Soft Power

by Dr. James W. Jackson

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

 “Nothing in this world is as strong as kindness, justice, and righteousness.” 

~ J. W. Jackson

I have known Dr. Jim Jackson for over 20 years and served alongside him overseas on a number of occasions. Project C.U.R.E. has an outstanding record of effective and enduring health interventions in austere locations in more than 125 countries. Many of these contribute to US national security by helping to win “hearts and minds” in favor of the American people. Jim’s generous personal example of medical humanitarian outreach shows a kinder and gentler face of the United States, and is exactly complimentary to what we in the US military must do to protect our homeland. 

~Dr. James W. Terbush, Command Surgeon, NORAD/Northcom, Homeland Security

I would probably be classified by a political ornithologist as a military hawk. I love my country and would defend with my life its sacred honor. Furthermore, I believe it to be a cardinal responsibility of the national leadership to protect the nation’s citizenry, its honor, and its assets.

Recently, I have been trying to mentally revisit and re-assess the things I have experienced in order to see if I can draw some conclusions for myself. Let me share some of my gained insights from having visited over the past quarter century the military and political hotspots of the globe. I was born before the United States entered into World War II. We have always had an identifiable, precise, and convenient enemy. It was the Nazis, then China, North Korea, and, for the balance of the century, it was the Soviet Union.

Following the collapse of the Soviet system we were saddled with a dilemma not unlike the puppy dog, who, after spending his life chasing cars, finally caught the car . . . now what does he do? Who now is the grand enemy? Now, a new grand strategy has to be designed. It seems to me that over the years we have spent so much energy and capital legitimately trying to prevent the horror of global war that we have sometimes forgotten the reality of global synthesis and the possibility of peace. It is not so convenient being without a consistent, well-defined enemy.

It is almost impossible with one fell swoop to stop describing horrible futures to be prevented, and to start proclaiming the positive futures to be created. But, in the early 1990s we were offered that chance. While still appearing like a solution looking for a problem, we seemed to try to substitute the slippery war on terror for the well-defined strategies of the cold war. To do that it was necessary to redefine the very word war. We needed to come up with definitive terms like “non-war combatant involvement” as we redefined our engagements.

Over the past thirty years I have observed the challenges and the changes that have been a part of the Pentagon strategies. I have seen their many defensive facets from different angles. I applaud them for their efforts to reassess, redesign, and re-appropriate the capital assets and human assets of the military.

Today, there are some really bad individuals desiring to do some really bad things to their own citizens and to their neighbors. Those charlatans and thugs who wreak evil and peril on their own citizens and close neighbors need to be checked. Equipped with a moral imperative and a well designed strategy, there is opportunity to see to it that everybody becomes better off. The countries are not necessarily bad, the societies are not necessarily bad, and the whole government may not be necessarily bad. Certainly the bad guys can be neutralized using weapons such as smart bombs and nonlethal forms of warfare that target enemy systems without harming the citizens or destroying the country’s capital or infrastructure.

But the thing for which I most applaud the new approach of the Pentagon is their expressed desire to begin winning the hearts and minds of the connected people of the developing world. That strategy of kindness, justice, and righteousness will in the long run be more effective than all the bullets and bombs in the world.

Over the past twenty-five years I have personally witnessed the powerful potential of radical change in the developing countries of the world through the acts of humanitarian kindness by Project C.U.R.E. We do not engage in medical philanthropy in order to get the disadvantaged people to become more and more dependent upon us. As a cultural economist, I believe that a healthy economy cannot be built on sick people. So, help get the people well and give them the medical information, supplies, and pieces of equipment so that they can begin to build their own medical enterprises and become dependent upon themselves. It can happen, and I have seen it happen.

I can excitedly imagine a revolutionary Pentagon strategy of soft power projection, where we expand the good and not simply check the evil. I would like to be a part of that change and would encourage the Pentagon in their efforts. With our sights focused on proactively winning the hearts and minds of the people in lesser developed countries by truly making them better off, we can become the necessary and welcomed force in making a better tomorrow for our 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

Group Process

by Dr. James W. Jackson

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

TESTING

Dr. James W. Jackson

July 3, 2012

“In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test, in life you are given a test that teaches you a lesson.”  Tom Bodett

 It seems to me that life is designed and structured to place me in situations where I am supposed to learn something.  It also seems that if I learn something from the situation I end up better off, and I am better able to cope with the next set of circumstances. It also seems that the result of the testing process can be used as somewhat of a predictor of the outcome of the next set of circumstances, as well as a predictor of my suitability for a certain purpose. So, the teaching is the test and the test is the teaching.

