removing impact blinders Archives - Revolutionary Misfit

On Becoming a Revolutionary

October 9, 2017 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I’ve referred to this old post recently, so I thought I would resurrect it to a position in the RM archives as well.

After all, it’s a post on becoming a revolutionary, which certainly is a relevant concept…

What is it about Latin America that tugs so hard on the heart strings?

In my own experience I can testify that there is some mysterious quality about this region that makes it irresistibly addicting.

Yes…I’m a Latin America junkie!

I’ve traveled around it a bit, having spent time in Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia and, of course, Costa Rica.

But I know that there’s so much more to see and experience.

One of my favorite movies is The Motorcycle Diaries, which chronicles the travels of a young Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Alberto Granado as they embark on a journey of self-discovery, traveling from Argentina to Venezuela on an old beat up motorcycle they named, La Poderosa (or the almighty one).

I love to travel and when I do, like Guevara and Granado, I like to get down and dirty and find out what life is all about in the places I visit. Maybe that’s one reason I came here in 2001 and never left.

Towards the end of the movie, while Guevara and Granado are spending time as volunteers in the San Pablo leper colony on the banks of the Amazon in Peru, Guevara makes a farewell speech in which he speaks of a united Latin America, a speech which forecasts the later events of his life.

Of course, it’s well known that Guevara went on to join Fidel Castro’s revolution in Cuba and was ultimately captured and executed in Bolivia under the direction of the CIA.

Guevara was a Marxist, hated by the U.S. for trying to spread the evil of communism throughout Latin America. But Guevara was more than anything else, an idealist.

He believed in armed revolution as the solution to social injustice.

[I believe he was wrong on that point, by the way.]

Throughout history Latin America has spawned its dictators and its revolutionaries. There just seems to be something about this place that ignites a higher than normal level of passion…and that can be infectious.

The passion of Latin America is evident in its wars and revolutions, legendary outlaws like Pablo Escobar, music, poetry and literature from the likes of Pablo Neruda and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and in many other ways.

It is an alluring and exotic place, filled with beautiful people, danger, romance and adventure.

I have a few good reasons to leave this place and go “home.”

But the problem is that Latin America has taken hold of me. It’s like being hopelessly in love and once that happens to you, you just can’t leave.

It’s not that easy.

If you do you are going to pay a heavy price, maybe for the rest of your life.

The price of always longing for what was.

The price of always wondering what could have been.

Sure I can leave Latin America, but that longing will remain in my heart. And if I tried I’m sure that before long I’d return.

I believe there are others who know exactly what I’m talking about.

There’s a strange and mysterious spell that’s cast on anyone who comes here and falls in love with this place. It changes you.

Material pursuit isn’t what drives you anymore.

You become an idealist.

You become a revolutionary.

You become like Che Guevara.

photo credit: [osto] via Compfight cc

Advice for President Trump

July 1, 2017 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

In light of recent developments, I thought I’d offer a little advice for President Trump. Not that he’ll listen…

but someone just might…

I’ve learned a few things about myself, and life in general, over the past 5 plus decades…

I’ve learned that we’re never quite as “good” as we think we are…

never as good-looking…
never as intelligent…
never as talented…
never as compassionate…
never as insightful…
never as strong…
never as capable…
never as truly popular…

We often suffer from delusions of the ego. And I’d surmise that many of Donny’s tweet storms stem from those delusions. You see the ego deludes from what life alludes. And that is to the fact that we’re never quite as “good” as we might think we are.

Never underestimate the ego’s uncanny ability to overestimate. Tweet it!

And thereby get yo ass in a whole lot of trouble…as Trump appears to be in right now.

But, here’s the thing…

Despite the truths espoused in the above comments, none of it means that we shouldn’t press forward. That we shouldn’t stay in the struggle and keep moving forward with a positive, yet humble, attitude.

Maybe that last part is the kernel of truth to be gleaned from this post…

Stay Humble!

Donald Trump appears not to have a dose of humility coursing through his veins. Perhaps being the leader of the free world will ultimately offer him the opportunity to learn how to be humble…

or, perhaps not.

The most recent tweets show that the above advice for President Trump is not really the direction he’s leaning towards.

We’d certainly all benefit if he would…don’t you think? The reputation of our country throughout the world would stand to benefit if he would.

