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San Antonio Express-News Homepage
San Antonio's high rate of student-loan defaults has a bright side: More people are studying for degrees.
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Greg Jefferson
Greg Jefferson, Restless City
In their first year out of school, University of Texas at San Antonio graduates with bachelor's degrees earned a median income of $40,220, the second lowest among campuses in the UT System, according to the Census Bureau.
Bexar County has an alarmingly high rate of borrowers who have fallen behind on their student loans, and the problem has been getting worse.
Loan delinquency jumped from 5.8 percent in 2003 to 13.1 percent in 2018, the largest increase among the state's urban counties.
That was one of the findings of a recent Dallas Fed report on Bexar County residents' troubled relationship with consumer credit — troubled like Tokyo's relationship with Godzilla is troubled.
Another conclusion: Bexar County is home to a lot of car and truck buyers who can't keep up with their loan payments. The county's delinquency rate on auto loans exceeded the state average every year between 2003 and 2018.
So, if you know a recent college graduate who just bought a new car, well, do something nice for her — short of lending her money.
We're becoming numb to statistics like these. Thank you for that — we'd nearly forgotten the San Antonio area is the poorest of the country's major metros.
But there's room here for a little optimism. The student loan default numbers, bad as they are, are a sign that more San Antonians are earning, or at least working toward, post-secondary certificates and degrees, which should mean higher incomes down the road.
Poor educational attainment is at the root of San Antonio's age-old poverty problem. More than 40 percent of adult residents have a high school education or less, according to the Census Bureau. Compare that to Austin's 29 percent and Dallas's 37 percent. An increase in the number of San Antonians earning associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees is something to celebrate.
But let's not go overboard with our optimism.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report makes the obvious connection between income and credit scores, those mysterious numbers that can grant you — or deny you — access to loans and credit cards, rental housing and, in some cases, employment.
Judging from two maps included in the study — one that color-codes Bexar County by incomes and another that does the same by credit scores — higher incomes are tied to higher credit scores, and vice versa.
That in a nutshell is San Antonio's income inequality crisis, the gulf between its haves and have-nots.
If you drew a third map, color-coding the county by education levels, it would more than likely match up neatly with the first two.
Micaela Rios, program director at the education nonprofit Upgrade in San Antonio, has seen a lot of workers who want to go back to school because they recognize that's the only way to get ahead in this economy. Without more education and higher skills, they're trapped.
And they're feeling the pressure.
"It's of the utmost importance to them," Rios said. "People are looking for the most flexible program that allows them to progress as quickly as they can."
Upgrade, which is part of the San Antonio Education Partnership, helps workers who dropped out of community college or a university go back to school to finish their course work. In the organization's first few years, nearly 1,000 people have already filled out online in-take forms for the program.
Among those, 11 percent had defaulted on previous student loans and another 9 percent didn't know if they'd defaulted.
It's hard to say for certain why a lot of San Antonio-area borrowers can't keep up with their student loan payments.
"It is unclear whether this poor (loan repayment) performance is a matter of increased access to college for those with poor credit, relatively low incomes or something else entirely," the Dallas Fed researchers wrote. "No matter the cause, it appears this phenomenon is more drastic in Bexar County compared with the state as a whole."
Student loans are practically the only kind of credit that doesn't depend on your credit score — which makes it a godsend to families without a lot of savings or other assets. But that also means that recent college grads from those families often can't call on mom and/or dad for financial help if they get behind on bills.
If these new degree-holders are lucky enough to find work in the field they studied for, their jobs are probably entry-level and lower-paying. That's an even bigger issue in San Antonio, where the median income of $49,024 is significantly below the state and national medians.
In their first year out of school, University of Texas at San Antonio graduates with bachelor's degrees earned a median income of $40,220, the second lowest among campuses in the UT System, according to the Census Bureau. Unfortunately, we don't know how many of them stayed in San Antonio to start their careers.
Oh, yeah, and the cost of a college education has risen sharply nationwide in recent years, just as those on the have-not side of the income divide — not just in San Antonio, but across the country — have realized they need higher education to get by.
Small wonder then that we're in a national crisis, with student loan debt ballooning to $1.5 trillion — more than any other consumer debt besides mortgages — and a steadily growing number of borrowers in default.
For many of the college graduates from San Antonio's poorer neighborhoods, it's a difficult trade-off: a short-term struggle, sometimes a losing one, to pay off their student loans to get a long-term shot at prosperity.
