What's That in Your Hand?

by Dr. James W. Jackson
Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

It’s not what you would do with the millions if riches should be your lot . . .  

But, what you are doing at present with the dollar and quarter you’ve got!

Maybe there is something in the economic scheme of things that has been overlooked. I am beginning to understand that it’s not so much what you have, but what you do with it that makes all the difference in the world. That is true whether you live in Africa, India, Haiti or the USA. That concept is the great equalizing force of culture and economics. How we respond to the concept will determine the quality and character of our life here as well as hereafter.

Revisit with me for a moment an episode in the life of Moses as God assured him:

I know the King of Egypt isn’t interested in letting you go . . . except under heavy pressure. So, I’ll apply the pressure. If necessary, I’ll destroy Egypt with my miracles.

Then the king will beg you to go! In fact, Moses, when you leave the country you will be loaded down with gifts; jewels, silver, gold, and you will clothe your sons and daughters with the best of Egypt!

Lord, this is too much! Nobody is going to believe me. I can’t communicate this to my people. Remember, I have a terrible speech impediment!

Who makes mouths, Moses? Just do as I tell you and I will help you.

But, Lord . . . I don’t have any resources.

What do you have in your hand, Moses?

. . . Just a shepherd’s rod.

Throw it down on the ground, Moses!

You mean my shepherd’s rod?

Yes, Moses.

But it’s the only thing I have! I make my living with it!

Throw it down!

Well, all right, Lord, here goes . . . Oh Lord, let me out of here! My rod has become a hissing snake!

Pick up the snake, Moses . . . carefully now, by the tail . . . that’s right!

But, being God, you ought to know, you don’t pick up snakes by the tail. You pick them up behind the eyes!

Like I said . . . Pick it up by the tail!

Look! It’s become a rod again right here in my very own hands!

That’s right, Moses. The only thing I ever wanted from you was what you have . . . because, with that dedicated rod you will do some incredible miracles before Pharaoh.

You will part the waters of the Red Sea, you will strike the rock and water will come gushing out . . . but, you must be willing to let go of what you have!

In recalling that little episode, I am reminded of an amazing fact: God never demands more from you than what you have. He will never ask you to give something that is out of your jurisdiction to give. Moses had a rod. God only asked for the rod. He didn’t ask Moses to surrender someone else’s rod, only the one over which he had jurisdiction.

And it is equally true that even though God only requests of you things that are yours to give, you can count on the fact that he also expects you to give back to him at his request what you do have. It is not so much what you have, but what you do with it that makes all the difference in the world.

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson.

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com

images: Wordpress and Drs. James W. and AnnaMarie Jackson 

Insistence on Persistence

by Dr. James W. Jackson
Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

“Never give in – never, never, never, never . . .” That was the simple advice given by Sir Winston Churchill in 1941 to the students at Harrow School.

While working together with my son, Dr. Douglas Jackson, at Project C.U.R.E. we have embarked on a familiar conversation at least a hundred times. “We don’t have all the answers to all the problems that confront us. However, we must continue to just keep showing up. We must keep showing up at the ball park every day with our baseball, bat and glove. Sometimes we will get invited to play. Occasionally, we will get up to bat. Maybe, once in a while, we will even hit a home run. But one thing is for certain, we won’t be hitting any home runs, we won’t ever get allowed up to bat, and we will probably never even be invited to play . . . if we don’t keep showing up at the ball park with our baseball, our bat and our glove.”

Early in the colorful history of Project C.U.R.E. an incident took place that shook me to the core. I had worked very hard making appointments with decision makers at hospitals and clinics throughout Denver. I had also gone to manufacturers and wholesalers of medical supplies and pieces of medical equipment. I had told them what I was doing with the new little organization called Project C.U.R.E., and that I wanted them to join me in my efforts to save the lives of thousands of people in developing countries. Many of them believed in me and what I was doing and generously opened their hearts and inventories to me. 

