I was watching a movie last night entitled Sin Nombre. It is about a family trying to make it from somewhere (I believe) in Central America, perhaps El Salvador, to the U.S. Their lives, especially that of the teenage daughter, Sayra, become intertwined with a member of the street gang, Salvatruchas, who joins their trek while fleeing from gang members seeking revenge for his murder of the local gang leader. The movie is in Spanish. It is an excellent film, though very tough to view at times. It made me wonder why young people would get involved with gangs and turn to a life of hatred, violence and crime. The gangs are promoted as a sanctuary from the harsh realities of the lives these poor kids are growing up in. In the gang you have many brothers who will gladly kill or be killed on your behalf. There is honor amongst the gang members, at least in relation to themselves. However, I believe there is more underlying the appeal of a gang than just the feeling of certainty you experience by being part of something larger and more powerful than you feel you could ever be alone. It is the sanctity of “uncertainty” that provides the ultimate and most provocative motivation. And that is a principle that drives many human actions, be it the joining of a gang, or the taking of any major personal or business risk. Of course, the level of risk the we are willing to take depends on how great our need for “uncertainty” really is. For some, the adrenaline junkies out there, that need is much greater than it is for others. But we all have it. You often hear the statistic that one out of every two marriages ends in divorce. But why? I believe it is the uncertainty need that is underlying most divorces. As humans we tend to get to the point of being “fed up” with certainty, which we often refer to as boredom. So we decide to do something that adds a little spice, or danger, like join a gang, or have an affair. Either way, the same principle is at work. The same need is driving us, the need for uncertainty. I know I have it big time. If I look back on the course my life has taken I can see it at work at every major turning point. That big career change from being a lawyer to leaping headfirst into the entrepreneurial world. The decision to come to this country, which had loads of uncertainty involved with it. That fact, coupled with the fact that I probably have a higher need for uncertainty than the average person, has made this place so intriguing and stimulating for me. This need can drive us to take stupid and dangerous risks, with our lives and those we love, or it can spur us to tremendous bouts of personal and professional growth. I believe we need to recognize when it is working and harness it rather than allowing it to harness us. It is a need that can drive us upward to heaven, or downward to hell, depending on the decisions we allow it to provoke.

I wrote the other day in my other blog, Tiquicia, about an incident involving a tica periodista (female Costa Rican news reporter) who had an incident with the police during a U2 concert in Florida. In the post I recalled what I felt was an analogous incident involving my ex-girlfriend with the Immigration authorities in Charlotte, North Carolina. Low and behold, it seems that someone associated with the incident (on the cop’s side), read the post and sent me a YouTube video describing their side of the story. I am not buying it. However, I did not mean to disparage police officers throughout the land, as anyone who ever says anything critical of the police in the U.S. is always quickly accused of. I did mean to disparage what I view as a mindset of hostility in the U.S. towards immigrants these days. Well, in this case, the lady was just visiting the U.S. It is a very rare case that Costa Ricans will actually leave the beauty and tranquility of their home country to go somewhere else to live, especially if that somewhere is the U.S.A. This mindset of hostility is apparent each time Bill O’Reilly sneers about some incident involving an “illegal.” They have no rights….not as U.S. citizens….not even as humans….is the “drift” one gets from his effluence. Who can forget his almost violent reaction when debating with Geraldo Rivera about an incident involving drunk driving by an illegal (Click to see Video). This attitude is a bit ironic when you consider that the U.S.A. is nothing more than a nation of immigrants. The only ones that truly belong there are the Indians who have been sequestered to reservations and treated as less than second-class citizens. I guess when I read the story about the tica getting what I considered overly rough treatment at the hands of the police at the U2 concert, I had what one might call a “knee-jerk” reaction. However, not having all the facts at my disposal I guess I ran the risk of actually being a “jerk.” Maybe the lady was drunk out of her mind (attending the concert with her ten year old son, which would be way out of line for an educated Costa Rican lady). Maybe she did act aggressively towards the police officer (again, way out of line for any Costa Rican, let alone an educated Costa Rican lady attending a concert with her ten year old son). Maybe the police action had nothing to do with attitude and had everything to do with attending to their task of crowd control. But it is in my right to question that, just as is Bruno Stagno, Costa Rica’s Foreign Relations Minister. He also doesn’t buy the cops’ story. Of course the police must have adequate leeway to attend to their very difficult and dangerous jobs. But when prejudicial attitudes appear to creep in, after all they too are only human, the rest of us have a right, even a duty, to question their actions.

Link to YouTube video referred to above….

