I Don’t Care: A Protective Force

For years I recall saying that very phrase, “I don’t care”. I used it about politics, about organic foods back in the 80’s, about finance and investing. It all felt too daunting and overwhelming, and so I kept my world simple and only learned about those things that I could master. Making mistakes was not allowed! When I look back, there were good reasons for my limited thinking. Politics involved fighting, war, understanding the chain of command. Organic foods were for the “yuppies” or young, rich folk (now I am really dating myself!) and finance/investing was about intricate mathematical formulas that I did not understand, as well as being for the rich and certainly not me! I really get it now and the fact is, I really do care! My folks portrayed the world as an unsafe place, thus watching news or learning about political viewpoints and disagreement really made me feel unsettled. While there was an organic movement in the 70’s and 80’s, my upbringing and traditional dietetics education did not support this style of eating, seemingly only for the well to do and hippie groups. And finally, the world of money was a volatile subject in my home. As an only child, my folks did anything to make sure that I was not spoiled and they fought about money quite a bit. I was taught to be frugal, not self-indulgent and was also not allowed to have a bank account until I left home as a young adult. This is not about blame – my folks wanted to protect me from the world as they saw it. I truly get it, and yet, I have had many opportunities especially in my own adult life, to transform my belief system. I am now quite passionate about the political stance on healthcare, about big industry and how it often suppresses the individual folks working to make the world a better place. I truly believe in organic and non-GMO food availability and education for the public to make informed choices for themselves and their families. And I am in a place where I truly desire financial abundance in order to spread my message of “whole health and healing” to a larger audience. Ironically, as I write this blog, I am sitting in a hotel room with my former boss, attending the Rule Number One seminar from Phil Town, a revolutionary investor and pioneer in this education. It was not quite 6 weeks ago when she asked me to attend on a scholarship and I had no clue what this would be about other than to learn some basic aspects of investing in companies aligns with ones’ values. My best examples would be Whole Foods – a company committed to healthy food, employee and customer satisfaction and a CEO who is passionate about health and “his people”; and Chipotle – a restaurant dedicated to local and organic food, again educating the public and employees about sustainable farming and living practices. While the “math piece” will take a while to learn and understand, the concept of helping to create a world that aligns with my core values based on my investments, really excites me! This paradigm shift in money is so similar to the paradigm shift that I am passionate about in healthcare. The bottom line is that it is important to have full disclosure and education in order to make decisions for oneself that align with one’s values. Take your past, learn from it, choose to live an empowered life and care! With passion, Julie