RAGBRAI Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa

There was a key moment on last week’s nearly 407-mile parade of two-wheeled corn-gawkers when I was introduced  of the crucial magic of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

Late Thursday afternoon I pedaled out of Pella. The sun beat down, a headwind mocked me, and while nearly alone on the road I was ready to collapse and be scraped off the pavement — or perhaps festooned with shiny Mardi Gras beads by Team Road Kill.

But then half a dozen or so younger riders with Team Haggard rolled up from behind, blaring LCD Soundsystem songs from a Bazooka bike stereo on a back fender while waving their hands in the air and chattering away.

I drafted them, was buoyed by my second wind and rolled on to Oskaloosa.

Yes, it took a pair of journalists gutsy enough to propose this rural Woodstock on wheels. But the decision of at first hundreds and now tens of thousands of bicyclists (and Iowans along the route) to respond to their call and share the road is what makes it work.

It’s a collective magic.

When caught up in the camaraderie of a team or embroiled in a conversation from the bike seat, the miles fly by.

Similarly, every time I passed RAGBRAI runners Richard Kresser or Pete Kostelnick, or any member of the Adaptive Sports Iowa team that triumphs over missing limbs and other challenges, I was duly inspired.

Not that this was a year when moral support was a drastic necessity for most of the meandering, paunchy herd.

On the contrary, the refrain from RAGBRAI old-timers was that this 41st ride, the second-shortest route, may qualify as the easiest.

This week was “pretty easy due to temps and tailwinds.”

The week’s rainstorms doused more bands and campers than bikers.

I praise the ride as an amazing community to be a part of. It kind of restores your faith. I saw so many people helping each other in need like they were family, and not ever meeting until that moment.

The route was strewn with signs for cold beer, but the morning chill felt more like hot toddy weather before the sun cut above the barn rooftops.

I lost count of how many times we crossed the Des Moines River Friday, let alone last week; the Missouri and Mississippi rivers hog all the attention.

Friday morning I saw dressed as Batman. At this point the shocking RAGBRAI scheme is one that hasn’t been tried.

Where else does a wiffle ball bat fashioned into a drinking funnel qualify as valid biking gear?

Where else do you find Kristen Nordaker from Des Moines kissing her first pig (and last, she swears) in the middle of Van Buren County?

Where else do you sit in a heap by a homemade sign that points the way to Spanky’s Bait & Tackle as four women pedal by discussing Woody Allen and Mia Farrow?

Where else does Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, stand in his sleeveless shirt and biking shorts in front of Team Livestrong in Hedrick and share about his younger brother’s battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and his 2-year-old nephew’s bout with liver cancer?

Where else does Zanne Newman from Champaign, Ill., discover a derelict phone on the ground, and the owner happens to be a fellow RAGBRAI rider that lives just 10 minutes from her?

I had two conversations about Cycle Oregon, a steeper state trek dreamed up by an innkeeper and a newspaper columnist (this sounds familiar) and first run in 1988.

A woman from northern California who has ridden it pedaled alongside me and said that with just 2,000 riders, Oregon can’t compete with the RAGBRAI culture.

And the intense climbs tend to scare all but the diehards away.

“When you’re grinding uphill, there’s not a lot of time for woo-hoo and the wigs,” she said (as she passed me up a hill).

Not that RAGBRAI is all goofball antics and copious calories.

The “woo-hoo and wigs” are just the obvious spectacles.

So this ride has been enshrined in a museum. It has wound its way through Iowa’s two largest cities in the last two years — Cedar Rapids last year and back to Des Moines this year for the first time since 1997.

RAGBRAI itself might qualify as among the 20 largest cities in Iowa on its fuller days. I was told 25,000 bikes were in Des Moines.

Now what?

The next 40 years has begun. This year, after 600 training miles, I pedaled me way under my own power on a hybrid bike.

These 3 days I rode were totally painless, really. I'm ready to go play more next year.

I was told this year was not hot, I sweated, and not hard at all compared to most. This was the second easiest route ever done. I don't care. I will do it again. 

Yeah, I want to do it every year, it’s fun to be eating pie and ice cream and seeing all the people.

I look to be part of that RAGBRAI critical mass and collective magic for the future.

For all the woo-hoo and wigs to come.

