Who Is James Preston?
Hey there. I'm James Preston. Thanks for checking out my Blog. You make this site awesome.
I was born in 1985 in Guildford, Surrey (UK) to a Scottish father and a South African mother, and spent the first 6 years of my life growing up in England before my parents made the strange move to Durban, South Africa. Leaving two very good jobs and moving into the middle of civil unrest. All because of the weather.
I see that as a God-move. Because I love South Africa with all my heart. I am still very much English. But now see myself as an English South African. (Is that possible?) I'm still in Durban, where I married my teenage sweetheart Corinne in 2006 and have one beautiful son Joel born in 2012. They are my everything.
Before anything else, family comes first to me. If I don't have a happy family, what's the point of any success? Or like Bill Johnson so stunningly put it in an interview I did with him:
"If I don't succeed at home, anywhere else I do succeed doesn't really matter."
I live with a deep passion pulsating through my veins: That I was born to change the world. I'm very aware that this is a very broad statement. And a very broad passion. But nevertheless it is the over-arching theme of my life. I can't explain it to you in words. It burns deep within me. I long, I live (and will die) to see this world a become a better place...
- A world where businesses are more interested in their customers' wellbeing than their own profits.
- A world where politicians are less pre-occupied with the checks and balances of bureaucracy and genuinely want to make the lives of their citizens better. All of them. Where they are less concerned about what affect their decisions will make on the next election campaign, and more concerned about how they can better the lives of their citizens and their citizen's environment.
- A world where every human on the planet is valued by the others regardless of their beliefs, ideologies or appearance. And treated that way.
- A world where people's lives are just downright better. Healthier, happier, safer, respected and included.
These may seem idealistic. And I am not deluded to the fact that they are. But someone has to start somewhere, right? And I believe that we can gather enough momentum to be part of a worldwide movement that will gain critical mass and sway the norm. Like I said, I'm willing to die for such ideals.
After all, those who label optimists as "idealists" are usually pessimists. I don't have much time for pessimists. And no Mr. "It-will-never-happen", you are not a realist. You are a pessimist. Change your attitude or get out of my way.
Where does being a pastor fit into all of this?
So yes, I talk about God a lot. I realise this may be uncomfortable for a lot of people. But don't let it. Trust me when I say I am not out to judge you.
I've been "pastoring" at my local church since 2006. And this is part of the reason I'm so passionate about changing the world...
For most of my Christian life I believed the lie that God was angry at mankind and at any given moment was going to rain down His judgment of wrath and burn this planet up. Not before "rapturing" us Christians away to the safety of Heaven, of course.
But in 2009, after a 2 year long journey of being exposed to what is affectionately called "the Grace message", I finally had a supernatural revelation of what God is really like: He is ridiculously good, beyond anything anyone has ever told me, especially as a Christian! And He is so positive about the future it actually frightens us "Christians"!
God doesn't want to burn this planet up, He wants to save it and make it better. And He certainly doesn't want to take the Christians out of here, He wants them to be part of the process. (So yes, that new "Left Behind" movie with Nicholas Cage? A good fiction story)
I now continue to "pastor" at my church Highway Christian Community, in Durban, South Africa. (My home church since 1994) My senior pastor and friend Steve Wheeler has been a great support of me in my journey, and we love to help others find out who they really are: Children dearly loved by God with a bright destiny of purpose!
But the thing is, I'm not your average pastor. A few of my friends have labeled me "a pastor with a difference."
I consider myself more of a Philosopher sometimes.
I've always thought about the world around me, and why it is like it is. And how it can be changed, if at all. This could come from my teenage years when I was into thought-provoking alternative rock music, or it could just be that I was born that way. (If you know Marcus Buckingham's StrengthsFinder course; "Strategist" is my no. 1 strength)
This is why I am thinking about how we can change the world so much. It literally affects everything I do. And I mean everything. From watching sport to eating lunch.
So I like to write about these thought-processes and help you broaden your mindset and hopefully help you on your way to finding "better ways of doing things", and every area of society.
We are all on a journey of discovering who we are, and how we operate and the best environments within which we operate. I want to create my best environment, and help others create or find theirs.
Often this means being physically healthy. This is why I take quite a keen interest in healthy living. Especially eating.
Specifically LCHF (Low Carb High Fat), or "Banting". I found LCHF while doing research because I had some extra weight I wanted to drop. What I unearthed was amazing.