Hopefully, they haven't lost the taste for instant ramen noodles they developed in the dorm room.
greg.jefferson@express-news.net
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Greg Jefferson is Metro Editor of the San Antonio Express-News. Previously, he covered the energy industry, City Hall and politics for the newspaper. Greg also edited the alternative newsweekly San Antonio Current, wrote for the San Antonio Business Journal and co-founded Plaza de Armas, a now-defunct website that covered San Antonio politics and culture.
Justice charter amendment question makes it on May ballot
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JANESVILLE, WI – The Janesville Jets have completed a trade with the Central Division's Minot Minotauros, announced Jets Head Coach and General Manager Gary Shuchuk Tuesday.
The Jets acquired veteran forward Austin Koss (5-11/198) in exchange for a conditional 2019 NAHL Draft Pick.
Koss will wear #9 for the Jets.
In 80 career games for the Minotauros, Koss has registered 10 goals and six assists on 16 points. He skated in 11 of 12 games in last spring's magical playoff run for Minot, in which the 4th-seeded Minotauros knocked off the Aberdeen Wings and Austin Bruins en route to the Robertson Cup Final Four. There, the Minotauros upset the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in a thrilling three-game set before losing a heartbreaking final to the Shreveport Mudbugs.
Though Koss scored just one goal in that playoff run, it probably wouldn't have come together without him, said Shuchuk.
Koss immediately becomes Janesville's second-oldest player, born January 26, 1998, just 15 days after forward Jack Vincent. The Jets expect Koss to help the Jets' leadership group guide the younger players, Shuchuk said.
Jets goaltender Garrett Nieto also likened the newcomer to Polglaze. Koss and Nieto grew up together in southern California, where they played with each other from youth hockey with the California Wave to AAA with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings program. Koss captained the 2014-15 Jr. Kings team, their last together in U16.
Koss identified the Jets' community outreach efforts, known throughout the NAHL, as something he's particularly excited to join.
Koss will join the Jets for practice on Tuesday, and just three days later could suit up in his home white jersey when Janesville hosts the Chippewa Steel in the first edition of the rebooted Battle of Wisconsin.


Hi folks, i am a regular listener on DG.
Last year i spent most of the gametime on DG with Entropia Universe.
what is entropia for a game??
Like endless of miles to keep running to the great sounds banging in my head thru this channel.
i'm a Guild Wars player myself, but i completely understand where you're coming from. DG whilst gaming is a MUST.


Different of the moment of the dictatorship where severity imposed the definite values already; in the current conjuncture, in the same school, while professors stimulate the cooperation between pupils, others the competition; some would have aversion to the most varied violence forms, while others would be tolerant the certain violent or aggressive manifestations of the pupils or the proper professors (MENIN, 2002). A disposal to disclose the diversity of values to mesclarmos or to declare its personal incompatibility with basic principles of respect to the values and opinions of each one. Thus, with the school assuming a resume based on projects, associating always the thematic ones of ethics and human rights as references for the developed lessons and actions; we can obtain that the socially desirable principles impregnate the educational environment (ARAUJO, 2007). In such a way, exactly with as many affirmations in the moral education it does not have place for certezas, but of doubts which must be always to be argued (MENIN, 2002) FINAL CONSIDERAES The spite of as many reflections and commissions of ethics, the world still seems little ethical. In search of the politically correct one, in the current project the things do not go well and search explanations and solutions. The study it reflects that the subject ' ' tica' ' inside of the schools one became present and necessary, in order in such a way to firm values to the alunado one how much to the professors, in sight of the concerns with this new social panorama that we live of violence and incivilidades. the ethics is a subject that must be argued in all environments inside of the school. The dialogue between professors and pupils of as to teach to ethics and its reflection reveals basic for the construction of the values and the growth of this subject in the society.


The historic northern Thai town of Chiang Saen is full of ancient Buddhist monuments, but Wat Phra That Chedi Luang is its principle shrine. People from all walks of life still pay their respects there.
About 200 soldiers on a break shared the grounds with monks. Their garb differed, but all were disciplined young men quietly ambling around the temple. The temples in Chiang Saen represent a different way of encouraging people to cohere than the Athenian Agora in the last post–and a real cool intercultural comparison.
Wat Chedi Luang and Chiang Saen's other temples represent a different way of ordering the world than the linear relationships that Athens' Agora did.
