Want a Free House?

I am loathe to pass along most everything I see from an anonymous source on the Internet. However, this morning I make an exception to my longstanding rule. I know a good piece of writing when I see it, and this qualifies. See if you don't agree:

I was in my neighborhood restaurant this morning and was seated behind a group of jubilant individuals celebrating the coming implementation of the health care bill. I could not finish my breakfast. This is what ensued: They were a diverse group of several races and both sexes. I heard a young man exclaim, "Isn't Obama like Jesus Christ? I mean, after all, he is healing the sick."

A young woman enthusiastically proclaimed, "Yeah, and he does it for free. I cannot believe anyone would think that a free market wouldn't work for health care."

Another said, "The stupid Republicans want us all to starve to death so they can inherit all of the power. Obama should be made a Saint for what he did for those of us less fortunate."

At this, I had more than enough. I arose from my seat, mustering all the restraint I could find, and approached their table. "Please excuse me; may I impose upon you for one moment?"

They smiled and welcomed me to the conversation. I stood at the end of their table, smiled as best I could and began an experiment.

"I would like to give one of you my house. It will cost you no money and I will pay all of the expenses and taxes for as long as you live there. Anyone interested?"

They looked at each other in astonishment. "Why would you do something like that?" asked a young man, "There isn't anything for free in this world." They began to laugh at me, as they did not realize this man had just made my point.

"I am serious, I will give you my house for free, no money whatsoever. Anyone interested?"

In unison, a resounding "Yeah" fills the room.

"Since there are too many of you, I will have to make a choice as to who receives this money-free bargain."

I noticed an elderly couple was paying attention to the spectacle unfolding before their eyes, the old man shaking his head in apparent disgust.

"I tell you what; I will give it to the one of you most willing to obey my rules."

Again, they looked at one another, an expression of bewilderment on their faces.

The perky young woman asked, "What are the rules?"

I smiled and said, "I don't know. I have not yet defined them. However, it is a free home that I offer you."

They giggled among themselves, the youngest of  which said, "What an old coot. He must be crazy to give away his home. Go take your meds, old man."

I smiled and leaned into the table a bit further. "I am serious, this is a legitimate offer."

They gaped at me for a moment.

"I'll take it you old fool. Where are the keys?" boasted the youngest among them.

"Then I presume you accept ALL of my terms then?" I asked.

The elderly couple seemed amused and entertained as they watched from the privacy of their table. "Oh yeah! Where do I sign up?"

I took a napkin and wrote, "I give this man my home, without the burden of financial obligation, so long as he accepts and abides by the terms that I shall set forth upon consummation of this transaction."

I signed it and handed it to the young man who eagerly scratched out his signature.

"Where are the keys to my new house?" he asked in a mocking tone of voice.

All eyes were upon us as I stepped back from the table, pulling the keys from pocket and dangling them before the excited new homeowner.

"Now that we have entered into this binding contract, witnessed by all of your friends, I have decided upon the conditions you are obligated to adhere to from this point forward. You may only live in the house for one hour a day. You will not use anything inside the home. You will obey me without question or resistance. I expect complete loyalty and admiration for this gift I bestow upon you. You will accept my commands and wishes with enthusiasm, no matter the nature. Your morals and principles shall be as mine. You will vote as I do, think as I do and do it with blind faith. These are my terms. Here are your keys." I reached the keys forward and the young man looked at me dumbfounded.

"Are you out of your mind? Who would ever agree to those ridiculous terms?" the young man appeared irritated.

"You did when you signed this contract before reading it, understanding it and with the full knowledge that I would provide my conditions only after you committed to the agreement."

The elderly man chuckled as his wife tried to restrain him. I was looking at a now silenced and bewildered group of people.

"You can shove that stupid deal up your a** old man. I want no part of it!" exclaimed the now infuriated young man.

'You have committed to the contract, as witnessed by all of your friends. You cannot get out of the deal unless I agree to it. I do not intend to let you free now that I have you ensnared. I am the  power you agreed to. I am the one you blindly and without thought chose to enslave yourself to. In short, I am your Master."

At this, the table of celebrating individuals became a unified group against the unfairness of the deal.

After a few moments of unrepeatable comments and slurs, I revealed my true intent.

