Impact over Interest Archives - Page 6 of 13

My Life in Thirds

January 8, 2015 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

As 2014 drew to a close, as well as the 54th year being me, I reflected on my life in thirds…

The first 27 years were marked by a great deal of flailing.

That is, flailing around this or that, trying to figure out who Scott Bowers really is…

an artist?

an athlete?

a drugged out beach bum?

a hard-working, motivated young man on a mission?

And then one day, in 1987, at the close of my first 3rd, it dawned upon me that Scott Bowers, more than anything else, was destined for great financial success…for fame and fortune.

That set the course for the next 17 years, which were filled with activity in the pursuit of success, first as a lawyer, then as an entrepreneur.

And I did achieve limited success…

educationally and financially.

At least for fleeting moments.

But then something happened that to this day I can’t quite put a finger on…in terms of the exact reason(s) why…

This “metamorphosis” happened about 10 years ago.

Success, in the capitalistic sense, simply ceased to be a priority for me.

Maybe it’s because I exchanged that desire for another one…the desire to indulge.

So I spent half a decade, or more, doing just that…

Indulging to my heart’s content.

But about half-way into that decade, around 2009, I began having these idealistic notions of there being more to life than success, or indulgence.

I began to think that maybe there’s a purpose to it all that’s grander than me.

That it really isn’t all about me, myself and I.

This line of thinking has persisted to the point of provoking a crisis in my life that is now demanding decisive action.

So, as I close out 2/3’rds of my life…the first 54 years of it…I question what to make of the next 27 years…

the next, and perhaps final, 3rd.

In that regard, I’ve decided to make the following three vows, which will define the final 3rd of the life of Scott Bowers…

I hereby disavow any desire for success in terms of fame, or fortune. I once thought that was my destiny…well, it’s obviously not.
I hereby vow to do what is in my power to enhance the quality of the lives I love the most, chiefly my wife, our children, and, when the time comes, our grandchildren.
I hereby vow to live my life according to the principles of impact mindfulness, which means being dedicated to my writing and to activism on causes I care deeply about…the environment and social justice.

In many ways I’ve wasted the previous 54 years of my life.

Wasted them by attempting to climb a ladder without a top rung, which also happened to be leaning against the wrong wall.

Well, I’ve come back down to earth…my feet are finally firmly planted on solid ground…and I know what I want my life to be about in the relatively short time I have left.

This blog and the idea for impact mindfulness will play a key role in my future.

I don’t know how exactly…but they must.

I do feel somewhat remorseful about wasting much of my life up until now.

Yet, perhaps I never would’ve come to my current realization were it not for those wasted years.

Were it not for those years, neither would I be the person I am in the present, a person I believe adequately prepared and mentally focused to pursue his vows.

In fact, this is the first time in a very long time that I feel…focused.

So, in that sense, I guess the first 2/3’rds weren’t a waste at all…and really shouldn’t be lamented as such.

They shaped me into a much wiser person. A person who cares about his world, even more than he does about himself.

A world that I would like to leave to others in a better condition than the one I found it in.

Will you hold me accountable to these vows?

How to Win a Facebook Debate

January 4, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I really believe that social networks, of which Facebook certainly dominates, can be great sources of social change.

A place where consensus can be found to solve the many problems faced by people and planet.

However, all too often what I will herein denote as “Facebook debates” tend to devolve into childish insult trading among the comments of the parties on opposite sides of the issue under discussion.

It’s as if each thinks that he or she can win the debate simply by being more offensive than the other.

That really doesn’t work.

I mean, what’s the real purpose of a debate?

Is it to demean your opponent?

Is it to make yourself appear more clever than your opponent?

I would say that the answer to those questions is NO, even though that tends to be the way we gauge the winners and losers of the televised political debates we’re accustomed to.

If you can just get that one-line zinger in that really causes your opponent to sweat a bit harder, like Bentsen did to Quayle back in 98, then we’ve got a winner.

