Entrepreneurship, Pt. 8

Nick Logan began his teaching on "The Rebirth of Family-Friendly Entrepreneurship" with this verse: "For I the Lord do not change." Neither has his plan, or his dominion mandate. Mr. Logan said that before we can pursue this mandate and entrepreneurship, we must focus on three disciplines, disciplines which have been ignored by many American Christians as of late. The Church, family, and Christ honoring economics.

He stated that the average church today does not honor God. Inside, there is not much of a difference between the believer and non-believer. Most churches are seeker friendly, and geared to "saving" as many people as possible. The LORD'S DAY is now Sunday, a day of relaxation and fun. We need to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. We need a reformation.

In recent years, the family unit has disintegrated. The fathers have stopped leading their families, the children are in government school, and women are part of the workforce. Our culture has attacked the family and tried to break it up. We need to understand the truth. Men are meant to be leaders of their households, and women are meant to train their children and help their husbands in taking care of the home. Culture does not like children, and consequently, neither does the average parent. They send them off to school, they kill them in the womb, they let them go off at age 18 and breathe a sigh of relief. This was not the way it was meant to be. Children are a "blessing from the Lord", and we should treat them that way.

Finally we turn to Christ-honoring economics. The average American suffers from FDH syndrome(Fat,Dumb,and Happy). As Christians, we can even finance ungodly businesses and expose ourselves to ungodly influences by where and what we buy. If we sacrifice buying products from these businesses, we can affect the economy our decisions. We should care more about our families than about our material gain.

In short then, to accomplish these goals we need leadership in the family. If we go back to the model of living that God has provided for us, we will prosper in what we do.

Entrepreneurship, Pt. 7

Today I listened to another entrepreneurial lesson by Arnold Pent. He gave a message posing the question "how do I start a company". He gave several ideas for types of businesses to get into. He said that you want a buisness that has the highest returns for the least input of time. Real estate, energy, and patents were the three businesses that generally fit the bill, he said. Residual income, say, from an oil well that is running without you having to do anything, is obviously desirable. Mr. Pent's son also spoke for a while on his personal story, in which he tried many different businesses ranging from film to beef marketing, before finally ending up in oil and gas. Yet the years he spent in other businesses were not a waste, he said, because the skills he learned in them were applicable to the business he now runs. It just goes to show how God can work through failure!

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Edmund Burke was an Irishman. An Irishman who was against the French Revolution. In his letter, "Reflections on the Revolution in France", he writes to an anonymous man in France, explaining why he does not support the violent activity taking place in France. Early on he tells this man about two certain clubs or societies that have given their support to the revolutionaries. Burke assures this man that he is a member of neither, and that both are small, insignificant organizations, trying to make a name for themselves by supporting a controversial cause. Near the end of the letter, Burke tells his friend about a sermon he heard at a meeting house by a preacher who supported Revolution. He stated that it was dangerous to a "confusion of duties" between church and state. Personally, I think that the religious/secular separation itself is dangerous, because it isolates God and his word from everyday life, making Him irrelevant to our lives and choices. However I do agree with Burke that the revolution was an abuse of the right to fight a tyrant.

Entrepreneurship, Pt. 6

Today I listened to yet another teaching by Doug Phillips, in which he exhorted all entrepreneurs to dilligently seek for others to help you in your enterprise (aka. employees). He said that not only should your employees be responsible and God-fearing people, they should also share your vision. This requires us to be leaders. Unfortunately, very few people today have the courage to lead. We need this generation to be a generation of leaders, in every aspect of, well, everything!!!

Revolutions and Rights

The French revolutionaries could spew "liberty, equality and fraternity" speeches for days on end, but besides ridding themselves of a tyranical king, what did they actually accomplish for their rights? Another book I'm reading, "The Revolutionary Era" by Charles Breunig and Matthew Levinger, explored French advances in rights for women and ethnic minorities. Prominent men as well as women argued for women's right to vote. However, the National Assembly gave no thought to this in their Constitution of 1791. Marie Gouze, a playwright, responded to this in her "Declaration of the Rights of Woman", satirizing the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" by including both men and women in it's articles. She was sent to the guillotine in 1793, charged for being "an unnatural woman". Slavery was instituted in France at the time of the Revolution, and it was especially rampant on the island of Saint-Domingue, where slaves worked the highly profitable sugar plantations. An orginization known as the Society of the Friends of Blacks demanded an end to the slave trade and abolition of slavery, but the population at large thought it would bring the economic downfall of France. In the year of 1794 however, under pressure of a revolt/invasion organized by a freed slave and aided by the Spanish, the National Convention formally abolished slavery. Unfortunately, this decree was ignored by the majority of planter in Saint-Domingue(in 1804 there would be another revolt and the island would become the republic of Haiti). Unfortunately then, it is clear that, though some reforms were made, the high speech of the revolutionaries was little more than hot air.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Even though the events of the French revolution were quite different from those in the American revolution, their government documents have a familiar ring to them. The "Declaration of the Rights of Man" is suspiciously like the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, down to the human rights they proclaim. Articles such as "Men are born and remain free and equal..." sound a great deal like "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal...". Although I would not agree with the principles behind the French Revolution myself, most of the 17 rights listed in their declaration are very basic and necessary. The concepts of "innocent till proved guilty", and "freedom of speech" are listed as well, intermingled with concepts drawn from the philosophy of Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke. Although not perfect, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" was a good start for rebuilding society in peace after the tumult of the Revolution (although that peace was to be short lived).

