Guitar Teacher, Marketer, Musician: Scott Clifton

Is it Okay to be Thankful and Angry?

November 24th, 2010 · thankful, Uncategorized

Year after year, around thanksgiving time, I am reminded of all the wonderful blessings that I have been given. I also wish for these blessings to be bestowed on all individuals as they have been given to me.

This time of thankful reflection typically is taken inward to analyze my own shortcomings, goals, and any changes that need to be made in me personally. Then, as a result of looking inward and reflecting, I take a small observation of what circumstances and opportunities are presented to me in order that I might be able to put these new desires into reality and remove the obstacles or barriers that are in my way. And this can be anything from work, personal, or spiritual pursuits. Once I come around to the external and practical steps of how to put this into play I typically am reminded of the trouble or the “new” things going on in our economy that cause for different or unique and possibly additional (and often unnecessary) obstacles.

I personally believe that you and I have a lot to be thankful for regardless of your or my circumstances. And for sure, God doesn’t make circumstances an excuse because he is not a “respector of persons” and gives us just the right amount of grace to take on what he has asked us to face. But, you can’t know the full extent of what you truly have to be thankful for until you observe internally and externally the situations that God has placed you in. And God has placed specific desires in your and my heart but we are only able to live in fullness of this when we are able to put our full energies and efforts toward this outcome. I do not denounce the concept that God will do what he wants, but he also expects us to be responsibly proactive toward His causes, doing what is in the best interest of everyone involved.

The unfortunate part about this is…year after year I am finding that there are more and more things people should get good and angry about or at least moved enough to take action against the wrong. Most people will misunderstand this and blow this out of proportion because our response is the most critical part of this disturbance. If we act irrationally or don’t have the appropriate level of gentleness, repentance, and confession in our own hearts, then it will be out of our own desire to control the situation rather than speak to the best interest of the situation.

I implore you, that as we all have lots to be thankful for, that there is a lot to fight for and all the more reason to be a studier of His word and what it means. God is slowly taking the lifestyle that we have all known and loved out from under our feet because of our disobedience to Him. Example, according to the recent yahoo article, 4 out of 10 people say that marriage is becoming obsolete. As social and moral issues are becoming blurred the only result is that this number will increase. Secondly, kids will either be aborted or will be created out of sexual promiscuity. Third, these will be from two “adults” who have no reason to be committed to each other, no interest in the well-being of their sexual partner but only for their own “happiness” in the moment, and therefore are left with no level of love that is secure and truly fulfilling. And finally, children are being born with no understanding of what having a loving father and mother look like. These realities will and are affecting you and the gospel of Christ’s message. This will affect a greater desire of desperation to have whatever level of control we can get in an attempt to “define” some sort of security meanwhile being blinded to our own irresponsibilities.

As I see these and many other issues being consumed by Americans in the church and outside of the church, I am more thankful this year than I was last year for the things that are most important. I am thankful for God providing for my needs, for a family who sticks together and fights for God to be ultimate in our lives despite the good or bad circumstances that we find ourselves in. I am thankful for the little things, for friends, and those that care about me enough to keep me accountable to God and to each other…specifically the men’s bible study on Monday nights. Also, the opportunity to be a follower and an ambassador of Christ in the state of desperation that our nation lives in. I am thankful that the opportunity to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors is still available to us, so that we can pursue what God has called us to do with more ease than if these were unavailable. I am thankful for work this year (and possibly for the first time), not as an obligation, but as an opportunity to become a better individual and to challenge myself to improve with people and with myself.

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“4 Hour Work Week” Book Review

November 20th, 2010 · Book Review

This book is all about taking your life in your own hands and challenging your self-imposed rules so that you can produce less wasteful and more meaningful opportunities for yourself and others.

Several quotes from the book that have resonated with me and some of my own experiences:

1. “Resolve to grab the reins-the rest of your life depends on it.”

2. “Different is better when more effective or more fun.”

3. “Retirement planning as a goal or final redemption is flawed. It’s nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst-case scenario.”

4. “For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks.”

5. “For years, I set goals, made resolutions to change direction, and nothing came of either. I was just as insecure and scared as the rest of the world.”

6. “This is how most people work until death: “I’ll just work until I have X dollars and then do what I want.”

7. “Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness-lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.”

8. “For the entrepreneur, the wasteful use of time is a matter of bad habit and imitation.”