I’m going to suggest a different tactic for how to win a Facebook debate, or any other, for that matter…

When I put forth a position in a debate, or a simple Facebook discussion, in the form of a solution to the issue at hand, or the problem posed, I then want to support my position in a way that causes the other side to accept or agree with it.

If I can do that, well, then I’ve won.

But what if the other side to the debate is so ideologically entrenched that getting him or her to agree on anything, even the most obvious point, seems impossible?

In that case, perhaps you can initiate the idea for some common ground that will move the other side closer to a mutually acceptable solution, idea, or position.

Because when it comes right down to it, we’re not all that different in our basic needs and desires as humans, are we?

The purpose of the debate should be, even though it rarely is, to move forward towards a solution…

No?

Simply playing a game of one-upmanship doesn’t accomplish that.

I believe that’s why those political debates are worthless…

It’s never about solutions. It’s a media-driven show to prove one candidate the winner, not because of the higher quality of his ideas, but because he’s somehow able to demean the stature of the other fellow.

That might help you popularity-wise, and maybe even vote-wise, but it doesn’t move society forward one iota.

The same goes for these Facebook comment back and forth’s that all too often degenerate into “dissing” matches…

Now, granted, there are some out there who’ve perfected the art of the insult, or the offensive comeback. I don’t know who invented the term “libtard”, but it’s pretty clever, in a sophomoric way.

Being offensive doesn’t make you a good debater, nor does it prove that your ideas, if you actually possess any, have merit.

And it certainly doesn’t produce solutions…it just moves the parties further apart.

So, my suggestion is this, “can” the insults and show us your ideas…

New Facebook Debate Rule: Ideologies and the ideas they degenerate are fair game…people are not. Tweet It Out

Of course, complying will require an activity that perhaps we could all stand to engage in a bit more…

It’s called thinking.

If that was an insult…well, then I apologize.

I’m simply suggesting an alternative to the normally venomous political diatribes masquerading around social media under the guise of “debates.”

image credit: claireteat via Compfight cc

A Decade of Indulgence

December 26, 2014 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

This blog is all about inspiring an impactful life.

But sometimes I write personal things about myself…like this post.

It’s relevant because, basically, I’m pointing that bony finger of indignation back at me!

Using myself as an example of what not to do.

Because in terms of actually living an impactful life, I’ve failed in many respects.

I often talk about my 13 years in Costa Rica. But the closing of this year marks a decade of actually living here. The first couple years I was still residing in the States, traveling back and forth frequently in pursuit of my Costa Rica deal.

2004 was the year of my divorce. A lost year that I really have pretty much blocked from my memory.

So, actually it’s been from 2005 until now that I can legitimately consider myself a “resident” of Costa Rica.

And if I had to choose a phrase to describe it, I would say that it’s been a decade of indulgence.

I would venture to say most gringo expats come to Costa Rica in order to live an indulgent life. It’s not that difficult to do that here, as there are so many things to indulge in…

The women are beautiful and sexy (sorry if that sounds sexist, but it’s simply true).

The weather is always warm.

The landscapes are breathtaking.

You can indulge in many of the “controlled substances” that pass through on their way to the great demand centers up north.

The natives aren’t “restless” at all, but quite friendly and welcoming…as long as you mind your manners.

Living is simply much easier in Costa Rica.

It’s easy just to sit back and…indulge.

Much easier than in, say, Duluth, Des Moines, or Detroit.

In fact, I would say anywhere between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, at least in the Americas, the temptation of indulgence is an irresistible force.

But as I sit here writing this, only a few days away from the close of this decade of indulgence, I can finally say, OK, enough is enough.

There’s work to be done…in the rapidly diminishing time that I’ve got left to do it.

I know it might sound weird to a lot of folks, especially my fellow expats, many of whom have already given me comically puzzling looks upon learning of my “outrageously stupid” repatriation plans, but…

I’m just tired of it…tired of living the indulgent life.

It’s become, well, boring.