 I’ve been intrigued by life’s testing process. I have tried to observe how it not only works out in my personal life, but, also, how the process has worked in the living history of Project C.U.R.E. We do a lot of things differently today in collecting, warehousing, and distributing donated medical goods than we did twenty-five years ago when we started. In the beginning, I had some very traumatic and disappointing experiences working with the corrupt customs people in places like Romania and India. Now, we are successfully working in over 125 countries in the world and predict that the future will get even better.

One predictable component of the testing process is difficulty. Testing was not necessarily designed to be easy, but it is inconveniently effective, and because of its brutal efficiency, it is surprisingly sustainable. Difficulty is not always a bad thing. I have come to embrace difficulty as part of the method of learning and assessing.

There seems to be at least two types of testing. The Greeks made the distinction by using two different words.  Dokimazo: Here, the testing has almost an expected outcome of approval. When a doctor sits for his licensing examination he is there expecting that he will pass and receive his plaque of approval to hang on his wall and be able to legally start treating sick patients. Or, you might be testing to see exactly how much gold is in the rock you just discovered in the creek.  Peirazo: In this case, the object of the test is to measure the limits. My mental picture is of a classroom of young engineers competing to see who can make the strongest model bridge out of flimsy balsa wood. The winning student is the one who has constructed the bridge that will hold the most weight without breaking. Usually, this kind of testing carries with it some overtones of sinister destruction or evil interference.

But, I have decided regarding my own life adventure, that regardless of the classification, method, or intent of the testing, I will accept it with confidence knowing that the testing encounter has within it the seeds of possibility for helping me become a better and more fulfilled person. I believe that all those circumstances can work to bring about good in my life.

In 2007, I was traveling about two hundred-fifty days a year in some really awful international locations for Project C.U.R.E.  While in the country of Togo in West Africa, my body was invaded by some nasty bugs. Later, it was cultured as a highly aggressive mutant strain of African e-coli. When I returned to the U.S., my doctors worked feverishly to save my life. “We hate to inform you of this, but we are running out of time and alternatives, nothing is working and your body systems are shutting down.” Their efforts finally paid off and I began to rally. Presently, the e-coli have not all been discovered and destroyed. The problem occasionally reoccurs and I again get very sick. Of course, it has been difficult. Of course, it has not been fun. I had the opportunity to become caustic and bitter about the situation.  But some great things have come out of that episode.

Now, I am limited in my international travels. If I were to be in Nepal and the sickness were to reoccur, I would not make it home alive. However, that circumstance of testing was perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Project C.U.R.E. and ultimately to me. Until that time, I was nearly the only person performing needs assessment studies on the hospitals and clinics we were targeting around the world. Without the needs assessment studies no donated medical goods would have been shipped. In order for Project C.U.R.E. to expand it had to grow beyond me. Now, there are twenty-five or more of our people out doing what I had been doing.  Now, Project C.U.R.E. is growing greater in effectiveness every day, and I am experiencing fulfillment and maturation.

I choose to invite growth. I choose to invite times of testing. I choose to embrace difficulties. I am continuing to learn that it is not the set of circumstances in which I find myself, but how I respond to those circumstances 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

Regarding Inheritance

by Dr. James W. Jackson

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

Here is another bit of cultural folklore I picked up in the market places of this old world that I pass on to you for your consideration.

“If you want your children to love each other forever, don’t leave them any money when you die.”

As one old guy told me, “Happiness is being retired and spending all of my kid’s inheritance before I die.” And, of course, there are the serious admonitions like, “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.”

Generally speaking, our culture is not bound by strict ethnic traditions, wherein lies part of the problem. Problems seem to arise where the passing on of the inheritance is determined by a type of logic positioned somewhere between a well-thought-out estate plan and a knee-jerk whim. Jewish traditions lean toward the oldest son receiving twice the amount as the other sons. Other eastern cultures have the daughters receiving nothing, or the sons receiving twice the amount as the daughters. In some matrilineal countries I have visited, the inheritance is passed down only from the mother to the daughters.

To complicate the situation in our culture, our government entities have decided that unless you have a valid will, wherein you have legally expressed how your inheritance will be divided, you are declared to have died “intestate,” and the government will decide where your wealth will end up. Seven out of ten people in the United States die without leaving a legal will. Making sure you have a valid will before you die is a grave responsibility!

