Political | The Barefoot Spirit

Asia’s Ozone is Polluting Western US

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 22:56:02 +0000

Over the past three years, Ian Faloona of UC Davis and several other atmospheric scientists have been picking up increased readings of lung-damaging ozone from their monitoring stations along the extreme edge of the Pacific coast. The stations are over 5000 feet up and far enough to the west that they are not measuring ozone produced in the US. In fact they should be getting the cleanest air possible as they face the open ocean. This is particularly alarming since the US itself has significantly reduced emissions over the past few decades.

We can no longer think that if we clean up our own backyard that we will necessarily enjoy the health benefits of our efforts. According to the scientists, emissions from Asia take only a week to cross the Pacific and increase our baseline levels of ozone in western North America.

Local pollution regulators have already begun to argue that they should not be penalized when pollution from Asia causes local smog levels to exceed Clean Air Act standards. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has filed a first of its kind petition to be exempted from penalties imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for violating air quality health standards. The district maintains that ozone pollution from Asia is the culprit. District representative Seyed Sadredin said, “Our residents should not be penalized for pollution that comes from elsewhere.”

Owen Cooper, an atmospheric scientist from Denver, said, “Here in Denver, our emissions have come down enormously due to cleaner cars, but our ozone pollution isn’t coming down. It’s kind of stuck.”

On top of that, the EPA is reducing the allowable ozone levels this year to 65 and 70 parts per billion. Opponents say that the districts should focus on their own sources of pollution that they can do something about, the implication being that nothing can be done about the pollution coming from Asia. According to Faloona and his assistant Andrew Post, the UC Davis monitoring station on Chews Ridge, high in the Santa Lucia Mountains ,west of any US-caused pollution, has registered concentrations of ozone as high as 80 parts per billion coming in off the Pacific.

This will become a much bigger issue as EPA fines get leveed. The 2012 $100 million fine imposed by the EPA on the San Joaquin Valley District, is made payable by an extra $12 per year in vehicle registration fees, for instance. At what point do we have to look at the bigger picture? Even as we clean up our act, we are being undermined by our neighbors albeit on the other side of the Pacific.

Maybe we should be asking, “What kind of fuels and machinery are we selling to Asia that will turn around and pollute our air and hurt our health?” Maybe the fines should be on the manufacturers of ozone producing equipment, vehicles and fuels. We can no longer act like we are not affected by the products we sell to Asia, nor, for that matter, the products we buy from Asia.

Eventually the air quality will become so bad that there will be a public outcry to hold consumer products made in Asia to the same air quality standards of manufacturing we impose on our own producers. If you import products from Asia and the ozone from that plant comes to the US, are you not culpable for the health consequences?

We live in California and we are pretty proud of our state’s reduction of ozone over the past several decades. It seems like we should begin now, before it’s out of control, to take this issue to the next and obvious level. Factory and auto exhaust from Asia is only one week away. Pollution knows no borders.

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Teaching Entrepreneurship is as Challenging as Being an Entrepreneur

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 19:30:02 +0000

Ten years ago there were very few schools of entrepreneurship. Many asked, and some still do, “Can you really teach entrepreneurship?” They felt you just had to do it, take your lumps and learn from them. Many heroes of entrepreneurship actually dropped out of school altogether to pursue and master their own businesses. We think this sends a wrong message to aspiring entrepreneurs.

With all the hard knocks we got on the street, we would have certainly benefitted by some formal education in business and entrepreneurship. Today there are many schools of entrepreneurship popping up all over the country. We have spoken at more than 30 of them in the past 18 months. This experience has given us a unique perspective on the state of the art of American (and international) entrepreneurship education.

For one thing, the entire world looks to the United States as the cradle of entrepreneurship. So what we decide to do in terms of entrepreneurship education has international ramifications. For another, like the entrepreneurs they are trying to develop, schools of higher education are casting about for best practices, effective content, and real-world experience. They want to discover what works in the classroom, the start-up hub and the marketplace.

Each school we visited had a different idea about how to teach entrepreneurship and how to measure its effectiveness. Most schools view entrepreneurship as an offshoot of their business schools. For them the business curriculum is ready made with courses you need to run your own business. We agree, but there’s more to it than that.

