Vi

si
tDeVonʼ
swebs
it
e
 HOWARD BOOKS
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
New York Nashville London Toronto Sydney

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 3 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 Howard Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 2011 by DeVon Franklin
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form whatsoever. For information address Howard Books Subsidiary
Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10020.
First Howard Books hardcover edition May 2011
HOWARD and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases,
please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949
or business@simonandschuster.com.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors
to your live event. For more information or to book an event,
contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049
or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Davina Mock-Maniscalco
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 ​ ​9 ​ ​8 ​ ​7 ​ ​6 ​ ​5 ​ ​4 ​ ​3 ​ ​2 ​ ​1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Franklin, DeVon.
Produced by faith: enjoy real success without losing your true self /
DeVon Franklin with Tim Vandehey.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Success—Religious aspects—Christianity.
2. Motion picture industry—Miscellanea. I. Vandehey, Tim. II. Title.
BV4598.3.F73 2011
248.4'86732—dc22
2010045978
ISBN 978-1-4391-7103-5
ISBN 978-4516-1270-7 (ebook)

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International
Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NLT
are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1995.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.
All rights reserved. Scriptures marked The Message are taken from
The Message, © 1994 by Eugene H. Peterson, NavPress, all rights reserved.
Scriptures marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.
Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James
Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Scriptures marked KJV are taken from
the Holy Bible, Authorized King James Version.

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 4 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 This book is dedicated
to the memory of
my father, Donald Ray Franklin I;
my grandparents, Anita and James Camell;
and my great-grandparents, Ida and Percival Phillips.

I also dedicate this book to all of you

who have struggled with holding on to your faith.
This is one of life’s most challenging pursuits.
I understand you, and I applaud you for not giving up hope.
This is my tribute to you.

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 5 2/23/11 4:05 PM

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 6 2/23/11 4:05 PM
 CONTENTS

Preface 1

PART ONE: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter One: You, the Movie 11

Chapter two: What’s the Big Idea? 21

Chapter three: Selling It 37

Chapter four: Writing the Script 57

Chapter five: Getting Notes 73

Chapter six: Development Hell 89

Chapter seven: God’s Budget

and Production Schedule 105
Chapter eight: It’s All About Casting 123

Chapter nine: God’s Green Light 137

vii

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 7 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 CONTENTS

PART TWO: PRODUCTION

Chapter ten: Lights, Camera, Action! 155

Chapter eleven: Cutting It Together 173

Chapter twelve: Marketing and Publicity 191

Chapter thirteen: God’s Distribution Plan 207

Chapter fourteen: You, the Sequel 223

acknowledgments 241

viii

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 8 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 Scanning book cover:

Scan the cover

of this book with WiMO
to watch a message from DeVon Franklin right on your Smartphone.

Also, each chapter is accompanied

by a video introduction.
When you see a code, simply scan it with the free WiMO app
to unlock exclusive video content from DeVon.

Scanning chapter code

Example chapter code:
with the WIMO App:

SCAN THIS CODE WITH

THE WIMO MOBILE APP

FOR MORE INFORMATION

SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK

GET THE FREE APP IN YOUR APP STORE:

iPHONE, ANDROID, and BLACKBERRY or Point your phone to getwimo.com

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 9 2/23/11 4:05 PM

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 10 2/23/11 4:05 PM
 The Markers are all available in the Howard Books sec
To log-in go to : http://manage.wimoreality.com Userna

Note: These markers have the appropriate videos a

servers and should be moved to Simon & Schuster

SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE
THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBIL

FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORM

SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS

Preface PREFACE CHAPTER 1 CHAPTE

B

SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE WITH

THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBILE APP

FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION

SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK

CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
—Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

I was deep in the heart of Beijing, People’s Republic of China,

in the summer of 2009. For the first time in my career, I was
the lead studio executive on a feature film—the remake of
The Karate Kid, starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, son
of actor Will Smith.
It’s important to understand that Beijing—the ancient
capital of China—is huge. The urban area alone contains
about 13 million residents; that’s four cities of Los Angeles.
Beijing is also complex on a Byzantine scale, and with the
producers, entire crew, and cast there, we had ventured far