Listen, now don’t go confusing “indulgence” with luxury.

Since I barely have a proverbial pot to piss in, my life here has been anything but luxurious.

But the cool thing about Costa Rica is that you can indulge to your heart’s content on a shoestring budget.

Lately I’ve faced some cognitive dissonance concerning my life here.

Because, truthfully, a life of indulgence is the opposite of a life of impact.

And since that’s what I’m supposed to be all about, I’ve heroically decided it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge.

Where am I going?

Well, if you’ve read anything I’ve written lately, you should know that I’ve chosen Portland, Oregon.

Why Portland?

Why not?

You see, let’s face it, I’m kind of a weird guy…right?

And Portland is a place where weirdness is, well, sort of embraced.

The motto of the city is “Keep Portland Weird”, so I thought I’d lend a hand to the effort by moving there myself!

Got it now?

I once thought that simply by living as a poor, yet remarkably indulgent, U.S. expat in Costa Rica, I would be that guy, that Costa Rica Guy, who could show the world the happiness of living with less.

However, there’s more to impact than that.

There’s more to living impact-fully than minimalism, sustainability, hydroponic gardening, meditation and recycling. There are grave problems in the world that need fixing. And somebody’s got to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

So, heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to work I go!

Goodbye Costa Rica…

Hello, Portlandia!

A Fresh Look at Impact Mindfulness

December 20, 2014 by costaricaguy 2 Comments

Every year brings both the good and the bad…this one hasn’t been all that stellar for me, I’ll readily admit.

But, it’s been a learning experience!

Next year will mark some really big changes in my life. I plan to move to Portland, Oregon.

Isn’t that big enough?

I plan to take the Oregon bar exam and re-enter that profession, albeit with a far different motive, after a decade long hiatus.

OK, now we’re really talking.

Oh and I’m sure some other big and unexpected changes will come along the way.

I’ve been writing in this blog now since January of 2013…two complete years.

It’s been a slow go.

I still believe wholeheartedly in the message, but it’s hard, damn hard, to attract the attention of anyone else.

I guess what with the 152 million other blogs out there, that’s completely understandable.

Nevertheless, I believe the message of this blog can and should resonate with someone…in fact, a whole lot of someones.

So, I’ll keep slugging away until it does…pissing off some and, hopefully, delighting others with the message of Impact Mindfulness…

What’s that you ask?

A-ha, thanks for that invite to provide a fresh look at Impact Mindfulness!

It’s not that mindfulness is anything new or novel…

everybody’s talking about it.

And if you follow almost any of the lifestyle blogs out there, they usually get around to talking about the importance of an impactful life… as an afterthought.

But, I don’t know any of them who are putting it all together in the way this blog does.

Supplying the why…as I like to say.

Here I write about this “mindset” of impact mindfulness as resting on three foundational principles…

#1 Prioritizing Impact Over Interest

I think this is where I might lose some people…and since it’s the first and perhaps most important principle…

that’s not a good thing.

So, let’s flesh it out a bit for a better understanding.

You see, I believe that many, perhaps most, of the problems faced by people and planet are self-interest oriented. We’re just too caught up in this overly materialistic world in satisfying the cravings of the self, or this ethereal entity we call ego.

Of course, these days you read a lot about minimalism and living sustainably as lifestyles that are less materialistic.

But the reasons often given to live such lifestyles tend to turn on self-interest. It’s all about me…my pleasure, happiness, fulfilment, dreams and desires. It’s about me having the good life.

Great! Nothing wrong with all that…unless it’s your primary focus for being.

Because I believe it’s not…our primary reason for being.

I believe that we’re here to make life better for others, i.e., impact. And in so doing, we enhance our own enjoyment of it.

In fact, the only way that our world can get off the destructive path that it seems to be careening down at an ever-increasing velocity, is for plain folks like you and me to prioritize our impact over self-interest.

Self-interest taken to the extreme leads to greed. People and planet are suffering from the effects of rampant greed.

