Why Would Anyone Become Catholic - Movie
This movie will come to the Poway Theatre if enough tickets are sold. Order your tickets here.
They need 75 tickets sold to bring it to the theatre. I just bought my 4 tickets.
89% Funded KickStarter Journal Day 25-26
What lesson can I share today? Today's lesson is on getting out of your comfort zone. If you plan on using crowdfunding for your project and you aren't comfortable asking for help especially monetary help then prepare to be uncomfortable.
It was my hope that one quick email would be sufficient to get enough backing for my project. That was wishful thinking. No, In order to have gotten this far I sent out a newsletter every week. I mentioned it every chance I got at social gatherings. I had numerous one on one meetings with friends and family and I sent out friendly reminders via text especially now that the deadline is approaching.
Now I hope I wasn't a pest. But what I learned in my journey is that "A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have." - Tim Ferriss
So prepare to be uncomfortable because that's where growth occurs.
To a Life Beyond Ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
To follow my entire KickStarter Journal click here.
What's Your Noise?
Good morning a welcome back to The Javien Chronicles! Today I have a question for you. A question to ponder and a question to share if you would like. My question for you today is: Are you living a life beyond ordinary, or are you just existing ("same thing, different day" mentality)?
In the beginning when God created man He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
If we are to believe God at His word then should we not strive to live in His image. In way that magnifies His greatness. I believe most people choose mediocrity because they are too distracted to see any other way.
One of the latest crazes that is fueling this mindset is the game Pokemon Go. I mean it seems innocent enough. It does get the kids out of the house and walking and interacting with others. However, the problem is most kids and adults who play the game aren't paying attention to their surroundings. That's why the news headlines are plastered with Pokemon Go accidents. The sign below makes you think. Really! Does one really need to be reminded that distracted driving is dangerous.
Pokemon Go is just one of noises preventing many from living in God's image. Do you know what distracts you? If you are a stay-at-home mom, it may be keeping the house in order or driving the kids to all their activities. If you are a teen, it may be your cell phone, social media, or video games. If you love watching or playing sports, that may be what hinders you.
Some noises are louder than others, like an addiction to substances or pornography, while others may not be as loud but innappropriate in certain scenarios.
Take a look at a drum beat. If and when it is played within the context of a parade or concert, it is regarded as music. However, when it is played while someone is sleeping, the beating of a drum is without a doubt, noise.
In my upcoming book I share the noises in my life in hopes that others may recognize the noises in theirs. God speaks in a still small voice. If we neglect to lower the volume how can we ever expect to hear Him.
To a life beyond ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
What's Your Noise? Part II
One of the biggest distractions and loudest noises in my life was an addiction to pornography. It was an addiction that consumed me daily and almost consumed my marriage. One of the detrimental affects of the addiction was the barrier that it created between my wife and I. My wife always wanted to talk to me and she wanted to know what was on my heart. But because only darkness dwelt in my mind and in my heart I choose to stay quiet, afraid of revealing my sins.
Then on August 14, 2007, when the weight became more than I could carry, I gained enough courage to seek help. On that day I attended a 5:00 A.M. prayer meeting and at that meeting I encountered God and was forever drawn to His light.
God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:5-9
I've been asked why I am so open about my past struggles. I think the best answer can be found in the Gospel of Matthew.
In Matthew 7:3-5 Jesus says, Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
From the above passage I've learned that if I point to my own log for others to see, invariably others can see the splinters in their own eyes. And when the obstructions are removed from our eyes, it is then, that we can see the true beauty of God's light.
If you know of a family member or friend that is having marital struggles please forward this message to them. It may be what they need to hear. Also take a moment to watch the video below so you can take a glimpse of God's bright light.
KickStarter Journal Day 10
Good morning and welcome to Day 10 of my KickStarter Journal!
It's day 10 and there has been very little activity since the surge I saw last week. It is to be expected. I mean people have lives. No one besides myself is watching everyday to see if the pledge number goes up.