Just got back from spending three days in the beautiful colonial city of Granada, Nicaragua. I have visited the city many times and always enjoy my time there. This time I discovered that in addition to the rustic colonial architecture, the historical significance (Granada was founded by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba in 1524), the great food, arts and crafts and vibrant nightlife, Granada also has a spectacular array of natural wonders to offer. There are the “isletas,” which are a series of small islands (365 in all, or one for every day of the year) that were formed by the eruption of towering Vulcan Mombacho. There is Lake Nicaragua, or Cocibolca as the Indians named it, which is the largest lake in Central America. I had always been curious about the towering Mombacho that stands watch over the city like a faithful sentinel. On this trip, I decided to get up close and personal with the volcano. Mombacho is marginally active with an altitude of 1,344 meters. It is one of the 78 environmentally protected areas of Nicaragua. You can take a 4-wheel drive vehicle to the top and from there hike around the volcano’s four craters. The views offered from various lookouts around the crater trails are stunning. You can see the city of Granada, a good part of Lake Nicaragua, and in the distance, Volcanoes Masaya, Momotombo and Momotombito, as well as Lago de Managua. There are numerous varieties of forests on the slopes of the volcano, depending on the altitude. At the base is a tropical dry forest, while higher up you encounter the cloud and dwarf forests. There is a wide variety of flora and fauna some of which are endemic to the volcano itself. We did one of the canopy tours offered at Mombacho and the experience was thrilling and completely safe. Here in Costa Rica we pride ourselves on our canopy tours and I can say that the tour we did was every bit as professionally operated as the many we put our Package Costa Rica customers on here in Costa Rica. The experience just proved to me again how rich Nicaragua is in natural resources, but also confounded me again as to why its people have such a hard time taking advantage of them. Then I caught wind of the recent news that Nicaragua’s current president, former Sandinista guerrillero, Daniel Ortega, is trying to have the constitutional ban on serving for more than a single term eliminated. Hugo Chavez accomplished the same feet in Venezuela, and being Ortega’s political guru, I am sure that Daniel is taking lessons on how to stay in power forever from his pal Chavez. Incidentally, this is the same little trick that Manuel Zelaya attempted in Honduras, which has thrown that country onto the brink of outright civil war. Of course, Ortega didn’t try to have the restriction removed by constitutional amendment. No, he just had the Supreme Court, which he controls, conveniently “lift” the restriction. He even had the nerve to suggest that what is occurring in Honduras is justification for the move. Is that an example of “tortured logic” or what? Of course, that is what anyone disagreeing with Ortega is faced with the real possibility of…..torture. I found myself asking myself, why, compared to its neighbor Costa Rica, do the people of Nicaragua suffer so much with intense poverty? I was having lunch at the Hotel Alhambra and couldn’t help to notice the children playing in the park, many of whom don’t even have a pair of shoes to wear. I honestly don’t believe the solution to Nicaragua’s problems is more of Daniel Ortega. In fact, right now, Daniel Ortega may be the problem! Eliminating term limits is best reserved for politicians who are more interested in empowering the impoverished than they are in empowering themselves.

Link to Photos of Nicaragua Trip (unfortunately batteries to camera ran out on way to top of Mombacho….bummer!)

Things are actually pretty rosey these days. I am all moved in to my new home. While I did experience a bit of “trepidation” about the move initially, now I’m really loving it. And I got orange and mango trees in my backyard! What is really great is that my office is now separate from the house, even though both are part of the same property. That really helps with the commute, and it is a much saner way of doing it than having a home office. And the sales are really coming in again! All in all, life is good. Well, you know, it ain’t perfect…never is. But I can remember a lot worse! I just wonder what is around the corner to screw it all up. Isn’t that the way it goes….that is, as soon as things appear to be sailing along smoothly, along comes one of those rogue waves called ”circumstances of life” to capsize your boat. Of course, that mode of thinking isn’t going to help much and may actually “attract” what it is that I fear (if you believe in that sort of thing). Nevertheless, I think I’ll just enjoy this smooth ride at least until the gas runs out. Tomorrow I am off to Nicaragua for another one of those infamous “border runs.” Hopefully those will be coming to an end soon, as I expect to have my residency by early next year. I guess you get the drift that I really don’t have much to write about today…..what, Costa Rica Guy is out of opinions? Well, every once and a while I do simply draw a complete blank when I stare at my computer screen trying to concoct Reason # whatever. Life in Costa Rica is good and when it is really good it is great. Right now it is great and I plan to squeeze as much enjoyment out of it as I can. After all, that’s why we are here isn’t it? To enjoy our time and the small space we are privileged to occupy. I am very happy that my space is located in Costa Rica. So to whomever or whatever is out there just waiting to invade it…..dejame en paz por favor!

