Carole Baskins Diary

Jamie Questions Whether We Can Rescue Two Lions?

 

It seems like everyone is for the rescue of these two lions, I feel we don't have enough people to take care of them. Like Brian said, sometimes it's only him and Tiffany that are available to clean and he is leaving soon and Tiffany is paid to be working inside, not cleaning cages.  So if she is only cleaning on one of her days off then that will soon leave us with six more days out of the week to find coverage to take care of another two upper level cats.  Not to mention, that two more big cats will end up costing us $15,800 a year.  Where are we going to get all this money from?

 

Only a hand full of people are actually helping with our biggest fundraiser of the year...and isn't it strange that the people that complain the most about us needing to rescue more cats are not in that small group of people, soliciting donations, thanking donors, and actually earning the money needed to care for the cats we have...

 

We just took in four cats that are costing us $30,000 a year.  So now we are looking at $45,800 a year.  I hear whispers and rumors of upper level people wanting to move on to greener pastures and possibly even leave the animal world all together.  I hear complaints of having to be here instead of having "fun" dealing with guests, working with other volunteers and interns, doing boring admin tasks.

 

So with your votes, I really ask you that you look 10-20 years in the future.  Are you still going to be here?  Are you still going to be working holidays, weekends...Are you going to take over getting sponsors, soliciting auction items, planning and executing our biggest fundraiser of the year?  Howard is retired and this will probably be his last year putting together the Fur Ball.

 

This place is my life and I will be working here until I die from stress or I am mauled to death, so remember that, because each cat rescued is ultimately mine and Carole's responsibility.    That said I will stand by you and vote yes, if it is agreed that

 

1.  the two lions can be housed together

2. coverage can be found to clean/feed without using our paid admin staff,

3. you are ready to commit your time off, weekends and holidays for the remainder of these cats' lives,

4. and you can joyfully work on admin tasks, peacefully coordinate volunteers and interns, and are excited to get out there and solicit donors, sponsors, and manage our fur ball

 

My thoughts may have come across harsh, but they are only meant to be blunt.  I want everyone to stay here and I want everyone to be happy and really enjoy their experiences here.  But lately from my own experiences out here, I find that people are overworked and bitter for it.  The only way to not over work everyone is to lighten the load.  The more cats we continue to rescue, the heavier it will be for everyone.  In the back of my mind I still come back to this...the best thing we can do for the situation as a whole, is spend those hours each week, that would be dedicated to caring for one lucky animal, fighting for legislation that would end the cause for cats in need of rescue.  The animals,  Jamie Veronica, President

 

I wrote her back and told her that I wish I had said that.  She fears she may have driven off those who are at the edge of burning out and I told her that if we wake up tomorrow and it is just her and me that we have been there before and we can do it again.  I am so proud of her.

 

Photo is from the 2007 Fur Ball and that is news anchor, Cynthia Smoot, to my right.

 

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context an

Howie’s letter to Leonora LaPeter Anton

 

Leonora, I would be happy to speak with you if we can do it in person - it seems to me the nature of your inquiry deserves that, and I would enjoy meeting you.   For me there actually is a lighter side to the serious email Carole sent to you that makes me smile.  I was 54 when we married, and it is my first marriage. You can probably imagine that at that age this was quite a decision.   If I had to point to one single thing that clinched the decision for me, it is something that perhaps you can sense from her email - she openly says what is on her mind directly.  You know where you stand, with no games.  I love that.   I have my nephew arriving Thursday for a week, so if it possible for us to talk either before he arrives or after he leaves that it would be most convenient, but if not I will try to work with your schedule.  This Wednesday afternoon would be particularly good if that happened to work for you.  Sincerely,   Howard Baskin

 

8/14/07 Carole writes Jamie and Volunteer Committee:  Subject: 2 lions

 

