Today’s post is from guest business consultant and business finance expert Helena Hauk. Helena is the CEO and founder of 5th Gear Consulting and was recently name the San Antonio District SBA Small Business Financial Services Champion of 2011. So needless to say when it comes to get money for your business, Helena knows what it takes. 

There comes a time when every business must secure financing to cover their growing needs. Whether its to buy new equipment, purchase land, improve an existing location, or to just give your business a little breathing room a loan can sometimes mean the difference between making it to the next level and falling behind your competitors. Unfortunately the world of finance can be a bit tricky, especially when it comes to business loans. So many elements come into play. Knowing what those elements are can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.

From the lender’s perspective there are five major elements they consider when evaluating a business for a loan. Commonly referred to as the “Five C’s,” lenders strive to get a complete picture of the health, potential, and credibility of a business before they agree to hand over thousands (and sometimes millions) of dollars. The Five C’s Are:

Character

The borrower must demonstrate strength of character. This includes producing a sound credit report with limited to no negative marks and a steady payment history. Know and understand your credit report before applying for a loan (not just your score, the data too). As a borrower you must take all of your financial obligations seriously. The smallest issue can create enough doubt in the borrower’s mind to turn their decision against you. Professional background such as work experience demonstrated in the business to which you are applying for a loan is also considered under character, in addition to lawsuits, bankruptcy to either the business or personally. The SBA considers additional character points when reviewing a loan request; criminal background, citizenship or legal status within the US. Just because you may have an offense or be a legal permanent resident applying for your citizenship does not mean you are disqualified. But make sure you are up front an honest about your past.

Cash Flow

There needs to be adequate cash flow to repay the loan and allow the borrower to pay for all other existing business and personal expenses. The same is true for startups, existing businesses, and projected growth. There needs to be a comfortable buffer between what goes out (expenses) and what comes in (revenue). On this point it is important to have financial statements and understand them. If you do not have them there are many resources that can help you create them. Additionally, if finances are not your strong suit, make sure you have someone on your team (employed or vendor professional ie: CPA) who handles this for you.

Collateral

Collateral are assets the borrower offers to the lender in the event the loan is not paid. The lender will consider business assets first, but if those assets aren’t enough the lender will also consider personal assets. This means there is more at stake then just the loan amount (giving you incentive to pay on time- every time). Lenders take a lien on the subject collateral which means if you don’t pay, they can take that collateral from you and either sell it at auction or sell the note to someone who will pay. This allows the lender to recover their loss in full or in part.

Capitalizations

This element includes all business resources such as fixed assets, retained earnings, and owner’s equity (cash)—basically all collateral (less debt against said collateral) plus liquid holdings and earnings. Borrowed funds, such as those from the seller of the property you are purchasing are not considered and do not improve the borrower’s position. Business and personal cash are very important. Having cash and equity is what lenders call “skin in the game” – which lets them know you are serious and equally if not more vested into your business than the lender intends to be. If you are not vested, how can you expect a perfect stranger (lender) to be?

Conditions

Factors outside of the business are also considered. Anything that can affect the businesses ability to repay count including market conditions, competitors, and industry trends that will affect long term revenue growth. Be prepared to show how you differentiate from your competitors, how you will buffer yourself from market fluctuations, and how you are adapting to trends in your industry.

Bottom line, lenders can and will look at everything they think will affect your ability to pay. Be prepared by making sure all five C’s are in tip top shape before you start the conversation with your lender.

About the author:

A powerhouse in commercial lending and business development, Helena Hauk helps grow the Texas economy by assisting small to mid sized businesses with capital, strategic management and planning, and no-nonsense business development advice. As the President and founder of 5th Gear Consulting Helena has facilitated the injection of over $60 million in SBA lending since she opened her company in July of 2009; thus  spurring job creation, commercial real estate, environmental upgrades, and economic development throughout Texas.

Helena also serves as a model for youth leadership and women-owned businesses through her involvement in groups such as CREW, NAWBO, CTAGGL, and local chambers and through her presentations and workshops. Learn more at www.5thgearconsulting.com.

Getting a new venture off the ground takes a great deal of time, energy, and money. Although I can’t help your find more time, and short of suggesting an overdose of caffeine, I can’t give you more energy what I can give you are some ideas on how to find the money to get your business off the ground.

