In today’s microdose I want to share a foundational concept that is guiding the decisions we make at Sole Freedom and how we build our business. I'm calling this concept Healthcare 2.0 and it describes a new way to think about Healthcare.
It's not mystery that our current approach to health isn't working and that our current health systems need to change. Along with that statement is a hard truth: nobody is coming to save us and the only path to a healthier future is for us to save ourselves.
The government certainly isn't going to solve the problem and it seems evident that within the current system of disease care, no meaningful progress can be made. It's time to think differently. It's time to re-imagine what a new system can look like. It's time for us to reclaim responsibility for our well being and take better care of ourselves.
The essence of Healthcare 2.0 is that our health is our responsibility. Until we accept that, nothing will change. Once we accept that, everything changes.
If you haven’t already, I recommend reading earlier microdoses about Healthcare and Disease care which will offer some context about where the concept of Healthcare 2.0 sprouted from. I’m working on a longer article that explores Healthcare 2.0 at a deeper level but I want to share some thoughts today as it relates to our mission and business at Sole Freedom.
In November/December '23 I took some time away from email and meetings to focus on family as we welcome our first child into the world. Aside from the chaotic moments of learning how to care for a newborn, I’ve had more space to zoom out and think about our work at Sole Freedom.
Questions I've been asking myself:
What kind of business do we want to be?
What's important to us?
What should we strive to be really good at?
What value can we create that helps upgrade the world?
After spending lots of time pondering these questions, I’ve realized that Sole Freedom is a Healthcare 2.0 company. We want to be a business that empowers people to take better care of themselves. Education is important to us and we should strive to be really good at guiding people along the journey to better foot health and whole body health. The value we offer is through education and providing tools that empower people to restore healthy healthy feet. The most powerful tool that we offer is natural footwear.
To clarify the stark contrast between the old world built on Healthcare 1.0 and the new world being build on Healthcare 2.0, here are some descriptions:
Old world: A world where people wait until they develop pain or disease then visit disease care experts who treat their symptoms without addressing the root cause.
New world: A world where people take care of themselves and rarely develop pain or disease. People seek education and tools in order to empower themselves with the ability to respond to challenges they face along the journey to better health.
Healthcare 1.0: A disease care system mis-labeled as a Healthcare system. This system dominates the old world and is disempowering. Disease care is the diagnosis of disease and treatment of symptoms. It has nothing to do with health.
Healthcare 2.0: A true healthcare system. This system forms the foundation of the new world. It consists of individuals and businesses that empower individuals to understand how to care for their bodies so they have the confidence to navigate challenges they encounter.
As simple as those descriptions are, the reality is that change is hard. Really hard. The bigger the change, the harder it is to make that change. I personally believe that there are two paths that people take when making big changes in their lives: curiosity and pain. With few people having enough curiosity or bandwidth to learn about health, the common path taken is unfortunately the more painful one.
The good news: as the old world of disease care creates more and more pain, people become more ready to make big changes in their lives.
It seems to me that we’re in a transition period right now. People are gradually realizing that the old world doesn’t support their health and are gradually accepting more and more personal responsibility for their well being. They are naturally realizing a fundamental truth: the ultimate form of Healthcare is Selfcare.
This cultural shift from the old world to the new world creates a major opportunity for individuals and teams ready to build businesses in the new world of Healthcare 2.0. In this new world, businesses offering products and services that empower people to take better care of themselves will thrive while businesses who continue to treat symptoms will slowly fade away.
Sole Freedom is a Healthcare 2.0 business. Our purpose is to help people free their Soles (and souls) from:
1) Unnatural footwear harming their bodies
2) Disease care professionals who have them trapped in a loop of getting their symptoms treated without ever resolving the root cause of the problem.
In my experience, Health begins with a single decision: a commitment to make better decisions everyday that support better Health.
In order to make better decisions, people will need better information and useful tools. Not more information, better information. Information that is truthful, helpful and most importantly, applicable in their lives.
At Sole Freedom, we believe better physical health begins with a strong foundation at our feet. By eliminating unnatural footwear that disables and damages our feet, we remove the root cause of most foot problems. By wearing natural footwear, we protect our feet from damage while allowing them an opportunity to heal and restore themselves back to default settings: mobile, strong, stable, resilient and free of longstanding pain.
Our primary offering at Sole Freedom is education and we offer it as a free service. We generate revenue by selling natural footwear and tools that help people make progress in the journey to restore foot health.
As a Healthcare 2.0 business focused on feet, our company will grow from creative destruction of two old world industries:
1) Foot disease care
2) Unnatural footwear
We are and always will be education first. We believe the future is bright and that a healthier world happens when people take better care of themselves. We want to ensure that when people are ready to take responsibility for resolving foot problems, we're available to offer them the education, clarity and products they need to make wise choices and restore a healthy foundation for health.
Healthcare 2.0 is a chance to usher in a renaissance of Health. A rebirth in our thinking and a chance to begin again.
To everyone out there accepting more responsibility for their well being and making positive changes everyday, thank you. Because taking care of yourself IS taking care of us all. Personal responsibility is how we get to a better world where humans can flourish.
Thanks for reading. I hope you found this article valuable and if you did, please share it someone who is ready to make changes and better understand the path forward into a new, healthier world.
Ciao for now
Much Love
Nick