Some schools take a different view. For them, entrepreneurship education is an offshoot of whatever they specialize in, whether it’s engineering, agriculture or hospitality. They realize they must have at least some courses in entrepreneurship so their sciences and technology grads who want their own businesses leave with the knowledge to do so.

Still others see entrepreneurship as an offshoot of the liberal arts school, pointing out the need for entrepreneurs to obtain such core competencies as psychology, philosophy, communication, history, sociology and the other humanities. They recognize that in order to run a business, one must find, hire and train good people and build great people. One must communicate and bond with a wide range of customers, vendors, and other business people who have varying psychologies, philosophies, cultures and communication styles. We tend to agree with this approach although business form and function is also a must.

Some schools merely offer classes in entrepreneurship, others offer majors, a few offer masters degrees, and still others have start-up incubators with academic credit.

So the approach is still in its emerging stages even here in the “cradle of entrepreneurship.”

The jury is still out on what the metrics of success are. Unlike a business school where you can tout how many of your grads received high paying jobs, entrepreneurship educational success is not as clear. Is it how much money was raised for business plans? Or how many new businesses were launched? Or even how many entrepreneurial super stars graduated from your school? These are easily measured as the data is readily available. But we think schools of entrepreneurship should start keeping track of how many of their grads’ newly launched business are still in business three years later!

We salute the schools of entrepreneurship for their multi-faceted approach to the teaching of this multi-faceted subject! It is from this melting pot that the consensus will be built on the foundation of their students’ success. We are honored to be a part of this process.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Should We Allow Cheap Gas to Kill Alternative Energy Vehicles – Again?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 19:30:24 +0000

Regardless of how long it lasts, it seems like everyone is thrilled with the current reduction in price of gasoline. But how does that savings stand up to the increasing cost of climate change? One or two super storms could easily wipe out any savings and ultimately increase our taxes for disaster relief. Are we just taking money out of one pocket to put in the other?

Gasoline automobile manufacturers are already heralding the demise of alternative energy vehicles by saying “This is not the time for alternatives.” Sales of gas guzzlers are up again. Are we really that short sighted?

If we truly do price alternatives out of the market, what have we done? Are we making a full-on commitment to go with carbon fueled vehicles until we run out of “cheap” fuel? The President of the United States says we cannot burn up all the hydrocarbon energy that is in the ground without taking the global temperature up 2 degrees Centigrade. The vast majority of the world’s climatologists agree that an increase over 2 degrees Centigrade will result in a runaway greenhouse effect.

In the past few years we have seen fracking take off all over the U.S. Aside from the questions of safety and long-term pollution, there is a greater issue. It’s flooding the market with cheap hydrocarbon fuels. The good news for the U.S. is that it is much less dependent on imports from unstable, dictatorial, or downright adversarial countries. The bad news is that carbon fuel itself is threatening our future no matter how cheap or domestically available it is. In other words, there’s a much bigger issue at stake.

Who wants to face their grandchildren when they ask, “Gee, Grandma, didn’t you realize what carbon fuels where doing to the environment that I now have to live in?” What will we answer? “Gosh, Honey, it was so cheap back then, and we didn’t think it would happen so fast!’’

If cheap carbon fuel puts alternatives out of business, what kind of vehicles will the emerging markets buy? And won’t that just accelerate the process with more exhaust from an ever-increasing number of hydrocarbon burning vehicles? Don’t they have a right to enjoy our standard of living too, even if it accelerates global climate change?

We often hear the argument, “But where are those electric cars getting their power from if not predominately fossil fueled power plants anyway?” That may be true in the short run, but won’t it be easier to produce sustainable electricity than to change all those fossil fuel vehicles?

So, it all comes down to saving alternative energy vehicles by making them more attractive than carbon burners that consume cheap gas. When gas was expensive, alternative energy vehicles had an advantage. If you didn’t invest to save the environment, you might do it to save a few bucks. But in this particular moment in time, gas is cheap, so why spend our good money to protect the environment?

Don’t get us wrong, we are also thrilled with the lower cost of fuel but are very concerned with the implications to the market for the alternatives. We think alternative energy vehicle technology, like other technologies that have improved our lives such as the railroads and the interstate highway system, should be subsidized to at least be price comparative to fossil fuel vehicles. We need this technology to flourish to reduce carbon emissions.

Now that gas is cheaper, isn’t it time to use those savings to keep alternatives alive and well so they will be the choice of the emerging world and a potential savior for our environment?

