Brooks - The Second Mountain

David Brooks writes for the New York Times and works with the Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project. The second mountain: The quest for a moral life (Brooks, 2019) reads more like a personal memoir and recounts his struggle with finding meaning after a period of awakening brought on by divorce.

The second mountain metaphor is based on the idea that in the early years of adult life, many of us climb a first mountain of achievement. In the ascent to the top of the first mountain or once it is conquered, we are either awakened to the reality that the pinnacle is unfulfilling or we are crushed by not achieving what we thought was so important. The result of this awakening or failure can be the same – we return to the valley where our motivations for the second mountain shift from being self-centered to other-centered. The essential difference is that the first mountain is about acquisition and the second is about contribution.

The first mountain, which Brooks asserts is hyper-individualistic, “has led to a society where people live further and further apart from one another – socially, emotionally, even physically” (Kindle Locator 876). This hyper-individualism has spawned several critical problems; a loneliness crisis, distrust, a crisis of meaning, tribalism, and suffering. Rather than shrink from the tragedy of the first mountain, Brooks proposes that, in this moment of suffering, we should pick ourselves up by turning to others for help. The valley after the first mountain offers a wilderness in which we are able to discover our heart and soul by connecting with and serving others.

Brooks proposes that those exploring the second mountain have made a commitment to one or all of: a vocation, a spouse and family, a philosophy of faith, and/or a community. According to Brooks, character is formed from emerging commitments – “If you want to inculcate character in someone else, teach them how to form commitments – temporary ones in childhood, provisional ones in youth, permanent ones in adulthood” (Loc 1316).

He describes the “summons to vocation” as a “very holy thing… like a call from deep to deep” (Loc 1795). In relation to life partners, Brooks suggests that “Passion peaks among the young, but marriage is the thing that peaks in old age” (Loc 2479) and involves deriving true joy from each other’s accomplishments. After a chapter calling out the shortcomings of higher education in preparing students to face the ultimate existential questions of living, he cited Victor Frankl’s argument that “human beings’ primary motive is not for money or even happiness, but for meaning” (Loc 3488). The search for meaning for Brooks was navigated through his search for faith. The faith that came to him, Christianity, included a loss of inhibition, or unshackling, and giving of himself to mercy and perfect love (he notes these as similar to C.S. Lewis’ ideas). Brooks describes community as focused on the collective, the neighborhood together that replaces distance with intimacy and connection. Utilizing the four dimensions of framing, narrative, identity, and behavior, community can be woven by the mutual commitment of its members.

Brooks provides considerable detail on the four commitments, including examples from his life and others. The shift in perspective from the individual to the relational is central to all four. And he also says that abandoning expectations of reward is key in an era where capitalism and presumed meritocracy so heavily dominate the self-interested pursuit of money, status, and power. 

In his conclusion, Brooks proposed “The Relationalist Manifesto” that among numerous other points rejects hyper-individualism, embraces the web of connections among us all, moves self to service, embraces humanity as both broken and whole, and assumes personal and social transformation happen simultaneously.

Brooks’ book raised a number of questions for me. First off, he assumes that everyone is motivated by the climb of the first mountain of acquisition, self-interest, and individualistic achievement. There is lots of evidence that Brooks is telling the story of the stereotypical western white male. Many men and certainly women and people from other cultures may never have embraced this type of individualism. Second, he attributes today’s expressive individualism to the lifestyle advocated in the 1960s when so many norms of previous eras were challenged by the youth of the day. Brooks says that the right-wing version of this advocates unregulated economic competition and the left-wing expression of it advocates unregulated social and personal lifestyle. I’m not sure that either the economic realists or social idealists of the 1960s would embrace Brooks’ descriptions.

Summatively, reading Brooks’ ideas triggered some reflection on purpose and the transformation to deeper commitments in life. However, his lack of embracing world perspectives outside his own and the platitudes that were so often posed as substance left me yearning for greater depth. Perhaps seeking greater depth is just the work each of us has to do through our own lenses, experiences, and striving.

Living with Prostate Cancer

Why a post about “Living with Prostate Cancer?” Because maintaining health and long life require honesty and transparency so that all men and women have access to helpful information. Offering one’s perspective might help others by breaking the silence about something that can be life threatening. I consider this to be a form of leadership – at least by offering opinion and role modeling about what we can all do to remain healthy.

The last almost six months has been a roller coaster beginning with my annual physical and progressing through numerous diagnostic steps to determine that I have prostate cancer, surgery/recovery, and now settling into selecting treatment options that will deter the cancer from returning. I have shared this journey with Diane, our daughters, and select friends who we thought might be able to help us cope with and navigate a way forward.

I am sharing now more publicly to reinforce the importance of September 2019 as the U.S.A. National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. This month is important because too many men put themselves at risk by not doing annual check-ups, by not insisting on PSA tests (for anyone 55+ and even younger if there is family history), and by being complacent about prostate cancer treatment. The problem is that 1 in 9 men will have prostate cancer in their lifetime with many living their lives after diagnosis with either “wait to see” or minimally invasive treatment. A common folklore statement is, “most men die with prostate cancer but few die from it.” I’m here to debunk the complacency and urge men 55 and older, their partners, loved ones, and acquaintances to take prostate cancer seriously.

