In the May 19 blog, we discussed some of the unprecedented changes that are occurring in our culture and economics as a result of the recent coronavirus episode. Then, we invited our readers to respond and share ideas and opinions, based on what they perceive would be possible opportunities that may avail themselves to us because of these dramatic changes.
Here’s our first winner: Craig Johnston -- he not only expressed concern, but also the high probability for opportunities regarding the Blockchain in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain. “Because many pharmaceuticals are made in China and India for US consumption, the worldwide supply chain needs to become more secure.”
Some background – some experts have estimated the sale of counterfeit drugs to be twice the rate of legal pharmaceutical trade. The pharma block chain could enhance security, and integrity, as well as, component tracking, manufacturing identity, and product movement from producers, to logistic service providers, to distributors, to hospitals and pharmacies, and to the patient.
When I read through Craig Johnston’s reply, I was reminded of an incident that took place when I was traveling in Africa in 1997 or 1998. I was working with the director of a large hospital. We were finishing up with the performing of the Project C.U.R.E. “Needs Assessment” study to determine how we could best serve their medical needs.
The director told me that he had been traveling outside of his own country and had met a fine fellow from New Delhi, India. The fellow was a pharmaceutical representative and had some wonderful prices on Tylenol – Extra Strength Acetaminophen pain reliever and fever reducer. They were 500 mg each and packaged in convenient containers of 200 caplets each.
“They were exactly what I needed for the hospital – and at such a great price! So, I really stocked up, and was so proud of myself with the bargain.”
My new doctor friend continued, “As I entered back into my own country here in Africa the customs people noticed all my supply of Tylenol. To make certain that I was not transporting and dealing in illegal narcotics, they pulled me aside and made me wait while they tested the ingredients of my bottles. When they returned, they smiled and assured me that I did not have any illegal narcotics, and that I was free to go.”
“However,” the customs officials said to me as I was leaving, ‘You don’t have any illegal narcotics, but you need to know that all those caplets you have are filled with nothing but talcum powder!’”
Let’s hope this Blockchain Pharmaceutical supply chain problem gets solved as a positive result of the coronavirus episode!
Thanks, Craig for your participation. Your autographed “Better Off” book will be in the mail shortly.
PURITY AND GENEROSITY
The answer is “yes”, I am washing my hands way more often than I ever was before the virus quarantine. On average, it now takes me at least twenty-five seconds. I scrub my cuticles, and make certain I get the stuff out from under my finger nails. I haven’t done as well, however, when it comes to keeping my hands away from my face. When I itch – I scratch. I’ll keep working at it.
Those who are informed, tell me it is all a part of cleanliness, abstention, and purity. It could make a difference as to whither I live or die of coronavirus. “Jeepers . . . I don’t want to die!” But you can tell if I am really serious about the situation by whether my behavior is consistent with what I say I believe. So, I’ve decided to try to stay clean and pure!
There is another aspect of “purity” that I have been thinking a lot about lately. This idea of purity has to do with the character of a person. Words like, authenticity, genuineness, validity, and reliability pop into my mind. Is it even remotely possible that this aspect of the concept of “purity” could be equally as important to your life as physical wholesomeness is to your life?
I have come to believe that your character is the sum total of all the values and decisions you determined to be “right” and desirable. On purpose, you have embraced those decisions and have included them in your own persona. What you believe is who you are . . . the rest is “psycho-babble”.
If I have decided to be clean, sanitary, and pure regarding my earthy, physical life, then, I will demonstrate that intention and objective by consistently doing such things as thoroughly washing my hands and not allowing some infected person to sneeze in my face.
So, if my goal and intention was for my life to be “pure” in such things as authenticity, legitimacy, truthfulness, reliability, and trustworthiness, how would my behavior be demonstrated to others around me? How would it effect my relationships with my friends and co-workers? How would I act?
It strikes me that “purity” is more than just passive – it’s active, engaged, and demonstrated – not just something to look at, like a picture. Purity in the character of my personal life is an absolutely indispensable condition if I desire to have successful relationships with others. It has to do with my “self” being in correct perspective and position.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus articulated a staggering concept: “. . . purity is best demonstrated by generosity.” Generosity is inexorably connected to the attitude of compassion.
It’s really tough to fake the true spirit of compassion. It would be like trying to fake the purity of virginity. Purity of character speaks of a clean heart, a single eye, a transparency of motive, and a soul full of God.
As we know, generosity and compassion aren’t about donations, gifts, or money – it’s about the heart. And I am convinced that compassion and generosity have the power to renew our human race. The spirit of generosity, perhaps more than anything else, is about how we treat people.
Yes, I want to be physically clean in this world of pandemics, quarantines, and weird viruses. But I am really striving for the greatest purity – the purity of authenticity, genuineness, and trustworthiness -- the purity of the heart. God doesn’t insist on gold vessels, nor even silver vessels, but He does demand clean vessels.
