bdentzy | Bryan Entzminger

Who Is Successful?

Bryan Entzminger — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

The word “successful” immediately brings Warren Buffett to my mind. I think this is probably for a few reasons. First, he’s incredibly wealthy and a nearly incomparable investor who truly understands the fundamentals of what he’s doing. He’s old but still skilled, having achieved success without exploiting or belittling others – at least from what I can see. This contrasts sharply with other wealthy and productive individuals who often bring controversy and division wherever they are.

Of course, I haven’t ever met Warren, and I’ve not researched that hard, so maybe I am just ill-informed. But that’s what I think I see. However…

It’s Not Enough

I don’t think that’s enough, because all the things I’ve focused on will be surrendered when he dies. Nothing that he’s earned or saved up will go with him. The money will be distributed according to whatever plans he’s put in place (after the government gets their cut). The assets will eventually be sold off. The company will almost certain eventually fail, because this is the nature of things.

In fact, this has been coming up in my personal Quiet Time over the past few days as I’ve been reading and reflecting on Ecclesiastes 2. The Teacher considers things like,

… all my toil which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who comes after me, and who knows whether He will be wise or a fool. (Ecclesiastes 2:18b-19a)

and,

… sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it…. (Ecclesiastes 2:21b)

In these I’m reminded (and I need to be reminded) that nothing in this life lasts. We die. We leave things and people behind. Nothing can be taken with us when we die.

The only things that last are the investments we’ve made in God’s Kingdom. And really, those are just the things we are able to join in with God.

The Truly Successful Person

I want to be clear before I go any further; I don’t know Warren Buffett or the condition of his soul, so I am not in any way trying to imply that he’s not successful. Rather, I want to use the contrast of the wealth of the world with the wealth of the Kingdom.

The wealth of the Kingdom is found in the presence of God. It flows out as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. It’s in peace, hope, and joy. It’s worked out in depth of relationship and bearing the burdens of one another.

It may not look like a spotlight or a large investment portfolio or even getting the jobs we want. But the life lived with God is successful, no matter what it looks like.

Who Is Successful? is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

I Don’t Want to Impose

Bryan Entzminger — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Okay, so this one was prompted by an experience, not by a writing prompt. So, I hope it’s worthwhile and not just a personal therapy session out there for the entire world to see :)

I Don’t Like to Impose

I don’t like to impose on people. I don’t even like to feel like I might be imposing. I don’t see the point in paying a counselor to dig into my childhood for potential issues. But anyway, the fact remains: I don’t like to impose.

And I think that can be a good thing in some cases. It keeps me from being lazy and relying on others to take care of what should be my responsibility. But there are also some downsides.

Remaining Immature

It makes me feel immature, thinking I can manage on my own and don’t need anyone. Almost as though the height of maturity is being completely self-sufficient instead of realizing that I was designed by God to have limitations and to need others.

But that’s not the worst one.

Missing Out on Relationships

This is the one that hits hard, partly because maintaining relationships has always been difficult for me. I can make friends, for sure, but I’m always more focused on ideas and actions and I struggle to pull myself back to what’s ACTUALLY important – people.

The way this often works itself out in my life is that I never call, text, or email without a purpose. I don’t just connect with people.

I don’t want to interrupt.
I don’t know what to talk about.
I’m afraid they don’t actually want to connect with me.

There are probably reasons behind this, but it was really highlighted for me over the past week because of two specific experiences.

The first was that a couple friends from High School were going to be in town, and they reached out to see if we could get together. This, to me, was incredibly meaningful and we ended up having a great time.

But that brought the question to mind: “How often have I been in proximity to friends and didn’t ask if they wanted to get together?”

Too often.

And the second experience was similar. An old roommate was in town for a funeral and reached out to see if we could have lunch to catch up. We hadn’t seen each other in almost two decades, and I was humbled that he even thought of reaching out to me.

And as I heard him describing the relationship he’d been able to maintain with some of his older friends over the years, I realized what I’ve been missing out on by not being that guy who reaches out.

Will This Realization Change Everything?