Entrepreneurship, Pt. 5

In another message by Arnold Pent, entitled "Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Spirit in Your Children". He said that not only should we become entrepreneurs, but encourage our children, especially our sons, to do so also. He gave seven ways to help a boy develop this type of mindset:

1. Cultivate an atmosphere of self-discipline in your home.
2. Cultivate an atmosphere of creativity in your home(not a tv/videogame/ipod tech center).
3. Teach your children how to communicate with any age (not just with their peers).
4. Model entrepreneurship by being an entrepreneur yourself if possible.
5. Look for your son's bent and encourage him in it.
6. Cultivate an atmosphere that breeds tenacity in the face of failure(failure is a friend).
7. Consider a college education a last resort rather that a first one.

A human learns the most in his first few years, and these points can be a springboard into a life full of entrepreneurship!!!

Government by the Mob

The French revolutionaries, having overthrown and decapitated their king, had to seek a new governing body. They wanted the people to rule the nation. In a French book published at the time entitled: "What is the Third Estate?" (the lower class), the author put it so: "The nation is prior to everything. It is the source of everything. It's will is always legal; indeed it is the law itself." The leaders of the bloody revolution stirred up the people against their enemies, creating a nation-wide mob with a virtually homogeneous national will. They organized revolutionary festivals to create "patriotism and unity". The chaos of the French Revolution was multiplied by these efforts.

Entrepreneurship, Pt. 4

In the lecture I listened to today, "Building a Business From Start to Finish", speaker Wade Myers talked about how to create a business of your own. He said that, beginning with the criteria you determine, you begin to generate ideas. Then you carefully evaluate these ideas, choosing which would best suit you and best serve the customer. Then you either build or purchase the appropriate type of business, growing it, eventually to the point where it can be sold or kept as the situation dictates. He suggested that an entrepreneur should try to build instead of buying a business, picking a type of business where the competition is backwards or poorly running. These are only a few of the ideas he offered.

Here is a link to Vision Forum's site, which sells the "Entrepreneurial Bootcamp" the series I am listening to. You can purchase it here

America at the Turn of the Century

In an another chapter of "Antibellum America", part of the "History by Era" series published by Greenhaven Press, Raymond H. Robinson wrote about some of the changes in the last decade of the 18th century that America experienced. Population expanded by more than 26 percent, the four major cities, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore continued to grow, and the arts began to flourish. Men and women like Charles Bulfinch, Charles Peale, Gilbert Stuart, Charles Brown, Susanna Rowson, Hugh Brackenridge, Benjamin Trumbull, and Robert Proud filled the new nation with archetecture, paintings, literature, newspapers and magazines. Robinson expounded on the progress America made in that decade, going into detail about the most influential artisans and printers and their work. The work that generations of people had put into the country was finally beginning to bear fruit.

Entrepreneurship, Pt. 3

In today's lecture, Arnold Pent, a veteran entrepreneur himself, spoke on the seven "nuts and bolts" of successful entrepreneurship. Giving personal stories from his life, as well as biblical examples, Mr. Pent laid out his seven ways to make you think like an entrepreneur and develop entrepreneurial vision as follows:

1. Read the Word of God and allow Him to shape you through it.
2. Get on you knees, and "wrestle with God" in prayer.
3. Failure is often your friend.
4. Be a lifetime learner, and allow your learning to be broad in many areas, and deep in a few.
5. Work, work, work.
6. Learn the power of buildup to breakthrough.
7. Set up "stones of remembrance" to remind future generations of what God has done.

American Trade

Nowadays we may think of 18th century traders as moneymaking fiends exploiting savages on distant islands, but as it turns out, this was not the case. A book I'm reading for school, "Antibellum America", is a compilation of articles and papers written by authors of the present and past. One of it's chapters, written by Frank Dalzell, addresses this issue. In his short article, he focused on the travels of a specific ship, the Jefferson, a Boston fur and china trader. In it's journeys, it travelled to the Queen Charlotte islands, where they sold not only trinkets, but parts of the ship to the natives who were there, imparting a small part if the American culture into the natives lives. The natives themselves established the rates of trade as each trader came along. They controlled the bargaining, sometimes raising the rates to unfair levels, as they knew there was plenty of ships to choose from and that the current traders would have to accept the trades or move on empty handed. The author went on to show that these island dwellers were crafty and that the myth that they were exploited is false.

