Gloom and Doom Are For Sissies!

Because of my banking and real estate background, I have an opportunity to consult with chiropractors about their business.

I was working with a particular chiropractor today on negotiating the lease for her new practice. The negotiations had gone well with some excellent concessions on the perfect location for her business. That’s when she started to doubt herself. Apparently, she had heard on the news that the economy was SO bad that there was a 12 month supply of empty office space on the market.  “Should I rethink even starting a practice now?”

While I’m aware of the state of the economy, you should be VERY leery of blanket statements about how bad things are. There is NEVER a better time to start a new business or make the right investment than in a recession, ESPECIALLY a deep recession like this one. Certainly, there are LOTS of empty buildings and space for lease and there are lots of folks going out of business and layoffs and lions and tigers and bears! Oh my! HOWEVER, in the midst of all the bad news there is lots of GOOD NEWS!

Sure, there IS plenty of empty space and folks are going out of business and there are layoffs. BUT, look at it from another perspective. For THIS particular chiropractor, there was only a FEW places that would work for her. The space we found was the PERFECT size in the PERFECT location with a MOTIVATED landlord and LOWER RENT than should EVER have been able to find just a year ago! Furthermore, there is an abundance of highly qualified folks willing to work for almost anything just to have some income.

So, before you buy into the gloom and doom of the recession, understand that it creates great opportunities for small businesses to flourish. So, get to work seeking, even creating great opportunities for yourself TODAY!

My Thoughts on the Swine Flu

A friend asked me recently what I thought about the pending Swine Flu panic and the vaccine which has YET to be “developed”.

While I believe ANY vaccination should be a personal choice based on FULL informed consent, I do have  a personal opinion on the matter.  Here’s my feeling on it.

• First, the human body is a self-healing, self-regulating organism.   I think we’re designed to resist ANY and ALL pathogens. A healthy immune system needs no help from an experimental concoction.
• Second,  I was around during the LAST Swine Flu “panic” in the 70’s.  The shot killed more people than the flu!
• Third, I don’t trust the Government, PHARMA or the Medical Industrial Complex. Anytime the Government tries to work up a frenzy of fear to motivate the masses to action, I slow down, back up and usually turn and run.
• Fourth, we have never vaccinated our kids. I understand the vaccination dogma and simply don’t buy it. Our kids don’t buy it. We feel like we actually put our kids at greater risk by injecting them with both fear and who-knows-what in the vaccine.
• Fifth, as a chiropractor, I understand the concept of ADAPTABILITY. A single cell virus, supposedly THAT virile, will mutate very rapidly and ANY vaccine will be virtually worthless.
• Finally, I believe this thing (IF ITS real) will make several rounds through the populace. By being exposed to it early, we develop natural and stronger immunity.

In the end, whether you vaccinate or NOT has to be YOUR decision. But, just know that you were made in the likeness and image of the Creator of ALL life – strong, healty and powerful. Make a rational decision based on knowledge and principle NOT fear.

What can chiropractic mean to you? A personal Declaration of Independence!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” One of the most powerful statements ever uttered by Man are these few words found in our own Declaration of Independence.

In addition to its profound meaning for our nation and as the guidepost for freedom for all peoples of this planet, it’s also a reminder that we (you, me and all of Mankind) were Designed to be great, healthy, strong, free from fear and able to pursue happiness in your life in all its’ forms.

How sad that in a society of affluence and almost magical technology, way too many folks live in fear of sickness, disease and infirmity. In our so-called advanced society, we’ve created a disease for every drug. We’re taught to fear life itself! So, we begin early living life as though it were a virtual mine field. This causes that and that cause this. So-called “scientific” research validates drugs that kill thousands while offering limited relief for those grasping for even an ounce of hope.

BUT, there IS hope for a suffering and searching Mankind. Chiropractic, the profession hidden by many’s focus on back pain, has been offering freedom to millions of Americans and peoples around the world for over 110 years. In its purest form, the proper application of chiropractic principles helps your body function closer to your own God-given potential for health. Sometimes, it happens with a single adjustment. Sometimes, it happens in layers like removing husks from an ear of corn. Eventually, as you’ve pulled back all the husks, you find the fresh sweet goodness inside.

As we approach our country’s Independence Day, I urge you to declare your won independence from fear of sickness and infirmity. Start pulling back those husks and seeing God’s Glory manifest in your own life. Pursue your potential in strength, love and joy and you’ll find your fears falter and fall behind. Sooner than you can imagine, they’ll fade into the distant past.

May God bless you in all your trials and tribulations but also in His Glory manifested in YOUR life!

Recessions are GOOD! That’s When We Build MARKET SHARE!

