Ryan Poterack Writes About Faith & Hypocrisy

Many of us are familiar with a politician, evangelist or business leader which has spoken about their faith and values only to commit an act inconsistent with their faith and values.  This solicits many to cite hypocrisy and condemn the individual strongly.  Is this personal failing hypocritical?  I believe it depends.

While there are many different faiths; my faith, and most faiths, readily admit their followers will fall short of perfect in their faith.  This is widely accepted and sets an ideal standard of right and wrong behavior which cannot be met by anyone indefinitely.  Whether you agree with the faith or not, this is a central tenet of most faiths.  If a person promotes and accurately speaks of their faith and then fails to live up to their faith, which is expected by the faith, then I do not view this necessarily as hypocritical. 

After a personal failing, that individual is contrite, accepts personal responsibility without excuses, they are acting as their faith would support and frankly expect.  If a person speaks as if they are not subject to the standards of their faith while others are, this is hypocrisy.  What about those quick to condemn others?  Does their faith or, in the absence of faith, their values condone denigrating others?  Are those on the attack and condemning others acting hypocritical?

Consistently live your values and when you fail, accept responsibility and learn from your failing.  Take every opportunity to love and forgive.  This will soften the rough edges of life and will be well received by all, regardless of faith or values.

Ryan Poterack is a born-again Christian, which guides his writing and decisions.

Want Jobs? Policy Matters. – A blog by Ryan Poterack

Business owners hire people because their business requires a particular skill or help.  The decision may be based on replacing a person who left or seeking to grow.  Whatever the reason, the business owner has decided hiring someone makes financial sense.  After all, if it didn’t make financial sense the business owner would suffer the most and the survival of the business (and its employees) could be put at risk.

Government leaders these days speak as if business owners should hire for the betterment of the country.  Is it patriotic to hire?  Are businesses an extension of government and its policies?  The words and actions from Washington DC, especially in the light of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), seem to put forth a belief that business owners should blindly go along with government policies as if there is not cause and effect.  It goes like this: Raising taxes won’t reduce hiring.  Raising the cost of benefits won’t reduce hiring.  Increasing regulations won’t reduce hiring.  Changing laws and regulations unpredictably and often won’t reduce hiring.

It is profoundly puzzling to me that our elected leaders, the best we have to offer as a country, do not understand how business works.  If you increase cost or simply take money away from a business, then there is less money to hire, grow or otherwise take entrepreneurial risk with.  Government will insist, with a straight face, the impact is minor.  This is a point of view happy when there is no loss.  It is not a point of view championing growth and all its possibilities.  Our countries best and brightest are often entrepreneurs who will find a way to succeed despite government obstacles.  However, the definition of success is dampened.  At some level, for all of us, enough is enough whether based on achievement, money, et al.  Increasing the burden placed on successful business owners brings this level, at which it doesn’t make sense to do more, downward. 

Taxes, benefit costs and requirements, as well as regulation all increase as a business is more successful.  Business owners who are not successful don’t experience as many burdens.  If you fail; you don’t make a profit (less taxes) and you don’t grow (avoid ACA requirements).  There are others who argue the government knows better.  One key ingredient missing from their argument is business ownership on their resume.

Ryan Poterack is a business owner residing in Charlotte, NC.

Investing in Our Future? – A blog post by Ryan Poterack

Full disclosure on Ryan Poterack’s, education: I obtained a BBA in Finance from Iowa State University in 1990 and have completed continuing education annually to maintain licenses for my career.  Ryan Poterack has also gained education through the school of Hard Knocks by starting three businesses from scratch.

The education, development and preparedness of our children is usually referred to as an investment in our country’s future.  This is a view that nearly everyone can agree on.  However, there should be a great deal of debate regarding how we invest, as a society, in our youth.

Do our schools prepare children to be welders, website designers, nannies, personal trainers, servers, mortgage brokers, entrepreneurs, and many other careers we all interact with every day?  The answer in many cases is no.  Our children are not taught how to balance a checkbook, compare mortgages, complete a tax return, or many other important activities they’ll be required to do to succeed in life.  Our schools do not typically teach our children how to shake hands correctly, use good eye contact or other key protocols needed to complete a successful job interview.

