In his latest book, Hauntings: Dispelling The Ghosts Who Run Our Lives, Dr. James Hollis reminds us that our past is not truly past us. Our familial influences, life-altering traumas, and individual woundings follow us to the grave.

There are powerful stories shared in Hauntings. Many important psychological subjects such as guilt and shame, complexes and projections are also discussed.

In Hauntings Dr. Hollis writes about how our familial histories – whether good or bad or a mix – make for permanent complex charges within us. If we remain unconscious or oblivious to the power these both known or unspoken histories hold over us, we are more likely to make bad choices in our lives. Worse, we will live a life of desperation, despair or meaninglessness.

Dr. Hollis’ books are consistently an invitation to explore our nature and our unconscious motivations. In Hauntings he shares some deeply touching and personal stories from his own history. He also explores the darker parts of our ego self which – if we do not claim its shadows – will torture us even somatically until we learn to acknowledge and surrender our neurotic, inflated or narcissistic personas. He offers when we examine these behaviors consciously we will be more likely to take responsibility for and manage the behaviors accordingly so we don’t damage ourselves or others. He writes that these hurts can take on a generational theme of enormous agony. Dr. Hollis reiterates that while it’s lovely to be “nice” it is far better to be “real.” For our wounds to be healed they must first be acknowledged.

This authentically written book encourages psychological bravery and inspires us not to remain a prisoner or a victim of what “happened to us.” This beautiful book acknowledges that none of us can avoid betrayals, hurts, pain and loss and the grieving these circumstances warrant. But, how we handle these experiences is key to our recovery from life’s pain and becoming conscious. That is a hopeful message for any of us who were subjected to trauma, negligence, bullying, poverty, addictions or loss.

Dr. Hollis writes that we are stronger than we think. He believes we can have sovereignty over our life by the choices we make consciously and thoughtfully. He wants us to live a more considered life and ask ourselves the bigger questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Who are my people? How am I different from others? Deeply spiritual questions from a profoundly sagacious teacher.

Opera was invented in Florence, Italy towards the latter part of the 16th century by a group of wealthy intellectuals and musicians. Their goal was to reproduce the dramas of the ancient Greeks using the plays and text that already existed. Europe was in the throes of the Renaissance period and during that time, architects, musicians, and writers became fascinated with ancient cultures, particularly the Greeks. The ancient plays indicated that music was used as an accompaniment; however, no music had been recorded. The Renaissance Italians began reciting the plays out loud and adding musical notes as they recited. This eventually caused them to start singing the text as they recited and led to the invention of opera.

In 1607, Monteverdi invented the very first opera which he titled La Favola d’Orfeo, which translated means The Legend of Orpheus. This opera is still performed today, over 400 years later. The first operas emphasized the words of the dramas with music merely playing second fiddle to the narrative during small interludes. However, as professional composers became involved, they added choruses, dances, and complicated, showy songs called Arias to showcase the actor’s vocal talents.

Venice opened the first opera house in 1637 and quickly became the center of opera with the opening of 16 additional opera theaters. Popularity spread through Italy and then on to England, Spain, Russia, Germany, Portugal, France, and the rest of Europe. The major opera centers of the 1700’s were London, Naples, Paris, and Vienna. While operas were first written in Italian, eventually composers began writing in their native languages. The most famous composers include Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Handel, Verdi, Puccini, Monteverdi, Mozart, Berlioz, Britten, and Janacek.

Opera finally made its way to America in the 1800’s, brought by immigrants from Europe. The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City is the most famous opera theater in America and was opened in 1883. Despite the proliferation of modern writers and composers, the most popular operas performed worldwide to this day were written during the 18th and 19th century.

Opera glossary:

Aria: Instrumental or vocal melody.

Ballad Opera: Dance, dialogue, and song combined.

Finale: The last part of the play.

Musical Comedy: Songs, music, and dancing.

Operetta: A cheerful opera.

Overture: Musical piece at the start of the opera.

Synopsis: An operas story.

Baritone: Deep male voice, usually an evil character.

Bass: Deepest male voice, usually old, wise or funny men.

Castrato: Singer who has been castrated to preserve their childlike vocal tone.

Contralto: Rare, dark female voice, usually an old woman, witch, or grandmother.

Mezzo-soprano: Second highest female voice, usually a temptress, witch, or mature woman.

Prima Donna: Lead female singer, usually the most popular singer in the play.

Soprano: Highest female singer, usually the heroine but can be other funny characters.

Tenor: Highest male singers.

Barry Bonds is a famous American baseball player that has been entangled in speculation about performance enhancing steroid abuse during the latter half of his major league baseball career and into retirement. Long before Bonds was enthralled in what seemed at times like endless media speculation he was a promising young baseball prospect from a good gene pool.

Barry was born on July 24, 1964 in the city of Riverside, California which is located about an hour east of Los Angeles. Practically from birth the young Barry Bonds was surrounding with a baseball influence due in large part to the stardom of his father Bobby Bonds who was an accomplished all-star baseball player in his own right.

Even though the son would eventually eclipse the father in terms of fame and statistical success, Bobby Bonds was a popular player who played for eight major league baseball teams including the well-known New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals amongst others. Most baseball fans who followed the sport during the years of 1968-1981 when Bobby Bonds played best remember the iconic player as a three time all-star for the San Francisco Giants who shared the outfield with legendary teammate Willie Mays. Despite the fact that Bobby Bonds and Willie Mays were not united until young Barry Bonds was nearly four years old Willie took on the responsibility of being a high profile godfather to Barry.

Despite being born in southern California Barry Bonds did most of his growing up in northern California in the area of the state commonly referred to as the Bay Area due to its proximity to the San Francisco Bay. Barry played high school baseball at Junipero Serra High School in the affluent San Francisco suburb of San Mateo, California. As a teenager Barry did not limit himself to excelling on the baseball diamond. As a three sport star the naturally gifted young man competed on the varsity baseball, football, and basketball teams. Despite the variety of his athletic successes it was baseball that stood out as his true passion.

After spending his freshmen year of high school on the junior varsity team at Junipero Serra High School Bonds graduated to the varsity squad for his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons in San Mateo. During his senior season the baseball prodigy but up stellar numbers that included a miraculous.467 batting average. For his efforts as a standout prep star Bonds was named a high school All-American and by all accounts it looked like the maturing young man with the famous father and godfather might someday be able to attain the baseball status that his famous relatives reached.

