Don’t let the issues outside of your control, stop you from addressing issues inside of your control.

If I have seen it once, I have seen it a thousand times, a talented person with a willingness to work, stopped cold by dwelling on issues outside of his control.  This type of thinking takes on many forms, but let me give you an example to help you recognize it in your own thinking.  Suppose you are looking at attending a certain school, learning that one of your friends attended the school, you seek him out to learn from his experiences.  If he shares that he quit the school because it was too hard, requiring too many hours of studying and not enough for play, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attend. If you have a dream, and are willing to work, it doesn’t tell you anything about your potential experiences at the school; since education, like nearly all life, is a matter of personal responsibility.  But, if your friends failed attempt at school, blocks your dream to even apply, then two failures have occurred, one a failure of action, the other a failure of thinking.  How do you control your friends work ethic?  How do you know if your friend was truly committed to the school and his dreams? Why are you letting your friends actions hinder your opportunities?  Leaders can only control themselves and the decisions they make, with others, they have only influence, not control.

There are numerous examples of poor thinking in allowing issues outside of your control to affect the issues inside of your control. Here are some other poor thinking scenarios:

1.  I don’t attend church because a hypocrite goes there.  Why allow a hypocrite to stop you from learning Truth for you and your family?
2. I am not a business owner because I had a bad experience with a business person. Why allow a bad business person to deny you of future opportunities?
3. I don’t go to doctors because I had a bad experience with a doctor.  Why threaten your health because of one doctor’s incompetence.
4. I don’t read, because a teacher told me that I was dyslexic and would never be able to read. Why allow a teacher’s label to halt your personal growth.
5. I don’t talk to people because my parents told me that I was shy.  Why allow your parents label, when you were a child, to hinder your future?
6. I don’t attempt great things for God, because my family has never accomplished anything great.  Why allow your family’s past to hinder its future?
7. I don’t save money, because I was told that I would always be in debt.  Why allow someone’s poor thinking on money become your thinking?
8. I don’t dream, because I saw my friend dream and fail.  Why not learn from failures versus become one?
9. I am not getting married because so many people get divorces.  Why not learn the successful marriages versus focus on the failed ones.
10. I am not having children because the world is so messed up.  Why not learn how to prepare children for life versus deny them the opportunity for life?

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.  Instead of allowing the things that you don’t control (other peoples thoughts and actions), to create your reality, why not focus on the things that you do control (your thoughts and actions)?  I grew up in Columbiaville, Michigan, a small village with few, if any, big thinkers.  It would have been easy to succumb to the ‘stinking thinking’ around Laurie and myself, but through God’s Grace, and a ton of effort, we broke free from the mold.  Instead of dwelling on our parents faults, since all parents have them, Laurie and I focused on our parents strengths.  We learned work ethic and the ability to think from our parents, and applied to every endeavor we undertook.  One of the keys to breaking out is to major on your majors, not on the failed minors of others.  Yes, people will let you down, shame on them, but that shouldn’t stop you from fulfilling your purpose.  Yes, your family may hurt you at times, but that doesn’t stop end your responsibility to love and lead them.  Yes, your vision, like a ship, may take on water every now and then, but leaders understand that it’s part of the journey, rebuilding the ship bigger and stronger.  Your dream cannot be stolen, but through poor thinking, it can be surrendered.  Life is much easier, since Laurie and I decided to press on regardless of the actions of others, that we were in the game no matter what.  This released the stress and anxiety, felt by most people, created when not truly committed to a course of action.  Leaders decide, backing the decision with full commitment, making the decision right by overwhelming passion and effort.

Did we have setbacks? Of course.  Did we have people make promises while not following through?  Many examples.  Did we stay the course?  To the best of our ability and know how, an emphatic yes.  We cannot control other peoples poor decisions, but the last thing we should do, is to compound the mistake by piling on.  Laurie and I have witnessed many people, with more talent than us, sabotage their own success by allowing poor thinking to take root in their minds.  Usually, by the time the weeds have ruined their thinking, they no longer are interested in hearing the advice to help pull the weeds, even getting offended at the suggestion that they are growing weeds. I do my best to help point out the improper thinking, if they are willing to listen, but, at the end of the day, people are responsible for the fruit, or lack of fruit, produced in their minds, pulling weeds when identified is standard fare for leaders.  Thus, one of the biggest weeds that can grow, if not pulled quickly, is permitting issues outside of your control to hinder your attitude and actions on the issues inside of your control.  For example, if you aren’t reading, listening and learning daily in your chosen field, thinking what’s the use, since you aren’t getting the results in life that you want, then you are revealing a huge weed in your own thinking.  It takes time to develop master in any field, in fact it takes 10,000 hours according to Malcolm Gladwell and Geoff Colvin, both authors who write on achievement, but most quit in despair long before this. By allowing things outside of your control, a lack of 10,000 hours when you start something new, to stop you from doing what is inside of your control, building up the hours to reach 10,000 for mastery in your field, you ensure that mastery will never arrive in any field.  It truly is that simple, though not that easy.