Donny’s presidential woes remind me of the closing lines of Rudyard Kipling’s immortal poem…IF…

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Now, granted, I am a bit reticent to offer advice for President Trump this morning, since I’m politically opposed to every thing he stands for.

But I figure it’s my patriotic duty.

Donald Trump’s presidency is perhaps the greatest American tragedy of my lifetime. And I believe it all stems from his ego’s uncanny ability to overestimate.

The underlying message is that perhaps most self-inflicted human tragedies stem from the ego’s uncanny ability to overestimate.

Donny, you’re just not as good as you think you are.

Neither am I…

And neither are you.

The Secret of Success: As Revealed by a Loser

February 28, 2017 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I have always tended to shy away from hardcore motivational posts, à la Tony Robbins. God knows, there are enough of those out there already.

But recently, I got to thinking (always a dangerous event) about the secret of success.

Mainly, I got to thinking about why success has been so damn elusive for yours truly.

My thinking certainly didn’t deliver any ground-breaking results, as it rarely does. I identified 5 key factors. 4 of them are the usual suspects: Discipline, Diligence, Preparation, and Consistency. As you can read, nothing monumental with that…

The 5th, however, might come as a bit of a surprise…

Luck.

The “luck” to which I refer in this post is of the positive variety. Bad luck, or misfortune, is more often the result of the application of physical or mathematical laws, such as getting hit by a truck, or spending more money than one actually possesses. But good luck seems far more nebulous and randomly experienced.

You must admit that good luck plays a key role in anyone’s success. If you aren’t capable of admitting that, well then, you might need to be a little bit more honest with yourself.

It could be the luck of birth, or just the plain old fall-out-of-the sky type of luck that some seem to enjoy more frequently than others.

Even though it seems that some enjoy it more than others, I believe we’d all have to admit, upon reflection, that we’re basically unlucky. Let’s put it this way, if you had to rate yourself in each of the 5 elements of success that I’ve identified above on a scale of 1 to 10, where would you put your luckiness?

I think anyone would have to say less than moderately lucky, or less than 5…wouldn’t you agree?

The problem is we can’t really control luck…or can we?

No, I don’t believe we can control it, but we can influence it.

How?

By increasing towards 10 our degree of the other 4: discipline, diligence, preparation and consistency. That is to say, if we scored a perfect 10 in each of those, our luck might well increase a bit…wouldn’t you say?

And if we can actually increase our luck, well now, that’s a recipe for success!

Some successful people say, rather arrogantly, that they “make their own luck.” What’s really a truer statement is that they work hard to increase scale in the other 4 elements of success and thereby their luck increases correspondingly.

Bottom line is that the secret of success lies in focusing on the things that we can control, our discipline, diligence, preparation and consistency, in order to make ourselves luckier.

However, there are two overarching constraints that should weigh upon all this effort put forth towards increasing luck…

And those are Balance and Compassion.

A healthy sense of balance is essential to emotional well-being. And if we don’t have emotional well-being, that is, if we’re out of balance, then our efforts to achieve more luck could very well backfire. That backfiring can result in serious consequences, like anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and even suicide.

We need to admit to ourselves that what we are trying to do, well, it just ain’t all that easy. We need to be a bit softer on ourselves. My title betrays the fact that often times, I am not so gentle, or compassionate, with myself. I’ll wager a bet that perhaps you aren’t with yourself either.

Life is hard enough just to get by, that is, to survive. But place on top of that a drive, or ambition, to be “successful”, however, you might define that term, and it becomes seemingly impossible. It’s not…with a bit of luck…impossible, which is the point of this post, but it can certainly seem so.

So, be a bit easier on yourself as you strive towards a higher degree of discipline, diligence, preparation, consistency, and luck. And also be a lot easier on others who are going through their own struggles in that effort.

And for those of you who are already “successful”, thank your lucky stars for it!

Now, some will read this and immediately notice that I left out a “key component”…talent.

However, that implies that one must have talent to be successful, as if talent is an innate character trait that only some are borne with. I’ve never really bought into that. I believe we’re all equally talented at birth. And that is at nothing much, other than being extremely self-centered.

We gradually develop talents as a result of our degree of effort with regard to the first 4 factors, with a bit of number 5 thrown in, again, depending on how well we do with the other 4.