I often update readers on books that I have read, or am in the process of reading. Recently I have been reading the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. You might remember from statistics class that an “outlier” is a statistical observation that is markedly different in value or position from others in a random sample. In the book, Gladwell’s outliers are those who have achieved what most would consider an extraordinary level of success. The premise is that the reasons behind that success are really quite unconventional. That it is not necessarily due to innate ability or intelligence, but that there are other factors involved. Factors as remarkable as the year in which the person was born, or the vocation of one’s distant ancestors. Gladwell writes about Chris Langan, who many consider one of the smartest people ever (his IQ approaches 200). However, according to Gladwell, Langan’s degree of success is remarkably average. Langan never finished college and spent most of his career as a bar bouncer. He currently owns and operates a ranch, which occupies his time between deciphering equations in pursuit of his “theory of everything.” Gladwell seems to imply that success is measured by things like power, position and possessions. He goes on and on about lawyers such as Skadden Arps’ famed Joe Flom, one of the greatest corporate takeover lawyers in legal history. However, if I had my pick between riding horses on the open range, like Chris Langan, versus riding elevators up and down the skyscrapers of Manhattan, personally I would choose the former. Books like Outliers always make me question exactly how and why I got to where I am. I read a similar book back in my early lawyering days entitled The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray. Herrnstein and Murray tried to explain success in terms of intelligence. Gladwell’s book in many ways refutes Herrnstein’s claims (case in point, Chris Langan). But I believe they both have it wrong. You see, I believe that “success is in the eye of the achiever.” I may not be successful according to the definition of other people. But the definition that really counts is not theirs, but my own. Yes, I could have spent my life chasing conventional success up and down the ladders of corporate America. Instead I headed for the jungle…..not the asphalt jungle, but the verdant jungle-covered mountains of Costa Rica. And I truly believe that I am happier for it. Perhaps even happier than, say, Joe Flom. There was a time when I wanted desperately to be a Joe Flom. Problem is that I was born in the wrong place to the wrong parents, scored the wrong scores on entrance exams and went to the wrong schools to ever hope to be hired into the world of Skadden Arps. I tried to create that world from scratch by starting my own mergers and acquisitions firm, which actually achieved some measure of success (I wrote about that in a Previous Post). But somewhere along the line I had a life-changing revelation. And that was that I should stop measuring success the conventional way. That what really matters is “happiness” and that conventional success rarely imparts that emotion in a sustainable manner. In conclusion, I say that while Gladwell’s book is intriguing, the premise is all wrong because “success” is how you and I define it for ourselves. In that sense the humblest campesino living in the remotest corner of Costa Rica can be every bit as successful as Joe Flom, even more. That is the world I want to live in.

I’m old enough to remember those old Timex commercials. You know the ones featuring various “torture tests” that proved that the Timex could “take a licking and keep on ticking.” I was thinking this morning that, you know, Costa Rica has a similar quality. Since I have been living here I have seen Costa Rica’s resiliency proven time and time again. First there was the aftermath of September 11, 2001, when the whole world suddenly developed a fear of travel. That greatly affected tourism in the country for a short while, but then it came roaring back. This recent economic crisis is another example. Yes the last twelve months have been difficult for all of us, but now the light is beginning to shine again. What is the reason behind Costa Rica’s durability? Well, like the incredible durable Timex watch, Costa Rica offers a great product at the right time and in the right place. The product is Costa Rica’s natural beauty and the outgoing warmth and friendliness of its people. You just can’t find the stunning views and beautiful smiles that you find here anywhere else. The timing of Costa Rica’s rise as a tourism juggernaut coincides with the rise of environmental consciousness around the world. When Al Gore sounded the global warming alarm, suddenly the idea of “going green” became the hottest fashion trend. That trend has only gained momentum and Barack Obama seems dead-set on making sure that the U.S. and the rest of the world really does “go green.” Well Costa Rica recognized the value in doing so long before Gore began to popularize the notion and now is recognized as a world leader in environmental sustainability. The world is looking to Costa Rica to continue this leadership and a vacation here is a prime way to show off one’s “green friendliness.” Finally, Costa Rica is in the right place. Its strategic location, especially for visitors from North America, make it attractive even when the wallets of would-be travelers are a little on the light side. So there you have it….my take on why Costa Rica has weathered these crises like a Timex watch. I don’t foresee anything coming around the corner that might reverse that trend. That’s why I remain bullish on Costa Rica. Costa Rica….it takes a licking but keeps on ticking!

