Journal
One of my most cherished gifts is getting away for some downtime on a boat and going deep into the ocean waters, skin diving. Sometimes, I have been caught in stormy waters, rocking and rolling – not the musical kind. I’m grateful for the captain’s knowledge and steady guiding hands, and for being secure in a good boat. The vessel’s core that holds it in the deep, turbulent water is its ballast. It lies deep in its core, not seen from the ship’s top and beneath the water line, allowing the boat to weather storms and reach their destinations.
Core values matter and are our personal ballasts.
Each New Year turns our thoughts toward how we will live differently and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year and our future. If our core values (our ballast) are not weighted correctly, the chances of reaching career and life destinations can be in question. Success depends on one’s core value choices. “The Lord expects you to be fair in every business deal, for He is the one who sets the standards of righteousness. Kings and leaders despise wrongdoing, for the true authority to rule and reign is built on a foundation of righteousness.” Proverbs 16:11-12 (Passion Bible).
What size boat are you building?
When building, we use a measuring tape to know how things will fit together. The Bible is our ultimate measuring stick for career and life goals. What we measure as essential core values affects our choices and sets the standards for our character and key decisions. We also use a level when building to keep things balanced. When considering future plans, a balanced perspective is necessary. That includes what people, messaging, and activities we allow to enter our lives and inform us. We determine our boat’s size by the waters in which we want to sail. Our ballast must have a measured and balanced core to float the size of the boat we’re building. We load it with weighted values based on our choices.
Core values define identity and bring acceleration.
Wandering off course happens when identity has not been weighted down in the foundations of Biblical truth. Key plans sink when core values are not firmly secured. However, when core values align with right decisions, explosive energy erupts, forming brilliant creativity and confident bold leaders. Everyone wants to be around and work with visionary, forward-thinking, and artistic people. Like magnets, we are drawn to them, feed off their endeavors, and want to go with them. They are our King Davids. When leaders are confident in their identity, it sets them apart as dynamic influencers in our culture. They are the people God is calling us to be in 2025.
This year, I want to strengthen my ballast. Want to join me? Here’s what I’ll be working on…
Gratefulness – Celebrating those tedious, mundane jobs and tasks – “Whistling while I work!”
Grace – Loving others like dogs love their owners.
Hope – Embracing life milestones without negativity but with childlike expectations.
Patience – Trusting with holy abandonment in God’s timing, and not mine.
Obedience – Taking unquestioning forward steps towards God’s desires and not my own selfish wants.
Personal Identity – Focusing my eyes on who God says I am and not cultural chatter.
Destiny – Learning more about heaven and traveling with Jesus to His destinations.
Intentionality – Turning up the volume of God’s voice within me so I can be tuned into others.
Longevity – Choosing healthy lifestyle decisions rather than what the world declares as beauty.
Mindfulness – Refocusing negative thoughts by worshipping the King of Kings.
Priorities – Spending more (and still more time) with Jesus in prayer and not on a screen.
Knowledge – Knowing God intimately because knowledge of Him informs me on all things.
Joy – Remembering that “the joy of the Lord” IS my strength.
What core value will you be working on?
Will you build a strong core to reach your destination in 2025?
Journal
“Chocolate bars are getting smaller, and everything is getting so expensive. I guess it is what it is.”
“We just have to live with it.”
That was the conversation between two people on the shuttle bus as I was heading to Heathrow Airport in the U.K. I was returning from the She Leads America hosted U. K. leadership forum at Windsor Castle and tired from a nonstop schedule but energized and enlightened with new perspectives on multiple levels.
Settling with just “how it is” wasn’t on the lips of the women whom I had spent the weekend with at this historic gathering. Granted, we were discussing some dramatic changes we see happening in both our countries and the world (and not the size of chocolate bars), but it made me stop and think about how easy it is for us to settle; to take the way of the world and trudge on doing nothing. It is counter to what God has mandated for us to do. He said, “Go” and make disciples—followers and believers of His Word and wisdom—and tell of His redemptive love that sets us free.
What was equally interesting about this particular gathering and the coming together of leaders of women from the U.S. and the U.K was that it was convening on the 80th anniversary of D-Day; June 6th, 1944 was the historic day the Americans joined with their allies, the Brits, to defeat the evil of Hitler and the Nazi regime of WWII. Evil today continues. The prince of darkness and his evil forces are still working to defeat believers of life, liberty, and the pursuit of God’s Biblical foundations that bring eternal happiness. This gathering of fearless leaders at Windsor Castle was not settling—they are determined, confident, and willing to leap with total abandon into the fire of the culture war and fight for God’s Kingdom. (more…)
Inner Views
Where do we get the confidence to push forward, take risks and negotiate without fear? Is it found in us, or in something bigger than ourselves? Read this month’s INNER VIEW as author and producer Victoria Slater shares about rooting herself in the “certainty of God”.