“Purity is best demonstrated by generosity.” (Luke 11:41 TLB)
OPPORTUNITIES
How many times did you lose just because you didn’t show up? That’s right – too many!
We usually think of an opportunity as an appropriate situation that would allow us to attain something we would like to grab hold of or possess. So, in a sense, there are a couple factors that need to be in play at the same time in regard to opportunities.
We need to figure out what it is that we really want, and secondly, we need to be aware of the set of circumstances that could make possible the attainment. If you are asleep at the wheel, regarding either one of these factors, you are probably unfulfilled and frustrated in your life.
Success usually takes place where preparation and the appropriate potential situations intersect. That is why I have stated in several of my books, that “Transformation takes place at the intersection of Culture and Economics. Economics has everything to do with choices and values. But if we are so unaware of reality, as to miss those potential situations that make themselves available to us in our culture, then we will, no doubt, also mess up on making the timely choices.
That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case!
The one Siamese twin, called “Opportunity” is miraculously joined at the hip to the other twin, called “Change”. It seems like everyone is uncomfortable with change, but as you have probably already discovered, it is the only thing that allows for the phenomenon of “Better Off”. New worlds spring into existence and wild and crazy things become reality when old patterns are challenged and change begins to take place. When that happens – get ready – opportunities will be prolific for the grabbing.
I fondly remember, during the mid-1960s and 1970s when the three Jackson brothers were heavily involved in the unprecedented fortuity of the changes in Colorado’s outdoor recreation and ski industry. Some people didn’t like the changes. But to those who perceived the prospects and embraced the radical changes of the future, were given untold opportunities and reward.
Some people refer to those occasions as “the moment” or the “break” or “good fortune” or the “whack at the gold ring”. I’m not saying that things will always get better when there is change, but I am saying that there must be change if things are to get better!
Take the Coronavirus situation in which we find ourselves today. Six months ago, we were told that we were basking in the sunlight of the strongest economy in history. That was then . . . and this is Now! Who can believe the change?
But I find myself now, occasionally grinning on the inside. Because of this unprecedented change we are experiencing, things will not be the same again in our future as they were five years ago. Change always requires awareness and acceptance.
Things had to change if they were going to get better. Watch out – because here comes the other twin called “Opportunity”. Are you sleeping at the wheel, or are you preparing yourself to lay hold of the circumstances that make the attainment possible? Remember, that if you only do the things you’ve always done, you’re only “gonna” have what you’ve always had!
Let’s play the game of “Imagine”:
Earlier, we stated that: “Success usually takes place where preparation and the appropriate potential situations intersect.” What if we began our preparation by imagining some of the opportunities that will be presenting themselves to us in the future because of the changes we are now experiencing. Things are going to be different. Here is a starting list for us to consider. What opportunities can you imagine, where you could be involved in dynamic and revolutionary changes in these areas of the culture?
Primary Education National Defense
Secondary Education Farming
Higher Education National and International Borders
Health Habits Biological Warfare
Marketing School Bus Systems
Transportation Health Industry:
Food Industry & Supply chains Telemedicine -- Procedures
Cruise Ships Hospital & Clinic Management
Airlines International Surgeries by Telemed.
Jails Medicine discoveries & Supply chains
I am dead serious about encouraging all of us to become aware of the historic opportunities that are being disclosed and made available right now, due to the unprecedented changes we are experiencing. I want to help you, my friends, to become engaged. This will benefit you and our whole culture.
Here’s what I am willing to do. Let’s hold a contest. I am inviting responses from you. I want all of us to start thinking about possibilities. I want you to share your ideas of possible opportunities based on situations of recent changes in our world. You can start with the generalized list above – or make up your own. Example: What opportunities do you see for the future in the area of Primary or Secondary Education, etc.? What are the changes that will hopefully be made in the future of Telemedicine, etc.?
Here’s an example of what I am personally thinking about: I can hardly wait for the time when Project C.U.R.E. can have cohorts of volunteer doctors and nurses in Denver, Phoenix, Nashville, Houston, Philly, and Chicago – directly “on line” via satellites with doctors and nurses in hospitals in Hyderabad, India, Kathmandu, Nepal, Goiania, Brazil, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Kampala, Uganda, -- all at the same time – assisting in strategic procedures in operating rooms and even clinics, giving needed direction and expertise to their medical counterparts. The possibilities of international telemedical ventures are mind blowing, and just around the corner. We need to pursue these opportunities in addition to our regular traveling medical teams and other efforts.
Likewise, there have been some great stories recently in the news regarding people who are now building very successful grocery-delivery businesses. Yes, there are going to be huge changes and opportunities based on our new marketing and shopping habits.
Farmers, who are keeping their eyes focused on the rapidly changing agriculture industry, are finding wonderful opportunities in revamping and restyling their operations.
Here’s the idea of the contest: You submit your insights and ideas of possible opportunities that are becoming available, based on the dramatic changes we have been experiencing lately.
Direct them to press@winstoncrown.com.