Wat Chedi Luang 's lower section's an octagon, but the shrine's entire form looks less like a static geometric shape and more like a flow of energy from the heavens. It ripples like a river, as though grace is cascading from the sky in the form of the waterways that Thais have lived and migrated along for more than 2,000 years.
The rippling seemed even more real as I walked around the stupa.
Statues of devotees like the one in the above photo line the top of a fence around the stupa. The statues and stupa gently blend with the trees in the background.
Ancient Athens' Agora was an open field with buildings around its borders. Their colonnades are in straight lines. These linear relationships and the free interactions between people within clear sight of each other encouraged assumptions that the world is unified by linear relationships between distinct entities. Many modern Western scientists still hold this assumption.
But Thailand's rivers, flowing art-forms and profuse vegetation blend so that things aren't distinguished so sharply. Everything flows together. Graceful art and personal etiquette encourage society to cohere.
Thais were rarely as direct as the folks I met in Greece, but their landscape is so full of enchantments that you don't need the probing conversations with others to be happy. We've only seen a small percentage of Chiang Saen's beauty. We'll explore more of Chiang Saen's grace in the next post. If you're very Greek, be careful or you might lose your bearings.
What a fascinating website. It's so nice to learn about other cultures through those that have the opportunity to travel.
Thanks for the compliment, Pam. Thailand's one of the most fascinating cultures in the world.


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Over the past few years, I've been what people a 'pseudo-vegetarian', trying to limit my daily meat consumption. But sometimes, all a gal wants is a good steak. When in Brussels, Colonel is the best place to make even the most demanding person happy.
Even on a Monday, Colonel is fully booked, which is testament to the great quality food it serves. The décor balances industrial and cosy, making it the best place for a long-awaited girls reunion. The large window façade creates an element of additional space – I usually ask get a table overlooking the windows, it makes the atmosphere more intimate.
I have to admit that I was looking forward to my dinner all day and could hold back on the enthusiasm when we arrived. We started off with a sharing plate of Corsican cured meats, including aged ham and coppa – my favourite was the slightly spicy lonzo. Having visited Colonel quite a few times, I can also testify that the bone marrow and the carpaccio with arugula and pine nuts are also excellent.
But for the love of steak, don't get overly carried away with the appetizers. Keep some room for the piece de resistance – the steak. What I really appreciate at Colonel is their approach towards the sourcing of their meat. They cooperate with experts from all over France to bring the best quality and sustainably bread meat to the table.
I'm always torn between the 300g ribeye to share and the entrecote. This time I went for the latter. It comes with a lightly seasoned green salad and homemade fries cooked in fat, in true respect to Belgian tradition. I'm glad I was at a foodie table, with all my friends offering a bite of their perfectly cooked filet mignon and ribeye steak. Needless to say that at the end of the dinner I was full and happy. The Malbec also helped perfectly complementing the food, though the wine list is extensive enough to please any wine taste.
But those who know me know that I would not leave a great dinner without ordering desert. This time the verdict was unanimous – we shared the decomposed Snickers bar, made with peanut praline and salted caramel emulsion. Other times I have opted for the dame blanche, another Belgian classic, combining vanilla bean ice cream with melted Belgian chocolate; an ode to decadence.
Having left Brussels almost a year ago, I always try to think of which places I would like to replicate in Amman. Colonel, with its cosy atmosphere and great steaks, is definitely very high up the list. And I'm sure it would be an instant success.


You should post more illustrations--really nice! And your finished skirt is super adorbs.
Oh my goodness how cool is that!! And a so much more sophisticated sketch than mine was... Congrats - I can't wait to get a copy of the book either!
Nice blog Grace! I didn't know you were such a great knitter! You should post your knitting projects to Burda Style too!


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The Solano Slate
Providing Solano business leaders news within the community and a voice to change the future of commerce.
40 Under 40 Nomination Form
The COVID-19 Vaccine: Will It Save Our Businesses?
Solano County health officials held a virtual town hall last week to discuss the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Mass vaccination began this month, beginning with Phase 1 participants. This includes frontline health workers, first responders, and seniors age 75 and above. Other tiers are expected to open once more vaccines become available. Currently, there is more demand than supply. County leaders are hunting for spaces to use as mass vaccination sites once more tiers open up. Dr. Christine Wu, Solano's deputy public health officer, said the goal is to immunize everyone. She advised people to continue to take social distancing precautions and wear masks until it is their turn to be vaccinated. "We are still months away from getting everyone who wants a vaccine, vaccinated," stated Wu.
