Profile: Jim Blankemeyer, Chairman of the Metokote Corporation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s no secret that starting your own company can be tough, sucking up all of your time, energy and attention and causing you to neglect other things, such as family and friends. That’s exactly what happened to Jim Blankemeyer, Chairman of the Metokote Corporation. Thankfully, he realized what was happening early on, and he took some dramatic steps to ensure his business didn’t succeed at the expense of his family.
Within two years of starting his metal coating business in a rented garage in Lima, Ohio using refurbished, second-hand equipment, Jim and his brothers were already winning contracts with some of the biggest corporations in the country, including 3M and Ford. But the pressures of maintaining their growth curve were taking a heavy toll on Jim’s family life, and he realized it was time to make a change. “I said, ‘You know, I’m the problem, and I know I’ve got to fix something.’”
As a result, Jim and his wife decided to host a Bible study in their home. Several weeks later, Jim made a decision. “I told my wife, ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to ask God to forgive me and come into my life.'” But Jim didn’t stop there. Not only did he offer God his life, he also gave God his marriage and his business. In fact, if God wanted Jim to sell the company and become a missionary, Jim was ready to go, and so was his wife.
Despite Jim’s dramatic change of heart, nothing extraordinary happened right away. However, people - especially his family - began to notice little changes. Personally, over the next two weeks, Jim came to realize he had been living his life in rebellion against God, acting as if God didn’t exist and doing things on his own terms. Although Jim had experienced a reasonable amount of success despite this negative attitude, he knew God was calling him to something more. It wasn’t long before some significant changes began to occur.
“I think in terms of our business, I began to relax,” Jim says. “It wasn’t me trying to be successful anymore. It was me going to God and saying, ‘God, use the resources that you’ve placed in my life for your honor and your glory.’ And I think it was in relaxing that I became better at my job.”
Oddly enough, the minute Jim turned control of his company over to God, Metokote began to experience phenomenal growth. Through a combination of innovation, a reputation for excellence and integrity, and solid customer service, over the next few years Metokote grew into an international company with 30 facilities in five countries and over 3,000 employees.
As proof of his changed heart, Jim has not used his company’s success to accumulate a lot of personal wealth. Instead, he has formed a charitable foundation that supports a variety of ministries.
“In Matthew 6:33, God tells us to seek first his kingdom and then all these other things will be given to us as well," Jim says. “And I believe that principle really has been the basic reason why we’re successful.”
Would you like to experience success on God’s terms? Let Jesus show you how. If you don’t know Jesus, we encourage you to pray the following:
Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person You want me to be.
Is it the desire of your heart to make this prayer yours?
If yes, pray now and according to his promise, Jesus Christ will come into your life.
God cares about your success
Abraham Ekedum
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Success in the Ownership of Professional Sports Teams
Profile on: Wayne Huizenga, Jr. - owner of the professional football team Miami Dolphins and professional baseball team Florida Marlins
“I realized I’d been given these incredible gifts—airplanes, boats, and money—and the ability to do most anything I wanted in life. But I was using it all for me. It was all being used selfishly. In no way did I use any of it to glorify God.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Few people can say that the primary turning point of their life took place dozens of feet underwater while cruising aboard a nuclear-powered submarine. But then, few people have lived a life as extraordinary as Wayne Huizenga, Jr.
Sadly, perhaps the only part of Wayne’s life that could be considered normal is the fact that he comes from a broken home. Wayne’s parents divorced when he was only five, and he and his brother went to live with their mother in Chicago. As a young boy, Wayne longed to spend time with his father, Wayne, Sr., but his father lived in Florida, and he was so busy building up his business concerns that he had little time for his sons. The few times Wayne did get to spend with his father were special, and Wayne, Sr.’s lifestyle—which included jets, yachts, and fancy cars—definitely made an impact. Wayne, Jr. was convinced that one day he would join his father in business.
Wayne got his chance when his father bought into what was then a fledgling company called Blockbuster Video. Starting at the bottom as a store clerk, Wayne worked his way up to the point where he was involved in special projects with his father and the rest of the executive team. Eventually, Blockbuster went on to become the largest video retailer in the world, and Wayne’s father sold it to Viacom as he moved on to pursue other business opportunities.
