One of the most influential people I look up to is a popular YouTuber, Olan Rogers. Everything about him is the epitome of exuberance. He is full of life, energy, and humor. After you watch any video of his, whether it be his earlier short films, his short stories, or even his short documentaries, you automatically relate to him because he automatically relates to you. He makes you feel as if you are the most important person in the world within a matter of seconds.
Last August, my fiancé and I traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee for a family wedding. We decided to make a weekend getaway of it for one last summer 'hoorah'. So we visited the Smoky Mountains and decided to tour through Tennessee. On Sunday evening back home, we decided to pass through Olan’s Soda Parlor in hopes of meeting Olan and his crew. When we got there, we were greeted by one of Olan’s friends, Jake Sidwell, and indulged in some amazing floats. We loved the whole area. The inside automobile-shop-turned-into-a-strip-mall was the perfect place for people of all interests to enjoy floats or visit the Antique Archaeology to see awesome finds. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the shop for the few minutes we stayed.
On the way back home, Cody and I got inspired, thus creating an idea for a small business in our area. We love Olan’s passion for people and making the world a better place around us. We wanted a place back home for people to be able to come together and do life together. Whether it be a ministry, students working on homework and school projects, to getting together with other small businesses or even fellowship. We wanted to open up a safe and secure setting that 100% gave back to our local, and even global, community. We want a place where people build each other up and like Olan mentioned in a YouTube video, climb the success ladder while bringing people with us as we go through daily life.
After watching (and rewatching and rewatching) Olan’s Soda Parlor Documentary about the story behind the Soda Parlor and the obstacles Olan and his crew had to go through to be able to bring life into this idea, I began thinking about obstacles in my own life and what I have had to go through to get where I am currently, and obstacles I will have to face to get where God has called me to be in the near and distant future, thus forth birthing the idea for writing a series on moving mountains.
This series is a compilation of how to distinguish your passion and how to name your mountain in your own personal journey. How to get around it, how to stay inspired, encouraged and motivated to keep going and simply, how to lift others up in the process. I want to help you be successful in your calling on your life. The calling I have in my life is helping others reach their full potential.
My only hope is that this series will not only teach you how to move your mountains but to help you discover yourself in the process.