Despite being selected in the second round of the 1982 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the San Francisco Giants Barry decided to play college baseball for Arizona State University (ASU) after not being able to work out an amenable contract with the Giants. In interviews later in life Barry would say that he was glad that he decided to attend ASU and receive his diploma in criminology in 1986.

A single thought is believed to look like a tree with seventy thousand branches. Every time you rethink an idea you grow more branches on that tree. So a strong thought has had lots of repetition to become stable, and this principle applies to a view whether it is positive or negative.

On average we experience sixty thousand to eighty thousand thoughts per day and ninety-eight percent of them you thought yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. This doesn’t say much for our creative ability, does it? Here’s another statistic that should lift your eyebrows. They estimate that seventy to eighty percent of all thoughts are negative. Research shows that a fear thought can trigger more than fourteen hundred physical and chemical responses and thirty different hormones and neurotransmitters. Six seconds of negative thought stresses the immune system in such a way that it requires twenty-one hours to recover from it. Tell me, when was the last time you had just six seconds of negative thought?

Eighty-seven percent of illnesses are attributed to our thought life. Studies conclusively link chronic disease to toxic emotions. These emotions can cause migraines, hypertension, strokes, cancer, skin problems, diabetes, infections, and allergies. The feelings that are the most damaging to the body are un-forgiveness, anger, rage, resentment, depression, worry, anxiety, frustration, fear, excessive grief, and guilt.

So how stable or robust a thought tree becomes, depends on the degree of repetition and replay in your mind. During the night, our brain has a cleansing system that washes away thirty-five to seventy-five percent of all of the information we take in. It will clean away those branches that are not stable. The data won’t be terminated, but we will struggle to recall it as quickly as other thoughts we think more often.

Let me broaden your understanding a little further on the subject of negative thought and its consequences. A person who invests into self-hatred has a working recipe created from varying hormones in the hypothalamus. Imagine the hypothalamus as a mixing bowl for your emotions, and you have the control to choose whatever recipe the brain is going to prepare. The creation of these recipes is no accident. You, your mind, and your will are the government that oversees and runs these little countries, called your cells.

The hypothalamus transports this hormonal mixture over to the pituitary gland, and then your toxic little recipe is distributed out into the bloodstream. Once this lethal compound is launched, your cells come under immediate fire. These harmful biological arrows intend to wound your physiology. These nasty little darts of destruction connect with millions of receptors located on the surface of your cells and once locked into place, the environment of the cell changes. In fact, so significant is the change, when the cells divide and reproduce, the cell replicates the same type of cell. So what’s the big deal, you’ve got millions of cell receptors. If a few thousand of them are allocated to self-hatred, isn’t there enough receptors to go around? Well Actually, there isn’t. When these receptors clog with deadly information, it prevents the cell from receiving vital and necessary nutrients like vitamins or minerals. Every receptor is created for a unique purpose.

Your greatest obstacle in this intellectual combat is the stress and repetition of simply leaving this fertile and valuable geography unchecked, unchallenged, and unattended. The contemplation, deduction, and introspection of decades of habitual thinking have made these beliefs comfortable. Your subconscious has hoarded one thought after another, and taken one devastating conclusion and built another one upon it.

Stop for a minute and think about what thoughts make you feel good. Do you realize that you pick the ideas you choose to recall and remember? Are you going to allow second-hand information to govern your mind, or will you choose to be the producer of your thought life? As startling as it might be, you need to recognize just how many of your feelings are being used for the promotion of darkness and negativity. What’s it going take to motivate you to jump in the driver seat and start manifesting emotions for the love and light in your life?

If we want

• Strong legs, we perform squats.
• Strong arms, we execute curls.
• Strong endurance, we participate in long duration exercises.
• Strong vision and clarity, we practice imagining.
• Strong gratitude, we fashion our mind around what we are thankful for.

So if we want strong thoughts…

we must consciously decide what thoughts we will allow our mind to have access to. Conscious is the keyword. We are moving from auto thinking to conscious thinking. We have to choose what thoughts we will think and to do that we have to start paying attention to the feelings our thoughts create. There has to be a training period where we develop thought conditioning.

Here are some important FACTS:

• Very few thoughts are self-produced data or self-produced preferences.
• Most of our thoughts are someone else’s old thoughts.
• Many thoughts we have are inaccurate.
• Our minds are filled with reactive thoughts created by others.
• Most thoughts have a sponsoring thought… a thought that inspired thought.

Would it not be better that you created your own thoughts?

Whether you realize it or not, You have been producing all of your life, consciously or unconsciously. Are you happy with what you have brought into existence? Bear in mind that Unconscious living is a coping strategy. Conscious living takes courage.

So Imagine tomorrow that you have unlimited resources and therefore unlimited ability to imagine and produce the newer, more conscious, and highly creative version of YOU. You have the power of creation in your hands. And remember, you don’t have to create alone. You are in partnership:

1. With your Creator-He watches over and takes care of me.
2. With yourself
3. With others

There are lots of important questions to ask regarding this newly produced version of yourself. You’ve been a slave to the mediocrity of a world system bent on reducing you, by continuously comparing you to standards that aren’t built upon the truth or even achievable. So the first order of business is to stop believing that this system is the truth. You’ve got a very short list of influencers you can trust, and you are one of them. Tell the mob of shame, blame and lame to take a long walk and forget your address. You won’t be needing their advice any longer.

Secondly, see yourself in a position of power. You’ve got important things to think and say. Your choices impact others and yourself. You are always teaching the outside world what you believe by your actions.

What roles and responsibilities will this person be consciously involved in and purposely making the world a more loving place to exist? How is this person explicitly impacting the love reserve in this country, in this province, in this city?

What kinds of thoughts have been substituted for the old, ego-driven, self-sabotaging beliefs? This person is smart enough to see how self-serving and damaging that thinking was. What thoughts make this person strong-minded and what ideas will this person choose to invest in?

What toxic programs have this person released or done away with? What truth has this person adopted so they can release the offenses of the past, and bring their life into the present?

This person has now resumed their rightful place as “thinker of their thoughts,” a job once controlled by the shame mob. So tell me how invigorating it feels to be back in the driver seat of your life?

The human existence was never designed to manage the burden of dark energy long term. Carrying the load of negativity compromises the health and beauty of who you are. So tell me how beautiful it feels to live without the voice of criticism or judgment? Those voices and thoughts were never your own, so share with me how the truth feels when it lands on your ears?

You’ve got a new purpose and intention for life. Tell me how people will remember you? How will you bring your unique brand of change to this world? What makes this new you jump out of bed and take the world by the tail?

