“When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things.”

If there’s one serious life lesson I’ve learned it’s that life rewards action. If we’re doing the same thing as everyone else we can expect the same kind of results too. Those who are successful will do more and take chances when nobody else will to make the changes in the world they want.  True freedom is being able to experience life uninhibited or humbled by the fears of the unknown. Without change there can be no growth and no foundation to build on. So my friends, when life looks tough seek discomfort, you’re going to experience something not many of the world’s people will never know.

My life has been very challenged lately, I built Oil Authority using only my funds  and someone I was in a relationship with for over a year left. Yet, I know each time I experience one of these life changes it makes me a better and stronger man.  I build strong teams, relationships and learn more about myself each day. It’s ok to look back so long as you’re moving forward. So for that I’m thankful for my discomfort and that it will only help me to build better lives for those around me. Ultimately, every day can be turned around and it’s our choice to figure out what we turn each day into.

This month marks my ten years in Alberta. I have had to reinvent myself and started over several times in my life. In fact, I’ve lived in

• Vancouver, BC Age 1-3
• Courtenay, BC Age 4-8 Drink stand, tried to sell painted rocks
• Chemainus, BC Age 8 – 10 Drink stand
• Ladysmith, BC Age 11 – 13 Mowing lawns
• Courtenay, BC Age 15 – 18 A&W, Overwaitea Gas Bar, Superstore, Detailer at Ford, babysitting
• Ucluelet, BC  Age 18 After graduating moved for summer to be a Deck hand, Bus Boy, Fish Packing Plant, Fish Farm, Bus Boy
• Courtenay, BC Age 18 Mac’s Oysters, tried college (ultra slow dated info so I dropped out), Started P&A Computers (first business)
• Nanaimo, BC age 21 Microsoft Tech Support (this was short lived I got bored of redundant type calls and was sitting next to Nortel Engineers recently laid off from the dot-com crash

  From flowers and lawns being mowed to landing in Calgary to blowing snow. I had $75 left in my pocket by the time I got to my new destination in Brooks after getting off the bus. I had to start over

• Brooks AB, March 2003
• Brooks, AB 6 months Lakeside Packers (Meat packing plant)
• Medicine Hat, AB Flint Energy Services (pipeline tie in connections), Champion Drilling (Conventional Oil Rigs.. hands down toughest job I ever had that tried me both physically and mentally), Savanna Energy (Coil Tube Rigs), Halburton, Schlumberger6 months of rain in the prairies shut the oil industry in Alberta pretty much to a halt. When it rains there’s no drilling because oil rigs sink resulting in wrecked roads. I packed my things into a locker, and drove  to Flin Flon, MB on being promised a job in satellite installs at $150 a dish only to find out in the winter there’s no installs and if I left I’d be hit with a $1,500 bill. I’d spent my last money practically to get out there. I decided to go where I wanted to go since I moved to Alberta (Calgary).
• 2006-2008 Calgary, AB Metafore (Network Admin), Memory Express, Fresh Standard IT Solutions (My second business)To leave for love, I sold it all in 24 hours to start over to be with them
• 2008 Montreal, QC  10 months (Moved to be with now ex girlfriend and continued running Fresh Standard)
• Edmonton, AB June 2009 started Making 8 Inc. an Edmonton Alberta Marketing company
• Edmonton, AB 2012 turned 30, started Oil Authority Inc. an international oil & gas network with over 8,700 companies in the business directory to facilitate the industry needs.

The reality is, it’s never too late to start over. We can all fail forward and use change as growth. I started 3 businesses during recessions of which my first one failed during the dot com crash. I’ve lived in 10+ Canadian cities,  and moved almost twice in almost every one of them. I sold off  almost everything  I owned twice because at the end of the day things do not define us. I worked at many jobs I hated  (often several at a time) and eventually returned to what I loved only to make ten times as much.   It’s good to listen to others but if anything all this has taught me it is to trust your own gut instincts.  Pay it forward when you can and help others when you can (just don’t forget to help yourself).

