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Arrogance – a horrible state of mind

August 13, 2009 in Leadership, Love, Philosophy with 0 Comments

After a recent encounter with a 17 yr. old gone south, I’m reminded how much I hate arrogance. Webster defines arrogance as, “an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions.” You see, it’s an attitude…a mental position that comes out as overbearing. At the center of this mental position is ego (self) that is inflated with an unnatural confidence born out of compensation or fear.

Arrogance is a mask that is designed to keep people from seeing the real person. For anyone with time on the planet measured in decades, the illusion that we are the best – AT ANYTHING – has long since faded. With that comes a realization that anything positive that comes from one’s effort is a blessing bestowed because we’ve seen how horribly wrong things can also go when we get involved.

I’ve had the incredible blessing in my life to have men that cared for me deeply spend the time and risk the relationship to instill in me humility. At times, those lessons hurt and were unappreciated. Other times, there were exactly what I needed to hear. Regardless of how I took them, the wisdom of these men took hold to some degree because at 36, I “get it” – at least more than I did. Life isn’t about me – it’s about others and arrogance gets in the way.

Knowledge is the realization it’s raining. Wisdom is the sense to come in out of it. So, here’s the question: are you driving a wedge between yourself and the world because you’re afraid they might get too close and see your dirty underwear and therefore not love you? Don’t answer now – think about it…it takes time to process. If the eventual answer has even a hint of “yes,” then it’s time to get some new tapes playing and the first one starts like this:

God loves you. Did you hear me? The creator of the known and unknown universe loves YOU. He knew about your dirty underwear and He still sent His Son to die so you could have life – right here; right now; and for all eternity. Wrap your noodle around that and you’ll stop caring what other people think about you and the need for the mask will go away. You’ll finally be free from shame and letting people get close will be met with joy rather than fear. Want to know more about how God loves you, read the book of Ephesians from the Bible – it’s a great place to start.

You don’t have to hide any more – arrogant isn’t something you want to be in the list of adjectives that describe you. It’s ugly and a horrible state of mind. It’s also unnecessary and wastes opportunities to build meaningful bridges rather than strapping C4 to them and pushing the plunger. Joy awaits, but it starts with coming in out of the rain…

Immoral Profits – huh?

July 31, 2009 in Business, Leadership, Politics with 1 Comment

I heard the term “immoral profits” today from Nancy Pelosi in reference to the insurance companies’ financials and it floored me. I have never heard two words put side by side that don’t deserve it more in my life. In fact, I’m not even sure I know exactly what that means when you look at the words individually. I do; however, know what she is attempting to convey and it is something that is at the crux of the liberal mindset.

We’ve heard this type of talk for months now – it’s always been around, but Obama has made it mainstream. In terms like “spread the wealth” and new taxes for only those that make over $200k. The message is that people (and organizations) that make a lot of money should feel guilty because there are a ton of people that don’t and the rich should give all of their money away to help elevate the financial status of the poor and we should all have basically the same.

Any capitalists out there? Hello! You should be IRATE at this because you know that the reason people (and most organizations) amass wealth is because somewhere, somebody found the goods/services they offered to be valuable and are willing to part with some of their hard-earned money to acquire it. In a capitalistic society – innovation (doing it better, cheaper, faster than your competition) drives profits and if left alone, you either challenge the big dog in your market or you go out of business. Since the beginning, more chose to challenge than go home and the result of this effort is the greatest nation on the planet. Competition, not government intervention is the key to making sure the markets stay (and remain) reasonable.

Take Apple for example. Did they create the first portable music player – no, but the iPod has blown all others away and is now synonymous with portable music. How did that happen? Innovation. Apple developed better hardware (sleek, sexy) and a better interface (simple, functional) and then made it affordable. That’s innovation and it has made Apple a literal TON OF CASH. Are their profits immoral? Of course not.

So what makes insurance companies profits immoral? Nancy would say it’s because they deny claims to sick people to protect those profits. Profiting while people suffer when something can be done about it. I guess that is the immoral part of the term.

The problem with demonizing profits in this way is that there isn’t a clear-cut delineation of where profits could be considered moral. Would any profit be OK? Who gets to decide? Turn on the TV and you’ll find the answer. Obama, Pelosi, Reid – they get to decide, or they are trying. They want to use these terms to make you think that the redistribution of wealth from those that have it to those that don’t is the moral high ground and anyone that doesn’t agree needs to be shut down or taken over.

Just watch out for the references – “big oil”, “big banks”, “big medical”, “big insurance”, etc. Most of us don’t make enough money to be personally affected, but our employers do. Most of us don’t need to be concerned about being in the top tax bracket and having our wealth stolen to support more and more programs that don’t work. But I think we all want to know  that the possibility for financial independence is obtainable. Allow the liberal politicians to have their way and you can kiss that dream goodbye.

