Unconditional Love

Stoic Quote of the Week

Hecato says, 'I can teach you a love potion made without any drugs, herbs, or special spell? if you would be loved, love.'

-Seneca

What I learned this week:

I've found it interesting the way the presence of dogs has changed in our society. I grew up as a dog lover who couldn't have a dog because I am allergic to them. I think this has allowed me to observe dogs and dog owners in our society differently. When I grew up, a few people had lap dogs, and anyone with a big dog, like a retriever or hound, had those dogs for a reason: to work. I was taught that working dogs are outside dogs. I even had a working dog in my younger days. She stayed outside because that was what we were taught. Working dogs are outside. Lapdogs are inside. That is my first observation: working dogs are no longer outside dogs. Really, there is no such thing as an outside dog anymore. My second observation is that everyone seems to have dogs, not just one dog but two dogs or more. Why is that? I think it is because we are seeking something that is slowly dwindling away in our society: love. For all the dog owners or parents, as some people like to refer to themselves, think about why you originally decided to get a dog. Was it to hunt raccoons or retrieve ducks? Was it to be a guard over your house? I'm going to guess that it was to have a companion. Something that greets you excitedly every time you come home, no matter how long you have been gone. Something that will show you unconditional love, no matter what you do or how bad a day you had. Something that wants to snuggle up to you and be touched by you. I know because when I've had a dog in my house, that is the feeling I get. Someone is super excited to see me unconditionally. That is a nice feeling; it is a great feeling. This brings me back to my second observation: everyone has a dog. What are we lacking that everyone needs this from an animal? We are lacking human contact, people-to-people contact. We lack human connection because we think we are getting it through our phones by texting, Snapchatting, Discord, and whatever other tools are out there. But we don't get the touch, the personal interaction. The feeling of being wanted and needed. A dog helps fill that void in our life. But I want you to ask yourself, why do I have that void in my life? Am I isolated? What human do I get my unconditional love from? Who is excited to see me when I arrive? Who is in my tribe? Dogs are great, but don't let them fill the human interaction gap. Make sure you have people in your life who love you unconditionally.

Planning thought of the week:

Leading requires selling. One of the things that we as leaders must sell is our vision. Our vision for what, where, how, and why our team is doing what they do. There are two ways of doing it. The worst and least likely to succeed, I call the 'Dad' way, "Because I said so!" That barely works with the kids, and it will only work with a team of people who are going through the motions in the job and life. The best way is to sell your plan to your team. Get them to see the value of the plan. Get them to see themselves in the plan and how they can contribute. When you do this, your team will outperform all your expectations.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

I saw it again the other day, a storage lot with solar panels. Here's the plan. Find an existing storage facility and offer to buy it with owner finance. Get a small business loan for $50K with a 5-year note. Then, apply for a green energy grant. If you place solar panels on all the roof surfaces, maybe even some sun-tracking ones in the pathways, you can generate over 4K Kilowatts an hour! Guess how much energy your storage facility needs to operate? If you are operating the metal building kind that only has a few streetlights on the outside, 150 watts per LED streetlight a day. Do the math! Four streetlights equal 600 watts a day, and I'm producing 48K kilowatts a day. Now, here's the next level, you sell that energy back to the electric company. I am now double dipping on my acre of land, which has cost me almost nothing. Not many people have figured this math out. It isn't that hard, nor is it high risk.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

Vortex is one of those companies that I am a huge fan of. They make high-quality optics, like binos and rifle scopes. I have several of their products that I use. What makes them even better is they give back to the Veteran tribe and offer 40% discounts for veterans through a couple of programs. Hunting season is right around the corner, and it's time to upgrade your optics on your hunting rifle. Check out this link to learn more.

Someone I met this week:

I love meeting people in their environment, especially when their environment is something they are passionate about. Last weekend, we did a family trip to Mission Wolf Ranch. Mission Wolf is a shelter for domesticated wolves and wolf hybrids. The purpose is to give these animals a place to live out their days as naturally as nature intended. The ranch is managed and run primarily by volunteers. We were with a larger group of 20 people for our personal wolf interaction. When it was our turn for the tour of the ranch and further education, our group shrunk to about ten people, and that is where we were led by Genevieve. Genevieve is working on her master's degree in biology and was at the end of her summer internship from France. I could tell she was passionate about the science of the animals and the animals themselves. She gave us the most thorough tour and education about the ranch and the wolves, more than we would have ever expected. If you want to learn more about Mission Wolf, here's the link.

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcast episode Sam Havelock - SOFX | Cam & Otis Show Ep.?#280.

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