I consider myself to be someone of reasonable intelligence.  This means there are times I do things that aren’t so smart and there are times where I figure something out.  It’s a nice balance.

No one would ever say they want to be intelligent but I might not want to be too smart.  There’s something to be said for not being able to solve everything.  It gives you some freedom.  It might also be bliss, like ignorance, which is different. 

Keeping your mind healthy is what’s most important though.

Sudoku

One of my mom’s favorite things to do is Sudoku.  I’ve never really talked to her about it but I believe it keeps her mind sharp.  But before I get myself in trouble by saying she’s old enough to have to worry about her sharpness (too late I guess), I’ll give her credit for being active mentally and physically.

Sudoku seems to be a pretty popular game.  Here’s a New York Times page dedicated to the game.  It’s numbers puzzle.  That might intimidate half of you.

I hope my mind always stays sharp enough (but not too sharp) to be able to tackle a Sudoku puzzle.  

Do brain teasers actually work?  

Here are 101.  Let me know.

My suggestion here is just to keep your mind functioning.  If you enjoy puzzles, great, but they’re not the only way to have a healthy mind.  The rest of this entry will focus on my favorite way.

Stupid People

This might be the first time in this blog that I call people stupid.  That’s not very generous.  Is it?

It’s not.  But it is one of the definitions of dope.  

The word can also refer to drugs and a varnish (didn’t know the latter, that’s my lesson for the day).

A dope, or a stupid person, could probably play mind games all day and would never be good at Sudoku.  Yet, this doesn’t mean their mind is unhealthy.

The Modern Definition of Dope

Interestingly, dope also has another definition.  It’s no longer just a slang (if a Google search result is the determinant).  Dope also means “very good.”

“Bob, use it in a sentence.”

Sure.

E-Impact is dope. 

Basically, dope can be the opposite of itself.

Wes

I have to give a shout-out to my friend, Wes, who is a frequent user of the modern dope.  He didn’t define it for me but he’s responsible for making it part of my lexicon.  

We love to talk bout sports together.  There’s been many a player that he’s called dope over the years.  I’ve been sure to call a few of the “dopes” if you know what I mean.  

I should make a point that being a dope isn’t a permanent thing - or, at least it doesn’t have to be.  I think it’s a bit different than being of underwhelming intelligence.  Dope seems to be more related to a given moment or decision.  

This might be a defense of my own life.  I’ve done some pretty “dopey” things but I’m not a forever dope.  I’m of reasonable intelligence, remember?

I should probably ask Wes if he thinks I’m dope or a dope.

Stupid or Generous

I love to talk about radical generosity.  You likely know this by now but what you may not know is that I’m sensitive to what people think about acts of generosity that are truly radical.  

I’ve said before that radical does not mean “bad” or “negative”.  There might be some misconceptions there.  It means “ill-advised” or “unexpected”.  Or, it might seem like something radical was stupid.  In other words, you might call someone who did something radical a dope.

Sadly, we live in a judgmental world.  There is plenty of talk about unity and acceptance but I tend to feel that human judgment is more prevalent now than ever.  It might just be more noticeable but the point is that people feel more readily judged.  

When you do something radical, you can easily be considered stupid.  And this, is why I must defend and support radical generosity.  It should be seen part of a sustainable dope mindset not a single action of a dope.  

Selflessness and Selfishness

The thing that gets to me the most about today’s self-development world is that it indicates we are not capable of anything worthwhile without attaining a certain level of success (which has no clear definition).  This is a terrible judgment.  I know that you are capable now.  

I support self-development thoroughly, but not as a substitute for action.  It’s in addition to what you are already doing.  You should improve but you already have a great baseline of effectiveness.  

We are tricked into thinking that it’s foolish to help others without helping ourselves.  I’m typing this as I sit on a place and so the “gas mask” example comes to mind.  But that’s in an emergency!  Make sure you are covered before you start helping others…because you’ll be useless if you have no oxygen.

In life and the impact space, we are normally not in an emergency situation.  You can rest assured that you are breathing and will be fine.  The next self-improvement course or self-help book is not a gas mask.  

