day 933: Marvel Superpowers

"With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation"

Last week I went to see the new Spiderman movie in 3D.  This is not a movie review, but I will say it was pretty cool and I felt like I was 10 years old for the two hours and that the imagination that I had at 10 years old was more than satisfied.  The Marvel Comic movies haven't come about just by accident.  Years ago I had the privilege to sit in the room with the senior executive team of Marvel as we listened to them talk about their assets and how they were going to expand their catalog of 4000+ characters into many different and new mediums. Unfortunately, we didn't have the foresight (or imagination) to buy the company then and there on the spot for a few hundred million dollars (Disney bought them for $4 Billion just a few year later).  What Marvel has done is take a few simple lessons and stuck with them and become a huge success - and they didn't need real "superpowers" to get there.  The three lessons they recently laid out for Wired Magazine were: 1) Embrace all mediums, both new and old: Marvel didn't abandon retailers or their core business when they moved to digital and movies. Instead they used the new mediums to make their comics cool again.  2) All customers can be treated equally: Marvel didn't penalize those who bought from the newsstand versus just treating their subscribers well.  All purchasers at retail stands got free digital access and promotions to other deals.  3) Make an ecosystem to create value: Marvel has just scratched the surface of stitching together all of the offerings across their traditional and new outlets.  Expect to see much more that will allow all of us to access and experience the Marvel Universe in ways we can't even now imagine.  Good lessons for all of us from what was once just a comic book company.

As we consider what lessons we can bring to our own lives, let's not forget that God also gives us His superpowers if we only remember to go to the source to establish and renew them.  Like many of the characters in the comic world there is a place where their powers are drawn from.  In our spiritual life we have our own fountain of power to draw upon continuously. If we desire the superpower that God wants to give us they are not far from us right now - they are found in His Word, in prayer and in fellowship with other believers.  What's holding you back today from tapping into His power source?  There are many around us that need to have something in their lives that they can marvel at to trigger their belief in our Savior.  Can you be the one today to demonstrate His superpowers?

Reference: Isaiah 12:3 (New Living Translation)