Frankly, it’s easy to get discouraged if you listen to all the news.  And to be honest, the news is mostly BAD right now.  BUT, recessions are GOOD!  Recessions are the market’s pruning shears.  Sometimes, wild growth makes the vine less fruitful.  So, pruning actually helps it grow better, more orderly and more fruitful.  An old real estate speculator friend of mine once told me, “Buy on bad news.  Sell on good news.”  It took me a few minutes to understand fully what he was telling me.  Essentially, he was telling me that the VERY best time to invest is when everyone else is selling and the best time to sell is when everyone is buying.

The same hold true when you think about how you’ll do business through these rough economic times.  But, NOW is THE time to expand your market share.  Lower your price if you must.  Offer specials to get rid of stale inventory while attracting potential new customers.  You’ll have plenty of opportunities LATER to reap your rewards in terms of profits.

So, keep your strategies simple NOW.  KEEP your existing clients and GET new ones.  Be active in the market.  Be enthusiastic about your product or service.  Give people a REASON to do business with you NOW!

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” – Albert Einstein

The View from Outside the Box: Economic Stimulus

In the midst of our current “economic crisis”, we’ve elected a new President and an activist Congress.  The question on everyone’s mind is “What will the Government do to stimulate the economy?”  The premise with the prevailing angst over the recession is that Government can help us out of this (or any) recession by extending jobless benefits, jobs programs and financial bailouts of failed institutions and industries.

Sadly, this premise can only prolong the suffering instead of correcting the problem.  If we’re going to spend AT LEAST a trillion dollars on trying to get the economy back on track, let’s consider some alternatives to the current thinking.  Here are some ideas to consider.

Free Markets and Bailouts:   There should be NO Government bailout, whether for the financial or auto industries, or any other that will jump into the fray for that matter.  If a company won’t run its’ business in such a way as to be profitable while properly managing risks and preparing for financial calamity, then both the market and consumer are better off with that company giving way to companies that WILL.

Eliminate ALL income taxes, including corporate taxes.  Also, eliminate the IRS. Probably the single biggest impediment to job creation in the United States is our system of taxing away individual and corporate incentives to grow and prosper.  Eliminating the corporate income tax would make the United States a virtual tax haven for companies and investors from all over the world.  The influx of investment dollars would create more jobs than any Government program ever could.  It would also allow hundreds of billions of dollars (now wasted on compliance) to be spent on planning profitable and productive areas of growth and expansion.  As with investment, so too would jobs migrate back to the US.

Eliminating personal income taxes would also spur individual investment and savings.  It would also remove the fear many (most) Americans of the Internal Revenue Service.  It would also eliminate the possibility of Identity Theft at the hands of IRS employees (and private collection agencies) with access to personal information from tax returns.  Americans should not fear their Government.  That is not the case when it comes to taxation.

Adoption of a national retail sales tax could provide all the revenue necessary to run the Federal Government with no negative effect on the public.  A tax rebate (as suggested in HR 25, The Fair Tax)  would ensure that lower income households would not be penalized by the national sales tax.

Decentralize the banking system. Probably more than any single institution (other than the IRS) the Federal Reserve actually distorts and magnifies swings in the financial markets through politically motivated machinations of interest rates.  Milton Friedman advocated slow but steady growth of the money supply to ensure growth while minimizing inflationary pressures and wild swings in interest rates.  Interest rates fluctuate according to the market as a self-regulating mechanism.  Messing with that mechanism only causes problems.

Instead of bailing out huge banks that have in part cause this financial crisis, encourage the development of community banks.  Local banks are much better able to respond to local needs AND cause little or no impact if/when they fail.  Local banks also ensure better service at the consumer level.

Free Trade and Fair Trade. Free trade is good for the American consumer AND our economy.  Because American consumers can buy more with less because of cheaper imports, they have more to spend on their families or even to save for college, retirement or whatever.  However, when I think of “free trade” I assume there are no restrictions on either side and that everyone is playing on a level field.  Unfortunately, American manufacturers are generally held to a higher standard in compliance with various regulations.  Hold importers liable for the same safety and quality standards as American manufacturers and make sure that American exporters are allowed the same access to foreign markets as foreign importers have to our markets.

Greater Consumer Power and Freedom. Instead of giving a trillion dollars to poorly run and managed companies that should be allowed to fail, I would rather give that trillion dollars directly to American citizens.  This could be done in one of two ways.  The Government could just suspend collecting taxes until a trillion dollars is not collected.  This would benefit primarily taxPAYERS.  The other alternative would be to send every citizen a check for $3000.  Americans could decide for themselves how best to spend that money whether it be to pay bills, catch up on mortgage payments, put a down payment on a house or car or even invest it.  Either way, the money goes where it is both needed and can do the most good.

