The Living Room with Louis Jackson III
Please join us for a discussion with Speaker & Social Entrepreneur, Louis Jackson III, Founder & CEO of Redefined Life, Inc., dba The Village Anderson. Additionally, he serves as the Chief Life Coach at NEXT Coaching, where he assists individuals and businesses in areas such as spirituality, relationships, entrepreneurship, and much more. If you are looking to "redefine" your life, this is the podcast for you.
The Living Room with Louis Jackson III
Embracing Chaos: Finding Creativity and Opportunity in Turbulent Times
How can the chaos of the past few years become a springboard for your next big idea? Join us in our virtual living room as we explore "Embracing Chaos: Finding Creativity and Opportunity in Turbulent Times." This episode, which originally aired in 2021, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in Afghanistan not only shifted perspectives but also driven inventive solutions.
But it doesn’t stop there. We delve into "Seeing Opportunity in Chaos," where we uncover the power of perception during uncertain times. Reflecting on significant events like racial injustice protests and even a coin shortage, we show you how to turn obstacles into opportunities. Inspired by the biblical story of Moses and the Red Sea, we illustrate how our existing resources can help us overcome any challenge. Join us as we unpack the extraordinary outcomes that can be achieved by shifting our perspectives and embracing the chaos around us.
If you are serious about taking your life to the NEXT level, check out our services today at https://mynextcoaching.com
Welcome to the Living Room Podcast, a podcast that helps individuals redefine their lives by tackling hard-hitting issues and providing a platform for thought-provoking conversations. Each week, life coach and entrepreneur Lewis Jackson III, who is the founder and CEO of Redefined Life Inc. Discusses relevant topics such as spirituality, relationships, social justice, entrepreneurship and much more. Are you ready to redefine your life? Come into the Living Room.
Speaker 2:What's up family? It's your boy, louis, and I am glad that you decided to come to the virtual living room on today. See, at the living room, we have decided that we want to be better, and so we have meaningful conversations that will help move us to our next stage in life, and that's why I'm here today. I'm here today to help you move to your next stage in life, oh, man, and I hope that you're ready to listen in on today's conversation. To listen in on today's conversation because it is actually a conversation that I had in 2021, at the height of the pandemic. I was dealing with a lot. You know, there was so much going on in the world at the time, and I begin to reference that, and I want you to hear what I felt like the Lord was giving me to give to my listeners at that time, and I believe, if you take the same principles on today, you will get some great wisdom to be able to go to that next level. If you have not subscribed to this podcast, I'm telling you Go ahead and help me out. Subscribe to this podcast, but don't only subscribe. I want you to rate it. Let's push this to number one. We want to be able to help other people and help individuals to go to their next level. And if you want more information about what we do and how we do it, I want you to go to nextcoachingorg. Nextcoachingorg and you can begin to see how we will help others reach their full potential.
Speaker 2:Well, without further ado, I want to jump right today, especially since it's been so long since I've been doing a podcast. I thought about this topic the opportunity of chaos, the opportunity of chaos. So, if you really think with me, 2021 and 2020 has been years full of chaos. Even as I speak, we're dealing with the chaotic ramifications of the pandemic the coronavirus, the different variants that is coming out. We thought we were pretty much in the clear Then. All of a sudden, now we're seeing different places shut back down because we're seeing that the coronavirus is popping off again. We're also seeing where that the United States had pulled away and pulled out of Afghanistan, but in their process of pulling out of this almost 20-year war, we're finding all kinds of chaotic things happening. People are still dying, and not just people in Afghanistan, man, some of our United States troops, some of the civilians. We're still dealing with just crazy chaos. And if you're not careful, because of this chaos, you will start thinking in a very different way, a negative way. You will internalize the chaos and it will start dealing with everything around you in a very negative way.
Speaker 2:But today I want to talk about just for the next few minutes, for the duration of the podcast man, I want to talk about this opportunity of chaos, and you got to roll with me because it occurred to me that most inventions are not invented because people were creative. You know that thought alone is a lot when you think about the different inventions that we have come accustomed to the car, the traffic light, the light itself. It wasn't just a thing that somebody said, hey, I want to create a traffic light. No, listen to this idea. I want you to really take this thought in. The spark of creativity is birthed on the premise of need. Now, if you got to, you got to like rewind what I just said there. I really want you to.
Speaker 2:The spark of creativity is birthed on the premise of need. In other words, what I'm trying to say here is that creativity only happens when there's a need. Does that make sense? It does not just happen. Any creative person that I know it is hard to just look at a blank canvas and start creating. It's just hard. But usually when you become your best self, when, when you're creating, it's because something has sparked it, something has got your imagination in a way that has made you end up having to figure out what to do.