Their generosity, however, forced me to frantically seek additional donated warehouse space in order to store all the medical goods being donated to me. One man in Denver who operated a large medical business invited me to use some of his warehouse space in the back corner of his facility. Everything worked out pretty well and I was grateful for the help.

Then, one morning I discovered that the businessman during the nights had been stealthily slipping over the partition into Project C.U.R.E.’s space and taking for himself some of our collected goods. I then discovered that he had been selling our goods to some of his clients. One sale was in the amount of $5,000. I was shattered! When I confronted the businessman he calmly looked at me and said, “Well, those things were free to you so what are you worrying about? You didn’t lose anything.” I attempted to explain to him that those items had been given to save the lives of needy people who had no other options . . . he wasn’t just stealing some medical goods, he was stealing somebody’s life! That reasoning didn’t make a dent.

My first reactions were, “Why am I going to all this bother to try to collect and distribute these goods to save lives in foreign countries when wealthy charlatans right here in Denver steal the very things that have been donated, and all the while I am not even taking a salary for what I am doing!" Then, I recalled another one of Sir Winston Churchill’s bits of wisdom: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Instead of getting angry and discouraged and throwing in the towel, I cheerfully arranged to borrow a very large truck, went back to the man’s warehouse and quickly packed up the remaining inventory and moved it into the corner of another donated facility. How sad it would have been if I would have allowed the man’s actions to have discouraged me from returning to the “ball park” where I would be afforded many more opportunities “at bat.”

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts . . .The slogan, ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
~ Calvin Coolidge

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson.

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com

images: Drs. James W. and AnnaMarie Jackson

My Goal

by Dr. James W. Jackson
Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

There is no secret regarding my goal for the balance of my life: I am determined to spend the best of my life for the rest of my life helping other people be “better off.” I say that with boldness because I have empirically experienced that I have received and am receiving everything I need and desire in my life in direct proportion to my helping other people receive what they need and desire. The minute the formula is reversed and I begin focusing and striving to attain the selfish aspirations that I demand the more I end up losing.

The more energy and creativity I invest in personal accumulation and attainment the less satisfaction and peace I experience. The more I grab onto the things I want and demand the more they elude me. The more tightly I squeeze the things in my hand that I am determined to keep, whether it is accumulated assets, position or relationships, the more I regrettably squeeze them through my fingers and they escape my grasp.

However, it seems that the more I relinquish my own selfish pursuits and become aware of the needs and desires of others the more my own life takes on qualities of peace, satisfaction and fulfillment. And the mysterious thing that happens is that I find at the end of the day those things I truly needed and desired in my life have been fully met at the very same time I was focusing on helping others!

Anna Marie and I spent a lot of time in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales getting Project C.U.R.E. organized and registered as an official “Registered Charity” in the U.K. Somewhere in our travels I encountered the following true story. It serves to remind me of the importance of consciously trying to help everyone around me be “better off.”

There was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, the man heard a cry for help coming from a nearby peat bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself.

Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what would have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is this your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "At least let me do this,” offered the nobleman. “Let me provide him with the level of education that my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.” And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from Mary's Hospital Medical School in London. He then went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, “the man who discovered Penicillin.”

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? That’s right . . . Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman was . . . Lord Randolph Churchill and his son's name was . . . Sir Winston Churchill.

You will always have everything you need in life if you will help enough other people achieve what they need to be better off.

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson.

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com

Needs

by Dr. James W. Jackson
Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

People give to you because you meet needs . . . not because you have needs.

I have been involved in humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors in some way most of my life . . . so have you. We are satisfied that the “cause” is a good cause or we would not be involved. The problem boils down to not having enough money in our own blue jeans to cover the financial requirements to accomplish the project. That necessitates the expansion of our revenue base and the solicitation of funds and resources from other people. How shall we do that?

