Category: Entrpreneurship

ITUNES and Spotify Are Costing Music Artists Money

4/18/2024

"Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar."
---(Matthew 14:7)

ITunes charges a $5.00 USD monthly fee per album for every artist that posts to their sight. Spotify charges a $1000.07 USD annual fee to every artist. Both sites are costing artists that wrote and recorded their music thousands of dollars annually.

Apple Music pays artists one tenth of a penny ($0.001) for every song that is played in full. Songs that are paused or stopped are paid nothing. On average, the top 1000 artists receive $100.75 USD per month. The top 1000 artists generally have seven full albums available in their portfolio. This means that the top 1000 artists on ITunes are receiving $0.25 per month per album.

ITunes pays artists $1.00 USD per month for every complete album their customers pay. On average, customers if the top 1000 artists complete slightly more than 11 albums per month.

Unlike ITunes, Spotify highlights five to ten songs in an artists portfolio. Spotify PLC pays the artists nothing when the highlighted songs are played. On average, Spotify pays its top 1000 artists $0.0876 a month for every completed album.

Without factoring in design, a basic website with retail capabilities can be maintained for $70-$250 USD per year. The variance in cost depends on the features used on the site. The most popular website builders are simple to use, Anyone with an artistic flair willing to spend three to seven days can build a site to their liking. The most popular web builders have several built-in templates and the templates can be greatly modified with little effort.

If the top 1000 artists were to build sites on their own and sold 2 albums per month at $11.00 USD an album, they would earn more on their own than they do with ITunes or Spotify. This assumes a $160 USD cost to maintain the site. For busy artists, professionally designed seven page site that includes a home page, a bio sheet, album notes, a retail portfolio, an appearance schedule, a blog page, and a contact form can be build for a one-time fee of $1100-$3000 USD.

Only one of the top 1000 selling artists on ITunes and/or Spotify controls their master recordings. Master recordings are the songs that appear on the albums record companies produce and market. Digitally recorded songs played through ITunes, Spotify, and radio stations derive from master recordings.

910 of the top 1000 artists on ITunes are presently bound by 360 Deals through their album labels or their record companies. 971 of the top 1000 artists on Spotify are bound by the same. On average, the originators of these contracts and the record producers that negotiated the deals keep 71% of the revenues from these artists master recordings.

On average, the originators of these contracts and the record producers that negotiate the deals also keep 57% of the revenues generated through appearance fees. They rarely do more than place five to seven phone calls to book the appearances.

A music artist's portfolio is considered intellectual property. Intellectual property can be bought or sold. By right, intellectual property owners must relinquish intellectual properties they sell in full to complete the sale. Record labels, album producers, and outside investors that purchase master recordings and use the original artist or artists name to promote intellectual properties they have purchased violate the terms of the sale.

Record labels and album producers that redistribute intellectual properties to other artists and fail to mention the name of the original artist or artists when the intellectual properties appear are also in violation of the terms of the sale. The originators of the intellectual properties have the right to take the artists, album producers, and record companies that violated international property laws to court and have their intellectual properties returned.

The same holds true for artists that originate screenplays and for novelists that have had film or theatre adaptations made from intellectual properties. Original screenplays that make it to theatre are often redressed as many as seven times. Original screenplays that make it it television are often redressed as many as eleven times.

The New York Times list of the 100 greatest novels ever written have appeared in theatre adaptations an average of 111 times. They have also each appeared in film adaptations more that 1100 times and in television dramas more than 111 times.

Novelists and screenwriters are rarely credited when adaptations are made of their works. By right, artists that copy their works are required to mention the name of the originating artist before they begin their adaptations and surrender 10% of the revenues they generate to the original artist.

Author: Erik Gagnon - Chi Rho Consulting

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Arcades, Amusement Parks, and Software Distributors Are Culpable of Gross Negligence

4/18/2024

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"One who separates himself seeks his own desire;
He quarrels agains all sound wisdom.
A fool does not delight in understanding,
But in reveling his own mind."
---Proverbs 18:1-2

Strategic Simulations Incorporated was the first video game company. Three British RAF Radar Intelligence Officers started the company and were contracted by the United States Military in 1947 to create launch sequence simulations for Soviet bloc nuclear arsenals. The movie War Games is based on the tools they developed.

