Joy Venture Podcast Joy Venture

We all have those dreams of performing on the big stage — and chances are those dreams continue to evolve over time. For some it may start out as hitting a game-winning home run or seeing a song you wrote/performed go to the top of the charts. For the here and now it may be about giving a great TED-like talk or raising the necessary capital for a big idea. But how do we know when its time to step up to the plate, to take our swings? And when we do, what do we do when we connect, when our performance exceeds even our own lofty expectations? What’s next?

Jeremy Mitchell’s story is one spent entrenched in the game of baseball — first as a starry-eyed boy collecting baseball cards and autographs, then as a youthful player, and always as a lifelong fan of the game. As an adult, he had an idea that would blend his love for baseball and its rich and colorful history into a side project that would exceed his boyhood dreams.

While watching the World Series in 2013 (Game 6, Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals), Jeremy knew it was time and he launched Mitchell Bat Company, a creative endeavor that would specialize in hand-painted baseball bats. In less time than it took to play three innings, Jeremy took his early sketches and mock-ups on his laptop and converted them into a live, online order-taking business. But as fast as it all came together, Jeremy acknowledges that his one swing on an October night in 2013 was 36 years in the making.

Jeremy’s story is one where patience meets timing, history meets creativity, and a big dream meets a down-to-earth reality.

Mitchell Bat Company

The story of Mitchell Bat Co. (video)

Nick Fancher is a photographer, author, and educator who specializes in dramatic lighting, often employing the use of bold colors and experimental camera techniques. His work ranges from portrait and commercial photography to fine art. He is particularly known for his efficient method of working, which is with the use of minimal gear, often in unconventional locations.

— from nickfancher.com

We know Nick. We’re familiar with his work. And as captivating as it is, we were drawn like a moth to light regarding a very different story unfolding with him. Earlier this year, he made the decision to do what some might see as unthinkable — especially from a “grow your business” standpoint. He quit social media.

Why does an entrepreneur with more than 60,000 followers delete his social media accounts?

How can an entrepreneur, whose work is tailor-made for platforms such as Instagram, decide to quit feeding the beast?

Even if it’s a necessary evil, the key word is still “necessary” — right?

As we pose these questions to Nick he reveals both the practical and personal reasons for walking away from social media at the height of his online visibility. Whether you think it’s a deft move or one that will prove detrimental can be debated. But for Nick that’s not really the point. Instead he reached a breaking point. Now he is literally taking control of his work and his life the only way he knows how.

Missing out? Who wants to miss out?

Perhaps the better questions to ask are:

What are you missing out on by being fully distracted, seduced by the ding and siren song bell of an incoming text, tweet, IM or post?

What does it mean to live in the present, the here and now without incessantly scrolling through the carefully curated lives of your infinite followers — many of whom you must admit we have no personal relationship with?

We grapple with this addictive digital discourse that we all face, contemplate the example we’re providing for those around us, the need for guardrails, and how the concept of boredom and white space is virtually nonexistent — just look around at everyone with their heads buried in their devices.

FOMO is a byproduct of the digital times we live in. But if we’re intentional, we can get back the precious time we hand over to social apps and push notifications that keep us from true social engagement and/or downtime to fuel our curiosity and creativity.

If FOMO is a real thing for you (we can attest that we’re guilty of succumbing to it from time to time), then it’s time to change this narrative and embrace JOMO — and spread that kind of joy instead of auto-feeding the fear.

Orphans. War. Child soldiers. Displacement. Abuse of nearly every form. Topics like these often feel so astronomically huge that we don’t know what to do or where to begin — let alone feel as if our tiny effort could actually make a difference.

Thankfully there are people like Bethany Williams in the world who not only refuse to buy into that narrative, but decide to do something about changing it.

Bethany is world leader at helping restore children — emotionally, psychologically and spiritually — who have been affected by war and who can’t yet imagine a life worth celebrating again. Bethany pulls from her own hurt and brokenness (documented in her book The Color of Grace) as well as her training as a psychologist and counselor to help these children. And it all starts with art therapy that includes a white handkerchief and some markers. It is on a simple yet symbolic handkerchief that children can express in pictures what they don’t even have words for. It is where the pain within can safely be expressed to initiate the process of healing.

Led by Bethany and her husband Matthew, Exile International is going into the darkest places to do this difficult and often emotionally devastating work. But thanks to that willingness, there is a generation of former child soldiers, abused daughters and sons, and war-torn kids who now get to dream again. They get to experience renewed joy. And they can imagine a life of great expectations — just like any other child.

This is a recurring theme in the pursuit of any joy venture. It’s also a stumbling block for those who find that the journey becomes difficult.

But the joy/happiness dilemma isn’t a zero sum game. In fact, it’s not an either/or proposition. It can be a both/and reality.

We have some pretty strong opinions, convictions and examples that begin to outline the difference between joy and happiness as it relates to the joy venture. We won’t spoil it here, instead have a listen and let us know what you think.

What does a teenage farm kid growing up in Pataskala, Ohio know about launching a career in hip-hop music and becoming a rapper — in the no-internet era of the mid-1990s? Arguably very little, but that didn’t stop a young “John Reuben” Zappin from pursuing his joy anyway.

Always using humor as his safety shield, John embraced the uncomfortable moments of dropping his rhymes in front of audiences at summer camp, the church hall, and open mic nights to build his confidence and find his voice. That voice would eventually ink a deal with Gotee Records where he would go on to record six albums.

In a pre-file sharing, pre-American Idol world, John put in the work to carve out his niche in an unlikely genre of rap. John shares his story and drops some wisdom for anyone pursuing their dream. But now on the cusp of 40 and having already achieved a level of success that any recording artists would envy, John is like that teenage kid all over again: back in Ohio and asking “what if” and wondering “what’s next.”