Truthfully, I don’t know. I have a long history of not reaching out. But I would like to see that change and discover what kind of person I become.

I Don’t Want to Impose is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

Principles For Life

Bryan Entzminger — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

What principles define how you live?

Wow! Talk about a can of worms. Transparency is challenging because I strive to follow Jesus’ two greatest commandments: to love God and love my neighbor.

I think that’s an inspiring idea, but the truth is I live by the principle of “we fall down, and we get back up.” Not of my own strength or volition, but prompted and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

In a practical sense, it might look like this:

I behave selfishly.
I realize I’ve been selfish and ask God’s forgiveness and strength to make things right.
I behave arrogantly.
I realize I’ve been arrogant and ask God’s forgiveness and strength to make things right.
I am impatient or unkind.
I realize I’ve been impatient and unkind and ask God’s forgiveness and strength to make things right.
I allow myself to be ruled by fear or desire.
I realize I’ve allowed myself to be pulled away from who God wants me to be and ask God’s forgiveness and strength to make things right.

I don’t think this is something to be proud of, but I can’t pretend I live by the principles I wish I did. However, in all this I believe that God is working in and through me to fulfill His will, often despite my own efforts.

Principles For Life is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

Giving Away a Million

Bryan Entzminger — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

I had no idea when I started writing based on daily prompts how deep some of the questions would get and how hard it would be to answer them. I realize I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record (remember those?) but this is tough.

I’ll assume I can’t give it away to family to avoid obvious and self-serving answers like my parents, wife, or kids. Those choices hardly seem fair, since I could be effectively giving it back to myself.

I’ll assume the $1,000,000 is completely tax-free to avoid calculating after-tax percentages.

Not a Person

I doubt I’d want to give $1,000,000 directly to someone.

Why is that? Am I just afraid they’d waste the money?

Well, truthfully, that is part of it. However, research also suggests that receiving a large sum of money can negatively impact the lives and relationships of the recipients. To be sure, the research on this is somewhat contested, but I don’t want to make someone’s life worse.

So whether I’m just being a control freak (it’s possible) or am truly caring for people, I would probably not go down that road. Instead, I would probably choose an organization. And two specific organizations come to mind.

The first is my church (the one I’m part of, not like I own it), Springhouse Worship and Arts Center. I truly believe that an infusion of $1,000,000 would be used in ways I would be proud of and would benefit the community and advance God’s Kingdom.

My next preference would be Megavoice Audio Bibles. They once sponsored my first podcast – the Engaging Missions Show – and I believe they are doing a great thing by making audio Bibles available in hundreds of different languages.

In either of these, or splitting between them, I don’t think I could go wrong in giving a gift that could be an investment in God’s Kingdom.

Giving Away a Million is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

When Will I Feel Like a Grown Up?

Bryan Entzminger — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

Well, this one will be quick because I still don’t really feel like grown up. I mean, I do what I think of as “grown up” things, but I still very much feel like a teen trapped in the body of a grown up. In fact, at more than fifty years old, I wonder if anyone ever really feels like a grown up.

Maybe It’s Just Perspective

As I ponder this question, I wonder if I don’t know what it feels like to be a grown up because I thought the adults in my life had it all figured out. They seemed to know the answers to the questions. They could fix problems. They talked about things with a perspective that comes from experience more than education. So I thought being a grown up meant knowing the right thing to do.

Now that I’m in the range of middle age, I wonder if I look to younger folks like I know what’s going on and how to fix things. Unfortunately, I still feel like that confused kid who thinks everyone else understands everything.

This Much I Know

I don’t know that this makes me a grown up, but I have lived long enough and have seen enough to know that I don’t have to have the answers. That maturity isn’t in knowing everything, but in having the humility to recognize my limitations and lean on others.

As a person of faith, I believe there is One who knows what’s happening, has a plan, and whom I can trust. That doesn’t mean I like it. But I think that maybe today is a day when I start realizing I’m a grown up, even if I don’t “feel” like it most of the time.

When Will I Feel Like a Grown Up? is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

What’s the Hardest Goal You’ve Achieved?