The practice of passing on property, money, and rights gets a little knotty when it comes to perceived inequities of the recipients. It seems that the least responsible expect the most, and those who have been the least frugal expect the lion’s share. And we haven’t even mentioned the catch-all accusation, “oh yea, ‘what’s-his-name’ was always the favorite.”

It seems to me that inheritance squabbles center on at least three areas:

• Arithmetic: “The appraisals and evaluations are wrong. It should have been more.”

• Attitude: It is a temptation in emotional situations involving money to let it become a “heart issue” of attitude rather than a “head issue” of logic and common sense. That is when you hear, “It’s just not right . . . it’s just not fair.”

• Affection: “I loved our parents more than any of the other siblings did. I was always there for them; I should have received more.”

I love the old Yiddish bit of advice: “He who comes for the inheritance is often made to pay for the funeral.” Perhaps the inheritance issue that trumps the feelings of ill will when there is money left, is when there is no money left and no provisions made for the expense of those seniors in their last years. Senior expenses and deaths can also mean the inheritance passes on liabilities and debts. Now, that issue will cause some squabbling amongst the siblings.

Isadora Duncan may have captured the issue well when she declared, “The finest inheritance you can give a child is to allow it to make its own way, completely on its own feet.”

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

Regarding Money

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 fun to stand in the market place of a community far away from your own country and have a translator explain to you the daily conversations between the locals. As an economist, my life is richer for having taken the time to practice the art of intentional listening. I pass on to you, for your consideration, one such bit of local wisdom:

“If you want to teach your children about money

 . . . it’s better if you don’t have any.”

One fact is agreed upon universally: There are more wants than there is available money. Ultimately, we have to choose where we spend our money. That seems to be the hitch. Cultures characteristically try to teach their offspring something about those choices and that very tradition reveals a lot about the teacher as well as the student. In 1758, philosopher David Hume said:

“Money is not, properly speaking, one of the subjects of commerce, but only the instrument which men have agreed upon to facilitate the exchange of one commodity for another. It is the oil which renders the motions of the wheels more smooth and easy.”

You only work in order to trade your labor supply for the supply of some other worker. Money, the common currency, is relied upon simply as a convenience and accepted because of confidence. Money is sort of an interim landing spot. You may want to exchange your labor for some currency in order to postpone a current consumption in anticipation of consuming something in the future. It is more convenient to carry around some currency in your pocket than to try to carry in your pocket a month of your labor! Credit cards are an additional convenience, but not truly money in that they have to be paid off with yet another transaction of money. However, when you stop having confidence in any form of money it ceases to be used as money.

There has nearly always been some type of money in existence, but no one person simply sat down and invented money. And as history reveals, some folks, inside or outside the ruling government, sooner or later start tinkering with the control of the value of the currency for their own express benefit.

So, if it is so important for a culture to pass on to its offspring the wisest and most prudent practices for handling money, why would someone in the marketplace say: “If you want to teach your children about money . . . it’s better if you don’t have any?” Here are some of my observations to add to your own ideas.

• The convenience of money is an addiction and tends to sever the rational connection between the product of your labor and the money itself. Money becomes the issue, not labor. Mom and Dad look to the money as the object and usually one person takes on the role of a human ATM machine. If something is desired, money is used to fulfill the need or impulse, even if the interim convenience step of the credit card is needed. But the link between the fruits of labor and the ATM machine becomes lost, especially for the next generation.

• Convenience for the present generation transforms into entitlement for the next generation. When the connection between the product of your labor and the human ATM machine becomes blurred, the kids are tacitly taught they are entitled to whatever is viewed as necessary.

• Generally speaking, money and credit cards become so convenient that if they are available, the money will be spent.

• Frugality demands discipline. If there is money readily available it is almost impossible to effectively teach frugality. The effort just isn’t convenient.
• When caught up in “ATM thinking,” it is very difficult to teach that over time the value of the money being used almost always shrinks. So, expediency of the present trumps a well planned system for savings and investment for the future. The kids end up without the foggiest idea about savings and investments. “Somebody will always supply an ATM machine.”

Sadly, most lessons about money are caught rather than taught. The next generation, unless there is some form of intervention and transformation, will usually follow an increased trend of expediency and convenience rather than frugality and discipline. It takes real focus and discipline to teach the next generation about issues of money. The good news . . . it can be done!

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