Columnist.
Civic duty entails a commitment beyond voting every election cycle.
So you'll go to the polls on Nov. 8 (or perhaps you've already voted). You will reject the lesser of two evils. Or vote your principles. Or support your party. Or affirm its platform. Or vote 3rd party. Check that off. You did or will do what every patriotic American does. Right? And then you can sit back down. Phew! That's behind you. Election 2016 will be over. Sure, there are real consequences to what will happen on Nov. 8. But you will have voted. You'll be back in four years. Or maybe even in two years if you're a real radical. So let's move on. It's time to get on with life.
How to Find Peace in the Midst of an Electoral Storm
In my post earlier this week, I attempted to make the case for what happens when one votes for the lesser evil and how that ultimately results in a continued race to the bottom of the barrel. If this year's election proves anything, it should affirm that truth, with a couple of candidates who may be amongst the most depraved and immoral ones in our nation's history.
Over the course of my years of engaging in politics, I have often heard the phrase "the lesser of two evils" used about the choices offered up to voters. But never has that phrase been used more than in the 2016 election. One wonders if all the "lesser evil" choices of prior elections have ultimately culminated in the two worst choices of our lifetimes? Time will certainly tell.
Why is it that some who possess the greatest this world has to offer are the most ungrateful, while some who have the least in terms of worldly possessions are the most grateful? Specifically, I've watched the antics of Colin Kaepernick over the last several weeks and been amazed at the choices and behavior of a man whose life could only be characterized as a dream beyond one's wildest imaginations. With a stratospheric compensation contract totaling over $100 million, adoring fans, celebrity status, health, youth, a lifetime of opportunities ahead of him, and so much more, Kaepernick is blessed with an elite status that 99% of the billions of people around the globe cannot even begin to comprehend.
Perhaps one of the greatest areas of division in our nation today is the debate over guns. For the last several decades we have seen politicians, celebrities, corporations and even religious groups come out against the idea that Americans should be able to own guns and carry them on their person. Firearms known as "assault rifles" — in particular AR-15s — have been heavily targeted by activists and politicians.
Over the last decade, I have interacted with hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow Americans, as we have shared our grave concerns over the direction of our nation. There is no doubt that the land of the free and home of the brave is on a course that threatens our future and the very survival of our nation. So we must ask ourselves this question. *Have we reached the point of no return?*
1... 24... 168... 8,760. You might be wondering what the above numbers have in common? Or perhaps what they even have to do with you? Of course, you may have also already figured them out. The truth is, the above numbers apply to all of us equally. Over the next 60 minutes, one hour will tick away. This time tomorrow, 24 hours will have passed. One week from now, 168 hours will have come and gone. And this time next year, 8,760 hours will be in the books. So big deal, right? The same has held true since the beginning of time. Some might say time is neutral. That it is neither good or bad. Neither friend or foe. I say differently. Time is either your best friend or worst enemy.
If you're alive, then you've failed. And if you're honest, you've failed a lot. I know I have. In fact, I'm confident that my failures outnumber my successes by a multiple of many. But the truth is that you and I are not alone. In fact, we are in great company. The greatest athletes, entrepreneurs and even religious leaders will all admit, if they're honest, that their failures are numerous. Of course, there are many types of failures. There are athletic failures, such as missing the winning shot in the NBA finals. And there are business failures, such as filing bankruptcy when the entrepreneur can no longer satisfy his creditors. There are parental failures, where we may find we have dropped the ball in the raising of our children. And there are personal defeats, where we fail to live up to a standard we set for ourselves. There are moral failures, where one may violate a professional or personal relationship. And there are spiritual failures, where our behavior or choices fall short of the standard established by God Himself.
"Knowing the facts is easy. Knowing how to act based on the facts is difficul" (Han Feizi). A good friend and mentor shared the above quote with me this last week and it got me thinking… In this age of Google and Siri, it has become commonplace to find out the answer to nearly any question we have. No longer do we need to go to a bookshelf and pull out a volume of the World Book encyclopedia to find out the answer to a problem we might be having.
"The world is full of sheep and wolves. To protect the sheep you need to learn to fight like a wolf." This last week I had the opportunity to participate in a unique four day survival course that my wife and I hosted at our property, Liberty Ridge Ranch. The course was instructed by some of our military's finest from the US Special Forces, Navy Seals, and Delta Force. My good friend Omar Hamada, MD, a veteran Major of the US Army Special Forces, developed the unique survival course along with several other elite US military professionals.
Recently a good friend of mine was questioning about how to know God's will for his life and in particular his business. If you're like me and my friend, you've likely also wondered just what is God's will for your life. There have been many times when God's will has seemed elusive to me, even when I've tried to earnestly seek and find it. So is there a way to really know what God has in store for you and me? I believe so, and it involves two components. To be clear, I am not suggesting these two components are the only requirements, but they are integral to discovering God's will for you and me.
It was April 14, 1912, day four of Margaret Fuller's virgin voyage on board the Titanic. Things could not be better. Her bid to open the only gift shop on the new mega-ship had been accepted three months earlier. She had operated other shops on several ocean liners during the past decade. As a result, she had achieved some degree of success and affluence from those years of hard work, sacrifice and optimism. But none of those other shops had begun with such a burst of passenger excitement, which directly translated to record setting sales. In the first three days of the voyage, her shop's revenue had already surpassed the sales of the last two transatlantic voyages combined. Margaret could not be more pleased.
It was Tuesday, Day 2, of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, OH. I was sitting comfortably in the middle section of the arena directly in front of the podium. Chris Cox, a representative from the National Rifle Association, had just stepped up to speak to the crowd of delegates, activists and media. As Cox began his speech and stated, "You have to be able to protect yourself and your family…" I found myself being distracted by the fellow sitting next to me.
This week I am witnessing firsthand the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. As I've been observing the happenings within the Quicken Arena, the one theme that continues to pop up again and again is *Make America Great Again.* Of course, that being the Trump campaign motto, it should come as no surprise. From t-shirts to ball caps, street vendors to banners, the motto is everywhere I look here in Cleveland.
Chaos. Crime. Corruption. Shootings. Terrorism. Political upheaval. Racial strife. Economic catastrophe. Family breakdown. Societal unrest. Moral disintegration. Does it feel like our communities, culture, nation and world are coming apart at the seams? Does it seem like everyday we wake up to another crisis that threatens you, your family or our nation? If you are a business owner or an employee, does it feel like even your livelihood is at risk? Are there any solutions to the seemingly insurmountable and existential problems facing us?
When our founding fathers penned their names in 1776 to perhaps our nation's greatest document, the Declaration of Independence, they attempted what we now know was a glorious and courageous feat. Singling out King George as the object of their contempt was viewed by many of their contemporaries as not only foolish, but it would likely cost those 56 men their "lives, fortune and sacred honor." Two hundred and forty years later, we marvel at the resolute and unsurpassed character of our founding fathers and the thousands of others who rose up to revolt against Great Britain, their formidable enemy.
Last year I wrote about the importance of marriage in "An Entrepreneur's #1 Partnership," emphasizing the need to prioritize your marital relationship above your business. But it's easy to write about doing so, and quite another thing to actually live it out on a daily basis. Entrepreneurs and employees are often tempted to focus more of their attention and energies on their business or job than the relationship with their spouse. As an entrepreneur, I can affirm the struggle this dilemma often presents. And if you've spent any amount of time in business, you know exactly why this is.