I’ve always been a work smarter not harder kind of person and Timothy Ferriss seems to be an expert. Working smarter isn’t in order to negate responsibility, but instead it is testing everything by the Pareto Law. This concept suggests 20% of what you do is really important and 80% is unnecessary. He provides practical tips and applications that are usable right now in moving into the 20% a reality. He also addresses how to limit the negative and wasteful intake in this information crazed age so that you can maximize your time and your output.

His concepts on limiting your intake have a lot to do with how capable you are at self-control and giving over control…allowing others to take the reins for you. He suggests that those that will be living in the middle class in the future are those who resort to doing everything themselves and therefore have no time for what they really need to be doing or want to be doing. Instead, they spend the majority of their time taking care of concerns that can work themselves out on their own if they would only let them.

This book has allowed me to see how I can put this into play in my own life right now. How controlling everything and not allowing others to take on responsibility (and often forcing them too regardless of whether they want to or not) is truly in your best interest AND in their best interest resulting in motivation and challenge. Tim states, “It’s amazing how someone’s IQ seems to double as soon as you give them responsibility and indicate that you trust them.”

So, get this book if you’re interested in challenging yourself and seeing practical tips to increase productivity, limit wasteful and unimportant processes, coming up with new entrepreneurial ideas, and living life now (without ignoring responsibility) rather than presuming upon retirement to provide “the good life” in some distant fairytale.

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Pushing Through Obstacles

November 11th, 2010 · Challenges, faith, God, life

So, as of late, I’ve been trying to tackle what in my mind is the impossible…running a ½ marathon.

First point of importance: I hate running.

I don’t mind running with an object in front of me or a goal to where I can add a point to my ego or see the completion of a step in my operations/production-oriented/analytical brain. But running, I don’t find anywhere near invigorating in and of itself.

So, WHY would I try to run a half marathon?
1) Because of a small desire to see if I can do it. I’ve heard about the concept of training for this goal from others in close proximity to me. 13 miles of running without stopping sounds like unnecessary torchure. But, I have created the goal of making it to Dec. 5^th for the White Rock Marathon and have seen the increased in amounts of energy that running consistently and pushing myself a little bit further each week has provided me. I have come to an odd place of cherishing and yet despising it.

2) Because a lot of things that I end up liking, I at first despise it or am indifferent. But in most cases it comes about in these ways:
a. Someone has encouraged me along the way.
b. I heard or witnessed the increased benefit that it had brought to others and thought, well maybe that could be me.

3) To see if there’s more outside my narrow-minded desire to just do the things that come easy to me.

I will continue to press on with the help of an accountability running partner and a curiosity each week to see if I can break down a bigger wall as I work to reach my ½ marathon, no walking goal.

Comparison to the spiritual aspect:
I tend to make these spiritual comparisons to whatever I’m doing, believing that God is linked and we can learn lessons about who He is in everything (Luke 19:40, Ps. 19). We should find examples about how to live out our faith in the relationships and situations we find ourselves in. I think this is where “working out your salvation with fear and trembling” comes into play (Phil. 2:12-13). I relate these kinds of goals to how I am doing in my walk with Christ using the time running as a time of meditation and reflection in how I can push myself toward the desires of God and away from my own morally flawed thoughts. James 4:8 suggests that when we draw close to God that He draws close to us. And in response I think, how can I guide or direct my heart to God, rather than just follow it in the depravity of my own nature? Prov. 14:12 backs this up, ”There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Then, Romans 5:12-18 explains that the righteousness through Christ leads to justification and life for all men. What does love look like as a result of this justification and abundant life? John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments”. Do you love God? Obey.

Regardless of the difficulties and challenges, you can do it. God provides the strength…so draw close.

What has been stretching you beyond your limits lately?

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A Better Option Than 401 K

October 3rd, 2010 · Purpose, Work

Ever since I received my undergraduate degree I began seriously thinking about my future and how I would fulfill desires in the world of work and what it all means. With this comes the preparation or at least some forethought into the day that I would be a husband, father, and one day retire and hope to leave an inheritance for my kids. Over the past 3 to 4 years I have been in this struggle to begin setting up a path for success and to be responsible in preparing for financial stability throughout the rest of my life. I began to study successful people as well as follow the formulas for successful investors with Dave Ramsey and Warren Buffett. I even studied the Christian principles of money laid out in a Crown Financial class. I have believed that preparing for retirement is a need. And, one that has been waying on me while also knowing that America is in every aspect in a state of financial ruin. There is not a place that I can turn to that I can sense a real awareness of how to be responsible with money, time, and effort and at the same time be open to the Lord’s leading. Typically it seems to be people grasping and living out one aspect of these things but not all of them collectively. Without fully embracing all of these at the same time I see a sense of increased pride and control in other areas. I not only speak of others, but I speak of myself as well. This has frustrated me to no end.