After his stint at Blockbuster, Wayne continued to work in his father’s businesses, eventually becoming vice president of Huizenga Holdings. But while Wayne had a great head for making money, he also had other things on his mind…
Wayne had purchased Blockbuster’s stock while the company was still very young. Over the years, the stock’s value had risen astronomically, making Wayne a very wealthy man. He and his wife Fonda lived a life that most people only dream of. They traveled all over the world, bringing friends on all sorts of lavish vacations. But in the midst of it all, when the noise of the party died down, Wayne had to admit that something was still missing from his life. “I was happy in my life,” says Wayne, “and I had everything that the world considers you should have: jet planes, yachts, a big house, and a wonderful family. But I never really felt fulfilled.”
Oddly enough, Wayne’s journey toward finding fulfillment began during a voyage from South Carolina to Florida on board a nuclear submarine. During the trip, he spent a lot of time with the boat’s captain, Brad Fleetwood-McDonald. This encounter had a profound impact on Wayne. “He had patience that was just unbelievable,” says Wayne. “And he had incredible wisdom. He didn’t seem to be searching like I was. I saw a calm and a peace in him that I had not seen in anybody else.”
Wayne maintained a relationship with Captain McDonald, who constantly referred Wayne to the Bible when it came to dealing with issues in his life. Eventually, Captain McDonald’s influence led Wayne and Fonda to start attending church. That’s where Wayne learned about how he could have a personal relationship with God. And that’s when his life took a completely different turn. “I realized I’d been given these incredible gifts—airplanes, boats, and money—and the ability to do most anything I wanted in life. But I was using it all for me. It was all being used selfishly. In no way did I use any of it to glorify God.”
From that point on, Wayne was determined that things were going to be different. He stopped drinking and partying, and he resumed his business activities with a new sense of purpose. People were amazed at the changes in Wayne, but no one was more affected than Fonda, Wayne’s wife. “My immediate response was, have you lost your mind?” She says. Fonda liked the changes, but she still found it a little frightening, because Wayne’s transformation was so radical. However, after seeing Wayne’s faith weather a number of tests, including the deaths of his mother and grandfather, she eventually committed her life to God as well. “From that point, it felt like we were in a canoe, and now we were finally paddling together,” Fonda says.
Today, Wayne brings God into everything he does, including his business dealings. He doesn’t just look at deals as a way to make money; he also sees them as opportunities to help others. “To me, success is being able to use what we’ve been given to change other people’s lives. I have this great desire to share what I have with other people. To me, that’s success.”
Would you like to use your business opportunities to help others? Have you ever considered asking Jesus how you could do this? If you don’t know Jesus, we encourage you to pray the following:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person you want me to be.
Is it the desire of your heart to make this prayer yours?
If yes, pray now and according to his promise, Jesus Christ will come into your life.
GOD cares about your success
Abraham Ekedum
“I realized I’d been given these incredible gifts—airplanes, boats, and money—and the ability to do most anything I wanted in life. But I was using it all for me. It was all being used selfishly. In no way did I use any of it to glorify God.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Few people can say that the primary turning point of their life took place dozens of feet underwater while cruising aboard a nuclear-powered submarine. But then, few people have lived a life as extraordinary as Wayne Huizenga, Jr.
Sadly, perhaps the only part of Wayne’s life that could be considered normal is the fact that he comes from a broken home. Wayne’s parents divorced when he was only five, and he and his brother went to live with their mother in Chicago. As a young boy, Wayne longed to spend time with his father, Wayne, Sr., but his father lived in Florida, and he was so busy building up his business concerns that he had little time for his sons. The few times Wayne did get to spend with his father were special, and Wayne, Sr.’s lifestyle—which included jets, yachts, and fancy cars—definitely made an impact. Wayne, Jr. was convinced that one day he would join his father in business.
Wayne got his chance when his father bought into what was then a fledgling company called Blockbuster Video. Starting at the bottom as a store clerk, Wayne worked his way up to the point where he was involved in special projects with his father and the rest of the executive team. Eventually, Blockbuster went on to become the largest video retailer in the world, and Wayne’s father sold it to Viacom as he moved on to pursue other business opportunities.
After his stint at Blockbuster, Wayne continued to work in his father’s businesses, eventually becoming vice president of Huizenga Holdings. But while Wayne had a great head for making money, he also had other things on his mind…
Wayne had purchased Blockbuster’s stock while the company was still very young. Over the years, the stock’s value had risen astronomically, making Wayne a very wealthy man. He and his wife Fonda lived a life that most people only dream of. They traveled all over the world, bringing friends on all sorts of lavish vacations. But in the midst of it all, when the noise of the party died down, Wayne had to admit that something was still missing from his life. “I was happy in my life,” says Wayne, “and I had everything that the world considers you should have: jet planes, yachts, a big house, and a wonderful family. But I never really felt fulfilled.”