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 1 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PREFACE

into some of the oldest parts of the city, into ancient neigh-
borhoods called hutongs where the living style was more
communal and we could find the character and feel we were
looking for.
Getting cast, crew, and equipment there was a major
undertaking, the shots were taking a long, long time to set
up and complete, and as I stood there, we were running out
of daylight.
Sunset is usually panic time for a film crew. Unless
you’re shooting night scenes, you try to work in every last
shot you can, using reflectors to capture every last bit of
natural light. The crew was working as quickly as they
could to maximize what was a very expensive day of pro-
duction. But I had other concerns. I glanced at my watch,
shot a look at the disappearing sun, and knew that even
though I was the sole representative for Columbia Pictures
on set, I had to leave.
I had no choice. That is, I didn’t give myself a choice.
Fortunately, the producers knew that I would be making
my way back to the hotel. It wasn’t a surprise to anybody.
I pulled one of the production assistants aside, told him I
would be catching a taxi, left the production in the capable
hands of the producers and director, and disappeared into
the streets of Beijing. It was an act that might have been ridi-
culed if I hadn’t set a precedent years before and remained
committed to it. Leaving set on the first movie you’re run-
ning—shooting halfway around the world—isn’t advisable if
you want a long prosperous career in Hollywood.
But I didn’t lose my job.
In fact, my departure didn’t make a ripple in the day’s
shoot. I was able to attend to something infinitely more im-

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 2 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PREFACE

portant: keeping a promise to God that I made many years

before.
I was born thirty-two years ago and raised as a
Seventh-day Adventist. Among other things, that means I
celebrate the Sabbath. So from sunset on Friday to sunset
on Saturday, I unplug from my hectic life as a Columbia
film executive. No work. I don’t check e‑mail or roll calls.
I break the fourth commandment of the movie business—
Thou shalt never turn off thy BlackBerry—and turn off my
BlackBerry.
The Sabbath is my time with the Lord, my time to un-
wind from the pressures of work, heal, and reflect on the
many blessings in my life and the career path that has led me
here. On Friday nights I study my Bible, pray, spend quiet
hours in communion with God, and make plans with family
for church and fellowship on Saturday.
Unless I happen to be in Beijing. In that case, I’ll read
Scripture, watch the incredible metropolis slowly come to
life, and pray that the dailies look good. Normally I would
go to church, but in China most of the Christian churches
are underground and I had no idea how to go about finding
them. So I settled for reading the Bible and spending time in
private communion with God—my own personal church in
the midst of one of the world’s busiest cities.
The next morning, I decided that didn’t want to spend
the entire Sabbath in my hotel room. I ended up going
to a park right outside the Olympic Village where I could
sit under God’s sky, watch the birds, listen to gospel music,
and read the Word. As I was going through Romans,
the idea came to me for this book. Just like that, clear
as day.

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 3 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PREFACE

* * *

You may find it impossible that a Hollywood studio ex-

ecutive is also a devout Christian. But it’s not a contradic-
tion. In reality, my business is not very different from your
own. There are opportunities, politics, unspoken expecta-
tions, and a set of rules for advancement that are very dif-
ferent from the Lord’s rules. No matter what line of work
you find yourself in, you may feel that being a Christian is
holding you back. You may feel caught between a rock and
a hard place. On one hand, if you don’t toe the company line
and put your career first, can you still call yourself a com-
pany man or woman? On the other, if you ignore the Word
and set aside the precepts of your faith when it’s convenient,
can you still call yourself a Christian? Sometimes, it feels like
we’re walking on a tightrope and below us there’s no net,
just a big, dark abyss.
I’ve got great news. I’ve found that it is possible to put
Christ first and have a thriving career. In fact, I believe it’s
necessary. My favorite scripture is Philippians 4:13, “I can
do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” God is
our strength; his love, demonstrated through us, can move
mountains and change hearts. Being a Christian is actually
a competitive edge  .  .  . provided that you place your faith
first above even your professional aspirations. Even if in the
past you’ve compromised and slid partway down that slip-
pery slope, it’s still possible to find your way back. If I have
learned anything, it’s this:

To get where you want to go, you first have

to become the person God wants you to be.