We want to beautify your mind with thoughts and emotions that bless all of you. Your being is thirsty for the language and energy that loves you back to life. Let’s renew your mind with the creation of words and thoughts that reveal a blueprint and design for the highest and most beautiful version of yourself. Let’s use language to call forth what you are creating and make manifest the power of your words for the future you. It’s time for a changing of the guards.

You are not some low-budget film project looking for handouts. You are handpicking the supporting actors, script, and ideas that will generate your next big, box-office hit called BEAUTIFUL YOU. Collaborate with yourself and be deliberate about what you will think.

• Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that occurs in the lining of the body’s internal organs, a thin layer of cells known as the mesothelium. While very thin, this layer of cells is vitally important to organ function and the health of the inner body structures. There are three recognized types of mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma occurs in the pleural lining of the lungs and is the most common form of the disease. Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs within the peritoneum, which lines the abdominal cavity and is the second most common form of the disease. Pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest variety of the disease and occurs in the pericardial lining of the heart. The primary cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, though other factors, such as smoking may increase the likeliness of the disease in certain individuals.

About the Disease

• Simply put, mesothelioma which is commonly referred to as asbestos cancer, is an aggressive cancer caused primarily by the inhalation of dangerous asbestos fibers. The disease attacks the mesothelium, a protective, two-layered membrane that covers the internal organs of the body including the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. Between these layers, the cells produce fluid, which allows easy movement of the heart and lungs within the chest cavity. The layer that covers the lungs is called the pleura, and the layer that covers the heart is called the pericardium. The peritoneum lines the abdominal cavity. Mesothelium also lines the male and female reproductive organs. Mesothelioma can affect any of these cells, but is usually seen in the pleural or peritoneal mesothelium. The most commonly diagnosed form of this cancer is pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma takes anywhere from 20 to 50 years to develop, which is why older individuals are usually the victims. However, recent cases involving September 11th World Trade Center first responders and clean-up crews show that high concentrations of asbestos can cause the disease to develop much more rapidly. A few WTC workers have already died of the disease.

Effects of the Disease

The invasion of the mesothelium by cancer cells makes it very difficult for the patient to breathe, resulting in the need for oxygen, especially as the disease progresses. Those with the pleural form of mesothelioma may also suffer from pleural effusions. These effusions prevent the smooth movement of the lungs and other organs in the chest. Peritoneal mesothelioma also affects the stomach area and abdominal cavity, causing nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite, which can result in dangerous weight loss. In addition to breathing difficulties and loss of appetite, mesothelioma victims also complain of excessive coughing, sleeping difficulties, persistent chest pain, fever, and pain in the lower back.

Mesothelioma, in general, is a very painful disease and because it is usually not diagnosed until it’s in an advanced stage. For this reason, the symptoms are typically quite serious. Late diagnosis also means that the cancer is more likely to have metastasized, or spread, making successful mesothelioma treatment even more difficult.

Who Gets Mesothelioma?

Statistics show that, because of their work history, the disease most often affects men between the ages of 50 and 70 who were employed in an asbestos-laden environment before asbestos warnings and bans were in place in the 1970s. Though women still have a much lower frequency of the disease, cases of second-hand exposure to asbestos has prompted more diagnoses among women, especially those whose male family members worked with asbestos. The occupations most associated with mesothelioma are shipyard workers, electricians, plumbers, construction industry workers, pipefitters, boilermakers, and anyone subject to heavy exposure to dangerous asbestos and airborne asbestos fibers.

An abundance of cases have also demonstrated that mesothelioma can develop among people who lived in communities where asbestos factories or mines were located. In some instances, entire towns have been adversely affected by the presence of asbestos fibers in the air. For example, in Libby, Montana – site of a former vermiculite asbestos mine – hundreds have already died of mesothelioma.

Though still significantly rarer than other cancers, an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States. Other countries, notably the United Kingdom and Australia, report a much higher incidence of the disease. Nevertheless, the United States – like many other countries – has seen an increase in asbestos-caused cancer as men who worked in U.S. shipyards in the 1940s and 1950s, at the height of production, are now being diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Dealing with Mesothelioma

• Mesothelioma is most often diagnosed in its late stages, and such a diagnosis is devastating to the individual and his/her family. Though research into the disease has been ongoing, there is currently no cure for mesothelioma. Some patients may be candidates for surgery to remove tumors or even an entire lung, but most are better treated with radiation or chemotherapy. More often than not, these treatments are palliative, serving to lessen the severity of the symptoms of the disease rather than offering a cure.
• Medical professionals and research scientists, however, are constantly exploring new ways to combat the disease. For example, doctors know that some combinations of chemotherapy drugs work better than others and tests developed to ascertain earlier diagnosis of the disease or to monitor those most at risk have arrived on the scene.

Who’s to Blame?

The reason someone develops mesothelioma is usually the lack of proper protection offered to those who worked with asbestos. Though the dangerous properties of asbestos and asbestos products have been evident for decades, many employers neglected to protect their workers from inhaling asbestos while on the job. It wasn’t until public awareness of the dangers of the material were revealed in the 1970s that many employers began offering protective clothing such as respirators, gloves, aprons, and other such items to those working with asbestos on a daily basis.

Due to the negligence of employers, many companies who manufacture asbestos or products that contain asbestos have been subject to literally thousands of lawsuits filed by those who’ve been harmed by the material. Many of those lawsuits have come from individuals suffering from mesothelioma.

The Other Self

Who are you as a person when challenged, or face insurmountable hardship? Have you met this person? If so, what did you learn about yourself? Regrettably, few people discover their true self until faced with extreme difficulties and pain. When we venture into the darkness; we meet this other self, or what I call the True Self.

I speak from experience because I have met this other self throughout my life. It took place when I was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness in the late 90s. The experience, which I wrote about in my first book, pushed me to my breaking point. My coping mechanisms, the foundations of my being, no longer sustained me. Therefore, when our entire existence collapses in our darkest hour, we must transcend the known self and discover the True Self.

Here’s a thought: we don’t know the depth of our inner strength until we are called to use it in difficult situations. It is when we are challenged beyond our comfort zone; we discover who we really are. In difficult circumstances, we are forced to go deeper into ourselves and discover the resilience of our spiritual self. Hardships reveal our spirit of resilience. Were it not for the challenges, life would be easy-going and maybe monotonous. I’m not suggesting we use hardship to keep us amused, but to help us discover our greater self. We learn a lot about ourselves when challenged and why we mustn’t resist it but lean into it as best we can.