Bootstrapping

A favorite term here in Texas, bootstrapping is when you get your business started with your own money be it savings, disposable income, or personal credit. Often this means starting at a smaller scale and producing just enough product or providing enough services to start generating income. On the plus side you maintain 100% ownership and start with little to no debt. On the downside you typically have to make some significant financial sacrifices and, if you’re cash strapped at the onset, it will take some time to see any significant progress or before you’re able to invest in quality resources that will help you scale appropriately.

Private Equity Investment

Thanks to the show “Shark Tank” (one of my faves, by the way),  many of us are familiar with the basics of private equity investment. In exchange for a percentage of equity in your company (and sometimes an additional royalty), an investor gives you X amount of dollars.  The challenge here is that 1) you are giving up a portion of ownership and 2) its nearly impossible for a startup, especially one without sales, to secure private equity investment. Many investors want to earn a quick return and want to see that you have already proven your idea. The best way to prove your idea is through sales. Without sales they have no guarantee that your product can or will earn money. Furthermore, private equity investors tend to focus on product based companies, so if you’re a service based enterprise your chances of securing private equity investment are even slimmer.

Conventional Loans

Loans given through banks, credit unions, and other traditional lenders are typically conventional loans. This is when a lender such as a bank loans you X amount for a set period of time at interest. Typically you have to qualify first and often most offer up some sort of collateral. Though a common loan source for businesses, banks typically don’t make loans to startups, especially after the credit crunch. Although you maintain complete ownership, you are accruing debt and, depending on what you offer as collateral, should you default you stand to loose the loan and whatever you offered up in return.

SBA Loans

The Small Business Administration offers several programs for small businesses of every make and size from startups to well established companies. For startups the SBA has special programs that offer small, short term loans through certified third parties. I’m not well versed in the SBA programs; however I will have SBA expert Helena Hauk of 5th Gear Consulting go into greater details on the opportunities available in a follow up post, but for now I suggest checking out the SBA’s website or visiting 5th Gear Consulting to learn more.

Microlenders

There are a large number of microlenders popping up these days. Many operate in underserved communities, helping get much needed funds to small businesses spurring economic recovery and development. Microlenders typically offer loans of $25,000 or less. Others, like Progreso Financiero only offer loans of $1000 or less and serve hispanic communities that lenders often overlook. Other examples include People Fund and Accion.

Peer to Peer Lenders

The internet has made it easy for people interested in supporting entrepreneurs connect with worthy businesses and ventures. In peer to peer lending  individuals crowdsource their funds and offer them to entrepreneurs in exchange for a higher interest rate than they would earn from simply putting their money into a savings account or CD. The interest rates tend to be higher than traditional loan rates, but the default rates are actually lower on average than traditional loans. Because individuals can loan as little as $25, some entrepreneurs secure funds from dozens or even hundreds of individuals instead of from a single institution. The funds are exchanged through a third party who handles the entire transaction. This is also a great way to get loans from friends and family while keeping the deal strictly professional (and keep your relationships intact. Popular examples include Kiva and Kickstarter.

These are just a few ways to fund a start up. Entrepreneurs are always coming up with new opportunities and finding creative solutions to their probelms. If you have any suggestions for where people can go to secure funding for their startup then by all means post in the comments and share with the rest of the class!

When we think of all of the people in need and all of the issues affecting humanity, it can be overwhelming. Often the sheer size of a single social problem cripples us. As individuals we feel that there isn’t much we can do while many organizations push the responsibility off to the government or humanitarian groups. Truth is we can do something. It is possible to make significant and lasting change. It is conceivable that you, in your everyday life doing everyday things, can do something that may seem small but will have an enormous positive effect.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” It also wasn’t built by one person. It was hundreds of people, each doing what they do best every day until it was done.

Have you ever watched the rain pouring off the side of a building onto the earth below? The first drop is quickly absorbed into the ground. The second too. Then the third and fourth drop come along and displace the earth. More drops join, each attacking the same spot with repeated precision until a small canyon forms. Your efforts may seem like a drop in the bucket, but if every day you add another drop to the bucket and I add a drop and your neighbor, your sister, your friend all do the same eventually we fill up the bucket.  That first drop is just as significant as the last and the small effort you contributed is just as significant as the wealthy donor or businessperson. Its not a single effort that makes change. Its the sum of small efforts, done consistently over time, that lead to real, lasting change.

