Gurus #6: Father & Son: Joseph and Zach Borkovic (videos)

Warning: reading about these two guys will probably make you want to step up your own game. They sure make me want to.
(Happy Canadian Father's Day... these guys are great inspirations for all of us, moms, dads, friends, lovers, strangers... I think.)

Joseph, the dad, is the guy in the front row on the left in the picture above (white t-shirt, and I'll soon tell you what the Frisbee he is handing to the guy beside him signifies). Zach is in the back row, fourth from the right.

One special thing about these two, is that every success begins with a story about a conversation between the two of them. Toilets, adventures, ideas sparked by interesting situations...
Every success starts with a conversation, a respect for listening to the other team member, and then supporting each other in developing their cool ideas.

This is a story of idea --> action --> success over and over again, in many contexts. I'll let their own videos tell some of the stories, but I'll tell you, at least, the story of Clementine, because the Clementine contest is such a cool tale, and at least 500 families were involved.

Here's how I met them: Joseph said to a bunch of people he hadn't met:

I'm going to have a barbeque."

So what happened? Not to make you jealous, but... people came from everywhere. As Joseph said:

 Folks who became friends included:  Eric from New Hampshire, Marty & Dianne from North Carolina, Muktaali from Harrison Hot Springs, Christa from Alberta, McKay & Adam from Utah, Jack from Japan, Leah from Australia, Duff & MK from Victoria, Guillermo from El Salvador, John & family from Port Alberni, Saara from Finland, Becky & Gary from Nelson, Kass & Dan from Vancouver, and many more awesome Adventure spirits."

So how do you do that?

How do you cast so much light that when you casually mention that you're having a barbeque, people will come from all over the world just to be a part of it?

I first had a hint that these guys were awesome when someone forwarded me the details to a contest they were having. One of many awesome things that Joe and Zach do is refurbish old VW vans -- the ones everyone else has given up on fixing, but also that everybody wants, when they're fixed up!

Some cranky person had criticized Joseph and Zach for making money by fixing broken vans (the business model is clear, right? You buy old broken stuff for not much money, put elbow grease in, and sell the result for more money. Fair enough. The elbow grease (and training, skills, research, love, and effort) earn you the right to succeed and earn money at that.) Instead of fighting back to the cranky (probably not very successful) person, though, they did something unusual: they said,

Okay, we won't make a penny on this van. We'll give it away."

They turned something potentially negative into something hugely positive. The feeling I get from Zach and Joseph is that they have an attitude of success, so they can afford to be generous.  They have plenty to share. And because of that, they constantly generate more (and share more, and make more, and share more...).*

So they followed through and put it out on the internet. After taking the time and energy and resources to restore her to shining, graceful, purring, beauty, they told the world they were going to give this van away to one lucky person or family who wrote to tell their story. Here's the web page from early on in the contest (they started posting some of the photos people had submitted, but soon had an avalanche of entries) www.crankcrankvrooom.ca

The van's name is Clementine. Here she is:

They weren't really expecting 500 entries of up to 25 pages each, I think. But when they discovered they had landed with way more work than they had planned, did they complain? No! No complaining.

They simply let everyone know that the task ahead would take more time than they had planned. Instead of being dismayed by the magnitude of the task, they got some friend readers on board, and dove in to enjoy it. Joseph shared their reflections along the way with the rest of us, asking for our input on various ideas. 

For example, one day they said "hey, someone said we should make this a contest for stewardship instead of ownership. What do you think?"

If you could own a $40,000 van or just borrow it for a year, which would you pick? The right answer, of course, is stewardship. We all know that. About 73% of us voted for that, Joe tells me. And when the winner drove off in the van, that's what he picked. He has his plans for the year, and he'll bring it back next summer.

The winner is Patrick, a very cool, kind, and excellent Quebecois who is farming in BC now. You can see him there in the photo receiving the Frisbee (to signify Clementine) in the photo.

And during the judging of the contest, they sent us e-mail updates, telling us how much they were enjoying reading all our stories. Really kept the suspense going! But it was so kind and considerate to let us all know about where the process was at. Joseph is generous with his consideration, his praise, and his time as well as his resources.

Guess what happens when you give all that away? You just get more back.