I need a consensus if we are going to rescue the two lions that were confiscated from Diana Mc Court in Ohio.  She is the woman USDA shut down, but she continued letting people come pet and get mauled by her cats and 60 Minutes, or one of those guys did an undercover story on her to show it.    Animal Control has taken possession and is awaiting a Judge’s ruling saying that the cats can be placed permanently.  There are 4 tigers and 2 lions and I have tentatively told Animal Control and HSUS that we would take the lions if Diana cannot take them back, but I need your vote before I can commit for sure.  For the cats,  Carole Baskin

 

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

PurrFect Planet Diary

The diary of a $77,000,000.00 idea.  August 11, 2007

 

I met Pegi Goff at the first Tampabay area Meetup of people who wanted to share The Secret ie The Law of Attraction.  I walked up to her after the meeting and said, “I know I am supposed to meet you, but don’t know why.”  She seemed ready for that opening line and launched into how she was ready to get involved in something that really mattered.  Her first donation to Big Cat Rescue was with the White Tiger brochure and T-shirts.

 

Within days she presented me with a Webkinz plush toy that had a corresponding online game element and a $77,000,000.00 idea was born.  I had set that figure as my intention, but at the time had no idea how to achieve it.  I think this is it.

 

Webkinz launched in 2005 and as of this date claims 2 million units sold to retailers and 1 million registered users of the Webkinz World website. NPD Group reports that the product brought in more than $1 million (USD) in United States retail sales in 2006.

 

Last year, after Howie showed me an article about it in Business Week, I signed up for Second Life.  From time to time I have logged in to try and figure out how to do good with this otherwise materialistic phenomena.  Yesterday, August 11, 2007, Second Life had more than 800,000 players online who had spent $1,400,000.00 in the last 24 hours.

 

8.9 million user accounts have been created since its inception in 2003 and most of those since 2006.

 

At this writing, Pegi and I are calling our venture PurrFect Planet and she called me Friday to tell me that she had gotten a commitment for a $10,000.00 grant and possibly that much per year if this could be developed as an educational tool.

 

We are set to brainstorm this soon but here is what is coming to me from the Universe:

 

It starts with the most adorable plushy cat toys you can imagine.  The toy is small, but has such charm and detail that adults will keep it on their desks.  Teenagers will proudly carry it, because it will represent an icon that is a constant reminder of who they perceive themselves to be.  The toy will be marketed to remind the owner of what it takes to succeed.  This is why it should be a top- of- the- food- chain- predator.  A cat because of the big cat charity supported by the income and that shelters the income, in turn.

 

Buying the toy gets you into the online community.  You create and personalize your character and you have a home that you share with the plushy type that you bought.  Your home is sort of the MySpace equivalent where you show off who you are and invite friends to see it.  Players can post photos, videos and music to share with friends.  You can pay for enhancements or earn them.

 

You pay for enhancements by making donations to a charity through the game so that it can be tracked.  To be a vendor you have to be a charity or donate a substantial portion of each sale to a charity within the PurrFect Planet.  Green enhancements are encouraged by price breaks, bonuses and status.  This would encourage players to seek out wind powered home improvements over petroleum and such so as to get people thinking about what it takes to keep a planet healthy.  Status is a rating system that becomes a badge of honor with benefits.

 

You can earn money to spend in the game through the educational component.  You can travel to wildlife preserves and spend time transformed into a forest creature, native to the area of the preserve.  This will require a huge data base of information for each type of preserve.  There could be oceanic preserves, polar preserves where the ice caps are melting based upon the number of players in the game who are using products that contribute to the destruction of the ozone.  There would be the typical rain forest preserves, prairie preserves and savannahs.  Each with its own eco system to keep in balance by knowing about it, understanding it and really becoming a part of the whole process by being a creature i

Cherishing the Life of Nakita Bobcat

Cats make us laugh but they can also touch our hearts in ways that defy explanation.  Nakita the bobcat is one of those cats.  The first time I saw Nakita she was sharing a small rabbit hutch with Czar, a cat of uncertain parentage, but who appeared to be a cross between a Canada Lynx and a Bobcat.  It was a cold day in November of 1992 in South Carolina and the cats had only a couple of boards on top of the cage to protect them from the elements.

