You Can Do Better

And the story of my 65' billboard in downtown Atlanta

You can do better. It was my mantra, my slogan, my way of life.

It dominated my thoughts. It came out in my words.

To myself. And to others.

You can do better.

Yes, you — you, the overly ambitious, can’t stop, won’t stop, do whatever it takes, irrationally driven, railroad others around you to get what you want one.

And, you — you, the lazy, overweight, won’t get out of your chair one.

And, you too — you over there — the ‘trust in your money more than your God’ one.

Oh, and you too— the lack of self-control, can’t keep yourself from eating the cookie cake if you’re hands were handcuffed behind your back one.

Sound harsh. That’s only the beginning.

And those examples. They were me. Those were the words I told myself.

You can only imagine my thought patterns toward others.

“You can do better.”

No one was off-limits. Not my wife. Not my friends. Not my co-workers.

Struggling with pornography — do better.

Struggling with addiction — do better.

Struggling with depression — do better.

Oh, and you — the one who can’t hold down a job. Do better.

You over there, the can’t keep a relationship longer than 3 months, self-loathing, pity me, person. Do better.

Struggle to learn. Do better.

Struggle to stay healthy. Do better

Struggle to meet with God. Do better.

Struggle to make friends. Do better.

Struggle to raise your kids. Do better.

You who can’t get a promotion. Do better.

It was never-ending. Relentless. Dark. Evil.

Sound bleak.

It is.

It was.

But the story continues.

In 2017 Tim Ferris released a book titled “Tribe of Mentors” in which he would ask incredibly gifted individuals 3 or more of his 11 go-to questions. The questions themselves deserve an individual post (in time), but for now, I’ll focus on question #4.

“If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it — metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions — what would it say and why? 

My answer to this question was, guess what…

“You can do better.”

Imagine yourself, driving through the heart of Atlanta, rounding the Grady curve, and seeing the most gigantic billboard of your life reading, “You can do better.”

That was my message to the world. How sad. How broken.

The moment I said it out loud, I knew it was broken. Actually, I knew I was broken.

And I knew it had to change. But what would/should it say instead.

Like a flash of light. I had a revelation.

Instead of “You can do better” it would read in all black lettering

“There’s more for you.” 

Let me say it again, “There’s for more for you.”

One more time. “There’s more for you.”

Four words. Just like the first.

But four words with a radically different message.

“There’s more for you.”

Yes, you, Josh. The one who told his brother he was a loser and that I would be the first person in our family to be a millionaire. (2004) The one who despised his body. (2009) The one who ate five Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers in one setting to numb yourself from the challenges of life. (2010) The one who deleted every picture of yourself on Facebook (curated image management if you will). (2013) The one who dropped hints of recent accomplishments into conversations so others would think you were somebody. (2014). How sad.

Awful, isn’t it. I know.

But the swap was life-changing. In 2017 things changed.

Almost overnight, I went from “You can do better” to “There’s more for you.”

“There’s more for you” offers hope. Joy. Life.

I found myself saying it to others. Saying it to those who desired more. Saying it to those struggling, fighting, battling the monsters of their past.

I found myself saying it to my wife. My kids. My friends. My boss.

There’s more for you is posture.

An attitude.

An action.

It’s body language.

Tone.

It’s a battle cry.

There’s more for you is a mantra.

It doesn’t tear down. It lifts up.

It’s the never-ending belief in the power of redemption.

The second chance. The don’t stop now; I believe in you; You can do this way of life.

Last weekend I attended a conference for ministry and business leaders here in Birmingham, AL titled “Courage To Lead,” and I was struck by the concurrent themes.

Leonce Crump, the Senior Pastor of Renovation Church In Atlanta, put it this way…

“Imagine a world in ways others cannot and will not.”

NYT bestselling author of The Energy Bus, Jon Gordon, voiced…

“You must give others something to long for, something to hope for.”

Chris Hodges, Pastor of the 10th largest church in America, shared…

“See people as they could be, not who they are…”

It’s the antithesis of “You can do better.”

And… while you likely can do better.

Nothing calls you to a better life quite like “There’s more for you.”

I don’t know what you expected when you began reading this post. But I didn’t plan for you to read what I’m about to say.

If you know someone, anyone, to whom God is calling to more. Now is the time to reach out. And let them know… “There is more for you,” and I’m here to do it with you!

If you’ve been carrying the burden of “you can do better,” — this post is for you.

Because “There is more for you” than a life focused on all of your failings, shortcomings, and deficiencies.

There is life out there for you.

Just for you. Full of good. Full of hope. Full of more.

#KeepImpacting,

-Josh

---

“Up Next”: Ordinary Rhythms and Outsized Returns. Expected release 3/8/2020.

“Downs”: The War on Average. Expected release 3/21/2020.

P.S. Would you help me? I’d love to hear from you. Jump in the comments with your thoughts, encouragements, questions, anything at all! And let’s start a conversation.

P.P.S. Still in a helpful mood? Would you tap the heart at the top of the post? This could help us get picked up by the substack community internally.

P.P.P.S. Is P.P.P.S even a real thing? Regardless, for anyone who gets the basketball reference regarding upcoming posts. You’re a real one. I salute you. See link here.