These guys are great at that. Trusting that the world will always provide, and determined to give out a lot. They have a variety of amazing ventures: Joseph has published several books and coaches entrepreneurs. They have the shampoo company. They refurbish vans. Zach is an artist. Everything they do, they believe is worth doing, and is good.
That's another typical characteristic of gurus: they act with integrity, and when you act with integrity, you can have confidence in your actions. One thing neither of these guys is, is shy.

A lot of 20-year-olds in a party with adults from 30-80 years old might feel shy, or sit back a little. Not Zach. He was the life of the party, telling stories, talking philosophy. I was somewhat stunned to hear a few hours into the party that this life of the party guy is, according to people who measure such things, rated to be so deaf that he wouldn't hear a jet plane if he was standing on an airplane runway. You'd never know it -- he speaks and lip reads fluently in English AND French.

He's an artist, too, and when that started to take off, someone gave him the idea of making his own canvases to save money.

Innovate. Zach realized that the scraps of wood he was using to make some of the frames weren't going into a rectangle shape, and he began to make triangular canvases. Then he realized that he could make them in any shape he wanted, really. He tried painting a lower canvas, then putting a second canvas overtop, and painting it, and slashing through it to show the canvas below as well. He put sticks through some other canvases for texture.

Did he ask permission? No! We need to stop asking for permission so much in our culture. Do first. Amaze people. Then lead them. That's the way to shine. Asking permission and willingly accepting "no" is a way to darken our lives.

And then, of course, he made a web page. Because why not! http://www.som-art.ca/

Joe and Zack share another characteristic that I have noticed about a lot of shining leaders: they have experienced having nothing. One day, Joseph went from wealthy to broke. And did it freak them out? Nah, or at least not for long. In one of the videos below, Joe talks about how 3-year-old Zach says living in a van without a place isn't really that bad, dad, and how they pulled their socks up within a year.

Once you've lived through that, you know you can do anything. And since they can do anything, they do.

"Dad," said Zach while they were standing at the toilet one day, "where does all the soap and shampoo that we wash down the drain go to? Does it hurt all the fish?"

"I'm not sure, son, but we can find out."

(Another characteristic of gurus: instead of blustering arrogantly on, claiming knowledge that they're not sure about (an action which lacks integrity), gurus admit quickly and easily what they do not know and then go check their facts!).

So this dad and son went to the library to look up chemicals in the water and fish. Toddler Zach felt passionately about not hurting the fish, especially the dolphins (most three or four year olds feel passionately about this, and plenty of us adults, too). Obviously, Joe shares that passion. The difference was made when Joseph took his son's passion seriously and did something about it.

If I could have a wish for all kids everywhere, it would be that when they have amazing ideas, the adults in their lives would take them seriously. I think it's tragic how so many adults for some reason feel so complacent about dismissing or ignoring kids. Our kids can really be our gurus. I know my son sure leads me sometimes, brings philosophy and wisdom and perspective to the table that the adults might not have seen. Kids are worth listening to! If you trust them and let them take the driver's seat while you play support now and then, they can turn out to be amazing business partners and members of society, like this:

Now, I promised to share some of their videos. I hope I have given you a little insight into these can-do gurus. In a nutshell, I think the following values explain, somewhat, why these two guys are so bright.

• Act with integrity.
• Innovate -- do something new.
• Believe in yourself and each other and you need not fear anything.
• Be generous -- there's plenty here for everyone.
• Bring people together. There are rewards for all.
• DO things. Actually act. Acting brings more potential to you.

If you start looking around at www.organictradercanada.com, you'll find other web pages by Zach and Joseph that lead you to more videos and stories -- love stories, adventure stories, business stories. Enjoy your trip down the Borkovic rabbit hole! Hours of fascinating reading and watching.

Here's the shampoo company they formed when they decided they wanted to actwith integrity (not merely talk with integrity as so many of us do).

http://www.organictradercanada.com/

And a tale of losing everything and starting over. How being homeless and collecting cans can work out fine if you create a goal and keep your sights on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU-jCCSY6fAnADSCfNtLy1gQ&t=14&v=-307evR077E

And a news feature that was done when Zach was awarded an "Amazing Kids" scholarship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xklEF5C6LGM&list=UU-jCCSY6fAnADSCfNtLy1gQ&index=5

To me, this is a real tale of how great parenting CAN be, and how great we all might be, if we were listened to, respected, and challenged to be our best. We all have the spark to be this amazing.