In the final analysis, it was Government that created this mess.  From the outside looking in, the only way to clean up the mess is to have the Government involved as little as possible.  Do I expect President Obama or this Congress to enact these suggestions?  Of course not.  BUT, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be considered.

The View from Outside the Box: Vaccination

People seem to have this opinion that chiropractors are opposed to vaccination.  And while most of us don’t get vaccinated or have that done to our children, it’s mandatory mass vaccination that we oppose.

From my perspective, mass vaccination programs are unspecific, unscientific and unsafe.  I know.  I’ve heard all the stuff about herd immunity.  And honestly, I just don’t buy it.  If the rest of the “herd” is vaccinated, why should they worry if I or my kids are NOT?  Has the vaccination not made them immune to whatever I could catch or bring their way?

Another problem I have with vaccinations is that they never provide permanent immunity.  So instead of providing immunity from certain diseases, vaccination programs give people a false sense of security.  And if you’re only going to provide limited protection from disease, why go through with the program in the first place?  Is one answer that drug companies invest billions into vaccination programs and it’s a steady source of predictable income?  Oh yeah, if the “herd” doesn’t have permanent immunity, what happens if something happens to expose the herd to a given pathogen at some time in the future?  Would that wipe out the herd?

It doesn’t make sense to me that you would inject your child with the number of vaccines at a time when their immune system hasn’t developed to the point where it can even respond to the vaccine.  And, do you REALLY know what is in that vile?  And, has your doctor given you ALL the information on potential dangers related to the vaccine?

And, how about that flu vaccine?  Did you know that the flu vaccine you’re getting this year was developed LAST year?  The influenza virus is a single cell creature that adapts very rapidly to its environment and is probably different than the one for which this year’s vaccine was developed.  And, if the vaccine is not perfectly designed for this year’s flu virus, it simply won’t work.  Oh yeah, the flu vaccine still contains mercury.

Finally, exposure to many childhood diseases help build permanent immunity against stronger pathogens down the road.  By allowing children’s immune systems to develop slowly, they’re better able to fight off sickness and disease later in life.

In the final analysis, I have decided that I trust the design of the body to be healthy more than I trust those with a profit motive to tell me I need to inject some unknown substance into my or my kids’ body.  I’m concerned about the public health risk of dumbing down the “herd” immune response to a “super bug” that WILL appear at some time in the future.  And, I also wonder if the proliferation of autoimmune diseases aren’t partially the result of mass vaccination programs.

I’m open to your comments and thoughts on the subject.  Just keep it clean and respectful.

The View from Outside the Box

Surely you’ve heard the term “Think outside the boc”.  I first heard th term in a business workshop way back in the 70s.  We were told to put the following drawing on a piece of paper and told to connect all the dots with four STRAIGHT lines WITHOUT lifting our pencil off the paper.

It was amazing the gyrations we all went through to get the assignment done.  Well, there were a couple of folks who had seen the exercise done before.  Otherwise, no one had even a clue how to solve the puzzle.  Then the instructor proceeded to show us how the puzzle was solved:

As we all now know, the ONLY solution for the problem was to draw outside the (imaginary) box created by the dots.  What an awesome metaphor for many (most) of the problems facing our society at this point in time, including the economy, world affairs, politics, education and healthcare.  In fact, many of the problems we face have become SO institutionalized and entrenched that they can NEVER be resolved with the same thinking that caused the problem in the first place.

Let’s consider just healthcare.  As far as any of us can remember, healthcare in this culture has been one of fighting disease.  We start at birth vaccinating kids against all sorts of diseases from routine childhood illnesses like chicken pox and measles to diptheria, smallpox, TB and polio.  As we age, the battle is joined against cancer, heart disease and now diabetes.  Now, we’re being attacked by chronic health problems ranging from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia to irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis.  And, that says nothing about the proliferation of autoimmune disease.  And lest we forget Restless Leg Syndrome?

In essence, we’ve creasted a “disease managment” system instead of a HEALTH care system.  Drug companies seems to “discover” diseases that they just happen to have a “new” drug that treat THAT diease perfectly.  Unfortunately, that system of “care” has made going to the doctor and paying for it an almost impossible task.  Finally, we’ve reached the point where we’re looking to Government to take over health care.  I take little comfort in knowing that the same folks that are handling Social Security, Medicare, the IRS and Hurricane Katrina will now be taking care of our health decisions.

So, for these and other reasons, I opted out of the traditional Western approach to “health care” a long time ago.  I guess it’s been almost 20 years now that I haven’t taken a drug or gone to the doctor for anything but emergencies.  Well, I DO go to the chiropractor on a regular basis to get adjusted.   But, I don’t go for pain management or any kind of symptom control.   I thought it might be interesting to explain what it’s like on the other side of the healthcare fence looking in.