 

Both cats were hunched down, as close as they could get to each other, as if in a combined effort to look bigger and more formidable to the two novices who stood before them.  They knew, all too well, all about the exotic pet trade and we knew nothing.  We were being told that they were rare creatures who would only survive if we bought them and bred them for future generations.  We were ignorant as to the deception of that advice, but we could clearly see that these cats would be much better off with us than in this rickety chicken coop of a cage, so we paid the ransom and took them home.

 

As the years passed we learned that none of these animals are genetically traceable for use in any internationally sanctioned Species Survival Plan and even if they were, there isn’t a re-wilding program in existence for any of the exotic cat species due to man’s encroachment on their habitat.  We learned that paying their ransom just enabled the drunk who had sold them to continue his dirty trade.  We learned a lot; more than these pages can hold, but for now I just want to share two precious lessons learned.

 

In the wild bobcats and lynx are solitary and only come together for mating.  Nature has equipped them to be self sufficient and to look out for number one.  One of the things I love most about bobcats is that they draw a line in the sand and are quite content to live and let live as long as you stay on your side of the line, but the second you cross over, the fury that is theirs to unleash is a fearsome thing.  They are that way with us and with each other and almost every scar on my body is from breaking up bobcat fights.  (This should come with the warning:  Do Not Try This At Home!)

 

Czar and Nakita never fought and I was thankful for that.  I don’t know if I could have survived breaking up a fight between a hybrid the size of Czar and a cat as sure of herself as Nakita.  Their love was the stuff of legends.

 

When Czar was in his teens he succumbed to both deafness and blindness, but he lived on for years because his unwavering companion put aside all that is instinctive in her to only provide for herself.  They would lay close and groom each other throughout the day.  At dinner time, Czar could not see the volunteers with wagons full of meat coming.  He could no longer hear the excited chirps and calls of all the other cats that alerted everyone down the path that the glorious hour of the day had finally arrived.

 

All of the other cats would be excitedly pacing in and out of their lockouts where they are fed, but Czar would sit, staring with eyes that no longer see, into the darkened silence that surrounded him.  What happened next would bring tears to the eyes of everyone who ever witnessed it and still brings tears to my eyes today.

 

Nakita would nudge Czar to stand and leaning against him, as one might steady an elderly person, she would slowly walk, shoulder to shoulder with Czar and deposit him in his lockout where the staff would place the food before him.  In his last days, all he did was sleep all day, but at supper time Nakita made sure he got up and made it into his feeding area.  Nakita’s devotion to her loved one was far more than we often see in human families and it taught me that real love never fails.

 

Czar died in the spring of 2003 and I wondered if Nakita would survive it.  They were so old, having been born in 1988, and had never been apart.  Nakita taught me about being strong and resilient in the four years

The Millionaire’s Manual to Making Millions

You wouldn’t go to a doctor who was sick all the time.  You wouldn’t hire a mechanic who couldn’t keep his own car running.  You wouldn’t hire a consultant who had never personally experienced success.  If you wouldn’t read books about how to make millions of dollars by people who have never done it, then this book is for you.

 

I didn’t make millions writing books either, although I expect to soon.  I made mine in real estate and mortgage investing and began at the age of 19.  I was a multi millionaire by the time I was thirty.   I gave away most of it and even more returned to me.  Everything I touch turns to gold and I am not saying this to impress you, but rather to inspire you, because you and I have a lot more in common than you might realize.

 

I believe that we are all connected and anything that one of us does affects all of us.  If I am successful then you will be successful.  If I am happy, you will be happy.  All you have to do is recognize and accept the connection.  This is going to be a short book because the concept is so simple.

 

Every good thing and every bad thing that ever happened in my life was the direct result of what I was feeling or thinking at the time.  I was 45 before I understood this.  It is a hard fact to accept, if you have had some of the awful life experiences I have had, because you just can’t believe that you could have attracted something so bad.  Once I accepted that, however, it was the moment of liberation for me.  I had found the key to having what I want and now I create the life I want on purpose and life just becomes more and more magical every day!