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Thanksgiving – A Time to be Thankful for a Culture that Supports Entrepreneurship

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 19:30:39 +0000

We have so much to be thankful for in the United States, and Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to express our gratitude. The economy appears to be improving, employment seems to be on the upsurge and home values have been on the rise. But there is something else, something that promises to sustain our economy, something unique about us as Americans, for which we all should be thankful. It’s our culture that encourages and supports new businesses to get off the ground and survive.

These new businesses create new jobs, improve our standard of living and extend our very lives. The products and services they provide can be seen all over the world. Other cultures want to know what is it about those Americans that keeps them innovating and improving our world. The answer is it’s our culture of entrepreneurship!

Television shows like Shark Tank and movies like The Social Network celebrate entrepreneurial success. Publications like Entrepreneur, Inc., Fast Company and Forbes keep us on top of the latest real-life challenges and victories of entrepreneurs. Just in the past decade we have seen an explosion in secondary education as school after school focuses on entrepreneurship. Start-up hubs, launch pads and innovation centers are blossoming in every city throughout our great country.

Young people growing up in our society admire entrepreneurship and recognize it as a valid alternative to employment. Many are encouraged to think out of the box and to start their own ventures. Contrast that with the skeptical attitude exhibited in other parts of the world where people are actively discouraged from starting their own businesses.

In those societies, entrepreneurs are seen as people who couldn’t hold down a good job, people who had to seek an alternative means of support, people who took needless risks, and people who failed. They are seen as giving up “all that security” to pursue a sketchy proposition. Failure is seen in many countries as a scar for life, as a situation from which there is no recovery. These people are disrespected and perceived as an embarrassment to their friends and family.

For us, people who take risks are seen as courageous. They mitigate their challenges with imagination, innovation, hard work and tenacity. For us, failure is just a pit stop upon the road to success. When setbacks occur, we cheer entrepreneurs on while other cultures may say, “You are making a big mistake!” We encourage them to pick up the pieces, keep on trying, and when they do succeed, we say, “We knew you could do it!”

Thanksgiving Day is a classic American holiday where we as a nation take the time to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for. Our culture of support for the entrepreneurial spirit that makes our quality of life possible is also classically American. This year let’s take a moment to appreciate this culture and recommit ourselves to fully support aspiring, struggling, and successful entrepreneurs. It is our support and belief in their success that keeps them going to the benefit of us all. It is their success that creates new jobs, products and services, and helps to keep our country strong. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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The President Salutes Millennial Entrepreneurs

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 18:30:20 +0000

Last week President Obama made a stop at Cross Campus’ innovative collaborative space. It is a start-up hub that brings together entrepreneurs, start-up teams, freelancers, venture capitalists, and creative professionals. More and more of these hubs are popping up all over the country. We have spoken at the Syracuse Tech Garden in Upstate New York, will be speaking next week at Florida Atlantic University’s newly opened Tech Runway in Boca Raton.

As the President pointed out, many of the millennials (born between 1980 and 2005) entered the workforce during the recession when corporate entry level jobs all but disappeared. This has compelled that generation to take a more optimistic view of self-employment, entrepreneurship and self- reliance. “And all of that can support millions of new jobs. So in some ways entrepreneurship is in the DNA of this generation,” he said.

We couldn’t agree more. Not only is “the gender pay gap lower than any other generation,” as he pointed out, but the number of female students of entrepreneurship we are seeing is truly remarkable – over 50%! What we like about the millennial students of entrepreneurship is they are truly interested in learning what skills they need to be successful. They soak up advice from experienced entrepreneurs like a sponge. They are ready to do what it takes to be successful. They don’t rely on the corporations for security like our generation did.

The President said the millennials are “…the nation’s largest generation, representing one-third of the population.” They are not just the largest, but they harbor the largest number of students of entrepreneurship. He said they are a driving force in rebuilding the nation’s economy, and one that will change the face of the business world, adding, “That’s going to change how we do things.” With reference to the “lost generation” label foisted on the millennials by some cynics, he countered, “I don’t buy that because when I travel around the country I see the kind of energy and hope and determination that so many of you are displaying here.”

