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In Reply to: Lone Wolf repost (part 4) posted by Another Fan on May 05, 2002 at 15:45:25:
For starters, they all said that our image and the way we portrayed ourselves needed some help, so that those we would market our products to would be able to better understand who we are and what we are about. If we were to publish and mass-market, our products would need to be packaged in such a way so as to sell themselves, and fine-tuned to "target" whichever group of people we hope to reach, with an "image" that people would easily understand.
A number of consultants also advised that we should be bolder in proclaiming our message and beliefs and avoid the 'excuse me for living' presentation, and commented that some of our media and PR materials made us appear somewhat defensive. After we explained to one consultant our radical background and the wild, hip image of our early days, she replied, 'It looks like in trying to appear more respectable today you squared yourselves!'--Ha!
In summary, according to the experts, the Family has got it! We just need a little help with some of our packaging and approaches, and to promote our products and services more vigorously. This was all quite encouraging for us.
Becoming a Legal Entity
It was apparent that if the GPU was to fulfill the vision of helping reach the world in many new ways with GP tools, they would have to form a legal entity for the purpose of conducting business, publishing, etc. The question was, what type? None of us involved had any previous experience in this sort of venture. There were also potential pitfalls, risks, complications and unknowns to consider. It was going to be a completely new step for us, one which potentially would affect the whole Family. Before making such a major decision it was brought before the Lord. Here's the counsel Dad gave:
(Dad speaking:) As you know, folks, I was never afraid to try new things, new ways. My goal was to preach the Gospel, and I was willing to try any way to do it. As Jesus said to His disciples, I say now to you, "Greater things than these shall you do."
I know your worries, your concerns. But the Lord works in many different ways, and we have to be open and willing to explore. Just like I said, you've got to try the doors. You've got to knock on the various ones, open them up and look inside. See what's there, see what the fruit's going to be and judge each step of the way.
So knock on this door and pursue it. Check it out, and it will become clearer as time goes on which route you need to take. You're on the right track as far as researching, finding out the information and seeing if you have the wherewithal to build a house. That's just what you should do. You can't make the decisions without having the information, and you can't have the information unless someone takes the time to research it and find out how they need to do it. So do the research. Search it out, find it out and seek it out so that the answers to your questions are found.
Remember that in the past, there were new things that you suggested. They were expensive, it was quite radical, it was a real departure from the way we'd done things. But you had the vision and the Lord gave it to you, and it was the right decision, and it changed things for the better, didn't it? But we would have never known if we hadn't tried them, and if I hadn't let you do the research.
So move ahead. Test the waters. Learn the ropes. Knock on the doors and it will become clearer to you what must be done and what you're supposed to do. You don't have to worry, you are on the right path as far as the researching and searching the matter out. And then you will know and it will become clearer to you what path you must take.
See, it's one of these step-by-step scenes where they just have to go step-by-step, and as they go and as they learn, other doors will open, other paths will appear and you will then know what you are supposed to do. You can't always know the end from the beginning, but as you go patiently forward step-by-step, then the path becomes clearer and the way more evident. (End of message from Dad.)
Again, the counsel from Heaven was to follow the Lord step-by-step. It's a good thing we did, because the Lord was working behind the scenes, unbeknownst to us.