All these life challenges have help defined who I am. I’m not ashamed of any of it. I worked hard, struggled, at times starved, did what I hated and loved. I helped companies build million dollar businesses and am working towards building my own. At the end of the month I’ll be 31 years old and likely just over a third of my productive life. I dreamed of working from home and travelling around the world. I definitely am living a good part of the lifestyle I wanted but can’t see myself driving a Ferrari in Edmonton over the pot hole ridden roads. Now I just want to build a couple house, build successful businesses and continue to pay it forward. Hopefully, I’ll get to help others enjoy the same things I have along the way and pass on some of the knowledge these experiences have given. I still love building websites and being surrounded by technology after over 13 years in the industry. I always thought of it a hobby but now it more than pays the bills. Who knows what new challenges are around the corner.

Albert Einstein has always been a favourite person to me. He stands out the most because despite all obstacles he overcame what others said didn’t exist and was to become. In his first few years of life he was unable to speak and spent the rest of his life putting out work that we would talk about for generations to come. His metacognitive and introspective cross examination of life gave us reason to  look beyond.

The reality is that beyond religions which morally follow much of the same rules the meaning of life is what we make of it. A person can go an entire lifetime without really living or experiencing life for them self.  That’s why I respect Einstein so much as he lived life on purpose, asked questions objectively, and questioned them carefully while living life on purpose.

My parents gave me this cartoon poster, “Never Give Up,” when I was a teenager. If there’s anything I learned in all my experience it was just that, “Never give up,” but know when to stop. Throughout my life I’ve always heard you can’t do that and it can’t be done (yes even many times by my parents). I’m not sure why but I’ve almost always seemed to persevere when I wanted something. Fortunately, for the most part it worked out but when it didn’t I failed forward. It all starts with making a choice to do something and then just following through and ignoring the noise. I wouldn’t have been able to take on billion dollar corporations if it wasn’t for always looking for a way to solve things which usually leads to doing something different. Those that are successful do more. Never give up, because just when you’re feeling things the most you’re probably almost there.

Lorne Caleb Loraas November 29 1930 – April 19 2011

Lorne Caleb Loraas <- click to download video. Double click the video above to maximize the video on your monitor.

Behind the Man

He was a great grandfather, a grandfather, a father, a brother, and a best friend. To me he was both a grandfather and a best friend. He taught me to ride a bike, to drive,  to fish, the significance of family, and helped me to be where I am in my career today. I always knew he did a lot for people but never really knew how much until after he passed. People started talking about him and all the great things he did throughout his life.

I will miss his genuine smile, his warm approach to every day, and his sense of humor. He was a very smart, well educated, and well spoken with an answer for my every question. His sacrifice definitely showed as he often would tell me about the plants and work he did throughout his life. He was one of the youngest 1st Class engineers in BC in his time going through school while working, and raising his two young daughters at the time. I can’t even imagine how hard it would of been to study with two little girls running around plus the common stresses of work. This is a time where people had to do all their calculations on paper without calculators.

His work ethic was pretty sound taking everything from a job as a pearl diver (dish washer) for a camp to shoveling tons of frozen coal to work his way up to trouble shooting power plants across North America. I learned from my family that he once worked 2 weeks of his vacation for a local construction company just so he could afford to take his family on vacation. Hard work was never something he was afraid of. Even during his last days I found him outside working on the electronics of shower cleaner outside. I was told months earlier he was outside pulling on a rope to help fall a tree despite his health.

Most of the time when I’d visit he’d be watching the BC Lions, the Vancouver Canucks, or a curling bonspiel. He never missed a Canucks game, and I think my sister would be right in calling him their biggest fan. He was an accomplished curler, and outdoors man.  We’d often go walk across the train tressel or by the river near by. Whether anyone was around or not he’d be outside doing something.

If he wasn’t watching one of the games he’d be out doing carpentry, gardening, visiting with the neighbors or off on a walk. I was always impressed by how he knew every person for miles which is something not too common these days. When he said hello to people he said it with warmth and genuinely meant it.  He often talked about Royston, BC as God’s country and tease me on the phone about it knowing that it was often -21c or colder in Alberta while they were mowing their lawns out there.

I often found him watching western films when I visited, and he’d talk about the places he’d lived like Wyoming. He’d often be seen wearing one of his belt buckles and on special occasions a bolo made for him. He’d talk of how he lived on the prairies as a boy and how the dog would  run down coyotes. I think he missed it but that sure didn’t stop him from being outside. He would often talk about a trip where my family went riding and would laugh when talking about my cousin who was at the time a toddler having to frequently get off the horse to pee but never actually going.