The Bible continually puts work in a positive light, something that is good. Before sin, in our perfection, Adam was told to tend the garden, Gen. 2:15. Then after sin entered into the picture work became much harder as explained in Gen. 3:17-19. But, I believe the Bible still points toward work as being a good thing as evidenced in Prov. 6:6-11, 2 Thess. 3:10, and Colossians 3:23, to name a few. In my search for security in my retirement I have realized it is a false sense of security. I need to plan for the future, but in a much different way than what I am being told by the financial advisors. I am not turning my back from the methods that we as Americans have used to earn money such as stocks, investments, and entrepreneurial endeavors. But, I am turning my back on the idea that I am storing up treasures for my retirement or for my family in the future. I still have a focus and an understanding of this responsibility. But, by holding money away and relying on riding the waves of a financially unstable economy is not an option. We as Americans are not able to rely on a system that breeds success as it once did simply by following the system. I believe this is a good thing though because it allows all of our culture to re-evaluate where we have placed our trust and requires us to place our fears in other sources for hope. I believe this is why we have seen people desperately clinging to pleasures, politics, or other “drugs” that hold us captive. I have also been fearing the future and the failures of going with the flow.

Over the past few months I have decided that the time is now and that waiting is not an option anymore. Jesus demands my efforts now. And now I seek to turn from seeking the world’s direction of fitting into the mold. This has made things a bit challenging in the get go but I know that I am able to build something that I can truly be proud of because God is at work. I’m reminded of a picture of this in simple terms like when a child goes to the doctor to receive a shot of medicine. I have been tensing up and making the shot much more painful. Now, being aware of the need for this medicine I have relaxed, loosened the muscles, and am allowing the medicine to enter my body which allows a much better experience altogether. In the same way, humbling and being ready for God to move, not preparing for my 401k when I forsee the trouble to come has liberated my soul.

And I will take pride in the fact that God has called us to work and that it is a good thing. And I will not be looking for a pay check as the source of gain for my future as God time and time again provides for his children just as the birds of the air. I will look for opportunity to serve and a sense of purpose that is at the center of my being, that I may be used in the greatest means possible, working for a higher calling, not for a retirement of sitting idly by and watching after accomplishing a tower with a flimsy foundation.

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Thoughts on the church, marketing, and a need for You

September 8th, 2010 · church, God, marketing

My heart is heavy for the church today. That we don’t know how to discern the difference between the Holy Spirit and a good marketing push. That we are so inundated with marketing and so used to being sold with no ability to critically discern that we don’t know a phony from the real thing. Case in point, we read Martin Luther before we read the Gospel. We listen to good pastors before we go directly to the Word for His truth. There are so many other examples of this in common society but I will be quickly condemned for my observations rather than judged objectively…or people will run away from the discussion all together. But if we run away, we continue in our folly. We don’t even understand how to judge a person’s actions whether he be in the faith or not, all in the name of tolerance. We know how to give encouragement but balk at the need to take or give reproof in a Godly fashion. God save me, save us. Forgive us. Let us discern the good from the bad, have the decency to shut up long enough for God to reveal the answers. Help us to tell others to buzz off when they try to convince us to do something when we haven’t had the opportunity to discern your call on our lives or even where to begin in submitting to your Spirit. That we would feast on your Word so that we can know your heart and not just read it and then apply it without even really attempting to hear from You or understand what it says. Please help me to take my eyes off myself, stop trying to be in control of everything, and allow me to lie prostrate before you with no other motive than just because You are Holy. And let it change me, and change those around me, so that we might be fit for your service.