Success in life, is simply a matter of staying focused on the areas that you control, surrendering to God the areas that are outside of your control.  What  a leader discovers is, that others, influenced by their example, address issues, improving the community through a leader’s influence, not control.  The community, inspired by the leaders courage, in confronting and changing areas of control, make the tough changes in their lives to grow.  None of this would have happened, if the leader would have dwelled upon areas that he doesn’t control.  It was only because the leader stayed the course, even when it hurt, that it strengthened the resolve of others to change their lives.  Are you that type of leader for your family, community, and team?

One of the best decisions that a leader will ever make in life is to be “all in”, in whatever field that s/he is pursuing.  Greatness doesn’t happen to those who dabble, nor to those who deliberate, but only to those who decide. Laurie and I are “all in” for our 8F’s – Faith, Family, Friends, Freedom, Finances, Fitness, Following, and Fun.  What are you “all in” for in life?  Life has become so much fuller by learning the secret of sacrifice.  When Laurie and I sacrifice our current conveniences for our convictions, we receive a ten fold return on, not only on our own 8F’s, but also in the joy of seeing others develop their 8F’s.  Look back upon your own life, didn’t you achieve more when you kept your mind focused on the areas that you could control, instead of dwelling upon what you didn’t control?  Today is the day to start thinking like the leader you plan on becoming. God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I had this cartoon sent to me and wanted to make a quick post to go along with it.  I believe, that today, the old terms of “Left” and “Right” or “Conservative” and “Liberal” do not accurately identify the reality of the American political scene.  The terms closer to the truth are identified as Statist Power vs. Social Power.  Statist Power believes that every answer for America involves more government interventions, increased taxes and inflation, while controlling the citizens for the alleged benefit to all.  Social Power, on the other hand, believes that nearly all answers should come through the ingenuity of American citizens through volunteer social organization, not politicians with government programs.  Higher taxes and inflation, isn’t an answer to, but is the cause of, America’s problems.  America was founded by the freedom found in Social Power as people escaped from tyranny abroad to the vast forests of America.  Not by government programs, but from American ingenuity through free Social Power were the forest cleared, farms built, trade secured, and freedom maintained.  The Big Banks today, have teamed with the American Statist Power, to squelch the freedoms of the citizens; all the while, the citizens fight between themselves, divided arbitrarily into Democrats and Republicans, ensuring that citizens will not solve the problem by uniting against the tyranny.  

Social Power was the American way through the Colonial period through 1913.  Yes, there was State Power, but it was small during most of this time (Civil War excepted), as compared to Social Power. In 1913, a major change in America was quietly instituted with the founding by government of the Income Tax and the Federal Reserve.  It isn’t a coincidence that these two foundational changes came together.  The Federal Reserve, designed for Big Bankers to loan our government money, and the Income Tax, designed to service the debt created by the loans.  That’s right, Big Government gets the loan, giving them money to intervene further, Big Banks get the interest, allowing them to siphon off America’s freedom, and the American producer citizens get to service the debt through the seizure of their production by the income tax.  All the while, Big Government gets the added privilege, to inflate our money, thanks to the Federal Reserve, making it worth pennies on the dollar, destroying the American Dream while padding the Banking elites pockets.  The current state of affairs is unsustainable and must be addressed by voting into Congress and the Presidency, men and women, who will cut the fat, leaving only the essential services like justice and defense, for government’s roles.  State Power has ruled the roost since 1913, creating massive debts, massive inflation, while destroying American liberty.  If one were to study America before and after 1913, it will seem like one is analyzing two separate countries; even though politicians attempted to use the same words to confuse the electorate, they have conveniently changed the meanings.  I recommend reading the books from the informative Mises Institute and Foundation for Economic Education, both will give a quality education to citizens desiring to learn about our current freedom crisis.   Study the cartoon closely, pondering the consequences for American freedoms, if, like Nero of Rome, we stand by idly while American freedom burns.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