We will gather them and share them on this blog over the next weeks. We will appoint a panel of judges who will choose 5 entries they deem the best. Those 5 winners will receive a personally signed copy of my recent book: Better Off: How America Got Wealthy & You Can Too! (This is the book that received the 1st place gold award, in the category of “Literary Non Fiction”.)
I hope this little exercise encourages all of us to get our eyes on the exciting possibilities of the future. Here is a quote I often hear our Project C.U.R.E. President, Dr. Douglas Jackson, share:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
Can change the world. Indeed, It is the only thing that ever has.
Margret Mead
WATCHING THE "BLAME GAME"
The most popular participation sport in America is not football, baseball, basketball, tennis, or golf. The most popular, drama-filled, adrenaline-packed, life-changing, and fortune-altering game available is the “Blame Game”. It’s played at the office, in the schoolyard, around the dinner table, at the church, in rush hour traffic, in the bedroom, at the family reunion, everywhere during the nightly news programs, in the US House of Representatives, in the US Senate, in the hallways and closed rooms of administrations. There’s even an extremely popular version called “Solitaire” that is designed to be mobile and can be taken absolutely everywhere.
At one time in my life, I thought that the “Blame Game” was exclusively an American game. But, after working in over 150 countries of the world, I am here to conclusively report that the excited participation in the risky game, knows no boundaries or borders. I was in Rwanda and observed the aftermath of the Hutu – Tootsie genocide and realized that a very special edition of the deadly game was designed for international tribes, traditions, and institutions.
I even personally visited at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers near the City of Basra, in the country of Iraq, where it is agreed that the area, with over 40% of the world’s date palm trees, used to be known as “the garden of Eden.” As I viewed the area and drank in the historical beauties of the setting, I realized that even there, the very first created woman on earth wholeheartedly joined in the participation of the dastardly “Blame Game” when confronted with her disobedience -- she defensively mumbled something about, “the devil made me do it.” Then, when her mate, Adam, was confronted with his disobedience to the known rule of God, he responded with a quick and concise retort: “wife made me do it!” The game is literally played everywhere!
Strangely enough, one of the reasons that the game is so universally embraced is that it actually has its origins in the pursuit of the eternal virtue of “Justice”. God, Himself, said to us: “. . . that I am the Lord who exercises Kindness, Justice, and Righteousness on this earth, and in these I delight. declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:24). God loves Justice!
Justice is the quality of discovering and pursuing honesty, integrity, truth, right, rectitude, due process, and fair play. Then, when the principle is discovered and attained, it is expected that there will be follow up by appropriate conduct in the administration and maintenance of the rule. That’s justice.
So, it is a good thing, when corruption, wrongdoing, crime, perversity, malevolence, or vice is suspected -- to go after it, discover it, expose it, lay it bear for all to see, and rectify the situation. The intention is to root out the mischief, and seek an appropriate cure for the problem and set the culture back on course in accordance with the desired virtue.
For example: In this current coronavirus episode, if China is suspected of having pursued international germ warfare to the detriment of other international cultures, then it is appropriate to honestly investigate the matter with the intention of discovering the truth, and if necessary, rectifying the problem and setting the world communities and cultures back on a corrected path. Justice is a good thing!
The most effective avenues of evil, however, are those roads that are perverted from the one-time boulevards of beauty. Humanity has a propensity for taking discovered and accepted virtues and perverting them into grotesque methods of self-ruination. It happens so very subtly. That, is exactly what has happened in the development of the popular “Blame Game”.
Individuals observed, over time, how effective and successful it was in ever-so gently twisting the concept of virtue and the pursuit of Justice. If the culture was experiencing a malady, there must be a reason. That reason must be pursued, discovered and corrected according to justice. It was very acceptable to lay the responsibility of the malady at the feet of the suspected wrongdoers or naughty villains. They were the obvious problems. And until the problems were corrected it was the villains’ fault for the glitch in society.
It is not much of a jump to transfer that thought pattern to the individual’s everyday life style. In fact, there are some immediate, unintended benefits. If you are experiencing difficulties, disappointments, hardships, or misfortunes in your life, it must be that some villains or naughty wrongdoers are at work in your life messing up your happiness. You are an innocent, ill-prepared, and disenfranchised “victim”. As a pitiable victim, there is obviously nothing you can do about the inequity until the villains go away or the wrongdoers stop their mischief. It is simply awful – but sort of convenient – not to be expected to fix your own problem.
Time and again, we are faithfully warned not to be involved in perverting this concept of Justice. The same God who proclaimed this phenomenon of Justice also told us: “Do not pervert Justice” (Leviticus 19:15). He also warned: . . . The wicked hem in the righteous so that justice is perverted” (Habakkuk 1:4). But our tendency is to go right along in our game and pervert Justice to our own usefulness.
The game of blaming others for your demise is a sub conscious mechanism for avoiding your own responsibility in the matter. You are in the mess you are in as a result of your own choices that set into motion consequences that now, are not to your liking. Blaming others gives you a temporary relief from making changes in yourself.