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Thankful for Christ’s Sacrifice

January 26th, 2010 · Bible, Christianity, God, religion, salvation, thankful

I am so very thankful for Christ’s sacrifice. Thankful that I have believed through faith, placing my confidence in Christ. As a result there is significance, relevance, and value to my life. As the world continues to move further into moral decline, I am thankful for my family who has been honest and open in guiding me in what they knew was right. I am equally thankful how God has guided me to where I am today. I can have hope and confidence in the one who is molding and shaping me into His fashion.

Why can’t we believe God when he says in Heb. 12:10-11 that “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

I have been seeking discipline in my life and left desperate to find answers that can promote true and lasting change in my own heart and mind. I thank God for the truth that he reveals to me in His timing. Through my failures and my sin, Christ is revealed and is provided as the answer for true and lasting change. Phil 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

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For Those Sleepless Nights

January 23rd, 2010 · hints, sleepless, thinking, Thoughts

Most nights I get to sleep just fine, but then I wake up in the middle of the night and my mind starts reeling with ideas or other thoughts. I often have to get up and write down what I’m thinking otherwise I won’t be able to clear my mind to go back to sleep. This happens more and more the older I get, I’m guessing as my responsibilities get bigger.

So, I have a tip for you on those sleepless nights. Once you write out your notes to clear your mind as best you can, then try to sleep again and this time “choose” the image that you’re going to meditate on. For me, one thought leads to another…and then I’m off thinking again. So, a high school friend told me once to think about the color black. Sometimes I even imagine a black crayon drawing black on the wall of my mind. Yeah, it’s weird, but don’t knock it til you try it. I don’t know why that does it for me, but sleep comes shortly after…

What do you do to help you sleep when you can’t…besides taking pills?

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Contradictions or Keys to Life: Safe or Good, Simple or Easy?

January 5th, 2010 · Challenges, God, Thoughts

Contradictory statements or keys to a successful and fulfilled life?

1) It’s takes work to grow and doing nothing doesn’t mean you stay the same, it means you deteriorate.

Example, our physical bodies. We work hard to get fit and we get sick and lose everything we worked for in a matter of days or possibly hours. Or, we do nothing at all and we actually grow more out of shape.

This is the same with our mental capacity. Staying the same does not equal being equally smart, it means you are growing more stupid.

2) Specifically when God speaks sometimes we are required to believe before we understand.

I’m NOT talking about not studying before a test because we “believe” the answer will be revealed to us in our osmosis. I AM talking about believing in what the God of the universe tells to his children, the authority figure that DOES have all the answers even when we fight with our limited ability to understand why. Not that we don’t seek to understand why, but that we accept the answer from the ultimate authority. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me”, Jn. 10:27.

3) God is not safe but he is good.

C.S. Lewis made this statement in his Chronicles of Narnia books in regard to the king Asland. In the same way God knows what’s best for us, and that isn’t always that we are happy, but that Christ is glorified in us and that we continue to grow humble and submitted to Him. Read the book of Job. And then read Rom 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

4) Most things in life are not easy, but they are simple.

Spoken by a friend, Dana Barfield, in regard to how you define what you are providing for your customers when starting a new business. His Article. I believe this applies to more aspects than just defining your business proposition. Believing in God and having faith in Him is easy but is not simple. Sin’s presence on the earth and our fight between the control of one or the other over our thoughts and actions is a constant struggle for us when God makes it clear to us how we should live.

Finally, strive to come to grips with God’s authority in your life. Believe in him, hope in something of real value. Struggle to know Him more fully.

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Do This ONE thing to Save Money in 2010

January 2nd, 2010 · budgeting, money, resolution

I recommend ONE thing for everyone in the new year. It is the GREATEST opportunity that ANYONE has to save money. The solution: Track your expenses.

Stop telling yourself that you will save money or start thinking about retirement when you make more money. Remember God’s principle, Luke 16:11 (NASB) “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?” In the same way, if you are not wise with what you have, how can you expect to be wise with more?

You CANNOT control the amount of money that you make. You CAN control the amount that you spend. Tracking your expenses is the main key to saving money, no if’s ands or buts about it. It’s simple, but it’s not easy. You must be honest with yourself first and foremost.

I’ve cleaned up my 2009 files and started 2010 in tracking my expenses.

This is my process.

First, create a monthly budget and estimate your expenses. Start an excel sheet and along the top make a horizontal column and write in your estimated budget categories (ie. income/taxes/giving/food/rent/savings/investments/debts etc. anything that you spend money on).

