Angus Nelson

I’ve been involved in this program called “Backstage Leadership” for the past few months.  It’s an opportunity to go one-on-one with some pretty incredible individuals while at the same time developing a game plan towards my goals with a personal coach.  One of the first people we had the opportunity to hear from is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, Michael Hyatt.  What made this particular interaction special is the fact that is was in person at a kick-off luncheon in Atlanta.

I had pre-meditated my questions for this occasion writing them down strategically on paper before arriving at the affair.  This guy had a blog I read often with his name on the top, not his company’s. I thought that strange as it seemed he was marketing himself instead of his company, thus carrying his own brand above the one paying him to maintain it.  I’m thinking, “if this guy leaves this company, he can take all of his followers with him – he’s leveraging a following against his company!”  In my own arrogance and naivety, I thought I’d call this guy on his own faults as I had perceived them.

How wrong I was.

Within minutes of the luncheon and introduction of Michael Hyatt, I was putting my pre-determined questions away.  Mr. Hyatt was more than humble.  In fact, I found him warm, engaging and extremely hospitable.  At that moment, I realized I had made a terrible judgement call about someone I knew very little about… yet, I was making another judgement of someone else I knew very well.

One of my struggles right now is in how to “build a brand” while still remaining authentic and personal.  I want to be me.  In no way do I want to snow job or schmooze my way into the spotlight, though for so long in my past, that’s all I did.  My intention to publicly interrogate this leader was in all actuality, an interrogation of my own heart.  It seems all of us think other people do things for the same reasons we do things.

A skewed perception of me produces a skewed perception of the world around me. This is just a fact of life.  I’m the one with the ego issues. I’m the one that struggles with validation.

This kind of honesty is a difficult pill to swallow.  After all, it’s easier to project my own failings on others than to face them in the mirror as I stare at myself.

In what ways have you struggled with your own self perception?

I’m so impressed with the CNN coverage of the Haitian earthquake. The compassion, humanity and humility is breathtaking. Despite the tragic horror that is consuming the people of Haiti, CNN captured this scene of hundreds worshipping in the streets.

I can’t do this by myself.

In light of the Haiti earthquake, I am motivated, more than ever, to get this thing going… my other option of moving my family to Haiti wouldn’t be wise at this stage.

Along this journey of promoting a book, scheduling speaking engagements, and all out onslaught to promote and win the affections of the masses, it’s easy to get caught up with too much focus on self: my product, my story, my business, my, my, my… buried in my own self-importance.  It would be easy to lose myself in this battle for market share at the cost of my friends and family.  If at the end of the day, I become the social equivalent to an Amway salesman to those I hold dear, nobody wins… regardless of my product or message.

The truth is, I can’t do any of this alone.  I can’t make a living as an author slash speaker yet.  I can’t give away 90% of my income to help fund social causes yet.  And at the rate I’m going right now, it will probably be awhile until I can.  That’s because I choose to pursue my dream while holding my family as my first priority.  As I write, my baby girl sleeps allowing me the opportunity to blog.  This will, of course, be short lived and I will return to my role of domestic dad in a few minutes.  And that’s the thing, I am given very short periods to do what I need to do in order to get to the dream of writer/speaker guy and create the opportunity for my wife to come home from her career.

I’ve helped a lot of people in my life through missions, RockWater, ministry, motivational speaking, Monster.com, Connect Huntsville, etc… now I’m asking someone to help me.  I’ve never really been that good at asking someone to help me.  Others? No problem.  But I guess I’ve been too proud. I’ve never really allowed too many people the opportunity to help me personally with much of anything.

This is where you come in… Can you help me?

Would you please join my Fan Page on Facebook? http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angus-Nelson/173089362291
Could you tell your friends about Love’s Compass? createspace.com/3414382 or http://tiny.cc/eAUch
If you have an opportunity to bring in a speaker, can you give me a call? 256-541-0210
Are you willing to help me create a social media guerilla marketing plan?
Do you have friends or family that could help get the word out?

If you’re willing, please let me know how you can help.

Jon Foreman (Switchfoot), Aaron Gillespie(Underoath/The Almost), Dustin Kensrue(Thrice), Anthony Raneri(Bayside), Josh Moore and Zach Williams sing “With A Little Help From My Friends” at the TWLOH

It was April, 2008, I had been on many a trip in several countries around the world.  But I had never been anywhere that had challenged me so deeply as my two weeks in Haiti.  Outside of the capital, Port Au Prince, about a four hour drive over stoney ground, we arrived outside the city of Colera.  This small village had nothing going for it but a dusty drive, the smell of feces, cackling chickens and eroded buildings.

The thing is, you forget all of that the moment to look into the beautiful faces of a people so resilient and proud.  You get lost in the abundance of loud, extraverted communication, the passionate expression in the language of Creole.  This people gripped my heart as it was now a part of my lineage, my family.

My wife is half Haitian, her father a full-blooded Haitian with an embolden persona and driven pride for his people.  We were all on this trip together, one that changed all of our lives.

Joe, my father-in-law, left Haiti many years ago during times of civil unrest.  He was born of privilege as his grandfather was a well-to-do Belgian.  His mother a strong, assertive Aristocratic Haitian.  My father-in-law never saw the poverty of a place like Colera, much less would he expect to return to discover this culture that still hasn’t changed in several decades.  On this trip, he was moved to tears.

My wife and I would have our own experience.  We were overwhelmed by the amount of need.  So much so that we couldn’t even fathom on where we’d start.  One afternoon, we sat on a hillside with eight little boys exchanging language lessons over on of their textbooks.  It was there that my wife and I knew that we’d have a connection to Haiti forever.

With the current devastation of this 7.0 earthquake, our hearts are rocked.  I sit here in tears not knowing whether to sell all that I have and move my family to help or to work that much harder to make money to help support the efforts already begun.  Either way, I want… I must do something.

I cannot, in good conscience, continue to sit idle while the world is in such need.

It doesn’t matter that I’m here, spoon in hand, and willing to feed.  It doesn’t matter that I can make this situation that much easier.  It doesn’t matter that I can provide a quicker and more efficient experience.  Regardless of the advantages to following my lead, she insists on doing things her way…  hmmm.