It's simply a matter of whether we act, or we just sit around talking about it.

Here's my challenge to you.

Have you done these things recently? I would love to hear your stories, and especially if reading about Joe and Zach has made you step up your game.

1. Does your child, or a child or teen near you, or your own inner child, or your own close adults, believe that you listen and care about what they say?Do they feel free to create and propose new ideas to you?
(Or, do you do what many adults and people in our society do these days, and ignore kids and other people, because you yourself are too afraid of failure to actually try anything?)

2. DO something this summer. Do something lasting. Something that is good for other people, or pets, or places. Something generous. Something big or something small, but mostly, something that carries a risk of failure.Because if there's no risk of failure, there's no chance of success.

*(By the way, that attitude of success, as most successful happy people already know, is not at all related to how much you have, it's related simply to your attitude. That free and easy "I have enough" belief seems to be sprinkled fairly evenly in the population regardless of how much money the individual has. You will find people who have a lot of money and people who have hardly any money likewise happy to share. I've always thought it to be the happiest way to live, as I've seen plenty of people who pinch their pennies and believe that they do not have enough to share, lose all of their hoarded wealth anyway.)

Further great parenting advice

In a future conversation, I mentioned some pain I was feeling about a difficult situation my son and I are going through, and Joseph shared the following advice with me. He agreed that I could repost it (keep in mind that it is copyrighted material -- do not repost without his permission!) so other parents could benefit from it too. 

From Joseph:

"The rules of how to tap into the secret universe of power, when you're getting your arse kicked:

 based on the assumption that children choose their parents, that the soul chooses to come in where it most needs to grow from the life lessons of those it chooses to be with i.e., our parents

which means that we are exactly where we are supposed to be, which further means that positive = beneficial and negative = beneficial, when we take responsibility for ourselves

so, what we did in difficult situations, is to reframe each time a horrible or stupid incident occurred, by observing;

• ... everyone has tough situations, it is your character within this situation that decides your karma & fate
• ... always know that this is only a part of the/ your warrior training
• ... never talk bad about the 'wounded/ hurtful person' or in a charged manner
• ... when unsure if you are on track, catch yourself and say 'no negatives, no drama'
• ... deal with the situation with quiet stealth, innovate, learn smart tricks that are sincere and of best intention
• ... watch and listen and wait for the best opportunities for your gifts to shine and be shared
• .... only watch destruction happen (if a child, but if an adult you may elect to step in), though actively participate in creation
• ... learn what's a pattern interrupt (like using humour to diffuse anger) and stay focused on the path to find your gifts, genius
• ... learn to see the emotional terrain and never approach such bad moods straight on
• ... always remain positive, we're not victims, will never become victims, and do not live in fear, we choose love
• ... even if we lose our life, we have no fear, and will follow our hearts and never cheat ourselves
• ... be that as it may, that means sometimes to appear to cooperate, but it is just part of the bigger plan of escape
•       and always observe the first rule to 'protect the investment' by not getting hurt or in harm's way
• ... know you are being tested, so that darkness can nurture the greatness out of you, just the way a seed needs the darkness for a time before it can sprout out into the world and the light

my job as a parent (yes, I consider this a stewardship) is:

•  to put him (my son Zach); his being (the hara), his heart and his mind in the position that he has the strength
•  to act and if needed, speak his truth, and to allow the trust of his feelings, his heart, his path

 in the meantime you have to know that there are, happy gnomes, sad and bad gnomes, forest helpers, bridge trolls

 and all kinds of freaky unhelpful characters as well as some good characters to travel with through this forest,

you have to learn how to, within your integrity and ingenuity, handle each situation while protecting your Spirit

we only come here to this planet to test ourselves, our integrity, against our own integrity - to see if we can remain true 

[nothing else really makes sense about why humans are so, so, so... well, you get it ]

take good care - stay true on the Adventure

copyright 2015 Joseph Borkovic, Christa Bedwin