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Mike, you aren’t alone!  I do this all the time!  Anyone else out there as guilty of this as I am?  

This is good stuff!  Thanks for tuning in…

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So what about YOU? Do you find yourself wasting time?  Or do you make every moment count?  I know for me, it’s sometimes easy to get sucked into my computer and end up spending TONS of time online, whether on Twitter, Facebook, or just watching videos on YouTube.  Am I alone?

This morning, my assistant Beth got the following email in her inbox from Ben Birdsong, the Station Manager. It was completely unsolicited, and 100% unexpected:  

“Harris was amazing! Not only did he adjust his program to meet our needs, he was so easy to work with as a performer.  If more artists were this easy to work with, we would do a lot more events.”

What??  I’ll come back to that in a moment…

Ben went on with an endorsement saying, “You can’t go wrong with inviting him to your station’s event. I highly recommend him to you as aboth a highly skilled and polished performer that will amazing your audience, but also a compelling speaker who will challenge them in their walk with God.”

I genuinely appreciate not only Ben’s willingness to partner with us, but also for his great testimonial.  We have tons of feedback like this on our website, from all kinds of people.  Author John Maxwell, to Mac Powell from Third Day, to North Point, Andy’s Stanley’s church in Atlanta, have all said stuff like this about what we do.  It’s humbling, and a huge honor.  But that isn’t the point of this post.

“If all artists were this easy to work with, we would do a lot more events.” That shocked me.  I mean, I know there are artists, even some who claim to follow Jesus, who are highly demanding and incredibly difficult to work with.  But are there really so many of you out there that there are great people, who already share your same vision, that won’t partner with you because you’re “too hard to work with?”

Clearly, the answer is yes.  So to all of you other performers out there, take note! Get over yourselves, and recognize who’s hiring who.  You aren’t showing up to be served, you’re showing up to serve.  And unless you’re writing checks and paying the people who book you, try to show some gratitude, and be flexible along the way.

Honestly, we go out of our way to be over-the-top easy to work with.  If there’s something I can provide and carry with us on the road, so that an event host doesn’t have to provide it for us, we do it.  If I can design my material so that it can be performed in a wider variety of environments, I do it.  Me, and everyone who works for me, makes every attempt to be as professional and service-oriented as possible.  It’s why we’re here…to serve.

Do we have contract riders and lists of requests?  Of course.  But each one is designed with the intention of being as simple as possible.  And it’s not about our comfort, but about what we could use in order to serve hosts better.  The bottom line is that their event’s success is the driving force behind everything we ask for.

If you aren’t attaching my God or his name to your stuff, then so be it.  Do whatever you want.  (Though I bet this concept would revolutionize your business regardless.)  But if you’re saying it’s about Jesus, that means it supposedly isn’t about you.  So please stop with the side-show.

This isn’t about you.  Or me.  And even if you’re making it that way, I hate to be the bearer of the news, but your approach isn’t working out too well.  It turns out, your attitudes and lack of flexibility are costing you and everyone else not only opportunities, but their platforms.  If you change, “they’ll do a lot more events,” and you might get to be a part of them.

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What do YOU think?  

We also made some new friends, including Sean Algaier, a contestant from Season 8 of the Biggest Loser.  Turns out, Sean had seen one of our shows in Indiana, and was already a fan.  I was excited to hook up and hang out with him a little, and even more excited to be able to sit down with him for a quick video interview.

In my last post, I sat down with music artists, Everlife, and discussed their new song “What’s Beautiful”, and we talked about the role deception plays in self-image.  This video is closely related to a similar topic, as Sean and I talk about his experience on the show, how to lose weight, and how he was deceived throughout that process.  Enjoy!  

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I hope you enjoyed the video, and that it was an encouragement to those of you who have tried getting in shape, but have given up.  Or for those of you who have wanted to, I hope this pushes you to take the first step.  Along the way, take Sean’s story to heart, and don’t be deceived!

I’d be honored if you left a comment here and shared part of your experience.  Have you gotten into shape?  If so, what worked for you?  And were you deceived at all?  I’d love to hear your story, and it will be an encouragement to others, just as Sean’s is.

And what about those of you who are trying to lose a few pounds?  What lies have you allowed to creep inside your head that have kept you from pursuing or accomplishing your goals?