Just like one bad decision can lead to another and snowball into a disaster, one good decision, one act of kindness can lead to another and another and so on. What can you commit to? What small effort can you do everyday to affect an issue close to your heart? Please share. I’d love to know!

If you read my last post on Cyberbullying in Business or if you’re a friend of mine on any social media account, you know that for the past three months I have persistently received hateful comments on all of my business and personal social media accounts. Ironically enough the same people who’ve been harassing me all commented in droves on the last blog post on Cyberbullying and harassment. As is my right, I have the blog set to moderate comments so I can approve them and make sure that they fit within social media guidelines. Abusive comments do not fit into the guidelines and because I did not approve the abusive posts I was further accused of being a liar, censoring free speech, etc. etc.

First let me explain the background. Several months ago I was alerted to another company operating under a name incredibly similar to my company (I have Brass Knuckles Media they have Brass Knuckle Media). Since I’d already taken action to secure an official trademark with the USPTO, I contacted my lawyer and asked if this is an issue, should I ignore it, or should I act on it. My lawyer stated that since I have a national brand and that according to NAICS codes are companies were in related industries I should send a polite cease and desist via email (since we could not locate a physical address). I did as instructed. Here is the email I sent:

After receiving no response my lawyer stated that the next step would be to contact Facebook and have them take down the other party’s Facebook page. I contacted Facebook they asked for proof of my claim, which I provided. They agreed and took down the other person’a page. Immediately I started receiving hateful comments on all of my social media accounts. Comments included “YOU ARE A FRICKIN WHORE!!!!!!” (printed in all caps with excessive exclamations) and “you’re a liar,” “you’re a cheat,” and “how stupid are your clients that they can’t tell the difference between companies.”

Immediately I made copies of all comments, reported it as abuse, and deleted them. Per legal guidance, I adjusted our commenting and posting guidelines to moderate and I then placed the following statement on all of my accounts:

I welcome and appreciate all constructive and positive feedback; however, those of you attempting to harass me through social media please know that all crude, derogatory, or any other type of comment that can be considered harassment or libel will be blocked and filed with the poster’s contact information for my attorney to review. I support free speech, but bullying is harassment which is illegal and subject to action.

A few weeks later I received a letter from the other party claiming first rights. The letter did not include contact information or proof of first rights. My lawyer then took over all communications and sent a request for proof of first rights. That same week I received several boxes of information from the CDC. I contacted the CDC and learned that someone impersonated me in order to send large parcels to my P.O. Box. As of now, the harassment continues on all social media accounts.

As a social media professional and a writer I believe in sharing ideas and recognize that not always will people agree. However, in order for people to have a safe environment to interact they must be protected from unnecessary, excessive, and hateful speech. Furthermore, my blogs, Facebook pages, email, etc. are not public forums but privately held accounts on which I can set whichever guidelines I like. I will not publish hateful, misleading comments on my own account especially those regarding an ongoing legal matter. Instead they are all being copied and forwarded to my lawyer along with all contact information for review.

Although myself and all of the major social media platforms supported petitions against SOPA we all agree (along with the current law) that freedom of speech extends only to the point that it does not infringe on the rights, safety, or well being of another. No matter what you think of a person, the second you repeatedly contact an individual on their private accounts in order to call them names it is harassment. The majority of the abuse has occurred on Facebook. Here are their guidelines:

Facebook Policy on Bullying and Harrasment:

“As a community, we place a high value on respecting each other, and take reports of harassment very seriously. We take action when private individuals are bullied or persistently contacted against their wishes. While we encourage you to make meaningful new connections, please keep in mind that contacting strangers or people you’ve never met in person can be a form of harassment.” Read more on the Facebook community standards page.

Here are Youtube’s Guidelines

“Things like predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment, intimidation, invading privacy, revealing other people’s personal information, and inciting others to commit violent acts or to violate the Terms of Use are taken very seriously. Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently banned from YouTube.” Read more here.