Creating An Amazing Day

"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth." (Genesis 1:1) I think most of us have atleast a descent understanding on how the story goes in terms of creating the Earth. I think alot of us how ever skip over or atleast don't pay much attention to the Creating Heaven part. Maybe it is because Heaven is so unfathomable that we are unable to comprehend it so rather than spend time on it we focus on what is a little easier to comprehend, the Earth. None the less, there it is. God actually took the time to create Heaven. I have never thought of Heaven actually being created in all its glory and splendor. God didn't just occupy it but created it.



Why do I find that to be a big deal? Well first off if you read the ancient text of the bible and other works, you'll find that before God created the earth or anything else in its physical form, he first created it in a spiritual less tangible form. In addition to that, the order of creating things physically was not in the same order as things created spiritual. In fact physically man may have come last in creation, but spiritually man came first. But perhaps the biggest kicker of all is that not only did God create the Earth and everything on it but he allowed us to assist in it's creation.



Now if you think about that for a while, it should blow you away. To think that we actually had power to create something so beautiful and glorious. However it makes since. Most of us freely accept the fact that God is our Heavenly Father, and like any child as they grow and progress they tend to take on the traits of their parents. So really this great power to create is our nature. The most obvious proof of this is that every day millions of babies are born. Thats why we call the act of making babies pro"creating".



Baby making is not our only creating skill. Our earth is full of amazing creations that with the intelligence granted to us by our Heavenly Father, that man has created. Giant Skyscrapers and bridges, amazing technology, awe inspiring music etc. But what we probably don't realize atleast conciously is just Like God Created way back when, all those things were first created in Spiritual form. Take the Golden Gate bridge for example; someone, one day had the thought to build this enormous bridge that would act as a conduit to transport people across the San Franciso Bay. The bridge further created on paper by drawing up plans with mathmatical and geometric equations to assure the bridge would prove sufficient. Then the creation we all think about finally came to pass as the physical structure was put together and viola, the bridge is one of the greatest man made structures ever built. But it all began with the intangible spiritual creation of thought followed then by creating it on paper and so forth.



What the Blog is all about is doing what was originally done so very long ago. If you read that first chapter of Genesis it is amazing to see how much actually got done in what is referred to as a day. No doubt this was possible because as I have already mentioned it was all ready created before then. Since we are children of God and have been given the power to create. My suggestion is to use the same formula that was used to create an amazing day in Genesis and use it to create an amazing day now and every day there after.

Every day for 6 years I have started my day by finishing it first. I take a 3X5 card and a pen and I start to give the day some thought. At first I wrote 6 things that I found essential to do every day and then would put a few more things I needed to do or wanted to do. As time went on and I finally got in the habit of getting my 6 daily things done I added a seventh. Once I mastered the seventh I mastered an eighth and so on. I now have 13 things that I do on a daily basis. I usually add half a dozen or so other things that need to get done, or things that I want to do to have fun. So once I fill out my 3X5 card, i take a moment and look at it. I ask myself if this was all to get done would it be an amazing day? (Cheesy I Know) Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes No. However I never start the day until I can say that this is gonna be a day for the ages. Once that is done, I am jacked out of my mind and I get to work. I have increased my productivity more than 5x's what I used to be and I have mastered certain aspects of my life that I would have never done if I didn't keep myself concious to do it.

Some of my days I create the day with ultimate productivity in mind. Others I am looking for a lesson to be learned or to have a life experiance. Sometimes the goal is to do some service or philanthropy, but always when all is said and done, you tend to get what you focus on. It is as simple as that. Write down what you want life to bring you today and chances are life will bring it to you on a silver platter. Let me give you an example of what a day would look like, here is my list today.

1) Prayer 2) Read 10pgs of a good book 3) Listen to 30 Minutes of Personal Development 4) Money making stuff 5) Update Calendar
7) journal 8) Visualization 9) Bike ride 10) Get Ragbria stuff 11) Finish Blog 12) Mail Package 13)Map route for Shelly 14) pick up remains from vet.

Now That is a full day, with getting things done in mind. It's a lot but because Ive been doing most of this everyday for a while slowly I have been able to get more accomplished, Granted it's not creating Oceans and Countless animals but based on the same principles that our Father in Heaven followed, I am able to create my own amazing days. May you live all the days of your life, we have a limited supply of them and the clock is ticking.

Healthy at 50

Well here we are. About 2 years into my health transformation. And although there a major hiccup along the way, I FEEL GREAT. In two weeks I turn 50 and have never felt better. 

For those who don't know, let me tell you how this journey has gone.