After the Bay of Pigs Invasion, SSI Incorporated lost their government contract. Afterward, two of the three RAF Radar Intelligence Officers that started the company turned their attention the consumer market and created a subsidiary the called Colleco. The other worked with Pakistan to develop weapons for Indochina.

Colleco was conceived to manufacture pinball machines. The two RAF Intelligence Officers that started Colleco stole the patent name "pinball" and trademarked the name. Colleco Holdings Incorporated reported earnings of over $11MM dollars during the first seven years of operation. Most of the revenues their machines generated were never reported.

In 1971, The RAF Intelligence Officer that worked with Pakistan's to develop weapons for Indochina rejoined the company to form a subsidiary called Activision Television Incorporated. That subsidiary created the first "Home Video Entertainment System" with money the three stole from the British Commonwealth's Treasury.

HOME VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS

Activision Television Incorporated released seven games into the market through Hobby Lobby PLC's KB Toys during Purim of 1972 without a console. KB Toys placed posters of a Lego model the three RAF Intelligence Officers fashioned to resemble a console throughout KB Toys stores. The posters were captioned "Coming Soon!" The three RAF Radar Intelligence officers airbrushed proofs of the posters and stenciled a vagina onto the console's circuitry system. The consoles themselves were not produced until 1974.

To stave off lawsuits, the three RAF Intelligence Officers created a third company they called Atari Entertainment Systems Incorporated. The three RAF Intelligence Officers presented Atari as an Activision competitor to investors and made no mention of their involvement with Activision. The three received $11 Billion USD from Goldman Sachs to begin operations.

During Haunkkah of 1974, the three once again released software without a console through KB Toys and KB Toys' subsidiary K-Mart Stores PLC. This time however, they packaged the software with a license agreement promising customers a "subsequent series of software titles" at no cost. The license agreements were patterned after "user agreements" one of the three included with Sylvania Lightbulbs one-hundred fifty years before. Atari's console wasn't released until 1977 and the one that was released wasn't operational. It took another full year for the RAF Intelligence Officers to deliver a working console.

To stave off lawsuits, the three promised customers "free Sony televisions for a guaranteed lifetime". Atari made that promise through 30-second television commercials that aired on Gannett Television Broadcasting Systems syndicated broadcast affiliates.

Colleco began selling additional games for its console during Rash Hashanah of 1974. Those games included a copy of the software license agreement Atari offered under the Collecovision Systems Incorporated PLC. All eleven of the games Colleco distributed were developed by SSI.

In 1979, the three RAF Radar Intelligence Officers that started SSI partnered with seven former United States military officers to form Activision Software PLC. Activision was started to develop gaming applications for IBM's four home computer systems including the IBM Cobalt, the Commodore 64, Texas Instruments Vic 20, and Hewlett Packard's Horizon PC. The first title Activision produced was a pornographic adventure series called "Leisure Suit Larry." That title was also released with an ad infinitum prommisory agreement.

Leisure Suit Larry's prommisory agreement "entitled" SSI Incorporated's customers to "ten future games at no cost" and "guaranteed free delivery" of "future releases" of Leisure Suit Larry along with ten unnamed software titles. SSI Inc. never fulfilled their obligation and in fact filed for protected bankruptcy status (Chapter 11) after seven different class action lawsuits were filed.

In 1987, the three RAF Intelligence Officers that started SSI forced an artist that trademarked the name "Electronic Arts" into bankruptcy. They later chloroformed her, stole her assets including a Fort Lauderdale apartment, turned the apartment into a restaurant, and sold the artist to Alan Thicke Entertainment PLC for $11,000.07 BPGS. Alan Thicke Entertainment PLC used that artist to create the promotional materials and the sets for over 700 different television series. She also appeared in one of those series.

That same year, SSI hedged $11MM BPGS with Alan Thicke Entertainment. The $11MM were revenues gained through football and baseball simulations they stole from Roberto Clemente's sports board gaming company APBA PLC. The funds were spread across eleven television shows including Growing Pains, Rosanne, Seinfeld, and Everybody Loves Raymond.