Many of our country’s schools have experienced snow days this winter.  These schools, often by law, have to make these days up.  Think about this.  School completion is based on time, not on skills developed!  The classroom “investment” moves along at the speed of the slowest student.  The slowest student in one subject may be the fastest student in another subject or brilliant in areas not even covered by our traditional bricks and mortar schools.  We invest in time spent, not outcomes. 

The number of children being homeschooled in the United States is exploding.  If you homeschool your child, you are still paying tax dollars to teach others in public school.  When public schools receive your money even when you do the work, then what pressure is there for the school to improve their product?  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, education spending in our nation’s schools was $10,560 per student in 2011. 

Imagine the possibilities if every student had the choice of how to invest their ten grand every year!    

Ryan Poterack resides in Charlotte, NC.  He is the proud father of 4 children ranging in ages from 1 to 18.

What outcome should education support? | Ryan Poterack Blog

Webster’s dictionary definition of education is: “the action or process of teaching someone especially in a school, college, or university”. 

I suspect that definition was the same 10, 20, even 30+ years ago.  Education supports outcomes sought by those seeking it.  A better career; personal fulfillment; prerequisite for promotion and many other outcomes are achieved through education.

However, the concept of having to sit in a bricks & mortar classroom at well-defined times to be taught extemporaneously by a teacher as an example of “especially in a school, college, or university” may go the way of the hardcopy newspaper.  The internet has provided awesome educational resources that may be accessed 24/7 at nearly zero cost to the educated.  Kindle and other E-readers have changed the way we read books.  The cost of a university education begs the question of whether or not there is value.  I am well aware of the studies indicating the relationship between higher education and career income.  I am questioning the delivery system of education.

Many educational topics do not change much.  Why should a person have to sit through a math lecture at 9:00 am on Tuesday versus having the lecture accessible through webinar.  The webinar lecture could be accessible 24/7 and retained indefinitely.  No further effort on behalf of the educator, yet the value would continue to be provided.  Khan Academy ( www.khanacademy.org  ) is example of a low cost educational distribution source.  You may learn various levels of math, science, finance, history, etc. within your schedule and at your pace. 

You either know something or you do not.  How you obtained the education to know what you know shouldn’t matter.  This provides the key obstacle to the expansion of free and low-cost convenient education.  A traditional brick and mortar degree has been a stamp of approval indicating you know stuff whether or not you actually do know your stuff!  Online education is not currently afforded the blind accreditation a university education is.  This is changing and will create tremendous efficiencies as our country transitions away from the industrial revolution to a technology-based work environment. 

As with any change, there are powerful forces resisting changes in where we obtain education .  If you are a teacher who’s been paid to conduct your class multiple times per day over years, then you may be uncomfortable with the concept of conducting this class once (recorded and accessible online).  This teacher would have to come up with new and innovative content for the next class. 

It’s difficult to be against more and varied access to education.  The clear winner is the student.  Anyone wanting to learn any topic throughout their life may now do so easily and economically.  This will bring accountability to how much value a live interaction with a teacher provides.  Great teachers will always provide great value.  Certain topics lend themselves to live teaching more than others.  Teachers who punch a clock and are glorified sitters might want to seek further education.

Ryan Poterack began this blog in January 2014.  He resides in Charlotte, NC.  Ryan Poterack enjoys discussing and debating a variety of topics, and is known for often taking a contrarian stance just for the sport of it.  :)

Ryan Poterack’s 15-month old son goes to the moon!

Recently my daughter Reagan produced a “movie trailer” about sending little brother Lincoln to the moon.  I wanted to share the video with you in the hopes it may raise a smile or two.  Reagan has always been extremely creative and artistic, but it truly is amazing what children can do with technology these days!  Reagan used the iMovie application and was not assisted.  She used pictures and chose sound and effects on her own.  This has opened my eyes to using this technology in my own workplace to promote events and such.  I am grateful that I am able to find inspiration all around me.

Watch the video here:


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