18 Nov Building from Scratch: Go Outside Podcast S03E5

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving. Fall is one of my favorite times of year – and not just because I obsess over college football.

Our family took a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains last month. Early one morning, Rachel’s mom insisted that they take the kids on a quick hike in the mountains to see a waterfall before the trails were crowded.

Despite the fact that nobody had breakfast yet (red flag #1), Rachel and her parents packed up our kiddos as well as my niece and nephew and headed down the road for the “short” hike.

When they arrived, Rachel knew their idea for a sweet a.m. climb with the grandparents was not good. The sign at the bottom indicated the trail was almost three miles, half uphill. There was also a warning about an abundance of black bear activity in the area (red flags #2 & 3). Not to mention the fact that all of the kids were wearing crocs and pajamas (red flag #4).

Rachel wanted to grab the little people, throw them in the van and peel out before her mom noticed. But she knew how much this experience meant to her parents…

So many of us hesitant starters are like Rachel’s mom. We are eager to take the plunge and start our new business or ministry. We have the vision and a plan (sometimes more detailed that others), and we even manage to convince the people around us to come on board.

But when we get to the bottom of the trail – the part where we see the warnings and the “what ifs”, we high tail it out of there. Heck no, I was down for adventure, but that’s just too risky. Too much uncertainty. Too many hurdles.

Whether you are in the process of considering a job change, making decisions on how to raise your kids, figuring out how you want to get off the bench and serve your church and your community, let me tell you from experience – if it’s worth it, it probably won’t ever seem easy.

Okay, that last part kind of seems like a cliché line from Remember the Titans. But stick with me. Because I want to put some skin and bones and meat on that idea for you today.

On this episode of the Go Outside podcast, I sit down with the Founder and President of GO Ministries, Brook Brotzman, and he shares about his journey to start a global movement from scratch.

This is one to shush the doubts. You don’t want to miss it.

Just to finish the story, Rachel and her family did take on the hike. She said the view and memories were worth the risk of one of our children falling off the cliff. We do love our kids, promise.