So the lesson for today is on planning. Because I have an idea of the mindset of people, I realize that I will need to remind them again soon to keep the momentum and at the same time not harrass them. So my plan for the upcoming weeks is to unveil a couple of comic strips that relate to my book. I plan on unveiling one each week until the campaign comes to a close.
I plan to use it like a movie trailer that allows my audience to experience the book before it comes available. So keep an eye out for the first one. I plan to unveil it on Tuesday.
To a Life Beyond Ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
KickStarter Journal Day 9
Good evening and welcome back to my KickStarter Journal. Today is Day 9 of my experiment. Today was a slow day. No new backers.
Hmmm? What lesson can I share today? I think today would be a great day to talk about persistence. Tonight as I reviewed my numbers I contemplated skipping out on the journal entry. I mean nothing changed from yesterday to today.
Yesterday I had 8 backers and $431 pledged. Today I have 8 backers and $431 pledged. At first glance one could say that today was a failure. That would be true if the only goal was to get pledges. But if you go back to Day 1 of my journal you can see that the overall goal was to create a buzz, raise capital and to learn something.
Although these journal entries haven't yielded any pledges, what they have yielded is exposure. Like a pebble being dropped in water creates ripples, each post yields a few more views via LinkedIn and each new post yields a few more views on YouTube. So in the respect to the goal of creating a buzz. Today was a good day!
To a Life Beyond Ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr.
KickStarter Journal Day 8
Welcome back to my KickStarter Journal. At the end of the night, I got one new backer. "FANTASTIC!" As of tonight my campaign is 28% funded with 23 days to go. We are on our way!
What lesson can I share from this day? Well without sounding like a broken record, I believe the most important lesson is on relationships. In preparation for my KickStarter campaign I studied many successful ones and many unsuccessful ones. If I can nail down one common thread in the failed campaigns, it's that they are not relational. It looks as if the creator just threw up an idea and hoped the World Wide Web community would just magically fund them. It's like going to a business mixer and handing out your business card to everyone and anyone hoping someone will call you tomorrow.
In business there's this saying, "It's not what you know, but who you know." I believe it should read, "It's not who you know, but who knows you."
In Matthew 7:21–23, Jesus says “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’”
Why would Jesus say to them, "I never knew you?" I believe its because many knew of Him but not all of them knew Him intimately. I could say that that I know who the president of the United States is but that's not going to get me a seat at his dinner table.
In my video below I share how one can form an intimate relationship Jesus. The lessons I share can also be used in creating relationships with others hence helping one with their KickStarter campaign.
To a Life Beyond Ordinary!
KickStarter Journal Day 7
Hello and welcome to Day 7 of my KickStarter campaign. The last two days were pretty dry and a bit depressing but today I got 3 new backers and now the project is 25% funded. YEAH!
What lesson can I share from this day? I believe the three new backers were attributed to my recent newsletter. In my newsletter I shared how special this month is. This month marks the 9th year of my walk with Christ. In the newsletter I shared with my audience the highlights of the past years so they could be a part of my story.
Also in my newsletter I thanked those who already backed me and explained in detail why I needed the funding. I've learned that its important to share why someone should support you. I don't think I did that very well in my first announcement.
Also an important lesson to be shared is the importance of relationships. I try to foster relationships by sharing my stories in my newsletters and by regularly reaching out to friends and family via text messages and phone calls. I am also very active in church ministries where I have the great pleasure of greeting people at the door on Sundays and encouraging the men at retreats and regular groupings.
Because of these activities its not a surprise that my recent backers were a friend from highschool and two people I attend church with. So the lesson of this day is to be visible to your audience, explain your need, and foster relationships.
That's it for today!
To a Life Beyond Ordinary,
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
KickStarter Journal Day 6
For me when things aren't going the way I would like them to be going, I like to look up motivational images. The late Zig Ziglar was once asked, "Is motivation permanent?" He replied, "No, and neither is bathing that's why I recommend it daily."
So today to motivate me and for you if you are following my journal I found this image of Nick Vujic, the man with no arms and no leg, to focus on.