Life Is About Seasons And Transitions

To expand on this idea further: our true power is not noticeable in normal circumstances. It is only apparent when we are pushed and pulled to our breaking point. Therefore, we must venture into the abyss of our deeper self to discover our pain threshold. This isn’t an exercise about extending our pain level, but learning to connect with our other self. The wisdom and strength we possess is beyond the physical mind-body and why I believe this to be our soul nature.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you experienced this other self through tragedy or misfortune? If so, what did you learn about yourself? For example, when I underwent treatment for my life-threatening illness, I discovered aspects about myself I never knew existed. It revealed my inner spirit and connected me with my soul self. Ever since then, I have been on a journey of awakening. This aspect of ourselves may not be obvious and we may only get a glimpse during tough times. That is why hardships reveal our genuine spirit, because it puts us on the path to encounter our Greater Self.

I have met countless people over the years who experienced tragic circumstances, such as road accidents or lost loved ones through tragedy. Each of them spoke of meeting this other self and connecting with their soul nature. Our perception of the world and ourselves changes because we must build a new model of reality. It reorientates us to other worldly dimensions. We awaken inner powers such as intuition, perception and other senses unexplainable to others.

To express it differently, your true power lies within your belief in overcoming problems. For example, if you believe you are incapable of overcoming difficulties, you will resist them and feel powerless. You might retreat into despair because you fear what might transpire. But life is about duality and contrast; inhabiting the darkness, weathering the storms, and enjoying good times. Life is about seasons and transitions. It is about inner transformations, which lead to outer changes. Life is cyclical, where hard times recede to give way to new beginnings. Are you satisfied with these ideas so far? I hope you’re getting the sense that you don’t discover the real ‘You’ when life is smooth sailing, but when pushed outside your comfort zone.

Take The Journey Into Yourself

So, I ask you: what are choosing to believe about yourself? What experiences have shaped those beliefs? Are you willing to see yourself differently? Only you will know the answers to these questions when you take the journey into yourself. It is why I coach my clients to undertake self-enquiry, to discover their greater self. The exercise is not a spiritual practice that involves lighting candles, chanting ohms, or sitting in meditation. It is more practical. It involves sitting with yourself daily, first thing in the morning or last thing at night, and journaling what comes to mind. It is about putting on paper your innermost thoughts and discovering key insights about yourself. How do you respond in hard times? What lessons keep reappearing in your life? What are your weaknesses and how do you respond to them? What do you shy away from and why? This is what self-enquiry aims to awaken in us; our true nature as spiritual beings.

With this in mind, I invite you to read through the article once more and answer the questions I asked you in your journal. They are purposefully intended to help you undertake the practice of self-enquiry. I realise it may sound like homework, particularly if you don’t journal, but it will help you discover yourself on a deeper level. We learn about ourselves through self-enquiry and through our relationships with others. If we are repeating the same lessons, we are not growing, but remaining stuck in a cycle of helplessness. You will transcend your difficulties when you can see your challenges from the level of the soul. After all, you don’t know who really are until you are called to use your true power. The source of this power can only be found by connecting with our greater self in times of difficulties.

There weren’t a lot of statistics, because no one thought it was a problem. But then in 1990, Ramsay-Klawsnick found that adult females were abusers of male adolescents 37% of the time and of female adolescents 19% of the time; and in six studies reviewed by Russell and FInkelhor, female perpetrators accounted for 25% or more of those abused. In 1996, The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect conducted a widespread investigation on the maltreatment of children. Of the three million children investigated, more than one million were identified as victims of abuse and of the one million, 12% were sexually abused. The sexual abuse of children by women, primarily mothers, once thought to be so rare that it could be ignored, constituted 25% (approximately 36,000 children) of the sexually abused victims. Furthermore, all of these statistics are likely underestimated because victims of this type of abuse rarely disclose. Finally, there is an alarmingly high rate of sexual abuse by females in the backgrounds of rapists, sex offenders and sexually aggressive men – 59% (Petrovich and Templer, 1984), 66% (Groth, 1979) and 80% (Briere and Smiljanich, 1993).

Why haven’t we, as a society, been aware of this problem? Most probably because women have been idealized as mothers and nurturers. They haven’t been viewed as sexual aggressors. And because they are caretakers and are expected to be emotional, warm and physical with children, no one notices or suspects them. Sexual abuse by women is rarely reported because their victims usually are their own children – who are dependent on them. Furthermore, these children either do not understand what is happening to them or do not think anyone will believe them. And for male victims, there is additional embarrassment and denial – they must have wanted it – men (boys) can’t be raped!

But women can be sexual aggressors. And even though the abuse they are capable of doesn’t conjure up violent images of attack and penetration, surveys show that women are capable of a different type of violence toward their victims, sometimes physical and almost always psychological and verbal. This abuse can penetrate the psyches of their victims more deeply because they are the one person who was never supposed to betray them.

What type of woman would betray her own child or another person’s child in such a manner and why? A profile of a female sexual abuser looks something like this: She would probably be a person with low self-esteem who may have had a history of severe emotional and verbal abuse and/or been a victim of childhood sexual abuse herself. In fact, a study by Fowler et al in 1983 maintained that 80% of incest offenders had been sexually or physically abused as children. There would be feelings of alienation and isolation and possibly the loss of a spouse or other adult partner. She might have a history of drug or alcohol abuse and less often a history of indiscriminate or compulsive sexual activity. There might be arrested psychosexual development; there might be a need to have power and control in some aspect of her life. But the common perception that any woman who does this has to be mentally insane is false. Only a minority of female abusers do not pass reality-testing measures. How the abuse takes place and with who may differ, but the personality type can be constructed from the above profile.

David Finkelhor, who has written extensively on this subject, maintains that there is a Four Factor Model, or to put it another way, there are four components that contribute in different degrees to child molestation:

1. Emotional Congruence – a satisfaction of emotional needs through the abuse of a child that is due to either arrested psychosexual development, immaturity or low self-esteem.

2. Sexual Arousal – probably due to familial conditioning through their own childhood abuse or early fantasy reinforced by masturbation.

3. Blockage – Age appropriate sexual opportunities have been cut off by either a traumatic sexual experience with an adult, sexual dysfunction, limited social skills or a marital disturbance such as the loss of a spouse. The latter has been described as a “Theory of Loss” phenomenon precipitating abuse.

4. Disinhibition – due to poor impulse control either because of substance abuse, a chaotic family background or psychotic mental illness.

There are women who are pedophiles and simply pursue children for the sex, but the female abuser usually falls into one of three categories:

1. Predisposed Offender – the abuser was herself abused as a child and she continues the generational pattern by abusing her own children. It is thought that she becomes an offender in an effort to resolve her own childhood sexual trauma.