We see it too. There are few folks who have spoken to 25 of the universities across the nation who teach entrepreneurship in the past year, but we are honored to be in that few. The state-of-the- art snapshot we see portends a bright future for the economy, mostly due to the entrepreneurial spirit of the millennials. Nobody is dozing off in class. Most are taking copious notes and asking great questions. They love to hear real success stories with all the mistakes and misconceptions admitted to by those who have been there, done that.

Just the way these millennial entrepreneurs work collaboratively with established entrepreneurs, academics and funders makes their whole approach much more likely to succeed. They want to know the best practices. They want to know how others solved the challenges they faced. They are very interested in all forms of cause marketing and positive company culture. They get it! Coming from a transparent generation, they know that doing good is good for business. And we are honored to help them achieve their goals.

Thank you Mr. President, for the encouragement, recognition and public support our future leaders need and deserve. Now, how about backing up the rhetoric with something tangible, something to further encourage millennial entrepreneurs, such as forgiving their student loans if they stay in business for 3 years and create 3 new jobs? Just a thought…

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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The Whole World Looks to the United States as the Cradle of Entrepreneurship

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 18:30:11 +0000

As we travel throughout the world and speak about our entrepreneurial experiences and the lessons we’ve learned, we were surprised to discover that the United States is viewed by our international audiences as the cradle of entrepreneurship. Of course, there is leading-edge entrepreneurship in many countries, but none have quite the public cultural support for risk takers like the United States.

Many countries, we find out, have cultures that actually discourage people from starting their own businesses. Their families remind them of the many who have tried and failed. They encourage them instead to go for the security of employment with the government or a large corporation. Some actually view starting your own business as foolhardy and bound for failure. If the young person’s enterprise does fail, they are too often chided with “I told you so.”

By contrast, in the United States we not only understand that our economy is supported by entrepreneurship, but we have deep respect and admiration for those who have taken the risks, suffered the sacrifices, and had the tenacity to see their entrepreneurial concepts become a reality. In the United States, entrepreneurs are often revered like folk heroes, with movies celebrating their challenges and accomplishments; on television shows like Shark Tank; and publications like Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Inc.

American public and social media increasingly offer articles and tips on the hows and whys of successful entrepreneurship. Sure it’s risky and many enterprises fail, but in the United States we view failure, as Edison once said, as successfully discovering what doesn’t work along the path to success.

This week we were honored to be keynote speakers at the Western Region EO Alchemy annual conference held in Las Vegas. This event brought together members from chapters of Entrepreneurs’ Organizations from the western United States. For the Entrepreneurs’ Organization to choose Las Vegas for this conference was both fitting and symbolic. These are the real gamblers, betting on themselves, betting on their teams and betting on their enterprises.

Simply put, it was all about mitigating risk with proven methods, attitudes, and processes that give these gamblers a fighting chance. At EO Alchemy, as it is called, we heard from entrepreneurs of all ages, sharing their lessons and best practices. That’s right, they were here sharing their secrets, and helping each other to succeed! Far from the classic view of dog-eat-dog competition, these EO members had one goal: sharing their experiences so that all their members would find the success they’ve found.

The event’s culture of support for entrepreneurs attracted several entrepreneurs from other countries including the Netherlands, Mexico and India. Those delegates told us how much they appreciated the unselfish sharing, stories of challenge and success, and the concrete practices they can’t wait to get home and try in their own businesses.

The entire experience made us proud to be part of the American entrepreneurial culture that says, “We did it. You can do it!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Hotels Should Provide Discounts for Water Savers

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 18:30:50 +0000

We do a lot of traveling for our speaking engagements, and lately, no matter what hotel we stay in, we get a notice in the bathroom that says something like, “Please help us conserve water by hanging up the towels you wish to reuse. If you would like them replaced, leave them on the floor.” Then there’s usually another notice in the bedroom that says we can save even more water by keeping the same sheets for the length of our stay, or we can get them changed daily if we want.

These are great opportunities for guests to do their part to reduce the need for water by basically doing what they do at home anyway, use the same towel and sheets for several days instead of getting clean sheets and towels every day. Some hotels say simply that sheets will be changed only if you ask, making the assumption that you don’t mind not having clean sheets every day.

In the restaurants, we are seeing more signs that say drinking water will only be provided upon request. This is an attempt to save the water not only in the glass, but the water necessary to clean the glasses.