No calorie-counting, have as much fat as you like. It was heaven. The only restriction was no carbs. But who needs carbs when you are indulging in as much fat as you like? You can read my story over here at what is now my 2nd most popular Blog Post of all time!
I love introducing people to this new way of healthy living, because it's so easy and so effective. And when your physical body is operating at maximum, you can change the world more effectively!
And Entrepreneurship?
On top of serving as a pastor to hundreds of beautiful people at HCC, I realise there is so much more to be done. I want to be part of the Information Age revolution, and change the way business is done. This has led to starting a few businesses in order to gain influence in the marketplace and experiment with these ideologies. I love it, and see so much opportunity to help people, and make money doing it. And then use that money to re-invest in people. That's what business is all about.
My first and most successful business to date is Pillar Mate Communications. We've made great strides in the South African advertising industry, and I can't wait to establish this baby as a self-sustaining entity and get on with the other great projects waiting in the pipeline.
Sometimes I wonder if my Blog is a business, an outlet, a service or a ministry. I guess it's all of them rolled into one. At the time of writing (June 2014), I don't have a single ad on any of my websites (and I have a lot). But like Live Your Legend's Scott Dinsmore so powerfully proposes; we should be making money off what we love. Fortunately, for the most part of my life this has been true.
I had a love for Radio since I was 10 years old. My cousins and I would use one CD player to play music while the other was recording to Cassette Tape so we could talk over the music to create pro-sounding radio stations. This birthed in me a passion for radio which lives with me to this day.
I started working at Durban's no. 1 Christian Radio Station (Highway Radio) at the age of 16 years old doing the traffic report. Within a year I was a substitute DJ on the prime-time Drive Show.
I stayed with Highway Radio while all (I mean all) my friends moved on to the bigger commercial stations and TV Channels. My heart never allowed me to go further. It was as if God had given me a "wait". In hindsight I see why.
I wouldn't have been able to study Theology and then a diploma in Graphic Design had I been working for a top commercial media outlet. And both of these gave me invaluable insight.
But, from my experience in Radio, I grew into quite an expert in Interviews.
I became the go-to DJ for interviews with top Christian artists like Delirious, Michael W Smith, Third Day, even going to the FIFA World Cup!
This is why you may see a number of Interviews on my Websites. Because I love asking influential and experienced people questions about how they do what they do. It's one of the best ways to learn; ask questions.
If you haven't noticed, I'm the creative type. Majored in Art at school, studying Graphic Design. Etc.
This is why I love a good movie!
But I mean good. A good movie to me is one that, at the end, makes me sit there stunned at what I have just experienced. Whether that be through it's writing, acting or visuals. But most of all, good writing. You can check out my favourite movies of all time, plus a rating of over 50 movies I've watched so far, here in this Post I did.
So, you may find me talking about movies every now and then. More so on Twitter than on my Blog.
Speaking of Entertainment, I was also raised a Sport Lover.
I just can't help it. I love competition! (Again, according to one life-coach, this is because of my "strategist" strength).
And having been raised English South African, Rugby, Soccer and Cricket are my three favourites. I also appreciate some good Golf (Masters anyone?) and Tennis. And the odd Olympic Games event.
So every so often I might squeak a sport post in my Blog. But certainly more so on Twitter. Which is actually something I am working to cut down on, because I recognise not all of my followers are sports fans. And most of them have no idea about Rugby or Cricket!
So you're still reading? Wow. Thank you. And I mean that!
That's about me for now. Covers most of who I am, what I do, and what I want to offer you in this Blog.
You will also find "Miscellaneous" posts that are arbitrary thoughts, that just won't fit anywhere else. And being South African, I also comment a bit on the happenings in my own country. We are after all the most interesting country in the world!
Thanks for reading. I hope to inspire you to be everything you possibly can be, and help you see your potential as a worldchanger. You can find out more about My Blog here, where you'll also find my top ten favourite posts I've written to date.
If you have any questions at all, or just want to get in touch, I would love to hear from you. Contact me on Twitter, or better yet, drop me an email on sonicsubstance (at) gmail (dot) com. You know the drill.
I invite you to join the community and subscribe to the weekly Email. I promise to provide you with the neccessary inspiration (on only a weekly basis) to be all you can be as someone destined to change the world!
Let's do this together!
Together in service.
James
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