The hospitals in Solano County are working diligently to protect their community. "We are responsible for vaccinating our patients, and we take this role very seriously. Sutter is engaging with state and local public health officials to identify opportunities to partner on broader community vaccination efforts as supply increases," said Sutter Health in a statement.
NorthBay Healthcare is also harboring high hopes. "NorthBay is vaccinating about 500 patients 65 and older each day, focusing on reaching those 75 and older. The first group that will receive the vaccine is about 6,000 local residents who regularly see NorthBay primary care physicians. Meanwhile, NorthBay, Kaiser, and Solano County Public Health are working closely together to get create vaccine clinics that are open to all, hope to be up and running early next month."
Vaccine Clinic at NorthBay Healthcare's Green Valley Campus
This vaccine brings hope to many small business owners, but the pandemic overall is still keeping them on their toes. Jamil Zainasheff, Owner of Heretic Brewing Co. in Fairfield, said to the Chamber "We are always hopeful, as we believe in our community. It is one of strength and resilience. However, it does look like it is going to be quite sometime before business returns to pre-pandemic conditions. Some consumer behaviors may have been permanently altered by this past year and will never be the same. While you may see increased business activity by the fall of 2021, it might not be until the summer of 2022 before things seem relatively normal."
Fah Sathirapongsasuti, co-owner of the Suisun Valley Wine Co-op said "The pandemic has had an outsized impact on our older customers, who are some of the most loyal, long-time supporters. We are hopeful that the vaccines will allow them to come visit us more. We also look forward to getting ourselves vaccinated because a number of our staff are in the more vulnerable age groups. It will bring us peace of mind that we can stay healthy and keep our guests safe when we operate the tasting room."
Larger corporations are paying their employees to get the vaccine. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trader Joe's will give employees two hours of pay to receive the vaccine. Instacart is offering a $40 stipend. Darden Restaurants, the parent company to Olive Garden, is giving its hourly employees up to four hours of paid time off. None of these companies are making the vaccination mandatory, but leaving it as an option for their workforce.
Kaiser Permanente has a COVID-19 Return to Work Playbook for businesses learning how to better operate to meet public health guidelines and keep their workforce safe and healthy. You can access the playbook here: COVID-19 Return to Work Playbook
Solano County is currently in the Purple tier of the State's Public Health Order, meaning many non-essential indoor businesses are still closed or operating with heavy limitations. In order to operate at the less restrictive Red tier, the county must have less than an 8% positivity rate for three straight weeks. It is currently at a 13% positivity rate. As the county moves between tiers, employees across many industries can start returning to work.
Solano's Board of Supervisors directed County Administrator Birgitta Corsello to send a "strongly worded" letter to Governor Gavin Newsom stating the county wants more control over how to manage businesses during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, said Solano County was one of the first counties to begin tracing transmission sources. Of the 300 disease clusters identified in the county, none shows transmission from a business to its customers. The notion is that if businesses enact the proper safety protocols, only the businesses that cater to large crowds, such as concert venues, would not be able to be open at the moment.
Are you hopeful of the COVID-19 Vaccine? Let us know in the comments below.
Tagged Heretic BrewingKaiser PermanenteNorthBay HealthcareSolano Public HealthSuisun Valley Wine Co-op
Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce
Vacaville Chamber of Commerce
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Why is it important to have a good personal injury attorney to represent me in a facial disfigurement injury case?
These injuries typically have high financial costs, and the legal process to obtain just compensation can be difficult and complex. Insurance companies will search for any way to reduce what they pay you. You need a fierce advocate in your corner to get the money you deserve for your facial disfigurement injuries.


Clark was an unplanned child.
Living with Clark is a combination of living with the purity of a baby lamb and the gusto of a proverbial football playing frat boy on a Saturday night. He's messy for one and his build up to moments of newness and excitement mimic an ever-erupting volcano. He often lays down in the middle of an intersection as a gesture of love for passersby and he has been known to pee on others in the name of joy. Clark is embarrassing at times but no one has ever left his presence with a furrowed brow. He is a joy creator.
