DeVon Franklin. You probably never heard of him, but I bet you have seen some of his work. He is the vice president of production for Columbia Pictures, a division under Sony Pictures Entertainment. His work includes; a revamped The Karate Kid, Jumping The Broom and more recent the reprisal of Sparkle. Some may know him to be the newlywed husband of actress Meagan Good. Others, especially Seventh Day Adventist Christians, may know Franklin as a preacher.
I’ll admit, I was clueless as to who Franklin is until buzz stirred about his engagement to Good. No sooner after that, I caught Franklin on Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday on her cable network station OWN. It was on Super Soul Sunday Franklin had my undivided attention. He was discussing his book, Produced By Faith: Enjoying Real Success Without Losing Your True Self. In Produced By Faith (PBF), Franklin uses the movie industry as a metaphor and an example in how an individual struggling with their career can be successful without losing their faith in God and their integrity as a Christian and a person overall.
The Super Soul Sunday with Franklin aired in June. Fast forward to the end of July into August. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be speaking with Franklin. On a Friday morning I literally received a call and emails from the Monarch Magazine office asking if I would conduct a phone interview with him later that evening. Of course! However, I felt bad that I hadn’t read his book yet. I’m also sure both of us were cognitive of the fact that it was a Friday and being a devout Seventh Day Adventist, Franklin will shut down business at sunset. Needless to say my conversation with Franklin flowed as I talked to him about a few things (his newlywed status, the movie Sparkle, his time growing up and into the movie business) and ended with topics in his book. A few weeks later, my reserved copy of PBF from the library became available and I’ve been “preaching the gospel” ever since.
PBF is more than just a guide to help navigate you through a career transition. It’s an instructional sermon that’s sure to inspire and bless its readers. Franklin takes the approach that your life is a movie that’s being directed by God and you are the writing partner. At the start Franklin reminds his readers of what makes a good story; that they are built on setups and payoffs within three acts. Yet, for reality, Franklin points our that as we move about has characters in our own story there is danger in lacking perspective. The more we’re immersed in our own story the more we fail to see how things will progress in the future. In other words, we fail to see the big idea. Soon enough we think we are in control of our lives.
“The truth is, you and I are in control of only two things: how we prepare for what might happen and how we respond to what just happened. The moment when things actually do happen belongs to God. You might be writing your story with the choices you make, but God is the director. Like all good directors, he has a vision for how your story will progress.” – Franklin PBF p.12
From there Franklin takes readers on a self discovery journey. For those that haven’t recognized their purpose or what they are suppose to be doing in life, Franklin lays out a few questions to ponder such as; what are you passionate about? What are you naturally good at doing? What kind of family life, marriage, lifestyle and church life do you envision? What do you believe God wants you to achieve for him in your career? What do you feel called by God to do?
What I love about this book is that it’s slightly different from Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life.” Where Warren was helping people discover their full on potential for their entire life, Franklin’s message is geared towards how to make your faith and integrity go together in your career path. For some reason a lot of people haven’t figured out a good balance, especially if their career goal is in a VERY secular world.
Once you identify your purpose you move into selling it. Within this particular chapter Franklin talked about how he once worked for Will Smith and James Lassiter’s production company. The job, while good at first start, eventually became a (or feeling like a) dead end for Franklin. Franklin went into the men’s room one day and quietly had it out with God, praying (asking and telling) that something had to change. It was a moment where Franklin says be careful of what you asked for. Later on, Franklin was approached by Lassiter who praised his work but told him that growth within that company wasn’t possible at the time and he offered to help him find a job. Franklin spent the time “hitting the pavement” in selling himself to potential employers. He met with executive after executive, fasting and praying. In a chapter further into the book Franklin states:
“Nothing about being a Christian is passive, and that includes casting your story. Get out and meet the people who can help your career along.” – Franklin PBF p. 128
However Franklin has two warnings:
“Do not worry about whether or not the people you are trying to get to know are Christians. Unless you are seeking their help with spiritual matters, it’s irrelevant. Just as we don’t want other people in our workplace to treat us differently because of our faith, we should not deliberately place ourselves in a spiritual ghetto by getting to know only those who have a similar faith. Second, do not step out to the make appointments and meet possible cast members thinking ‘What can this person do for me?’ That’s a losing approach. All you should be focused on is gaining knowledge that will help you have a clearer understanding of how to navigate your career.” – Franklin PBF p. 128- 129
What’s important to note, each time that Franklin scored a position, he was upfront about needing the Sabbath off. Certainly, it seems absurd to anyone in Hollywood to shut down business between Friday evening and Saturday evening. However, Franklin is living proof that it doesn’t have to be either or with your career. You don’t have to go on a career path and let your faith go, or go on a career path that’s deemed “safe” for Christians and not live to your full potential of fulfilling your purpose in service. As long as you are honest with yourself and your employer you can have it all with your faith and integrity in tact.