Alan Thicke's two principal investors paid SSI Incorporated $11 Billion in dividends (BPGS) for their investment. The three RAF Radar Intelligence Officers that started SSI and seven Former United States Military Officers that started Collecovision started Bally's Grand Casino PLC with those funds.
Bally's electronic slot machines are manufactured by subsidiaries of SSI and are rigged by Collecovision Systems Incorporated PLC to yield a 700% return on what their customers spend on the machines. In their patent filings, SSI Incorporated described those machines as "Amusement Park Adventures" and "guaranteed satisfaction" for "every customer" that used their machines. SSI and Collecovision have failed to deliver on that promise.

PC GAMING AND SMART CONSOLES

The three RAF Radar Intelligence Officers and Seven United States military officers that that started Activision did produce one other game. The title of that game was named Oregon Trail. In 1981, SSI delivered Oregon Trail to secondary schools all over the world through a fourth subsidiary they called SSI Entertainment Systems PLC. That company promised the parents of secondary school students "one hundred future titles" with "no charge for delivery" through meetings arranged by the Parent Teachers Association. Those promises were never fulfilled.

SSI Entertainment's Board of Directors promised teachers and administrators within the association "trial based software" and "computer information terminals" to "operate" the "one-hundred future titles" they promised to produce at "no cost". They in fact formed Microsoft to deliver on these promises. Through the years, Microsoft has been refinanced on three separate occasions. The company is known as Microsoft Incorporated PLC today.

Originally, Microsoft was created to "fulfill the obligations set forth" through SSI Entertainment PLC's prommisory agreements and SSI Entertainment PLC's "wholly owned subsidiaries"'s promissory agreements. In 1993, SSI Entertainment's Board of Directors partnered with A.T. Kearney's seven Managing Directors. All seven of those Managing Directors were and are Cosa Nostra captains.

Those seven Managing Directors drafted Microsoft's promissory agreement. SSI employees labeled these "end user" agreements. Activision's Board of Directors and A.T. Kearney's seven Managing Directors trademarked Microsoft with the British Commonwealth's Patent Office, the World Patent Office, and the United States Treasury. Their obligations were never fulfilled.

Every computer software company outside the United Kingdom is owned in part by the Activision's Board of Directors, some or all of their male family members, A.T. Kearney's seven Managing Directors, and A.T. Kearney's seven Managing Directors mistresses. Those software companies includes ITunes Incorporated, Drumnumb Entertainment PLC, and every software distributor that creates applications for the Macintosh Operating System.

Every software product ever released has included a promissory agreement; most in the form of license agreements. Each of these agreements promises future refinements at no cost for development or delivery. This includes sports titles developed by Strategic Simulations Incorporated's subsidiaries Electronic Arts PLC, Microsoft PLC 's subsidiaries Sony Entertainment Systems PLC, and Pacific Park Industries International PLC. Despite these agreements, these three companies require customers to repurchase entire software packages every year for what amount to incremental updates. They also trespass on these agreements by charging premiums for software add-ons.

Pacific Park industries' subsidiary Creative Assembly PLC conceived of the idea of software add-on's and tested the concept through Pacific Park Industries' subsidiary Valve Corporation. In 1998, Valve Corporation presented the concept to Facebook Incorporated's parent company Meta along with an investment of $11.2 Billion BPGS. Valve Corporation presently owes the British Commonwealth $11.3 Trillion BPGS in back taxes Shelby vehicles it promised to deliver to the British Royal Armed Forces during World War I, World War II, and the Falkland Wars. Pacific Park Industries in fact sank seven ships containing the vehicles they promised and collected insurance through Lloyd's of London.

AMUSEMENT PARKS AND PENNY ARCADES

Pacific Park Industries is the single manufacturer of amusement park "novelty rides" worldwide. The word "coupon" was in fact trademarked by Pacific Park Industries' subsidiary Lakeside Amusement Parks PLC. Coupons were first used with novelty rides and the patent filing promised customers "unlimited amusement for the cost of a penny." The phrase was an effigy to the mechanic that patented Shelby Vehicles drive train, the drive trains of over 10,000 amusement park "novelty rides", and the framework for the vehicles themselves.