The “Blame Game” is dangerous because it blocks you from ever discovering and facing the reason or reasons why the problems evidenced themselves in the first place. This perversion blocks you from the necessary moral insight that if you want different outcomes, you need to start making different choices. It is like developing moral cataracts on your eyes so that you are prohibited from seeing your own position of responsibility and accountability. Eventually, you will go blind.
Here is an insight I have observed as I have watched many people, including myself, playing the “Blame Game” (maybe the insight is worth something . . . maybe not). If a player is looking into a wrongdoing or perversity with the sincere desire to discover a solution to the problem in order to rectify the situation, probably, they are seeking “Justice”. If the player is seeking to blame people or circumstances as an excuse for their discomfort or miseries, without honestly seeking a positive cure, it is probably a “perversion” or control mechanism.
What wonderful joy and peace can be ours, however, when we discover that our successes and shortcomings are directly related to our acceptance of personal accountability and responsibility. It only takes one person to change your life . . . YOU!
GROWTH BEGINS WHERE BLAMING STOPS
WHO'S GONNA HELP?
The coronavirus episode has, in a very, very short period of time, injected into our world culture an unbelievable occurrence of angst, sorrow, frustration, fear, death, skulduggery, and economic chaos. We are not just experiencing perceived need – this is the real thing. I know of very few folks who have escaped the debilitating impact in one form or another.
Historians, epidemiologists, economists, and psychologists will be examining and arguing about the worldwide effects of the episode far into the future. But for the present, who will be the resolute problem solvers, the clear thinkers, the passion-driven healers who will step forward and help restructure the mess into acceptable and positive reality? Who will help restore goodness and order?
One thing I think we can count on is that acts of goodness and healing can’t wait to be done by perfect people. We are acutely aware that Americans are not perfect people. But on many occasions throughout our short history we have been called on to perform perfect missions of restoration and healing. Those folks within the scope of my community who give me the most heartburn, are those who are all caught up in visions of political correctness, and group acceptance, who, in order not to say anything wrong, never speak up at all – and in order not to do anything wrong, end up doing nothing at all!
The way that I read history is that if God should decide to only use perfect people to accomplish His enterprises, nothing in the world would ever get done. But right now, is the time and proper occasion when the resolute problem solvers, the clear thinkers, and passion-driven healers need to become involved in restoring goodness and order.
It’s probably true that your one act of goodness won’t change the world, but it is very possible that your one act of goodness could change that one person’s world. It’s certainly worth a try!
There’s a story that someone shared with me somewhere around the world in my nearly forty years of international travel: There was a fellow who was sitting idly by, watching the beggars, the beaten and the crippled passing along in front of him. All the while he was whining at God, “So, you are the great God, how is it that a loving Creator can see all these things and yet do nothing about them?”
Out of the long silence, God spoke, "I did do something . . . I MADE YOU."
Who knows? – Just maybe, your sincere and consistent acts of goodness, at a time like this, might well be what sets the world in the right direction. I do believe that those consistent acts of goodness multiplied by millions of people can transform the world. Don’t underestimate the powerful truth that goodness is contagious, goodness is compelling, and goodness is forever!
While I was writing this article, I received a wonderful email letter from the students at Colorado Christian University. It was announcing, “CCUPrays” in order to foster a fresh sense of spiritual awakening, repentance, encouragement, and connectivity.
This event will be a 72-hour, round the clock prayer meeting, beginning 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2020, and concluding at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, 2020.
The students and CCU community members are encouraged to pick a 30-minute segment, during that time frame, to pray for pandemic-related issues, spiritual health, our neighbors, leaders, healthcare providers, closed churches, etc.
When I read CCU’s student letter something stirred inside of me and I caught myself saying, “Yes”. Now is the time to practice goodness. The passionate heart that prays for the easing of the suffering of another miraculously find an easing of his or her own suffering. That obedient passion has a way of growing the spirit and strengthening the soul.
So, here is your assignment: Between now and this weekend, ask God to impress on your mind and heart, three persons who need you to contact them by texting, email message, or a phone call. Simply give them words of encouragement, goodness, and healing. If you want more goodness in this world – put it there!
I have discovered that every act of goodness sets into motion a ripple affect which has no foreseeable end. No simple act of goodness is ever wasted, and you can be the reason that someone else believes in goodness!
Then, out of a long silence, God spoke, “I did do something . . . I MADE YOU.”
COMPASSION or CONTROL (Part 2)
Oh, my goodness, there sure are a lot of us common folks who are thinking about the same things these days! This fall, I will have been writing and posting a blog every Tuesday morning for the past ten years. The only week I missed was when our Upper Bear Creek, here in Evergreen, Colorado, flooded and we were forced to evacuate our home for the week in 2013.
Out of those 500-some weekly pieces, however, we have never had such a rush of warm and thought-provoking responses as we had this past week regarding Compassion or Control. I told Anna Marie that we had more responses than I thought we had readers.
