D
eVon
FRANKLIN
MADE By Kris D. Williams
Focused, Faithful and Fearless: DeVon Franklin talks
how these characteristics have positioned him for
success in entrepreneurship in an exclusive interview
with MADE for our Men's Issue.
MADE:
In your book, The Wait, you speak of having patience, trust and faith while waiting
on the person God has for you. What advice would you give young people who
are at a standstill in their careers? Do the same rules apply as waiting on the right
relationship?
DF:
Yeah, I mean they actually do. When we were writing the book, even though we were
focusing on relationships, we were talking about it in a way that really feels like it’s
universally applicable. And so, if somebody is in their career and they are definitely trying
to move forward but don’t see how it’s possible, the idea of waiting is valuing delayed
gratification, which means “Yes, what you want will happen if you stay the course.” And if
you find ways (even in the time when you seem stagnant) to continue to be productive and
to find ways to maximize that waiting time, that’ll only prepare you for when the things
you’ve been hoping for will happen.
You also have to do an assessment. “Where do I want to be? Where am I now? Why
do I think I haven’t got there yet?” and not allow frustration, anger, depression and
complacency to eat up that period of time. Because a lot of times when things seem quiet
or slow, and you don’t seem like you’re close to where you want to be, it’s actually the time
when you have the most time to do the things you need to do, so that when you’re in the
right position, you’ll be successful.
And so I really encourage people to do an inventory on their life. What are the things that
they feel like they could be doing now that would make their time more valuable?
CREDITS:
Photo Credits
Photography:
Jay Lawrence Goldman