The Bill Of Rights

The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Although the Constitution itself was passed without a bill (a subject of heated debate before ratification) the amendments were added soon after. One of the arguments given against a bill of rights is that it gave rights to the people that were already assumed to be theirs, thereby suggesting "hidden powers" in the government system. However, these same ten rights listed are invaluable to us today. These rights include freedom of speech and of the press, the right to keep and bear arms, the right to a speedy trial by jury, and many others. This bill of rights was a subject of great controversy in the early days of our government system, but without this bill, our liberties would be greatly challenged today.

Entrepreneurship, Pt. 2

In a message by Geoffrey Botkin that I listened to today, he stated that it was a wise idea to form a 200 year plan for you and your posterity, pointing out that we live in a world that needs reform, a world that is at a turning point. We stand at the beginning of a christian dynasty, in a world that has strayed from the truth. He stated that since the 19th century the church in general has become worldly and corrupt, that culture is enslaved to money and material gain, and that christians have followed the world. The educational system has become modified to discourage entrepreneurship and to promote being an employee to the state. Mr. Botkin said (and truly so) that we need a reformation in our country, a reformation that will only start when we repent, seek things of true value, and entreprenurially expand the kingdom of God. We need to begin a reformation in our country now.

The Age Of Revolutions

Two of the most famous (or infamous) events in the late 18th century are the American and French revolutions. However, if we look at the definition of the word "revolution" we find that it is "A complete overthrow of an established government or political system." Although this was the case in the French revolution, it was not as true of the American revolution. This is only one of the differences between the American and French revolutions. Although both shared ideas of liberty and equality, were affected by the enlightenment and tried to rebel against lawful kings, they occurred in vastly different situations. The French had been an oppressed people ever since Louis XVI. Their revolution grew out of painful oppression and suffering. On the other hand, the American "revolution" was more calm, because it came from a people who already had experience in self-government. While the French created a bloodbath that ended in a dictatorship under Napoleon, the Americans more peacefully succeeded in removing themselves from the king's power. Also the French leaders of the revolution were corrupt and power-hungry, while American leaders like Washington were godly, wise and selfless. There were other differences, but it is plain that though they were both called "revolutions" the two conflicts were complete opposites.

The Federalist Papers: No. 84

In today's study I read one of the "Federalist Papers" a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. 75 of these were published in 1787 and 1788 by the "Independent Journal" and the "New York Packet". These essays were published addressing the problems that the so-called "Anti-Federalists" had with the yet-unratified constitution. The particular essay I read, No. 84, was written by Hamilton on certain objections raised towards the constitution by the anti-federalists. The three objections he addressed were as follows:

1. The constitution had no bill of rights (however it does today).
2. That the government proposed by the constitution was too strong, and that the states and counties farther away from the capitol would not have their interests met as well as those close or in the capitol.
3. That those who owed debts to the old government under the articles of confederation would cease to owe the new government.

Hamilton addressed these three objections as follows:

1. The constitution has no bill of rights because a bill of rights was not needed. The constitution itself had specific rights spelled out, such as the upholding of the writ of habeus-corpus, the prohibition of granting any titles of nobility, and others. Also, an addition of a bill would be potentially dangerous, because if a specific right is spelled out (Hamilton used freedom of the press as an example), it is denying government power that it did not have to begin with, thereby suggesting other hidden but unknown powers. Also, if a right, like freedom of the press is not defined well enough, it simply provides loopholes in the government that can be exploited.

2.Hamilton observed (and rightly so) that the same situation was happening in each state currently on a smaller scale. He also mentioned that the constitution provided for this "problem" with it's representative system, which was instituted for the sole purpose of equally representing the people of all the states.

3. Hamilton regarded this argument as absolutely ridiculous, a creation of the press, stating that "...it is a plain dictate of commmon sense...that 'STATES NEITHER LOSE ANY OF THEIR RIGHTS NOR ARE DISCHARGED FROM ANY OF THEIR OBLIGATIONS, BY A CHANGE IN THE FORM OF THEIR CIVIL GOVERNMENT.'"

I have read three or four of these federalist essays, and have found them to be excellent defenses for one of the greatest documents in American history (if only we could defend our constitution so well today). These essays were greatly responsible for the ratification and adoption of our constitution of the more anti-federalist states.

The federalist papers are an excellent resource for finding out the logic and reasoning behind our constitution. No. 84, and all the other essays can be found here.

Entrepreneurship, pt. 1

Today my brother and I listened to a lecture on entrepreneurship by Doug Phillips. One of the things he said was that all of us are entrepreneurs at one level or another, whether we know it or not. He said that if a person has a mind full of ideas, and knows how to practically apply them, that person has the makings of a good entrepreneur. If we all have the capability of being entrepreneurs, and we are endowed with the gift of creativity (all of us are to some extent), then we should by all means use the talent that God has given us, and apply it using the resources we have (which are also given by God), and become entrepreneurs!