I Can Only Imagine

One of my favorite songs of all-time is “I Can Only Imagine.” The song inspires me, empowers me and sometimes even gets me emotional.

But I didn’t know the entire story behind the song until I recently saw the movie “I Can Only Imagine.” Wow. It is a MUST see!

Now I must admit, I don’t see a lot of movies. And when I do, I try to go to ones that are uplifting and inspiring. And this one definitely hit the mark!

Here are 10 quick lessons that I extracted out of the movie “I Can Only Imagine” (without giving the entire movie away):

1. You will not do your DEEPEST and BEST work until you unleash your MOST AUTHENTIC self. It takes courage to do that but when WHO you appear to be and WHO you really are is congruent, that’s when you do your BEST work! #BeReal #BeAuthentic
2. Do your setbacks crush you or CREATE you? Let your biggest challenges, adversities, and setbacks help stir your soul and allow you to create your BEST self! After all, your setbacks are nothing more than a setup for a comeback!
3. We all need to have someone “discover” us. In the movie, the main character, Bart Millard, gets injured playing football and his music teacher, Mrs. Hayes, sees a singing talent in Bart long before he sees it in himself.
4. We all need a mentor. In the movie, Bart had one talent agent (Scott Brickell) believe in him when many others didn’t. But Scott also told Bart a few hard things that were tough to swallow…“You are not ready yet…you haven’t found your song.” These were hard words to hear for Bart when he thought he was ready for big-time success.

   “Until you tap into your soul, you will not find your best work.”#EnoughSaid

5. “Let your pain become your inspiration and then you will have something people will believe in.” Many people avoid their pain, suppress it, or don’t share it. It’s when you confront your demons or limitations that you can transform your world.
6. Take RISK. You gotta put yourself out there. Be vulnerable. Show courage. Be REAL!
7. Forgiveness is powerful. Bart had a rough childhood growing up. His father was an alcoholic and abusive. Bart had a lot of resentment towards his father. When his father was diagnosed with cancer, Bart went back and forgave his father for his wrong-doings. His Dad died of pancreatic cancer and it was then that Bart wrote the song “I Can Only Imagine.”
8. You often do your BEST work during your most difficult times. Bart wrote the song “I Can Only Imagine” in less than 2 weeks immediately after his Dad died. He was emotional, his soul was stirring, the universe was sending him “signals” and he just put pen to paper and let his soul pour out. And out came a magical song.
9. Sometimes you need a BIG break. I did not know the story about how it was actually Amy Grant that gave Bart his big break. Amy Grant bought the rights to the song “I Can Only Imagine” and on the night the song was to be revealed to the world, with Bart in the audience, she started to play the song.And then all of a sudden, she stopped the music, told the thousands in attendance that the creator of the song was in the audience and she brought Bart up on stage. Despite being caught off guard, Bart came up and bellowed out the song like never before.

   And the rest is history! Big move by Amy Grant and Bart capitalized on it when the opportunity arose.

10. Humility is one of the best gifts we can have WHEN success hits. Bart and Mercy Me have gone on to be the best-selling Christian song of all-time. Humility is one of Bart’s best gifts and he never forgets the path he took or the lessons learned to help him get to where he is today!

Man, my kind of movie. Real story, real life. My friends, each of us has a life worth telling a story about. Let’s be sure to apply these lessons today and go out and craft up an amazing story…and an amazing life. And let’s not wait until something “bad” happens. Get that soul-stirring today!!

Much love,

Todd