2. The Teacher/Lover – she generally becomes involved with an adolescent male with whom she relates to as a peer. She may be looking for non-threatening emotional intimacy.

3. The Male- Coerced offender – she is being led by an abusive male who she is extremely dependent upon. But she may eventually initiate sexual abuse on her own.

While the public is periodically shocked into awareness by sensational revelations of the second and third type of female abuser (i.e. Hedda Nussbaum, Mary-Kay Latourneau), it is the first type that we have to finally give a face to – she is the one that is quietly victimizing thousands of young children who have nowhere to turn for safety. And the children ARE young. Studies have concluded that women abusers victimize younger children than male abusers – probably because of their role as caretakers. If current research is correct and more female than male children are sexually abused, then it is logical to conclude that more girls may grow up to be sexual offenders themselves and there may be a significantly larger number of female sexual abusers than we had previously imagined.

It is up to us to put aside deep-rooted myths about females, and more specifically mothers, in order to deal with the widespread problem of child abuse and more accurately expose all types of child sexual abusers.

Roni Weisberg-Ross LMFT 2010

http://www.roniweisbergross.com

Tori and I had gone to church to pray for healing over her heart. Her doctor warned her that she was endanger of suddenly dying of a massive heart attack. Urgently we had come to church believing that a miracle was her only hope of survival. We sat down in the sanctuary and I placed my hands over her heart. A supernatural warmth flowed into our bodies and ignited my hands turning them red and hot. I felt a trembling within and suddenly I felt the Holy Spirit take up residence inside my body. The Spirit came lovingly and created a healing power that flowed within Tori’s body putting her heart into remission.

Over the years I have recalled many times the day I met the Spirit. It was a time when God’s will became my life purpose. I wanted to know my Heavenly Father and I actively pursued knowledge through my Bible and religious history books. I was changed into a different person who put God number one in my life. In my pursuit to learn about God I read stories in the Bible of how the He worked in people’s lives.

Luke 1:13-15:”But the angel said to him, ‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John. How glad and happy you will be, and how happy many others will be when he is born! He will be a great man in the Lord’s sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,'”

John was filled with the Spirit from birth because his ministry would proceed the coming of Jesus Christ. I learned that the Spirit filled John on the inside and gave him messages from God to tell the people to make their lives better.People were cleansed from their sins through the ritual of baptism. And when Jesus came He was baptized just like everyone else.

Luke 3: 21&22: “After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.'”

The Spirit came into Jesus’ life in the form of a dove and the voice of God. Jesus immediately began His ministry. The power of the Holy Spirit gave Him the ability to heal the sick, cast out demons and to feed the hungry. It was a Spirit inside of ‘Jesus the man’ that taught people all about God and how to surrender their lives to Jesus as their Savior. Jesus talked many times during His ministry about the Holy Spirit and it’s purpose. He assured his disciples that when he left them they would never be alone, the Holy Spirit would come into their lives and live with them. The He would then teach them God’s will for their lives. The power of the Spirit would give them the ability to heal the sick and do even greater things than Jesus. Most of all the Holy Spirit would give them the strength to overcome the evil’s they would face in the world.

Acts 2:23: “Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.”

The Holy Spirit revealed Himself in supernatural abilities to speak languages the disciples and their followers had never learned. They were languages of Praise to God. The Spirit came with a mission to aid the children of God. It was a mission that would help them win the battles Satan would fight against them. It was a ministry that would teach God’s children their life purpose. It was a new way of understanding the world.It was a knowledge they would need to know in order to win the battles against evil they would face in the world.

When you study the works of the Holy Spirit, you are amazed at how versatile He can be. In the Old Testament Moses experienced the Holy Spirit in the burning bush that spoke to him. Immediately Moses left everything he owned and went to Egypt to free Israel from slavery.He was given the power to perform mighty miracles before pharaoh that destroyed Egypt. Moses who was known to stutter became a great leader because the Spirit taught him what to say.Moses taught the Jewish people the Laws God wanted them to know. He led them into the Promised Land and gave them a home forever. His life became an example of what the Spirit can do when you surrender your life to God.

The Holy Spirit has shown even a sense of humor when He stopped Balaam a prophet from cursing Israel. He entered into his donkey and it spoke to Balaam like a man, stopping the prophet from his madness. Samson encountered the Holy Spirit through his hair. He was the strongest man alive but when his hair was cut the Spirit left too. David met the Spirit when Elijah anointed him with oil when he was only fourteen years old. David was given the power to slay Goliath the philistine giant with a small stone. He became the greatest king of Israel, because the Holy Spirit made him strong and gave him victory over the enemies of Israel.

It has been over twenty-five years since the Holy Spirit entered into my life. The Spirit has stayed with me as I have faced countless battles that taught me valuable lessons of what is right and what is wrong in our world. I cherish and love the Holy Spirit. He has given me supernatural strength and a determination to do what is right even when the world says I am wrong. The Spirit is my best friend. He has rescued me just in time when it seemed there was no hope. Ask Jesus to let the Him come into your life. The Spirit will change you from the inside out and change you into a better person.

Who is the Holy Spirit? He is God the father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all wrapped up in one. When God is in your life nothing you face in this world is too hard for you to accomplish. He will give you the power to overcome the hard things we will go through in the world. The Holy Spirit is God. Let Him in and He will change your life forever.

When hiring employees for your coffee business, it is important to select individuals that will be able to contribute to your success. In reality, you will be dependent upon your employees to generate the profits you desire, and to provide you with the freedom of time to enjoy your life. Strive to hire reasonably mature, intelligent, dynamic, energetic people, who possess a positive attitude. You can always teach someone how to make coffee drinks or work a cash register, but it is next to impossible to teach them how to have a strong work ethic or a good personality!

First, it is important to identify the qualities that will be essential when considering someone for a particular employment position. For example, if you are looking for a cashier, realize that this will be the person who will have the first, and perhaps only interaction with your customers. In essence, they will be the “face” of your business. So, some important things to look for in an interview with candidates for this position are: Do they make eye contact? Are they pleasant? Do they smile? Do they like people? Are they articulate, do they converse well? How is their appearance? Do they put their attention on others before themselves?

What about if you are looking to hire a barista? Because this person will also be in view of, and have interaction with your customers, you certainly won’t want them to wear a “lemon face.” However, their sociability probably won’t be as important as their ability to make perfect drinks in rapid succession. Are they detail oriented? Do they have good eye-hand coordination? Are they quick thinkers, and do they have good mental retention? Are they neat and organized? Can they handle stress? These are the traits that will typically be necessary for someone to be a good barista.