Underneath each category make another horizontal column and write the estimated $ budget amount that you’ve determined for that month.

Then, on the left make a vertical column for each day of the month. Print separate sheets for each month and keep it in close quarters. SIDE NOTE: This isn’t something you need to print next to the front door so people can see it when they come in. Keep it private, maybe next to your bed. I put mine on a bulletin board and it hides behind a tv so it isn’t standing out.

To Do: Determine your best way to record expenses.

What I do: Every night before I go to bed I recall everything I bought that day and write it on the date corresponding to the budget category.

This will allow you to keep tabs on where your money is going and how much you estimate that you spend. Once you do this for a couple of months, you should look at Crowne Financial’s estimated spending plan [here] and determine, based on your living situation, if your estimated budget categories are reasonable by calculating your own percentages and comparing.

Keeping an eye on where your money is going is THE GREATEST WAY TO SAVE MONEY. It is also the greatest way to be able to BUY WHATEVER YOU WANT. If you know you want to buy something that is expensive but of great value to you, you can prepare and plan for it by cutting your expenses in other categories for months or possibly years depending on how big the purchase. Then you can go and buy it with cash. Yeah, I know, this takes self control.

If you need a kickstart in saving money, I would suggest Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover”. But, even more than that, because I am a Christian, I like to take into account what God has to say about money. You can join a Crowne Financial Class and to get some accountability with a small group and a coach to learn God’s principles and apply invaluable money management principles to your life. [Click here] to learn more.

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26 Years, 2 Degrees, and 2 Layoffs Later…I Am Learning.

December 22nd, 2009 · education, faith, Learning

I have been laid off twice in the past two years. This is only after the completion of two degrees that I have spent the majority of my life working towards. The completion of a college education and the American dream. Then, completion of a higher accomplishment, an MBA.

So, why am I not destined for success? It might have something to do with the training I received only being half of the education that I needed. I learned how to earn money in an institution. I DID NOT learn how to spend it or how to create opportunities for myself. But, wouldn’t the latter be the more important education? So, after graduating with my MBA I marginally began learning how to spend it by joining a Crown Financial Course at my church, and studying Dave Ramsey, Warren Buffett, and Peter Lynch to prick their minds about money management and investment principles that prove sound and most concrete in its philosophy and less focused on chance. Upon the completion of my studies, my real test came. I was laid off, the first time.

After a month of struggle to figure out what it was I was actually working for or pursuing, I was able to refocus long enough to receive a job at a manufacturing company.

At this point, I began focusing on building a money retainer and learning that you CAN buy what you want as long as you limit other expenses. This is where my economics course took effect. Diminishing marginal returns. Study this if you haven’t already, this is one of the greatest concepts that I learned in my institutionalized education. Albeit, I learned it in completing my MBA rather than in middle school or highschool. Also, I didn’t learn how to apply it to me personally which would have been equally helpful. Wouldn’t this be better to learn in highschool before a student goes off to college and ends up leaving the school with over $30,000 in debt only to find out they have to spend the next 20 years paying it off leaving them in bondage to “the system”? See Prov. 22:7 which basically teaches us that the borrow is slave to the lender. Goodbye freedom of choice and opportunity, hello struggle to find 8 to 5 job with benefits and retirement plan. The American dream.

Anyway, over the course of the next year I began learning how to spend money. Answers to questions like: what is an asset/liability? What is really adding value to me as a person and what offers me no rate of return? And, praise God for this lesson. I was laid off again, approximately a year after my first layoff.

This time, I at least am prepared enough to make this layoff a valuable learning experience rather than a hurried attempt to land another secure paycheck. But, now comes the second lesson that institutionalized education did not teach me: how to create my own opportunities. Time to relearn how to think and be more intuitive. This is after a degree in design/creativity. Is that not odd to anyone?

And, 26 years, 2 degrees, and 2 layoffs later, I am convinced this is the greatest thing that could have happened to me. I am truly learning what it means to live in its fullest with all of its challenges and expectations and to rely on a God who is bigger than myself. I thank God that I am learning at 25 with a clean slate rather than after working 25 years in an institutionalized business like those at 50 who are now finding themselves out of a secure job that they assumed they would work and retire from at 60.

Thankfully, I have hope in education of real value. Add that to a faith in a God that knows every detail before it happens, has my best interest in mind, and is worthy of my worship, and then you have a real strategy for success.

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