The American Dream, the yearning for freedom inside of all Americans, no matter what race, creed or color, has lost its luster in recent years.  American Dream? How about staying ahead on my bills?  Dazed and confused by the endless maize of government regulations, most American’s have reduced their dreams to keeping their head above the water.  A new book has the map out of the maize.  Robert Ringer, the author of three number one best selling books, a true lover of liberty and justice, has captured the principles in his newly re-released book, Restoring the American Dream, to return America to greatness.  What Margaret Thatcher famously quipped, while leading Great Britain back from the brink of disaster, still holds true today, “The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money to steal.”  Mr. Ringer eloquently captures the fundamental errors in our national policies, sharing where we have veered off track from the Founder Father’s vision, while gently directing us back to the principles that made America great.  Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian, or undecided, this book will awaken inside of you a hunger to learn more.  

The American Dream is not dead, only sick from heavy doses of government intervention.  Our economy shakes like a drug addict suffering a downer from his latest hit, searching for the next government quick fix, instead of cleaning out his system of every bad habit. It’s time to put socialism and Keynesianism where it belongs, on the ash heap of history.  People did not travel to America from around the world to seek the latest government program.  No, people traveled to America for an opportunity to succeed or fail based upon their own efforts.  Mr. Ringer explains that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were the only guarantees that government was to insure, the rest would be accomplished by your efforts and God’s Providence.  Restoring the American Dream is a clarion call for individualism, self-responsibility, and personal freedom, a perfect fit for small business owners who proclaim this message every night.

Entrepreneurs from all over the world flocked to America for freedom.  I pray the trend doesn’t reverse, entrepreneurs flocking away from American to escape oppressive taxation and policies.  Whether you agree with every point isn’t as important as thinking through the points and Mr. Ringer’s book will make you think.  Every concerned American needs to get informed on what government has done to our liberty, our money, our taxes and thus our futures.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I am sitting in my hotel suite, overlooking the blue ocean as the sunrises, pondering the meaning of liberty.  Yesterday, Laurie and I, plus three of our children (Jeremy lectured me on why he needed to stay home to fulfill his soccer commitments), enjoyed the freedom to hop on an airplane and travel to Hawaii.  This is our 10th time to Hawaii in 11 years.  We have been blessed to enjoy the liberty to build our own business, to enjoy the fruits of our labors and to share our experiences and knowledge with others to help others prosper.  Underlying all of these blessing is our Creator’s blessings and a system of free enterprise that rewards people based upon their individual contributions.  Anyone that isn’t hiding in a hole is well aware that our liberties are waning as Big Government attempts to solve issues that it cannot solve and wasn’t created to solve.  The more government spends on items that it cannot solve, the less freedom all citizens have.

I am sometimes criticized for mixing faith, politics, and leadership together, but without combined columns of spiritual freedom, economic freedom, and political freedom, our freedom edifice will fall.  If any leader allows one of these planks to be attacked and does nothing, the whole edifice of liberty will fall.  The blood will be on our hands for not only, not improving, but allowing the rot of our liberty based systems.  Are you a leader?  Then you have a responsibility to learn why spiritual, economic and political freedoms rise and fall together, because you have enjoyed the fruits of the labor of the many who have led before us.  Freedom isn’t free and must be defended with a vigilance against all would be tyrants, even if the tyrant is an out of control democracy.  We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.  Here is a portion of an introduction by Murray Rothbard from his book Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature, who is fast becoming one of my favorite economists.  Rothbard teaches the importance of economists branching out into the fields of politics, leadership, philosophy etc, as all areas tie together to create our endangered liberties.  Read the post and ask yourself what role you can play to defend liberty. God Bess, Orrin Woodward

Probably the most common question that has been hurled at me—in some exasperation—over the years is: “Why don’t you stick to economics?” For different reasons, this question has been thrown at me by fellow economists and by political thinkers and activists of many different persuasions: Conservatives, Liberals, and Libertarians who have disagreed with me over political doctrine and are annoyed that an economist should venture “outside of his discipline.”

Among economists, such a question is a sad reflection of the hyper-specialization among intellectuals of the present age. I think it manifestly true that very few of even the most dedicated economic technicians began their interest in economics because they were fascinated by cost curves, indifference classes, and the rest of the paraphernalia of modern economic theory. Almost to a man, they became interested in economics because they were interested in social and political problems and because they realized that the really hard political problems cannot be solved without an understanding of economics. After all, if they were really interested mainly in equations and tangencies on graphs, they would have become professional mathematicians and not have devoted their energies to an economic theory that is, at best, a third-rate application of mathematics. Unfortunately, what usually happens to these people is that as they learn the often imposing structure and apparatus of economic theory, they become so fascinated by the minutiae of technique that they lose sight of the political and social problems that sparked their interest in the first place. This fascination is also reinforced by the economic structure of the economics profession (and all other academic professions) itself: namely, that prestige, rewards, and brownie points are garnered not by pondering the larger problems but by sticking to one’s narrow last and becoming a leading expert on a picayune technical problem.