And I don’t think that there’s a government solution to this problem. You can’t legislate impact mindfulness!

I believe there has to be a mindset change solution…or…revolution.

One that prioritizes the impact of our choices and actions on the larger world over how those choices and actions promote our own self-interest.

We have met the enemy and he is us.

Pogo daily strip, 1971

The change that will save this world is not out there…it must come from within ourselves.

#2 Embracing the Big US

We tend to see the world through the prism of group affiliation. We desperately want to belong there. We feel our very lives depend on that limited belonging. And that desire to belong causes us to adopt an “us versus them” mindset.

The people on the inside with us matter…those on the outside…not so much.

Anyone politically minded who reads just a little of my blog will readily identify me as a leftist progressive. I don’t like such labels, but I guess I’ll proudly wear that one. Because I believe those on the right suffer from an ideology that is isolationist and dangerous for the rest of the world.

It’s not just the right…you see it with groups like ISIS as well.

That is, the inability to recognize that it’s a big world out there and that you belong to it.

You are part of the whole…as opposed to the warped idea of being that whole with unrelated and undesirable parts on the outside.

We once viewed our world in similar terms, until science showed us it was untrue.

Take the recent Obama action with regard to Cuba. The harshest opposition came from the right. Why? Because of the us versus them mentality. Cuba is the communist enemy of the U.S., right? We’re the whole and they’re definitely on the outside.

But that’s not reality. Cuba is just as much an integral part of this planet as we are. And the people there are suffering. And it’s in their best interest for this change in policy to take place.

Why can’t the right just see things in those terms?

Because they are too wrapped up in the ideology of us versus them. That’s how they see the world.

When the fact of the matter is that we’re all on this planetary ship together and until we begin to see things that way, to embrace the Big US, we’re going to continue to witness grave problems in our world.

#3 Removing Impact Blinders

I mentioned ISIS above when talking about the Big US. But the ISIS mentality also dramatically reveals the impact blinder problem.

You see, they believe their religion requires them to do the utterly inhuman things we’ve witnessed before our very eyes over the last year.

Religion!

Something that’s a complete fiction that they’re willing to die, and kill, for. It makes no sense, until you realize that religion is an insidious impact blinder.

And ISIS is not alone. There are millions of folks who suffer under the same delusion because of religion. And it motivates them to take action that is impactful for sure, but in a negative way to people and planet. Or, to do nothing at all, as they wait to be raptured away from this sinful and fallen world.

Now, granted, there are some who’ve been motivated religiously to have great impact, such as Mother Teresa, or MLK…but those are exceptions. And while religion may have been a motivating factor for them, I believe it was secondary to the impact they sought to make in this world.

Another impact blinder is blind patriotism and intense nationalism. It causes us, again, to view the world in us versus them terms. When George Bush stood at ground-zero and pledged death and destruction to those who had knocked our towers down, he unleashed a nationalist fervor that we now know resulted in America sacrificing long-held values…like not succumbing to the barbaric impulse to torture your enemies.

It motivated us to invade a nation under false pretences.

It completely blinded us to the fact that some 150,000 Iraqis were killed in that effort…compared to the tragic loss of around 5,000 Americans…but we only focus on the latter statistic…

Why?

Impact blinders.

I believe it’s high time we take those off and see things as they truly are.

The idea behind impact mindfulness presents nothing new. All this has been around in one form or another for a long time.

What’s completely novel is this singular mindset that brings them all together.

A mindset that I believe is needed for the betterment of people and planet, who are in an increasingly worse situation because of greed, small us thinking and impact blinders.

A mindset I believe the universe has implanted in my heart and has given me the burning desire to do the same in others.

The Misguided Message of Tony Robbins

December 3, 2014 by costaricaguy 8 Comments

I can remember it almost like it was yesterday…

It must’ve been 1996 and I was getting ready to go to work at the law firm in Charlotte, N.C.