Apparently, the subject of Compassion or Control is an issue that is very near and dear to all of us, and we are not backing away from the opportunity to look at it squarely and do some examination and re-evaluation. There seems to be wide agreement with the view Albert Schweitzer penned during his lifetime: “The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” But, how, exactly, does a thing like that work out in our world village of infested motives?
There were some strong feelings expressed that Compassion should not be a type of “free pass” for folks who set into motion bad consequences resulting from their own greedy motives and intentional choices. That would be kin to knowingly rewarding bad behavior – and the result of that would probably be more bad behavior.
A perfectly fair question dealt with how I have personally handled the issue of compassion and dependency in my relationship to our philanthropic work with Project C.U.R.E. Over the past thirty-three years, Project C.U.R.E. has become the largest handler of donated medical supplies and pieces of medical equipment in the world – shipping into 138 different countries. Believe me, we live in the real world of compassion and dependency. From the beginning, we knew we were walking on a bed of hot coals.
Allow me here to share our conclusions by quoting Dr. Douglas Jackson, our Project C.U.R.E. President and CEO, from his recent 2019 Annual Report:
For over two decades, I have crisscrossed the globe conducting on-site Needs Assessment studies in international hospitals and clinics. That Needs Assessment process sets Project C.U.R.E. apart. We are committed to visiting every potential partner’s site before we deliver medical supplies and equipment. We ask hours of questions, tour each room in the facility and photo-document the current conditions that the doctors and nurses face in their work to heal the sick and save the lives. It is an expensive process, not only in terms of travel costs, but also in the wear-and-tear on our bodies and the time invested in learning what we need to know to do our best work.
Somewhere I adopted a commitment that I share during ever Needs Assessment with the medical professionals toward the end of our time together. “Our goal,” I say, “is to have you tell us ‘Thank you, we don’t need you anymore.” This is true. We are not in existence to create a dependence on Project C.U.R.E.’s work. Project C.U.R.E. is here to deliver the tools to enable the doctors and nurses to provide healthcare for their communities, So, it’s important to share early our vision for what we believe ultimate success should look like . We want you to be successfully independent . . .”
We have about 20,000 volunteers in our six major warehouse operations around the United States (or at least that’s how many we had before the Coronavirus saga). Our volunteers love their work collecting, warehousing, and distributing all the multi-millions of dollars of medical goods. A while back, I had one volunteer share with me about the “good workout for his heart that he gets at Project C.U.R.E.: “All you have to do to get a good workout for your heart, is to get busy trying to lift some needy person up to a higher level of health, dignity, and self-worth.”
I like that!
COMPASSION or CONTROL
I learned a great lesson from the attorneys in our family. That lesson was, that if you can’t articulate it – you can’t advocate it. So, I’ve tried to make friends over the years with words and ideas in order to help aid me in my articulation efforts. Even when I got into sales and real estate development, I observed that you can’t sell it if you can’t tell it: that is – if you can’t articulate the story, you can’t sell the product.
There has been a concept squared off at sword’s point in my mind for the past several years. I’m going to open up a window into my mind and let you peek in on the impending battle, even though I have not yet been able to articulate very well what’s going on or who is winning.
Unforeseeable misfortune, floods, fires, quakes, wars, overwhelming personal problems, or even pandemics, engender suffering. Suffering has a way of sobering us up and returning us to some degree of the primal struggle for survival. That sets up a perfect opportunity for a humanitarian response of help from those more fortunate. Cultures usually respond with compassion to aid the less fortunate.
At that point in the sequence, another concept makes its entry onto the stage of life. That concept is called “dependency”. Those experiencing the suffering may realize that they can’t continue to make it on their own – they are out of control and need someone or something to come along and step into a control position.
It seems that every time needs increase, there is a tendency for a person to increase their dependency on outside forces. The problem is intensified however, since that dependency on outside forces places their situation even further outside their own control. The net result of all that, is an increased existential fear and a presumption that more dependency on outside forces must be employed. But that increased dependency only exponentially increases the existential fear. Such is the dependency trap whether its illicit drugs or government programs.
Now, here is where the process gets a little scary. It is considered a virtue to help those who have experienced the pain of unforeseeable misfortune. We salute a culture that exercises compassion and benevolence, and with acts of true charity stoops down and lifts those up with empathy and kindness.
That is, however, totally and fundamentally different from making dependency a way of life. Too much help of the wrong sort, or emanating from the wrong intentions, creates a culture of addictive dependence. You are not doing anybody a favor if you are creating unhealthy dependency, thereby destroying any individual’s dignity, worth, or personal responsibility.
Dependency is death to personal initiative and to the opportunity of engaging creative problem- solving techniques to life’s hardships. And especially, “woe be to any” individual or institution that would manipulate or manage any person, who has been struck by some unforeseen misfortune, into a debilitating existence of dependency. Who would ever do such a thing?