 

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Perry Watkins is creating a program called Life Management and asked how I manage my day.

Thanks for asking.  The following may be more info than you want but it seemed like a good time for me to re evaluate what I am doing anyway.

 

8:00 am:  I wake up and before getting out of bed, pray the prayer of Jabez:  It is from the Old Testament and abbreviated it goes like this:

 

1. Thank you God for all that you do for me, and I list out lots of stuff that comes to mind and really feel the thankfulness and gratitude while doing it.

2. Bless me indeed.  I ask for what I want with full expectation it is coming.

3. Expand my territory.  For me this means the reach of the sanctuary and its mission and the notion of expanding my understanding of the Universe.

4. Guide me with Thy loving hand.  I am asking to be conscious of Universal intelligence throughout the day so that I make good decisions.

5. Keep me far from evil that I may do no harm.  I say this part because it is in the original Prayer of Jabez, but I don’t have any real concern that I am going to do evil or harm to anyone.

6. Through Jesus name, Amen.  I say the last part because I am a Christian and that is the way we were instructed to pray in the New Testament.

 

8:30 am:  I watch my slideshow Vision Statement that takes about a minute.  I eat breakfast in front of my computer, check the 100-200 emails that come in each day and answering and forwarding them as appropriate.  I use Outlook, so I color code those that I need to come back to.  I check my Outlook calendar to see if there are any appointments and if they are, I usually will stick a Post It on my screen to notify me, even though Outlook is set to pop up and tell me a half hour before.

 

I put all of my appointments, birthday notices, and recurring issues on the Outlook calendar.  Three days week, M, W and F  I go to the gym at 10:00 am and that is set as a recurring appointment.  The maid comes every other Tues., the Volunteer meeting is the first Sunday of each month, and there are a myriad of paperwork things that have to be done monthly or annually that are all on the calendar as recurring.

 

I use Outlook’s Task pane to list all of the stuff that comes in needing my attention.  I post the date it came in and when it is due and if there is a drop dead date it goes on the Calendar too.  When new mail or email comes in, it goes onto the Task list if I am not going to do it today…and I am probably NOT going to do it today.

 

Once I go through all of the new emails, I will look into the Task pane to see what I can cross off the list.  I base it upon deadlines, mostly, but find that I often will do what I like doing and not do what I hate doing.  I hate the phone and it could take me a month to call a person back, whereas I will email back in seconds in many cases, since I am at the computer all day.

 

Noon:  I eat lunch at the computer or in the car if I have to go somewhere.

 

I work at the computer until around 4 pm, which is when I usually schedule private tours for big donors, or just my face time at the sanctuary to check on the cats and let the staff and volunteers know that I exist.  They don’t see me all day, because I work from home.  I used to work at the sanctuary, but with 100 volunteers, each stopping in for a couple minutes to say, “hello” I couldn’t get any work done.  I have 8 paid staff and 100+ volunteers who help me keep that going and then I have 2 paid staff that stay on top of my real estate business, handling incoming payments, outgoing bill payment, and everything else that goes with keeping a 100 or so rental properties and mortgages running smoothly.  They take care of all of my banking, taxes, insurance, cars, etc.  All I have to do is find and negotiate the buying and make the decisions on the selling.

 

On the way home I go roller blading, or take a walk on a beach somewhere and listen to The Secret or similar stuff on the iPod.  This is all I listen to in the car as well.

I love Howie so much!

 

Serenity

Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.

 

A person becomes calm in the measure that one understands themselves as a thought evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as one develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, one ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.

 

The calm person, having learned how to govern themselves, knows how to adapt themselves to others; and they, in turn, reverence their spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of them and rely upon them. The more tranquil a person becomes, the greater is their success, their influence, their power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find their business prosperity increase as one develops a greater self control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a person whose demeanor is strongly equable.

 

The strong, calm person is always loved and revered. They are like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson of culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the eternal calm!