This is a long post and you may want to navigate to the topics that are of greater interest to you. The broad topics include; prevention through healthy living, anyone can get a surprise, determining how serious your case is, controlling the panic, treatment choices and combinations, radiation therapy and moving on, living with prostate cancer, and general concerns about medical policy and practice.

Prevention through healthy living

My lifestyle has included normal weight, eating healthy, exercising every day, and for the most part being a picture of health throughout my youth and adult years. I am 70+ and schedule my annual physical on a routine basis. I assumed I would hear nothing new during one of my check-ups; I had no symptoms of anything other than pesky arthritis to bring to my physician’s attention. To my surprise, I was informed that my PSA had risen to a level of concern for my primary physician; it was 6.6, which is just barely over the line from the normal range. After my physician checked my family history (my oldest brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer in his mid-70s), he decided that referral to an urologist was in order.

Anyone can get a surprise

The urologist conducted the routine examination and found nothing but, again, said that based on the slight rise in PSA and family history, I should do a biopsy. I won’t go into the details of what a prostate biopsy involves but rest assured, it isn’t the most fun I’d had. I was told that the urologist would get back to me on results in about a week. Instead, I was informed by telephone only four days after the biopsy that prostate cancer had been confirmed, that it was a particularly aggressive type that was likely to spread, and that the first step was to see where the prostate cancer might have already gone - thus a full-body bone scan. Immediately after that, abdomen/pelvis and chest scans were also ordered. I was referred to a surgeon for consultation on what options I might consider in dealing with my diagnosis. I was in shock and panicked and requested that my primary physician refer me to a general oncologist for a second opinion.

Determining how serious your case is and determining a course of treatment

Once I passed through the denial phase of “this can’t be happening to me,” I started to reach out to find resources – family, friends, web-based support groups, and research that would help me determine how bad things really were. I found that the prognosis for men with the type of cancer I had was not good. The biopsy included samples from my prostate rated at Gleason 8 and 9, coming close to the highest and most dangerous ratings. But my PSA had never been that high, I had no symptoms, and I couldn’t imagine being under threat of serious illness.

Ultimately, I determined that my case had the potential to be very serious, including the possibility of metastasis elsewhere in my body and/or recurrence within 3-5 years after any treatment. I knew that the threat was real and I desperately wanted to move forward with treatment and I wanted to protect my loved ones from the fallout of what was happening. I had to accept the reality of prostate cancer that would be part of my life from here on (although prostate cancer can be controlled, at present there is no cure for it) and I had to accept that considerations about treatment needed to be more invasive in order to have the peace of mind that I was doing all I could to address my cancer.

Controlling the panic

I sought a lot of information, journaling every day about what I had discovered, recording my weight and assessing my pain and emotional status as I went along. Gradually I was able to seek information that informed and helped me, reducing my inclination to overreact to everything I heard or read. The first weeks were extremely difficult and support from my wife and a couple of close friends were my lifeline. One particular night I was so distressed that the only thing that allowed me to sleep was my wife wrapping her arms around me in bed and holding me tight until I could fall asleep. My best friend in high school had been very public about his previous diagnosis with prostate cancer so, although we had not been in touch for many years, I reached out to him.

My friend provided basic information for me, recognizing that all cases are somewhat unique. But, most of all he reassured me that this early phase after diagnosis is the worst – the questions, fear, and sorrow were overwhelming. My friend said that this was natural and that I should work to educate myself and that I should trust that the medical staff who were treating me knew what they were doing and would work diligently to help me. In addition to this reassurance and the research I was doing, the physician to whom I was referred for a second opinion immediately recognized my panic and affirmed that my fear was only natural. He also offered additional objective information about my case that helped me see my diagnosis in context.

Treatment choices and combinations

Treatment choices for men diagnosed with prostate cancer vary widely. The individual variables considered include age at onset, the size of the cancer tumor and its location, the aggressiveness of the cancer itself (measured by Gleason score or Grade designation), and the potential for metastasis. At the low end of the spectrum oncologists may recommend a “wait and watch” approach to see if the prostate cancer grows or spreads (measured by changes in PSA). Mid-range recommendations include radiation and/or hormone therapy. The more serious cases result in a recommendation for more invasive radiation therapy and/or surgical removal of the prostate (radical prostatectomy). The most serious cases where the prostate cancer has spread beyond the prostate are likely to require a combination of the previous treatments plus chemotherapy to address the cancer throughout the body.

