Graceland

I have learned that the most important difference between people is between those for whom life is a quest and those for whom it is not.

--Walker Percy




This weekend I was in Memphis working with over 1500 distributors with many that didn't speak English. Between my broken Spanish, their broken English and one of our staff that spoke both fluently, we found each other. What seems constant between us is that we are all on a quest, an adventure and that as fellow adventurers, we work to help each other out. We share grace with each other along the way.

One of the things that came up regularly was how our Spanish-speaking distributors in Arizona won't travel too far to hear us speak--they're afraid of being deported under the new laws that allow law enforcement to stop people for appearing to be illegal. It's controversial, and really was written to give broader authority for US agents in the border wars currently going on--situations where some ranchers live in constant fear of drug runners with automatic weapons and constant violence. The broader powers are creating havoc for illegal immigrants who are productive members of our society.

What struck me was how hard these new friends are willing to work for their version of the American dream, how hard they work moving XS Energy Drinks, and the hurdles that our own government puts in their paths to succeed, to create the wealth we desperately need in our diminishing economy. We need more entrepreneurs, we need more people working off the grid of government taxation without representation, we need more entrepreneurs who aren't raping other people's money to benefit extravagant lifestyles on unsustainable business practices. We need more cash-driven businesses operating in the black and creating wealth, not jobs.



The IRS is scared-to-death of an economy without federal withholding taxes--they hate entrepreneurs. We cannot cut spending because we cannot shut down worthless government programs. We cannot shut down worthless government programs, because they are run by government unions with guaranteed "rights" to wages and benefits. I'd trade 10 government employees for one illegal alien paying thousands of dollars to come to smuggle themselves into America to work for cash and start their own micro business. Those data points are the reality of the economy, the trends we see in newspapers and on television are not--trends are imaginary lines drawn against averages, against fictions of what appears to be occurring at a macro level.


If you believe in free markets, you believe in the power of the individual. If you believe in individuals, you believe in micro economics. You believe in data points. You understand that making things work on a small level is what makes macro pictures, not in reverse. The fallacy of macro economics is that there are levers to make the fictions move, when really the macroeconomists spend much of their time re-calculating data to justify why their levers are working. I like to roll up my sleeves, get in the trenches and figure out what works at a micro level to make the macro work, not vice-versa. I don't believe in central anything, let alone central government.

Grace to me is meeting a person, developing a relationship and giving to them without a claim of justice, without cause--not because I have to do it. When we enter into free trade, when we have the liberty to decide who want an economic association with, to me that is a form of grace. It's not dictated or controlled. It's two people, taking a risk--me investing my time and travel budget and they investing their time and event costs to hear each other. To see if we can share something of value with each other. It's spiritual and it's an exchange at the most basic level. Creating artificial borders between two groups of people that are willing to share a grace, whether economic or otherwise, seems like a travesty to me.

But I digress. . .

I was in Memphis, learning how our Hispanic friends are building businesses with my products and how I could help them. I was also sharing how we are working with other small business owners to grow the macro picture. It was powerful. At the end of the weekend, I went to see Graceland, to see Elvis' home in it's preserved state.





Elvis died in August of 1977. His home is basically in the same state it was at that time. He was in his early 40s when he died and he bought the house for $100,000 when he was 22. Like anyone's home that they've owned for roughly 20 years, it's different rooms were designed and furnished from various points in time through those years. Part of what makes it so dramatic is that Elvis collected so many cars, planes and other odds and ends. I kept thinking that if he was still alive and if they were all current, it would be much less interesting. Seeing a snapshot of life in the 60s and 70s via Graceland was like walking back in time and seeing what money could buy back then.

My father's uncle was a very successful businessman and a wonderful father and leader. That side of our family gathered every Christmas Eve for a family party at his house. He had bought it in the late 50s and developed it with his business growth over the decades. He always had interesting things--from exotic sports cars to an indoor pool with sliding glass greenhouse (so it could be an outdoor pool in summer), to planes and helicopters to you name it. During the last couple decade of his life, my great aunt began losing her memory and the house remained locked in time, I would guess to remain as familiar as possible to both of them. The last time I was there, about 15-or-so-years-ago, one of the things that struck me was how various rooms dated from different eras. Similar to walking through Elvis' home.

Seeing Graceland reminded me of some of my thoughts from my last trip to my great uncle's home--that things quickly lose their value. What has also struck me is that the enduring business my uncle created, the people who continue to develop their own dreams through the micro business opportunity he templated for millions of people around the world, continues to change people's lives--even illegal aliens who are desperately seeking ways to take control of their own destinies. While the physical homes that both he and Elvis will eventually disappear, the hope and joy that they inspired continues on.

With our family, we pray each night that God will grant us the power to become better ambassadors of his grace the next day. While the embassies may fade with time, the grace that we share with others, whether economic, personal or spiritual, will hopefully endure. Sharing that grace is a quest for us, it is an adventure that we hope will be a benefit, enlighten and empower others and ourselves along the way.