Have a read of this article. It is about one of the great movie makers of our time, Steven Spielberg. Actually why have I written one of? He has to be the greatest movie maker of our time. Lets list some of them:
Jaws
Raiders of the Lost Ark
ET
Back to the Future
Empire of the Sun (probably not his most famous, but I like it)
Schindler's List
Not a bad half-dozen if I do say so myself.
In this article the author says that Steven Spielberg doesn't really stand out. The author found it very difficult to describe the famous director. I wonder if this is because of his introversion. I have been told in the past that I don't really stand out. I wonder subconsciously if that is the reason I decided to grow a beard. I honestly thought it looked cool and always wondered what it would be like. (For those of you wondering, it can be a pain in the ass especially if you don't bother to clip for a week or so. It takes me forever to get it right. But I wonder if it does make me stand out a bit. You decide.
Hmmm, the pride of 2016? As I said, you be the judge.
What is interesting is that Spielberg said that he was assertive at home. That reminds me of the uchibenkei post that I wrote here. Uchibenkei is someone who is someone who is quiet outside but lord of the manor at home.
Spielberg says he is still very shy although not as much as he used to be and he is getting better at breaking the ice. That sounds very familiar and I think that people out there who are like Steven Spielberg and myself should looks for ways to practice breaking the ice everyday.
There you go that is yours and my challenge for the next month. Everyday we have to break the ice with someone. What do you think? Are you up for the challenge?
Hey, if Steven Spielberg can do it so can we. Break the ice with one person everyday for the next month. Good luck.
Have you seen this video from Vice Japan? It is a story about an old man who lives by himself on an island in Okinawa. He is the only person on the island so basically he is the king of his own little island.
Mr. Nagasaki has lived on Sotobanari Island for over 20 years. He doesn't wear any clothes and basically survives off the land, the sea and some money that family send to him every month. So he isn't entirely self-sufficient but pretty close to it.
Could you do this? Could you live by yourself for many, many years? It sounds like paradise to some people, right? This guy loves his isolation and if it works for him who are we to judge.
The interesting thing about this video is that the guy comes across as being quite social. He seems to be very chatty and he does not seem to be quiet or introverted in the least.
Because of this I wonder if he does miss the modern world and he has just been on the island for so long that I thinks that if he goes back to the city that he might not make it, a bit like the character Brooks Hatlen on that very good movie The Shawshank Redemption. Brooks had been in jail for about 50 years that when he finally got released he couldn't handle it on the outside and killed himself in the halfway house that was his home on release.
We are social beings and we do need some human contact from time to time. I suppose his once monthly trip to the next island for shopping does give some human contact. I wonder if he covers himself when he does that. He might get arrested if he walks down the main street in his birthday suit or maybe they are used to it. I might have to go there to find out.
All I can say about this is that this kind of lifestyle is not for me. I like my comfortable bed and running water and a hot shower too much to want to spend the rest of my days on a deserted island and anyway I also like talking to people occasionally. You learn a lot by asking questions and you get a different perspective on life.
Sure it might be nice to go to a tropical island for a week or so, but I'm sure that 99.99% of you would love to get back to civilisation and you would really appreciate the good things that modern society brings.
I hope Mr. Nagasaki is happy and he lives out his remaining days (and in Okinawa that could be quite a few days) in peace and he dies happy knowing that he has lived his perfect life.
Never, ever, ever judge a book by its cover. Don't do it because it will come back and bite you in the backside.
I know that I have done it many times where I have judged someone by the clothes they are wearing or their hairstyle or even by how tall they are.
This is just not a good way to look at life and other people. I'll give you an example. A guy was setting up a room I was in the other day. He would have been about 4 foot 11 and had weird hair, kind of a comb over and he had funny teeth. Of course I passed judgement and it was all wrong. He was fluent in English, ultra-intelligent and he loved Chopin. I played something on youtube and he immediately recognised the music. I honestly felt very embarrassed.