Ultimately, based on the risk of my particular type of prostate cancer, I couldn’t act fast enough to take the most decisive action possible – radical prostatectomy. Had I chosen radiation as an alternative, it would have been more difficult to determine the actual pathology of the cancer and therefore more difficult to settle on the best treatment. The surgery was done robotically which is a much less invasive procedure than open surgery. The surgery itself was four hours long and considered major surgery. The pain immediately after the surgery was tough but it was adequately managed during my two and a half day stay at the hospital. I went home with meds that helped me through the next couple of weeks but by week three, I was down to one Tylenol per day. By the fifth week after surgery, I was exercising regularly, returned to normal diet, and pretty much returned to my previous routine.

The lab pathology of my prostate revealed both a little bad news and more good news. The bad news was that the Gleason rating was overall rated at 8, which is high. In addition, the cancer had invaded the seminal vesicle, qualifying the cancer as Stage 3 (T3b classification), which was a very scary thing to here. On the positive side, the cancer had not penetrated to the margins of the prostate, there was no tumor, and cancer cells were found in only 5% of the prostate. These characteristics paint a picture of a potentially very dangerous form of cancer that we had detected very early, thus not allowing it to spread beyond the prostate and seminal vesicle. Beyond the pathology report from surgery, additional genetic testing caused my doctor to recommend follow-up radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancer cells that might remain in the local area of the prostate. This type of follow-up treatment does not usually begin until at least three months after surgery and so a period of waiting and anticipation ensued.

Radiation therapy and moving on

The radiation oncologist with whom I worked started our first appointment by saying, “You had a very good surgeon and our hope is that your cancer is cured. However, because of the adverse features of your pathology analysis, further treatment is recommended.” The encouragement and candor were both appreciated. My surgical oncologist gave me a Lupon injection (hormone therapy to suppress testosterone production) to prepare me for radiation therapy and I started treatment in December. Radiation therapy requires exact imaging of the prostate and pelvic area so that the radiation can be targeted in ways to avoid side effects that can be either temporary or long term.

I was so fortunate to have a radiation therapy center within five minutes of our home. Therefore, all I had to do was get up, observe a constant routine of preparation, and then run to my morning treatment thirty-eight times - weekends were off. The picture here is of "Robby" who was the robot who delivered the radiation therapy. Patients are in the room with the robot and technicians guide the process from a separate room where they look at scan images and match them to the doses. In the lower center of the robot is a carbon slab which extends out and this is where I would lie. The big part at the top is what emits the radiation. The entire robot rotates around the extended carbon slab so that the dose can be delivered with precision and consistency.

The hormone therapy and radiation therapy experience had a couple of side-effects that ended up being very manageable. The main issue was that my energy level would sag, especially as we got into the advanced stages of the treatment. The hormone therapy caused "hot flashes" like women experience in menopause so this was a great empathy exercise for me - annoying but tolerable. I finished treatment at the end of January 2020, almost ten months after starting this journey with prostate cancer. Follow-up appointments and PSA testing occurred in March and June to determine if radiation therapy and hormone therapy was successful. The results for both were very low and hopefully indicate that spread or long-term problems are unlikely.

I provide these details (and there are more) in order to call attention to a key issue related to prostate cancer – it is a very individualized disease and treatment must be done in very personalized and targeted ways. And, it's important to stay fully aware of everything involved - physical condition, emotional status, financial management, and relationships. Not to draw attention to myself, but I received the certificate to the left on my last day of radiation therapy. It means the world to me that those caring for me recognized the journey and congratulated me on the completion of this stage.

Living with prostate cancer

My journey with prostate cancer has been a real awakening. At my age, health problems emerge and I’m lucky that I’ve had so few problems in my life thus far. I’ve found so many helpful medical professionals who have been gracious, patient, and caring and I’ve enjoyed engaging with them and working to remain humane and loving toward them. The response has been amazing in almost all cases. I also now appreciate everything more – my wife, family, faith, music, and every little encounter that allows me to affirm another human being. Living with the knowledge that there is a disease inside me causes me to appreciate everything more. My hope after the next step in my treatment is to come back to pre-cancer living but I know that I will always be watching over my shoulder and hoping that doctors’ appointments and tests will confirm that the prostate cancer does not come back. I can’t control what will happen and I have accepted that. I will live to the fullest and appreciate every moment all the more!

Prostate came back in 2025

It has been a long time since I reviewed this post but the return of prostate cancer in my life came during the winter of 2025. My PSA had been rising every so slightly, however, when it crested .50, my original doctor referred me for a PSMA. The PSMA wasn't available when I was first diagnosed and now is available in the U.S.A. as a way of finding how widespread cancer is in your body and exactly where it is. Similar to my original diagnosis in 2019, prostate cancer was found but only in very small spots on my lymph nodes in the pelvic area. This finding officially placed me in the category of having metastatic prostate cancer at the regional level. I was very fortunate to have the PSMA and to know exactly how much and where and I took action from there.