"What I did to you is what this administration and congress did to you with the health care legislation. I easily suckered you in and then revealed the real cost of the bargain. Your folly was in the belief that you can have something you did not earn, and you willingly allowed someone else to think for you. Your failure to research, study and inform yourself permitted reason to escape you. You have entered into a trap from which you cannot flee. Your only chance of freedom is if  your new Master gives it to you. A freedom that is given can also be taken away. Therefore, it is not freedom at all."

With that, I tore up the napkin and placed it before the astonished young man. "This is the nature of your new health care legislation."

I turned away to leave these few in thought and contemplation -- and was surprised by applause.

The elderly gentleman, who was clearly entertained, shook my hand enthusiastically and said, "Thank you, Sir. These kids don't understand Liberty ."

He refused to allow me to pay my bill as he said, "You earned this one. It is an honor to pick up the tab."

I shook his hand in thanks, leaving the restaurant somewhat humbled and sensing a glimmer of hope for my beloved country.

Remember... Four boxes keep us free: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box,  and the cartridge box.

* * *

"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the American Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford

"No Other Gods"

This morning I stumbled over a thought-provoking article by a regular contributor to the Deseret News, Joseph Cramer, M.D.

Dr. Joseph Cramer

The author asks us to choose which of the two gods on earth, government or corporations, might be the god we choose to worship.  He begins this way:

"Monotheism is the singular feature of the occidental religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The adherents to these faiths are admonished to have no other gods before them. There is also the wisdom that with two masters one will love the one and hate the other or vice versa.

"It also seems to be the singular feature of secular living as well. One cannot have two masters. There are those who worship government and there are those who think corporations are divine. I use worship and divine because of the fervor both congregations attach to their points of view. Each side acts as if their chosen organizational messiah will save them, and provide all the answers to a happy and rich life. For those who resent the comparison of government and corporations to their personal god, look at the passions — anger, adoration, segregation of friends and family by their beliefs, self-righteousness, loyalty — and the commitment — time, money and self — used to describe advocates. All imitate the devotion of the most faithful zealot. We are cautioned not to speak about either religion or politics for good reason: they are the same thing."

This page has as its purpose the discussion (and the distinction between) those two seemingly unspeakable topics -- politics and religion -- with the intentional consequence of defining a path for earnest and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.  It is true, we cannot have it both ways.

Yesterday, while the debate raged on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. about extending unemployment benefits and tax cuts, one passionate Congressman on the floor of the House was heard to say (I caught the soundbite on the radio in the car but didn't get his name), "This is the season when we celebrate the birth of the poor baby Jesus Christ in the animal manger.  How can we turn our backs on the unemployed especially at this season of the year, Christmas, when it was He who taught charity.  We must do the right thing and provide this help right now.  We can't turn our backs on them at this season of the year when our Christian faith is so prominently on display or we would be hypocrites."  Isn't it interesting when a Congressman wants to evoke the image of Christ in the political debate, while erecting the government in the place of Christ as the solution? 

The "poor baby Jesus" can be such a useful device for a secular humanist, who simultaneously would dismiss Jesus as a myth.

The Congressman framed the argument perfectly.  Shall government continue to spend money it doesn't have, because it long ago exceeded in expenditures what it brings in from tax revenue and is now operating in the red with borrowed money, to provide entitlements (even if in the name of charity for the poor to improve their lives), or shall it cease and desist from further spending until it gets its own house in order?  Is the federal government so big it cannot possibly fail?  Can it continue to bail out corporations that are also by the government definition "too big to fail?"  Who bails out America? 

Is America too big to fail?  The answer is NO.

President Ezra Taft Benson

I was reminded this morning when I read Cramer's article about a pivotal General Conference address by President Ezra Taft Benson in April 1988, entitled "The Great Commandment -- Love the Lord."

Once again, he frames the opposite argument perfectly:

The great test of life is obedience to God. “We will prove them herewith,” said the Lord, “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). 

The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. 

The great commandment of life is to love the Lord. 

“Come unto Christ,” exhorts Moroni in his closing testimony, “… and love God with all your might, mind and strength” (Moroni 10:32). 

This, then, is the first and great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30; see also Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27; Moroni 10:32; D&C 59:5). . .

President Benson asserts, as he continues:

We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. He must come first, just as He declares in the first of His Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities. 

We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives.