Almost all social media platforms, forums, communities, etc. have similar guidelines. I will continue to honor and follow those social media guidelines as well as to document all abusive content. If anyone would like to lodge a formal complaint they may do so through legal channels, in a professional manner, through my lawyer.

When we think about cyberbullying we think of awkward teens whose school yard taunts spill over onto Facebook. We think of children, undeveloped and lacking in judgement. What we don’t think of is adults, especially professionals.

For whatever reason online communication creates a disconnect for many people. Their reason, sense of humanity, and interpersonal skills go out the window. They do and say things they wouldn’t do in person. In the early days of the internet it was conceivable. Back then anonymity truly was anonymous. Now, people are themselves online and everything they say is record and archived by the government. What you say online can be held against you in a court of law, and yet the same cyberbullying we see among teens has spread to adults. I know I’ve been experiencing it first hand.

Now I’m a very conscientious business owner. I do my due diligence. I confer with experts and educate myself before I make a stiff business move. No matter how careful, considerate, and altruistic your intentions in business you’re bound to ruffle some feathers. I’m prepared for some push back, maybe even some negotiating, but what I was not prepared for was an all out assault on my character and the character of the people in my network. Complete strangers with no sense of who I am or what I’m about calling me a whore, a liar, and a fake on a public forum. Those same strangers calling my friends, colleagues, and clients stupid and incompetent. Even on this blog I’ve had people call me stupid and a bitch for a simple typo (I used then instead of than). Personally I could never see myself ever hurting someone that way–and I see that it would cause hurt. Empathy is a big part of what keeps us human. Has the internet stripped it away?

I think not. I have met many wonderful, kind, supportive, interesting, and socially conscious people online all over the world. My life is richer having met these people whom, based on geography alone, I would likely never meet otherwise. They understand that the rules of engagement don’t change online. They believe in transparency, professionalism, and the golden rule. So then what of these others? What influence is causing their extreme outbursts? What factor(s) sterilized their humanity?

I wish I had an answer so maybe I could help change this disturbing change. I can’t control how people will react to what I do.  The only I can do is control how I react to it. I admit it, I let them get to me. I was angry, shocked, and hurt. Yes I even broke down crying and thought about giving it all up. I am a naturally sensitive person and I was raised knowing that integrity matters and to take pride in your work. So when people attack me its hard not to take it personally. I’ve committed to separating myself a bit–just enough to objectively learn from any constructive criticism and ignore those that are purely character assasinations. I’ve also committed to highlighting the positives–the warm supportive comments, the positive outcomes, and fruits of my hard work. Its disappointing that adults–especially business professionals–feel okay engaging in such abusive behavior. At least now they can be held legally accountable for what they do, because if there is anything certain it is that for every choice there is a consequence. That’s why I choose to make good choices (as best as I can anyway) and hope for the best.

Starbucks Create Jobs for America Campaign

With stagnant unemployment and a shaky financial system we can’t help but talk about the economy. The biggest question–how do we put people to work?

I don’t know about you, but I’m really not interested in waiting around for government to reach a consensus, for outsourcers to change their practices, and for major financial institutions to perform transparent lending. I’m all for circumventing the system, especially when the system seems to be too distracted and inefficient to respond in a timely manner. So without legislation, big business, or major banks how can we put people to work? We do it by supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses who are actually creating jobs.

According to the SBA small businesses create a greater number of net new jobs compared to corporations. Small firms are also attributed with a greater level of innovation–many large companies such as Dell, IBM, and Apple have found it cheaper in terms of R&D to buy new technologies from small firms than to create it in house. This is because smaller businesses are not bogged down by the bureaucracy and paradigms of a large institution. Small businesses are able to respond to market changes faster, are able to iterate solutions and products faster, and are often able to create goods more cheaply than large firms. And let’s face it, small businesses are the epitome of the American dream. So in order to create new jobs we need to support small businesses. We do this by:

Creating proper frameworks

Starting a business is a solitary process. We need to create networks, systems of resources, and communities that properly incentivize small businesses to grow and subsequently hire people to support that growth. Incentives such as:

1. Affordable health care or alternative health care options: One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is providing enough benefits to lure good talent. If individual practitioners could come together to offer group benefits directly to small businesses or professional organizations, then small businesses could offer basic and preventive care to their employees.
2. Access to needed capital: People funds, community advantage lenders, and peer 2 peer lenders such as Kiva, Kickstarter, and Starbucks Create Jobs campaign make it easy for individuals to support small businesses. These loans are often at terms that equally benefit both lender and borrower and make it possible for small businesses to build credit and secure working capital they wouldn’t be able to get otherwise; working capital they use to hire new staff.
3. Buy from small businesses: Box stores have their place, but when it comes to driving the economy more of each dollar spent stays home when its spent at a local small business versus a major chain. According to the 3/50 Project, for every $100 spent at a small business $68 of that money stays home, compared to $43 if spent at a major chain.