Clark single-handedly brought silly back into our home. This was the most unexpected thing. I hadn't realized until Clark stormed into our lives that somewhere along our warrior path we lost this very important quality. Sure we were happy. The smiles have always been real but somewhere between the meditation and constant watch on how we were moving through the world something got more serious about us. There is no doubt in my mind that one of Clark's main missions was to blow all that up in our faces and it started with him toilet papering our house on a regular basis.
There is so much to be serious about in this life and if we focus too much there we will smother our silliness. Serious likes to be in charge, especially as adults with all of our responsibilities and important roles. Silly is there to break up our rigid paradigms and clear the load that we carry in our hearts.
For Clark, there's never a bad time for silly. Silly is unexpected, it's spontaneous and definitely lacks judgment. It is often times risky and it never adheres to a plan. Silly creates joy and lifts burdens. It's a beautiful antidote for the seriousness of our world, I highly recommend it.
I distinctly remember a day not too far into our Ride the High Vibe Tour of 2016 when I was filled with fear and uncertainty. What the hell had we done? We had, after all, just arrived at the place that you're supposed to get to in life. We had no debt, we could afford our lives and we were banking money every month for the very first time.
After one very potent meditation in late 2015, we decided to set up camp on the razor's edge of life and walk away from it all. Not only did we sell our dream home but we got rid of all our possessions. Family heirlooms, sentimentals, pictures. Gone. Gone. Gone. Very little material trace that we ever existed. All we had was the three of us, a few bags and a paid-off Honda Fit with no idea where we were going to live or how long we would be on the road.
To say that this part of our lives was fertile ground for fear is an understatement. It was more like fly tape for fear and our job was to just make sure none of it stuck, at least not for too long.
The road ahead was vast and unknown, the road behind was gone and I was having a WTF moment. In between rapid heartbeats, I caught a glimpse of Clark in the side mirror. The breeze worked through his golden fur while his eyes reacted to the wind that refreshed his face in the sun. Not a trace of fear or uncertainty.
I looked at BJ and said, "may we always trust ourselves as much as Clark trusts us". Unwavering and incredibly pure his trust was something that could be relied upon. I felt it fully at that moment and it has never left me to this day.
We all have a guiding force within us that will never steer us wrong. It is our intuition, our higher self, our inner voice as some will call it and sadly it falls mostly on deaf ears. It was that voice that directed us to the razor's edge.
It's been beyond frightening at times. We have debt and uncertainty but we also have our inner voice celebrating our victory because we are living our purposes in this world. We receive blessings every day and are in touch with the miracles that are always brewing on our behalf. We are open. We have grown exponentially and despite the challenges, BJ and I are closer than ever. The three of us are bulletproof and it's because we are in complete trust of our path ahead.
Clark is content in all life situations. Whether he's navigating the crowded streets of New York City, carrying a sandy tennis ball in his already sandy mouth or waiting by his food bowl for the command to "release". He emanates peaceful happiness all of his days.
Santosha, or contentment, is an ethical principle of yoga and it is a key piece of limiting the suffering in our lives. No matter the challenge ahead or intensity of the moment our freedom lies in our ability to find contentment. It is an acceptance, if not a welcoming, of all that comes our way without feelings of regret, bitterness or dissatisfaction. The practice of contentment removes habitual response patterns that label a moment or experience as unacceptable. Rather it gives us permission to lean in and not against the what is in our life.
We are hardwired to avoid pain and discomfort. I get that. I appreciate that my nervous system prevents me from walking into the middle of the interstate highway but let's get real, our constant scurry to stay comfortable has gotten out of hand.
I remember the days of having to get out from under my warm blanket, off the couch and walk the full distance to the television and back to change the channel. I appreciate modern conveniences. I love that I can turn on my fireplace and not have to chop wood. I appreciate that I have a fireplace in San Diego where the temperatures drop below 50 degrees, sometimes. I'm not a complete renunciate but I often catch myself seeking comfort when I could just as easily practice contentment. When I choose the latter it is always shown to me that at that moment I have everything I need. I am already complete and there is nothing that will make me more complete than I already am.
Clark is a master of contentment and I often find myself soaking up his essence in moments when I see that suffering is available. Clark has taught me the art of non-resistance and the eloquent lean-in to what is.
It's my job to take Clark out first thing in the morning. BJ does the night shift which works great for me. If you know anything about then you know my love for going to bed and my innate skill for slumbering on command. There is no too early for bed with this girl, I'm all about climbing into the darkness to rest my body and allow my subconscious to process out.