Under the trademark agreements filed with the British Commonwealth's Patent Office, the World Patent Organization, and the United States Treasury, coupons issued by Pacific Park Industries, Pacific Park Holdings, and its subsidiaries guarantee every coupon holder "no cost reentry" to "amusement parks worldwide" and "unlimited use of the facilities".

The patents for riflery, golf, batting, climbing, and pottery "practice theatres" are held under this trademark agreement. Pacific Park Industries has been refinanced seven times. Contradictory to the terms of their patent filing, the company requires customers to repurchase coupons to revisit their facilities beyond the date of original purchase and fails to honor their promissory agreements.

The same is true for Pacific Park Holdings' 11,007 penny arcades located throughout the world. Within their patent agreements, penny arcades are defined as "venues for entertainment owned or operated by Pacific Park Holdings. Pacific Park Holdings is a subsidiary of Pacific Park Industries and its subsidiaries includes the subway systems in Montreal, London, Paris, Moscow, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, and throughout Brazil.

By definition, casinos that "employ games of chance" are considered penny arcades and require no more than "a tolken" to "play unlimited games of excitement." A Pacific Park Holdings subsidiary called Pathway Industries PLC holds a patent on lottery systems including the ones run by governments, and these too are consider "novelty amusements" according to the terms of their patent filings.

Both SSI and A.T. Kearney have a stake in every lottery and casino throughout the world and both are represented hold Pacific Park Industries Board seats.

The NHL, NBA, MISL, NFL, THE NCAA, AND THE IOC

Pacific Park Industries begat the American Hockey Association, the American Association of Autotomic Univores, the Main International Soccer League, and the National Football Association. The coupons for all four associations were renamed "tickets" by employees of AAAU, the NFA, and the MISL. Employees within the AHA renamed the coupons "passes".

The AHA renamed itself the National Hockey League in 1921, the NFA renamed itself the National Football League in 1933, the AAAU renamed itself the National Basketball Association in 1948, and the MISL formed seven subsidiaries around the world beginning in the 1950s. By right, tickets to NBA, MISL, and NFL events or the events of their subsidiaries guarantee "unlimited reentry to league venues during business hours" at "no additional price" ad infinitum. The same is true for NHL passes. These promises have never been fulfilled.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is in fact a subsidiary of the AAAU. So too is the International Olympic Committee. The venues used to host International Olympic Committee events are held in trust by the NCAA and are defined as "amusement parks" through patent agreements filed with the British Commonwealth, the Worldwide Patent Office, and the United States Treasury. Coupons issued by the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee named "field passes" by NCAA and IOC members who solicited athletes for sex.

By right, NCAA and International Olympic Committee coupons allow customers to attend "open gala events" whenever the NCAA or the IOC conducts business. Every event "produced or published" is defined as an "open gala." NASCAR, La Mans, the PGA, and the USTA are held in trust by the IOC. Greyhound Racing International, Indy Car Circuit Racing PLC, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association are held in trust by the NCAA.

By right, the distributors of every computer software application ever sold are bound to supply their software titles to customers at no cost for maintenance or delivery until their customers deem the software defunct. By right, they are required to refund customers tenfold for subsequent titles their customers purchased with like content.

By right, Microsoft PLC and its subsidiaries are required to provide "fully functional" computer terminals annually to their customers at the cost of materials and with no cost for delivery. The operating systems and trademarked applications distributed by eleven of Microsoft's thirteen subsidiaries all have the same license agreements. Those license agreements are filed with the British Commonwealth's Patent Office, the Worldwide Patent Office, and the United States Treasury.

Microsoft PLC's other two subsidiaries (ASYS Computer PLC and Samsung Sun Life PLC) use the same agreements and include an ad infinitum replacement guarantee except in cases of "fire, theft, and acts of nature.". Neither company has adheres to the terms of their prommisory agreements.

Google Corp. PLC's parent company Alphabet PLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Sun Life PLC. Under their patent filing, Alphabet PLC's products are licensed as "shareware." Alphabet PLC trademarked the word shareware and defined shareware as "applications at no cost or no expense to customers who register." Every customer who has ever visited Alphabet PLC's Google Search Vehicle has in fact registered with Google. Google tracks and records their IP address.