Changing the focus of business

Changing our definition of success

Once we start demonstrating that ethically run small businesses are driving economic growth, then we can use our collective power to force institutional and systemic change that will have even greater impact on our ability to create jobs. This includes addressing issues like taxes (as a small business owner I assure you they are both complicated and murderous), legal guidance, and other government regulations and incentives. For now the best thing is to start doing things in ways that will energize, spark growth, and improve the lives of others so when the system catches up we’re already in the groove.

This blog is about leading a social revolution. The primary medium for this revolution is socially conscious small businesses. As a business owner, wife to a business owner, and sister, daughter, vendor, and friend to other business owners I know about the challenges we face. The number one challenge–finding people to work.

Granted, corporations have polluted the boss-employee relationship and government is making it more and more difficult for us to afford to hire and build businesses, but for the past four years–despite the droves of desperate workers looking for jobs–we small business owners can’t find anyone who is willing to do the work they’re hired to do. We want to. We’re desperate. We have a manager level position in our landscape company that has been open for four years. We’ve interviewed dozens of people and even tried on a few but they don’t show up, or are late, or complain about the work incessantly, or do substandard work, or worse–piss off a customer. This scenario has played over time and time again in our businesses–mine included. We want to put people to work. We need to put people to work. I have clients with great, viable businesses who are waiting to launch initiatives that will help their business grow and my business grow but we can’t implement them until we find someone who can and will work.

It’s not an issue of qualifications. We’re willing to train and in fact all of the businesses in my network have really great training and continuing ed programs. Its a matter of work ethic and integrity. We’re frustrated because we see opportunity just waiting there for us. All we need are the people who are committed to doing a good job–their job–and growing with us.

Obviously there is a huge gap between people who want and need to work and the businesses who want and need them to work. Is it a matter of geography? Is this problem only in Central Texas? Or is it a matter of culture? Are Americans truly as entitled and lazy as the world thinks? I’m not here to make judegments. I’m here to find solutions. Small businesses are hiring but we can’t afford dead weight. It our money, sweat, and families on the line when someone takes advantage of us. People need to work for a living, but so many think that they should get paid for subpar work and absenteeism. Where are the hard working people who are willing to learn, to grow, to show up to work on time, to do what’s needed, to contribute to the success and growth of an organization that rewards them in kind with built in incentives for initiative, and who do it with a good attitude?

We don’t expect people to sacrifice all of their time and personal health for their jobs. In fact we offer flex time, benefits (at great expense), support families in need, create opportunity for personal and professional development, and constantly show our appreciation with rewards and acknowledgment. Even with all the perks, even with a quality of life incentive we still can’t get these jobs filled. We still can’t implement growth. In a service based economy growth depends on people–not machines or systems–people. How can we find them?

Seriously, we’re desperate, frustrated, and one ridiculously bad excuse for substandard work away from forsaking employer-ship altogether. We want answers. We want good people. Tell us how to find them, or tell us how to give the workforce one giant perspective and attitude altering slap upside the head.

Image from the Austin Post

Austin is a growing city with a heart of gold, but its not keeping some of its citizens from slipping through the cracks. Just like any booming town, Austin has a growing population of homeless. Even though we’re fairly insulated from the worst of the economic woes the recent recession brought, many people have been affected leading to a rise in the number of homeless. As we transition from a hot summer to what is being predicted as a harsh winter, I’m thinking about our fellow Austinites and what we can do to help.

