Jolt! by Phil Cooke (whitelam books .TXT) 📕

Finally, understand the critical importance of “confession.” If you don’t share the honest reality of what you’ve been experiencing, then the fact that you meet on a regular basis won’t do you much good. In this case, confession isn’t a religious act, but it is confessing your mistakes, shortcomings, and errors and getting them off your chest. But for confession to work, it has to be real, heartfelt, and sincere. The old adage that confession is good for the soul is correct. The Bible calls it sin, and although that word has fallen out of fashion today, it still is the best term I can think of for willful disobedience, cheating, lying, stealing, or compromising our integrity.

» PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON’S PHRASE HAS NOW BECOME IMMORTAL:“I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN.”

When we do make those mistakes, there’s something about confession that begins the healing process. Acknowledging our mistakes and sincerely asking for forgiveness will open a door.

In a spiritual sense, God knows we made the mistake, but getting it out in the open is a major step to wholeness.

In her book The Power of a Praying Woman, Stormie Omartian said:

Confessing, however, is more than just apologizing. Anyone can do that. We all know people who are good apologizers. The reason they are so good at it is because they get so much practice. They have to say “I’m sorry” over and over again because they never change their ways. In fact, they sometimes say, “I’m sorry” without ever actually admitting any fault. Those are the professional apologizers. And their confessions don’t mean anything. But true confession means admitting in full detail what you have done and then fully repenting of it. (39–40)

Historically, repentance has meant “changing your mind.” It’s the idea that you realize your mistakes, confess them openly, and make an honest, heartfelt decision to change. But the fact is, it’s a rare event in the lives of most people.

I worry sometimes what that teaches our children. Today we live in a society where an entire generation is very familiar with avoiding responsibility. It’s much easier to pass the buck and blame someone else. We cheat, lie, and steal, but it’s really someone else’s fault.

Accountability is the key to changing the direction of our culture. When you accept the responsibility for what you need to change, when you partner with someone who sincerely wants to help you change, and when you commit to making the change, then real results begin to happen.

Find an accountability partner today and begin the process.

» JOLT #18

THE POWER OF PERCEPTION

Why It Is Just as Important as Reality

Science is nothing but perception.

—PLATO

Ransom stoddard: you’re not going to use the story, Mr. scott? Maxwell Scott: No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

—THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE

Earlier I talked about filming at the headwaters of the Amazon River basin in Brazil. What I didn’t mention was the trouble we ran into when we attempted to get our film equipment through customs in the Brazilian city of Manaus. The city is located about one thousand miles upriver from the Atlantic and today is a beautiful city of nearly two million people. When we arrived at the airport, which had been literally carved out of the jungle, I had a three-man crew and a number of large cases of film equipment that had to be cleared through customs.

“Can you prove you’re a filmmaker from the United States?”

I had my passport, customs documentation, and equipment lists, but I’d never actually been asked to prove what I do for a living. After all, it’s not like we carry a membership card or diploma around to prove we’re in some type of “filmmaker’s club.”

“Well I’m sorry, Mr. Cooke. Until you can prove to me you’re actually an official filmmaker from the United States, I can’t allow your equipment into the country. You’re welcome to come in, but I’ll have to keep your equipment locked here in customs until you can provide adequate documentation.”

Official filmmaker? It was insane. It’s not like tourists carry nearly a million dollars’ worth of film and video equipment on vacation. We argued and argued, but nothing worked. So I took the crew to the hotel, frustrated and upset because we still had airplane flights, boat charters, and numerous other connections to meet, and now everything was being thrown into chaos. We paced the hotel room, thinking, tried to make phone calls, and discussed every possible solution but came up empty.

The jungle heat and humidity didn’t help. Every day we would travel back to the customs official and request the equipment, and every day he would turn us down. Assuming he was corrupt, we even quietly offered him a bribe since that technique had worked in similar situations, but no dice—he was an honest guy, but he just wouldn’t budge.

After a few days, we considered returning to the United States in failure, knowing we had wasted thousands of dollars to get this far, with nothing to show for it.

The problem was perception. No matter how many passports, equipment lists, and travel arrangements I showed the customs official, for some reason he was convinced we weren’t actual filmmakers. We argued until we were exhausted, but his perception just wouldn’t change.

Finally, after four days of haggling and arguing with no success, I walked slowly back to my room, annoyed, knowing we had tried everything and still failed. Getting ready to undress for the night, I pulled my wallet out of my jeans pocket and for some unknown reason decided to flip through the back section, where I kept my insurance cards and driver’s license, and that’s when the card that changed everything fell out.

Years before, a nonprofit organization in Hollywood began publishing American Film, a magazine devoted to filmmaking. It was a wonderful magazine for anyone who truly loved movies, because it wasn’t just another trendy