#271: A FRANK TALK ABOUT MINISTRY: Part 3 – Answering Tough Questions

[upbeat music] "Do you struggle with perfectionism and fear of failure, especially at the beginning of your writing ministry, and how did you overcome it?" Perfectionism, I have never overcome it, but I don't struggle with it.

I just live with it.

I dance with it.

I'm fine with it.

I've written published books, and every single one of them, if you made me, which I don't do as a personal discipline, but if you made me open up the book and start reading it, I will see all the ways I could have reworded it to make it much better.

And then I will have at least 12 hours of depression.

[laughs]

But the next day, I'll re- I'll recoil.

[laughs]

So I don't try to overcome perfectionism in myself.

I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to other people.

When it comes to my writing, I can never improve.

And so the deadline, the publisher deadline is what saves me, because I have to turn it in on a certain day.

And so whatever shape it's in, I will do my best to get it up to my standards, but I know it can always be improved.

Once it's in print, I don't look at it again, because it's torture.

[laughs]

[laughs]

Fear of failure, I, um, I made peace with failure many years ago.

Whenever I would minister somewhere or release a book or, or whatever it was ministry-wise, my whole goal was to succeed.

And I came to a point where, I came to a point where I realized, you know what, and I think the Lord brought things into my life to bring me to that place, where I actually go to fail.

Somebody asked me, "What are you gonna do in Reno?" And my response is, "I'm going to Reno to fail." The Lord's work is the Lord's work.

It's not my work.

I live under the mantra of this might not work.

Then again, it might work.

But if I fail, that gives the opportunity for the Lord to succeed.