I ain't afraid of no ghost!

"Life is so simple, and it is not jumping here or there and looking for something more or better. It is being thankful where you are and learning to give and share what you have where you are. When something comes along and moves you in a different direction, then fine. But do not be on the constant lookout for something else. Don’t be a world changer: Let God change you and your world changes because He changed you. You are going to fail changing the world." ~ Charlie “Tremendous” Jones

This Sunday, October 16th, marks the 8-year anniversary of my father Charlie "Tremendous" Jones triumphant entrance into Heaven. People lament the passage of time, but I love the perspective it gives you. Like a mountain climber who can only survey the majesty when he has worn his fingers, muscles, and boots to their limit, you can turn to see exactly how far you’ve come. As with any journey, mine it was fraught with risk, trials, and tribulations. There were familial schisms, malicious allegations, unfounded lawsuits, intimate betrayals and even a slanderous fake Facebook account. I’ve built, bought, sold, rebranded, disbanded and wondered what on earth I was doing for a great portion of this journey.

But I always had peace. I always had the Tremendous community. I always had the countless books to pour into. I always had the Spirit letting me know it was all going to work out for the best. I often get asked about being a success, and I’m not really sure I can tell you much about that. What I can speak to is how to go from being Beat Up to Up Beat. And that gives me great joy because I remember this was my father’s singular bell he rang consistently until his last breath.

Speaking of my father, they say the two biggest fears in life are the fear of death and fear of public speaking. Those of you that have heard my father knew how unafraid of public speaking he was. But did you know how eagerly he anticipated his earthly end and graduation to renewed a body? When people would call him and say they were praying for his healing, he would scold them saying, “Stop trying to pray me out of where I want to go!”. When fellow Christians would stop by the say another goodbye, he’d tell them he needed to focus on the unsaved because he knew he’d see his friends again in Heaven. Talk about a push to the finish. It’s as if he was actually racing towards death!

This October, we need not be scared of what may or may not happen in life, even our own mortality. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that it’s all about the process, and not the results. It’s all about getting up and honoring our future, and not letting the past knock us out and keep us down. Fear causes us to be passive. We take a step and then look around to see what the fallout will be. When we live in a state of peace and not fear we can stop managing change and start leading it. We can be and act fearless because we know in the end it’ll all be okay, and if it’s not okay it’s not the end.

I honestly figured after my father passed I’d come back home, tidy up the business, and close up shop. I had no idea that eight years from now we’d still be reinventing tremendous. I could not have done it without you, and I want to thank you for continuing with me on this journey. I am only starting to grasp the dedication and support you provided when I was least aware of it. So this Halloween here’s to things that go bump in the night. May they wake you up so you can pick up something tremendous to read!