The world has made our selfishness take over our ability to be selfless.  It says, being radically generous (selfless) is stupid.  You do you (selfish) to get ahead.

I love a good generosity story on the news or Internet but some things should just be more natural.  I yearn for the day that it’s not all that unique (or radical) for someone to go out of their way to help another.

A Man Called Otto

I recently watched the movie A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks.  Tom is a great actor.  His ability to make his characters believable (and believe me, I’m a skeptic, probably why I don’t like watching movies very much) is tremendous. 

The movie was entertaining, as expected, but also unexpectedly educational.  I don’t want to play spoiler but in order to make my point, I’ll have to explain a few things about the film.

Otto, played by Tom, is a retired widowed gentleman.  A young couple with kids moves into his neighborhood and the story is all about him developing a relationship with the family.  He is a very cold, heavy-hearted man early on and as the story progresses he loosens up a bit.  As mentioned, Hanks does a great job of making you feel the character.  Otto is totally believable.  He doesn’t seem to be embellished at all.  In fact, there are a few people in my life I would liken to Otto.

As Otto begins to do more and more kind things for his new neighbors, you realize that he isn’t as cold as it seems.  

As a side note, the tale also makes you believe that every human is innately kind.  This is something I believe.  Otto’s environment allowed him to find his generous mindset.

In the second half of the movie, Otto pulls a radically generous act - something that he certainly would not have done early in the flick.  He jumps onto some active train tracks at a station to rescue a man.

Surrounding people criticize him for risking his life to save another’s.  This is not my plea to you to risk your life as an act of radical generosity but it is a point that no matter how selfish someone might be, there is an inner selfless being that we all have.  The self-centered messaging of the day does not have to win.

Otto was certainly not a dope but his radical generosity was.

Self-Sacrifice is Dope

There are many ways you can support other people and they don’t all have to be self-sacrificial.  However, I do believe that this is a great way to spark a generosity journey.

There is something to be said for serving others while risking something of your own.  Let me be clear again, you don’t have to risk your life!

There are more simple things you can give up (that aren’t considered a risk) in order to serve others.  The first that comes to mind is time.  It’s a precious commodity but when you give it to someone else it becomes even more.  It’s a way of bonding with others. 

I have referenced my trips to Mexico (and other countries) with Habitat for Humanity on many occasions.  The most relevant story from those experiences is told in my book, Personal Finance in a Public World, and mentioned in E-Impact 92.

Getting a group of people to give up a week of their time to go to another country in service to others can be a challenging task.  It’s well worth it.  The work is hard, out of your comfort zone, and can risk your well-being.  But if I’m being honest, so are a lot of things.

I suggest you find smaller ways of self-sacrifice to do on a daily basis.  It builds a good habit and makes sure there is always a part of your day that supports others.  You’ll give a little in the moment and get a lot later.  

Giving to others can do the following things:

• Build bonds (as mentioned above)

• Teach lessons

• Garner attention

• Display virtues

• Uncover talents

• Provide examples

• Save lives (others yes, but also yours, truly)

• Provide fulfillment

The list is much longer but those are the things that come to mind immediately.  

The rewards of serving others on your own time are dope.

Dope Culture

I know Wes didn’t coin the new definition of dope but it’s part of his culture.  I won’t ask you to make it part of yours but what if dope generosity was?

What if your business or family was known for doing radically generous things?  As if you risked being called dopey for doing something for somebody in need.

Maybe you do a volunteer mission instead of the next trip to Disney or company rewards trip.  Or, you could spend some time at the local food bank instead of the beach one weekend this summer.  I guarantee that more than food service will happen.

Dope culture is about admirable stuff.  It could be apparel, entertainment, or athletic ability (Wes’ and my favorite).  My hope is that selflessness will be part of it too.  

Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a social media feed that was full of dope acts of generosity for people?  Maybe it wouldn’t be considered radical anymore.  That would eliminate that confusion!

You could get updates on the latest acts and it wouldn’t be a bunch of attempts at digital virality.  It would be a place where people go to reinforce the natural joys of giving whenever they need a pick-me-up.

We wouldn’t need Sudoku to keep our minds healthy.  We would just need each other.

That’s dope!