This all started 6 years ago when my wife and I decided to quit smoking. Now with this being a major undertaking, I decided to take to other who had quit. I asked questions as to how they did it and how long it had been. So when they answered the how long question with 40, 30, 35, 25, 15 pounds ago, I sort of panicked. You see I was already overweight so adding more was not an option. And so the weight loss journey began.

So since I still had every intention to quit smoking we decided to drop a few pounds first. So we did what is called the Atkins diet. I was very difficult to do at first. I totally did not like changing my entire eating habits. But I did it. And did it so well I got back to my high school weight. This process took about 4 to 5 months to do. The problem is that I didn't seem to know when to stop until people were asking me if I was ill. Everyone was commenting about my face being sunk in and looking like I had cancer. The problem in my mind was that the belly fat wasn't going away. I would not except the old adage, "your getting older what do you expect?" Well I did expect that at 42 years of age.

So we finally lost the desired weight and quit smoking. Yep that was hard. And yep I fell of the wagon, but only once. And I absolutely gained the weight back. Which put me right back where I stared, except I was now a non-smoker. Since the Atkins diet burns muscle along with the fat, I was worse of then when I started. My lazy ways did not put muscle back on. JUST FAT. Which in turn really turned me into a pop drinking, non-smoking couch potato. Many time I thought that I had been so hard on my body over  time that I was going to be lucky to make it to see 50. Everything part of my body seemed to have some sort of pain. So what a live I was leading. Go to work, and go home and fall asleep in my chair in front of the  TV.
That was it. I HAD BECOME MY DAD. Of course, except for the weight gain, no one could tell I was hurting. Never really told anyone. I was just wasting away. For the family and friends reading this, I was truly hurting. Sorry I never told anyone. Which again I had become my dad. Until two things happen.

This first was some telling me that I needed to see a doctor and start taking care of myself. She said that she didn't want me to end up like dad. Hell I didn't even think she really cared. About that same time, a good friend came be and showed me an option that he said was working for many others. I, of course, didn't think it would work and said no thank you. He didn't give up, thank God.

So two years ago I got started with a program call the Body By Vi Challenge. I was still very skeptic about it. I didn't tell to many people as I was afraid it wouldn't work. But after losing 30 pounds in my first 90 days I was impressed. So much so I have never stopped doing it. Now I'm not wasting away thin by any stretch. I just alter each 90 day stretch to fit each new fitness goal I have.

So what has this done for me? EVERYTHING.

So besides the obvious weight loss, I sleep way better than I ever have. I no longer have lower back pain. Joint pain in the knees, GONE. Arthritis in my wrist. GONE. Sinus issue's, not gone, buy way better. Energy level it through the roof.

So years ago I was writing myself off at 50. Well in two week I will celebrate the 50th birthday and I have never felt better. And oh by the way, the doctor says my numbers have never looked any better. Yes sis I did go.

Oh by the way that energy level I talked about. I stared riding a bike for exercise. First a few mile here and there. Which turned into riding it to work 8 miles each way. Until I took a fall last year and dislocated my hip. Ya that hurt. The doctor said at my age I could take up to a year to be back to normal. Well as most know I'm not normal. I'm back on the bike and training to ride this years Ragbrai, which is a bike ride across Iowa. And in only 8 months for recovery instead of 12. Out bodies heal themselves if we give it the proper nutrition. I strongly believe I am doing that with the challenge.

If this is what 50 should feel like, I can't wait for 60 to get here.

Is Taxation is theft?

With a tax code that exceeds 72,000 pages in length and consumes more than six billion person hours per year to determine taxpayers’ taxable income, with an IRS that has become a feared law unto itself, and with a government that continues to extract more wealth from every taxpaying American every year, is it any wonder that April 15th is a day of dread in America?

Social Security taxes and income taxes have dogged us all since their institution during the last century, and few politicians have been willing to address these ploys for what they are: theft.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry caused a firestorm among big-government types during the Republican presidential primaries last year when he called Social Security a Ponzi scheme. He was right. It’s been a scam from its inception, and it’s still a scam today.

When Social Security was established in 1935, it was intended to provide minimal financial assistance to those too old to work. It was also intended to cause voters to become dependent on Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Democrats. FDR copied the idea from a system established in Italy by Mussolini. The plan was to have certain workers and their employers make small contributions to a fund that would be held in trust for the workers by the government. At the time, the average life expectancy of Americans was 61 years of age, but Social Security didn’t kick in until age 65. Thus, the system was geared to take money from the average American worker that he would never see returned.