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 4 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PREFACE

I know writing this book is definitely part of my journey

to become who God wants me to be. Some would probably
say I’m crazy. The common practice when you’re in business
is that you write a book after you’ve either reached your goal
and accumulated some power and prominence or left your
industry altogether. I’m in neither place. I’m just like most
of the people reading this book: still climbing the corporate
ladder and/or right in the middle of my career pursuit. Yet
I believe God has called me right now to share my unique
experiences and this urgent message with you, so I must be
obedient to his will.
The message? During my time in the film industry, I have
put my faith front and center for everyone to see. It’s my
experience that people handle the intersection of faith and
career in one of two ways. Some conceal their beliefs at the
workplace, dumping their Christian principles on the kitchen
table like a spare set of keys when they leave the house in the
morning. Others refuse the command to be “in the world but
not of the world” and work only in environments run by and
for other Christians.
Both approaches are problematic. If we lock our faith in
the closet from nine to five because we’re afraid of ridicule
or questions about our loyalty, what governs our choices
in climbing the career ladder? Will we lie, cheat others, or
stab people in the back, then go home at the end of the day
and put on our “I’m a Christian” clothes again? Plenty of
people do exactly that because they fear that if they go pub-
lic with their faith at work, they will be perceived as weak,
divisive, or unwilling to do whatever it takes to succeed.
But if we make such a choice, what does that say about our
faith?

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 5 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PREFACE

On the other hand, as believers we sometimes shun the

secular world and limit our job prospects to a select group
of potential employers or industries that we believe will be
Christian friendly. But by doing so, we can lock ourselves in
an echo chamber of ideas and beliefs just like our own, so we
never really stretch or grow. Sometimes, we come to regard
the world outside our bubble as the enemy.
When some Christians learn that I’ve worked in enter-
tainment for over ten years, I can feel them take a mental
step backward, as if they feel I’m sleeping with the enemy.
I’m not offended; to many Christians, Hollywood is a
modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah. This business is prob-
ably the last place most people expect to find a young Chris-
tian visibly and vocally expressing his faith while progress-
ing in his career. But the truth is that not only has relying
on my faith not harmed my career prospects, it has actually
enhanced them.
Thrilling opportunities to work with the most dynamic
people in the world have come my way precisely because I
have been uncompromising about my Christian principles
and making service to God the centerpiece of my work. Over
the course of my career I have developed a set of guiding
principles that I live by:

• God’s will has priority over mine.

• C
 ommit to the process of success that God
has planned for me, no matter how long it
takes.

• G
 od has the authority to put my ambition in
check.

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 6 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PREFACE

• S
 trive to let the love of Christ be apparent in
everything I do.

• D
 o not allow sin to reside in any area of my
life. If I allow it, I understand it will limit my
ability to receive God’s full blessings.

• D
 o everything in my power to bring God’s
purpose for my life to fruition (faith without
works is dead).

• D
 on’t take shortcuts; if I want to be true to
my beliefs, then shortcuts do not exist.

• R
 emember on the down days to never
give up on myself and the dreams God has
given me.

I base every career decision, big and small, on these pre-

cepts. That’s not an easy thing to do. There is a lot of tempta-
tion in every business from finance to academia to take the
quick and easy path to success—to violate our values for
promotion or because no one will ever know. I’ve felt pres-
sure on numerous occasions to abandon my commitment
to Christ, but then I remember the words of Jesus when he
asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole
world and loses his own soul?”
I can truly say there is nothing in this world worth giving
up what I believe in.
I’m amazed at the number of people of all faiths I’ve met
who don’t understand that their faith is not an obstacle to
fulfilling their dreams but the path to them. They don’t under-
stand the power that a total commitment to God grants them.