Pope Francis offered his frank opinion on such situations. “In Europe first and now in America, elected men have taken it upon themselves to indebt their people to create an atmosphere of dependency. And why? For their own selfish need to increase their own personal power.”
Although the big word of the Bolshevist left is Compassion, the big agenda of the powerful is Dependency. It seems like there are those whose intention it is to never miss an opportunity to turn a situation of misfortune or need into a long-term bondage of dependency.
I must admit, that my heart is so sad when I observe instances that promote millions of people in our society who are encouraged and trapped into situations of character prostitution. They surrender their life of integrity, identity, and independence for a disappointing and fraudulent bucket of “free stuff”. There, on the street corner of life, they say, “I will give you all of me, including my cheap vote, if you will just promise to take care of me.”
We have encouraged our people to set up idols to worship, that will provide for all their wants and needs. The idol they worship is the highly effective and successful culture of addictive dependency.
Now, you can see why in the opening paragraph of this piece, I expressed a bit of frustration. I admitted that, “If you can’t articulate it – you can’t advocate it. As you have just witnessed: I have been observing for a while what is going on in our society, but I have a real hard time expressing the scope and severity of the problem.
I will keep trying to work on my articulation skills and will probably return with another attempt when I can better communicate the tug-of-war between Compassion and Control.
"WHAT THE HECKY IS A TRILLION"
I like words. I enjoy hooking lots of words together in a row in order to tell stories or paint vivid word pictures. Sometimes, if I am not careful, I will use a word that expresses a general concept or an emotional pulse I feel that I want to express. But the word I choose to use may not have anything to do with precision or reality. For example: if I want to express how prolific a mother rabbit can be, in regard to birthing babies, I might say, “The highly emotional, black and white belted mother rabbit had just given birth to scads of irresistible, fuzzy, little bunnies.” Well, what the hecky is a scad?
Or, I might be trying to describe the size of the crowd of people at the evening concert by saying, “The old concert hall was packed to the rafters with a huge bunch of well-dressed party folks.” Well, what the hecky is a huge bunch? It is a concept with no precision.
During my lifetime, I would say that one of the words our culture continues to use with almost no precision at all is the word “trillion.” We say, “There were a trillion stars in the August night sky” or, “there are a trillion places on this earth I want to visit before I die” or, “the picnic table was covered with a trillion flies.” It is a concept with no precision.
One woman’s answer, when asked to explain a “trillion” was that in the old days a very wealthy person was called a “millionaire” then, there became so many millionaires that they started to designate the really rich as “billionaires.” But now, they are not really all that special, so they’ve come up with the phrase “trillionaires” for the new up and coming group! " She really had no foggy idea of the precise meaning or value of the word “trillion.”
Perhaps, now is a good time to do a reality check regarding the concept and the precise meaning of the term “trillion.” Quite glibly, we could rattle off that one trillion is a thousand billion, or we could say that a trillion is a million million, or we could say that it is a “1” followed by twelve zeros – which would be written out as: 1,000,000,000,000. But what is it really? I have trouble getting my mind wrapped around the precision of the concept.
In 1982 my first economic textbook was published. I included in the book a graph showing the US Federal Debt. From the beginning of our country in 1776, it had taken us 206 years of numerous and expensive wars, economic recessions, a major economic depression, FDR’s “New Deal”, Eisenhower’s building of the Interstate Highway System crisscrossing the country, Kennedy’s “New Frontier”, the unbelievably expensive NASA space program, Johnson’s “Great Society” then, the “War on Poverty”, Vietnam, Nixon’s taking us off the “Gold Standard” etc., etc. . . . and we had still not reached the “one trillion debt mark.” It took until about 1987 for us to reach the trillion-dollar national debt designation. Now, they tell us that we are somewhere around the 28 trillion debt number!
Just in the past several weeks we have added somewhere in the neighborhood of another 6 trillion dollars to that debt. So what? “What the Hecky is a Trillion Dollars?”
At my financial seminars, I tried to help the attendees get a clearer and more realistic understanding of the concept of a trillion dollars. Here’s what we did.
I told them to picture in their minds their favorite teller at their favorite bank. They were to go to the Teller’s window and ask that they please count out to you “one million dollars in one-dollar bills at the rate of one dollar per . . . one, two, three, four, five, etc. Neither of you at the window could stop for lunch, take potty breaks, meals or sleep. It had to be straight through. You could sip your Starbucks through a straw. No stopping!
How long would it take, without stopping, for the teller to count out to you one million dollars - one second at a time? The answer is: eleven-and one-half days (11 ½ days).
Now, as soon as the both of you are rested up and well-fed, it is time for the next project. Go back to the Teller's window - only this time the teller is to count out to you one billion dollars in one-dollar bills at the rate of one dollar per second . . . one, two, three, four, five, etc. Neither of you at the window could stop for lunch, take a potty break, meals, or sleep. It had to be straight through. You could sip your Starbucks through a straw - but no stopping!