Wake up in our house is pre-dawn so when Clark and I go outside it's just the two of us. No collars, no leashes just the quiet streets and the sound of the ocean waves. We have built a routine together, he walks just behind me and after I make sure the coast is clear, I give him the command to "go free". He immediately springs to life, sometimes jumping into half circles, tearing around the streets toward his favorite morning relief station across the way. Once he's done, he joyfully gallops to our door. So what I've gleaned from this and every other run, walk and hike we've done together is that Clark is 100% completely baggage free.
There's no whining about the long walk from the day before or tight glutes or an overpronated ankle. He just gets up and goes. He doesn't have the trailer of the past that us humans drag behind us. He is story free. There's no bad shoulder or bad day, there's just now.
In truth, Clark is simply living in alignment with fact. The moment we are in is all we have. It is all that we've ever had and all we will ever have. It is the only thing that exists. The future is simply a concept and the past vanished into nothingness as soon as it happened. Every moment we receive is brand new and each one comes with the chance to begin again. They provide us countless opportunities to leave our past where it belongs and chose consciously how we will move into the future. There is no year or month or decade to reinvent ourselves because we do it now, consciously or unconsciously we choose every single thing in our lives and it all is born at the moment we are in.
So ask yourself this, who would you be without the stories, the baggage, and the flawed belief that there is anything more than right now?
What kind of world would we all live in if we were to practice contentment? If we counted our blessings, not our burdens? What if we trusted that voice inside that said, "I love this and should do more of it"? What if we allowed ourselves to be silly and light as we moved through the world?
And what if we all adopted and put into practice a directive to be, even just a little bit more, like Clark?
I do love this blog… "be like Clark" totally works… practice contentment. Amen sistah!
Is it the Caffeine or the Ritual?


While the Webmaster's focus is on being "Over There" for the upcoming Centennial of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, many Americans will not have that luxury. That doesn't mean that there are not / will not be great events in the U.S. to attend over the next few months.
Readers looking for events are encouraged to look at the United States' World War One Centennial Commission's website. Under the "Commemorate" tab there is a WW1 Centennial Events page. In case that page does not capture all events, readers should also look under the "Participate" tab at the individual state websites.
Readers are strongly encouraged to attend local / regional events; as it is unlikely that there will be such a plethora of WW1-related events after the Centennial passes.


text:
The story of Profitable Idealism
Why do I care so much about Profitable Idealism?
Because turning your dreams into reality can be a long, rocky road.
As a struggling idealist, you've walked the tightrope between your values and your bank account. On the one side, you've got the pressure of paying the bills and keeping a roof over your head. On the other side, you've got your heart constantly whispering to you, nudging you, calling you to do work that really matters.
It can feel like you're being pulled in two directions, pulled between the fear of being stuck forever in a meaningless job and the fear of living in a van down by the river.
Yearning for a comfortable living. Yearning for a meaningful life.
What if it were possible to have both?
What if it were possible to not just scrape by, but do well — and to do well while doing meaningful work that fills you up?
That's why I care about Profitable Idealism. Because I want to show you exactly how it's not just possible, but doable.
I'm Pace, and this is my story.
Three years ago, I set out to change the world. My partner Kyeli and I had big dreams, but we didn't know how to turn them into reality. I got caught up in the "Quit your soul-sucking day job and follow your heart" frenzy and actually gave notice at my day job before realizing that there was no way we'd be able to pay our bills if I quit.
Sometimes "leap and the net will appear" turns out to be "leap and the floor will appear."
We slowed down. We grew our business in a way that was sustainable for us. I went down to half-time at my day job, but I didn't quit.
Three years later, we have helped thousands of people, launched four successful products (and two flops), and we're happier than we've ever been in our lives.
Now it's time for us to give back.
We made a lot of mistakes on our path to profitability. We learned the hard way. We studied business and marketing and bought a bunch of information products, but a lot of the lessons didn't stick because they were coming from a business perspective instead of an idealist's perspective. Much of the advice we read felt too slimy, and we didn't feel 100% great about implementing it. So we didn't — and our business suffered.
Eventually I figured out how to translate all that business advice into a language that resonates with my heart, and with the hearts of our clients and customers.
I'd love to teach you how to translate it, too. I'd love to teach you everything I've learned about turning your world-changing idea into an ethical and sustainable world-changing business.
But I need Johnny's help.