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 7 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PREFACE

I spent a great deal of time not long ago with a young

aspiring actor who talked about his career struggles: going
to auditions, trying to get in to see casting directors, exhaust-
ing himself, not knowing what to do, going to church to try
to hook up with this or that individual. I listened for a while
and then said, “Where do you think God is in all of this?
Have you prayed and looked for where he is leading you in
your aspiration?”
He hadn’t.
He was a Christian, but it never occurred to him that
God had a place in his career pursuits.
I know from many of my own experiences that if you put
your career in God’s hands and trust him, you can’t account
for all the ways he will bless you. But you have to take that
leap of faith, and even if you consider yourself a believer,
that can be the hardest part. God’s love is unconditional,
but we need the faith to silence our own voice and listen to
his. Then we can really hear what he’s been trying to tell us
about our careers all along.
I’ve written Produced by Faith to help you make that
leap of faith. By sharing my story and my testimony of how
my faith has actually been the greatest asset in my advance-
ment, I hope to inspire you to take a new view of God’s
role in your career. At the end of the day, you don’t have to
choose between your faith and your work. Faith and works
are two sides of the same coin.

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 8 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 PART ONE
DEVELOPMENT

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 9 2/23/11 4:05 PM

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 10 2/23/11 4:05 PM
 The Markers are all available in the Howard Books section of the WIMO MAR
To log-in go to : http://manage.wimoreality.com Username: howardbooks@wi

Note: These markers have the appropriate videos and microsites attache
servers and should be moved to Simon & Schusters servers soon. This

SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE W
THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBILE

FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMA
SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS B

PREFACE CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER

Chapter one BLUE TEXT IS FOR CHAPTE

SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE WITH SCAN THIS CODE WITH

You, the Movie

THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBILE APP THE WIMO MOBILE APP

FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION

SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK SEE FRONT OF THIS BOOK

CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10

BLUE TEXT IS FOR CHA

In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth.
—Genesis 1:1 NIV

T he movie business is all about telling great stories. It’s my

job to identify those stories that will entertain audiences
all over the world. Stories are built on setups and payoffs.
When a screenwriter creates characters and situations in the
first act of a film, those characters and situations have to
pay off by the end. The bad guy goes to jail, the girl finally
chooses the cool vampire instead of the hunky werewolf, and
so on. If you don’t have a payoff in the third act, you don’t
have a commercial movie . . . you have a bad student film.
I’ve found that one of the best ways to talk about how to

11

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 11 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 DEVELOPMENT

find success and keep your faith is by putting it in the con-

text of your life as a story. It’s much easier to put your trust
in God when you can see your life and career as a story—
with setups and payoffs, high points and low points just like
every movie has.
The trouble is that when you are a character in a story—
when you are immersed in it—you can’t see how things will
progress in the future. You lack perspective. It’s tough to
lose the job you loved, shrug, and say, “Oh well, God is
obviously putting me in a position for something better to
happen in a few weeks.” It becomes very easy to assume
that things will always be the way they are today. When
things are going well, we sometimes lose perspective and
start to think we’re in control of things. But all it takes is
one wrong turn and we quickly remember that’s just not
true.
The truth is, you and I are in control of only two things:
how we prepare for what might happen and how we respond
to what just happened. The moment when things actually do
happen belongs to God.
You might be writing your story with the choices you
make, but God is the director. Like all good directors, he
has a vision for how your story will progress. He has a
plan that will shape you into someone who can best serve
him and this world. But how will you know what God has
in mind for you unless you trust him to direct your story?
Even when our faith seems to get in the way of our prog-
ress, we can remain faithful to God and trust his direc-
tion. That’s been my approach since I got to Hollywood. It
hasn’t always been easy to remember that God has a plan
for me, but whenever I have trusted in that plan and sur-

12

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 12 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 YOU, THE MOVIE

rendered my fate to the Lord, he has done amazing things.