Now qualifying as an advanced prostate cancer patient, I looked up the possibilities for a 2nd opinion and found that the University of Chicago had a center that focused on advanced and high risk prostate cancer.  I was very impressed by the consult and ultimately determined to move from my original doctor to a care team at UChicago. My care team includes the co-director of the center, a nurse practitioner, pharmacist, radiation oncologist, and other support personnel. The treatment plan is a combination of testosterone suppression (to eliminate testosterone as the pathway to spreading the cancer), daily immunotherapy, and radiation therapy of the target pelvic area for 20 consecutive days.

The prognosis for me is good, as far as I can tell. The outcome is a 50/50 chance between 1) complete elimination of the cancer versus 2) control of the cancer for some period of months or even years. If control is the outcome and my PSA rises again in the future, I will come back for diagnosis and a new treatment plan. The really good part of this is that prostate cancer research continues to push forward and, should I have another recurrence, I am likely to have even more options than I have now. I am doing everything I can to support my therapy, including more intentional diet, more exercise, and staying active and engaged.

The return of prostate cancer as a concern in my life is not pleasant. I have a lot of anxiety about it and spend a lot of my days reflecting, checking messages, and making plans for treatment. I have only told my family and very close friends about my diagnosis and treatment because I am not my disease. I don't want to be asked about it, or have sympathy expressed by people trying to be consoling but often saying things that are actually traumatizing. Prostate cancer is only a part of me and I intend to manage it as best I can.

We need a commitment to health, not sickness in the U.S.A.

An urgent realization I’ve come to in this process is that our sickness industry (forget calling what we have in the U.S.A. as “health”) is broken! Because I carry lots of privilege as a white male with advanced education, I have numerous resources and the basic literacy to negotiate for my health. This is not the case for everyone! Our insurance company has bungled multiple issues, has billed us for thousands of dollars in error, and has generally made our lives unpredictable and miserable while we’ve tried to manage the emotional impact of this disease. 

In addition to the bungling and bureaucratization of the insurance industry, there are amazing public policies in place today that make no sense. One example is that the Veterans’ Administration will not treat veterans with prostate cancer over 70. This is based on the presumption that prostate cancer progresses slowly enough that it will not be life threatening to veterans who are diagnosed with it. Another example is related to PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) testing; because the average age of onset of prostate cancer is 65, some physicians believe that PSA tests are only necessary from age 60 to 70. This is insane because men with family history may have prostate cancer far before age 60 and men over 70 (myself included) need to be diagnosed before symptoms are present, especially in cases of aggressive cancer. These examples simply scratch the surface of what’s not working and activism is the only thing that will bring about change.

The U.S.A. must begin to own the fact that it does not support health, even though there are numerous wonderful medical professionals who care deeply and want to help. Medical professionals struggle every day to provide the care that we need but they fight the insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies all the way. THIS MUST CHANGE! This is a travesty that needs to be addressed and the current political environment in the U.S.A. is standing in the way of change rather than helping citizens acquire the medical care that we each deserve as a basic human right.

Willliams - Plato III: All that Matters

My family recently had dinner with a former student from Miami University who is now married and lives in Chicago. Her husband’s father is Ieuan Williams, author of All That Matters: PLATO III (2013). As I was leaving dinner, I was offered a copy of the book and invited to meet Williams when he visits the U.S.A. later this year.

The book (only 150 pages) offered a tight overview of Plato’s views and their relevance to the modern day. Most of those who have bachelor’s degrees have some familiarity with Plato but it was very useful to have the core of his philosophy boiled down to essential points. Plato’s view of the world derived from his mentor, Socrates. Concerns about the state of Athens and the growing influence of money, greater inequality and unfairness, compelled Socrates to challenge his fellow citizens, a challenge which resulted in his being sentenced to death, a sentence he enforced upon himself by taking hemlock. Much of Plato’s early writing reflected on Socrates’ teaching and life.

Socrates was dedicated to learning and believed that it was critical for citizens to give up confusing or false ideas, thereby contributing to a better life for the individual and broader community. The essence of this view was that all wisdom amounted to one central assumption – ‘that I do not think that I know what I do not know’ (p. 14). The problem of knowing what we do not know was and continues to be complicated. Plato believed that the Sophists of ancient Athens muddied our understanding by relying on oratory, a process of investigating the relationship between language and speakers. By contrast, Plato believed that seeking understanding should focus on the relationship between language and the real world in which we live. Oratory, as practiced in ancient Athens, often resulted in injustice and unhappiness due to the selfish pursuit of benefit for those able to persuade others. Another important point Plato asserted was that to improve the quality of thinking, information (disputable, practical, and transient) needed to be distinguished from knowledge (real, permanent, and true). And, because of the close associations among human beings, the condition of individual souls is inextricably linked to the “moral, cultural and political ethos of the society” (p. 62).