If you’ve seen me perform live, you may have heard me talk about how easy it is to be deceived, and one of the ways it happens is how the world attempts to define what true beauty is.  Every day you drive by billboards, see ads on TV, and look at pictures as you flip through magazines, and it’s everything inside of you to feel pretty.  Does the world and it’s blurred messages of self-image impact how you see yourself in the mirror?  

Eating disorders, thoughts about ideal weight, affording the right clothes, and questions of how to feel beautiful are asked every single day by millions of people who live in a photoshopped world.

Imagine the pressure felt by three sisters who signed a major record deal with Hollywood Records, toured with national acts like Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and the Cheetah Girls.  Glitz, make-up, lights, photo shoots, (and a massive machine called Disney), certainly has high standards to say the least, and I could imagine it’d be hard to deal with the constant pressure to look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, and fit certain expectations, all while being teenagers.

Well, now those girls have grown up a bit, (and their music and sound has matured), and they’re speaking up about one of the issues almost all women face.  It seems like the issue doesn’t go away, regardless of how old you are.  Find out what my friends and recording artists, Everlife, have to say about what it means to feel beautiful, and hear their brand-new song, “What’s Beautiful.”  If you really listen to the lyrics of this song, I think you’ll be as blown away as I was!  And I’m not even a girl!  ;-)

After you check out this video and hear the song, you’ll want to do 3 things:

1. Buy “What’s Beautiful” on iTunes, and enjoy the positive message…you need it!

2. Come see the girls play live on my tour, “Sens de Vie“ in a city near you this Spring!

3. Spread the word!  You and I both know that you know someone who needs to hear this song! Forward a link to this post to your friends, girlfriends, and daughters, encouraging them to watch the interview, start following Everlife by checking out their website, and getting the song.

Enjoy!  This is one of the world’s first chances to see a recording of this song played live…

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Remember, buy the song, and spread the word!

Do YOU feel beautiful?  If not, remind yourself that God created you in his image, and in his eyes, you are perfectly beautiful and wonderfully made.

How do you fight the temptation each day to tune out the lies around you that scream you have to look a certain way in order to feel pretty? Share your comments, questions, frustrations, experiences, whatever.  Others might need to hear them, or you might just need to hear from them…

Meet Tucker. He’s an overweight, 13 lb. “Applehead” Chihuahua, and travels almost everywhere we do.  If you come to one of our lives shows, you won’t see him on stage, but if you stick around long enough after the show, you’ll probably hear him.  He likes to bark at people and pretend to be tough, but it’s just a facade.  Turn on some music he can sing along to and he’ll jump right in and sing you a love song.  As it turns out, it’s the only thing he’ll sing.  His favorites are Christina Aguilera, and the soundtrack to Moulin Rouge…really anything that allows him to show off his high notes.

If you’ve never seen or heard a Chihuahua sing, now’s your chance.  Enjoy, then pass along to someone else who needs to smile today…  

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Stay tuned.  There’s more music coming your way!

Got a favorite love song that features some high notes?  Submit a request in the comments…maybe we’ll have Tucker sing it for you!  ;-)

Total time to find a deceptive ad on YouTube: 60 seconds. 15 seconds to search, and 45 more to watch the commercial.  Of course, the ad being deceptive is just my opinion. To me, the promise they make is just an illusion.

Watch, paying careful attention to the end of the commercial, then continue reading…  (Facebook Note readers can find the video here, because FB doesn’t import the embedded video from my blog.)

Joy. According to BMW, that’s what you receive by driving one of their cars. You aren’t just buying a car, you’re purchasing joy.  And let’s not just pick on BMW. The list of car-makers who use their ads to appeal to our emotions, rather than explain why they make the best car, is endless.

Instead of me rambling about deception here, I’m way more curious what YOU think.  As you share your opinions and comments, please keep in mind these few final questions from me:

1. One of the highest rates of suicide is among wealthy business men. Does that mean that you can’t purchase true happiness no matter how much money you have?  Or is there a link between your level of income and your state of happiness?

2. BMW makes excellence cars, and therefore, some argue that more expensive, luxury cards are simply a better investment of your resources. Does that sometimes justify the purchase of a more expensive car like a Mercedes, Lexus, or BMW?

3. Driving a luxury car makes you feel good about yourself, and therefore provides a moment of happiness. It also changes the way people look at you. Is there anything wrong with that?

4. In the short 3 minutes it took to read this post, over 30 children died because their families couldn’t afford to buy food. Is this relevant at all to this conversation?

