Tag: utah

Moonshine is a barn owl.

But he doesn’t know it.

He thinks he’s human.

The barn owl who thinks he's human

He was stolen from his nest when he was still in an egg. When he hatched, opened his eyes, and looked around, he saw a human. He was supposed to see his mother owl.

Owls “imprint” the first thing they see at birth. Because Moonshine saw a human upon birth, he thinks he is human. He can even parrot human language.

But he can never be released into the wild, because he doesn’t know he is really an owl. He has no survival skills.

You and I are a lot like that.

When we were born, we started to “imprint” the behavior we saw around us.

No doubt your parents weren’t enlightened. They had issues with money, relationships, and more.

You unconsciously “imprinted” their beliefs.

Moonshine the barn owl weighs about one pound, is mostly fluffy fur, and will live about two years

Today, as an adult, you wonder why you have issues with money or health or relationships.

You wonder where your programming came from.

The answer is in Moonshine the barn owl.

Like him, you were imprinted with beliefs.

It’s not your fault, any more than it’s Moonshine’s fault.

You simply “imprinted” what you saw after birth.

But you have an advantage over Moonshine.

He can’t change his imprint.

You can.

Because you have self awareness, and you have the ability to actually reprogram your mind, you can erase your imprint and break free.

Become The Whiteboard

I met Moonshine last year and saw him again this year, both times at the Miracles Coaching retreat at Robert Redford’s Sundance mountain resort in Utah, when Patti Richards of Great Basin Wildlife Rescue came to educate us about birds of prey.

This time she also brought an Eagle Owl, the largest owl in the world.

The largest owl in the world

This Eagle Owl is gigantic.

It’s hard to comprehend his size without seeing him in person, especially sitting with a barn owl beside him.

He has no known predators, can lift about fifty pounds (!), and is essentially fearless.

Good thing he doesn’t live in Northern America, as he’d be flying off with our dogs, cats, and children.

Imagine it.

He’s fearless.

Where Moonshine thinks he is human and can’t survive in the wild, this Eagle Owl imprinted fearlessness from his Eagle Owl parents, and can essentially fly, hunt, thrive and survive – up to fifty years.

You may have been imprinted with limiting beliefs, but you can change them.

Moonshine can’t enroll in Miracles Coaching.

Or choose to read self help books, listen to positive messages, or recreate himself.

But you can.

Will you?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Patti Richards of Great Basin Wildlife Rescue in Utah is doing great work. Last year I released an owl I named Mango. This year we released two hawks. Seeing the second, young adult hawk soar higher and higher into the Utah sky, high above the mountains, demonstrating what freedom is all about, brought tears to my eyes. I want you to have that kind of freedom, too.

Freeing "Mango" the owl

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One of my greatest passions and ongoing commitments in life is Operation Y.E.S. (Your Economic Solution) – a platform to end homelessness by helping people create their own economic solution.

Fortunately, I don’t do this alone.

In fact, I have some formidable partners as committed as I am. One of them is the State Homeless Coordinating Committee for Utah.

They’re on it, you might say.

Since 2005, when they enacted their Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, they’ve seen a decline of 74%.

That’s impressive.

In fact, it’s put Utah “at the forefront of the national effort to end chronic homelessness by 2015.”

Part of their success has come from their early adoption of the Housing First program, which offers housing without bias to the chronically homeless.

This means that instead of placing people into transition housing and requiring their participation in certain programs (such as for substance abuse or mental illness) before they can receive more help, Housing First recognizes housing as a basic right.

The homeless get off the streets first.

The homeless are given a place to live first.

What Utah discovered is that meeting this need increases stability – which in turn supports real change.

Oh, and it saves money — money the state (as taxpayers) would otherwise spend on emergency services and jail.

It’s a win-win.

But it’s not just the chronically homeless that benefit.

They’ve found that by focusing on this particular group it “improves coordination and planning for housing and services for all of the homeless.”

Call it a “trickle-down” effect.

Since families with children are often the victims of homelessness, I applaud this.

Unfortunately, it’s children who suffer exponentially when exposed to this kind of traumatic experience.

According to Utah’s 2013 Comprehensive Report on Homelessness, “Children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of homelessness. Homelessness often interrupts schooling and the development of positive peer and mentoring relationships. Homeless children frequently experience dangerous or unhealthy environments and may be more likely to experience homelessness as an adult.”

I believe education is a key to ending homelessness, both for the ones experiencing it and those who are not. Having faced it myself, I know that a major stumbling block resides in the many myths surrounding it.

Not surprisingly, Utah’s got that handled, too.

In their report, they identified the top four myths:

Myth #1 – People who are homeless stay homeless for a long time.

False: Only about 3% are considered chronically homeless.

Myth #2 – Most are single men.

False: Only 29% – the largest number are parents and children.

Myth #3 – The homeless population is transient, migrating to cities with the best services.

False:  Nearly 90% were in Utah when they became homeless.

Myth #4 – They are to blame for their situation.

False:  Many come from situations of abuse, illness and trauma.

In my own efforts to end homelessness and help people become self-sufficient and empowered through education, I started “Operation YES.”

With the help of Craig Perrine, we did a series of interviews with some amazing people who offered their expertise and know-how towards this mission. This series later became a manual called Operation Y.E.S.: Your Economic Solution.

Yes we can end homelessness

Essentially, Operation YES is a 3-part formula designed to help people see beyond the limitations and the traditional categories. It’s all covered in detail in the manual, but the simple version is:

1. Raise or rebuild your self-esteem
2. Think like an entrepreneur
3. Leverage the Internet

If you have a desire to be a part of the solution to end homelessness, you can get your own copy of the manual at no charge at http://www.OperationYes.com

Oh, and if you’re traveling this summer, I hope you’ll stop in Utah.

Let them know they’re doing great things there…:-)

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — If you prefer a printed copy of “Operation YES,” it is available at Amazon for a small investment: http://www.amazon.com/Y-E-S-Visionaries-Reveal-Economic-Solution/dp/1499615426/

Resource: http://www.impacthomelessness.org/resources/docs/eis/Utah-Report-on-homelessness2013.pdf

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