By Design - October 2022

COVER STORY AN UNEXPECTED OUTCOME

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Then one night in prayer, I very clearly heard, “Don’t close Zine.” I was like, “Um…you see how much debt I’m in, right?” But really, money wasn’t the real issue. I simply felt lost. I had lost the motivation. I had no more hustle left in me. It just didn’t seem worth it anymore. The money part was just a painful symptom. But, I knew that voice. And I sure as heck knew it wasn’t my voice because I just wanted a way out. And staying with Zine was most definitely NOT a way out.

everything one day at a time, believed I heard right, and watched and waited. This gets a little personal…but I have to tell the dream I had. I saw the word “Ezra” flip and turn into the word “Zine.” That flip represented a turn-around. So I started reading the book of Ezra. It was all about rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. And a lot of the thoughts and ideas resonated with me. Another day, I was reading the Psalms about Mt. Zion, the city of David in

and something bigger was happening. It felt like everything was coming together though I couldn’t yet articulate it. It was a knowing, a vision. So I doubled down, found my resolve and no longer saw Zine as a burden to carry, but an important, valuable place to (re)build. And that a great turn-around was on its way. Your vision was something you saw and sensed, but didn’t have words for? That's right. It was like puzzle pieces coming together. It wasn’t an easy journey, but there were many interesting convergences and divine alignment along the way that gave me the resolve to not give up. I guess you can say it was the beginning of a grand vision, one that honestly felt too big for me. But it had to be too big. That’s how I knew that a greater force, the Divine Creator, was helping me create something big. So you received a divine message that gave you a vision of rebuilding Zine. And that it would be a place where God abides and people are victorious. Is that essentially Zine’s vision? [Laughing] Yes and no. I don’t say it like that. My change in perspective was important though. I started to feel grateful for what I had built with Zine, for the people who supported

It was like puzzle pieces coming together. It wasn’t an easy journey, but there were many interesting convergences and divine alignment along the way that gave me the resolve to not give up. I guess you can say it was the beginning of a grand vision, one that honestly felt too big for me.

So I kept listening. I said, “OK, I won’t close it. But what should I do?” I heard, “We’ll rebuild it together.” Of course, I had no idea what that meant or what it looked like. So I just took

Jerusalem where God abides and his people are victorious. And I realized Zion sounded like Zine. I knew that was a confirmation, among many others, that what I had heard in prayer was right,

20 The Results-Driven Life by Design