Another approach is to abandon God’s path at the first
sign of resistance and do whatever it takes to climb the lad-
der, regardless of cost. But before you do that, let me ask
you this: What if you are just one bend in the road away
from achieving your God-ordained purpose? If you give up
on your faith now, could you live with knowing that your
chance of a lifetime was only one act of faith away? I had
a conversation recently with Will Smith about this idea; he
told me that many people trying to make it get frustrated
and don’t give themselves over to the process of success. He
said, “The distance between you and success isn’t necessarily
a yard—it’s an inch. But to get that final inch is excruciating.
You have to stay committed.”
Then there’s that word: success. It’s a funny word with a
lot of definitions. For some people, success means making a
lot of money. Full stop. For others, it means fame. However,
if you’re really a Christian and you have made your faith the
centerpiece of your life, then true success is much more than
fortune or fame. Success is confidence and contentment in
the person God has made you to be. Success is living a good,
just, and honorable life, becoming the kind of person who
inspires others to follow God. Success is also discovering and
living in your purpose.
If you crave this kind of success in your career, then God’s
purpose must take the place of your own. Faith is your in-
surance. Even if you are laughed out of the conference room
because of what you believe, your faith will reconcile what
you lose and more than make up the difference in what you
will gain. There are times when I get fearful or upset about
something that doesn’t work out in my favor, and in those

13

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 13 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 DEVELOPMENT

moments, I have to remind myself that God is working. He

will ultimately provide. He will help me get to my destina-
tion, even when it feels like I might be moving slower than
I think I should or watching other people pass me by. The
more we rely on God to direct our lives, the closer we draw
to our ultimate purpose . . . even if we don’t realize it.

There’s nothing about ambition that runs counter

to Christianity. Joshua 1:8 also reads, “Keep this Book of the
Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so
that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then
you will be prosperous and successful.” When faith in God’s
purpose guides your feet on your career path, your work is
blessed, because ultimately what you do serves God’s higher
purpose.
Career isn’t everything. We have our families, our civic
lives, and our private inner lives. But career permeates every-
thing. You might spend half your adult life wanting to run
a company, laboring to care for patients, teach students, de-
fend the accused in court, sell homes, build homes, or write
for newspapers—how can such a pursuit not shape who you
become?
So if career is shaping who you become, and your faith
isn’t integrally involved in your career choices, then what
good is your faith? It’s time to start looking at your faith
not as an obstacle to your career progress, but as an asset. A
lot of times we don’t look at faith in that way. But it’s time
to unify faith and career as dual assets toward achieving the
same goal: our progress in becoming people who can have

14

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 14 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 YOU, THE MOVIE

the maximum positive impact on this world. Career should

be a spiritual pursuit, not just a physical or financial one.
Your career should be where your dreams, aspirations, tal-
ents, and hopes for the present and future play out.
So how do we balance career and faith? How do we
climb the ladder toward our vision of who we want to be-
come while remaining true to the fundamentals that make
us who we are? How do we serve God while operating
in a realm that sometimes disrespects what we believe in,
where we might be regarded as weird or irrational? How
do we engage in, trust, and stay with the process when at
times it looks as if we’re going nowhere—or worse, going
backward?
The key is remembering your story. The spiritual career
journey parallels the steps involved in bringing a movie from
the initial idea to theatrical release—a process known as
Development and Production. In this process you are God’s
writing partner, God is the director, and each step is crucial.
No idea becomes a movie without passing through these
stages, and even though some of these stages can be difficult,
tedious, or even painful, each leads to the next and hopefully
to success.
Development is the often challenging, sometimes con-
founding process in which a raw idea slowly takes shape
as a clear vision. In Hollywood, development starts when a
writer or producer has an idea, something like “A disabled
soldier goes native with an alien race and defends their beau-
tiful civilization against his own people,” which is the idea
behind the blockbuster movie Avatar. In your career, Devel-
opment begins when you have your first vision of what you
want your future to look like. When you can see yourself as

