Self Responsibility, Integrity, Capitalism

DenaDecember 15, 2009

I met Andy Feld last week at a conference in Atlantic City. Andy’s sessions touched me in a deep & profound way. Andy travels the country and speaks to people about how to create success, happiness, and abundance in their lives. I am honored to share this guest post from Andy.


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Conservation & Love Are Not Contrary to Capitalism
Do you think that taking better care of our planet Earth, and its people, is contrary to the principles of Capitalism? Believe it or not that is the message some people give to me. Frankly, I do not believe that having a heart and being a capitalist are mutually exclusive. In addition to being an author and speaker I have been a businessman and entrepreneur in the fields of commercial real estate and mortgage banking for the past 30 years, and I believe I speak from a platform of direct experience as I have competed in a fiercely competitive business environment. The picture I see is that capitalism and free enterprise have built the wonderful economic structure of this country, but this same financial freedom has also caused the current “economic crisis” that most of us have never seen before.

The search for abundance is a healthy undertaking, but when we lose our integrity, this search for abundance becomes greed, and the byproduct of greed is uncomfortable for most. The loss of jobs, loss of retirement funds, and physical decay to the planet is what we are witnessing today. Frankly, I never thought I would say this, but a little government oversight along with some inspirational guidance from spiritual leaders may be just what is needed. We are in the midst of a planetary wake-up call where we are all coming to grips with the idea that happiness, joy, and abundance involves a lot more than the next purchase of things. We are also starting to understand that maybe this time there will not be a quick economic recovery and we will need to find new ways to create our personal happiness and abundance. We, the earth, the people, and the animals are all one connected with a common spiritual thread held together by love. Helping another and assisting our physical planet does not in any way take away from personal self responsibility, free enterprise, and most capitalistic principles.

As I speak to various audiences around the country it is obvious we are all searching for new ways to create our personal and business joy and abundance in a rapidly changing world, and the answer always starts with individual self-responsibility. Please do not get fooled into thinking that someone else will take care of you.

Painting Our Life’s Picture
We all are personally responsible for painting our life’s picture, and if we refuse to do so, then we abdicate this power to others, which in turn typically leads to our displeasure. How do we create and manifest what we desire? We do it by taking control of our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions and wrapping them up with faith and love. Is this easy? No, it takes a great deal of self-discipline, willpower, and practice. We all agree that we do not always get what we want, but what we do get is always the sum of our current thoughts, emotions, words and actions.

Being from the heart (walking with grace) and having integrity does not contradict the principles of free enterprise and capitalism; it only enhances them! Self responsibility, free choice, and free will remain the order of the day while remembering that we are all in this together.

Twenty years ago Andy began his ongoing study of happiness and success. In August of 2005 on a hiking expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, he was inspired to write his first book, Simple Happy: Finally Learning to Listen to Yourself. Andy’s new book WAKE UP! YOUR LIFE IS CALLING!: Activating Spirit, Happiness, and Abundance gives his readers the tools and inspiration to create their lives exactly as they desire during these tumultuous times.

Andy lives in Morrison, Colorado outside Denver. He travels the country as a frequent speaker on life inspiration and business sales. He is also a regular guest on radio programs across the United States and on local TV.

You can read more about Andy at his website, Simple Happy, and you can find his books on Amazon at the following links.

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