Daniel’s Consulting Gig with Hopps

Daniel started a new consulting gig with a platform called Hopps. This is where small businesses who need help with their website, online shop, online presence, or social media etc. can have a consulting session with an expert in the field that they need help in and don’t have to hire an employee or freelancer for more than just the task at hand.

Click on the image to see Daniel’s profile

Sessions can run anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the client’s needs… sometimes there’s a whole list of things!

Hopps describe themselves as the world’s first on-screen help platform. To get help with website troubleshooting, anything WordPress, anything Shopify, or if you need to translate something from or to German, GO TO DANIEL’s PROFILE to get started!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

This year, Daniel had the chance and availability to create some Ugly Christmas Sweaters before Christmas is over. Over the last few years, this as been something we wanted to create but could never quite get around to working on before December. Well, this year, one of our distributors, Printful, offered a selection of designs specifically composed for custom creating Ugly Christmas Sweaters. With these compositions there didn’t seem to be any excuse left for not getting some designs into the Gift Shop before December. Take a look…

Swimming Every Day

Today, Daniel decided to go swimming every day (or at least as many days in a row as possible) to start losing weight through High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). What’s nice is that it’s gentle on the joints. This is what some people do in Switzerland – you don’t notice the cold or “bad” weather as much if you stick to swimming every day because the temperature of the water doesn’t change that much from one day to the next, even if you’re swimming in a river or a lake.

Illustration by vectorlab

The nice thing is that our apartment complex has a community pool and jacuzzi so the current idea is to warm up doing stretches and sit in the jacuzzi for about 5 minutes. Then jump in the pool (like ripping a band aid off!) and swim laps for 1-2 minutes. Repeat jacuzzi and laps every 1-2 minutes to get 5 repetitions then relax in the jacuzzi for another 10-15 minutes before taking a cold show to rinse off the chlorine.

You can find updates on his Daniel’s YouTube Channel and Daniel’s Weight Loss Journey page. This is the first post so we don’t know yet whether we’ll be posting more updates here or on YouTube… Just keep checking both 😀

Evidence of Excellence

While I can build a Content Management System (CMS) from scratch I choose not to because there are so many out there already. There are usually multiple solutions to a problem and it’s the same way with CMSs; there are usually several good options to choose from. I’m not a big fan of reinventing the wheel. If something is not working the way it was intended, let’s find the solutions to the problems at hand. That’s also how I see open source – someone has a great idea and the community can help turn it into something, even make it better, and collaborate on a problem to come up with the best solution. You can’t know all the answers but you can work on knowing where to find them, which people to talk to, and be humble enough to ask for help.

Excellence is the journey of striving to be the best version of myself. It’s not about finding a way to do the bare minimum by comparing to what others are doing but rather looking inward and finding the potential that’s there and working toward reaching it to its fullest. Amazingly, when everyone excels, everyone wins. There are no losers when everyone gives it their all.

To the best of my ability, I live with an attitude of gratitude for the things I have, and without complaining about the things I don’t. The same goes with circumstances; I may not be able to control them, but I control how I respond. I control whether I see myself as a victim or as an overcomer. I control whether a situation pulls me down or becomes a stepping stone in my life, whether to give up or to live a life of excellence. And excellence is not a thing I can do one time and then I have it. No. Excellence is a way of life, something to continually be with my whole being.

The Tesla company, for example, has this way of excellence that I’ve observed from the outside. Starting with the design, everything is well thought out, every detail looks like someone went out of their way to put it in the exact right spot. And even with the release of new models, from what I’ve read, releases are sometimes delayed because of an update being added to them. Delaying the release of a product so that a better version of it will go to the customer, if this is really true, is evidence of excellence. I want to be seen by those around me that way too… that I would go out of my way to make something better, better than the minimum, better than my initial goal, so that those on the receiving end have a better version. Excellence means that those around me experience the best version of myself.

~ Daniel Gurtner

Fetch Rewards (Review too)

Not sure if we share this before but we started using Fetch Rewards sometime last year. Fetch Rewards is basically an app where you can take snap a picture of your receipt, and depending on what you bought, you get varying amounts of points.

At the very lowest, you receive 25 points for a receipt. Well, that’s after you you sign up and snap your first few receipts. In fact, if you want to try it, we recommend starting on a day that you will likely have more receipts, like on grocery shopping day, because our experience has shown that Fetch Rewards gives more points right at the beginning.

Also, if you use our referral link here, you’ll receive somewhere around 2000-4000 (during special promotions, they increase the amount) points as a bonus when you scan your first receipt. To put that in perspective, 1000 points = $1 at least 99% of the time. And most rewards start at around $3-5 gift cards (except Walmart who’s in the < 1% that make you work more for your rewards). So you could potentially get a $3-5 Amazon Gift Card right on your first day!