Even prior to my exposure to the wholistic lifestyle, I was somewhat leery of established Medicine and would only take an aspirin for an occasional headache or when my back problem would flare up.  And, until I got my back problem resolved, there was always a tube of Preparation H in the medicine cabinet.  I don’t rember the last time I took prescription drugs.  The last flu shot I got was in 1975 when Uncle Sam made me get one before letting me out of the Air Force.

The view from outside the box is interesting.  I don’t take drugs.  Period.  I don’t need them.  I don’t get sick.  I also don’t go to doctors.  It’s not that I don’t “believe” in them.  I just don’t need them.  Now, if I were involved in a car accident or broke a leg, I’d be the first to go to the ER because that’s where Medicine shines.  Otherwise, I just don’t need it.  I don’t have a cardiologist, proctologist, orthopedist, neurologist (although I’ve referred folks to a few) or even a General Practitioner.  Are there any of those even left?  Now, quite a few folks have asked me “What if…?”  And, my response is “What if…what?”  The point is I simply don’t live in that “disease” world.  I don’t know what ny blood pressure is or my cholesterol level or my bone density or if I have polyps.  I don’t care.

Because I know that we were designed to be healthy, my focus is on health, not disease.  I know that if I eat right, exercise, drink water, develop and maintain a good attitude and spiritual life, get adjusted and do those things that help build HEALTH, I’ve done all I can do.  And because of my fiath and what I know about health, I am not afraid of living or dying.

When I look inside the box, I see folks living in fear of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, etc.  Their lives are consumed running from disease.  And, by the time many folks are 60 they have those little boxes with pills for every day of the week.  They run to the doctor every time they have a cold or a symptom.   Some folks I know spend almost a thousand bucks a month on “health” insurance that typically covers far less than people really need.  Health costs has virtually driven American automakers out of business.  Even folks with “good” insurance aren’t immune to the fear of disease.  In fact, I know several millionaires who suffer from anxiety attacks and the same diseases that afflict the poor.

The main difference in the perspectives on either side of the box is fear.  From the inside, fear rules and limits one’s fullest expression and enjoyment of life.  From outside the box, a sense of peace about health is the rule rather than the exception.  Now, I’m not necessarily telling folks to cancel their insurance and shoot their doctors.  But what I am saying is that there is another way to view health and life.  In a later post, I’ll talk more about inspired living.  Until then, consider all your alternatives.

School Books a Safety Hazard?

I could understand when I was a kid having to tote books home.  But in these days of computers, hard drives, MP3 players, etc., isn’t it a bit ridiculous making kids haul 10-20 pounds (or more) of books home every night just a little ridiculous?

Maybe I’m just naive, but don’t most kids have a computer of some sort at home?  And if they do, why would school systems insist on issuing textbooks in lieu of either a compact disk or an MP3 download.  For one thing, it’s got to ba a ton cheaper on the school system to buy a master CD and give copies to their students.  Not only could they save on the literal cost of buying books, they could also save a bunch of trees needed to produce those books

Another (more important) issue is the effect that books and backpacks can have on the bodies and health of young students.  Kids (especially girls) have their growth spurts during their middle school years when homework becomes a ritual.  I’m a big, strong guy.  But I must admit, my 13 year old daughter’s backpack is sometimes heavy even for me.  Yet, she must carry it home and back 5 days a week.

What if she could go home, log into the school’s web site, read her lesson and do her homework online?  Not only is that more efficient for the school, the teacher and the student, it also helps prevent injuries whose effects can last a lifetime.

Scoliosis is a condition that can affect a child’s health for the balance of their life.  And, it’s not known what causes most scoliosis.  However, it is reasonable to assume that unbalanced stress on a young spoine is a major factor.

What can you do to help prevent scoliosis in school-age kids?  Contact your school board members and encourage them to offer kids a set of books that they may keep at home instead of having to carry them to and from school or, better yet, find a way to beging replacing books with CDs or MP3 downloads.  The latter alternative is probably the best.  It’s cheaper for the school systems, easier to replace and would have no negative effect on student’s health, whatsoever.

Some doctors may stop giving vacines because of cost

Almost lost in the news of the day is the fact that up to 10% of doctors are decidig NOT to offer vaccinations because private insurance reimbursements make that service unprofitable.  Hmmm.  I thought vaccinations were SO important that they have been mandated in every state with only religious or medical exemptions.

Maybe this story is telling us that the ones benefitting most from compulsory vaccination programs are doctors’ offices.  Either the insurance companies don’t believe completely in the value of vaccination OR the docotr doesn’t.  Either way, shouldn’t health consumers have the right to question the efficacy of today’s vaccine regime for their kids and families?

Here’s the link to the story.