We are avid conservationists and laud those guests that make the choice to stick with the same linens for several days and customers who don’t order water if they don’t intend to drink it. But we believe even more folks would make the right choice if the cost of the room was reduced by at least a percentage of the savings to the hotel. After all, it’s not just water that being saved, its labor, power, and maintenance. All these savings now benefit only the hotel. So in effect, when you opt to save water, the hotel saves more money due to your decision than a guest that does not.

We think this is not only unfair, but misses a real opportunity to make a bigger difference in water conservation. For instance, if there was a discount on a room if guests opted to use the same towels and linens for the duration of their stay, would more guests take advantage of the discount? We think so. “Water Conservation Rooms” would reward the guest for doing the right thing instead of charging them the same as heavier water users.

Likewise, discounting for not ordering water at restaurants would give customers a consideration especially when they get water they don’t order and don’t touch. Do you think hotels and restaurants should make money on conservationists, or should they share the dollar savings to really promote good conservation habits?

We are firm believers that if you want to get something done, put a buck on it. In the west where we live we are in the midst of a 4-year drought. If it continues, fines will be levied for water wasters. Already there are restrictions being put in place to regulate water usage. These restrictions and fines are like the “stick.” Isn’t it time we also offered a “carrot?” Folks want to save a buck when they do the right thing. They want their purchase to makes dollars and sense!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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How You Can Help Save the Parks

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 18:30:33 +0000

Not everyone wants to save the parks. In California, voters soundly defeated a measure that, for the cost of a few lattes, would have funded the state parks and granted everyone free access. Why? Because many folks don’t use the parks and they think that users should pay. They also have a feeling of entitlement that says, “I paid my taxes and I should be able to use the parks for free.”

This mentality flies in the face of the reality of maintenance. Just like your home or your car, the cost doesn’t stop at the purchase. Maintenance is so costly in fact that the government alone can no longer afford the upkeep. This has resulted in closures and threats of closures across the country. Here in Sonoma County several state parks that were on the closure list remained open because the few folks who do use the parks banded together, and through a system of non-profit advocacy, took over the management.

One of the larger costs to maintain the parks is refuse disposal. And, we believe this is something every park user can do something about. For over a half century, backpackers and hikers have respected the signs that say, “Pack it in – Pack it out!” From what we have seen, it works! The hiking trails are clean! It’s not uncommon for hikers to pick up someone else’s discarded trash and take it out with them. We do it all the time!

But hikers don’t just take it out. In most cases, they take it home and dispose of it there. What is stopping all visitors to all parks from doing the same thing? Given the much shorter distance from the picnic table to the car, it seems like it would be easier than what the hikers have been doing all these years. Some say that leaving their garbage in the park dumpsters makes a job for someone else, but those same folks seem unwilling to pay for that job.

We have had a hundred years of programming that has stopped us from thinking about our garbage the moment we drop it in that dumpster. It’s almost like it isn’t our garbage any more. But it is, and we can do something about it.

Riverside Park and Central Park in New York are great examples of the increasing number of parks across the country that is challenging our old-school attitudes about trash. They have simply reduced garbage containers and are asking the park users to take their own garbage out with them when they leave. Sure, there are issues with the plan, adjustments to be made, and it will take a lot of education, but in the end it will reduce the parks’ maintenance costs.

Just imagine how much we could all save the parks by simply driving out what we drive in. It’s a seemingly small thing but if it catches on the way the “Pack it in – Pack it out” campaign worked, it will have a huge impact. This summer, we challenge you to start a new, more sensitive and responsible trend to cut the cost of park maintenance, making the parks more sustainable. It doesn’t cost you anything but a return trip to your car. And you were going that direction anyway.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Find the Good News!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 18:30:02 +0000

We play a game every morning at our house. It’s called “Find the Good News!” When we read the news of the day over breakfast, we find and share only the stories that are helpful, fun, and positive.

We look for stories of success, solutions, and humanitarianism. Admittedly, some days it’s a real challenge. One time we had to actually resort to reading the advertisements because all the news articles were so negative!

In many ways, we are environmental determinists. That means we believe that you are, to a large degree, influenced by your immediate environment and habitual behaviors. And that’s the good news – because you can do something about those influencers. You can clean up your desk or your backyard, you can paint your room or vacuum your car, and you can listen to classical or heavy metal.

These are all choices that have a physical and psychological effect. All of these and more are environmental choices we make actively or passively. To exhibit control, we must take control. Too often we take our surroundings as a given. It is so easy to get into a routine that puts us in a rut. It can affect the way we think, our outlook, and our emotional attitude.