Attitude is everything when you try to bring something amazing into the world. So with the above image I will continue talking to potential backers tomorrow and praying that others will help.
I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings,
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
KickStarter Journal Day 5
It's Day 5 of my KickStarter Campaign and it looks like I got zero backers today. No sweat I still have 27 days to go. I did speak to a potential backer that I got confirmation that they would support me but no funds yet so I won't count my chickens til they hatch.
What lessons can I share today? Well I did try to do some outside advertising with individuals that promised to share my campaign to their audience. Did it work? I really won't be able to know until the end of the campaign. It wasn't an expensive venture. I only spent $15 dollars on Fiverr.com. At best it's creating spider webs in the world wide web.
So bye for now!
Orlando Javien Jr., Author
Stop Googling Yourself and God Made Me Pick Up Underwear
KickStarter Journal Day 4
It's Day 4 of my KickStarter campaign. Now as I said in Day 2, it was my goal to be patient and wait until the end of day to see the status of my campaign. Now I can honestly say that I was patient but... My little cheerleader, my little girl, she couldn't wait to check on the project and share with me the great news. The great news that we got another backer today. We now have 4 backers in 4 days and we are already 14% funded. Yeah!
For those who are thinking about starting a KickStarter campaign I have one lesson for you today. The lesson comes from Sirach 6:14-15 "A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: he that has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence."
Why is this verse important? It is important because it's your friends and family that will be your best backers. I have yet to get backing from a complete stranger that just happend to find my project interesting. So to my friends and family that have backed me with either their pledges or their support on social media, "Thanks for being there for me, I'm grateful for you!"
To Extraordinary Friendships!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
KickStarter Journal Day 3
It's Day 3 of my KickStarter journey and today I gained an new backer. Yeah!
As I said in Day 1 I planned on going beyond social media and texting to actually having meaningful conversations with people who may be potential backers. I did the very thing and had lunch with a friend. I also shared my story at a party and I gave a plug for my book at my men's group. After speaking with them I did get confirmation that some of them would back me.
Now you may be thinking that one of those conversations led to me getting a new backer today. Actually after waiting all day to check the status as I vowed to do in Day 2, I opened it up at 7:45 PM and saw that I didn't get any new pledges. A little disappointed I started thinking what my next strategy would be. Then my angel appeared. My little girl looked over my shoulder and asked if I got any more backers today. When I told her no, she quickly replied, "I'll back you, daddy!"
Wow! My little girl just made my day and she just made this journey even more meaningful. So today I'm signing off with a high note and I look forward to what tomorrow brings.
To a Life Beyond Ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
KickStarter Journal Day 2
I awoke early this morning to get some exercise and prepare myself for my work day. Before I left for my workout I jumped on my KickStarter campaign to see if anyone got bored during the wee hours and thought it would be cool to back my project. Wishful thinking but no luck.
As I returned from my workout I thought about what types of lessons I could learn from the day. The first thing I decided to do was not check my campaign every hour on the hour or every minute on the minute. I made a decision to wait until the evening to check the status.
The word of God says, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Phil 4:6-7
The Bible verse served me well today because as you can see in the above image I didn't get any new backers and if I had checked it every few minutes then every few minutes I would have been discouraged. Instead all day I imagined that I was going to be 50% funded by the end of the night.
By allowing myself to think positively I actually felt excited all day. I felt like a little kid awaiting his Christmas presents. Although I was a bit disappointed with the end number I am still sitting here with a smile because the journey is giving me something to write about and if I was fully funded by day two then what would I write about tomorrow?
Signing out for now!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
KickStarter Journal Day 1
So you decided to start a KickStarter campaign. Now what?
I finally published my second book, Stop Googling Yourself: Finding Peace in a Noisy World, and decided to take a different approach to marketing. Instead of directly selling my books via my website or Amazon I decided to create a crowd funding campaign to create a buzz about my book and raise capital to purchase inventory and pay for some marketing. I have a positive outlook on this venture as I am looking at it as a learning opportunity. If it funds out, Fantastic! If not then at least I tried and can walk away with some lessons learned.