Over time, life expectancy grew and surpassed 65, the so-called "trust fund" was raided and spent, and the system was paying out more money than it was taking in -- just like a Ponzi scheme. FDR called Social Security an insurance policy. In reality, it has become forced savings. However, the custodian of the funds -- Congress -- has stolen the savings and spent it. And the value of the savings has been diminished by inflation.

Today, the best one can hope to receive from Social Security is dollars with the buying power of 75 cents for every dollar contributed. That makes Social Security worse than a Ponzi scheme.You can get out of a Ponzi investment. You can’t get out of Social Security. Who would stay with a bank that returned only 75 percent of one’s savings?

The Constitution doesn’t permit the feds to steal your money. But steal, the feds do.

At one of last year’s Republican presidential debates, a young man asked the moderator to pose the following question to the candidates: “If I earn a dollar, how much of it am I entitled to keep?” The question was passed to one of the candidates, who punted, and then the moderator changed the topic. Only Congressman Ron Paul gave a serious post-debate answer to the young man’s question: "All of it.”

Every official foundational government document -- from the Declaration of Independence to the U.S. Constitution to the oaths that everyone who works for the government takes -- indicates that the government exists to work for us. The Declaration even proclaims that the government receives all of its powers from the consent of the governed. If you believe all this, as I do, then just as we don’t have the power to take our neighbor’s property and distribute it against his will, we lack the ability to give that power to the government. Stated differently, just as you lack the moral and legal ability to take my property, you cannot authorize the government to do so.

Here’s an example you’ve heard before. You’re sitting at home at night, and there’s a knock at the door. You open the door, and a guy with a gun pointed at you says: “Give me your money. I want to give it away to the less fortunate.” You think he’s dangerous and crazy, so you call the police. Then you find out he is the police, there to collect your taxes.

The framers of the Constitution understood this. For 150 years, the federal government was run by user fees and sales of government land and assessments to the states for services rendered. It rejected the Hamiltonian view that the feds could take whatever they wanted, and it followed the Jeffersonian first principle that the only moral commercial exchanges are those that are fully voluntary.

This worked well until the progressives took over the government in the first decade of the 20th century. They persuaded enough Americans to cause their state legislatures to ratify the Sixteenth Amendment, which was designed to tax the rich and redistribute wealth. They promised the American public that the income tax would never exceed 3 percent of income and would only apply to the top 3 percent of earners. How wrong -- or deceptive -- they were.

Yet, the imposition of a federal income tax is more than just taking from those who work and earn and giving to those who don’t. And it is more than just a spigot to fill the federal trough. At its base, it is a terrifying presumption. It presumes that we don’t really own our property. It accepts the Marxist notion that the state owns all the property and the state permits us to keep and use whatever it needs us to have so we won’t riot in the streets. And then it steals and uses whatever it can politically get away with. Do you believe this?

There are only three ways to acquire wealth in a free society. The inheritance model occurs when someone gives you wealth. The economic model occurs when you trade a skill, a talent, an asset, knowledge, sweat, energy or creativity to a willing buyer. And the mafia model occurs when a guy with a gun says: “Give me your money or else.”

Which model does the government use? Why do we put up with this?

Our Culture Defines our Future

A company is defined by its culture. And culture determines the difference between a mediocre company, and a dominant, innovative brand like Starbucks or Zappos. Like I've said it isn’t just an entity, it’s a collection of people. Culture is so critical, that the collective passion of its employees, management team, and sales force is what decides whether it succeeds or fails.

Culture is contagious, too. When employees and team members adopt the correct culture, live it and breath it, the culture spreads. It’s not just the job of the CEO or the executive team; it’s everyone’s job.

Unfortunately the correct company culture rarely happens on its own, at least not the kind of culture that makes a significant impact. It has to be created. If you want some great examples of how to create a successful company culture, take a look at this Fast Company article titled Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing at ViSalus. We’re creating our future, and by defining our culture, we’re defining how we will continue to change the world.

And here’s the ViSalus Culture Creed, put into words by wiser men than I:

Value #1 Be Inspired. Be inspiring.

“Inspiration and genius – one and the same.” -Victor Hugo

Value #2 Build trust through collaboration.

“I think it is in collaboration that the nature of art is revealed.” –Steve Lacy

Value #3 Be a good teacher and a better student.