* * *

I said this talk was "pivotal."  I don't know where you were in your life in 1987, but I was a bishop and faced with a dilemma of choice.  I had made a decision, at the time it seemed a monumental decision, to choose God above all other considerations.  However, it meant certain displacement, uncertainty, inconvenience, and discomfort, but I knew it was the right thing to do because I could not choose both paths and be one traveller.  (See Robert Frost, "The Road not Taken"). 

We fasted and prayed as a family to know what we should do.  The decision was made, and then months later the Prophet of God arose in the keynote address of General Conference and confirmed the decision we had made together.  It proved later to be the pivotal choice in our family's lives.  Looking back, that one choice to put God ahead of all other people, regardless of the love and deep affection I had for those people, has made all the difference in what has evolved afterward. 

Loving God above all other considerations is a rather glib and almost trite profession, but I can assure you it is much, much more than that when action follows the mere profession of belief.  I long ago concluded the power to act is much more meaningful than the words we profess with our lips.  Once acted upon, the belief engenders power and certainty the likes of which mere mortals can only glimpse from afar who lack the resolve to change their circumstances.  We are designed by God to act and not to be acted upon.  (2 Nephi 2:26). 
 
To attempt to shift the blame to others for the natural consequences of our choices is antithetical to all God has revealed to us in the scriptures about our lives in mortality.

Mickey Mantle

I have mentioned before my admiration for Mickey Mantle as a baseball player.  I was remembering this morning why I admired him even more as a man.  He admitted to years of various forms of substance abuse.  His achievements on the field are even more astounding when factored against the performance "unenhancing" drugs like alcohol that coursed through his veins.  Upon receiving a liver transplant in an effort to save his life, he made an amazing statement I've never forgotten.  He said, “Don’t use me for a role model.”  He also said that he was committing the rest of his life to being a better example.  He finally acted upon his inbred ability as a son of God to act and not to be acted upon.  Mickey Mantle finally accepted the responsibility for his mistakes.  Unfortunately he died shortly thereafter.
 
I mention this only because the governments and corporations on this earth will never have the power to change human hearts aflame with faith, hope and charity.  Only God can do that.  Governments and corporations tend to enslave.  Only God can liberate and inspire fallen mortal man to greater heights.  Loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength is the only way human progress is achieved with any lasting benefits.  Everything else temporizes and fades in time. 
 
We do the best we can at whatever task comes to our hands with an eye single to His glory, remembering that which we can see with our eyes and touch with our hands will fade away because it tends toward entropy.  Only the unseen world is the real world and has eternal staying power. 
 
We build eternal families here on earth among those who are fallen, but once born again, we will live in eternal glory.  There isn't a government or a corporation here on earth to offer anyone that outcome.  So why would we ever give governments or corporations our allegiance, our worship or our obeisance?
 
President Benson summarized with these lines of poetry:
 
Who does God’s work will get God’s pay,
However long may seem the day,
However weary be the way.
No mortal hand, God’s hand can stay,
He may not pay as others pay,
In gold, or lands, or raiments gay,
In goods that perish and decay;
But God’s high wisdom knows a way,
And this is sure, let come what may —
Who does God’s work will get God’s pay.

(Anonymous) 

Joseph Smith

I conclude with the words of Joseph Smith:

Our only confidence can be in God; our only wisdom obtained from Him; and He alone must be our protector and safeguard, spiritually and temporally, or we fall.

We have been chastened by the hand of God heretofore for not obeying His commands, although we never violated any human law, or transgressed any human precept; yet we have treated lightly His commands, and departed from His ordinances, and the Lord has chastened us sore, and we have felt His arm and kissed the rod; let us be wise in time to come and ever remember that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (TPJS, 253).

In the days that lie ahead choosing God first is really our only choice, earthly governments and corporations built with men's hands notwithstanding.

Political Quote of the Day

I was confused until Vice-President Joe Biden cleared it all up for me in this priceless quote.

Nobody understands what's actually in these "gigantic packages," and that's okay.  It's regulatory reform.

Now I get it.

Brandt Page, CEO of Launch Sales & Marketing

I'm often asked what I'm doing these days.  What follows explains in part the answer to that question. 

People wonder why I am so fixated right now on all the regulatory legislation in healthcare, the automobile industry, the financial sector and virtually every other segment of society that touches our lives with overbearing government control.  It's because with every fiber of my being I honor, promote and respect the entrepreneurial spirit that continues to help America thrive and prosper.  I hope and pray it never gets stifled into extinction by excessive government intrusion, but the threat is real. 

It is astounding to me how few people in this administration actually have business experience.  That may be the reason the economic recovery is still so stagnant -- we're being led by academicians and attorneys who have no idea what it is to hire people and have to make a payroll and pay taxes every two weeks.  They are creating an atmosphere that is dampening rather than encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit. 

Jobs are NOT created by Barack Obama, government stimulus and regulatory reform bills.  Jobs are created by entrepreneurs.  (Click the link).

Here's the most stunning and immediate example I can think of: 

In the aftermath of the worldwide economic meltdown of 2008 and 2009, it takes a young man with rare visionary capacity to start a business on next to nothing. That's exactly what Brandt Page did in early 2009. He'll be the first to give credit to Jordan, his wife, who added her paycheck to the venture to help him get out of the ground.

After graduating from BYU, Brandt announced his plans to his family. "I'm going to start my own business," he declared.

His grandmother exclaimed, "What? But Brandt, you're too young. You've just graduated from college, and now you need to find a real job!"

Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you similar stories about how they started. They are surrounded by legions of well-meaning friends and relatives who think they never should have taken that first fateful step into the unknown.

But Brandt Page is a pragmatic visionary, and he began small. He set up a card table in the front room of his townhouse condominium, hooked up an automated VOIP dialer to his computer and started calling. He found a company that was willing to pay him for cold calling other companies they were targeting for their products and services. Brandt jumped right in with both feet -- sometimes stockinged, sometimes bare -- while he began selling over the phone.

After early success, confident now that others would pay him for doing what they didn't want to do, he began attracting others to his ideas. He'll tell you he owes a lot to his Junto Partners mentors, Alan Hall and Greg Warnock, owners of Mercato Partners. He learned their lessons well. The evidence continued to roll in -- people were actually paying him for his performance and soon he needed more help. A good friend joined him, then some former roommates who believed he was on to something.

After some early rookie mistakes, budding entrepreneur Brandt was off to the races. A few months later he recognized the need for some changes. He didn't hesitate. He jetisoned his original plan, modified his offering to scheduling appointments instead of trying to sell his clients' products, then hired experienced, credible and more mature professionals. The ample supply of displaced professionals from "the worst recession since the Great Depression" (how many times did President Obama use that phrase?) was exactly the model he needed. He learned quickly and implemented changes boldly, bootstrapping his technology with the combined experience of subsequent additions to his fledgling company.

He found experienced people with years of combined sales and management experience. He's still the youngest employee of the company. He jokes that the average age of his staff is 44, and he's the only one who still drags the average down!

Brandt will tell you there were a few tight spots. Cash flow was unpredictable but bootstrapping is what he's all about, turning down offers from angel investors.

"I would much rather have the advice and counsel of my advisors than their cash," he explains.

He's had others offer to help him for a piece of the action, but he's content to make it on his own.

"Most young bucks like me think they need a business plan that's perfect, and then they go to venture capitalists looking for money for an idea they haven't proven. That never made any sense to me. I've always believed the idea has be proven and tested first." His closest advisors have confirmed his determination of going it alone.

The growth metrics continue to confirm Brandt's instincts -- his revenues and his client list continue to grow organically.

Today, Brandt Page isn't likely to hear what most young entrepreneurs hear: You're not a “proven” team with “proven” technology in a “proven” market.  He's not asking to hear it, he's just routinely going about his business exceeding expectations.

Or, your company may simply not be a “VC deal” -- that is, something that will go public or be acquired for a zillion dollars.  He's just not pitching anybody who says that -- yet -- but the day will come.

Instead, Page's model is a simple service business that works: "We fill up our clients' salespipes with qualified appointments. Our clients pay us directly for each appointment, and we hand off warm leads to their inside sales teams so they can do what they do best: close more sales." Simple. Scalable. Workable. Manageable.

Page subscribes to an interesting counter-intuitive idea -- that too much money too early is worse than too little for most organizations. The federal government could take a "page" out of Page's playbook for success. That's not to say he wouldn't like to stand in the sunshine of stunning financial success someday and have someone buy him out. Until that day comes, the key to his success has been "bootstrapping."

At Christmas last year, Page bought and distributed Guy Kawasaki's classic book for entrepreneurs, The Art of the Start.  I don't think he even finished reading it, because he's so focused on what he's doing, but I devoured it in two nights, couldn't put it down, and observed that a lot of what Brandt's been doing is modeled after Kawasaki's advice.  I recommend the book.