Your voice and your vote are the only tools you have to affect change in this country. Write, talk, send smoke signals – whatever it takes to send a clear message to Washington that you want profits to be encouraged, not demonized; less, not more taxes; less, not more government intervention; and to SLOW DOWN the amount of change being introduced. How can they tell what works when they are changing hundreds of variables at the same time? They can’t,so perhaps…just perhaps, they aren’t interested in actually fixing anything…chew on that one for a bit…

Health Care – Who is Scaring Who?

July 29, 2009 in Business, Leadership, Politics with 9 Comments

I’ve been stewing over the constant dribble over health care reform coming out of Washington and I’ve had enough. It is time for us all to snap out of the trance, put the Kool-Aid down and get our heads into the game. What set it off for me is this excerpt from an e-mail sent by the Whitehouse.

“Over the next month there is going to be an avalanche of misinformation and scare tactics from those seeking to perpetuate the status quo. But we know the cost of doing nothing is too high. Health care costs will double over the next decade, millions more will become uninsured, and state and local governments will go bankrupt.”

There are several things to take now of here, so let’s dive right in (hang with me – it’s a bit wordy).

  1. I don’t think anyone – no matter what political party or affiliation – is asking for the status quo to be perpetuated. Health insurance costs too much and is, consequently, harder and harder to get (and keep in some cases). This should alarm us, but the source of that alarm is what is in question. The Whitehouse and Congress want you to believe that nothing can be done about the “cost” of  medical treatment and the trouble lies in the insurance companies. I’m here to tell you that is a bold-faced lie. Insurance companies are like any other for-profit company. They have a fiduciary responsibility to their stakeholders to stay solvent – i.e. make a profit. As such, they hold to the same supply/demand macro-economic principles everyone else in a capitalistic society does, which is to say that if their costs go up, their retail prices go up.
  2. “Health care costs will double over the next decade.” – I’m sure someone has looked at trending from the past several decades and can project the doubling of health care costs over the next 10 years, but in no way should we believe it to be gospel. Nobody can tell the future and to word this in this way only serves one purpose – to scare you into thinking that this has to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
  3. If that weren’t enough, to say with certainty that millions more will be uninsured and the eventual consequence is bankrupt state and local governments is OUT OF LINE. In the last 233 years, there has NEVER been a bankrupt government. Do you know why? Because they all have the ability to raise taxes or adjust budgets. Don’t buy this – it isn’t true and the sky isn’t falling.

Back to the real reason you are still reading – the real story. Creating a government-run, tax-funded insurance option doesn’t address the costs, but it does do something else that should make you take notice – it adds competition to the market that is not only unfair, it is un-American. Capitalism demands that competition be part of the mix for fairness and equality TO PROTECT THE CONSUMER. Without competition, we have monopolies, and monopolies are bad for us – remember the telecom breakup of the ’80s?

If the Federal Government can “set” the cost of coverage without regard to natural market pressures (profit & loss largely), they in essence become a monopoly and the rest of the market has no way to compete and therefore no way to survive. The President knows this. Congress knows this. It is what they are counting on. They don’t want private insurance companies to survive because they desire more control over our lives – in part, to justify their own position and to further the agenda of big government, higher taxes and more control.

Taking this to the logical conclusion – without alternatives to the government-run option, we end up like Canada and the UK…there simply isn’t a way to avoid it because the real problem isn’t being addressed, which is the high costs associated with medical services. If the President and Congress wanted to fix the health care problem in America, they would have started there – as it is the most logical place to start. If health care costs are PROJECTED to double over the next decade, are we helpless to prevent that? I think not.

What are the contributing factors to the rise in the COSTS of medical services?

  • Advancement in technology | This is a natural (and good) progression. Better technology should eventually lower health care costs as it helps to diagnose faster and more accurately as well as speed the treatment/healing process. We want this to continue and I think we all are willing to pay for it, but what if research hospitals can’t fund research because the government is controlling their profits? You know the answer…
  • Malpractice insurance | The courts have done this country a huge disservice in providing a place to attract medical lawsuits. The millions upon millions awarded to those cases are paid via malpractice insurance. And because insurance companies are subject to profit/loss pressures, they must consequently raise the rate for said insurance. The doctor has no choice but to pay the increased premiums and consequently passes that along to you and me in his/her rate.Limit the amounts awarded in medical malpractice suits and the premiums come back down and so will the rates – all a natural consequence of competition in the marketplace. This is known as tort reform.
  • Uninsured care | Nobody is denied emergency care in America. Again, something we can almost all agree that is good WHEN RESERVED FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS. A large portion of the costs for uninsured care comes from illegal aliens (I use the term on purpose) as they can’t get insurance BECAUSE THEY ARE ILLEGALLY IN THE COUNTRY. So, this cost is linked to another failure of our government – border security and immigration law enforcement. The hospitals therefore are forced to pass those costs on to those that actually pay the bills, which hits the insurance companies first and so on and so on…

I’m sure there are others as I’m not an expert in the field – my degree is in Physics and I design websites for a living, but even I see bad things ahead.