 

How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control flow few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!  -  James Allen. 1864-1912, Author

Being One With All Who Were, Are or Will Be

A letter to Barbara Frank after she asked how I feel so connected to the cats who have died.  Dear Barbara,  Feeling the cats as ever present has come from just being aware.  That was how I first heard from Malachi, Nini, Sarabi and others (while they were alive) and that is what has fueled my desire to let the world know how connected we all are.  That awareness comes from feeling gratitude, which keeps me in a happy frame of mind and that is what opens the doors to experiences that I can only describe as miraculous.  The How To Manual for this is ridiculously simple.  Every morning, before my feet hit the floor I pray a prayer from 1 Chronicles 4: 9-10

 

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that I may do no harm! And God granted him that which he requested. “

 

The Bible says Jabez was blessed greater than any others because of his prayer.  I add to this prayer a long session on all of the things I am already thankful for;  all the people, all the blessings, all the changes in attitude that I am seeing, etc., and then I start the prayer.  Throughout the day, every time I have a negative thought, such as feeling that others aren’t doing what they should (ie: the Vernon Yates and Gloria Johnsons of the world) I stop myself and purposely find 5 or 6 good thoughts even if the best thing I can think of is to say to myself that if it weren’t for them there wouldn’t be a good example of why we need better laws.

 

I try to find and FEEL some good thought about them and I don’t stop until I have some good feeling about them.  I do this on every negative thought that comes my way.  At first it takes a while and feels like a lie, but what I found is that it quickly becomes habit.  The more I have done this, the more connected to God I have felt.

 

When I read The Science of Getting Rich it really brought into my awareness that God isn’t off in some far off place.  He is the Thinking Stuff (as the author calls Him) that is in all and in between all that we see.  So the space between me and my keyboard right now is God and God is Love.  Then I think about the fact that every cell of my body is mostly space (from a scientific standpoint) so the space in each cell, between the electrons and neutrons is filled with God.  There are lots of references in the Bible to being filled with God but even with 46 years of going to church 3 times a week, I never really FELT this until now.  And Wow!

 

What a feeling!  What has been really weird is the feeling of being surrounded by all who ever lived and all who ever will live and feeling their presence as clearly and fully as this cat sitting next to me on the floor.  People and animals who I had thought of as dead are more alive than they ever were in their limited earthly form, and it is like they are all this ONEness.

 

While I often will recognize a presence walking with me as that individual personality, I sometimes have more of a feeling of all being One and being connected to that One.  It is in that state that my best ideas and intuitions give birth.    I still step in and out of this flow, like dipping my foot into a pool and becoming the water, and am working on being the water all the time, because the best things happen when I am feeling love and gratitude.    I am not sure how to share this with others, so I am trying to just be a living example in the hopes that when people see that it works for me, they will try it themselves.

 

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this play

Remember the Helicopter Brothers Don Invested With in Costa Rica?

 

 

This was translated from Spanish to English using Google Translate so it’s a little hard to read.

 

The San José Trial Court ordered the payment of $ 20.2 million in favor of dozens of victims of Osvaldo Villalobos Camacho, recently sentenced to 18 years in prison for aggravated fraud and illegal financial intermediation.   Villalobos attracted - according to the ruling - dozens of foreign investors, whom he offered to pay high interest rates in exchange for their money.  They lost their funds after the sentenced today and his brother, Luis Enrique Villalobos (a fugitive from justice), closed the firms Ofinter and The Brothers after the intervention of the Prosecutor's Office, in July 2002.  This caused dozens of people material and moral damage, the Court estimated.

 

According to Ewald Acuña, legal representative of a group of investors, the money frozen in the Villalobos' accounts, as well as property and assets of their companies, are enough to answer for the economic damage. However, we must wait for the ruling to be final.  Corporate lawsuit. Those affected not only sued Villalobos, but also a group of public limited companies and companies related to him.  These include Casa de Cambio Bulevar, Corporación Platino, Inmobiliaria Platino, Inversiones Hass, Framagra, Casa de Cambio Ofinter, Tourism Support Services, West Pack Marketing, Dorado Internacional and Compañía Mercantil El Desierto.