So, before we discuss how you might go about determining if an employment candidate possesses the desirable characteristics you’re seeking, let’s talk about the hiring process in general. The first thing to do is to place an advertisement. “Craig’s List,” local employment websites, and the “help wanted” section of your local newspaper are probably the most viable places to advertise for potential employees.

Word your ad so that it appears to present an “opportunity,” as opposed to a plea for bodies! Consider titling your ad with something like, “Learn a New Culinary Art, Be an Espresso Professional,” or “Get into the Hottest Segment of Food Service, Learn the Specialty Coffee Business;” as opposed to, “Wanted – Cashiers.” This enhanced terminology should be appealing to the type of person who is looking for something new, different, or better; (instead of someone who is merely satisfied to work at a minimum wage fast food job).

Next, try to weed out the people that do not posses the desirable qualities you’re looking for, by writing an ad that will discourage them from applying in the first place. You can accomplish this by including in your ad all the characteristics you are seeking in the ideal candidate, such as: “must have an immaculate appearance, must love people, must be a perfectionist, must love work, must thrive under pressure.” If someone who is reading your ad finds some of these requirements to be intimidating, or undesirable, it may lead them to conclude that your job opportunity doesn’t sound very appealing. That’s Good! After all, why waste their time or yours if they are not going to be a good fit to what will be required to help you succeed?

Finally, I like to conclude my ad text by including an instruction like, “please call for an interview appointment between 3PM and 5PM on Friday, April 29th.” The reason for doing this is twofold. First, it will prevent interested persons from calling you during all hours of the day and night, for days or weeks to come. It will also allow you to dedicate a limited block of time to take phone calls, set up appointments, and conduct some preliminary screening. Most important, it provides a test to see if potential candidates can follow instructions. For example, if someone calls you at noon to make an interview appointment, you will immediately understand that they can’t follow instructions; (be sure get their name and make a note so you will remember this person when they show up for their interview).

When you set up your appointment sheet for your first day of interviews, allow only 5 minute increments between each candidate. I know this doesn’t sound like much time, but the only purpose of this first interview is to conduct some basic, preliminary screening to see if you desire to have a more in depth interview with each candidate.

My first experience in conducting a mass hiring was when I worked in the corporate restaurant industry many years ago. I’ll never forget when the the director of human resources from the corporate office came to help me with the employee hiring for a new store opening. He told me that this first interview’s purpose was to determine only one thing: “animal, mineral, or vegetable.” I thought this was a rather harsh and rude way of referring to potential employment candidates, until I experienced the mass of humanity that came for interviews over the following days. After all, if someone has a tattoo of a swastika on their forehead, a lime green Mohawk, a safety pin through their nose, and they reek of body odor, how much time do you really need to spend with that person?

When candidates come for this first interview, you would be wise to have a receptionist to greet them, and hand them an employment application to fill out. I give the receptionist the appointment sheet, and instruct them to write the letter “L” behind anyone’s name who arrives late (after their assigned appointment time). This will allow me to review the appointment sheet at the end of the day to see who didn’t arrive on time, and to make a note of it on their application. I also instruct the receptionist to keep a supply of ball point pens out of sight. If a candidate asks the receptionist for a pen after they have received their application, I instruct the receptionist to say: “yes, I think I have a pen, hand me your application, I want to make sure this pen writes,” then they scribble in the upper right hand corner of the application. When a candidate sits down in front of me, and I see there is a scribble on their application, I immediately know they didn’t bring a pen.

While many of these actions may seem petty or insignificant, in reality they can tell you a lot about a person. If they couldn’t show up on time for their first interview, and they were not prepared enough to bring a pen to fill out an application, will they show up on time and be prepared to work each day if you hire them? I think not.

During this first interview, I typically only ask each candidate the following questions:

1. Are you looking for full time or part time work?

2. Do you prefer to work days or evenings?

3. Does transportation to and from work present any challenges for you?

4. Do you participate in any outside activities that might conflict with a work schedule?

5. Are you at least 16 (18, 21) years old? (you may want employees to be at least 16 years old so as to not have to deal with work permits or evening scheduling restrictions, or if serving beer and wine, your servers may need to be at least 18 or 21 years of age)

(There are reasons I have worded each of the aforementioned questions in the way that I have, we will discuss those reasons later in this article.)

The sole purpose of this first interview is to meet each person face to face. How is their appearance, and cleanliness? Did you find the person to be articulate? Did they make eye contact, answer your questions? Do you like the person enough to bring them back for a second interview of 15 or 20 minutes?

At the end of the first interview I’ll usually say to the person: “I want you to understand these are strictly screening interviews, I won’t be doing any hiring today. I will be calling some people back for a second interview. Truthfully I have so many applicants that I probably won’t be able to call everyone back. Therefore, if I would like you to come in for the second interview, you will be hearing from me within the next 24 hours. But, I want to thank you for coming in, and it’s been a pleasure meeting you.” This will save you from the awkward task of having to call people back who you are not interested in, and having to explain why they didn’t qualify for a second interview.

Even if you are not at all interested in hiring a person, it’s important to treat them with respect. After all, he or she might be a potential customer in the future! So make sure you treat everyone with dignity, politeness and respect. Even if you’re mortified by how they looked, or what they said during the interview.

Now, if there are people you are immediately interested in, tell them so right then, and set up an appointment time for a second interview. You don’t want to let them leave without doing this, or you might risk losing them to someone else! As for the rest of the people you are interested in, call them back and set up an appointment for a 15 to 20 minute interview.

When you get to the second interview, be sure to review candidates’ applications in detail. If their employment history indicates that they have changed jobs often, spent short periods of time at each job, or had prolonged periods of unemployment between jobs, ask questions. “I see you have changed jobs often, and spent minimal time with each employer, explain to me what was going on here.” They might be able to give you a satisfactory explanation for this, like: “my father is in the military, and he kept getting transferred, so I had to quit when we moved, and then it took me a couple of months to get settled into our new community and my new school before I felt like I could get another job.” But, if they give you an answer similar to this: “well, my first boss was a real jerk, so I quit, and then at my next job they promised me full time work, but I never got more than 15 hours a week,” then ask them to explain why they didn’t like their fist boss, and if anyone else at their second job was also having problems getting the hours they wanted? Beware, often people who seem to constantly have challenges with their jobs (and life), never see themselves as part of the problem!