Bio
As the daughter of an Air Force officer, Victoria Slater spent her childhood traveling the world and gaining a passion for travel and world culture. She attained a BA in Theatre with minors in Business and French from Wright State University in Ohio, but spent a few post-college years working in chemical defense research. Yet, a lifelong dream to work in the film industry egged her on to Hollywood where Victoria worked over twenty years in the industry; she was also delighted when her new career took her back to foreign lands.
She spent a year in South Africa for TransWorld Pictures as a Production Executive and Director of Development, where she oversaw and negotiated distribution deals for the production of many feature films.
Victoria also has been part of the production teams on several independent and studio feature films and television series, including Twentieth Century Fox’s disaster film Volcano, Paramount’s Star Trek VII Generations, and Baywatch. She has also produced high-end projects ranging from commercials to short videos for private resorts and members-only clubs with the boutique post-production company, Moving Pictures, co-owned with her husband, Ken.
She is a proud member of the Producers Guild of America, where she served on the Board of Directors for nine years and chaired the mentoring program for over seven years. In 2007, Victoria was awarded the prestigious AP Council Commitment Award for her service to the PGA.
Victoria published her book, How To Negotiate Without Freaking Out, to encourage women to become better and braver negotiators. She loves God, her husband, and her two very spoiled little dogs. These are her non-negotiables.
INNER VIEW
Kathleen Cooke: You had a long and significant career working in entertainment. Looking back, what is the one thing you’d say was the most significant thing God taught you about the industry?
Victoria Slater: God taught me that He is in control. I have recently been reflecting on my past efforts to promote our business or my career that yielded no fruit. Yet projects seemed to come out of “left field” (aka from God). We have been very blessed and have done well, but I can never point to my efforts for our success. Now in making efforts to promote my book, I turn to God and ask, “what should I do?” A friend reminded me of the biblical passage in Luke 5:4, where the disciples had just returned from a night of fruitless fishing.
Jesus told them to put out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch. At first they argued with Him, but then did what He told them to do and took in an abundance of fish. That is what I am trying to do now – not go on my efforts but look to God first and follow His direction.
Kathleen: If you could tell your 20-something-self something that you know now, what would you tell her?
Victoria: “Pride goeth before the fall.” I look back on many opportunities I lost because of pride. I was given an incredible opportunity early in my production career when I was sent to South Africa as a production executive. When I returned to the States, I was a bit puffed up and turned down jobs that seemed a step back but would have led to much greater experiences. I cringe when I think of my poor judgment because I was so prideful.
Kathleen: We often aren’t honest with who we are and how God has wired us. We negotiate with Him on what we want (our will) and what He wants (His will). How can we become that authentic person and accept what He has called us to be and do?
Victoria: I love Psalm 139, especially verse 14 (NIV), which says, “I will praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” I love people who dare to be their wonderful, unique, authentic selves. It can be hard sometimes. We are, by nature, herding animals. But I find people who are authentically themselves are the most fun to be around. So, I strive to be honest and authentic with everyone I meet. And let my unique sense of humor and intellect shine through, for “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Kathleen: I love that. Especially because of the last half of that scripture, where David (the writer of Psalms) acknowledges the confidence that inward knowledge gave him. A career in media, entertainment, arts and leadership can be one of risky choices and uncertainty. Where did you find your certainty and confidence as a high-level executive making many strategic influential decisions in Hollywood?
Victoria: I was around twenty-five years old and had just broken up with my first serious relationship. We had been together for four years, and I was devastated. I was living in Dayton, Ohio working in government research on chemical defense. A friend saw how heartbroken I was and got an Air Force captain to invite me out to lunch. At that lunch, he started talking about God. God?! I didn’t want to hear about God. I wanted to be told how pretty I was. On the way back to my office, this Air Force captain asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus into my life. To this day, I can remember the feeling of standing on the edge of a precipice. If I accepted the offer, I would be jumping off a cliff. I wasn’t ready. So, I declined. Shortly after this, I was in Arizona on vacation. I was heading to California and couldn’t sleep, still upset over the breakup.
I took a walk in that arid climate and started to talk to God, and I had the overwhelming sense that He loved me and would take care of me. I accepted Christ into my life that night.
The Air Force captain will never know how much he influenced my life. You never know how God will use you to influence others. His confidence and certainty of who Jesus was in his life influenced me, and I couldn’t stop thinking of his invitation to know God personally in my life. And it’s God’s certainty living in me that still allows me to keep my confidence in Him as we continue to live in growing, uncertain times today.
Register Now for the Influence Lab Webinar with Victoria on Tuesday, August 23rd at 5:00pm PST!
The Art of Negotiation: How to Grow Your Confidence