This weekend I visited the area where the 6.2 earthquake occurred earlier this year (January 8th to be exact). Wow it seems like it was longer ago than that! I am talking about Vara Blanca, and specifically, the Peace Lodge. Other than Cinchona, which was virtually wiped off the map and still unreachable, these were the areas hardest hit by the quake. We toured the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, which has always been one of my favorite cloud forest locations in the country. The Peace Lodge (and La Paz Gardens) is another creation of Florida hotelier, Lee Banks (I recently posted about his newest hotel, The Springs Resort and Spa in La Fortuna). The Peace Lodge has historically been a place where we have sent many of our Package Costa Rica customers and 100% of them have found it enchanting (fortunately, we had no one there at the time of the quake). The hotel is still under construction for repairs to damage done by the quake, with about half the rooms open and ready for occupancy. The La Paz Gardens are fully operational and as beautiful as ever. The falls trail, which takes you on a scenic look of the four connecting waterfalls ending with the La Paz fall, did suffer extensive damage and while still beautiful is not quite what it once was. You can no longer get to the point where the bus would take you back up the mountain, so, yes, you have to make the trek back up on foot. Not too strenuous, but those seriously out of shape, or with health problems or disabilities, may be precluded. Golf metaphors aside, what really impressed me about the trip was the amazing amount of “ground under repair.” I am referring to the construction that has been done to clear the roads leading from Vara Blanca to the Peace Lodge and also to Heredia. This was the first time I had seen this area since before the quake. The landscape is still gorgeous, but in many places, it is as if the entire mountain came tumbling down onto the road. And somehow, in what I would consider a relatively short time-frame, they have been able to move that same mountain back into place. This entire area is a real gem and it was very good to see that so much work has been done to restore it. Sometimes, sitting back and reading about government restoration efforts in La Nación, which is often very critical of the Arias administration, you get the idea that they have just forgotten about this area. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I saw literally convoys of earth moving equipment ready for action. And by the looks of the improvements that have already taken place, they have seen plenty action over the last nine months. Hats off once again to Oscar Arias, who has proven time and time again that he is someone who knows how to get things done. We can’t always agree with our leaders and I certainly don’t with Arias. A specific case in point is his granting of “public interest” decrees to allow certain foreign corporations to move forward with projects that could damage the environment. However, when it comes to infrastructure, this guy has made miraculous gains for the country. My prediction is that tourism in the area of the Peace Lodge will come back full force. Obviously, by thy sound of the wailing hammers at the Peace Lodge, Lee Banks thinks so too.

Click Here for Flickr Photo Set

The other day I found out that one of my employees has become interested in the teachings of motivational guru, Anthony Robbins. I dusted off my “Personal Power II” tapes that I purchased back in 1995, when I was about to embark on a major career change, and presented them to him. He, in his early 30’s, asked me, puzzled, if those were actually “cassette tapes?” A lot has taken place in my life since I first listened to those tapes. They did have a profound effect on my actions over the ensuing years. And that is what Robbins is all about….motivating you to take action. But now it seems that the “something magical” that happens when we get off our duffs and take action, really might be “something scientific.” These days whole new theories about how to create the life of your dreams have cropped up that are intertwined with some pretty “weird science.” But that “weird science” consists of cutting edge theories about how the universe operates. I’m speaking of quantum physics…that all matter is made of atoms, that atoms are in essence energy and that energy is made of pure consciousness, or thought. The so-called “law of attraction” is based on the idea that our thoughts create our physical reality. Not just in how they motivate us to take action, which is where Robbins always placed his focus. No, they actually “create” our reality….in other words, we can “think” our desired reality into existence. But if that is true, then why don’t I have everything I want right now? It seems that if you take any desired state of being that is not yet physically present, you can break down the process of bringing it into existence into five components. Those are (1) thought; (2) visualization; (3) action (planning and execution); (4) time; and (5) circumstances. The first three are completely under my dominion and control. The latter two are not. But is that necessarily true? Can we influence time and circumstances? Who or what is in control of those components, or is anyone? If you take as an example, getting into great physical shape, it seems that we can greatly influence time and circumstances. The more we focus our thought, visualization and action towards the goal of physical conditioning, the more we can influence the time interval and circumstances (such as sickness and injury) that could interfere with the accomplishment of the goal. But take another, more complicated, goal, like “success in business.” It seems that the factor that is most “out of our control” are the decisions of potential customers, who have their own thoughts, visualizations and actions geared towards creating their own physical states. According to the new quantum metaphysics and the law of attraction, we may be able to create our desired physical state with thought, but what about all those other thoughts that are trying to create physical states that may be in conflict with ours? Since the physical world we observe seems to be fairly stable, there must be some thoughts that dominate others to the point that their desired state wins? And where does the role of “God’s will” come into play in all of this? Is that another overriding component that I forgot to mention above? Does God just “step aside” and allow dominant thoughts to prevail in creating the universe, or does he play a more active role? I don’t have the answers to any of this, but it is intriguing to think about it.  I need the brain power of a Chris Langan to help me sort out all this “spooky action at a distance.” But it does appear that the more focused our thoughts, visualizations and, ultimately, actions are, the more we are able to influence time and circumstances in bringing about a desired state.