I asked Johnny to co-teach this course with me because we work well together, because his perspective will provide a healthy balance to mine, and because frankly, he knows more about the business side of things than I do. Even though he acts like a badass, he's got a good heart.
Even though we came from opposite directions, Johnny and I ended up in the same place — a place where we're making a profit and helping others by doing so.
The melding of a search for profit and an idealistic vision isn't the jamming together of opposites, even though many of us have been trained to think that way. This course isn't about taking a selfless mission and cheapening it by finding a way to "cash in" on it. It's not about taking a functioning business and tacking on a token charitable donation. It's not about selling out, and it's not about giving for the sake of a better public image.
This is about taking a business and a mission and weaving them together like a braid. It's about creating an entity that both gives and receives — and that does both as an essential part of its identity. It's about building a business that doesn't just do good things and make money, but that makes money because it does good things.
You don't have to choose between making money or changing the world. You can have both.
Questions? Curious? Join us for the free Profitable Idealism teleclass, today, Friday (Feb 18) at 11:30 Pacific / 1:30 Central / 2:30 Eastern.
You can listen in online (streaming audio with a question type-in box), or you can call in at (303) 390-0043 and enter the PIN code 734346#.
We'll post the recording this evening.
Hope to see you on the call!
< Free Profitable Idealism teleclass on Friday > Here's the recording of the Profitable Idealism teleclass!


Intelligent, driven and ridiculously entertaining, Michael Daviot's historical one-man-show 1917: A Phantasmagoria is as close to the ideal Fringe show as you could imagine.
If you were to draw up a checklist of what a memorable Fringe production should be like, this would fulfil so many of the criteria.
Michael Daviot in 1917: A Phantasmagoria. Pic: Graham Fennell.
There should probably be an intriguing, entertaining, thought-provoking script – maybe one that casts new light on historical events.
Daviot certainly provides that, in a brilliantly put together whistle-stop tour of a century ago. As you might imagine, Passchendaele and the 'storming of the Winter Palace' appear, but not necessarily so prominently, or in the ways you might imagine. There is also an understandable emphasis on artistic events, but not to the exclusion of other strands of the human experience.
You would also want a top-class performance. That is undoubtedly what happens here – this is a masterclass in acting, with different personas taken up and shaken off at will, at a speed that seems natural at the time but is dizzying in retrospect. Some are accurate impersonations, some are more expansive approximations, some are discharged with a puckish relish, but all are quite wonderful.
There is a superb W.B.Yeats, a Sherlock Holmes that is so right you could happily see hours more of it, not to mention some lipsynching to George Formby Senior and Harry Lauder that comes as close as anything to harnessing the ghosts of the past.
Most strikingly, there is a depiction of a Tennessee lynching that is – quite rightly – almost unbearable, and features a simple but thoroughly effective piece of theatrical business.
Which brings us to the next item on our checklist – use of resources. A small screened-off room in an identikit Holyrood hotel that gives little sign outside that it is participating in the Fringe at all, proves to be more than adequate, if somewhat compact and bijou. In it, magic is created by Daviot and director Mark Kydd with a couple of simple props and oodles of theatrical knowhow.
The staging, like the acting and the writing, wears its craft lightly, all the better to draw you in. The whole thing is structured so that you feel you were being told more about things you knew, but had somehow forgotten – even though you never knew anything about them to begin with.
Parallels with modern-day events, with militarism, oppression and prejudice, are there to be drawn without being hammered home. The use of Gustav Meyrink's Walpurgisnacht as a spine for the story gives it added shape and only adds to the feeling of spirits being conjured up.
In a much-trumpeted anniversary year, if you want to see a show that distills the essence of the Fringe most effectively, it should probably be this.


Colorado law defines sexual harassment as any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether they are verbal advances or physical acts. Sexual advances, creating a hostile work environment that is blatantly sexual in nature, and sexual advances are some of the more common forms of sexual harassment amongst employers.
First, employers in Greeley are often required to create company policies regarding sexual conduct, which must be posted and visible to employees. The policies should at least include: contact information for the reporting of sexual harassment incidents, an outline of policies to be followed in filing a claim, and the remedies available when a claim successfully proven.
The laws of the state of Colorado and federal law have both established agencies with the authority to investigate sexual harassment claims. These agencies conduct investigations at a given Greeley work site in order to verify if a complaint that they have received is true or not. These laws also prohibit employers from firing employees or taking any retaliatory action against workers who have complained of sexual harassment.