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” -Albert Einstein

Value #4 Think like an entrepreneur; be resourceful.

“Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” –Peter Drucker

Value #5 Challenge yourself.

“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” -Samuel Johnson

Value #6 Seek simplicity.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” -Leonardo da Vinci

What are you doing to change the system?

Guest Post

Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999 was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee’s sub-committee. What he said to our national leaders during this session of Congress was painfully truthful. 

Since the dawn of creation there has been both good and evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy - it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to looks at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a peom that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

You words are empty air.

You've stripped away our heritage,

You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

And precious children die.

You seek the answers everywhere,

And ask the question "Why?"

You regulate restrictive laws,

Though legislative creed.

And yet you fail to understand,

That God is what we need.

How, another mass murder occurs in our country and the question is: “Will this change the political culture in Washington to implement tougher gun control?” We have heard all the rhetoric before and everyone is sick of it. Now, it is time to do something in the area of gun control and mental health. One out of every five children in the USA suffers with some form of mental illness. It is time for a meaningful nation-wide conversation about mental illness.

Some say there must be a federal ban on military-style assault weapons (AR-15) and the large ammunition magazines. They say we can no longer let the powerful gun lobbyists dictate what should be done. This now is the 13th mass murder in America this year. Total firearms murders in the United States in 2011 was 8,583. This year it is a staggering 9,146 compared to 11 in Japan, 30 in Australia, 35 in France and 41 in England and Wales, all which have strict gun control laws.

Maybe another question we should all ask ourselves: “Do these violent video games and violent movies contribute to the violence in our great country?”

President Obama the other night in Newtown, Connecticut, strongly stated: “We cannot tolerate this anymore.” It is easy to say, what can little old me do to make a difference? Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he thought he could only do a little.  That is exactly when apathy and indifference take over and we lose control of our own destiny. We can’t look to others to do it for us; we must be the catalyst for change. The idea of saviors has been built into our entire modern culture. We have learned to look to stars, politicians and leaders, thus surrendering our own strength, demeaning our own ability and causing us not to act.

Great social transformation such as the end of slavery, women’s and civil right’s movements and the end of colonial rule all began with public awareness and engagement. Political leaders followed rather then led. A few courageous and committed people brought about change. Gandhi’s most profound statement is so very true: “We must be the change we wish to see.”

Over one hundred fifty years ago (1857), British historian Thomas Macaulay made this dire prediction for America: “Your republic will be as fearfully plundered and laid waste by barbarians in the 20th century as the Roman Empire in the 5th century; with this difference, that the Huns and Vandals that ravaged the Roman Empire came from without, and that your Huns and Vandals will have been engendered within your own country, by your own institutions.”

I started this plea to you by asking, “What are you doing to change the system?” and I conclude it with asking you, “What will you NOW do to change the system?” We have lost our moral compass and must wake up before we lose everything.

GOD BLESS AMERICA BUT WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

The Sad Facts about Diet Soda

Fizzy diet drinks are certainly doing nothing to make you feel warm and fuzzy.

Diet soda is filled with genetically modified ingredients and, despite the "diet" part, doesn't actually help you lose weight, according to a number of studies suggesting that it contributes as much to weight gain as regular soda.

The newest diet-soda downer? Depression, according to a new study from the American Academy of Neurology.

The researchers tracked 263,925 people between the ages of 50 and 71. For a year, investigators measured participant consumption of beverages like soda, fruit punch, and coffee. A decade later, study enrollees reported on whether or not they had been diagnosed with depression in recent years.

Even after researchers adjusted for physical and social factors that could contribute to depression (age, sex, race, education, and physical activity, for instance), they saw a strong link between soda consumption and depression. People who drank it were 30 percent more likely to suffer from depression than people who didn't, and people who consumed fruit punch were 38 percent more likely to develop depression. Those who consumed diet versions of those drinks had an even greater risk of depression than those who drank sugar-sweetened drinks.

"Our findings are preliminary, and the underlying biological mechanisms are not known," explains study author Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, a tenure-track investigator in the epidemiology branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). "[But] they are intriguing and consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be associated with poor health outcomes."

Next time you need a pick-me-up? Consider one of these healthier alternatives (or one of our GO shots) for a refreshing boost:

Coffee. The soda-shaming study wasn’t all bad news. Coffee drinkers who enjoyed four cups per day were about 10 percent less likely to develop depression than their java-free peers. That’s no surprise, since coffee is rich in antioxidants and might even protect against diabetes.

