Echo 2012 was, in my opinion, our best conference yet. To all of you who were in attendance — thank you so much! And even if you weren’t there, I hope you had the chance to follow the #echo12 hashtag stream on Twitter to get an idea of what was happening. Whatever you group you fall into, we thought it’d be fun to put together a list (in no particular order) of some of the best tweet-sized nuggets from Echo 2012. Check out the list below, share it with friends, and add any missing quotes and takeaways in the comments below.
- “Never settle.” — Jeff Sheldon (@ugmonk via @ChurchJuice)
- “The product is not the art. The art is the process.” — Blaine Hogan (@blainehogan via @samsonvarughese)
- “We need to take our eyes off the thing we’re making and put them on the life we’re creating.” — Blaine Hogan (@blainehogan via @shonstre)
- “Only two people will tell you that you need to change: an enemy who has lost his temper or a friend who loves you deeply.” — Todd Wagner (@wordsfromwags via @Kaylene Whitaker)
- “Sucess is not related to outcomes, but to obedience.” — Cole NeSmith (@ColeNeSmith via Kaylene Whitaker)
- “You can’t always produce epic, but you can always produce excellence.” — Someone in Trey Hill (@squarerootof9) and Matt Knisely’s (@mattknisely) first session (via many, many people)
- “Innovation ≠ Cool, Innovation = New” — Carlos Whittaker (@loswhit via @blankenship)
- “Sometimes we focus too much on making better art and not making better artists.” — Scott McClellan (@scottmcclellan via @daveawelch)
- “Be willing to scrub toilets. Nothing is beneath you if you are working toward seeing your dream come true.” — Amena Brown (@amenabee via @cgaddy)
- “Creativity comes out of habit.” — Amena Brown (@amenabee via @DLAdkinson)
- “Choose to be remarkable.” — Jeff Goins (@JeffGoins via @jburno)
- “Embrace your role, whatever it is. Be remarkable, wherever you are. Stop hiding, start living.” — Jeff Goins (@jeffgoins via @lindseynobles)
- In planning an experience, ask, “What promises will we make?” — Stephen Brewster (@b_rewster)
- “Discipline is the vehicle to accomplishing your mission.” — Joshua Blankenship (@blankenship via @coltmelrose)
- “The things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quoted by Joshua Blankenship (@blankenship via @TheNateSmith)
- “Skin is not bones. Don’t just focus on the exterior … you have to build the bones right.” — Joshua Blankenship (@blankenship via @stephenwarnock)
- “If you’re complacent, you can’t create art. This is an emotion business.” — Sean Devereaux (@Sean_Devereaux via @ChurchJuice)
- “Great art can elevate a weak message. A great message will not elevate bad art. Design matters.” — Sean Devereaux (@Sean_Devereaux via @ChurchJuice)
- “God wants to use the crap from my past to fertilize my future.” — Marlon Hall (@marlonfhall via @markjshortt)
- “Choose the wells you draw from.” — Rob Thomas (@robwthomas via @ChurchJuice)
- “You can’t take anyone farther than you’ve gone yourself.” — Blaine Hogan (@blainehogan via @jburno)
- “Marketing and reaching people is no longer about the stuff you are selling, it’s about the story you are telling.” — Scott Williams (@ScottWilliams via @AdamLegg)
- “The web is your church’s new front door.” — Justin Wise (@JustinWise via @ahhyeah)
- “Sometimes you need to pull a Leroy Jenkins.” — Nick Jones and Bryan Clark (@NickJones and @bryanofclark via @KM_CIYF)
- “It’s gonna be okay… Keep walking.” — Tony Hale (@MrTonyHale via Scott Eastman)
- “That’s a tree. That’s a thing that came up out of the ground & bloomed. That’s nuts.” Let’s not limit Christian art to the obvious. — Tony Hale (@MrTonyHale via @johannaprice)
- “If you’re not practicing contentment where you’re at, you won’t be content when you get what you want.” — Tony Hale (@MrTonyHale via @LCTVmedia and dozens of others)
- “The love of comfort is frequently the enemy of greatness.” — Todd Henry (@ToddHenry via @TheNateSmith)
- “Brilliance begins with the fundamentals.” — Todd Henry (@ToddHenry via @sketchism)
- “Die empty.” — Todd Henry (@ToddHenry via @thegrider)
That’s our list! Remember to add any missing gems to the comments below. Thanks again, everyone!
Scott McClellan is the Editor of Echo Hub and the Director of Echo Conference. You can follow him on Twitter: @scottmcclellan.