Drew Hager, English 121, David Thorn, 4/9/09
Reflections of an Only Child…
The red desert sand crumbled under my yellow Labrador’s enormous paws as I rode on his back down the many dog trails to the nearest neighbor’s house nearly a quarter mile from home. At only three years old, I would venture on these journeys with my only sibling; “Shiner”. In the quiet and sparsely populated Spanish towns of the New Mexico desert, one had to be quite creative and adventurous to keep entertained; this being especially true for an only child. It made me very independent, adventurous, spontaneous, and believe it or not extremely social. My need to have social interactions with others developed a very keen understanding of how to make friends.
Most of the people in town were my parents age or older, and although there were some children my age, most of my interactions until about age five were with adults. My parents often like to tell stories of deep intellectual conversations with friends when I would be listening and jump in to share some very profound idea or comment that a “typical” four year old had no business sharing. Often the conversation would come to a grinding halt, as those involved would stop to comment or reflect on how intrinsically odd my comments truly were. I often think that my development of vocabulary is as much from talking with adults as it is from reading.
As living in New Mexico had made me adventurous and independent, living in Florida truly gave me my love of water and the ocean; a true “water baby” as they say. My extreme and avid love for SCUBA diving, although not experienced in Florida, can be traced back these early years of endless days discovering sea shells, playing Frisbee against the ocean breeze, and body surfing the waves of Florida’s west coast. After those years in Florida, we came to Colorado as my Mother and her entire family is from the Arvada area.
My parents separated in first grade, and my father returned to Florida. Thus, several times per year, and always every summer, I would travel by air as an “unaccompanied minor”. I travelled a lot with my family, but I believe my love of travel and jumping on an airplane can be traced back those early days moving back and forth between Mom and Dad. There is nothing greater than deciding with a friend on the spur of the moment to hit the road or the skies and go on an adventure; much like jumping on Shiner’s back to head down a dusty New Mexico trail.
In Junior High, and twice in High School, I had the opportunity to attend Sea Camp in San Diego, California. Based near the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, the camp offered an incredible insight into the world of marine biology. On each trip, we got to spend 5 days on a “live aboard” vessel. This is where I got to SCUBA dive for the very first time off the coast of the Mariettas Islands; formerly a test site for the U.S. military. Exploring the endless kelp fields, traversing the walls of vast ocean cliffs, and staring into the eyes of fish that weighed more than ten times my own weight fill my memories with delight. Since that time I have had the opportunity to dive in many places around the world, and look forward to diving for the rest of my life.
I am very thankful to my family for all the traveling and outdoor activities they participated in with me at such an early age. Grandma and Grandpa had a condo in Winter Park, Colorado, and had me skiing about as early as humanly possible. As soon as they let me off the training ropes, I’m told I only had one problem; stopping. It’s been that way ever since, and I enjoy skiing with a passion almost as high as my love of SCUBA diving. I will never forget how each morning to wake us up for a long day of skiing, my grandfather would burst into the room and yell “Shoosh-Boomers of the world – ARISE!” As silly as it was, I look forward to someday carrying on the tradition with my children and grandchildren.
My entrepreneurial spirit was greatly shaped by my Mother and her tireless efforts to succeed with her small businesses as I grew up. Very early I learned the value of persistence, determination, creativity, passion, and dedication. Immediately I began to develop my own “businesses”; snow shoveling routes, yard maintenance, and on and on. Eventually I began to develop actual business plans and business development strategies. At age eleven I was featured in the New York Times for loans I took to implement a dial up Internet service from my bedroom (just like AOL). I had 14 phone lines running into my room, with a direct connection to the Internet, charging a monthly fee from my users. I am so thankful to have had the privilege of watching a single mother persist until her entrepreneurial dreams came true.
With a passion for business and marketing, in High School I became president of the schools marketing club called DECA. I enjoyed marketing with a passion, especially looking at ads or commercials to analyze and determine if they were effective marketing messages. I got to compete in many competitions, including attending the regional event held at the Broadmoore hotel in Colorado Springs. This greatly advanced my already undying thirst for marketing, sales, and business.
