Oh that’s simple. Just capture it on Instagram and put it up with the hashtag “#LiveFully”
My wife Erin already submitted one last night as an example. (she’s known as @eburchik and pretty amazing so feel free to check it out).
Submit as many Instavids as you’d like, just make sure you get them in by this Thursday and that they have the #LiveFully hashtag so we can find them. We will select the winner and announce it this Friday, October 11th.
Have fun with this, and don’t let fear keep you from submitting a video. Anyone can do it! (assuming they have Instagram of course. If not, well, I guess they can’t.)
PS – What I’m most excited about is that after all videos are in, we are going to bring them together for one huge #LiveFully montage video. Combining all (or as many as we can) of your unique expressions of living fully into one video is going to be awesome, and we will share that with all of you.
PSS – This is the last week we are offering a great promotion if you buy the new #LiveFully book by Brian Burchik. Go here to learn about the bonuses ($40 worth of FREE stuff) and get the book.
So chances are, you’ve read something digitally. Whether an entire book or a shorter PDF, the amount of people e-reading is growing at an astronomical rate. According to Barna Group’s most recent study in May of 2013, “one-quarter of American adults own an e-reading device.” That’s a lot of people, and the trend is only going up from here.
Before I share reasons why I believe e-reading is awesome, let me clarify that I’m not anti-physical books. I love reading paperback and hard back books, and I always will. However, my love for reading, and my desire to grow as a person as a result, transcends this one particular medium. We don’t have to choose either-or.
1. Make the most of your waiting. Life is full of unexpected lines and delays. Rather than just scrolling through Twitter or Facebook, use this time to read meaningful books on your smartphone. Who knows, you might read something life-changing while you’re waiting for your food to come out.
2. Free e-books and PDFs. Major publishers and individual authors give them away all the time. Seriously, I’ve read more quality content for free because of constant deals and giveaways for e-reading. Start following authors/publishers on Twitter and you’re bound to find these amazing freebies.
*2.5 Get the free stuff even if you don’t have a smartphone or tablet. You can always read on your computer, or, if you’re planning to get a device later (Christmas will be here before you know it), you’ll have those books ready to upload to those devices once you get them.
3. Read faster! If you have both a tablet and a smartphone, these devices can naturally sync to the most recent page where you left off. Regardless of which device you pick up, it can open up where you last read. This seamless updating can help you work through content more quickly because it’s not dependent on having one particular device with you at all times.
4. Experience reading with multiple senses. Many E-books have various videos or images integrated into them, and when you read on a device you can experience a book in a more dynamic way. (i.e. my new book has brief 45 second intro. videos like this to watch before launching into each chapter.) This also allows for amazing connection between the reader and the author.
5. Save a lot of money. I remember sitting in a book store a few weeks ago with a book in my hand ready to buy. It was $24.99, but looked great. I was excited to buy it, but just in case, I decided to check out how much the e-book would be on Amazon. It was $11.99. I simply have to save that kind of money when I can. The gap isn’t always this big, but e-reading is usually way cheaper.
6. Read in bed. If you’re spouse is laying next to you snoozing it up, you’ll need something to do that won’t bother them. With E-reading, no lights or lamps are needed. You can adjust the brightness of your screen so that it’s not too harsh on your eyes. Best way to read in bed!
8. Save your time. We live in an amazing age. You can buy just about any book you want within minutes. Rather than having to make the trip to the bookstore and hoping they have it in stock, all you need to do is get on-line and find your book of choice. This convenience can’t be overlooked.
9. Highlighting feature. Certain books beg to be highlighted. It’s incredibly easy to highlight with the drag of a finger, as well as typing in notes to go with those marks. On Kindle, you can then easily retrieve your notes on Kindle.com and share with others so they can grab hold of the important stuff (Think “Cliff Notes” back in high school.)
10. Last but not least, E-reading rocks because my brand new book #LiveFully is now available in all E-book forms. And yes, it is also in paperback and audiobook.
For all forms of the #LiveFully book, just swing by Amazon to check out.
Have you ever been so excited about an event, only to have it postponed? Of course you have. Maybe a weekend trip that fell through, a ball game rained out, or a even more serious things like obstacles to re-uniting with family or adopting a child.
I don’t know about you, but patience is never easy for me, and naturally, every time something gets postponed I struggle to accept the reality of waiting.
This has certainly been true in regards to launching my new book, #LiveFully.
First I said the launch would be August 26th, which seemed great because that also happens to be my birthday. But that deadline didn’t get met. Then I was sure we’d launch the book on September 9th because the date was 9/9, which had a nice ring to it. And we couldn’t meet that deadline. So then we were going to launch on September 16th, and then the 23rd, and you see where this is going.
Failing to launch on each of these dates became extremely frustrating. The delay of sharing the book was a struggle and more difficult with each passing deadline. While studying the Bible one morning, I came across a line from the prophet Isaiah that captured exactly how I felt:
“I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all.” (Isaiah 49:4a)
I found comfort in this line, like someone else knew how I was feeling. It felt pretty good. But then I kept reading one more line and was greatly challenged by what I read.
“Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.” (Isaiah 49:4b)
And there was the point I was missing. Up to that point, I was feeling a self-imposed pressure to get everything done, to deliver the goods, and to tap into the great reward that would follow.
Yet as I read this line of Isaiah, I was challenged to truly leave all possible outcomes and results in God’s hand. In fact, I was challenged to find God as my true reward, whether or not anyone ever bought a single copy of #LiveFully.
There is powerful things to learn while we wait, and undoubtedly character is developed during the delay of our dreams and desires. Even with the delay of this book launch I know God has deepened my trust in him, and that’s always a good thing.
But after lots of hard work (and delay), I’m grateful that the day to share the #LiveFully book has arrived. Today, October 1st, is the first day that the #LiveFully E-book is officially for sale, and the Paperback version is available to pre-order.
I am ecstatic because I believe its message can transform lives and empower people to live with more hope, purpose, and confidence than ever before. The offer of Jesus has always been to live fully, and I believe this book can help people grab hold of this abundant life.
In addition to selling the book, I am also extremely excited to give away some great stuff for those who purchase the book in the next 2 weeks.
If you buy the E-book or pre-order the paperback by Oct. 13th, you’ll get these bonuses for FREE:
· The complete #LiveFully audiobook, read by yours truly (a $30 value)
· #LiveFully Group Guide – a 6-week guide that will facilitate an amazing group study & experience (a $10 value)
· AND you’ll be entered to win a brand new, second generation Kindle Paperwhite (the best E-reader ever!)
That’s $40 worth of free stuff – Woohoo!
***All you have to do is buy the E-book or pre-order the paperback book or and submit the receipt to [email protected]
To pre-order the Paperback book, just go here:
And here’s the places you can find the E-book: Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Smashwords
1) Favorite Basketball Shot from 320 feet: This is world record height for a basketball shot and it’s pretty insane.
2) Favorite E-book: Is this the future of e-reading?
3) Favorite Super Mario Parkour: Classic Nintendo game in real life
4) Favorite Golf Stereotypes: if you play golf, you’ve definitely encountered these. Still funny if you don’t play.
5) Favorite Book Trailer: this is totally biased, but the new #LiveFully book trailer is pretty awesome, and it’s set to release Monday, September 16th.
Brian Burchik shares why artists don’t have to wait to be “picked” by traditional industry leaders to pursue their dream and create excellent art.
He shares a central conviction and paradigm shift that guided his entire writing process, along with how innovation and creativity fueled his approach to creating the #LiveFully e-book.
-Do you feel called to start something new? To create a work of art, or begin a new project?
-Is anything holding you back from stepping out and going for it?
We’d love to hear about your personal ventures in the comments below. Share what you’re up to and how the #LiveFully community can encourage you along the way.
1) Favorite video on Laughter:
2) Favorite Landfill Harmonic
3) Favorite New book trailer:
4) Favorite Tour of Saturn:
5) Favorite Book Cover (which is completely biased):
1) Favorite video about 20 Somethings:
3) Favorite Experiment:
4) Favorite News graphic: The Desolation of Smaug
5) Favorite Conversation with a 2 year old:
Last weekend, Erin and I had the opportunity to go out together and see The Great Gatsby in 3-D. We were pumped because, like many Americans, we had read the book back in high school, but forgotten just enough of the plot to be surprised. Plus, the trailer was so epic that we had to experience the film.
Leading up to it, I talked with friends that had already seen the movie, and all of their responses were strange. They said things like, “I’m not sure if I liked it or not,” or “It was weird.” It was as if they couldn’t figure out how they felt about it.
I didn’t understand their uncertainty until I sat there in the theater, watching the final credits roll at the movie’s conclusion. I was completely unsettled. Emotionally torn. Just like my friends, I sat there confused.
There was incredible acting (Dicaprio was made for this role), beautiful cinematography, and superb music (mostly hip hop). It had all the right ingredients, but I sat there unsure if what they created together was good at all.
Then it hit me. The cause of the confusion boiled down to one thing: There’s no redemption in the end.
I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil it for those unfamiliar with the story. But that’s really it. This tale offers no hero, no victory, and no redemption for us to grab hold of, and that’s why it’s so unsettling.
It’s the lack of redemption that makes the story of Gatsby so profound and provocative! It reveals our deep longing for redemption, for heroes to emerge, for things to be made right. Our humanity cries out, “Just give us something redemptive to cling to at the end!”
But Gatsby gives no such thing. And for this reason, it’s brilliant. It tells the truth of life without a greater hope or meaning. It honestly portrays the selfishness of humanity. And it leaves you right there in the middle of it. In that mess, I personally found myself full of gratitude for Jesus, for redemption, and for the hope and meaning we find in following Him. #LiveFully