One of the biggest problems is that the homeless population is diverse, which means there is no one-size-fits-all solution to helping our fellow citizens. Some are homeless because of mental illness, others due to economic hardship, some due to a snowball effect of bad choices, and a few because they’re kids who think it’s cool to live on the streets. It’s not just adults either. In fact, according to Green Doors the average age of an Austin homeless person is 7. Nationally children make up 40% of the homeless and of the 25 million Americans who go hungry every day, half of them are children.

Regardless of how they got there or who they are, they’re still people–not different, not alien, not necessarily bad either–just people. I should know. I’ve been there.

Image from the Austin American Statesman

For those of you who may not know, I had a pretty rough start in adulthood. A series of medical issues that put me in the emergency room left me jobless. I immediately started hunting for a new job, but with college tuition to pay and rent time was running out. The only jobs I could find were horrible minimum wage jobs and service jobs that despite working 7 days a week couldn’t cover my bills. I was soon evicted from my apartment and force to spend a couple of months living out of my car–not in an indie Jewel kind of way but in a “God I hope I don’t get raped and murdered by the drug dealers over there” kind of way. I was working my ass off but still couldn’t make ends meet. Finally I got some help from family, but not everyone is that lucky.

Thankfully there are several organizations doing their part to make a real difference in the homeless community. I’m not talking passing out tuna fish sandwiches and blankets, I’m talking a real hand-up, a significant first step toward getting back on track.

The Homeless Coach

Founded by Tom Baum, the Homeless Coach travels in an RV helping coach those who want the help on the skills needed to get them out of poverty. Local businesses sponsor people through the process while the Homeless Coach leverages technology and social media to make it a community event. By the way, my friends and fellow social entrepreneurs at C.O.R.E. Media have just wrapped filming on a documentary about the Homeless Coach so stay tuned for more details on that!

Mobile Loaves and Fishes

Talk about people with both big hearts and the braun to get it down. This group, known in short as the “MLF,” has proposed some pretty unique and innovative solutions to helping our homeless population. Not all of their solutions are met with open arms. The “not in my backyard” mentality runs thick in our country, even in the “open-minded” city of Austin. Still, they’re doing more then just delivering sandwiches (though as mobile loaves and fishes food is involved). They also provide housing and community support so that homeless men and women can actually make the transition out of homelessness.

Austin Resource Center for the Homeless

Can you believe it. There is yet another fantastic organization offering temporary housing, community support, and resources to help get families back on track. The Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) works with several local entities to provide everything from access to computers to mental health services so that individuals can have a safe lace to live while they learn job skills, go through treatment, and get the help they need for their specific situation.

Green Doors

Founded in 1990 by a formerly homeless young woman, Green Doors‘ mission is to prevent and help end homelessness and poverty housing for those working to achieve independent living in Central Texas. Through services, education, and community they help people find a way out.

Taken by Gregory Cooper

One organization that’s outside of Austin that is doing amazing things to leverage free social technologies to show the people behind the “homeless problem” is We Are Visible. Different people share their real life, day-to-day experiences living on the streets showing us that they are just like everyone else. They’re just living in a place no human being should ever live.

These organziations aren’t just doing social good. They’re helping the Austin economy too. According to the Austin Post “[p]roper housing [for the homeless] reduces healthcare costs by 59 percent, emergency room costs by 61 percent and general hospitalizations decrease by 77 percent.” Add in their shopping dollars and every citizen that reenters our economy lifts it overall.

So why am I telling you all of this? Because while you’re enjoying your Central Air and venti latte I want you to think about what would you hope for if today you found yourself in a bad situation that you couldn’t get out of? Then I want you to think of ways that you can show your support for these wonderful organizations and help them insure that every human being is treated with decency and kindness and given a fighting chance to be who they’re meant to be.

No matter what your religious affiliation, any who considers themselves a spiritual person can agree that there is nothing better than feeling like you’re connected to something bigger, feeling like you belong. All faiths possess that quality, that sense of belonging, of being connected to everyone and everything. That is why it saddens me to see so many people using their religion to proliferate hate, to force separation, to segregate themselves from others, and even to kill.

Hate is a perversion of faith.

Hate kills all that is good in us. It suffocates the divine until all that is left is darkness. Hate is never satisfied. Hate will never say “enough is enough.” Hate doesn’t only destroy the thing or person hated. It also destroys the hater. It festers within, blistering and bubbling until it boils over, contaminating everything around it, consuming and damaging anything that gets in its way.