You’ll want to ask more in depth type questions at this second interview. Ask multiple part questions that require lengthy answers. Will they remember the multiple questions you’ve asked and provide you with answers to each, or will you have to keep prompting them by asking the questions again? You’d like to know that if you put a person behind your espresso machine, that they will be able to remember multiple orders.

It will be important for you to say little and listen carefully during this interview process! This is the time for employment candidates to convince you that they can be an asset to your business, not a time for you to promote all the reasons they should want to come to work for you. Your not recruiting, you’re interviewing. It’s important to be a good listener, so that you can identify whether or not you have a good potential employee in front of you. You would be wise to be more cognizant of things they say that send up your “red flags,” than to be impressed by the things they say that you like.

Here are a few of the typical questions that I like to ask during the second interview:

1. Tell me about the most hectic or traumatic situation you have ever faced at a job, what happened, how you got through it, and what you learned from it. (Do they have good mental retention, will they answer all the parts to the question? And, how traumatic were the situations they have had to face, and did they prevail?)

2. Tell me about the most demanding physical work you have ever had to do. (Has this person ever had to do any physically demanding work? Will they be able to endure standing on their feet and working at high speed for hours on end?)

3. A customer comes up to the counter and tells you the drink they just received is terrible, no manager is in the store, how would you handle this situation? (Do they use good common sense, and more important, will they try to satisfy the complaint and ultimately send away a happy customer?)

4. As a person, what would you say are your three greatest attributes or qualities, and then give me three areas in which you would like to make some self improvements? (Has this person given any thought as to what their positive attributes and shortcomings are? Also, what might their self-admitted shortcomings reveal, i.e. “I know I need to work on being on time, because I got fired from my last two jobs for being late.” )

5. Finally, if you are impressed with the person you are interviewing, and you are leaning towards hiring them, ask them to tell you exactly when they will be available to work, and write this information down on an employee schedule form. In this way you will be able to assess how they might fit into a weekly employee schedule. More important, by attempting to write a schedule at the end of the day’s interviewing, you will immediately understand if you have enough potential employees yet, or if you need to keep interviewing. You’ll need to hire enough employees to fill all the shifts that will be on your schedule, and then I suggest you hire at least a few more.

It is important to understand that of the new people you’ll hire, some won’t work out. Unbelievably, some won’t even show up to the first day of training. Undoubtedly, it will become apparent within the first week or two that a few others can’t grasp the fundamentals of the job, or just aren’t right for your business. Having a few extra employees hired will be important for maintaining a full staff, as these others quit or are let go. Remember, if you have shifts on your employee schedule, but no employees to fill them, guess who will end up having to work them? That’s right, you will. So, be sure to over hire!

It is during this second interview process that you might want to present some special challenges to your candidates that will be specific to their job. For example, an important quality for a cashier will be their ability to suggest items for your customers to purchase, and then to be able to make change accurately upon payment. So, have them role play by giving you the sales pitch they would use to inspire a customer to buy a pastry to go with their coffee. Also, set a cash register drawer in front of them stocked with change, hand them a $20 bill, and ask them to make change for a transaction costing $3.87. If you are considering someone to be your barista, take them behind your bar and provide a detailed explanation and demonstration of how to grind, dose, tamp, and extract a shot of espresso. Then see how well they can remember what you have just explained and demonstrated by having them do it. A few simple tests like this can reveal a lot about a person’s ability to learn quickly, and handle stressful situations.

At the end of the second interview, once again, I tell them it’s been a pleasure talking with them, and that I’d like to check out some of their references before I make a final decision. I’ll also let them know that I will be calling them in the next day or so to let them know if I’d like to put them to work.” If the person has made it to the 2nd interview, I always give them the courtesy of calling them back to tell them they weren’t hired, and why, but only if they ask. Be careful as to what you say about why you didn’t hire them. You certainly don’t want to say anything that will get you into trouble with the department of labor. You may not discriminate because of things like purple hair, nose rings, or having children. To play it safe, you might say: “I’m really sorry. It was a tough decision, you looked great, but I had other people that had more experience, or could work more flexible hours.”

These legal concerns are also the reason I’m careful in how I phrase interview questions. During my first interview, you may have noticed that I asked things like: “is transportation a challenge for you?” and not, “do you own a car?” You can’t discriminate against hiring someone just because they don’t own a car. I also asked: “are there any outside activities you are involved that might conflict with a work schedule,” and not, “do you have young children?” Don’t ask questions that might leave you vulnerable to being accused of discriminating against someone because they use public transportation, can’t work on Sunday because of church, or are over 70 years old! A well designed question that is not specific in details can still reveal the information you are looking for.

Getting references is a very important aspect to the hiring process. It’s like the old saying by President Reagan: “trust, but verify”. Even though someone looks great on paper and interviewed well, I always call a few previous employers to ask for a reference. Some will be very forthcoming with that information, and others, especially if they work for a major corporation, may have been told not to answer any questions for fear of being sued for statements made. You may have to get creative to get anything out of a previous employer. One way might be to say to them, “I’m not going to ask you anything about their performance, but if you had the opportunity, would you rehire this person today?” Many times they will answer a simple yes or no. If they say no, it’s usually a pretty good indication that you probably don’t want to hire that person either!

I like to do a multiple interview process with people. Usually I will interview a person twice, and possibly three times. The reason for this is that anyone can come to one interview and give it their all. They will be on time, dress well, be well groomed, and give a great effort to impress me. My question is, will they do it a second and a third time?

If you are really unsure of a person, or you have many applicants, you may want to bring them back for even a third interview. This is especially true if you have a person that seems extremely confident, forceful, or has a powerful personality. I like to see if I can push their buttons a little bit. Sometimes a person may seem great on their first and second interviews, but when I tell them I’d like a third interview, they develop an attitude and become upset at being asked to come back again. This immediately tells me something about this person’s level of tolerance. If this person doesn’t get things exactly as he or she expects or wants, are they going to have an attitude problem? This is another reason why you might bring someone back several times.

Now, up to this point I have been discussing the procedure you would follow to do a mass hiring; an entire staff just prior to opening a store. However, after you have opened for business, the need for hiring additional employees will continue. Employees who were once assets can develop into problems, and some will leave you because they’ve graduated from school, are moving out of the area, or found a different job. When hiring to replace an existing employee, the process will once again start with advertising, and then the reapplication of the interviewing and hiring procedures.

One way to minimize the anxiety and work when hiring additional employees when they are needed, is to always be on the look out for potentially good new employees. Like with any sports team, having qualified backup players is essential. The more talent a team has on hand, the better! Depth on their roster insures the team’s ability to perform at a high level, even if one or two primary player are lost. You would be wise to develop that same type of depth with your employee roster.