How long would it take, without stopping, for the teller to count out to you one billion dollars – one second at a time? The answer is: right at 32 years!
After the previous 32-year project involvement, your favorite teller at your favorite bank will probably not still be working at the bank. So, you will probably need to go to a different window and get a different teller to help you with this next project:– only this time the new teller is to count out to you one trillion dollars in one-dollar bills at the rate of one dollar per second . . . one, two, three, four, five, etc. Neither of you at the window could stop for lunch, take potty breaks, meals, or sleep. It had to be straight through. You could sip your Starbucks through a straw – but no stopping! (Probably Starbucks would also be out of business by then.)
How long would it take, without stopping, for the teller to count out to you one trillion dollars – one second at a time? Are you ready for this? Nearly 32,000 years! That’s longer than all recorded history. (The actual number is: (1012 sec) (3.16 x 107 sec/yr) = 31,546 years!)
Oops! Now we’ve started to lose reality again, because we have a hard time getting our minds around the reality and precision of 32,000 years.
The six trillion amount that has just recently been added to the debt would take you 189,276 years to count out in the same fashion. Would you now like to add that new six trillion to our already unhinged current US Federal Debt of 28 Trillion, just to help you become more aware of precision and reality? No, thank you – my brain is too tired.
I just might be tempted to go back to using disconnected concepts like, “scads of bunnies” and “huge bunches of concert goers” . . . What the Hecky!
CIRCUMSTANCES
From the time I was a little kid, I was impressed with the fact that “it’s not the set of circumstance in which you find yourself, but the way you respond to those circumstances that makes all the difference in the world.”
Our dad used to tell his three young boys while they were growing up that it was really OK if they weren’t satisfied with their circumstances. But just because you aren’t satisfied doesn’t give you the right to whine, be mean, be angry, or rebellious. You can start changing your circumstances by changing your attitude. Figure out what it is that you would like to be different and then start working to change it.
If the coach isn’t letting you play in the starting line-up on your Little League team because you keep striking out when it’s your turn at bat – don’t get mad at the coach and throw your glove on the ground. Start working on your hitting skills. Get one of your brothers to pitch some balls to you -- learn to keep your eye on the ball and swing properly! Then your whole set of baseball circumstances will change.
The successful people I have bumped into in my life are the people who get up in the morning looking for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, they make them.
It is strange that I would now recall a cute story our dad used to tell us about changing our circumstances by changing our attitudes and actions. Let me see if I can remember enough of the story to share it here with you. It had to do with two mice: Sebastian and Carl.
The farmer’s wife’s name was Mable Glover. They lived out on a farm just south of town. Mable had skimmed the nice thick cream off the top of the cans of milk produced from the morning and evening milkings. Mable took the collected thick cream and put it into a large crock and placed it in her pantry located just off the kitchen. She decided that she would leave the cream in the crock until morning and then take it to the kitchen and begin the churning process to make it into butter.
Sometime during the night, the two mice, Sebastian and Carl, decided to make a quick run through Mable Glover’s kitchen pantry, just to see if she had inadvertently left some morsels of food uncovered or unprotected. Sebastian was the first to catch the scent of the fresh cream. Together, they made a dash for the second level shelf. It was an easy leap from the jar of big pickles to the top rim of the crock of cream. Oh, what a special delight this was going to be!
The two mice mischievously looked at each other and then gave a wink. They leaned forward just far enough to wet the ends of their long whiskers in the beckoning fresh cream. Oooops! They hadn’t counted on the top edge of the crock still being moist with Mable’s prize cream. At exactly the same time, Sebastian and Carl lost their footing -- gravity did the rest.
Down they plunged head first into the crock of cream. Their whiskers were drooping with the heavy cream, their eyes were glazed, and their natty coats were heavily soaked. Not a good set of circumstances at all!
Sebastian started coughing, and sputtering. He hadn’t bargained for all of this. He swam to the edge of the tall crock. The walls were way too slippery for climbing out. He looked pathetically over at Carl, gave a strange “glug, glug” sound, sputtered three more times and down he went --to the bottom of the crock!
Carl was no less horrified by the newly presented set of circumstances than was Sebastian. But something happened deep down inside of Carl. He decided that he was not simply going to go “glug, glug” and dive for the bottom. “I have a set of four wonderful paddles – one on the end of each of my strong legs. I will not stop. I will keep swimming, I will keep turning, I will keep churning until I change these dastardly circumstances!”
The night wore on – eventually, Carl heard the crowing of the old barnyard rooster. With strengthened resolve Carl paddled on, more determined than ever.
A little past sunrise, Mable Glover began scurrying around in the farmhouse kitchen. At the top of her list of morning chores was fetching her fresh cream and getting on with her butter-churning activities before breakfast.
When she opened the old door into the pantry, she jumped back with startled amazement. Her eyes were certainly playing tricks on her. That could not be real . . . it could just not be real!