 

Of the reparations for the economic damage, those of Dana Webster and Patricia Fleming stand out, to whom Villalobos must return $ 2.5 million and $ 1.2 million, respectively.  “The judgment showed that, under no circumstances, did the State of Costa Rica conspire to leave the people who were defrauded by Mr. Villalobos without money.  “The court made public the existence of a group of people outside the process who engaged in interfering, obstructing, demanding and even threatening. I am referring to people who thought that the way to help the Villalobos was to harass, ”said Acuña.

 

Once the sentence is final, a civil process will be established. In bank accounts $ 12 million are frozen.  The rest of the amount would be covered by goods that must be auctioned.  Unconventional case. During the sentencing - on May 16 - the judges highlighted that the Villalobos brothers mobilized more than $ 400 million before being discovered. In his defense, Osvaldo Villalobos tried to separate his foreign exchange activities from those of his fugitive brother.

 

The judges were convinced that the firms were one and that they were dedicated to raising money. "We are facing an unconventional crime," said Judge Carlos Pérez.  https://www.nacion.com/sucesos/tribunal-ordena-pago-de-202-millones-a-victimas-de-ofinter/4OJKVWRC6ZE43OMTOQFSXYOPFA/story/

 

Luis Enrique Villalobos Comacho and his brother were purported to me by Roger Petersen to be the head of the Costa Rican mafia.  Who knows if that was true, but it’s obvious they were con men who made millions off people like Don Lewis who were out to get rich quick and who relied on the verbal recommendations of others without doing any real due diligence.    

 

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue

Ray and Nancy Murray

Questions for Ray Murray

 

1. If your goal is to help people, how do you most effectively accomplish that?  One on one, book, Internet, etc.?

2. Is it more your goal to help a limited number that you can make a profound difference in their lives through your coaching, or would it suit you better to reach the masses with knowledge that gets more people generally moving in the right direction?

3. You mentioned having a number of businesses;  do some or all of those businesses have helping people as their purpose?  (When I refer to helping people, I do not mean charity;  but rather education/ motivation/ inspiration)

4. What do you want people to know about you?

5. What do you know about you, that perhaps most people might not know, and yet would benefit from knowing?

6. When you are gone, what do you want people to remember about you?

7. What lasting change are you most pleased with that will have been as a direct result of your time here?

8. When you look back over your life what has given you the greatest sense of peace?

9. Defining moments.  What were the turning points or defining moments that brought you to where you are now?

10. What qualities have served you best?

11. How do you start your days?

12. How do you end them?

13. How do you prioritize the time in between?

14. What areas of life have you looked at and thought, “I can fix that.”  and did?

15. To what do you credit your success in those endeavors?

16. Are their issues that you think about and want to change, but have not found the opportunity or the time to pursue?  What are they and why do they interest you?

17. How do you inspire others to look beyond their own comforts to using their energy to make the world a better place?

18. Are you involved with others who meet for that purpose?  If not, are you aware of any such groups who have the desire and the real ability to do so?  A Mastermind group of sorts?

19. Theoretically, non profit board members would fit that description for focused change, based upon the charity, but I am wondering how often even these boards are utilized for creating change vs. just being used as a fundraising tool.

20. How do you think charities could be better educated, motivated or inspired by what you know about running a for-profit business and what you know about the way things work in life?

21. How would you get that message to the people who need most to hear it?

22. From what you know of other successful people who serve on the same boards that you do, would some, or many, of them desire to share what they know of running their businesses and lives with the officers of the charities they serve so that the charities would be better capable of achieving their missions?

23. From what you know of people running charities, would some, or many, of them be open to learning from their board members?

24. If time is the major impediment to both of the above, how can that be overcome?

25. What do you hope to accomplish in the next 5 years, God willing?

26. What do you see as the best plan to achieve that?

Sent the above questions to him via email on 5/1/07

 

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

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You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org