Plato believed in the creation of a just society where all citizens dedicated themselves to pursuing the single purpose for which they were most suited. Again, the importance of education (and knowledge acquisition) was reiterated. “Plato’s theory is this: education can only succeed in fostering good citizenship, and thus promote a just society, by bringing about moral unity and order in individual souls, and it can only do this by ensuring that the virtues of moderation, courage, and wisdom, in both the soul and the state, prevail over the vices of excess cowardice and folly” (p. 86). Williams recognized that some criticize Plato for advocating a hierarchical and rigid society where individuals are directed into niche roles, educated to perform the role, and possess little awareness of the needs and contributions of others. In response, Williams proposed that individual citizens perform their roles, engage in real community discourse and rely on “public servants” as experts in community governance. Indeed, Plato asserted in The Republicthat these “public servants” should have no family, receive no salary, and would thereby be separated from any special interest that might contaminate their commitment to serving others. 

Williams’ summary of Plato provided an important grounding in philosophy, a discipline that is essential for the discernment of wisdom that serves the greater good of all. Especially in an era of human striving where acquisition of wealth has become preeminent and where the neglect of justice for all has become commonplace, Plato’s core views have stood the course of time. In ancient Athens as well as today, Plato would have advised that, “the economic life of a society can and ought to be made subject to human decision and control and should be made to work for justice rather than for feeding the avarice of private individuals and institutions” (p. 26).

Suchet - Beethoven: The Man Revealed

Beethoven is recognized as one of the great, if not the greatest, composers of all time. He was prolific and his compositions span a mind-boggling array of styles and forms. He is typically portrayed as a troubled, enigmatic genius, and this view of him is reinforced by John Suchet in Beethoven: The Man Revealed (2012). However, Suchet adds a more personal dimension to Beethoven that stirs empathy and compassion for a man whose life experiences were challenging. He was a survivor and persevered against incredible obstacles and the difficulty of his life likely contributed much to the great art he contributed to humanity.

This book isn’t a definitive biography. In fact, Suchet frequently notes other researchers and authors who have documented Beethoven’s life. What the book does is provide a chronology of Beethoven’s life and the personal context behind many of his compositions. Although never married, Suchet recounts relationships Beethoven had with women he hoped to marry and he quotes from correspondence back and forth with those who were the object of his affection. Because he never married, he had no children of his own but more or less forced himself into the life of his deceased brother’s son, Karl. Beethoven was deeply dedicated to Karl’s care and sought to disallow any contact with Karl’s natural mother because Beethoven believed she was unfit to parent him.

One of Beethoven’s most notable works is the Symphony #9, a monumental work in symphonic form but concluding with solo voices and chorus. The description of the conclusion of the first full performance of the ninth conveyed by Suchet sent chills down my spine as I read:

            The bass singer was soon on his feet, and the words ‘O Freunde, nicht diese Tone!’ rang out over the audience.

            Umlauf (a conductor assisting Beethoven due to his complete deafness), knowing now he and the musicians were creating something extraordinary, drove the pace on, players and singers performing as if somehow knowing this was a defining moment in the history of music.

            Suddenly, it all stops, total silence. A small beat on bass drum and deep wind. Syncopated dotted rhythm. Martial music. Tenor summons all forces.

            In unison, in harmony, faultlessly, the music drives to its conclusion. Umlauf held it all perfectly together, singers, chorus and orchestra giving the performance of their lives.

            Again, just before the end, a tremendous slowing down, almost to a stop, before full forces drive to the final flourish.

            Umlauf brought his arms down for the final great chord. It was over. The audience erupted, rose to their feet, cheered and shouted, handkerchiefs and hats waved in the air. Beethoven! Beethoven! Beethoven! 

            Umlauf looked to his side. Beethoven, oblivious to what was happening, continued to wave his arms, conducting the orchestra he was hearing in his head. Karoline Unger, the contralto who had so berated him in rehearsal, stepped forward. Gently she touched Beethoven on the shoulder, nodded encouragingly at the bewildered face, and turned him to face the cheering audience.

            At that moment Beethoven knew the gift he had given to the world.

After a lengthy decline in his health, Beethoven died on March 23, 1827. After signing his will which would leave all that he had to nephew Karl, Beethoven turned to the small group gathered around him and said, “Plaudite, amici, comedia finite est” which means “Applaud, my friends, the comedy is over.” Irony and humor at the end of a tumultuous, brilliant, and difficult life…

Hopcke - There Are No Accidents in Love and Relationships

I picked up Hopcke’s book, There are No Accidents In Love and Relationships (2018), because Nancy Schlossberg recommended it in her book that I recently reviewed. Hopcke noted the origin of the way he views synchronicity as coming from Carl Jung’s Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle (1950). Many stories are woven throughout Hopcke’s book, including clients with whom he worked in counseling and his own life experience.

Jung and Hopcke view synchronicity as a principle of psychological connection. Synchronicity occurs when we strive to connect our unconscious and conscious lives, when our present informs our future, and when our deepest internal reflections reach up and out to bond with others. Deeper awareness of our present circumstances then surfaces the opportunity to connect with family and loved ones at a deeper level, and by doing this we discover the ways our experiences relate and mirror those who are closest to us. Four important aspects of synchronistic experiences include acausality, emotional impact, symbolic nature, and transitional times around which synchronistic occurrences tend to cluster (locator 294 in Kindle version). In simplest terms, synchronistic events are coincidences that are beyond the ordinary and therefore have a dimension of subjective meaningfulness to those involved.