If you believe, as we do, that like attracts like, you have to consider what the effect daily bombardment of bad news must have on one’s day. If you are looking for good things to happen and expect to see solutions to your challenges, you will be more likely to see them. If you are filled with negative stories, you will be more likely to overlook the good things because you won’t expect them to happen. Even when you are looking a solution right in the face, you might not see it because you don’t believe it’s there. How do we get to that point of negativity where we are actually blinded to what’s right in front of us? We believe it’s the news.

The news is a business like any other. It needs to give the customer (you) a compelling reason to buy it. News editors know “If it bleeds, it reads!” They know that our prehistoric brains are prewired for survival. They know we are always on the lookout for anything that can harm us. They know how to work this psychological defensive mechanism by assaulting you with fear and danger on a daily basis. But what does this do for you, first thing in the morning? Are you more positive and cheerful, more trusting and more expectant for great things to unfold during your day, or does it leave you more cynical and defensive, expecting the worse? You know the answer.

This is part of your environment over which you do have control. So what are you going to do about it? Do you want to saturate yourself with negativity right before you step out the door, or do you want to set the tone for the day on a more positive note? Take charge of those precious few initial hours that can affect your whole day. The news that you need to survive will come to you anyway sooner or later, but for now, try to play the “Find the Good News” game. You will be the winner!

This is not religious or woo-woo. This is a practical, proven way to open your eyes and ears to opportunities that you may otherwise overlook. Not only that, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Earth Day – Put a Buck on It!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 19:00:31 +0000

Automobiles didn’t replace horse-drawn carts because the world suddenly ran out of hay. And alternative clean air vehicles won’t replace fossil-fueled vehicles because we suddenly run out of oil. In fact, due to technology, more oil and gas supplies continue to be discovered and exploited when just a decade ago we thought the end of fossil fuel was in sight.

Even though we are beginning to see the negative effects of man-made climate change, we continue to fill up at the pump! Why? Because we still think it’s cheaper than owning an alternative energy vehicle! We are waiting for the day when clean air vehicles and power generation are cheaper than fossil fuels. Shouldn’t we be looking at the total costs of a tank of gas? Shouldn’t we be measuring miles per dollar instead of miles per gallon?

Super storms, deadly winters, droughts, and generally unseasonable weather are already here. The costs are adding up, and we are paying to repair the damages and higher food prices. Shouldn’t all this be added to the dollars per mile? Just because it comes out of a different pocket, aren’t we all paying for it anyway? So is it really “cheaper” to continue with fossil fuels?

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released its report. Among other warnings, it stated carbon dioxide levels are rising almost twice as fast as they did in the last decades of the 20^th century. Otto Edenhofer, a German economist and co-chair of the committee who wrote the report said, “If we lose another decade, it becomes extremely costly to achieve climate stabilization.”

Sure, we all should be considering the real cost of climate change, but as human nature would have it, we are more concerned with the immediate cost of getting to work, the store, and the vacation. Never mind the down-stream financial consequences (let alone the survival of man as we know it). We somehow think the day of reckoning is still way off in the future. So we continue to wait for a cheaper solution.

How far away is that solution anyway? How much longer do we have to wait until we reach the economic tipping point where alternatives to destructive methods of making power and getting around are more economically desirable?

According to the UN climate report, some alternatives are already cheaper! The cost of wind and solar have dropped dramatically as a result of mass production, government subsidy and tax advantages. It now competes directly with coal, the major culprit in climate change. Hopefully developing countries like China will make the right financial choice for the long run and (finally!) for the short run as well.

What about getting around? Progressive governments have already slapped increased mileage and emission standards on fossil fuel vehicles. However, we are very heartened by last month’s announcement by Elon Musk. He is the founder of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, and investing billions in the world’s largest battery manufacturing plant which will dramatically reduce the cost of batteries and significantly extend the range of electric vehicles. Bravo!

We all vote with our dollars but we all still look for the most efficient short-term use of those dollars. We are finally at the tipping point where we can begin to satisfy our short-term needs and reduce our long-term costs. Alternatives are getting cheaper all the way around! So now the earth, and everything and everyone on it, has a better chance of having a good future. Use your dollars to vote for a happy Earth Day, everyone!

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