The TV was on and this infomercial appeared on screen with this dude with sculptured hair, big, brilliant white teeth and a deep, booming voice…

it was Tony Robbins.

He was raving about his CD audio program, Personal Power, which he claimed was guaranteed to transform your life.

He captured my attention, as Tony is an expert at doing, and I ended up ordering the program.

I was about to finish the executive MBA program at the University of S.C. and I’d been offered a management position with a company in Myrtle Beach.

It was a bold move to step outside of the career I’d studied so hard for and spent the last 7 years working in…

and I knew, once you leave the legal profession, it can be hard to ever come back.

So, I felt I could use exactly the type of motivational kick in the pants that Tony was offering.

That was the start of a relationship with Tony that bordered on cultish obsession.

After that initial experience walking the beach with my walkman blasting Robbins’ distinctive voice against my eardrums and into the cerebral cortex…

I embarked on an all-out Tony Robbins immersion phase that lasted the better part of a decade.

I attended his one day business seminar, twice to be exact. One of those was his last event, for which I chartered a private plane, so that my entire Live Oak staff could attend the event in New York City.

I did his signature Unleash the Power Within event, a three day affair that includes the famous fire walk experience.

During that event I signed up for Date with Destiny, which is the first of a series of three events that Tony calls, Mastery University.

I did all three.

I was at the famous last Life Mastery event on the big island of Hawaii when the planes hit the twin towers on 9-11.

All in all, I guess I spent around $25,000 during this Tony Robbins life phase…including extensive travel expenses, as Tony’s events were always held at the swankiest and most expensive hotels.

So, I believe I speak with some level of experience when I write this morning about the misguided message of Tony Robbins…misguided, at least, in my opinion, holding the worldview that I do today.

Now, granted, my worldview has shifted…dramatically.

Back when I was doing my Robbins thing I was a devout fundamentalist Christian. I never really had trouble reconciling that fact with what Robbins taught.

After all, God wanted me to succeed, right?

I do remember often praying for Tony’s salvation.

Did I ever actually meet him? Actually I did, a couple times, but only to briefly shake his hand and tell him how much his life had meant to mine.

And it did…Tony’s teaching did change me. It released me from many of the doubts about myself that had held me back.

But it also caused me to fixate on that aspect of life that Tony claims we all must deal with…

becoming financially free.

That means having enough money to do what you want, when you want, where you want…etc., etc.

I see now that Tony has written a new book about, take a guess,…

money.

I caught him on Maria Forleo this morning being interviewed about the book.

One of the events in Mastery University was called Wealth Mastery. In it Tony divulged investing secrets of the mega-rich. Seems now Tony has decided all those “secrets” are a bunch of hooey and the best thing to do is put your money in low cost market index funds…yawn!

So, in what manner do I believe Tony to be misguided?

You see, I don’t believe a focus on attaining financial freedom is a sustainable concept, not on personal, nor planetary, levels.

Tony taught me, or so I interpreted his teaching, that I had to fix myself, especially from a financial perspective, before I could fix the world.

I just no longer believe that’s true.

I believe a focus on fixing the world is what fixes the self.

That is, a life where impact is the motivation, rather than self-interest (especially rather than economic self-interest), is what will give our lives meaning and fulfilment.

Tony tells us there is nothing wrong with money, with having things.

Oh, but I believe that there definitely is.

You see, the world can no longer sustain the wealth of a whole bunch of Tony Robbins wannabes.

Tony is an entertainer and in our society entertainers make a lot of money. And Tony has indeed made a lot of money…some of it off of me!

And his message basically is, hey, if I can do it, so can you.

That might be true, but it doesn’t make it a good thing…not on a personal or a planetary level.

This world simply doesn’t need more rich people…it needs more impact minded people.

People who couldn’t give a flip about absolute financial freedom, but who care passionately about absolute human freedom.

That is, the freedom that comes when all people on this planet can live lives of health and dignity.

Right now, we’re far from that and as the rich keep getting richer and the poor poorer…with many of those rich taking the very advice Tony is peddling…

that level of human freedom is becoming more and more elusive for millions upon millions that inhabit this planet.

I admire Tony Robbins. He has done a lot of good for a lot of people.

He always ends his books and seminars with a call to impact and that’s a good thing.

But, you see, I believe rather than leave that for the end…

it should come at the beginning.

image credit: exploringmarkets via Compfight cc

The Impact Point

October 28, 2014 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

Would it surprise you to know that there is, in fact, a point to this blog?

The home page reads…

The Revolutionary Misfit site is a forum for thought, conversation and inspiration on the topic of impact mindfulness.

So, if you kinda get an inkling about that vague word, impact, you’d at least be getting really warm, as you’re struggling to grasp the impact point.

Because the fact is, we all have one…

It’s hard to get away from it, really.

Remember when grocery store check-out clerks always would ask, “paper or plastic?”

Seems like an innocuous choice, but an impactful one nonetheless.

If you stop to consider that plastic is made of the same substance that when burned releases dreaded carbon into the atmosphere.

And if you consider that normal plastic basically never breaks down, environmentally.

And then there’s the matter of so much plastic waste ending up as floating garbage dumps in our oceans, or in the bellies of fish and sea mammals.

Of course, there’s a problem with paper too…it can get confusing.

So, the decision, as small and insignificant as it might at first blush seem, has impact…

As does the stupid act of giving us that choice to begin with.

Whenever you use a public restroom facility, do you leave the light on, or do you flip it off?

Again, a choice with impact.

When you shop for groceries, do you buy locally grown stuff, or manufactured food, filled with chemicals, and that has to be shipped in from afar?

Impact-full choice, once again.

And then there’s the bigger impacts…

Like what we choose to do with the vast majority of our life time allotment in exchange for those little green pieces of paper adorned with images of dead notables.

Who we vote for.

What we consume, physically, or mentally.

How we use our “free” time.

What we contribute towards enhancing the well-being of others, including the less fortunate.

How we simply treat other people.

What we think of them if they happen to have been borne different from us.

So, you see, there probably isn’t a more point-full topic to blog about than impact.

This blog is simply an attempt to get people to pay more attention to the impacts they have on a moment to moment basis.

You know, like to leave the earth (and its inhabitants) better than the way we found it (and them).

And I believe that there are three things that generally impede our being mindful of impacts…

Self-interest (especially the economic variety)
Small us thinking
Impact blinders

If you desire to know more, there is a plethora of posts regarding each of these impediments.

But, in our westernized world, it’s private property that gets the lion’s share of our mindfulness.

We work hard to acquire it, maintain and grow it, protect it and ultimately pass it on in some form or another (sale, inheritance, etc.).

We only ask of others that they refrain from impacting our shit in any negative way.

What they do with everything else…who cares!

That pretty much sums up the narrow spectrum of popular thought regarding impact.

“Don’t tread on me”, becomes our battle-cry as we engage in grave struggles in the name of private property protection (we call it freedom, since that provides better motivation)…

We even coin a new phrase for the acquisition of stuff and immortalize that in our most cherished freedom document…

We call it…

The pursuit of happiness.

But then the reality finally hits that this is a non-sustainable notion.

As we just witnessed in 2008, when the excesses of Wall Street’s great decade of capital sequestration ended up impacting Main Street in a negative way as the value of everyone’s stuff plummeted…

Except for those that didn’t have any to begin with…

In that case, the people themselves were devalued.

Impact is simply hard to get away from…it’s sort of built in, like a physical law.

Now, granted, hedging against all hell breaking loose may not be the most laudable reason to be impact mindful.

But, hey, at least it’s a reason.

Working to enhance the enjoyment of all life forms on this planet helps assure that they won’t try just as hard to rob me of mine.

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#1 Prioritizing Impact Over Interest

#2 Embracing the Big US

#3 Removing Impact Blinders

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