Without expertise in the applicable laws, both investigating and proving a sexual harassment claim can be difficult. The federal agencies that handle initial claims of sexual harassment are frequently understaffed and overworked. Therefore, hiring a lawyer in Greeley may be the ideal way to ensure that your claim is filed within the deadlines specified by Colorado for sexual harassment matters.


Two summers ago, I told myself, was going to be the best summer of my life – a whole summer in China. Being 20 years old at the time, the toughest thing about life is doing all the right things in order to ensure that after college you have some sort of job waiting for you. For most college sophomores and juniors summer is about trying to put something amazing on your resume. I was thinking of teaching English, interning or doing anything to make my resume pop. Before I hopped on that plane I was excited, because this summer was the summer that I wasn't going to sit at home – I was actually going to do something that may land me a job someday. Little did I know at the time, I would be coming home a month early with little to nothing to put on my resume. However, traveling is not always going to be about another bullet point on your resume, but learning about yourself.
One of my greatest experiences in China was climbing Wu Dong Mountain. For everyone who hates the stairs or the steppers at the gym – ME- this is all out-of-shape people's biggest fear – a 3 mile hike ALL UP STAIRS. 30 minutes into this hike when all of the track and field stars and gym fanatics wiz passed you – you feel the tenseness in those muscles from the hips down, and the burning in your abs. It's one of those moments when you hate yourself for not taking the cable car. As you ascend, the steps get steeper and at some places you are pulling yourself up the mountain, the chains clicking with lovers' locks. The sun has a chance to rise and peak through the trees, covering you in its unwanted heat. I made it to the top sticky, out of breath, and surprised by the shops around me selling tea eggs and starchy corn.
There is a mist covering the trees, making it feel like only the clouds and soaring birds were higher than I was. The view from a top takes the last remaining breath I have out of me. The view isn't very clear at all. I found that no matter where you are in China- in the cities, on the mountain tops – you always have the feeling that China is hiding something from you.
Hidden here at Wu Dong Mountain for 20 years is a Daoist monk named Hermit Jia. He is a little old man with wrinkles and a huge smile that touches your heart. He lives in a cave overlooking the world in a place where it seems like time has stopped. There is no television, cellphones, jeans or T-shirts. If you're a fan of Chinese movies you have seen his outfit, the black and white curled up shoes, loose pants and a traditional three button shirt.
He is befriended only by bees buzzing from inside of the cabinets with yellow honey comb shining through the cracks of the wood. A boy asked if he was ever stung by the bees – he smiled and everyone couldn't resist to smile with him. No, he answered, I leave them alone and they leave me alone.
I traveled half way around the world, and I came upon this little piece of paradise and a smile that was so welcoming you didn't need to speak the same language to understand the simple, simplistic but very powerful life you could have as long as you did what made you happy. Sheltered only by a dark cave this man on top of the mountain lived by one philosophy: being.
I wasn't able to find a job or any "resume poppers" that summer; however, my discovery of a little old man on top of the world was the greatest treasure of my summer. In many ways this man reminded me of grandfather. Both men with heart melting smiles, and the courage to do what they loved most. For my pap it was gardening, for Hermit Jia is was simply being. In this big bustling world we live in we become human doings instead of just human beings.


Florida Georgia Line's forthcoming new album Can't Say I Ain't Country features three collaborations, and on Friday (Feb. 8), the duo released another of them. Readers can press play above to hear "Y'all Boys," which features singer-songwriter Hardy.
Written by Hardy (full name: Michael Hardy) along with Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and Brett Tyler, "Y'all Boys" is reminiscent of Morgan Wallen's recent No. 1 song "Up Down," a collaboration with Florida Georgia Line that Hardy also co-wrote. FGL's Tyler Hubbard opens the song, taking lead on the first verse, before tossing it over to Hardy, who leads the second verse; Brian Kelley provides lead vocals on the bridge.
"Yeah, I ain't hatin' on them boys, grew up lockin' their doors / 'Cause all kinds of boys up under the sun, son, but this one's for / Y'all boys, with that southern drawl boys," Florida Georgia Line and Hardy sing. "Man, I'm glad I'm one of y'all boys."
In addition to "Y'all Boys," Can't Say I Ain't Country features a song with pop artist Jason Derulo, called "Women," and a collaboration with Jason Aldean, "Can't Hide Red." Hardy co-wrote eight of the songs on the record, which is due out on Feb. 15.