Usually, the plan of action statement includes phrases like, “Well, bless your heart, we’re just going to tell it and show it like it is and the people will catch on and respond by giving generously. ” Then there comes the hitch. What method shall we use to motivate the prospective giver to join in? There are a few favorite default motivators. You can give guilt, because guilt is the gift that just keeps on giving. Using pictures that are borderline horrific, or at least disgusting, seems to be another favorite method to motivate. The shock and awe may move the hand to the checkbook or credit card.

Anna Marie and I were in Minsk, Belarus, following the collapse of the old Soviet Union. It was about seven o’clock on a Monday evening when we arrived at the Minsk Hospital #1 to perform a “Needs Assessment” of the facility. We were there to determine the appropriate medical supplies and pieces of medical equipment to be donated to the hospital by PROJECT C.U.R.E. Dr. Anna Novechenko was the Chief Physician of the Pediatrics Division of Hospital #1. She was a very dignified and competent lady and compassionate about the children and her work. She had been head of the Pediatrics Division during the unraveling of the Soviet economy and the collapse of their medical system.

As we walked down the old stairway and out into the parking lot of Hospital #1, Dr. Anna walked with us, holding onto my arm. “Please don’t just walk away and leave me,” she begged. “As you can see, we are doing everything we possibly can to save these children.” Then she stopped us and pointed back to the darkened windows of the Pediatrics Wards. “There are many children up there who desperately need surgeries. But I can’t cut them open because I don’t even have any suture to sew them shut.” Dr. Anna went on, “there are many groups from the USA who come here and take graphic pictures of our terrible plight. And they go back to USA and mail out our pictures and collect a lot of money, but they never come back and we have never received any help from any of them!”

After many years of observing life and maintaining a mental score card, I have come to this conclusion: If you are involved in philanthropic work in your community, your church or a special humanitarian cause, and you need other people to come along side of you and help support you with donated time, funds or other resources, forget about the dramatic shock and awe motivators. If, indeed you are meeting legitimate needs, be simple and forthright in sharing with your friends what you are doing to solve the immediate problem with help and hope. Don’t underestimate the discernment and integrity of your potential donors. People will give to you because you meet needs . . . not because you have needs.

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson.

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com

The Happiest Man in the World - Christmas Book Bundle

$250.00 - Christmas Book Bundle
(10 Regular Editions of The Happiest Man in the World by Dr. James W. Jackson)
Receive an 16% discount when you purchase our Christmas Book Bundle.

Winston-Crown Publishing House
presents

Houston Book Event

Featuring
Dr. James W. Jackson Founder of PROJECT C.U.R.E.
November 28, 2011
7 p.m.

 

 There is no charge for this event.

Join us for an inspiring evening as Dr. James W. Jackson shares stories and images from his travels to some of the world's poorest and most dangerous places as well as the challenges and professional obstacles that confronted him in the development of PROJECT C.U.R.E. and its historical heartbeat. Dr. Jackson will also reveal the distinctive and transferable best practices for "Building a Business of Goodness."

Venue:
Grace Presbyterian Church
Massey-Tucker Fellowship Hall
10221 Ella Lee Ln
Houston, Texas 77042

Event Contact:
Heidi Rickels
press@winstoncrown.com 
303-358-7747

Wealth Is Not Stuff

by Dr. James W. Jackson
Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

As a culture, we have opted to believe that the “wealth” of an individual can be measured by how much stuff he or she has accumulated and can put on display. Accumulation of icon items surely proves beyond a doubt that we have prevailed in the race to riches and are obnoxiously successful . . . doesn’t it? If we possess stuff we are considered wealthy, therefore we are to be considered a valuable person in society.

As an economist, I want to soothe your soul and give some consolation. That prevailing presumption always has been and always will be this world’s belief. Little consideration has been given throughout history to the simple fact that the idea is an unfounded lie. Portugal and Spain raced into the New World in the 16th century and stole enormous amounts of gold and took it back home. About the only thing they accomplished was to force the prices in their respective countries up by 200 percent while believing the false notion that having more money in their society would make them wealthy.