By right, ASYS and Samsung Sun Life are obligated to supply "replacement computers without delay" ad infinitum at no cost for delivery as specified in their patent filings. Activision's Board of Directors, the seven former United States military officers that formed Bally's Grand Casinos, A.T. Kearney's seven Managing Directors, and thirteen current members of the British House of Lords presently hold ASYS in trust and hold Samsung Sun Life PLC's Board seats.

Apple Corp. is in fact a subsidiary of Sun Life PLC, and Apple computers were excluded from this agreement. iPhones and iPads were trademarked as Apple Computers.

Author: Erik Gagnon - Chi Rho Consulting

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What My Experiences as an Angel Investor Have Taught Me About the Venture Capital Industry

8/13/2023

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“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
---Proverbs 10:3

In 2008, I completed the last of my active-duty missions for the GCHQ and my combat license was decommissioned. Afterward, I entered the world of investment capital as an angel investor and served as a pawn for the British Crown and the American governments in a game of chess. Though my business ventures have met with limited success, I lhave earned enough to know that partnering with venture capital firms is a sure road to hell for any capable entrepreneur.

Brokerage houses back venture capital firms. The firms they back are nothing more than gambling houses. Firms like Accel and Sequoia Capital produce nothing of value for serious entrepreneurs with dreams of autonomy. Instead, they bank on their ability to work you out of your ideas and assume your assets and intellectual capital as their own.

So, too, are the brokerage houses that back these firms. If you follow the money trail long enough, you’ll learn that about eighty-seven percent of the world’s investment banks are controlled by eight families of kingmakers. The rest are irrelevant entities begun by corrupt individuals looking to corporatize their asset holdings.

While a handful of independent brokerage houses are allowed to play in the financial markets, they are small fish compared to the eight family networks that control the world’s capital markets. They are grooming houses for the larger firms, and oftentimes serve as shell corporations for criminal organizations. Analysts and partners within these firms that skill themselves in graft and piracy move on to the eight family-run banking empires, and the rest are swallowed up whole.

Skilled entrepreneurs that enter contracts with venture capital firms are forced to give up their autonomy. Their equity share are often diluted over time by their venture capital backers, and the interests of the brokerage houses their venture capitalists serve typically drives the direction of their companies. The principals within these firms are margin-focused and stop at nothing to drive up profits once they’ve set revenue objectives for your business. In the end, this compromises the quality of the products and services of the businesses they back.

If your business plan falls short of your venture capital firm’s revenue targets, you become a disposable asset for the brokerage firm that backs your venture capital partner. They begin to sell your concepts to competing firms and competing businesses with the purpose of liquidating your holdings. Oftentimes they do so without your knowledge or consent.

It is important to know that except of patents and design materials that fit within their brokerage firm’s strategic objectives, your business, your ideas, and your objectives are meaningless to your venture capital partners. The same holds true for the members of your management team. It’s a numbers game for them and your business assets are disposable.

It is also important to note that venture capitalists and angel investors are not the same. While some seed funds tout themselves and angel investments, true angel investors take a secondary lead role in seeing your ideas through to fruition. The deals are structured differently, with angels generally seeking a quick exit when their investments are repaid.

Depending on the assets you bring to the table and the risks associated with your business, some angel investors will ask for long-term non-voting equity shares in your company. Anywhere from 0.5% to 3.0% is customary in these circumstances. Venture capital firms on the other hand generally require equity arrangements and voting rights that affect an entrepreneur’s autonomy from day one.

The sweat equity true angel investors bring to the table cannot be measured. Most have run or managed business enterprises themselves and will mentor you on your deficiencies. They may serve as your Head of Finance, Chief of Operations, Executive Recruiter, Marketing Expert, or any combination thereof. However, their objectives are the same: to take your company safely to market and recoup their investment with a healthy dividend.

Angel investors will also leverage their business connections to help cut your costs. They will direct you to suppliers within their portfolio or their network, and structure the deals to get you off the ground. While venture capital firms claim to offer the same, the strategic objectives of the brokerage houses they serve drive decision making. They typically structure long-term deals with suppliers and distributors within their brokerage firm’s portfolio, and they structure these deals to maximize the brokerage firm’s revenues.