Bryan Entzminger — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?

For the longest time I never really thought of myself as goal-oriented. I mean I’d go through the trainings to learn about SMART or SMARTeR goals, and I’d kind of bristle at the thought of them.

I find it challenging to fully commit to one thing without neglecting others, which seems related to my personality. But at the same time, I could easily see that in the context of business, this could be used to say, “These are the goals YOU set. We’re just holding you accountable,” recgnizing that there was an element of social pressure to set the goals that were expected.

Thankfully, I’ve moved past that, at least in part, and have a healthier relationship with goals. That said, I think the hardest goal I ever set and achieved was actually two interrelated health and activity goals.

A Little Background

For most of my life I’ve preferred sedentary activities. I’d easily choose reading over running or watching TV over walking. It wasn’t even a contest to think about working on a computer instead of standing up or working out.

As you might expect, that kind of preference can have some side effects, which can be clearly observed on the scale or when walking up a flight of stairs.

Thankfully, one autumn, my brother suggested that we all train to run a 5k race because he wasn’t happy with what he was seeing either. I trained for that race and I ran it, but I wasn’t happy with the results – I think it was about 32 minutes.

Stepping It Up

So, after the race, I set a personal goal to regularly run 5k races (2-3 per year) and to get my weight down to what the American Medicial Association (AMA) had published as an ideal weight for someone of my height.

Additionally, I didn’t just want to run the race, I wanted a race time that I could be proud of. Not the winner, but something under 25 minutes.

Making Training Regular

As I’d been training for that first 5k, I would occasionally run early in the morning or in the evening, but that was taking away from family time (and also from podcasting… but that’s a separate thing). Because of that, I chose to move my running (and I use that term VERY loosely) to lunchtime while I was at work.

I should probably mention that at the time there was a walking trail near the office that was right about 1.5 miles round-trip, so I started making regular use of that trail. And at the same time, I started tracking my calorie consumption and weight using My Fitness Pal.

It Took FOREVER

I wish I could say that simple intention and regular training made it easy, but that was quite the opposite of my experience. It took me MONTHS and several races to achieve the race goal I was targeting.

And it took even longer for me to drop the weight.

I guess that shouldn’t be surprising – it took me over 40 years to put the weight on. But it was a tremendous challenge for me to drop the weight and even more challenging to keep it off.

It’s Not One and Done

Once I’d achieved both goals, I had a new challenge that I didn’t expect to be as hard as it was – setting a maintenance goal. You see, while it’s difficult to achieve a goal, it was even more difficult for me to remain disciplined when the goal was just to not give up what was gained.

In fact, now that I think about it, maintenance is probably the hardest goal I’ve set. Unfortunately, I’ve not achieved that goal, which is why I’m back to setting a different kind of goal.

Sure, I could point to all kinds of external factors and trade-off decisions. But in the end, the fact remains that my maintenance goal has NOT been achieved.

I’m not proud of that. In fact, it’s hard to admit to myself where I was and where I am now. My scale has no problem admitting it, but I do.

If I Had It to Do Over

If I had it all to do over, I think I would still set the achievement goals. But I still struggle with what I would do to make the transition to the maintenance goal because, as it turns out, that was the hardest.

What’s the Hardest Goal You’ve Achieved? is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

My Favorite Artists

Bryan Entzminger — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:24:46 +0000

Who are your favorite artists?

This one digs deep because there are so many different mediums and genres within those mediums. It’s hard for me to nail down a simple few and I don’t have the time to walk through all my memories, so maybe I’ll focus on just audio and music.

How It Started

My love affair with music and audio has been around for at least as long as I can remember. I know I’ve seen pictures of myself as a toddler with headphones on listening to music on my dad’s stereo.

That was probably when I was around two years old. Maybe a little older, maybe a little younger. I don’t know if that’s weird or not, but it’s the history I have.

As a kid in school, I LOVED music class and I joined the orchestra as soon as I was old enough; I think that was fourth grade for me. I played violin and I wasn’t very good. Also, I didn’t like the orchestra director.