Whenever you meet someone quiet don't think that they don't have energy. Don't think that they are not very intelligent because they don't say much. If you underestimate an introvert you are going to come out as the loser
Don't judge a book by it's cover. The introvert might not be saying very much but they have a lot of good ideas under the surface and they will be out hustling you before you know it.
Just because he or she is not talking, is not being exuberant does not mean they can't do anything. Underestimate them at your peril.
There have been many people over the years talk about living on Mars. Here is the latest one. In this article, Elon Musk the billionaire engineer and inventor says that we are closer to living on Mars than we think. That might be exciting for some people who see it as the last frontier and they want to experience the red planet in all it's glory.
It got me thinking, wouldn't this be an introvert's dream? I mean you would go to Mars with a handful of other people. You might not be able to return to planet Earth but you would have plenty of solitude. As I said there are only going to be a handful of people and when you feel like getting some alone time I'm sure that there will be plenty of places to go.
So, should introverts be getting there applications ready for this once in a lifetime opportunity?
NO!!!
Why on earth (pun intended) would you want to do something like this?
There is no guarantee that you will be able to get back home and you will probably die on Mars.
If there is only a handful of people going and you don't get on with them then it is going to be a pretty lonely existence and don't tell me that that is what you are looking for. I mean it is OK to be away from other people for a couple of days and nights but for the rest of your life? I think that you would be crazy to even contemplate it.
Remember, just because you classify yourself as an introvert, it doesn't mean that you want to get away from all other human beings.
You are an introvert. You recharge by spending time alone not by cutting yourself off from all mankind.
I came across this meme on Instagram the other day:
"A wise man can always be found alone. A weak man can always be found in a crowd."
This got me thinking. Obviously it is related to the theme of my blog but is it necessarily a correct assumption? Are wise men found alone and weak men found in crowds?
Before I answer this question let me define the word crowd. According to the New American Oxford Dictionary, crowd is a large number of people gathered together. Another definition is a group of people who a linked by a common interest to activity.
Anyway, the answer to the above question is yes and no. If a man has a purpose in his life and he believes in it and is willing to break down barriers to achieve that purpose then a lot of his time is going to be spent alone working on it and making it happen. Obviously at times he is going to need and want the help of others. He is going to ask advisers and mentors for their advice but proportionally a lot of his time is going to be spent by himself getting s**t done.
I think another meaning of this meme is that sometimes you have to go against the underlying thinking of society, to go out on a limb, to risk humiliation to get something that you believe in done.
Most of the famous inventors probably did that. They had an idea and they went out and did it but they had to detach themselves from the crowd. They had to risk being ostracised from the crowd to deliver on their vision.
Being ostracised from society is something that is biologically hard to take. Throughout the history of man we have stuck in groups purely to survive. 30,000 years ago if you ventured out on your own, you might have never come back. So we stayed together. These days are different because we don't have to deal with tigers or wolves looking for their Sunday dinner but the idea of staying together as a group remains. So when you are staying with the group you are not necessarily being weak, you are just doing what comes naturally over thousands of years of human evolution.
In summary, yes you are going to have to go out on your own to accomplish something. The wise part is to find something that is good for you as a person and suits your strengths.
To be in a group is not weak at all. You are being you and anyway, many heads are better than one on occasions and you may come up with the next biggest and greatest idea.
Choose what is best for you, what is best for your strength and weaknesses is the most important thing and go and do it. Generic advice I know but that is what is takes.
I'm writing this on December 13, 2017. I never knew who made that quote but I saw that it could be Bruce Lee. So thank you to him.
Apparently Dr. Seuss was very quiet and introverted that he was scared to go and meet the local children because they would be confused about how quiet he was. I'm sure that they would have been expecting an outgoing, exuberant man. He didn't want to disappoint them.