Human capital management is perhaps the greatest area of discrepancy between venture capital firms and true angel investors. While venture capitalists view open positions as red lines on a balance sheet, true angels understand that a strong corporate culture is fundamental to your long-term success. Consequently, worthwhile angels gravitate toward entrepreneurs that embrace values and principles that match their own.

Once you wade past seed funds, it is important to remember that all angel investors are not the same. There are plenty of unscrupulous individual investors that that milk intellectual capital during negotiations with the express purpose of pirating your ideas. There are others that will attempt to rope you into deals with the intent of driving you into bankruptcy and claiming your assets and intellectual property as their own.

The term angel investor traces its roots to 16th Century Spain and the fishing industry. True angel investors were men of faith who relied upon prayer, meditation, and scriptural teachings to guide them in placing their investments. When dealing with angel investors a good rule of thumb is to ask them about their faith. In short, listen to their testimony and get to know them as you would your closest business partners.

TAKE AWAYS
Venture capital firms are an anathema for entrepreneurs with aspirations of remaining autonomous. If the entry barriers for your business plan are so great that you require billions of dollars to get your idea off the ground, chances are you are chasing an illusion.

For entrepreneurs with innovative ideas who aren’t just interested in making a buck, co-partnerships outside the venture capital industry can be structured with reasonable payback terms. A capable angel investor with a strong network can help you structure deals with suppliers and distributors that are advantageous to your goals and objectives. In the long run, this will help you retain your autonomy and avoid the pitfalls of dealing with venture capitalists and the brokerages they serve.

“To the person who pleases Him, Christ gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases false christs. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
---Ecclesiastes 2:26

CHRIST TRANSLATES FROM BEAST TO YEAST.

Author: Erik Gagnon - Managing Partner, Chi Rho Consulting

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Search Engines Haven't Evolved

6/19/2023

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“Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation.”
---Dean Kamen (American Businessman}

In 1876 Melvil Dewey introduced the Dewey Decimal System. His library classification system allowed new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on their subject.

His decimal number classification system introduced the concepts of relative location and a relative index. Libraries previously placed books on shelf locations that were related to the order of acquisition rather than topic. His system used three-digit numbers for main classes, with fractional decimals allowing the expansion of further subcategories. Dewey’s system is still used in 200,000 libraries in at least 135 countries today.

Keep in mind that all this was done before the information age. Today, computers and artificial intelligence make this type of categorization simplistic. Why then haven’t tech entrepreneurs capitalized on this type of system to revolutionize the search engine industry?

There are twenty-nine general search engines in use today. They include the likes of Google, Baidu, Brave, and Bing. Every year or so, a handful of startups enter the market with little or no real leaps in technology. They are built along the same lines as Google: word driven; and rely on web crawlers to scan every page of a website for exact phrase matches or near subject matches.

Those phrase and near subject matches produce search results based on the end-user’s input. Oftentimes end-user’s have to run multiple strings to find a match on the results they’re looking for. In short, the interfaces aren’t very friendly. A search engine with a comprehensive subject index would be much more helpful.

A search engine with a numerical subject-based indexing system doesn’t exist today. Nor has one ever. You can largely thank the tech entrepreneurs and their engineering teams at Google and Microsoft for this. You can also point the blame at the lack of creativity in the tech market.

Simply put, the existing business models do not allow for innovation or generational leaps in technology. Google and Bing’s business models are both entirely based around paid search. Their engineering teams categories search results on their worth to their respective companies rather than a website’s value to their end-users. Entrepreneurs that have attempted to enter the market have mirrored their business models.

Arguably, it wouldn’t take a team of NASA scientists to revolutionize the industry. At a high level there really are only fifteen categories of searches internet users engage in. The categories include:

News
Sports
Entertainment
Retail
Religion
Medical
Self-Help
Consumer Services
Professional Services
Business Services
Food & Restaurant
Directory Searches (people, maps, dating, etc.)
Educational
Weather
Government Services
Adult (Pornographic) Content

Artificial intelligence could be employed to group sites into subcategories underneath these categories, and from there the technology possibilities are endless.

Drop-down menus could be employed, and pages could be categorized based on a relative index value and/or end-user feedback. Sub-searches based on a character strings could also be employed to help users find specific goods, services, or educational materials that meet their needs.