15

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 15 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 DEVELOPMENT

a lawyer, athlete, speaker, or engineer and decide to pursue a

path that leads to the realization of that vision, Development
is under way. It has its own distinct stages:

• w
 hat’s The Big Idea?—your vision for the
kind of success you want to have and the person
you want to become

 elling it—when you find an employer or in-

• S
dustry that will serve your goals and God’s goals

• Writing the Script—making and following

your plan through all its plot twists

 etting notes—when God gives you feed-

• g
back and you (hopefully) listen and adjust your
course

• Development Hell—the times when you

hit obstacles and must find a way past them

• g
 od’s budget and production
Schedule—when you figure out what achiev-
ing your goals will cost and how long it will take

• it’s all about casting—figuring out the

people you need in your life to bring your story
into production

• God’s Green Light—when God brings

you together with the opportunity you’ve been
working toward

16

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 16 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 YOU, THE MOVIE

In Hollywood, a production executive oversees the devel-

opment of a film, guiding the idea as it is shaped and refined.
In your life, God should oversee the Development of your
career. With a film idea, there are many points along the way
where a project can fail and be abandoned. In your career
pursuits, there are also many opportunities to surrender your
principles or lose faith in God’s direction. Through stories
from my own career and the careers of others, I’m going to
show you how important it is that you trust God and trust
the process. If you stay true to your ideals, pay attention
to the things God reveals to you, work hard, and surround
yourself with good people, you will develop. You will grow
in faith, wisdom, and ability—and eventually you will reach
your goals.
When that happens, you go into Production. The stages
of Production:

• Lights, Camera, Action!—where you are

in the position you’ve sought and now must per-
form and produce results for God

 utting It Together—where you experi-

• C
ence how God will put the pieces of your career
and faith together to create your road to success

 arketing and Publicity—in which God

• M
will market and promote who you are becoming

 od’s distribution plan—you see how

• g
the person God has shaped you to be impacts
the larger world

17

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 17 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 DEVELOPMENT

• Y
 ou, the Sequel—God gets you ready for
the next stage of your career

Production begins when God has fully shaped your vi-

sion, character, and talents and is ready to put you to work
for his purpose. For a film, “going into production” signi-
fies that it is time to turn the idea into a product. For you,
Production occurs when you reach the position or career to
which you have long aspired and you’re ready to start re-
ally making things happen. You’ll begin becoming someone
who can have a meaningful impact on God’s behalf. God will
distribute your influence to the world and you and he will
observe what kind of positive effect you can have on those
around you. You’ll reap some rewards and learn how you can
improve the outcome the next time you’re in Development.
In his wisdom, the Lord sends us on an endless, cycli-
cal journey. That’s what You, the Sequel, is all about. You’ll
achieve one goal for him, and immediately start working on
another. He might send you back into Development again
so that you can learn new lessons, test your faith, and grow
wiser and stronger. He might even direct you into a new
career. The more you trust God to lead you to glory, even
through layoffs and setbacks, conflicts and failed ideas, the
more success and joy you will find.
Through this book, my intent is to be your guide through
all the stages of Development and Production, even as I move
through those stages myself with no idea of what is com-
ing tomorrow but infinite faith that God has a great plan.
Along the way, I’ll pass along some crucial strategies that
I’ve learned about in my career, including:

18

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 18 2/23/11 4:05 PM

 YOU, THE MOVIE

• How to discover The Big Idea for your life

• How to take your career to the next level

• How to recognize the signs God sends you

that indicate when it’s time to move in a
new direction

• How to stand firm on your Christian

principles without compromise

• How to work with people who don’t

understand your beliefs

• How to choose a profession, industry, or

company that is in tune with your purpose

If I can take my personal ambition and my service to

Christ and make both more successful without compromis-
ing, you can. Let this be your handbook for progressing in
your career and your faith at the same time, without com-
promising either one.

19

6 x 9 Faith PTR.indd 19 2/23/11 4:05 PM