He’d tell me about going out with his brother and his first truck a Ford which he purchased for $16.  He’d tell me about how heavy his bike was and riding it up the hill in Kimberly, BC. I’d often hear about stories about the power plants he worked in and the crazy things that would happen. How he would leave a plant after troubleshooting it for GE only to have to come back days later when the plant managers would mess it up again. In those times in the US the plants didn’t have the training that they do today and they’d call on his expertise and experience to work things out. I remember him telling me that he saved a company $1o million  dollars and all they gave him was a stereo for it. That stereo was found blaring for years and  was definitely made good use of.

He was a pretty innovative guy and loved to make stuff. I recall them complaining about the deer constantly eating their roses. So one day when I was visiting I found him outside attaching a motion sensor light to the sprinkler so that any time the deer would try to eat the roses they would get nailed with the sprinkler. This worked out great for a while until delivery people started getting it and the sprinkler system was retired.

I often remember going out to his shop and seeing him working on some wood project. He’d be working on the lathe and often covered in wood dust. I was impressed by the cars, chairs, and ornate wood chests he made for the family. If he wasn’t there he would be  just out back chopping wood from the giant wood shed just in case they needed some wood. It was always fully loaded and then some. He often told me about how he used to go out and chop wood for fun.

I remember being up on the roof one time and being lowered down by a rope to clean out the eaves troffs. There was a lot of moss up there and it was rather slippery that day. We were rather lucky because as we were heading towards the edge of the roof he slipped stopping  just before the edge. He was always a man to take care of things. I really learned a lot about odd jobs from him like soldering the pipes below the four plex. I remember we didn’t quite get it right and him yelling to turn it off because the water was spraying in the dirt crawl space. That was a really gross job but it taught me  a lot about the sacrifices it takes to own something.

One time I went over and he decided he was going to do some work on his old blue Pontiac. The side had been pushed in and he was going to do the auto body work himself.  We were shocked to find the pushed in side popped out after just one hit with a rubber mallet. Shortly after we repainted the car with spray paint and sold the car. He always loved his cars and in all his years of driving never got a single ticket except when his daughters got one for him while he was in respite care after massive heart surgery. He quietly went out and paid for it not telling them because that was the kind of man he was.

He once went with my sister in the middle of the night to Future Shop on boxing day to help her buy her video camera. That video camera became the start of my sister Maureen’s career in the film industry in Vancouver.  Most of my family can tell you similar stories like this myself included.

These are just a few things about a great man. He was my grandfather and I’ll really miss him,

“It is not strength but the duration of great sentiments that makes great men.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

A great many young Canadians today calling for electoral reform and I couldn’t disagree entirely. The only  issue is it would be a little too one sided based on the most sporadically placed nation per capita in the world with random heavily populated areas ending up with too much influence over other areas of  Canada . It’s an unusual issue that can hardly be done on a per capita basis because of the shear magnitude of the regional differences and the unique fiscal needs of each area. It would be the equivalent of Bubba (Quebec) coming over and raping the prairie regions. Since there’s no way that will ever be accepted we have to accept alternative methods of progress as the government becomes the true voice of Canadians.

The only resolve for electoral reform is to give Canadians more of a voice with open data and operate with more government transparency.  A system needs to be implemented to give Canadians informed  propaganda-free, educated, and comprehensive data that’s actionable and real time through information technology. Most Canadians agree that waiting four years in between elections to buy into propaganda and outright lies is not only very wrong, it’s criminal. We’re not only frustrated with the lies that are allowed during campaign time but the misinformation presented to us in between. It seems like politics is one of the few systems where it’s acceptable for people to lie on the job, not come to work, and not be accountable without being fired. In fact, when government officials slash budgets and save money that’s often injected into their bonuses as being more effective when that’s not necessarily the case at all. The current accountability system simply isn’t working. Elected officials for accountability had their budgets slashed and in many cases not even doing their jobs. If you want change talk to your local elected official about their progress towards open data and accountable transparent Canadian Government.

Accountability starts with us and without addressing the issues we’ll never have change.