Speaker 2:Think about this Henry Ford did not spend his valuable time perfecting the assembly line just because he wanted to be creative. Come on, man. No, think about it. We see, back in that day, mass production of the automobile became a need of the times and since the need was not being met, an opportunity presented itself. Do you hear that? He was not sitting around, just like man, I want to go ahead and do this, just so I can have something to do. There was a massive need and because of the need, opportunity came to the surface. Now stick with me. Think about this If chaos or need creates the environment through which creativity is formed, then comfort is the enemy of creativity.
Speaker 2:I'm going to say that again. Okay, I'm going to say that again. If chaos or need creates the environment through which creativity is formed, then comfort is the enemy of creativity. Can you think about in your own life right now, what is stopping you from becoming all that you can be, and I want to suggest to you one of the main things but it's so subtle that stops us from reaching our goal and reaching our full potential is comfort. Most of us are comfortable in whatever we're in. See, you could be in a relationship that you know that the relationship could be a lot better than what it is, or you could be in a relationship that you know that you shouldn't even be in, but because we are comfortable, because we're used to it, it becomes normal. All of a sudden, you're not able to get beyond where you are, and that's why I'm telling you that comfort is the enemy of creativity.
Speaker 2:See, a lot of times we ask God for all kinds of things. Right, we ask God like Lord, give me a new job, or Lord, give me a new husband or wife. Lord, I want to be able to do more things in the community. Lord, I want to take my life to another level. But when you pray those prayers, do you really know what you're praying for? Man, you are praying Lord, give me chaos. Like. I know that sounds crazy. Right, lord, give me chaos. You know why? Because I won't get out of what I'm in unless something begins to move me out of what I am. Does that make sense? Because I remember just giving you a little story about my own life.
Speaker 2:Man, I was younger and I felt like I just knew God wanted to use me in some crazy ways. Right, and I took off. When I would get visions or I would believe God is speaking to me at some point in my life, I just go after that vision, and most of the time that I would go off and start doing something, it was normally not time yet. So everything that I was putting my hand to when I was younger would fail In my own eyes. It would fail.
Speaker 2:Well, because of me constantly trying to make what God showed me uh, shown me happen, I ended up getting to the point where I was like you know what? I'm just trying to find me something, a job. Uh, in particular, I was, you know, especially in my work life, I was trying to find a job that I could just stay comfortable in. So I ended up working with Lifeline, youth and Family Services after a while, and Lifeline was everything that I loved. It dealt with social work, because I loved getting out in the community. I loved doing counseling, connecting with people, but it was also a Christian-based social service network, so I was able to share with the gospel and do everything that I wanted. And, man, it paid me well more than what I was getting paid. So my family was in a good position. We were cool, but then, all of a sudden, I started getting uncomfortable, not because of the organization. Like anybody that's from Lifeline may be listening to me, I loved Lifeline. I would go back if I could, but I can't.
Speaker 2:Because the uncomfortability came because God gave me a word. Listen to me, yo. God gave me a word and told me it was time for me to move. But here's the deal I've been waiting on that word up until that point for like 15 years, and I was striking out on my own trying to make him give me that word. As soon as I became comfortable, he gave me that word. Ain't that crazy. You give me the word when I didn't really want the word and you give me the word at the peak of me doing what I felt like I was supposed to be doing. See, let me keep it real with you. Let me keep it real with you.
Speaker 2:Most of the time we're trying to make God do things, uh, and we try to trick our minds into. The guy said do this, and God said do that. But I'm gonna tell you something Every time the Lord speaks, he understands that it must be by faith, right. And so you got to know that when the Lord speaks, he's going to speak to you in a way that is going to cause you to be uncomfortable, because it's only when we're uncomfortable is when we have to enact our faith me that there is something more that I want you to do. And you got to leave this job. But this time, yo, I thought it was my own mind. I was like I'm not leaving, I ain't trying to hear that. So I got more uncomfortable. It was more stuff that started happening in me internally. I couldn't sleep. I kept feeling this wrestling in my spirit and when I finally sat down with my wife and we even went through some stuff because she's like, boy, you, we making good money, you really talking about trying to leave and you making pretty good money and I'm like, yeah, babe, I feel like the Lord is telling me to roll out. And we finally obeyed and it was the most uncomfortable thing ever In December of 2019, I know y'all keep hearing this story, but I got to keep hollering at you with it.
Speaker 2:I left Lifeline Youth and Family Services, really not knowing what God was about to do, and it was through me being obedient and through me being uncomfortable that he he I'm going to say it again that he began to provide and he began to show me vision for Redefine Life Incorporated. Do you know, I would not be talking to you on this podcast right now if it had not been for the Lord. But here's the deal. He called me right before I told you it was December of 2019. I left Lifeline and he called me right when the pandemic hit. In the midst of chaos, he called me and I was wondering what, in the world Of all the times you could have called me. You gonna call me when we are going through a worldwide pandemic? Come on now, there's no way. What am I supposed to do?