 Among some economists, this syndrome has been carried so far that they scorn any attention to politico-economic problems as a demeaning and unclean impurity, even when such attention is given by economists who have made their mark in the world of specialized technique. And even among those economists who do deal with political problems, any consideration devoted to such larger extra-economic matters as property rights, the nature of government, or the importance of justice is scorned as hopelessly “metaphysical” and beyond the pale.

It is no accident, however, that the economists of this century of the broadest vision and the keenest insight, men such as Ludwig von Mises, Frank H. Knight, and FA. Hayek, came early to the conclusion that mastery of pure economic theory was not enough, and that it was vital to explore related and fundamental problems of philosophy, political theory, and history. In particular, they realized that it was possible and crucially important to construct a broader systematic theory encompassing human action as a whole, in which economics could take its place as a consistent but subsidiary part.

In my own particular case, the major focus of my interest and my writings over the last three decades has been a part of this broader approach—libertarianism—the discipline of liberty. For I have come to believe that libertarianism is indeed a discipline, a “science,” if you will, of its own, even though it has been only barely developed over the generations. Libertarianism is a new and emerging discipline which touches closely on many other areas of the study of human action: economics, philosophy, political theory, history, even—and not least—biology. For all of these provide in varying ways the groundwork, the elaboration, and the application of libertarianism. Some day, perhaps, liberty and “libertarian studies” will be recognized as an independent, though related, part of the academic curriculum.

Man is a worshiping being and when man rejects God, it doesn’t mean that he stops worshiping, only that he stops worshiping the true God.  A
trend I see developing in the West is a love of the State as they
no longer seek solutions from an Almighty God.  Man should serve man, not have the State steal from one man to give to another.  The State robs the giver of the blessings of charity, robs the receiver of his dignity, and the State gains power at the expense of all citizens. I re-read Psalm 23 this
morning and was struck by the difference in the Biblical words of the
Psalm versus the thinking of today’s State.  This led me down a path of
rewriting the Psalm and updating for today’s State bureaucrats and all
the worshipers of the powerful State.  Read the two version and ponder
which path leads to a righteous nation.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Psalm 23 – Biblical Version

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 23 – State Version

The State is my provider; I shall not want
It maketh me lie in green government housing: it leadeth me besides thy
still factories.

It restoreth my soup; it leadeth me in the path’s of unrighteousness for
State power’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the shadow of recession & depression, I
will fear no want: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff will take
from others to comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of the tax payers: thou
fillest my head with envy; my cup runneth over with government printed
money.

Surely rottenness  and indolence shall follow me all the days of my
life: and I will dwell in government housing for ever.

Murray Rothbard is fast becoming one of my favorite economists/philosophers/historians.  His synopsis of the struggle between liberty and power is the best description I have yet read.  Liberty requires freedom for the many and limited power for the few while Power requires subservience of the many to the will of the few.  What type of world do you want to live in?  Leadership is so important because it is the only way to organize society through Social means and not State control.  Social organization is based on freedom to enter and exit based upon what is best for each individual and the culture of each organization.  State control is based upon edicts from the power elites with the loss of individual choice and redress. The founding of America was a time where Social means was on the rise and State Power was on the decline.  England attempted to apply State pressure to force the Americans to bow to the will of the King and Parliament.  America applied the Social leadership skills of a Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hancock, Adams, etc, to resist the liberty destroying power grab of the English. 

Sadly, the history of America is a constant progress of State Power and subsequent withering of Social means.  Will America remain the bastion of liberty or succumb to the will of the few?  Where is the watchman on the wall that is sounding the alarm of our lost freedoms?  It is up to all good citizens to educate themselves on the history of America and Liberty to ensure our freedoms to lead through Social means.  We are in a leadership crisis and I ask all leaders to lead in their Social communities or we risk losing the freedom to lead at all.  Here is a profound portion of the Preface of Murray Rothbard’s classic history of America’s Colonies – Conceived in Liberty.  Are you building Social Capital or State Power? God Bless, Orrin Woodward