Here are some fundamental back-to-basics pearls of wisdom from this up and coming CEO, Brandt Page, and it's sound advice for the seasoned professionals too:

Focus on cash flow, not profitability

You pay bills with cash, so focus on cash flow. If you know you are going to bootstrap, you should start a business with a small up-front capital requirement, short sales cycles, short payment terms, and recurring revenue. It means passing up the big sale that takes twelve months to close, deliver, and collect. Cash is not only king to a bootstrapper -- it's the queen, prince and court jester.

Forecast from the bottom up

The bottom-up forecast goes like this: “We can add five new clients a month," thought Page in the early going. That adds up to sixty clients in a year. So our first year sales will be 5 new clients per month x whatever size campaign they ask us for per client per month and we'll realize something achievable by the end of the year. Rather than reaching for a small percentage of a huge market Page knows is unlikely with the top-down approach, can you guess which number Page thinks is more likely to happen?

Deliver first, then perfect later

In a service business like Launch you don't sit around inventing the perfect business plan. "Instead," says Page, "you deliver the best product you have available at the moment and you constantly improve your offering as you grow." What? Deliver first, then perfect later? Unthinkable! But that's how bootstrappers do it and it works. When your service is ”good enough,“ get it out there to your clients because cash starts to flow when you start delivering. "It's definitely a tradeoff," says Page. "You stake your reputation against your cash flow. You have to deliver on what you say you'll do, even if it isn't perfect at first." When you prove to others you can deliver, your reputation remains in tact and cash flows.

Forget the ”proven“ team

Great companies often are built with ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Winners can be trained. They can be coached to greatness. When you've got an idea that works, you will attract hungry talent. "Like the perfect product," adds Page, "proven teams -- people you've predicted will succeed because you think you know them -- are over-rated." People who worked for a billion dollar company for the past ten years are not accustomed to stretching and improving. They didn't have to. "Look for people with startup experience who aren't afraid to take out the trash, and clean the toilets at first to save expenses." The bootstrapping lifestyle isn't for the fainthearted who are in search of a 401k plan and a fat pension they're accustomed to.

Focus on function, not form

Once again, stay with the basics. Business cards with the perfect logo that brands your startup isn't nearly as significant as getting from point A to point B, and if that navigation includes a paperless trail that's more efficient, so much the better, according to Page. Page has a printer in his office, but he still has 3/4 of the first ream of paper to go in it a year later. Beyond the printer, his staff has a "can do, no excuses" attitude that breeds success and persistence. "They sweat out the details until they get it right," observed one client.

Get good stuff for free

While you're building an online brand like Page has done, look for doing the right thing for free -- that includes press releases, speaking engagements, bargain coupons for everything from food to golf he can use as "spiffs," seminars, offering free advice to others, and targeted messaging that fills up social media sites. Within a matter of months after starting Launch, Brandt Page was tapped by American Express as one of 50 people in America to follow on Twitter for sales advice. Why? Because he shares the wealth of his learning experiences with others, and it's usually sound, reasoned and practical advice that's quickly actionable and understandable. He's naturally inquisitive by nature and asks a lot of questions. Guess who learns.

Leverage

Praise, train and coach your small but eager staff. Get the most out of them before making the next incremental hire. "Have you leveraged the most out of your people," Page asks, "or can you spread just a little thinner before adding more fixed overhead?" Like most successful sales entrepreneurs, Page is upbeat and positive -- he's just fun to be around. He may not be able to pay his top performers as much as he would like today, but his abundant compliments for their performance and a positive work environment that is supportive and cheerful goes a long way in the bootstraping stage.

Keep an eye on Brandt Page and Launch Sales and Marketing. He's already turning heads and being cited as an example for others to follow.  Recently named as the Utah Technology Council's Emerging Executive of the Year, he continues to shine brightly as a rising star.

As the name implies, they've "launched" successfully and if they continue to "eat their own dog food" as Launch founder Brandt Page is fond of saying, they'll soon be in a predictable and self-sustaining orbit.

He's the "anti-Obama antidote" -- he and others like him across this great nation of ours will continue to lead the way to sustained economic recovery. 

That much-needed leadership is clearly NOT coming these days from Washington D.C., where the best educated, presumably smartest people in the world reside.  It's coming from unlikely places like South Salt Lake, Utah.