Arguably, a subscription business model would work under this type of scenario. From an end-user’s perspective a Dewey Decimal-like search engine would be well worth the value, eliminating paid-search results and placing the information, goods, and services right at their fingertips with far fewer queries.

“Little children understand wisdom; and unwise men pursueth wisdom.”
---Proverbs 8:5

Author: Erik Gagnon - Managing Partner, Chi Rho Consulting

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Wrangling Fear

12/5/2021

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Wrangling Fear Outlaw with a gun venture capitalist shooting entrepreneur

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
---Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933)

I grew up in a blue-collar town and my dad was a vile and abusive man. He abused both my mother and me, and she turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism. Fear and uncertainty were staples during my formative years because life at home was a nightmare.

One of my greatest fears happened to be financial insecurity. I never knew where my next meal was coming from; and I imagined I might end up homeless. I’ll share about that in this article.

WRANGLING MY OWN FEARS
My dad’s job required him to travel three weeks out of every month for eight months of the year. Every time he took to the road my mom would pick up a liquor bottle as soon as he was out the door. Many a day, she would pass out drunk sometime during the afternoon, which left me to fend for myself. Consequently, I spent a lot of time on the streets as a youngster; and I devised schemes to keep my pockets full so I wouldn’t go hungry.

I was blessed with an above average intellect, and I viewed my education as a way out of my awful situation. As a result, I buckled down in school. I also competed athletically to improve my chances at earning a scholarship. Through the grace of God, scouts took notice and I made my way into Princeton. Once there, I thought I’d never look back.

After graduation, I made a decent living. I built a nest egg and planned for my retirement. That said, the feelings of fear and uncertainty relating to money followed me for years. They clouded my vision and impaired my judgment. So much so, that I was oblivious to very real dangers my business interests had surfaced.

I ran afoul of some very wealthy and powerful men, and they contracted killers to terminate my existence. In June of 2013, I was attacked by two men on an elevated bus platform at Denver International Airport while traveling on an assignment. They threw me off the four-story platform, and it nearly cost me my life.

The attack put me into a coma, and I spent over five months in the hospital. My insurance eventually ran out and the bills started to come due. Before the accident, I had begun a new business venture and my savings were already stretched. I was unable to work, and I had little money coming in.

After I was discharged from the hospital, I had a year and a half of physical rehabilitation ahead of me. At one point during that period, I thought my situation was hopeless. Things became so bad that I imagined I’d never be able to work again and might even wind up living on the streets. Many a night, I cried myself to sleep and called out to God in despair.

In that period of darkness, Jesus took the reins. My expenses were miraculously covered; and shortly afterward he opened the door to a couple of new consulting engagements.

Our firm was reborn, and my career headed in a completely new direction. In addition to branding, business analytics and strategic planning engagements, we started assisting entrepreneurs in their efforts to secure venture capital. This has become our core practice area in recent years, and we find these assignments to be our most fulfilling engagements.

As odd as this may seem, the attempt on my life happens to be the greatest blessing of my life. My reliance on Our lord and savior has grown by leaps and bounds since that day. I’ve been set free of the fears of becoming homeless and going hungry; and I have a much truer sense of purpose.

The adversity I’ve faced has now become somewhat of an asset much like Proverbs 17:17 describes. I now realize that all I am afforded has been conferred upon me through God’s grace, and I’ve earned a degree of humility. For Christ alone grants us pardon so we may carry out His will.

Meditation and prayer have become staples in my life in the years since the attack. I turn my care and will over to Our lord and savior Jesus Christ every morning and ask for his guidance and direction as I plan out the day ahead.

During these quiet times together, the Holy Spirit has revealed much to me about myself. I’ve channeled back to lessons in life that I had shelved in the back of my mind; and I have recalled the tutelage of mentors and instructors who honed my skills and helped forge my character.

One of the greatest lessons I have recalled is that you can train yourself to recognize fear. Both within yourself and within others. When you're under fear, your survival instincts begin to kick in, and your body gives off telltale signs when they do.

That said, there are two distinctly different types of fear. Some fears are sheep, and others happen to be wolves. The keys are first knowing which you’re dealing with, and then roping those fears into submission.