In 1917, the Bolsheviks in Russia believed that if they could just get their hands on the “golden egg” held by the Czars they could divvy up the riches amongst themselves and live happily ever after. When they ran out of the Czars’ assets they had to expand into Central Asia and rape and pillage the people there. They had bought into an untrue myth. It doesn’t really make any difference how big a pile of stuff you accumulate or how much diversity is included in the pile; wealth is not stuff. You consume stuff. It deteriorates, depreciates and ultimately disappears. And everyone else, especially the government, wants to take it away from you because they, too, believe the pile is wealth.

So, what is wealth? Wealth is production. Wealth is the opportunity to participate in enterprise. Wealth is the phenomenon that converts resources into sustainable enterprise and additional production. Cultures that allow and encourage enterprise are wealthy. Cultures that do not allow and encourage enterprise are poor! The result of successful enterprise and production is stuff . . . not the other way around. Cultures that do not understand the difference, and greedily go after the pile of stuff and the golden egg at the expense of killing enterprise and production, end up in revolution or bankruptcy.

History is disgustingly full of examples of consequences where cultures mistakenly went after the acquisition of the golden egg at the expense of enterprise and production. I watched with my own eyes the tragedy of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe unfold as I traveled there over a 30- year period. One of my first economic consulting assignments was to Robert Mugabe’s new “Zimbabwe.” Under enterprise and production, Rhodesia had become the “bread basket” of Africa. Beautiful, well- run farms with concrete irrigation ditches, modern equipment and technology produced abundant crops, not only to feed all the countrymen, but also tons left over for export.

It was simply too fine an egg to go unstolen. The tragic misunderstanding was that if there were some way you could grab the pile of stuff, the wealth would be miraculously transferred to the politicians in charge of the transfer. Not so. There was total disregard for the economics of enterprise and production. In subsequent years, I returned to Zimbabwe. My heart would ache while driving the roads outside Harare, Chitungwiza and Bulawayo. The houses had been stripped of valuable items. In the fields were broken pieces of farm equipment, and the silos stood empty of crops. Farm prices were manipulated by government, and people were going hungry.

A decree went out to the last of the “hold-out farmers” that they were to surrender their farms to “the people of Zimbabwe” and leave the country by the 8th of August- 2002. I arrived in Harare on Wednesday, August 7. I could not have visited Zimbabwe at a more potentially explosive time. One of my acquaintances from a previous trip had refused to leave his farm. An ambush had been set for him. He was tied to a tree and beaten and shot 14 times. They had left the dead farmer in the road where his dog faithfully laid by his side for three days until some of the other farmers found him.

Another farmer, whom I had met at a church in Harare on an earlier trip, was visited in person by a high-ranking official in the government. He had been told, “I know you love this farm. It has been in your family for three generations, so let’s solve this problem in the easiest way: (1) you deed all your farm and livestock and equipment to me personally and I will keep it out of the hands of the hostile masses; (2) then you stay on and run the farm, as you now are, for me, and you will not get hurt. That’s a wonderful solution for everyone.” 

On August 9 the media reported that there were approximately 2000 farmers still on their farms. By midnight another 600 had left. Because greed had trumped sane economics, the robbers presumed that the farms would simply run themselves and the pile of stuff would always be there. In their rush to grab the golden egg they had sadly stepped on the neck of the goose that had been laying the golden eggs. They only saw the golden eggs and wanted the pile of stuff for themselves. But the stuff vanished. They had killed the phenomenon of enterprise, and as production stopped wealth disappeared. The food to feed Zimbabwe had come off those farms, and the people who were once employed by enterprise were jobless. There’s a very high price to pay when greed of a culture violates basic economic principles. But there is one economic principle about which we need not get confused: “Wealth is not Stuff!”
 

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson.

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com