Some may describe synchronous experiences as uncanny. What is meant by this is that the event brings to our awareness something that we may have already known unconsciously. Two examples in my life occurred in anticipation of job changes that I would eventually make; in both cases I spoke with colleagues who could not have known, and I myself did not know, that I would be drawn to a job change. Yet, the conversations seemed to anticipate rather dramatic changes in my career. Hopcke indicated that uncanny circumstances occur more often among family and I have found this as well.

One of the possibilities that captivated me about synchronicity is that being more aware of our experiences opens a window to a larger self, one previously hidden as a result of inattention or unconsciousness. This larger self emerges unintentionally, without really trying, and offers the possibility of achieving a “Supra-ordinate Self, as Jung put it, that capacity for wholeness – to see how all is connected in the universe around us and to see how we ourselves fit into that infinity of completion” (locator 849 in Kindle version). Hopcke noted that this fuller self and resulting deeper meaning in life often occurs during times of transition and may occur “when we are pulling away from one way of being and have not yet found our way forward to the next” (locator 2158 in Kindle version).

Reading There are no accidents in love and relationships felt somewhat like reading a memoir but in other cases it felt like a psychology textbook. The essential message, whether personal or intellectual, is that striving to be more aware, watching for connections, and seeking meaning in life’s experiences deepens our life’s work and is likely to foster more meaningfully relationships with others.

Schlossberg - To Young to Be Old

Nancy Schlossberg is a former colleague from University of Maryland days and it was exciting to see that she was still writing at age 90 and still pushing the envelop on ideas that are helpful in negotiating life transitions. The essence of her book, Too Young to Be Old (2017), is that we should move from a deficit perspective of all that is going wrong for us as we age to “positive aging” perspective.

Research has found that many people actually become happier as they age. One’s emotional state, life circumstances, and intentional activity impact this sense of happiness. But the bottom line is that we can’t control the ups and downs we will face but we can control the way we deal with it, and our resilience in coping with it.

Managing change and transition is key to cultivating resilience and Schlossberg has literally researched and written about every generation from adolescents through seniors in this area. Without understanding the changes we face and without the ability to know how to manage them, we are all vulnerable. She found three key factors that impact the outcome of any given transition; the degree of change we face (they can be major or minor), the timing of the transition (they can be on, off, out-of-time, or nonevents in relation to what is typical), and the transition process itself  (preparedness and supports available during the transition). These dynamics are explained in greater detail in Chapter 3 but four questions that are relevant in assessing the challenges we face are: 1) Can I change the situation? 2) Can I change the meaning of the situation? 3) Can I relax? 4) Or should I do nothing?

Specific to retirement, Schlossberg indicates that there are six major paths which are followed; continuers who modify but continue down the same path, adventurers who pursue unrealized dreams, easy gliders who just back off and relax, involved spectators who still engage in their previous work, searchers who are still looking for their niche, and retreaters who disengage or just become couch potatoes. Although there are some value loadings to these different approaches, what is important is being intentional about the type of retirement one seeks, where it will take place, and the social supports available in the retirement setting.

Individual experiences vary so much across the aging spectrum when it comes to health and that makes it one of the most complicated aspects of aging. Positive aging can be achieved here by taking charge of our perceptions of the health challenges we face and then examining and mobilizing the resources to help us cope.  Schlossberg notes several poignant examples, including the loss of her husband and facing debilitating physical problems herself at the same time. The keys of perception and marshaling resources were essential in all these examples.

Schlossberg concludes with a familiar reminder – how important it is to maintain old, reach out to new, and to welcome the transition of key friendships as we age. Acquaintances can fall into intimate (family, life-long colleagues), associates and neighbors, and institutional support systems. Although the weight of each is different, each level is important to maintaining a sense that we matter to someone else, that we love and are loved, and that we are appreciated. And, beyond the relationships, it’s important to have something to hope for and that has meaning for us and gives our lives purpose.

Reich - The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel

I’m always looking for hope so the title of Howard Reich’s book, The Art of Inventing Hope (2019), was a natural for me. The added bonus in the second part of the title was that this book comes from conversations with one of the world’s most revered holocaust survivors, Elie Wiesel.

Reich’s book is about the children of holocaust survivors and the burden of responsibility they shoulder for hearing their parents’ stories of inhumanity and brutality. It is also about making sure that those stories are not lost. Reich discerned through his interactions with Wiesel that children of survivors, himself included, have an important responsibility to remember what happened, how it happened, and guard against such atrocities ever taking place again.