It looks like the Conservative Party of Canada – Parti conservateur du Canada of Canada won a majority government and as predicted the NDP (New Democratic Party) took a strong place in the new federal election. Congratulations to local representative Laurie Hawn on being re-elected. It looks like we’re going to have a strong economically driven government into the bull market ahead of the rest of the world to help drive our top trade partners back into the green. This is good as our banks will not be tampered with, and businesses will have the flexibility to do more in a time that’s especially vital to our lead in the global market. The Conservative Party especially pro business and has done a lot to remove red tape making it much easier to do trade with Canada. Businesses the world around can rest assured Canada will be a great place to invest in over the next 4 years as the Conservative Government takes a majority continuing their role as the voice of Canada.

The Bloc Quebecois Separatists lost their place in government to actual federal parties and that’s something we can all be proud of. I believe Quebecers recognized that in order to have a voice in Canada they needed to be part of a federal party that thinks about what’s good for everybody instead of what’s just good for them. While I appreciate my French heritage blocking out the world is not the way you get the respect of the world as respect is earned. Quebec’s new party would be much better off embracing new people than attacking them for their differences as that’s what makes Canada great.

I am especially thankful that the Liberal Party didn’t get into office because they were against corporations and that’s the last thing we climb out of a global recession. The 3% corporate increase to businesses would of been passed onto consumers and ultimately driven business in some cases as inflation is already especially high as government stimulus has been injected into the economy. It’s a very delicate economic cycle and while 3% doesn’t sound like much the trade off’s/opportunity costs the Liberals were offering was too far for Canada to accept. Fortunately, the differences in education spend between the Liberals and Conservatives is very small despite no tax increases by the Conservatives.

Now it’s up to Canadians to be accountable by participating in the Canadian Government and use our voice to shift change in the right direction when people the world around fight to have the liberties we so often take for granted. I couldn’t be prouder of being a Canadian today, and if you’re Canadian I’m really glad you voted.

Adolf Hitler was suggested to have committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Osama Bin Laden is suggested to be dead again and yet like 1945 we’re ignoring the root of the problem which is not so much the acts of one man but the people behind him. This is not the end of terrorism nor is it the end of the problem just like after Sudam Hussein was removed. Tomorrow is Canadian Federal Election Day. Don’t just vote to vote.. vote to be accountable. Be the change you want to see in the world. Fight the wars on terrorism in the classroom and at the borders. Change starts with us.

Canadian Government 2011 Education Budget

The Liberal Party lead the investment for post secondary education with $1 billion.
The NDP has committed $700 million to post secondary education.
The Conservatives have also committed $700 million to post secondary education.

So at what cost to Canadians does this come at?

The Liberal Party

The Liberals want to increase corporate taxes by 3% above the proposed conservative corporate tax rate of 15% which essentially means the equivalent of a hidden 3% HST for Canadians.

The NDP Party

The NDP party wants to reduce small business taxes, and increase spend on most social programs which many see as too extravagant in the spending for a recessionary period. Looking at the NDP’s financial history they certainly haven’t demonstrated the ability to balance the economy.

The Conservative Party

The Conservatives are able to still commit $700 million new tax dollars towards post secondary education while being committed to reducing the national debt and leading the world economically. With their $13 billion committed towards jails I think we need to make them shift tax dollars towards education instead.

Questions We Need to be Asking

Just like any credit card company or bank we need to be asking at what cost these budgets are coming. Lets face it if every Canadian gets $1k a year for a 3% hike on prices for everything that’s probably not going to be worth it especially if there’s the potential those tax dollars are being taken away from the schools. The Family Pack proposed by the Liberals seems great but it’s going to come with a real cost that most people don’t see.

It seems very clear we need to make the current government more accountable to more spending on education and less on jails. When has any nation ever prevailed from putting people in jail? While I agree we need to be more strict on jail sentences I think we can all agree it’s time we recognize the significance of investing in education. Canada currently depends far too much on natural resources and commodity exports. In a time when 75% of our exports are going to the US it’s a clear sign we need to diversify our markets into more of a service oriented market by increasing education budgets, and investing in business. This should be a top priority for Canada as we all know the real wars are not fought on the field anymore… they’re fought in the classroom.

Make Your Vote Count in 2011