So, turn your receipts into gift cards with Fetch Rewards. Just click THIS LINK and get 2,000 points when you snap your first receipt. You can also download the app first and use our promo code, HWAWGK, which will give you the 2000 points as well, once you scan your first receipt.

We have so far been able to receive over $100 in rewards from Amazon, Domino’s Pizza and Starbucks!

Do You Follow Jesus This Close? – Square Logo District Unisex Shirt

Remember that Do You Follow Jesus This Close Square Bumper Sticker that we posted last month? Well, we decided to make it into a shirt that you can wear in places where you have to stand in line.

do-you-follow-jesus-this-close-square-logo-district-unisex-shirt

Since we’re still social distancing in many places, we felt it makes sense to use the same idea as a conversation starter about Jesus and also as a tool that helps people remember not to stand so close behind us. Our Do You Follow Jesus This Close Square Logo District Unisex Shirt comes in multiple sizes in colors to match any occasion!

Smiles For Fun

This actually started with the idea of creating a neck gaiter for working in landscaping at first and then due to COVID, it became a face mask idea. We’re talking about the first Donald Trump face mask & neck gaiter.

Donald Trump’s “signature ‘fake news’ pose”

In the meantime, our collection has grown to over 12 designs and we’re constantly creating new versions as well as creating custom designs (yes, customers are asking for personal designs as well!) and we’ve even added a custom domain for the collection, SmilesForFun.com.

This Face Mask & Neck Gaiter is a versatile accessory that can be used as a face mask or face covering to comply with local COVID-19 mandates, headband, bandana, wristband, and neck warmer. Upgrade your accessory game and find a matching face shield for each of your outfits. If you already have to cover up your smile, why not cover it with another smile..?!

Santa Grinch Face Mask & Neck Gaiter
Santa Grinch Face Mask & Neck Gaiter
Maybe you’re Santa today, or the Grinch… you can choose with this reversible mask – just flip it around!

Imagine cheering up everyone and bringing happiness wherever you go..! That’s been our (somewhat unintentional) experience ever since we’ve started wearing these masks. And especially during these trying times, we’ve been able to brighten up entire rooms with the love of God and a simple smile 🙂

More Than A Bumper Sticker

We started out with the idea to create a bumper sticker that said “do you follow Jesus this close?” as a means to ward off tailgaters. The sticker has existed for a while but we never found a reasonable price or place to buy one that fit our wants and needs. So we decided to create a few of our own.

When we decided to attend the Rock School of Ministry (Learn more here), we came up with the idea for a Gift Shop to raise funds for tuition, travel, materials, and some living expenses.

All support is greatly appreciated – whether it’s financial or simply keeping us in prayer for God to provide as needed and sharing this information with others.

Please take a look at our product gallery – you might just see something you like for you or even as a gift for someone else. We also accept custom requests as well as create samples for before ordering large quantities. 

I'm Not Lucky, I'm Blessed Tee Shirt

Tuition for Rock School of Ministry

Now that we have started to attend the Rock School of Ministry (learn more at rockschoolofministry.com), and as we attend 3 mornings per week and commit to two three-day intensive growth retreats, all within a 19-week term (4½ months), we just ask you all for your continued support. Any kind of support is greatly appreciated – whatever is placed on your heart – whether it’s a donation (see directions below), or simply keeping us in prayer for God to provide as needed and sharing this information with others. Our goal is to raise funds for a total amount of $5940. This includes our tuition as well as travel, materials, and some living expenses.

This is a big step of faith for both of us, and we are requesting your prayers. While going through a season of transition and learning to trust God through various storms and trials, we have sensed His calling us into a deeper place of intimacy with Him and learning to simply “sit at the feet of Jesus” (Luke 10:38-42). 

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to sharing with you all the great things that God is doing in us and through us in this season of growth.

Donations towards tuition can be made directly to the school online at: 
rsom.typeform.com/to/KIrEXf
(Please be sure that you put your name first and then either Daniel’s or Luci’s name under “Student Name”)

Checks can be mailed to:
Daniel & Luci Gurtner
PO Box 1231
La Mesa CA 91944 

And donations can also be received electronically via:

GoFundMe: 
gofundme.com/f/help-daniel-luci-through-rock-school-of-ministry

PayPal: 
paypal.me/gurtner 

Our Gift Shop: 
doyoufollowjesus.com

Going to Rock School of Ministry

We have decided to attend the Rock School of Ministry (learn more at rockschoolofministry.com).

It is was a big step of faith for both of us, and we are requesting your prayers. While going through a season of transition and learning to trust God through various storms and trials, we have sensed His calling us into a deeper place of intimacy with Him and learning to simply “sit at the feet of Jesus” (Luke 10:38-42). 

We believe that the school provides not only the guidance but also the environment for us to grow and transform into the people we are called to be, in life, in purpose, in calling, and in ministry. And we believe that this training and experience will also open up more doors for us towards full-time or part-time (paid) ministry opportunities as well as missions.