Discovering Jazz

So… as soon as I was able, I switched over to band class and started playing the saxophone. It was in 7th grade that I discovered big band jazz when I joined the jazz band. I learned to love the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Weather Report, and more.

In high school, my musical interests split into two areas: I loved playing jazz and listening to rock and metal bands like Petra, White Heart, and Stryper.

A New Thread (We’ll Call It Classical)

My love for music led me to study it in college, which deepened my interest in classical music.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t just from the Classical era, but everything from pre-renaissance chant to early 20th Century Avant Garde.

As this passion began to grow, I started to really enjoy J.S. Bach (no surprise) and Handel, but also Mozart, Beethoven, Mussorgksy, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Ravel, and so many more. Probably the two I had the most trouble connecting with were Mahler and Wagner.

Wait. EDM Too?!

Now, much older, I’ve also developed a love for electronic music, and I would have to say that Reyer is among my favorites. While I quite enjoy a number of worship-oriented artists, I think I like his covers better than the originals.

But Wait. There’s More!

And speaking of covers, I also quite like Scary Pockets. Some of their music may have lyrics that need a warning, but musically, they are excellent.

Speaking of excellent, I can’t forget about Cory Wong and also Dirty Loops.

Now that I think of it, I could go on and on and on. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but there are some that come to mind as I write this.

What About You?

Who are some of your favorite artists?

My Favorite Artists is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

What Are You Thinking?

Bryan Entzminger — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 20:26:55 +0000

Right now, I’m thinking about …

Well, doesn’t this make for great blog content? :)

There are so many things I’m thinking about right now, it’s hard to focus on just one thing. I’m currently considering everything on my to-do list and feel that focusing on myself isn’t great blog material. After all, who would want to read about my random thoughts?

But I guess that’s all part of this experiment to reconnect. So, here goes.

Daily Content Creation

It’s Sunday, and I’m just a few days into my new writing routine using prompts. I’m still not sure how open I want to be on the internet because I feel like it’s hard for me to know where the appropriate lines should be drawn.

After all, my wife would be pretty unhappy to learn I’d shared something online that I’d never shared with her, though that will almost certainly happen at some point.

If I take this one step further, I do wonder how long I can keep up with a regular practice of creation. I’ve done daily blog posts and daily podcast episodes before, and it’s super hard to maintain. Even now I’m looking towards some time out of town and not sure if I even want to maintain a regular schedule while I’m on vacation with my family. I wish I had more wisdom in this area, but trade-offs are decisions I often struggle with.

It’s not like I can do a NPV (net present value) calculation to understand the best approach here as I might do in business.

Refinement

There are, of course, other things I’m uncertain about. A couple of them come to mind. The first is that our pastor mentioned a season of refinement in today’s sermon and I can definitely see that.

However, I also have areas of my life where I’ve been struggling against that refinement. Where I’ve been trying to keep control or even keep things private. And this has very much also been a season where some of the weaknesses that come with middle age are now making themselves more public.

Notably, I’m not super fond of walking through an airport carrying with me the evidence of age and genetics, but here we are.

And that spills over into other areas of my life as well. It’s not comfortable. I don’t like it. And I’m struggling with it a little bit.

Uncertainty in Focus

Finally, as I think about ordering my life, I’m focusing more on creative outlets right now. I have so many ideas for podcasts I’d love to launch, blog posts I’d like to write, and so on. At the same time, I recognize that I need to spend more time with my family and in intentional time with God.

And I wonder…

Are all of these things I have in mind – the things I want to do, the ideas I have, the shows I’d love to host – just a distraction from where I would find blessing and rest and the fulfillment of my calling? Am I allowing myself to be too inward-focused and selfish instead of selflessly focusing on God and the needs of those around me?

I probably am. And I ‘m looking for that clarity.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, I’m so thankful that you reveal things to us even when we’re selfish and faithless and focused on ourselves and our needs. Forgive me for the many ways I stumble and fall and walk willfully away from your plan in my life. Guide me and hold me firmly in your providence, accomplishing your will in my life, my family, and my community for your glory and the advancement of your Kingdom.