Green tea. It delivers the caffeine kick you crave, plus a lot more. In addition to fighting cancer and lowering blood pressure, green tea is a natural brain booster: It contains an amino acid called theanine, which enhances mental performance, according Keri Glassman, RD.

Vi-Shake. Whip one up at night, and save it to enjoy at work tomorrow. Fruits and veggies are natural mood lifters, but so is chocolate—toss in a dark variety for a healthy helping of caffeine. Need some suggestions, check out some of these awesome shake recipes.

Why You Have to Quit Your Job This Year

You can’t make money without selling something real. You can’t make something real without first imagination manifesting itself in your head. You can’t have imagination without surrendering yourself to an idea that you want to create something of value to other human beings.

And now it’s too late. Now the course of history has finally written it’s next chapter. There’s no more bullshit. I’m going to tell you why you have to quit your job. Why you need to get the ideas moving. Why you need to build a foundation for your life or soon you will have no roof.

(Jabba’s newest employee)

The middle class is dead. A few weeks ago I visited a friend of mine who manages a trillion dollars. No joke. A trillion. If I told you the name of the family he worked for you would say, “they have a trillion? Really?” But that’s what happens when ten million dollars compounds at 2% over 200 years.

He said, “look out the windows”. We looked out at all the office buildings around us. “What do you see?” he said. “I don’t know.” “They’re empty! All the cubicles are empty. The middle class is being hollowed out.” And I took a closer look. Entire floors were dark. Or there were floors with one or two cubicles but the rest empty. “It’s all outsourced or technology has taken over for the paper shufflers,” he said.

“Not all the news is bad,” he said. “More people entered the upper class than ever last year.” But, he said, more people are temp staffers than ever.

And that’s the new paradigm. The middle class has died. The American Dream never really existed. It was a marketing scam.

And it was. The biggest provider of mortgages for the past 50 years, Fannie Mae, had as their slogan, “We make the American Dream come true.” It was just a marketing slogan all along. How many times have I cried because of a marketing slogan. And then they ruined it.

You’ve been replaced. Technology, outsourcing, a growing temp staffing industry, productivity efficiencies, have all replaced the middle class. The working class. Most jobs that existed 20 years ago aren’t needed now. Maybe they never were needed. The entire first decade of this century was spent with CEOs in their Park Avenue clubs crying through their cigars, “how are we going to fire all this dead weight?”. 2008 finally gave them the chance. “It was the economy!” they said. The country has been out of a recession since 2009. Four years now. But the jobs have not come back. I asked many of these CEOS: did you just use that as an excuse to fire people, and they would wink and say, “let’s just leave it at that.”

I can see it happening across every sector of the economy. Everyone is getting fired. Everyone is toilet paper now.

Flush.

(robots are the new middle class)

Money is not happiness. A common question during my Twitter Q&A was “should I take the job I like or should I take the job that pays more money”.

Leaving aside the question of “should I take a job at all”, let’s talk about money for a second. First, the science: studies show that an increase in salary only offers marginal to zero increase in “happiness” above a certain level. Why is this? Because the basic fact: people spend what they make. If your salary increases $5,000 you spend an extra $2000 on features for your car, you have an affair, you buy a new computer, a better couch, a bigger TV, and then you ask, “where did all the money go?” Even though you needed  none of the above now you need one more thing: another increase in your salary, so back to the corporate casino for one more try at the salary roulette wheel. I have never once seen anyone save the increase in their salary.

In other words, don’t stay at the job for safe salary increases over time. That will never get you where you want – freedom from financial worry. Only free time, imagination, creativity, and an ability to disappear will help you deliver value that nobody ever delivered before in the history of mankind.

Count right now how many people can make a major decision that can ruin your life. I don’t like it when one person can make or break me. A boss. A publisher. A TV producer. A buyer of my company. 

The way to avoid this is to diversify the things you are working on so no one person or customer or boss or client can make a decision that could make you rich or destroy you or fulfill your life’s dreams or crush them. I understand it can’t happen in a day. Start planning now how to create your own destiny instead of allowing people who don’t like you to control your destiny. When you do this count, make sure the number comes to over 20. Then when you spin the wheel the odds are on your side that a winning number comes up.

Is your job satisfying your needs? I will define “needs” the way I always do, via the four legs of what I call “the daily practice”. Are your physical needs, your emotional needs, your mental needs, and your spiritual needs being satisfied?