So you know what you can do and what you have to offer and you’ve been selling yourself to potential employers but you haven’t landed THAT job yet. Franklin’s chapter called “Development Hell,” is the most important and the very KEY that applies to all. Development Hell is the icky transitional stage. You haven’t moved backwards but you haven’t moved forwards. You feel stalled and are at wits end. This stage is all about character development and growth. Perhaps you weren’t ready for a particular position. You can’t go into a career, say like a school administrator, and expect to be a principal after a year in the classroom as a teacher. This is the stage that tests your faith and if you have the guts to completely let go of your control and really let God work things out.
Once you make it out of development you can go into production where you are putting the pieces together for a fulfilling career. However, it’s key to note that you are still somewhat developing. While you production you don’t stop growing.
One of the bigger lessons and reminders I picked up from the book is that development is hard. It’s all about patience and not wanting to grow up (even career wise) so fast in a world or a society that puts the press on you to grow up at a fast pace. In a previous blog post (literally a few days before speaking wit Franklin) I wrote this:
This is exactly how I want to live; true to my purpose as a writer and a journalist. I want my integrity to stay in tact. Today’s world is filled with the young and restless generation. There is pressure to appear on lists (literal or made up in our heads) that are titled “Top 30 Under 30,” or“Top 20 under 40.” Most of our parents groomed us with the mantra of “take your time to grow up.” Yet, the world wants us to grow up fast, even when we’re adults!!!! We’re suppose to have it all by a certain age, and if we don’t have it by then we feel shamed or even doomed. If we had it all by 30 or 35, what would we do with the rest of our lives? What would we have to look forward to? What kind of growth do we gain?
Franklin’s book is the reminder to take time and grow and development more as person and spiritual being. Part of the reason for development and production is to position us in the right place in life. Franklin heeds about placing ourselves in a box or having a limited view of ourselves:
“Positioning in our careers is just as essential because we cannot afford to sit back and let people or circumstances define who we are and what we’re capable of. If we do, then we limit our opportunities.” – Franklin PBF p. 201
For those struggling with a transitional period in their lives, I highly recommend Franklin’s book. This book will inspire you to discover your true purpose or which career path to take. If you already recognize this, it will help you to remain steadfast in achieving your goals through re-evaluation, spiritual guidance and inspirational anecdotes from Franklin’s own life and an example or two of personal friends of Franklin. One the best anecdotes and examples Franklin uses when it comes to the development stage is of his friend Glendon Palmer. Palmer, whom Franklin describes as not particularly religious or spiritual, but was displaying more faith than many, experienced a setback in the industry. He was unemployed for three years. It was during his time he spent in development that he wrote the script for a wedding movie that eventually became Jumping the Broom.
Franklin put together an easy road map to follow, that will surely test your endurance when actually going through it. Yet, it’s worth it. Remember, a good story is built on setups and payoffs. Hopefully your own story will pay off after reading Franklin.
My article with DeVon Franklin will appear in the fall issue of Monarch Magazine. Also included are my articles on DC-based fashion designer Wendy Pittman of My Bougie Baby and my short feature on T.D. Jakes about the movie Sparkle.
Here’ s a clip of Franklin on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday.
Mahoganie: Musings East of the Anacostia River 
dancingpalmtrees
October 5, 2012
Franklin’s two warnings mirror an expression my mother Mable Palmer used to tell me, Deborah you never know who you may have to call on. The other saying was, “If you can’t say something nice about someone don’t say anything at all.” I can truly say that many people from various races, religions, ethnic groups & faiths have helped me along this pathway called life. Age for the most part is not a factor in where you want to be in life. Like my Dad Edward Palmer used to say, Deborah if it’s meant for you it will happen. Remembering his words takes much of the stress and impatience out of getting it, whatever it may be. Also we need to redefine “success” in our own terms. I’m enjoying and planning the second 50 years of my life. The past cannot be changed. Happy to be an AARP member and part of the Baby Boomer generation. I believe we must be idealistic and realistic at the same time. No I don’t expect to have babies but I’m thinking about all the wonderful trips and traveling I’ll be doing in about five to six years. I’ve reassessed my priorities. The first 50 were quite an adventure let’s see where the next 50 take me.