Oddly enough, Wayne’s journey toward finding fulfillment began during a voyage from South Carolina to Florida on board a nuclear submarine. During the trip, he spent a lot of time with the boat’s captain, Brad Fleetwood-McDonald. This encounter had a profound impact on Wayne. “He had patience that was just unbelievable,” says Wayne. “And he had incredible wisdom. He didn’t seem to be searching like I was. I saw a calm and a peace in him that I had not seen in anybody else.”
Wayne maintained a relationship with Captain McDonald, who constantly referred Wayne to the Bible when it came to dealing with issues in his life. Eventually, Captain McDonald’s influence led Wayne and Fonda to start attending church. That’s where Wayne learned about how he could have a personal relationship with God. And that’s when his life took a completely different turn. “I realized I’d been given these incredible gifts—airplanes, boats, and money—and the ability to do most anything I wanted in life. But I was using it all for me. It was all being used selfishly. In no way did I use any of it to glorify God.”
From that point on, Wayne was determined that things were going to be different. He stopped drinking and partying, and he resumed his business activities with a new sense of purpose. People were amazed at the changes in Wayne, but no one was more affected than Fonda, Wayne’s wife. “My immediate response was, have you lost your mind?” She says. Fonda liked the changes, but she still found it a little frightening, because Wayne’s transformation was so radical. However, after seeing Wayne’s faith weather a number of tests, including the deaths of his mother and grandfather, she eventually committed her life to God as well. “From that point, it felt like we were in a canoe, and now we were finally paddling together,” Fonda says.
Today, Wayne brings God into everything he does, including his business dealings. He doesn’t just look at deals as a way to make money; he also sees them as opportunities to help others. “To me, success is being able to use what we’ve been given to change other people’s lives. I have this great desire to share what I have with other people. To me, that’s success.”
Would you like to use your business opportunities to help others? Have you ever considered asking Jesus how you could do this? If you don’t know Jesus, we encourage you to pray the following:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person you want me to be.
Is it the desire of your heart to make this prayer yours?
If yes, pray now and according to his promise, Jesus Christ will come into your life.
GOD cares about your success
Abraham Ekedum
Saturday, September 13, 2008
A Life or Death Decision
Profile: Kerry Bradley, COO, Luxottica Retail (includes Lenscrafters, Sunglass Hut, Pearle Vision, Sears and more)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you were crossing your college campus on a beautiful, sunny day and saw a young student staring off into space as he whiled away the afternoon on a park bench, probably the last thing you’d assume he was thinking about was suicide. Girls, maybe. Or possibly exams or his future. But taking his own life? Not likely. Well, if the young man that you saw was Kerry Bradley and the year was 1976, you’d have been wrong.
End of the Rope
As a freshman taking English and philosophy at Auburn University, Kerry was nearing the end of his rope. For months, he had been inundated by professors and authors who made a case for a godless world. They described the human race - and all life, for that matter - as an accident; something that had evolved from a nameless, faceless creature which had slithered and clawed its way out of the primordial ooze 100 million years ago. And if life was an accident, they argued, then it was also without meaning. Thus, the only thing worth doing was making the most of what little time you had. Eat, drink and be merry.
Such teachings had forced Kerry out onto a ledge as far as his religious beliefs were concerned. Kerry had been raised in the church where he had become a Christian at age 10. He had been taught that God created everything, including him. Not only that, Kerry was told - and believed - that God had also created a world beyond this one in which we could go to live with him forever after we die. It was God’s involvement in the world that gave life meaning; that gave all of us a future after death if we chose to follow Him.
But now Kerry was wondering if those beliefs were really true or if he had been merely a naïve child blindly accepting the faith of his parents. “What if my professors are right?” He wondered. “What if there is no God? What if everything I’ve ever been taught or ever believed about God is either a hoax or a naïve dream?” If they were right, Kerry reasoned, then he was a fool, and he should just end his life right there. Better to put himself out of his misery straight away than have to endure a painful life that ultimately led nowhere.
Voice of Reason
As he brooded on these issues, Kerry moved from merely contemplating suicide to actually planning it. What would be the best way to kill himself that day, he wondered….
Fortunately, through the confusion Kerry heard what he describes as “a voice of reason” whisper to his soul. “Don’t do anything rash,” it said. “This is a decision you can’t undo. Sleep on it. If you still want to do it tomorrow, then do it.”
