GO-GETTER: Steven VanDyke on How to #FightWinSurvive

Steven VanDyke interviewing the GlenNeta Griffin.

God’s calling on anyone’s life brings about three steps: acknowledgement, acceptance and action. Steven VanDyke lived a life of believing in Jesus, but not following Jesus until his generalized anxiety got the best of him. Steven describes his anxiety as “scared to live and scared to die at the same time” and that affected his ability and his desire to live. That was then, now through a God-inspired vision, three small words have transformed his life and has started a movement to spread around the world. Those three words are Fight…Win…Survive!

Steven’s slogan also helped bring the movement together “Life’s circumstances can sometimes knock you or a loved one down, but it doesn’t have to knock you or them out!” God’s purpose for Steven’s life went from acknowledgement of the Fight…Win…Survive vision, to acceptance of giving his life to encourage others to the action of touching lives.

How did the idea come about to start this type of ministry?

The idea to start Fight…Win…Survive came in the middle of the night. I woke up from my sleep with those three words on my mind. I typed them into my phone and went back to sleep. The next day I looked at my phone and there they were and I ran from there with it. The message is extremely personal to me because I suffer with generalized anxiety and as I go through “moments” I have to keep my cool and tell myself that everything is o.k.

What is it that you’re trying to achieve through this platform?

I am trying to touch lives through encouragement. In this life everyone has to go through or deal with something and it doesn’t stop. You get sick and get over the illness then you get behind on bills. You get caught up on the bills and your marriage or relationship falls apart. While you’re dealing with that someone in your family passes. Each of these situations requires a Fight…Win…Survive mindset. What we are looking to do is provide the encouragement to let people know that they can get through “it,” whatever their “it” may be.

What are you next steps or future goals with the ministry?

We are looking to gain ministry partners. We want individuals ministering with us who wants to encourage others. We want individuals who have a passion for certain areas to join us and help spread the Fight…Win…Survive message of encouragement within certain areas like touching the lives of individuals who are dealing with cancer, lupus, sickle cell anemia, drug addiction, depression, etc. I want everyone in the world to know that whatever their “it” is they can Fight…Win…Survive!

Have you done any outreach projects within your community? If so, what were they?

We have been a vendor at various community events selling and passing out information about Fight…Win…Survive. We have brought our encouragement message to a movie through Donate Life America which is called “The Wish” (http://www.fightwinsurvive.com/the-wish.php). That should be released before the end of the year and we have partnered with The Showcase Group, an organization that mentors at risk youth.

If you were not in the ministry or working your full-time job, what would you be doing?

I would be focusing on my entertainment company more (VanDyke Entertainment). We just celebrated in August 2014 our 20th year anniversary and in 2012 we released a very popular project called “The Power of Prayer.”

Tell readers about the Good Grade challenge on your website?

There has been so much foolishness on the internet lately from our youth. Stupid games like the fire challenge, condom challenge and the pass out challenge had kids doing the unimaginable. The Good Grade Challenge was my answer to the stupidity. Education was always a priority in my life and has been the basis of my success. My mother was a high school math teacher who required my sister and I bring home nothing lower than a “B.”

The Good Grade Challenge is where parents will help their kids choose INTELLIGENCE over IGNORANCE and post their child’s good grades on social media. The goal is to flood the negative images with positive performance and have everyone celebrate each child’s success. The underlying goal is also for a parent who has a child who may not be performing their best to get involved with their child’s school work with the excitement to post their grades online also. The goal being making a parent susceptible to the same type of peer pressure that their kids experience by their desire to “show off” their kids grades too.

Mr. VanDyke supporting the Obesity Walk.

Is there anything you would like people to know about you?

I want people to know that God has a plan for us all. Three years ago I never imagined that I would be ministering to people. Am I a preacher? No, but I have accepted the purpose that God has given me to touch the lives of people all over the world on a daily basis through positivity and encouragement.

How can readers keep in contact with you through social networks?

People can keep in contact with Fight…Win…Survive through our free mobile app (Fight…Win…Survive), our Fight Win Survive Facebook page, our twitter @fightwinsurvive, our Instagram @fightwinsurvive and our website www.FightWinSurvive.com.