So what are we to do? First, tell your representatives and senators to slow down. Health care reform is a HUGE issue and should not be taken lightly and needs much debate and investigation. We didn’t get into this mess in a week, and we won’t get out of in a week. In fact, how about we focus on the economy and then tackle this issue? We must not let present-day circumstances force us into thinking that we can’t wait. We can – we have – we must.

Adoptive Father’s Heart

June 18, 2009 in adoption, Leadership, Love, parenting with 1 Comment

Greatest Joy in a Man's LifeTo be a father is the most challenging aspect of life – if done right.  The weight of the responsibility is crushing, overwhelming and incomprehensible should you dwell on it for any length of time.  As for adoptive dads – we asked for it, begged for it, spent a small fortune just for the chance.  So it is with a grateful heart that we accept all that comes with being a dad and on this Father’s Day, let us remember those men that long to give their life away to a child, but simply haven’t been given the “nod.”

For those that get a daily reminder of the dream that has yet to be fulfilled; who are struggling to lead their wives and explain to their friends and family the heartache they feel; who are not giving up and are willing to fight to their last breath for what they KNOW deep down is meant to be – we say hang in there and keep putting one foot in front of the other because it is SO worth it!

Fatherhood:  where the holes and voids inside are filled to overflowing and the dreams are fulfilled beyond imagination – a true resting of the spirit that has been in turmoil for so long.  But let us not rest just because the Wait is over – if anything, we must find new energy to lead, love and serve or families like never before.  We are reminded internally of the valley when we want to complain about dirty diapers because there was a time when we would have given anything for the smell of a dirty diaper to fill that pristinely prepared baby room.

We still dream big, protech proactively, instruct lovingly, encourage boldly, lead courageously and hug incessently.  Our love is fueled by the sacrifices made along the way and nothing will prevent us from giving our all to take advantage of each and every minute.  We stand strong against the gates of hell and the forces that want to steal the joy of fatherhood – too much has been overcome to give in and settle for ordinary.  Passion and zeal are the expressions of the blessing; strength and courage the weapons of choice; and the knowledge of potential greatness is the fuel that will keep us fighting.

We are leaders, mentors, servants, guides and meant to be the solid rock in the lives of our family.  At times, we fail and sputter and even need help getting back up, but we DO get up with renewed determination – asking to be kept in the game because we know our absence is of far greater detriment than anything we do wrong while present.

Fatherhood is a calling and not to be taken lightly.  May we not allow the pull of passivity to be the response when the job gets hard.  It is time for a new generation of fathers to own the future – real men taking responsibility and fighting for their family’s lives.  Success is defined as long-term steadiness and is achieved in the midst of others.

Please take time to encourge (give courage) a father you know – especially those adoptive dads.  Their intentional journey into the valley is nothing short of astounding!  Do you have a dad you want to brag on?

Leadership | 1.0

February 15, 2008 in Leadership, Philosophy with 0 Comments

I’d guess that more books have been written about leadership than almost any topic (if not, close), which shows just how important leadership is to our society. I have regular time with a few friends where we talk about leadership – expressed in different contexts, but leadership is the core of the discussion. I’ve been a leader (involved in leadership roles) since high school where I served as our National Honor Society’s President my senior year.

When I look back at that experience and compare it to the roles I’m engaged in today, a vast difference is readily evident, but a few similarities exist as well. Back then, it had some to do with status (yes I know it was a club for nerds), but I distinctly remember implementing a new way to conduct our meetings. I desired to increase the effectiveness of our time together and therefore organized our people into comities with an officer giving oversight to each. It was new, fresh, risky…and it worked and I felt really good about the gamble paying off.

That illustrates a trait common to many books on leadership: high tolerance for risk. This trait is important; however, it is WAY down on the list in my estimation today. So, what is the list, you may ask. I’d like to take several posts to look at a few of them, but start here with something that will help put them all into perspective.

Andy Stanley has been a teacher via podcasts and recorded Catalyst messages. The one thing that he stresses is that leadership is given by God and is therefore temporary. “Leadership is a stewardship. It is temporary and I’m accountable. The sovereign God is the ruler of all the kingdoms of men. He gives them to who He wishes.” He states that if that one single thought were to settle into our hearts, our leadership would be different. Why is that? No…really, I’m asking – post your thoughts on this whether you agree or disagree.

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