When I start to feel fear, my mind begins to race; and my pulse begins to quicken if I don’t nip the racing thoughts in the bud. Before I know it, I’m fidgeting in my seat and the world around me becomes cloudy. At that point, fear has the advantage. And like wagon train settlers on the American frontier, I become easy prey for outlaws, marauders and desperados whenever that happens.

When fear takes hold of me, I must remind myself that I've been afforded a sheriff's badge, and that’s it’s my duty to confront the perpetrator. That means tapping into the fear and shining light upon the source with the truth.

Wrangling fear entrepreneur sheriff sheep roping in venture capital

This isn’t as easy as it sounds because fear happens to be a shape shifter. It takes many forms, and most of them are slippery suckers.

Sometimes my fears appear as a strongman outlaw with the gift of gab. If I happen to be hungry, angry, lonely or tired when the strongman disturbs my peace, I’m in for a fight. If I manage to wrestle it down, it starts to plea bargain with me. It reminds me that it’s a long ride back to the jail and offers me a bribe to dismiss the criminal offense.

If I take that bribe, I’m in for a world of hurt. Because that strongman outlaw usually doesn’t travel alone. It’s generally tied in with a gang of marauding fears hiding all along the trail. The strongman has a horse that’s lot faster than mine, and it knows where its compadres are positioned. Before I know it, they’ve got me encircled; and they begin to pick me apart in short order.

They go after my scars. Wounds from the past that haven’t quite healed. They’re armed with sharp tongues and they’re deadly accurate with their aim. If my anger flairs, they smack me upside my head with resentments and leave me to rot on the trail. A tasty morsel for roving desperados that often follow in their wake.

When that strongman starts to offer the bribe, I’m learning to simply go about my business. I do my best to keep my mouth shut and not say a word. Instead, I hog-tie the strongman with my rope, blindfold it, stuff a bandana in its mouth, and drag it straight back to the jail behind my horse.

It isn’t my job to dispense justice. Rather, it’s my duty to keep the peace. I say a prayer for the outlaw and hand him over to Christ for redemption. I try not to look back once I have. Instead, I return the trail and go about my business. I know the verdict will be swift and that’s sufficient. The truth always prevails. Light always vanquishes the darkness.

CONFRONT YOUR FEARS EARLY ON
Confronting fear is an imperative, especially for entrepreneurs. Business is oftentimes warfare, and it’s necessary to keep a clear head in order to remain true to your mission. If you avoid your persistent fears, they tend to surface at the least opportune times. Our unholy enemy senses fear and uses it to his advantage.

You jeopardize everything you’ve worked for unless you rope your own fears and hand them over to God. For example, employees can sense doubt and uncertainty. It often breeds worry and concern. When patterns of the two begin to emerge, your top performers are likely to jump ship. Oftentimes, to your competitors.

Similarly, investors can sense desperation. Most won’t touch you when you smell of it. You’re simply a bad gamble and the risks to their portfolio are too great. And those who will entertain your ideas when you smell of desperation are oftentimes wolves. Some will listen to your pitch just to pick your brain. They’ll steal your ideas in order to sell them off, or even start a business of their own that mirrors yours.

Other wolves will intentionally wrangle you into a deal that becomes a no-win situation for you. They’ll deliberately structure the terms of the contract so that it’s nearly impossible to diversify or retool. Perhaps worse, they may plot to dilute your holdings over time; to a point where you have no say in the company.

Last but certainly not least: you’re likely to make unwise decisions if you’re not cognizant of your own fears. The Enemy is cunning, baffling and powerful. Before you know it, you’re responding to his minions rather than the voice of reason. If that happens, there's a good chance you'll wind up getting cocky, going bent, turning flaccid or becoming greedy. You may even compromise your company’s mission without even realizing it.

ENTREPRENEURS: FOR YOUR JOURNEY AHEAD

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.
---Psalms 40:1-3

Wrangling fear entrepreneur kneeling at a cross on the American frontier

May you find clarity of vision and purity of thought as you move toward your purpose. Confront your fears, rope them down, and turn them over to Jesus Christ. Like the mustard seed, your vision will take root.

Author: Erik Gagnon - Managing Partner, Chi Rho Consulting

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