What Is Your Position?

As a woodturner we want several things; sometimes we want to sell our pieces. Sometimes we want others to admire them and tell us how wonderfully skilled we are. Sometimes we want someone to show us what we are doing wrong so we can be successful with a particular technique. Sometimes we want someone to share their secret techniques so we can make the same kind of thing. Sometimes we want a bigger better different machine, tool, accessory or even a bigger shop.

I learned some of the very important things in life during my two years as an unsuccessful professional bass fisherman which translate to many different areas of life. I learned that if you want to catch fish, you have to take a position where the fish are. I learned that bass don’t jump into the boat by themselves that you must make repeated offerings (casts) of something they actually want before you get a bite. I learned that different kinds of fish will bite different kinds of lures. I learned that one very good successful day on the water is often followed by several bad days in a row. I learned that doing the same exact thing that worked yesterday may not work at all to day. I learned that some days I was King! And some days I was the court jester (read fool). I learned that my God, the creator of the universe has a sense of humor and that he is far wiser than I ever imagined and he is always in control no matter what my circumstances tell me.

So, what do you want and have you positioned yourself to receive? If you want to display your items seeking validation and praise for your value as an artist, what are you doing to get some of your items into art galleries, county fairs, magazines and other showcases where folks can see what you’ve made? If you want to learn how to fix one or more turning problems, have you signed up for a class, have you asked someone in your turning club for help, have you hunted for a video on YouTube for solutions to your issue? If you want a bigger better badder lathe, what is your plan for accumulating the money, establishing a time frame, selling some surplus equipment, having a yard sale, etc. Have you let folks know you are looking? Or, are you just sitting there hoping it will magically jump into the boat?

If you want to sell your stuff, how many holiday festivals or craft fairs have you signed up for? How many galleries and gift shops have you called on in person with samples in hand offering your merchandise? Do you have your own website? Have you listed your items on Etsy? EBay? Amazon? What bass fishing taught me is that nothing happens unless I make it happen myself and it us usually like pushing rope up a hill. It never gets any easier. Sitting in the boat waiting makes for a very long day. If you want results, you must do the work. Decide what you want then position yourself to receive the answer and start doing the work. It is totally up to you, because wherever you go, there you are.

Here is my inspiration for this week’s message:

Luke 11:5–8 NIV2

(5) Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread . . . (8) I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

Deut 28:8 NIV2

The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.