And our quest for talent, in any chosen area of endeavor, need not wane with the passing years. It is part and parcel of our ongoing life’s effort to become luckier.

So there you have it, the secret of success revealed. Got it?

Buena suerte!

You can contribute to my luck (and success) by getting my book, reading it, and leaving a review…

My book, The Impact Revolution, is now live on Amazon. It was written to inspire empathy, to inspire connection. It was written to inspire the positive impacts that flow from empathy and connection. It was written to inspire an acceptance of the idea that we’re really all in this together.

Get the Book!

The Politics of Political Expression

November 30, 2016 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

Isn’t it true that we tend to live our lives in the “grey areas”, while we express ourselves politically in stark black or white terms?

Why is that?

Perhaps it’s because politics, in the U.S. and in other countries throughout the world, is like a team sport.

Think about it. Political parties market themselves much like sports teams…with colors, logos, slogans, heroes and such.

It would seem that the explosion of Donald Trump onto the political scene has only increased that “team” aspect.

And we like being part of a team, don’t we?

That need for “team” solidarity is embedded in our DNA. We feel secure as part of a team. There is strength in numbers, right? We like the popularity we experience with other team members. We like the solace of being part of a like-thinking tribe.

We believe it increases our chances of winning.

Even so, in the reality of our day-to-day lives we live shoulder to shoulder with opposing team members. And so far, we’ve been doing a pretty good job of it. Your co-workers aren’t all team members, are they? And yet you get along with them…at least well enough to get the job done…right?

But all that “kumbaya” is quickly tossed out the window as soon as politics enters the discussion and the polarization of team membership kicks in.

It seems that so far we’ve done a pretty good job at separating real life from politics. We’ve been managing the politics of political expression fairly well in the hum-drum of daily life.

Now, that’s actually a semi-facetious statement, since our real lives are governed to a large extent by what transpires, or fails to transpire, in politics. Nevertheless, the point is that we normally get through Thanksgiving Dinner without throwing a turkey leg at uncle so-and-so.

Of course, politicians on opposing teams hardly ever get along. And that often renders them basically ineffective. But we can’t live our lives that way…can we? If we did, boy what a mess that would be!

However, it also seems more and more these days that political expression is seeping into our day-to-day lives. That might be largely due to the time we spend living them on social media…don’t you think?

And perhaps for too many people, the politics of political expression translates into spending too much time posting polarizing memes on Facebook, or “mean tweeting” insults about the opposing team.

What happens when this polarization becomes such a predominant aspect of our lives that we as a society can no longer get along?

Can society survive that? Is it sustainable? What does it mean for future generations if society suffers complete breakdown as a result of the politics of political expression?

Kind of a scary scenario, isn’t it?

We could be headed in that direction. There are some strong indications that we are.

My message this morning is only this: maybe we should give that some serious thought.

The Impact Blinder of Black or White

November 29, 2016 by costaricaguy 2 Comments

This has been quite the month in the life of one David Scott Bowers (aka Costa Rica Guy)…

For starters, my most ardent supporter, and defender, for the last 55 years passed away at the beginning of it…my mom.

Right on the heels of that came the election of my “platonic” arch-nemesis, Donald Trump, as President of the U.S. Now I realize that’s not a good use of the adjective, but I use it only in the sense that, thankfully, we don’t have any actual relationship (never met the man). Otherwise, I’d surely be the subject of some seriously spiteful tweetings.

Finally, just in the last week, we’ve seen the passing of a larger than life figure who cast a shadow on all 55 years of my life on planet earth. I’m speaking of the passing of Fidel Castro.

I’ve long been inspired by the story of Fidel Castro, the revolutionary. You know the Cuban revolutionary misfit who, along with a ragtag group of around 80 men, set sail from Mexico to Cuba on the leaky yacht, the Granma. There was also a guy onboard named Ernest “Che” Guevara. I’ve written quite a lot about Che Guevara in this blog.

They were ambushed upon arrival to Cuban shores and out of the 80 some odd men that originally set sail, only around 18 made it up to the Sierra Maestra mountains in the interior of the island. From there they spent two years amassing a revolutionary force of peasant farmers who were successful in taking control of the island country and resting it from the hands of the U.S. backed and brutal dictator, Fulgencio Batista.