During High School I had many different sales jobs. My first gig was selling security systems for ADT. We would work trade shows or events to generate leads and appointments, but also “door knock” to generate sales. I learned many lessons during this time, the most important of them being leverage. Leverage is the concept of either making lots of money with very little time, or making money off of other people’s efforts at the same time you are earning money (or both). This concept is the cornerstone of my decisions to this day, and has served me extremely well in the world of business.
I went on to many other kinds of gigs, all the way from telemarketing sales to in home water treatment system sales and installations. My most successful business experience that impacted my life started at a graduation party from High School in 2001. I was walking to my car to get my cell phone when a hard a ridiculous audio system thumping from down the way. As I looked up to see what kind of car it was, a brand new lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee with all the extras and gleaming rims pulled up behind me. Noticing the sticker which indicated it was new that day, commented to the driver that he had a very nice car and inquired where he had purchased it.
With a gleaming and proud smile, he said “My company bought it for me.”
Needless to say, I obviously said “Sweet! Are they hiring?”
Of course he said they were, and not understanding the sales nature of the business yet, I gladly accepted his invitation to a “hiring event”. I later came to understand that it was more like an “opportunity meeting” for me to invest in the company and start my own business doing exactly what he was doing. I had seen many of these programs before, but I knew immediately that there was something truly special about this deal; it was unique, the technology was patented, and the company had all the right ingredients for success. So, I got all the necessary funds in place, and began to rock and roll with my new business: healing not only physical illness but “financial brokyitis” as well. Immediately I began to see quite measurable results not only with my own physical health but also in my personal finances.
As I traveled the United States distributing these amazing technologies, I learned many valuable lessons. The first and foremost was how backwards our medical system is in this country. Even when I had diabetics dropping their insulin (including my own Mother), cancer patients with tumors vanishing completely, MS patients of twenty or more years jumping out their wheel chairs in weeks or even days, full blown AIDS patients testing with a zero viral load, not to any person could I say more than “This will help your cells work better.”
I began to develop my understanding of the powers that be, and the trail of money that keeps these powers in place. I lovingly call this business of keeping people sick the “Pharma-Petro-Medical-Industrial Complex”. It does not mean that if you work in these industries that you are a bad person, it just means that fundamentally you are involved in what I consider to be a highly corrupt system of organized monopolies. The best example is the FDA’s treatment of non pharmaceutical substances. Does anyone think that if they truly had a cure for cancer (which I’m certain they are aware of), they would cure you for a nominal fee? Or, would they rather TREAT the symptoms of that disease for a profit every day for the rest of your life until you die? What people don’t understand is that the pharmaceuticals as publically traded companies actually have an obligation to their shareholders by law to ensure that their “treatments”, which are more profitable, remain the standard instead of alternative or natural substances which could cure you for a nominal fee.
The best example of the FDA’s mentality is the story of vitamin C. We have known for hundreds of years that scurvy was a deficiency in Vitamin C. James Cook of the English Navy proved this by bringing limes with him on his sailing ships. The sailors ate one lime per day and not a single sailor was affected with scurvy from that day forward. Thus, that is why they call the English Navy the “Limeys”. Even so, to this day, it is illegal in the United States to claim that vitamin C will cure scurvy. It is also illegal to claim that water will cure dehydration.
So, with this lesson learned, I became very good at educating people about their health and how to solve their medical problems simply and naturally. It gave me great insight and knowledge into the art of healing, and how to be persistent, caring, nurturing, and understanding. Being involved in the sales and marketing side of this industry I also attended personal development and training courses all around the country; learning everything from how to break through limiting beliefs, to setting your “financial thermometer” higher and higher.
When I would seek out business contacts, I would look for only the best. I began to feed off people who said “you can’t get that person”, or “you’ll never be able to get in touch with them”. Because of my persistence I made some very high level connections in all walks of life. From sports celebrities, to famous researchers, doctors, musicians, actors, media moguls, marketing giants, and more: I made connections that will last me a lifetime.
Recently I returned to Red Rocks Community college to get a degree in Renewable Energy. I think this decision was directly related to my Mom’s involvement in the “sustainability” movement throughout my life. I am excited to take my love for the environment combined with my love of marketing and sales to help make a difference in the world today. I am so thankful for all the different things or events which have gotten me to the point in life where I am today; sitting here writing this essay.
