Steven Barnes's Blog, page 27

Motivation, and the “Baywatch” revenge story

With any activity you need to perform daily, over thousands of days to reach your goal, you need FAR more reasons to do it than you have reasons “not to” do it.

 

The Hero’s Journey suggests that every single cycle of change will throw you into the Dark Night of the Soul. That means that if you don’t have a long term plan, killer motivations, support structure, measurable short-term goals, stress and fear coping mechanisms and so forth, you will be tossed out of your program. And will probabl...

If I Were King of the World…

One day, I might get the chance to make one change in the way kids are taught.  One opportunity. This is connect to the “what would you do if you had 100 million dollars.”

Let’s say I was creating such a program for a novel. I don’t have to worry about the politics, only the question of whether it works.

Well, I think with about ten million dollars you could change the culture, by creating a basic program for inner-city kids.  Others would be welcome to use it, but they would be the focus.  F...

If there are 4 basic arenas I focus on: Mind, Body, Spi...

If there are 4 basic arenas I focus on: Mind, Body,   Spirit, Finances, the same delusion pops up in each.  That delusion is that the most basic principles “don’t work.”  There are basic simple principles in each arena. (“Save 10% of what you earn” is one.  Even more basic: “spend less than you earn and save the rest.”)  Simple paths to better finances. Can be DIFFICULT AS HELL, but that doesn’t change the basic reality.  If you do it, you claw your way out of the financial basement.   We cou...

A damned fine question

An artist asked the gallery owner if there had been any interest in his paintings that were currently on display.

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” replied the gallery owner. “The good news is that a gentleman inquired about your work and wondered whether it would appreciate in value after your death. When I told him it would, he bought all fifteen of your paintings.”

“That’s great!” exclaimed the artist. “So what’s the bad news?”

“The man was your doctor.”

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Had my haircut yesterday by a...

“String of Pearls” and the Five Tibetans

One of the frustrating things about the “Five Tibetans” is that everything DIRECTLY known about them is from a single book, one probably part fantasy.  Even if I believed the tale of “Colonel Bradford,” the notion that this guy learned anything but the raw basics of a set of baby exercises is rather hard to believe.

 

So this old, broken-down man went to these monks, and they taught him some healing exercises, and after X time he came back to the west and started teaching them.  Anyone think...

The Death List, April 2018

“Gee,” people ask. “Why is Afrofuturism important?  Why Black Horror? Why can’t we just ignore race?  Aren’t you promoting racism by talking about it?”

 

Sure, in the same way a doctor is Typhoid Mary for cataloguing and treating disease.   Or a fireman is the same as an arsonist.

 

It is difficult for a human being to evolve without healing the wounds that drain his energy.  And as I draw connections and parallels between the person and the social, I believe social wounds stop a community fr...

What would you try…?

(a classic post from 2008)

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Breakthrough

I’ve been diving fairly deeply into my stuff the last 14 months, and this morning during meditation, I think I hit a new level of integration. I’d grazed across it about four months ago, then lost it… so I’m not certain how long it will take for me to hold it. If past experience is any measure, I’d say about three or four more months. But the point I reached seems to be a resolution of several interesting dualities: black/white, male/female, child/ad...

The Power of Purpose

 

I have a friend who works at a major technology firm, heading up a team of professionals.   A problem has developed–a lack of drive and innovation. Speaking to her about the situation, one thing that arose was the fact that when she talked to the people on her team, their motivation for coming to work was: “to get a paycheck.”  And to a disturbing degree…so was hers.

 

And she didn’t say that with enthusiasm, either: “hey!  I get to take care of my family!   I get to sleep under a roof inst...

Helping A Norwescon Writer

Once you look at the syntax of: WHAT, WHY, HOW and start applying it to your actions, there is a fascinating bonus: you start understanding other people better.  For instance, two years ago at Norwescon I talked to a gentleman who has been a member of multiple writing groups, admires writers, has tried to write in the past, but no longer does.   He looks wistful when others speak of their projects, but will mumble about responsibilities and reality as his reasons for not writing.

 

I asked hi...

The “Primary Color” theory of race. Or: What IS J.Lo, anyway?

To build the future, we have to dispel the lies used to create the past.    One of them has to do with the way we look at race.  Probably all over the world, but I’ve most closely studied the way this works out in America.  The following is an essay relating to people’s reactions to my thoughts that most of race seems most easily understood by starting with the notion that there are three major groups, with everything else being a “blend”.

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“Steven Barnes -Why three basic races? It seems...