There on the second level shelf was her crock she used for her cream. But there was no longer a crock full of fresh cream – but a mouse – “Courageous Carl the Mouse” skimming along, whiskers slicked, shiny and clean – one front leg raised in triumph – making a victory lap around the outer edge of the crock – on his freshly churned Butter Boat.
Now that’s called changing your attitude and changing your circumstances!
I would venture to guess that in this coming week, you will be presented with at least three situations where you are confronted with circumstances not of your choosing. Are you willing to endure the discomfort or inconvenience of change in order to experience a better future?
I challenge you to be that person who looks through, to the other side of your disagreeable circumstance, with determination and hope, and that you will be that person who visualizes through the eyes of faith, the possibilities of a new and better life. Remember during this week that hope, dedication, tenacity, resolve, and grit are functions that carry untold tons of raw energy. And that energy is almost always strongest in circumstances that range from difficult to impossible.
“It’s not the set of circumstances in which you find yourself but the way you respond to those circumstance that makes all the difference in the world.”
TRAINING YOUR MENTAL WATCHDOG
We have just tagged the amygdala (a-mig’dala) portion of the brain as your mental watchdog. That Rottweiler of your brain was designed and employed as a guardian and helper. As a watchdog, it beautifully fulfills all expectations to seek out even the most obscure danger and warn you with a rousing raucous. Its duty is to point out problems and ignite our fear mechanism.
But, like every watchdog, it needs discipline and training. Left to its own nature, the watchdog that was engaged to patrol and protect our person and property can become a vicious and dangerous controller of the whole estate. Undisciplined, the watchdog has the potential of focusing all of its attention, and the attention of everyone in the household, on problems, problems, problems.
When that happens, the owner’s response is to give more attention and weight to the negative information and experiences rather than to any positive input. The atmosphere is more pessimistic than optimistic as the fear-driven assignment morphs into a full-time search for trouble. The undisciplined and aggressive watchdog has just taken over control of the whole estate, because he will find more trouble.
If some screwtape- type individual should want to negatively control the watchdog, and subsequently the whole estate, all that is required is to keep the watchdog’s attention fully focused on the distracting fears and threats. The watchdog will cause commotion enough to keep the whole household in a state of fear, and will paralyze the behavior of the owner so that he is prevented from accomplishing anything positive or productive. An even more subtle problem is that all the commotion and fear caused by the distractions will actually blind the owner from even seeing the present situation as it really is. He will develop a false perception of reality.
Does that sound even a little bit familiar as to what is happening to us and some of our friends during this recent virus pandemic? We may have become entangled in our fears about our shortages and perceived dangers. Our worries burn holes right through our inner eyes of hope, imagination, and achievement. We are left blinded to the good things that are happening today and the possibilities of future triumphs.
Every time the watchdog barks, even if it is at his own shadow, we tend to become paralyzed by fear. It is time to stop the goofy game. It is time to say No, no, naughty doggie, I am the owner and this is my estate . . . No, no!
So, what are some of the things to which our inner eyes have been blinded from our incessant preoccupation with our fears of shortage, lack, and insufficiency? This, of course, is not just a psychological and behavioral problem with “the Americans”. It is universal.
Let me share some observations I have made as I have traveled and studied cultures in over 150 countries of the world. These are the subtle issues that many times end up in cultural and economic breakdown, discontentment, and even wars:
We lose proper perspective of the good things we already possess. We begin to hoard and become stingy toward others.
We abandon our attitude of gratitude and become acutely aware of what other people have in comparison to what we have.
We adopt the idea that we are entitled to more than what we have and fear that we might end up with even less.
We spend our time worrying about not having enough, even though we have never tried to figure out just how much is enough.
We are tempted to believe that the reason some others have more is because they somehow took our share away from us.
We begin to subconsciously think about ways to redistribute things that others have in order that those things can justifiably be ours.
We start becoming attracted to those we consider strong enough to take things away from those who have and distribute them to us.
The fear and preoccupation surrounding the perceived inequity of scarcity and shortage shuts down our creative processes of problem solving and drives us to a deeper dependency on government, power-hungry politicians, malignant media, insurgency groups, or some other voice that will offer to do the worrying for us and ultimately take care of us.
Here’s the good news, however: the disposition of the undisciplined watchdog can be altered. It is possible that we can shed the old logic of the limited and embrace the ability of abundance. The old paradigm does not have to remain, it can be replaced. Our ability to hear the good news again can be restored.
A quick look again at history can validate the fact that things are not as bad as we have been made to believe. Real progress is being experienced right now where we live. It is fair to state that never in history has there been a time when living standards have improved so dramatically as in the past century. Who would have thought a hundred years ago that even the poorest folks in America would have the ability to enjoy such luxuries as indoor flushing toilets, personal cars, expensive cell phones, and exotic technology? It is time we take a candid look at just how much available abundance our culture presently enjoys and how rapidly things are continuing to change for the better.
Get control of your God-given amygdala. Train your guardian watchdog, and enjoy the rich blessings we all share.