I plan to journal for the duration of the campaign so not only will I have a record of the experience but others will also see some ups and downs of a KickStarter Campaign.
Day 1. I launched my campaign today and sent it out via MailChimp, an email marketing tool. It's free if you have a small audience as I do. When your mailing list grows then you will eventually have to move to a pay plan.
Not only did I send it out via MailChimp but I also texted a few family members and friends to share the campaign on their social media platforms. I especially needed this help as I am not on Facebook or Instagram.
Within the first 30 minutes of my launch I got my first backer. Yeah! Someone likes me! After that it wasn't until late in the day that I got my second backer which was awesome but stressful waiting! I did start to doubt myself but I knew I had to be patient.
At the end of the day I am 5% funded and look forward to tomorrow. I learned two things today. Lesson #1, manage expectation. Although I positively thought my campaign would be funded in one day I have to be realistic. Lesson #2, reach out beyond email and social media. So I plan on sitting down with some potential backers and sharing my vision in hopes that they can find a reason to back me. When it comes down to it, it's all about relationships.
I await to see what tomorrow brings. Bye for now!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats
NEW BOOK LAUNCH! - Stop Googling Yourself - Orlando Javien Jr.
I am so excited to share the great news that after 5 years I finally finished my second book. This book is similar to my first book, God Made Me Pick Up Underwear: Finding Faith in Unusual Places as it is filled with short chewable stories about a simple man's journey of faith. Not only am I excited to share my new stories but I am also proud to display my kids artistic work. They were instrumental in creating drawings that correlated to the chapter titles. Click to watch book trailer and reserve your copy!
LostandConfusedCatholic.com
Are you seeking answers about the Catholic faith? Have you searched the internet only to find negative views of the church? Have you found some positive Catholic resources that left you positive but still confused?
If you said "Yes" to any of the above questions then you have arrived at the right place. In 2010 I had many questions about the faith. Wanting answers I began searching the internet. I searched terms like: "The Case for the Catholic Church" and "Is the Catholic Church wrong?" Instead of finding favorable sites, I found sites that were aimed at bashing the church and I found myself lost and confused.
Even though I didn't find the answers on the internet I continued to seek and to make a long story short I was eventually confirmed on April 23, 2011. I have now been a Catholic for about five years and every day I fall more and more in love with the church.
Although I made the commitment to the church I still had some questions. Since I am a simple man, I like simple answers. This website was created to bring together stories and videos of simple answers to the complex questions of the Catholic faith. As I find them I will post them to this website. I hope you find this site useful in your journey to holiness.
To a faith beyond ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr.
What is your purpose?
To subscribe to these great videos go to http://www.darrendaily.com/GREAT/
One of the great ideas of this video was to write out your eulogy. If you know what you want people to say about you when you die, you can better plan how you live.
At my eulogy I would want people say that I made a difference in their lives. I'd like them to say I made them laugh more, smile more and most importantly love more.
What would you like people to say your funeral?
New Book Release - Stop Googling Yourself
After 5 years I finally finished my second book. It is expected to be released summer 2016.
Synopsis:
With a world filled with email, social
media and smart phones, one would think life would be a lot simpler, so much
more peaceful. Instead, we have become accustomed to a life of multitasking and
trying to complete the never ending “To Do List.” We have forgone peace for
busyness and wonder why our lives are overtaken by the noises of this world.
We work the 60 hour work week trying
to climb the ladder of success, only to find the ladder was leaning on the
wrong wall.
We buy the bigger homes in hopes it
will make us more comfortable then find ourselves uncomfortable with the
monthly mortgage payments.
We enroll our children in every
activity imaginable and wonder why we don’t have time.
Our lives are jam-packed with so much
noise it’s not a surprise that many can’t hear the still small voice of God.
In Stop Googling Yourself, Finding
Peace in a Noisy World, Orlando Javien Jr. shares the noises in his own life in
hopes that it will help others turn down the volume and live a life beyond ordinary.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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