What Are You Thinking? is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

Hobbies Are Okay

Bryan Entzminger — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 14:53:58 +0000

What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

This prompt is fun to answer, but it feels strange since my hobby turned into a successful freelance business that’s now facing some challenges.

My hobby is podcasting. Or, more specifically, creating and editing audio podcasts. I’ve started dipping my toe into the world of video, but I’m still pretty new at that.

I love (and sometimes strongly dislike) what podcasting makes possible. From a technology standpoint, it’s possible for pretty much everyone to have a voice and to share what they create. And there really are no “rules.” Many industry leaders continually challenge existing “rules” to expand possibilities.

Do you want to host an interview show? You can do that. (Check out the Engaging Missions Show)
Do you want to host a monologue, co-hosted, or panel show? You can do that. (Check out the Podcast Gauntlet)
Do you want to host a news show? You can do that. (Check out Podnews)
Do you want to host a true-crime show? Everybody knows you can do that.
What about a narrative or fiction show? Yup.
What about a music show? If you can get the rights to the music, you can do that. (Check out Boostagram Ball)
Would you like to share your original music? You can do that. (Check out the music section on TrueFans.fm)
Do you want your show to be available in every app? You can do that.
Do you want to restrict your show to just one app or platform? You can do that. (but why???)
Would you like to share your views without worrying that a tech giant can easily cancel your show just because they dislike it? You can do that.

Those, in my mind, are all building on one central theme. Podcasting gives you a voice and makes it hard, if not impossible for you to be silenced.

What about the cost?

Now, let’s be clear – it can (and usually does) cost money to produce a podcast. But it doesn’t have to be an outrageous budget. For about $100 up-front and maybe $20 per month, you could get started. (Or even for free…)

To be sure, you CAN spend more. Starting a show can be overwhelming, so people often hire me for initial setup or ongoing editing and podcast management. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you have the knowledge, the time, and the commitment to continuous improvement, you might not need someone like me.

And there are becoming more and more ways to offset that cost. Some you probably know of – advertising, sponsorships, selling merch, premium content. But the one that interests me the most is value for value.

But you don’t have to offset the cost if you don’t want to. You don’t have to make money.

Because hobbies can stay hobbies if you want them to. And it’s okay for a hobby to cost money (don’t ask your golfer friends what they paid for clubs, memberships, green fees, and fancy pants).

Back to the hobby

For me, podcasting is a hobby, but it’s more than a hobby. It’s also a passion, and a business where I’m able to serve. And it’s something I want to see more people enjoy.

Hobbies Are Okay is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.

Losing It All

Bryan Entzminger — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 16:43:05 +0000

What would you do if you lost all of your possessions?

This one’s probably going to be a bit more of a prayer because as I’ve been pondering, I’m not so sure if I like what I see. As much as I’d like to think I would respond in a mature and faith-filled way, I’m not so sure.

Am I so attached to my possessions and opportunities that losing them would devastate me?

I might be.

I might respond like Job when he lost everything: “I came into this world with nothing and will leave with nothing. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21). But how long would that last?

I don’t know. Maybe a day or two? Maybe a little longer.

And here’s the deal: it’s really all God’s. I believe it’s mine, and I should absolutely be responsible in how I manage what I have without wasting it. But it’s not mine. I don’t get to keep it. And one day I will truly lose it all because I can’t take it with me.

I’m emotional thinking about this because it reflects Jesus’ message (paraphrased): if you want to save your life, you’ll lose it; if you give it up for His sake, you’ll find true life.

What would I do?

I hope I would rest in faith in God’s faithfulness. I would like to think that I would pray and seek God for a plan to take care of my needs. And my deep desire is that I would trust Him.

I might founder.
I might thrash.
I might get depressed.
I might try to do things my own way.

But I have to believe that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes.

It may not be comfortable. It would likely not be fun. I might find myself struggling in my faith and leaning on my community of believers.

But I have to believe that it’s not up to me to fix it. It’s just up to me to be faithful and obedient and trust God for the rest.

Losing It All is a post from BRYAN ENTZMINGER.