Speaker 2:Not only did he call me in the year of the pandemic. He called me when, in the year of the greatest protest against racial injustice in my lifetime, during the George Floyd incident, all hell broke loose. You called me to start something in the midst of that. Not only was that happening. He called me in the midst of a turmoil-filled presidential election. You called me in the middle of that. Not only that, who knows. It's almost like he allowed this just for good measure. He called me in the middle of a coin shortage. Have you ever heard of that? Like what he called me?
Speaker 2:In the middle of a coin shortage and in the midst of all of that chaos, he called me to see something that I didn't see before. He wanted me to see opportunity. There are some things right now that's happening in your life as you are listening to this podcast and I'm telling you, you think that everything around you is chaos, but I'm telling you that he wants to show you something different. Can I tell you this? Your perception will determine your reality. Let me make it clear how you see a thing will determine how you will behave toward the thing you see. If you don't check what you see, if you don't check it, you're going to end up seeing from the wrong perception. I've seen chaos. God seen opportunity. Here's the deal. The biggest question that I have for you and I'm about to end this podcast what do you see? That's the question. If you're going to have this fresh start, you must first answer the question of perception. What do you see? What is in your hand? Can you think about it, man? I want to go deeper. I got a couple more minutes.
Speaker 2:If you think about it, in the Bible, moses was one of the great characters that I love to think about. And Moses goes and does you know? God comes to him with the burning bush. He tells him you're going to go to Pharaoh, tell them, let my people go. He didn't want to go at first. He ends up going telling Pharaoh hey, god said, let my people go. I ain't got time to really deal with all the nuances and the intricacies of that, but, man, one of these days, doing podcasts, I will. But here's the deal. He goes after the 10 plagues. Finally, pharaoh tells him OK, get out, y'all can roll, get out, I'm done with this. This is crazy. Moses is like, hey, I obey God, everything is cool.
Speaker 2:But then chaos ensued, mind you, he takes these people out of slavery and the Bible says that Pharaoh thought what in the world am I thinking? I'm trying to go get my people. Pharaoh goes and runs to go get his people. Now Moses is on his way to a land that the Lord told him to go to, and in the midst of it, the Lord tells him turn around and go backwards. Moses was too smart. He knew better than to turn around, but he did because he knew this is what God called him to do. He's been obedient. So what does Moses do? He turns the people around and he turns them into chaos. Hold on, he turns them into chaos. There was a mountain range on both sides of them. They had the Egyptian army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. And here's what I love.
Speaker 2:If you read in Exodus, the people start crying out to Moses saying what did you do? Look, it was about you trying to get us killed out here. What did you do? And what did Moses say? Moses goes to God and the Lord tells him why are you crying out to me? Go forward. Moses is like and how do you expect for me to do that? His problem.
Speaker 2:At that time, he had a problem of perception. He didn't see. And what ended up happening? The Bible says God told Moses what's in your hand. Can I tell you, if you're listening to me right now and if you are a born again believer and you're ready to upgrade your life and level up, hear the word of the Lord. But if you may not believe in Jesus Christ and you may not care about the Lord or nothing of the sort, I want you to take the principle of what I'm about to tell you In that scripture. That is the question that stands before you right now.
Speaker 2:The question that stands before you, that is literally in between you and your full potential, is this question what's in your hand? And if you think there's nothing in your hand, then that means you're not seen correctly. Because Moses had a stab in his hand and the Lord didn't tell him well, god, he didn't tell him, well, go call Aaron, or nothing. He told him take what's in your hand and he said stretch out your rock, stretch it out. And when he stretched out what was already in his hand, he was able to take the people across. Here's the deal, yo. The opportunity of chaos is simple. He got it saying man, there's so much going on in the world today, but this is prime opportunity for you to get rich, it is prime opportunity for you to fulfill your destiny. But it is going to take you seeing different, and you're going to have to see different what is in your hand? And when you find out what is in your hand and you see it different. You're going to hear the Lord say stretch out your hand, stretch out, go beyond what you have used it for. Moses had used that staff in certain ways and had got accustomed to the staff only being used in a certain way. He never knew that the staff had more potential. He didn't know it until he stretched it out. I'm telling you stretch out. If you stretch out, you're going to see God do some crazy things in your life. Just stretch out.
Speaker 2:When we get back next time, I want you to look at next week. Come back next week and we're going to talk about the next step in this progression and I'm going to ask you we're going to still keep dealing with perception. I'm going to ask you this question what do you see behind your eyelids? That's going to be the title of the next group, the next podcast, and we're going to talk about vision, because we got to begin to start looking at life different, wherever you are. I'm trying to tell you, man, there is so much more that God wants to do, but you are limiting you. Do you hear me? You're limiting you because you are not ready to go beyond where you are and you're not ready to stretch out beyond what you're used to, but if you do, I'm telling you everything is going to change. So until next week, if you got to re-listen to this podcast and keep going, keep moving forward, as my, as my mom say in Daddy God, and I'll holler at you next week. You.
