38 People Who Helped Me in 2014
I was recently reflecting on the past year with all its failures and successes. The failures (of which there were many) were of course my own. However, I can’t take full credit for any of my successes.
As I thought about the good things that happened in my business and teaching in 2014, I began to make a list of the people who helped in some way. Of course there are people like Jeff Goins, Michael Hyatt, Dan Miller, Pat Flynn and others whose podcasts, blogs, and books have been helpful to me and so many others.
But there are others who have helped in some kind of personal way. In this post I want to acknowledge the friends who contributed to my success in the last year. (I’m including some key people from my “day job” at St. Louis Christian College because my work there often overlaps with my writing and blogging.) A few of these are groups, not individuals, but who’s counting?
I hope this encourages you to think about people who have helped you recently, and reminds you that you can’t accomplish anything worthwhile on your own.
In no particular order:
Justin Larson is part of my Monday morning mastermind group. I owe him a huge debt because he was the one who initially invited me to it.
Steve Spring was also part of my Monday morning mastermind group for a time and has provided some individual coaching as well. He was also gracious enough to let me guest post on his site.
Eric Elder has been a great friend for many years, is part of my Monday morning mastermind, and allowed me to write several articles for The Ranch newsletter. You can find these here, here, here and here.
KC Procter invited me to send some book ideas for ChurchMag Press and was instrumental in publishing my book 30 Days of Evernote for Churches.
Kimanzi Constable provided personal business coaching and has co-taught three great courses I’ve taken recently: Ripples to Waves (writing), Stop Chasing Influencers (business), and Self-Publishing Success Academy (topic should be obvious).
Jared Easley co-taught the Stop Chasing Influencers course mentioned above.
Dixie Gillaspie co-taught the Ripples to Waves course mentioned above.
Jimmy Burgess co-taught the Self-Publishing Success Academy course mentioned above.
Ellory Wells is a friend I met through Tribe Writers, and we were part of a writer’s group for a time. He has provided some great counsel at key moments and also interviewed me for his podcast.
Christy Piper is another friend I met through Tribe Writers, and she was part of the same writer’s group. She gave me some great feedback about my blog and writing.
Rye Taylor was part of my Monday mastermind for a time and interviewed me for his podcast. He also gave me some great business feedback at a critical time.
Mary McEntire is the proofreader for my books and always offers insightful feedback. She also just happens to be my Mom!
Cliff Ravenscraft, Daniel J. Lewis, and Steve Stewart offered invaluable feedback about my podcast when I was deciding whether to continue.
Blake Atwood, Chris Morris, and Jim Woods are writers who have given me some great feedback and encouragement about my blog and writing. Plus, I am the oldest one in the group so they make me feel younger.
Don Sanders has taught me a lot about Evernote and let me interview him for my Evernote book. He also happens to be my older brother!
Jonathan Pearson is an Evernote ninja who also let me interview him for my book.
Jim Politte is another Evernote ninja who let me interview him for my book.
Dan Black is one of the most gracious people I know. He let me guest post on his blog and is also a frequent commenter on my own blog.
Joshua Rivers is a good friend who interviewed me for his podcast.
Jeff Brown has an awesome podcast and let me interview him for my own podcast.
Jon Nicol is doing great work as a worship team coach and let me borrow his platform for a guest post on his site.
Melissa AuClair is a great writer who let me guest post on her site.
My students at St. Louis Christian College have been very gracious as I have learned some new skills teaching hybrid courses and tested out some of my writing and other ideas in Intro to the Arts, Intro to Worship, Worship Leading, Communication Technology for Ministry, and Faith & Film. It is truly my privilege to be their professor, and I probably learn more from them than they learn from me.
Dr. Mike Chambers, our Academic Dean at SLCC, has been gracious and encouraging in allowing me to develop a couple of new courses the last few years that have let me explore my interests and add some new aspects to our curriculum.
Dr. Guthrie Veech, the President of SLCC, is literally the most positive person I know. I have appreciated his encouragement to write and to continue exploring the relationship between technology and ministry.
Kristi Griffith is the most gifted graphic designer I know. She was a big help in the early stages of redesigning our college website and developing some promo pieces for our new online program—two projects I had the privilege of helping with over the past year.
Elliot Voris is SLCC’s IT director and a web design ninja. He was the mastermind behind redesigning our college website and is always ready to cheerfully help.
Doug Lay, Dr. Eddy Sanders, and Karen Duffy are three SLCC professors who have really encouraged me in my writing and development of Evernote material.
Everyone who purchased 30 Days of Evernote and my Evernote video course (which I’m currently updating and is not available for purchase at the moment) has been a huge encouragement to me. Thank you!!
Don Sanders Sr., my Dad, has been a big encouragement in my blogging, writing, and treehouse-building.
My son Ben, who turns 11 this April, keeps me going with his hugs and our Friday night campouts in the living room (which we have been doing for several years).
I saved the best for last. My wife Melanie is my most honest critic and biggest encourager. She patiently waited for 18 years while I talked about writing a book but didn’t have the courage to do anything about it. Her faith in me has made all the difference.
As John Donne said, “No man is an island.” If you’ve accomplished anything worthwhile, you almost certainly had some help. I hope this list encourages you to think about all the people who have helped you and say thanks in some way.
Who helped you in some important way recently?