Howard Reich has been an arts reviewer for the Chicago Tribune and grew up in Skokie, Illinois, a community literally blocks away from my current home. Both Reich’s parents were survivors but he knew little of their story because neither wanted to revisit the horror of their experience; they had come to America and to Skokie after WWII to begin again and they didn’t want their children to be captive to the story of their survival. Fate resulted in Reich being asked to interview Elie Wiesel at Symphony Center in Chicago, which led to a series of long meetings that drove Reich deeper into his own family’s story and created a lasting relationship between the two men.

Although Skokie was a growing suburb in the 1950s that welcomed Jewish families and provided synagogues for worship, Reich was told to not reveal that he was Jewish unless he knew he was absolutely safe in doing so. Regardless of the secrecy about being Jewish, Skokie became one of the most prominent areas in the U.S.A. for Jewish immigrants to settle. Skokie drew national attention when neo-Nazi Frank Collin threatened to stage a Nazi march in its streets, an issue that terrified the Jewish residents in the community. Ultimately the question of the neo-Nazi march turned into one of contested First Amendment (U.S. Constitutions) rights. While Jewish citizens support open speech and journalism as a general matter of principle, Skokie village attorney Harvey Schwartz captured the sentiments of many who experienced the threat of active neo-Nazi presence by saying, “What I realized at that moment was that what we were facing had nothing to do with the First Amendment. When someone wants to come marching into your town, with the announced intention to kill you, there was hardly anything left to discuss” (p. 6).

“If you are a child of a survivor, the story is always there with you, whether you recognize it or not, acknowledge it or not, discuss it or not” (p. 19). The shadow of the holocaust changed the survivors so dramatically that their world view, their habits, and relationships are all influenced in ways that cause their children to be almost as traumatized as the survivors themselves. It is this burden that calls the children of survivors to probe more deeply and to learn so that they can tell the stories that their parents dared not tell. Instead of living from the emptiness of lost grandparents and aunts/uncles to Hitler’s genocide, Wiesel contended that the next generation, the children of survivors, have to turn their parents’ tragedies into something positive – a love of humanity not to be wasted but to be used in “helping others, understanding others, living with others” (p. 46). This is one of the primary ways that hope in the future is invented, regardless of the atrocities that still take place around the world today.

Reich shared many stories of his interactions with Wiesel, including numerous quotes that stand as a testament to hope. Indeed, Wiesel and other survivors overcame unjustified and vicious bigotry by answering barbarity with civility, renouncing revenge in favor of advocating for fairness and justice for all. In the United Nations’ special session on January 24, 2005, marking sixty years since the Nazi death camps, Wiesel said “The Jewish witness speaks of his people’s suffering as a warning” (p. 108), which calls for an active pessimism “Not to give up. Because of genocide, you must do more, you must work harder.”

Bahcall - Loonshots - How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries

Safi Bahcall’s Loonshots (2019) is a must read for anyone who values creativity and innovation. Bahcall utilizes a variety of historic and contemporary examples as well as disciplines to explore why creativity and innovation thrive in certain individual and group situations. Although he deals with a number of very scientifically based ideas, his writing is infinitely understandable and a pleasure to read.

The name Loonshots refers to “widely dismissed ideas whose champions are written off as crazy” (Bahcall, p. 2). “Being good at nurturing loonshots is a phase of human organization, in the same way that being liquid is a phase of matter” (p.12). What is most important is that phase transitions occur when competing forces are simultaneously being driven apart and drawn together. Maintaining the tension of competing forces, affirming the value that each contributes, results in heightened commitment and performance within an organization. The early phase of creative organizational life usually involves smaller numbers of people who maintain a shared view of what they are attempting to accomplish – all are committed to an outcome that transcends any particular individual or group. The problem is that, once success is achieved and “teams and companies grow larger, the stakes in outcome decrease while the perks of rank increase” (p. 13).

Bahcall differentiates two broad categories of organization performance – franchises and loonshots. Franchises are important and helpful ideas that spin out of previous processes or products. By contrast, when loonshots are successful, they change the world. An organization that can only produce franchise initiatives will lack innovation potential but can be a solid, average performer in its niche. The organization that focuses exclusively on loonshots will produce an occasional brilliant breakthrough, lots of failures, and will ultimately be unsustainable. The key then is to establish structure and cultivate culture that maintains both franchise and loonshot capability, which he calls phase separation. Once these two phases exist, the leadership challenge is to see that the two do not undermine or overwhelm each other, a state he calls dynamic equilibrium.

Phase separation is critical because “People responsible for developing high risk, early-stage ideas (call them ‘artists’) need to be sheltered from the ‘soldiers’ responsible for the already-successful, steady-growth part of an organization” (p. 38). Bahcall singles out current efficiency systems such as Six Sigma or TQM as being particularly destructive to innovators; phase separation protects creatives from attack by bureaucratic measures such as these. Loonshots are also of two types – P-type which are “There’s no way that could every work” ideas and S-type which are “There’s no way that could ever make money” (p. 66) ideas. Creative and entrepreneurial types need to be skilled at both types of loonshots. In the mid-20th century airline industry, Pan-American Airlines sought to innovate through launching new aircraft (i.e. jet engines) which was an example of a P-type loonshot while American Airlines eclipsed Pan-Am through innovative tracking and booking strategies, an example of a S-type loonshot. The Pan-Am example demonstrated how P-type loonshots can result in tunnel vision focused on innovation itself without the grounded realization that the innovation has to create a sustainable economic outcome (S-type loonshot).

