Who Do You Admire?

Around 1995 or 6, I was living in a southern East Coast community that was big on golf and tennis.  I am a tennis player, but not a golfer.  One day, the folks on the tennis court were talking about someone named "Tiger Woods".  At first I thought it was a new line of drivers.  But it became apparent they were talking about a golfer and I innocently asked "Who is Tiger Woods?"  The reply from one particularly enthusiastic fellow was (this is true): "You don't know who Tiger Woods is?!?  Only the greatest human being that ever lived!"  Hmmm.  I'm long out of touch with those people now, but I find myself wondering if this is still his exact opinion on the subject.

One of my great heroes died last week.  Jaime Escalante is the teacher that took some of the poorest kids with discipline problems in an LA school and got them fired up about Mathematics.  Working with them long hours after school, on vacations, etc., he got about 20 of them to pass the Advanced Placement calculus exam in 1982, an almost unprecedented number even for an elite school.  He worked against opposition from his peers, who thought these kids were "unteachable".  He even had to fight the college board organization who thought the kids must have cheated.  They had to re-take the test under the supervision of the agency and they passed again, after which Jaime insisted the original scores be reinstated.  The story is so inspiring, the movie "Stand And Deliver", starring Edward James Olmos, was made in 1988 and you should absolutely see it if you haven't already.

I mentioned in my last blog that one of my goals is to improve the world, leave it better than I found it.  I find myself naturally gravitating toward people like Jaime who work steadily against the tide of everyday society, often with little or no pay and no expectation of fame, to truly accomplish a worthwhile goal.  He was not part of a large abstract "cause", he was doing what he knew how to do in his local environment to make a difference.

I am not terribly interested in high-profile, wealthy, self-centered individuals who may excel in one narrow area of endeavor, but often do so at the cost of tearing apart the lives of people immediately around them.  They stir up a lot of excitement, and excitement sells.  But the real business of improving the world is only accomplished at the boring, daily, personal level where it takes persistence over a period of time to make things happen.  Real progress is not exciting and does not involve large sums of money, which is why far fewer people are willing to do it.

I promised to tell you about the name of my blog.  I am an actor and have played many stage roles, but the ones I am best remembered for are Ben Franklin in the musical 1776 and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.  At first glance, these characters are very different.  Ben is sophisticated and intellectual while Tevye is emotional and rooted in his very small village society.  But what they had in common was a passion to see the right thing done and improve the world around them using the skills and methods they possessed.  Although you will hear me talk about how emotionalism has overrun reason in our current environment, you should not assume I am not a very emotional person.  Actually, the opposite is true.  It's just that each has its place and both can be used for broader, more selfless goals rather than just self-gratification.  The name of this blog reflects my own duality and my hope that others can recognize each aspect for how they affect their own lives.

What Are You Trying To Do?

I mean this in the larger sense. I don't mean trying to buy a house or get a job or find the remote. Your fundamental goals drive all your activities and all the choices you make every day - what are you trying to do with your life?



Let me start you off with an example. I am trying to leave the world better than I found it. I don't mean to sound grandiose or pious. I didn't even always know that I had that goal. The realization came from analyzing what choices I made and which directions I always seem to take. Money, power and fame have never been important to me, so I haven't chosen high-paying jobs or high-profile careers. And I haven't tried to save the whales either! Don't get me wrong - I really like whales and would save them if I had the opportunity. But I strongly believe the real effect you can have comes from what you do every day, how you interact with those around you and how you affect their lives. This is not as altruistic as it sounds. Making the world better for those around you makes it a lot better for you too.



I don't want to imply that this has to be your goal. Just that you should be conscious of what your aim actually is. You should be honest about your goals, first with yourself and then with the people you know (unless of course your goal includes being deceptive, in which case all bets are off!). If your goal is to make a ton of money or rise to the top of some particular field then you have to pursue it. But you should realize that some goals can only be accomplished by abandoning certain others. And the sooner you realize that, the clearer and easier your choices will become.



I started this blog because I see a lot of confusion and conflict around me. Also, a real lack of clarity. Most of this stems from people trying to do what they are supposed to do or make themselves think what they are supposed to think - being untrue to themselves and frequently ignoring reality in the process. Also, much of the confusion comes from allowing their feelings to be manipulated by the mainstream media, politicians, public relations spin doctors, commercial marketing, self-help gurus, religious organizations - all of whom are engaged in campaigns to influence you to do something for them, regardless of the cost to you. I refer to feelings here to make sure you understand that your emotions are the target and not your reason. This has become so prevalent that most people can no longer distinguish between the two. But reason is what separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom and keeps civilizations together. I hope to convince you of that as we discourse together.



In this blog, you will get a lot of my personal philosophy, based mostly on long experience with trying to figure out why people, including me, do what they do. I'm very analytical by nature, to I've spent an absolute ton of time on this.  Try not to label me, since I don’t actually adhere to any one school of thought. I don’t have a political affiliation – since blindly following either side is the opposite of seeking the truth – and I don’t have an organized religion you can point to. What you won’t find here are extremism, blind idealism, or anything else that gets in the way of being objective about what is really happening. If any label applies at all, it should probably be "objectivism." If you can't recognize reality you can't deal with it and follow your goals.



So let’s talk. When you want to disagree with something I’ve said, do it with facts and not political or religious dogma. Not taking an extreme point of view is not always exciting (hence, media bias and sensationalism) and I’ll understand if you aren’t interested in this blog. But if you are willing to think hard and really consider what I’m saying we might both learn something. Next blog, I’ll give you the reason for the name.