The revolutionary government of Fidel Castro started out pretty good, with laudable aims. Some of those were actually accomplished. For instance, did you know Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and that it produces more doctors than any other country of its size? It also is quick to come to the aid of other developing countries, as was witnessed recently with the Ebola epidemic in West Africa a few years ago.

But we also know that Castro gradually morphed from revolutionary hero to oppressive dictator. He suppressed the free speech of the Cuban people and jailed thousands as political prisoners.

What’s for sure is that Castro’s death is showcasing the tendency for us to think in black or white terms when it comes to anything politically tinged. I believe that’s not only true in the U.S., but throughout the world. If you’re a democrat, then all republicans and their ideas are bad…and vice versa. For people whose passions have been inflamed by Castro’s passing, he was either a monster or a saint.

However, the truth is that we don’t live our lives in those stark black or white terms. We rather tend to live them in the grey areas.

Thinking in this polarized way is at the root of many of the problems we face in American society and throughout our world. The election of Donald Trump certainly seems to have exacerbated this type of thinking.

I would call this mode of thought the impact blinder of black or white. It blinds us from the truth. The real truth is rarely found in the black or white of political propaganda, lately expressed in mean tweets and non-factual Facebook memes, but in the grey areas of actual facts.

So, a lesson we can and should learn from these momentous events of the month of November 2016 is this: always step back and ask, what are the facts? What is the truth?

The truth is that Castro did some good stuff and he did some bad stuff. He did stand up courageously against the imperial inclinations of the world’s greatest superpower. He also failed miserably in the human rights department, especially in terms of upholding the rights of his own people.

We will get along with one another and progress as a society when we stop thinking in terms of the black or white nature of political propaganda and instead embrace the actual truth. The truth that applies across the board.

You see, the truth is the truth and facts are facts. They bear no political or ideological affiliation. They are not democrat or republican, capitalist or socialist.

Why not remove the impact blinder of black or white thinking and instead wilfully embrace facts and truth?

Blinded by Impact

August 18, 2016 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

In a sense it’s true that we are at any moment the sum total of what has happened to us in the past.

But that doesn’t have to be true.

What impacts have shaped you and your view of the wide-world?

Is it what your parents have told you?

Is it what your teachers have told you?

Is it what your pastor or priest has told you?

And how did their views take shape? The same way, I’d venture to guess.

Our views about the world tend to influence the actions we take in it. In other words, our views shape our impact.

If the impact of what has happened to us in the past shapes how we perceive the present, and that present perception weighs against the motive to take action to shape the future, then I’d say that we’ve been blinded by those impacts. That is, if the impacts of our past dissuade us from even trying to make a difference, or severely limit the scope of any attempt at doing so.

I have a special term for being blinded by impact in this fashion. I often say that one is suffering from “impact blinders.”

What exactly do I mean by that?

Let me give you an example. If you were brought up believing that the return of Christ is imminent, meaning at an moment. And that when the trumpet sounds his return, all “believers” will be caught up in the sky with him and the earth and everything left in it will be doomed to fiery destruction. Well, then, you’re probably not going to opt for a career as an environmentalist.

I guess you could, but I seriously doubt there are very many environmentalists who subscribe to that notion concerning the “imminent” fate of people and planet.

Similarly, if you were brought up in a home that believed in the superiority of the white race (and believe me there are many “respectable” southern homes teetering on that lunatic fringe), then you’re probably not going to take much action in support of racial justice.

Or, if you were brought up in a home that subscribed quasi-religiously to free-market principles. That the market is “free” and must be maintained free (from any government intrusion) at any and all costs to society. Then you’re probably not going to join any movements in support of economic justice.

The world is hurting right now. People are hurting right now. It is hurting because too many people are wearing impact blinders.

They probably never stop to think about how those things got there to begin with. My point is that they were surely placed upon (or in) your young and impressionable noggin. And you can take them off. You can take them off and when you do, your impact vision will be restored.

I believe that in order to maximize our potential for impact, we have to be able to see the opportunities that the universe reveals to us. In other words, impact mindfulness requires an open-mind. One that is open to seeing the world as it truly is, not as the impact blinded influences of your past might have taught you that it is.

Don’t be blinded by impact.

Get the Book!

Connect with RM