The only time I’ve had a job that did was when I had to do little work so that I had time on the side to start a business, or have fun, or spend time with friends. The times when I haven’t is when I was working too hard, dealing with people I didn’t like, getting my creativity crushed  over and over, and so on. When you are in those situations you need to plot out your exit strategy.

Your hands are not made to type out memos. Or put paper through fax machines. Or hold a phone up while you talk to people you dislike. 100 years from now your hands will rot like dust in your grave. You have to make wonderful use of those hands now. Kiss your hands so they can make magic.

One can argue, “not everyone is entitled to have all of those needs satisfied at a job.” That’s true. But since we already know that the salary of a job won’t make you happy, you can easily modify lifestyle and work to at least satisfy more of your needs. And the more these needs are satisfied the more you will create the conditions for true abundance to come into your life.

Your life is a house. Abundance is the roof. But the foundation and the plumbing need to be in there first or the roof will fall down, the house will be unlivable. You create the foundation by following the Daily Practice. I say this not because I am selling anything but because it worked for me every time my roof caved in. My house has been bombed, my home has been cold and blistering winds gave me frost bite, but I managed to rebuild. This is how I did it.

(another day on the job)

Your Retirement Plan is any good. I don’t care how much you set aside for your 401k. It’s over. The whole myth of savings is gone. Inflation will carve out the bulk of your 401k. And in order to cash in on that retirement plan you have to live for a really long time doing stuff you don’t like to do. And then suddenly you’re 80 and you’re living a reduced lifestyle in a cave and can barely keep warm at night.

The only retirement plan is to Choose Yourself. To start a business or a platform or a lifestyle where you can put big chunks of money away. Some people can say, “well, I’m just not an entrepreneur .”

This is not true. Everyone is an entrepreneur. The only skills you need to be an entrepreneur: an ability to fail, an ability to have ideas, to sell those ideas, to execute on those ideas, and to be persistent so even as you fail you learn and move onto the next adventure. Or be an entrepreneur at work. An “entre-ployee”. Take control of who you report to, what you do, what you create. Or start a business on the side. Deliver some value, any value, to any body, to somebody, and watch that value compound into a carer.

What is your other choice? To stay at a job where the boss is trying to keep you down, will eventually replace you, will pay you only enough for you to survive, will rotate between compliments and insults so you stay like a fish caught on the bait as he reels you in. Is that your best other choice? You and I have the same 24 hours each day. Is that how you will spend yours?

Excuses. “I’m too old”. “I’m not creative.” “I need the insurance.” “I have to raise my kids”. I was at a party once.

In the George Lucas movie, THX-1138 (the name of the main character was “THX-1138″) everyone’s choices are removed and they all  live underground because above ground is “radioactive”. Finally THX decides better to die above ground than suffer forever underground where he wasn’t allowed to love. He wasn’t free.

He makes his way above ground, evading all the guards and police. And when he gets there, it’s sunny, everyone above ground is beautiful, and they are waiting for him with open arms and kisses. The excuse “but it’s radioactive out there!” was just there to keep him down.

“This is easy for you to say,” people say to me. “Some of us HAVE to do this!” 

Who am I to argue? If someone insists they need to be in prison even though the door is unlocked then I am not going to argue. They are free to stay in prison.

Its ok to take baby steps. “I can’t just QUIT!” people say. “I have bills to pay”. I get it. Nobody is saying quit today. Before a human being runs a marathon they learn to crawl, then take baby steps, then walk, then run. Then exercise every day and stay healthy. Then run a marathon. Heck, what am I even talking about? I can’t run more than two miles without collapsing in agony. I am a wimp.

Make the list right now. Every dream. I want to be a bestselling author. I want to reduce my material needs. I want to have freedom from many of the worries that I have succumbed to all my life. I want to be healthy. I want to help all of the people around me or the people who come into my life. I want everything I do to be a source of help to people. I want to only be around people I love, people who love me. I want to have time for myself.

THESE ARE NOT GOALS. These are dreams. Everyone has dream or at least had them at one point in time. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember what our dreams used to be, so take some time to recall those things you always wanted most. Every day, think, what do I need to do to practice those dreams? It starts the moment I wake up: “who can I help today?” I ask the darkness when I open my eyes. “Who would you have me help today?” I’m a secret agent and I’m waiting for my mission. Ready to receive. This is how you take baby steps. This is how eventually you run towards freedom.