Kerry decided to follow this advice. But he did more than just sleep on it. He began to think things through, reviewing the claims of Jesus and the things he had been taught in church and measuring them against what he was being taught in college. Over time, Kerry regained confidence in the validity of his faith, realizing that the claims of Christ made far more sense than the virtually unproven theory of evolution. Life - his life - did have meaning after all. That soft whisper bought Kerry the time he needed to rediscover the childlike faith that had drawn him to God in the first place. What a relief.
Today, Kerry, who is now Chief Operating Officer at LensCrafters/Sunglass Hut International, says the decision to keep on living has made all the difference in the world. “It’s not just that I’m still alive but that I’m living for a purpose, with fulfillment, with joy and with power because I’m sold out to Jesus. That same voice I heard at age ten came through and steered me to safety. And I have heard that same voice every day since.”
Have you reached a crisis of belief in your life? Jesus can help you resolve it in the same way he helped Kerry. If you don’t know Jesus, we encourage you to pray the following:
Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person You want me to be. Amen.
Is it the desire of your heart to make this prayer yours?
If yes, pray now and according to his promise, Jesus Christ will come into your life.
God cares about you
Abraham Ekedum
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you were crossing your college campus on a beautiful, sunny day and saw a young student staring off into space as he whiled away the afternoon on a park bench, probably the last thing you’d assume he was thinking about was suicide. Girls, maybe. Or possibly exams or his future. But taking his own life? Not likely. Well, if the young man that you saw was Kerry Bradley and the year was 1976, you’d have been wrong.
End of the Rope
As a freshman taking English and philosophy at Auburn University, Kerry was nearing the end of his rope. For months, he had been inundated by professors and authors who made a case for a godless world. They described the human race - and all life, for that matter - as an accident; something that had evolved from a nameless, faceless creature which had slithered and clawed its way out of the primordial ooze 100 million years ago. And if life was an accident, they argued, then it was also without meaning. Thus, the only thing worth doing was making the most of what little time you had. Eat, drink and be merry.
Such teachings had forced Kerry out onto a ledge as far as his religious beliefs were concerned. Kerry had been raised in the church where he had become a Christian at age 10. He had been taught that God created everything, including him. Not only that, Kerry was told - and believed - that God had also created a world beyond this one in which we could go to live with him forever after we die. It was God’s involvement in the world that gave life meaning; that gave all of us a future after death if we chose to follow Him.
But now Kerry was wondering if those beliefs were really true or if he had been merely a naïve child blindly accepting the faith of his parents. “What if my professors are right?” He wondered. “What if there is no God? What if everything I’ve ever been taught or ever believed about God is either a hoax or a naïve dream?” If they were right, Kerry reasoned, then he was a fool, and he should just end his life right there. Better to put himself out of his misery straight away than have to endure a painful life that ultimately led nowhere.
Voice of Reason
As he brooded on these issues, Kerry moved from merely contemplating suicide to actually planning it. What would be the best way to kill himself that day, he wondered….
Fortunately, through the confusion Kerry heard what he describes as “a voice of reason” whisper to his soul. “Don’t do anything rash,” it said. “This is a decision you can’t undo. Sleep on it. If you still want to do it tomorrow, then do it.”
Kerry decided to follow this advice. But he did more than just sleep on it. He began to think things through, reviewing the claims of Jesus and the things he had been taught in church and measuring them against what he was being taught in college. Over time, Kerry regained confidence in the validity of his faith, realizing that the claims of Christ made far more sense than the virtually unproven theory of evolution. Life - his life - did have meaning after all. That soft whisper bought Kerry the time he needed to rediscover the childlike faith that had drawn him to God in the first place. What a relief.
Today, Kerry, who is now Chief Operating Officer at LensCrafters/Sunglass Hut International, says the decision to keep on living has made all the difference in the world. “It’s not just that I’m still alive but that I’m living for a purpose, with fulfillment, with joy and with power because I’m sold out to Jesus. That same voice I heard at age ten came through and steered me to safety. And I have heard that same voice every day since.”
Have you reached a crisis of belief in your life? Jesus can help you resolve it in the same way he helped Kerry. If you don’t know Jesus, we encourage you to pray the following:
Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person You want me to be. Amen.
Is it the desire of your heart to make this prayer yours?
If yes, pray now and according to his promise, Jesus Christ will come into your life.
God cares about you
Abraham Ekedum
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