My own basic perspective on the history of man, and a fortiori on the history of the United States, is to place central importance on the great conflict which is eternally waged between Liberty and Power, a conflict, by the way, which was seen with crystal clarity by the American revolutionaries of the eighteenth century. I see the liberty of the individual not only as a great moral good in itself (or, with Lord Acton, as the highest political good), but also as the necessary condition for the flowering of all the other goods that mankind cherishes: moral virtue, civilization, the arts and sciences, economic prosperity. Out of liberty, then, stem the glories of civilized life. But liberty has always been threatened by the encroachments of power, power which seeks to suppress, control, cripple, tax, and exploit the fruits of liberty and production. Power, then, the enemy of liberty, is consequently the enemy of all the other goods and fruits of civilization that mankind holds dear. And power is almost always centered in and focused on that central repository of power and violence: the state. With Albert Jay Nock, the twentieth-century American political philosopher, I see history as centrally a race and conflict between “social power”—the productive consequence of voluntary interactions among men—and state power. In those eras of history when liberty—social power—has managed to race ahead of state power and control, the country and even mankind have flourished. In those eras when state power has managed to catch up with or surpass social power, mankind suffers and declines.

For decades, American historians have quarreled about “conflict” or “consensus” as the guiding leitmotif of the American past. Clearly, I belong in the “conflict” rather than the “consensus” camp, with the proviso that I see the central conflict as not between classes, (social or economic), or between ideologies, but between Power and Liberty, State and Society. The social or ideological conflicts have been ancillary to the central one, which concerns: Who will control the state, and what power will the state exercise over the citizenry? To take a common example from American history, there are in my view no inherent conflicts between merchants and farmers in the free market. On the contrary, in the market, the sphere of liberty, the interests of merchants and farmers are harmonious, with each buying and selling the products of the other. Conflicts arise only through the attempts of various groups of merchants or farmers to seize control over the machinery of government and to use it to privilege themselves at the expense of the others. It is only through and by state action that “class” conflicts can ever arise.

This volume is the story of the seventeenth century—the first century of the English colonies in North America. It was the century when all but one (Georgia) of the original thirteen colonies were founded, in all their disparity and diversity. Remarkably enough, this critical period is only brusquely treated in the current history textbooks. While the motives of the early colonists varied greatly, and their fortunes changed in a shifting and fluctuating kaleidoscope of liberty and power, all the colonists soon began to take on an air of freedom unknown in the mother country. Remote from central control, pioneering in a land of relatively few people spread over a space far vaster than any other they had ever known, the contentious colonists proved to be people who would not suffer power gladly. Attempts at imposing feudalism on, or rather transferring it to, the American colonies had all failed. By the end of the century, the British forging of royal colonies, all with similar political structures, could occur only with the fearsome knowledge that the colonists could and would rebel against unwanted power at the drop of a tax or a quitrent.

Laurie and I sat down and reviewed the movie Expelled, featuring Ben Stein, a couple of nights ago.  Tonight, we plan on having our four children watch the show with us, hoping to  teach through a rational discussion on the importance of freedom in all pursuits.  I am shocked by the neglect if not outright hostility to freedom in our culture today.  Even if someone completely disagrees with your position, how can you know you are correct without understanding his position?  I have many friends who take positions on issues that are different than my own, but that doesn’t end our friendship.  Laurie and I have been married for nearly 17 years and we don’t agree on every single issue, but we respect and love one another enough to give grace in these areas.  

What disappointed me most upon watching the movie Expelled was the lack of grace displayed by so many experts on both sides.  Can anyone honestly state they are so intelligent that they need not even listen to others who might disagree?  Does any scientist really have a monopoly on all of the data and interpretation of the facts?  Isn’t one of the biggest explosions of growth in the world today the increased dialog permitted by the Internet?  I don’t care which side of the political, religious, economic or other spectrum you are on, the key is that you consider the facts honestly.  To reject the facts without hearing them can only be done to your own detriment.  As a leader, I actively seek opinions counter to my own from people with results, weighing the pros and cons of each thought, making decisions with my eyes wide open to each conflicting opinion.

Freedom is not free and leaders around the world must unite on freedom even if they disagree with each other on what direction that freedom should take.  Isn’t the worst of all worlds one that is not free to disagree?  Truth does not need censorship as the truth is its own best defense.  When people attack others with hate mail because they disagree with their opinion, doesn’t that only display a fear that what they believe may not be defend-able?  Ben Stein is clearly a very intelligent man and courageous enough to insist upon academic freedom for all.  Here is the Expelled trailer. I would encourage you to buy the video as it is a keeper!  God Bless, Orrin Woodward
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGCxbhGaVfE]