Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! Well, it’s 10PM on Sunday evening. That’s about as far as I can slide this and say I did it “over the weekend”. It’s been one of those weeks that slid right on into Saturday and Sunday. It’s a good thing I love my work!
During February, in celebration of Black History Month, I got ambitious and picked up copies of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Du Bois, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: Written by Himself. I’m about ¾ of the way through The Autobiography. I usually bite off more than I can chew. I read The Autobiography when I was in high school and got very interested in the Civil Rights movement. It’s been a few decades, but I have to say it is an American classic. It really stands the test of time, but it is also an example of a certain puritanical, self-improvement literature that it is firmly in the American canon. I haven’t read the other two books - bits of both here and there - but not all the way through. I’ll get to them next.
The early part of The Autobiography is about his life before his conversion to Islam and is filled with stories of his time working the streets and a petty criminal. But he occasionally makes observations about the people he was around and their innate talents, and how a life on the streets engaged in petty criminality was the best they could aspire to. This is one example that particularly struck me:
West Indian Archie had the kind of photographic memory that put him among the elite of the numbers runners. He never wrote down your number; even in the case of combination plays, he would just nod. He was able to file all the numbers in his head, and write them down for the banker only when he turned in his money. This made him the ideal runner because cops could never catch him with any betting slips.
I’ve often reflected upon such black veteran numbers men as West Indian Archie. If they had lived in another kind of society, their exceptional mathematical talens might have been better used. But they were black. (p. 120)
I think the mark of a good society is one which protects individuals in their efforts to succeed and does not interfere. Society can’t guarantee equality of outcome, but it can work to ensure we can be free from interference. We all start with different endowments - both internal to ourselves, such as innate intelligence, strength, etc., but also based on our social status - if we were born into a caring family with resources, or a broken family, or no family at all. We all start from a different point, but a good society does not hamstring anyone from using their gifts. We need a society where the West Indian Archies can find their way to math departments in universities and on to meaningful careers, and not waste their talents on backroom gambling operations. If you haven’t ever read The Autobiography of Malcom X, you really should.
In the spirit of The Autobiography, a few links about pushing oneself toward transformation and growth. I’ll have more to say about The Autobiography at a later date.
Enjoy! And as always, stay well and stay safe!
(My wife and I went out for a walk on Saturday morning - it was blustery and 19 degrees. But when we got home, I baked us some nice cinnamon rolls! I love this recipe in case you are interested.)
Read
What: Quillette, The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Conor McGregor
https://quillette.com/2021/02/25/the-rise-fall-and-rise-again-of-conor-mcgregor/
Why: I trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for about five years back in my 30’s (so long ago) and really loved not only the workout and the confidence the practice gave me, but the community. It was a culture of self-improvement that respected effort as much as success. I thought this quote from this short article about McGregor captured the spirit of martial arts as I experienced it particularly well:
Under [John Kavanagh’s] guidance, McGregor has approached martial arts with a “win or learn” mentality that views failure as an opportunity for growth in the lifelong pursuit of personal development and sporting excellence.
Oh, if you haven’t heard of McGregor, he’s kind of a big deal in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world. Fun read. One of the interesting leadership take-aways is to think about how someone can be so disciplined and effective in one part of their life while being a wreck in almost every other part. It’s important to take that “win or learn” attitude out of the gym and into the other parts of your life.
Watch
What: Robert Greene at TEDxBrixton, The key to transforming yourself
Why: Greene is the author of 48 Laws of Power and Mastery amongst other things. This is an excellent talk. I am definitely going to watch it again. The punch line to Greene’s key to transforming yourself is to work from the inside out. He says to stop fixating on the outward appearances, instead look inward at the small, incremental changes to prepare to do the work you are meant to do. When you are prepared, you will draw opportunities to you. I like his story of his wandering, random career, that fed all the different skills and knowledge he needed for when he was ready to write the 48 Laws of Power. I think about my own wandering career and hope that’s what I’ve been doing. Many of the successful people I know have wandered. If you ask them how they got to where they are, they just laugh and say, “If you asked me 20 years ago if I would be doing this thing I am doing today, I would have laughed” because it was so unlikely. Being a little better each day is a powerful, transformative way to live.
Listen
What: Tim Ferriss Show, Jordan Peterson on Rules for Life, Psychedelics, The Bible, and Much More
https://tim.blog/2021/03/01/jordan-peterson/
Why: Peterson is controversial for being an influential conservative. His main message is to get your act together as an individual before you start trying to tell others how to live.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next Friday!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
'It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)