It's interesting. I wonder if I disappoint some people when I meet them in this country. When we think of caucasian, English speaking people the country we immediately think of is America and (apologies to American readers, but it's true) the stereotype is loud and proud, stars and stripes bearing Americans.
In this country there is sometimes a thought that all caucasian, English speaking people are American and the stereotype is loud and proud so I'm sure that sometimes I disappoint people when I'm not that typical American boy.
Lets go back to Dr. Seuss. I found a good quote from him:
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
Have a read of that again. It is so true, isn't it? If you say something or do something and people object to it, it is usually people who have nothing whatsoever to do with you and your life. They probably don't know you very well or they are just miserable themselves. If you do say or do something that may not be the best thing to do then the people that are important in your life will back you up. They will give you advice. They will have your back.
So, don't worry about offending people. Statistically, you are going to offend them anyway so just concentrate on the people who matter and they will support you through thick and thin. You know who these people are.
Well, it's Sunday, I'm going to have some green eggs and ham.
I was thinking today about different brands and their rivalries. I'm sure 95% of you would think as I did that the number one brand rivalry in our society today is Coca Cola v Pepsi Cola. I reckon we are right when we think that. Sure enough, in this article we get an answer to that question.
OK, so we have Coca Cola v Pepsi Cola. I was thinking can we put an introvert/extrovert slant on this battle of the Colas? Can we judge the personality of the product by who they choose to promote it? Probably not but lets see.
I realise that this battle isn't as bloodthirsty as it once was, as it seems that Pepsi has branched out and is concentrating on other things but lets have a look at this topic historically.
When I think about Pepsi Cola my mind instantly goes to Michael Jackson.
Hmmm, I can imagine he liked to recharge in solitude. Judging what I have seen on television over the years I can't imagine him rushing off to party away the night at the newest, coolest, hottest nightclub in town.
OK, now, who have Coca Cola got to advertise for them over the years? One person I can think of is Sir Elton John. Do you remember the Diet Coke ads? I thought that they were pretty cool.
I've never met the man and I'm just speculating here but he looks quite extroverted, right. Flamboyant doesn't even begin to describe this fantastic entertainer.
So, does this make Pepsi introverted and Coke extroverted? Maybe. I might have to do a bit more research on this topic.
Next, Nike v Reebok. I think Nike is miles ahead of Reebok which is now owned by Adidas but lets look at two athletes who epitomise the Nike brand. I'm sure you know at least one of these guys but you probably know both, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. When you think Nike, I immediately think of Michael Jordan even though he hasn't played for many years and I also think of Tiger Woods who although not being in top form the last few years is still arguably the greatest golfer of all time.
According to this article guess who are the top of the list of introverted athletes. Yes, well done for guessing the aforementioned Jordan and Woods. So is Nike an introverted company? I don't know.
Lets look at Reebok. Guess what Reebok has thrown their weight behind in the last few years. If you guessed Crossfit, you would be correct.
Before continuing I have to disclose that I have trained at a Crossfit gym for three years.
When you watch the Crossfit Games or the announcements of the Open workouts, the crowds are very loud and proud. The constant cheering and woooooooing could only be done by a large group of extroverts who are getting their energy from everyone else in the stadium.
Nike is introvert and Reebok is extrovert? I'll let you decided.
Bill Gates v Steve Jobs
Not exactly brands per se but they represent two of the major brands in our lifetime and do I really need to say who the introvert is and who the extrovert is? Do you need me to type that out?
It is pretty well documented that Bill Gates likes his own company (by that I mean solitude) while it would seem that Steve Jobs was an extrovert.
So, does that mean their respective companies could be classified introvert/ extrovert?
Quite possibly. I'm not big on the whole computer industry but they say that more creative people like to use Apple and I equate creative with being out there which we know is not entirely correct as a lot of creative people in our history have been introverted.
At the end of the day, does it really matter that a company is this or that? If you enjoy using the product or service and it provides you with good quality for money then that is all that matters.