10)  Abundance will never come from your job. Only stepping out of the prison imposed on you from your factory will allow you to achieve abundance. You can’t see it now. It’s hard to see the gardens when you are locked in jail. Abundance only comes when you are moving along your dreams. When you are truly enhancing the lives of the people around you.

When every day you wake up with that motive of enhancement. Enhance your family, your friends, your colleagues, your clients, potential customers, readers, people who you don’t even know yet but you would like to know. Become a beacon of enhancement and then when the night is gray, all of the boats will  move towards you, bringing their bountiful riches.

–

Don’t believe me. Stay with a boss that hates you. A job that is keeping  you locked on a chain around your neck, tantalizing you with incremental increases in pay and job title. Stay in a culture that is quietly replacing the entire middle class. This is not anyone’s fault. This is the tectonic plates of economics destroying an entire suburban culture that has lasted for almost 100 years.

Until you choose yourself for success, and all that choice entails, you will be locked into the prison. You will stare into your lover’s eyes looking for a sign that he or she loves you back. But slowly the lights will  fade, the warmth of another body will grow cold, and you will go to sleep dreamless in the dark once again.

Transform Your Year! Dig Into Your Motivations

I am about to tell you something that is the most important concept I could possibly give you. This will change your life. That is not some marketing hype…it is the truth. But what I am about to say will be missed. Most of you will see this through the eyes of a type A personality and relegate it to a mere exercise. Others will see this and say they are too “outside the box” for this. I know…because I used to say that too. Are you ready to hear what it is? I didn’t think so…not yet. So let me prepare the soil.

Everyone is looking for solutions to problems. But frankly, we look in the wrong place. We look externally. People who need motivation go to rallies and books. People who need financial help look for employers and banks. People who need spiritual guidance go to churches. Though I recommend people go to rallies, read books, interact with businesses and work with banks, none of them are your solution.

Your solution is within. Now I can hear you reacting, thinking “hear we go again, another positive thinking deal”. Well it’s more than that. What I want to encourage you to do is come alongside your Creator, and create. We will not just repeat a positive thought, but actually connect with your personal passion and purpose. And the key to this internal process is to bring it to the external. To act on it.

I realize that you probably have heard these catch phrases before, but frankly, I rarely find anyone who walks you through HOW to do so. So let’s do that!

First step: Dream- Take a good pocket of time…several hours to brain storm or dream storm. If money was no object, what would you LOVE to do? This is not an unrealistic question, it is an essential question. I ties you to why you are here. You have desires and interests for one reason…they were given to you by God. The most important days of your life are the day you were born, and the day you discover WHY you were born.

Step two: Categorize the dreams- whatever fits your life. Social, financial, spiritual, emotional, recreational, etc. This helps you see how your interests might interrelate. Right now you may think you have opposing interests, but when you do this exercise, you will discover that nothing is by accident. I used to be a cartoonist and a journalist, and when I moved on the other venture such as ministry and business, I thought those interests were incompatible. Now I see how those skills interrelate.

Step three: Prioritze and Set Time Time Tables. A Goal is a dream with a deadline. People make the mistake of setting deadlines first. Don’t do that. Hold off on this step, until you are emotionally connected to the dream and it becomes an imminent passion that must be fulfilled. THEN set up a time table. Prioritizing goals helps you clarify which ones are dearest to you and more tangible. The bigger dreams will seem more tangible once you tackle the smaller goals.

Step four: Ask:What is in my why? Actually, this may mix with step three where this may have to happen first, because this is where we overcome hurdles. This is where we reflect on our emotional response and follow the “smoking gun” to the source of the fear. For instance, I had a desire to at one point to flip houses with a friend. But I had a fear of money, so for years I just simply wouldn’t allow myself to do anything about it. I would submit to my fear and would simply say, “well that’s just not me”. The reality was “that’s just not what I’ve settled for”.

So I started to ask myself “why” I avoided this area. I found my “smoking gun” in a time when I had a financial crisis and I interpreted it as “we are just not good with money”. I would then ask myself….and God, if that was true. NO, it is not. I would then ask for a different perspective and I saw that the problem was my interpretation of a bad day. You won’t get a new perspective unless you ask for one. The key, is when you get a new perspective, you MUST act on it. Otherwise, you will tend to drift back to old habits.

This will be plenty to chew on, so I will share more on a later article. Let me know how this goes…or if you have questions, contact me at rob.kolosik@mail.com.

Here to help…

Rob