And I saw that all labor and all achievement
spring from man’s envy of his neighbor.
This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:4

I want to be rich! Ever had that thought? I have. But why? The verse above offers up an intriguing and thought provoking explanation. Obviously it is not completely true, because, after all, a man’s gotta eat. But normally we aren’t satisfied with just putting a roof over our heads and bread on the table, now are we? We want more than that, much more. We want “the good life.” And that life is usually defined by how many possessions we are able to accumulate. Proof of capitalistic success is always measured in this way. And since the measuring rod is accumulation and consumption, we strive to do so at ever increasing levels. Enough is never enough. Greed becomes good. Envy becomes a positive motivational force. And all that whipped up into a frenzy becomes, as I am fond of saying, “capitalism run amok.” Nowhere in my bible is envy considered a virtue and I don’t believe the verse above signifies that envy is “proper motivation.” Another word for envy is “covetousness.” Exodus 20:17 states that “you shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” That happens to be the 10th commandment. Hmmm, let’s evaluate this for a moment. Solomon says that “all achievement” (which I really take to mean a “lust” for achievement and more possessions than one really needs) is motivated by envy, or covetousness. The 10th commandment forbids covetousness. Does that mean that the very root of capitalistic excess is contrary to God’s will? The paradox is that in the U.S. we often equate ”unrestrained” capitalism with freedom. We describe ourselves as the model of a free capitalistic society. Any idea, political view, or policy initiative that imposes even the slightest constraint on our capitalistic freedoms is quickly branded as socialism and its proponent as an enemy to our capitalistic way of life. But freedom always carries with it responsibility. Is “capitalism run amok” responsible? I don’t think so. I think it is driven exactly as Solomon describes in Ecclesiastes. I think it is motivated by the covetousness expressly forbidden in the 10 commandments. And where has it taken us? To the brink of ruin. Now is a great time of examination. Now is a great time for us to step back as a society and take a hard look at who we have become. Now is a great time to exchange the capitalism run amok that has gotten our society into quite a mess for a different more compassionate brand. One that cherishes freedom, but also recognizes the responsibility it carries. One that recognizes when enough is enough. One that recognizes that the blessings we enjoy should be shared, should be “spread.” One that is less concerned with protection (or, better, propulsion) of private property and more concerned with promotion of public prosperity.

Can you believe those Norwegian nut-cases? How can they award the Nobel Peace Prize to a sorry no-count good-for-nothing loser like Barack HUSSEIN Obama? I mean what has he done to deserve a prize from a cracker-jack box, much less the Nobel Prize? I’m just downright “et-up” about it! They’d just as well given the damn prize to my dog Cash….he don’t bite! And that humble and contrite speech he gave about “not deserving it” and that this was his “call to action” was completely insincere. You know in the back of his mind he was telling Rush Limbaugh to “roll that and smoke it….fat boy!” It just ain’t right. Okay, okay, give me a moment and let me remove the tongue lodged deeply in my cheek. Maybe Obama hasn’t achieved any great peace accords, gone on hunger strikes, been politically imprisoned, or the whole host of other great sacrifices and accomplishments of past winners. But he has done this….he has put the U.S. back into a position where “most” of the rest of the world at least doesn’t hate our guts! That’s kind of important seeing how we have to share space with them. Bush was able to get almost the entire world to hate the U.S. in eight years. Obama has reversed that in 8 months. Does that mean he deserves the prize? I don’t know, but it is an accomplishment. The fact that he did win it at least sends a positive signal. A signal that the world is changing its opinion about the U.S. Maybe that doesn’t matter much to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck, but it should matter to anyone who would like to travel outside U.S. borders and not get treated like a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. 9-11 was proof that we have made some pretty serious enemies in this world. The U.S. responses to that incident, while maybe justified, only heightened the hatred that was already fomenting. Obama has a chance to turn that around and he has made a pretty good start. Give him three more years and he might just end up deserving the prize after all. So my message to those out there suffering from OTS (Obama Trauma Syndrome) is “get a grip.” I know all this is hard to fathom, but pinch yourself….it’s not a nightmare. Obama is president and now he is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Face it. The world likes him….even if you don’t.