My suggestion is to always be on the look out for a good new recruit. As you travel through your daily life, take note of those exceptional people who seem to possess wonderful personalities, strong work ethics, and are service oriented. Whenever you experience an exceptional person, whether it is the clerk at the convenience store, the waitress you had last Saturday night when you went out to dinner, or someone who helped you at the home improvement emporium, ask yourself, would I like to have that person working for me? Would my operation benefit from this person? If the answer is yes, “plant a seed.”

Now, I don’t blatantly ask someone if they would like to come to work for me, after all, they are already employed. I wouldn’t want someone coming into my business and asking my employees if they would like to go to work for them. So rather than asking them if they would be interested in working for me, I’ll say something like the following upon the conclusion of our interaction: “I want to thank you very much for all your help, and tell you honestly, that you are an exceptional employee! Great employees are a rare these days, and believe me, I know because I own a business. You employer is very luck to have you, and I’m sure they are very appreciative of everything you do. But, if you ever find yourself in need of job, or looking for something else, call me, I’d be very interested in talking to you.” I hand them my business card as I am making this final statement.

When I have actively recruited dynamic individuals in the past, I can truthfully tell you that in about 50% of cases, these people have given me a call within a week. Upon interviewing those, half ended coming to work for me. Too often employers don’t recognize those employees who are doing an exceptional job for them, and their supreme efforts become expected, instead of appreciate. In many cases they are not compensated with any extra income or accolades for their hard work. If this is the case, these great employees can become disgruntled. Being the person who recognizes their worth, and complements them on their performance, can inspire them to want to join your team!

The advantage to recruiting is that your become interested in a person based upon seeing them actually work. They don’t know that you are watching them in consideration for an employment position. This means their dynamic performance is not meant to impress you, it’s just they way they work. You can pretty safely assume that if someone is is a “dynamo” at their present job, they would probably be a “dynamo” if they come to work for you as well. Seeing how someone works can be far more revealing than multiple interviews!

If someone is a highly dynamic worker, and they want to come to work for you, hire them, whether you need another employee or not! Once again, pro sports team don’t pass up the opportunity to acquire a new superstar, merely because they already have a full roster. This may mean that your weakest performer may be one step closer to the door, but remember, this is business, and you are the one who will benefit most from a stronger team.

Finally, and above of all, don’t forget to trust your feelings when selecting people to work with you! We are, after all, animals. We really do have instincts. We notice little facial expressions that last only a microsecond, or grouping of words on a subconscious level that give us clues as to a person’s character. These perceptions may not even be on a conscious level, but you’ll find the feeling they create to be valid most of the time.

I have hired people before who have answered all the questions right and looked absolutely great! Their references all checked out, but somehow I still had a bad feeling. I figured maybe it was just a clashing of personalities, but low and behold, down the road whether it was a month or a year, I’d find that my suspicions were usually right. This person would either be steeling from me, saying bad things to the customers about the business, or might quit without notice! On the other hand, I have hired people who didn’t seem quite as sharp. Maybe they switched jobs more often than I like to see on an application, but for some reason I had strong good feelings about them, and they turned out to be great employees!

When I think of who has provided me with the best man-made playgrounds in my life, I have to credit Walt Disney and Dave McCoy with providing all the fun. As a boy who grew up in Southern California, we would visit Disneyland 3-4 times a year on birthdays and special occasions with my family.

As an adult, I began to make the pilgrimage to Mammoth Lakes to ski at the world-famous Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort. I went skiing at Mammoth anywhere from only a few days a season to over 80 days a year recently.

I respect what Dave McCoy and Walt Disney were able to accomplish by following their passion, “Having fun!” The other day, I was watching a biography on Walt Disney, and it struck me how many similarities Walt Disney and Dave McCoy have.

Here Are the Similarities that Jumped Out at Me:

1) They both turned their passion into profits by building playgrounds for the masses.

2) Demand for what they offered grew quickly.

3) They’re respectable, God-fearing, family men backed by loving and supportive Wives.

4) They’re possibility thinkers who didn’t let other’s disparaging remarks discourage them from achieving their dreams. A saying I got from Dave McCoy when I was at his home recently was, “Impossible just means it takes a little longer.”

5) They both came from minimal educational and financial backgrounds.

6) They both had iconic logos – Dave had the Woolly Mammoth, and Walt had Mickey Mouse.

7) Both men were innovators who had to develop and implement new tools and machinery to make their dreams come true.

8) Both men highly inspired a work force with their vision. Humbly, Dave McCoy said to me recently, “Mammoth Mountain wasn’t built by me. It was built by others.” And I countered, “Yea, but you inspired them!”

9) Both men learned the most about where to make changes in their businesses by “listening” to their clients. Dave McCoy told me the reason he would stand next to the line usually at chair 1 where people were loading was because they would tell him what needed improvement. Walt Disney did essentially the same thing by having his office on Main St. just inside Disneyland so he could watch visitors behaviors and see what needed improvement. Implementing what their paying clients told them helped them refine their visitor’s experience to the highest levels.

10) Both men left enduring legacies of good, clean, family fun by bringing pleasure to millions of visitors.

Dave McCoy told me that he and Walt Disney met each other in the early 1950’s. Walt would bring his family to come skiing at Mammoth Mountain, and had a cabin near the Mammoth Mountain Inn. Walt also invited Dave and his family down to his studios in Burbank for a special visit.

Walt Disney and Dave McCoy will go down in history as being men who followed their passion to have fun, and built resorts that hundreds of thousands of visitors still enjoy daily. Unfortunately, Walt Disney left us too soon by contracting cancer from the cigarettes he began smoking in the military.

Dave McCoy is still going strong, and just celebrated his 96th birthday this last August. He is still very active in his projects. He spends time shooting beautiful photos of the Eastern Sierra that he has loved since he was a boy, and working on his solar/electric Rhino. My favorite photos I have bought from Dave McCoy Photo are:

1) Dave’s recent shot of a beautiful rainbow over Gull Lake with Carson Peak in the background.

2) The iconic shot of Dave McCoy skiing below Gravy Chute taken by Warren Miller that is on the wall at McCoy Station as you load the gondola.

If you love Mammoth Mountain and the Eastern Sierra, I’ll bet you will enjoy Dave McCoy’s photos as much as I do. Right now, Dave McCoy will even sign your photo for you, which makes it collectible as well as enjoyable art!