5. Does this kind of advertising really affect our decision-making, the way we think about ourselves, and how we choose to live? Or am I just making a big deal out of nothing?

What do you think? I’d be honored if you took the time to share…

Maybe we’ve just all been deceived into thinking that what should be our focus, and the focus of our media, is what actually has a direct impact on our level of comfort here at home. But what if what really matters, and what really counts, are the things we aren’t currently seeing and paying attention to? And what if we aren’t seeing it because our focus has been diverted and misdirected?  

This morning, I got a note from an acquaintance, Tyler Ward. Tyler seems like the kind of guy you wish you were friends with. He drips with humility and kindness, and just seems like a genuinely cool guy who isn’t interested in living life at the surface. He just turned me on to a new organization he’s involved with called “Project: AK-47.” If you don’t know anything about this issue, you need to! Check out this video:

(Can’t view the embedded video? Watch it here.)

Visit the site and support the mission. But don’t do it out of guilt. Throwing a few bucks their way might make you feel better about yourself, but that really isn’t the goal. While every penny towards the cause certainly fulfills a need and goes to good use, the ultimate goal is for you to get involved, spread the word, and be a part of the fight. For some of you, being a part of the fight might actually be to just skip Starbucks today, or eat at home instead of going out, and donate some cash. But be careful, because some of you might find yourself in Southeast Asia, spending your time playing with orphans. If you do, please call me…I might go with you. Last time I spent a day playing with orphans, I lost track of time, discovered meaning, and didn’t want to leave.

That was just last night, and already one of my crew guys asked me today in the process of choosing our lunch spot, “Have you seen the Taco Bell commercial about the new healthy menu?”  Wow…word travels fast! Advertising works, huh?

Or does it?

Watch for yourself, then continue reading…

It doesn’t take a lot of thought to find the craziness of this commercial.  Last night after we saw it, and my friend started talking about it, I immediately asked him if he saw any of the fine print at the bottom of the screen. Thanks to DVR, we simply rewound the commercial and read each word.  It’s easy to catch…if you’re paying attention.  Feel free to go back and watch it again and read for yourself.

Besides, if you’re interested in losing weight, why not do a little research and put together a plan?  The purpose of this commercial was not for Taco Bell to try to change your order when you visit their restaurant.  The agenda is to get you to consider them as an option when you’re making your restaurant choices.  If you’re looking for healthy food and trying to get in shape, Taco Bell would now like to be included in your options.  But if you’re really trying to get in shape, it won’t take much research to discover that Taco Bell probably shouldn’t be in the running.  If that commercial inspired you to eat more healthy, that’s awesome, but don’t let the people who just want your money do your thinking for you.  She lost 54 lbs. in two years, (according to the fine print).  54 lbs? That’s about 2 lbs. a month! How is that so amazing??

I could go on and on…

Every day the average mind, (including yours), takes in an average of over 3,000 messages and advertisements.  That’d be cool if they were healthy and added value to our lives.  Or if we were all decently aware of how easy it is to be deceived.  The problem is, we aren’t.  We don’t question. We don’t search.  We don’t even pay attention.  And over and over again we believe lies, and ended up wasting money, or way worse, harming ourselves.

I know, some of you think I’m being ridiculous and am making a big deal out of nothing. Is all of this deception really dangerous?  Or at the end of the day, does it end up not mattering?  I think it does matter.  Maybe if you’re in good shape, splurging at Taco Bell on a Fresco Burrito won’t have much of an impact.  But what if someone’s doctor told them they seriously need to get in shape to improve their health? What if that same person got home, sat on the couch, turned on the TV, and watched this ad?  What if that person then changed their daily lunch choice to the menu in the commercial?  What if that person’s doctor was right, and this person’s unhealthy eating habits posed serious threats to their well-being?  All of a sudden, it’s a big deal.

But the big deal isn’t Taco Bell.  Ultimately, you can’t hold them responsible.  The big deal is that you and I make stupid decisions every day, all because we let someone else do our thinking for us, and influence the way we spend our time and our money. I know that ordering a taco is a small decision, but 5 or 6 small decisions a day make up the way we live our lives, and how we live matters.

Discovering the lies hidden in advertising simply scratches the surface when it comes to how we’re deceived.  But let’s spend some time in future posts looking at some other ads, and seriously considering the impact they have on you, your friends, and your world.

Have you been deceived?  Wait, let me try again…

How have you been deceived?