Those of us who believe in the goodness of humanity and the divine must challenge the haters. We must remember why we chose a spiritual path. Most remember that everyone has value and deserves love, and that each individual should be judged by their own merit, not by the hateful actions of a few.

This does not mean that we should lay down and take the brutality of hatred, nor does it mean that we ignore or justify immorality. It does mean that we must approach these people with an unwavering dedication toward finding a common ground, of reaching understanding, and of helping everyone find peace and belonging in their lives. Justice and hate are two different things. Hate is a problem. Justice and understanding are solutions.

I’m tired of seeing all of this hate. I’m tired of hearing it on the news and at coffee shops. Tired of people pretending to know who the real threat is, pretending to believe in the divine while they destroy each other and themselves.  So long as we walk by the homeless without a second glance, blame the poor for being poor, call every Muslim a terrorist, kill doctors in the name of life, beat children for their natural curiosity, and fear those who are different from us we will all suffer.

Its time to end it. Time to call out those who hide their hate behind a veil of sprituality. Time to stop those who use religion to wage wars be they Christian, Muslim, Pagan, or any other faith. Holy war is the greatest contradiction ever conceived. War destroys all that is holy. They cannot exist together. If we don’t stop, we won’t exist anymore either.

There are a great many expectations set for us. Industry standards, the media, social pressures, and superficial metrics of success pressure us into going after things that we think will earn us validation from our peers. We toil and strive, not stopping to think “is this what I really want?” We pursue riches, promotions, high paying jobs, expensive cars, and over priced vacations. We go after awards, publishing deals, media interviews, and quotes in the hopes that they will make us feel like we have arrived.

I too have been sucked into this never ending cycle of pursuit. I feel the pressure demanding me to go balls to the wall in all that I do, staring down at me until I get national attention, not caring for any of the quiet pursuits that actually bring me real joy. I am worthless until I have networked with every person, until I have earned a million dollars, until I have a Lexus and a multimillion dollar firm, until I have my own reality show. Drama is necessary, peace isn’t an option–it doesn’t make good television. Settling for good enough isn’t good enough. Being happy with your small network isn’t sufficient. Living content off the radar isn’t an accomplishment. The bar is set high.

Want to be a writer? Then you must write three bestsellers a year, blog 5 times a week, and spend all of you waking hours writing and selling and building that platform. Want to start a business? Then it must be a 50+ employee organization raking in millions of dollars and going nonstop until you reach the Forbes list. Want to create workshops and teach professional skills? Then you need a book, five classes, travel to speaking gigs across the globe, and sell the brand of “you.” Want to be a chef? Then you need to become the next Gordon Ramsey or Cat Cora. Want to get married? Then it must be a $20,000 extravaganza complete with synchronized swans and an ice sculpture. 

Want to just be? Want to just live and breath and enjoy the waking moments without feeling the heavy burden of a pressing deadline or the need to outshine the rest? No, that’s impossible. You can’t have that. That’s not accomplishment. That’s not living.

Well I say it is.

My finest moments often occur without anyone watching. My greatest joy comes from things that can’t be bought or competed for. My best triumphs often occur within the confines of my own home. My greatest sense of accomplishment comes from helping a family member or friend, not from year end sales totals or quotas that inch ever upward.

Its not right to expect all of us to work endlessly in the pursuit of wealth, of being the best, of expanding to entropy. We’re not all made for the limelight. We can’t nor do we all want to be the best known, the widest acclaimed, or the highest paid. Success is a personal thing. Success is happiness, of feeling satisfied, and that is something that can never be one size fits all. You set your own standards. You decide what’s best for you.

We all honor the prettiest, wealthiest, most famous among us. Its time to shift the focus. Its time to see that when someone is content with a comfortable job just making enough to cover the necessities it doesn’t automatically mean that they’re not ambitious and that they are wasting themselves. We have to realize that we all are leading our own lives. We can’t create blanket standards to judge each other by. What’s good for you is not necessarily good for me. What makes me happy probably bores you and vice versa. Set your own standard. Decide what you want and no matter what don’t ever let anyone make you feel bad for living your life the way that makes you happy. Instead pity them. They obviously haven’t found their own source of happiness yet.