Organizations that strive to create breakthrough ideas are plagued by two problems – one is the complacency of success and the second is that, with success, organizations increase in size and complexity and are overtaken by the growing focus of employees on advancement of their careers. One hundred fifty staff is the number that is most commonly identified as the barrier beyond which innovation declines (a number also identified by Malcolm Gladwell in Tipping Point) but this number can decrease or increase as a result of intervention in four areas – equity, management span, organization fitness, and salary rate up the hierarchy. Defining these variables in detail and describing strategies to adjust them to maintain a loonshot environment are addressed in Chapters 7 and 8. Managing these variables in order to maintain the capacity for loonshots should then be the focus of leadership which Bahcall summarizes in “Raise the magic number” (p.224). In addition, Bahcall provides Appendix A (p. 273) as a summary of all the variables associated with creating and maintaining a loonshot organization.

Examples cited by Bahcall are numerous and diverse in every way. They include the emergence of scientific method (i.e. Kepler) itself, the creation of radar to detect German U-boats in the Atlantic during WWII, the launch of new pharmaceutical treatments for chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and the success of Pixar in animated films. The detailed stories of how these innovations came about demonstrate that the pathways to innovation are never direct and include many obstacles. In addition, the examples demonstrate the importance of creating “loonshot nurseries” within organizations and then balancing the types of loonshots and the franchise innovations that will insure longevity.

Brown - Dare to Lead

Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead (2018) is one of six books authored by her to this point. Written in very accessible language without excessive jargon, her points are derived from her own research as a professor at the University of Houston or from others’ research that has been documented elsewhere. She offers sound advice about how to be more courageous in both professional and personal relationships. She is a compelling speaker with one of the most viewed TedTalks on record.

Brown notes and reiterates throughout her book that the greatest fulfillment is achieved, as Theodore Roosevelt advocated, by those in the arena, “whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly” (p. xvii). She gives repeated permission, supported by evidence that it works, to be vulnerable and take risks to be better.

Dear to Leadis broadly applicable to a variety of human behavior and interactions but Brown does tie a significant portion of the text explicitly to leaders who she defines as “anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential” (p. 4). She goes on in this section to identify ten behaviors and cultural issues that hold organizations back across the world. The essence of these ten are; avoiding tough conversations and then spending an inordinate amount of time with problems, fractured trust perpetuated through shaming and blaming, and perfectionism/fear that prohibits learning and growth. Her answer to these ten organizational problems, and the framework for the rest of the book, are to cultivate four skills sets: rumbling with vulnerability, living into our values, braving trust, and learning to rise.

Brown believes that embracing vulnerability as a positive part of who we are is central to positive change. Indeed, she advises, “You can do vulnerability, or it can do you” (p. 23). She also indicates that holding people responsible for ethics and values requires more vulnerability than anything else in the work environment; the key is establishing trust through reciprocal vulnerability. Ultimately, establishing a safe team environment in which to be vulnerable requires listening, staying curious, being honest, and keeping confidences. Safety makes true inclusivity possible where “all people, opinions, and perspectives… make us all better and stronger” (p. 107). Vulnerability, undergirded by trust in a safe environment allows leaders to rise to the occasion or rise from the ashes of their own failures.

Dare to Lead was an unsettling read. I wish I had read this or something like it long ago. However, I go back to Brown’s admonition that to be in the arena, embrace vulnerability, and to be a continuous learner is what counts. We are all freed by this realization and by a belief that, as long as we try, we are on a journey towards a better self and being in the arena is what counts.

Khanna - The Future is Asian

Parag Khanna’s The Future is Asian (2019) asserts that anyone who fancies staying in the game in terms of economic or political influence needs to understand that U.S. domination is over and that a new multinational world order is the only way toward a prosperous future. The Future is Asian was preceded by a fascinating TEDTalk, Mapping the Future of Countries, that addressed many of the issues he later raised in the book. Khanna suggested that 2017 was the year in which the Asian-led world order began. May of 2017 was when “sixty-eight countries representing two-thirds of the world’s population and half its GDP” (p. 1) joined together in the Chinese-initiated Belt and Road Initiative.

While there is so much about Khanna’s book that was of interest, Chapter 9, “Asia’s Technocratic Future,” was of particular interest. This chapter proposes technocracy as a form of government comparable, or even superior, to democracy. As many people living in presumably democratic countries struggle with the failures that are now so prevalent, the principles of compassionate technocracy look pretty attractive.

“According to a twenty-five-country survey in 2017, India (53 percent) and China (49 percent) both ranked ahead of the United States (40 percent) as countries perceived as having a positive global influence” (p. 282). Khanna’s belief is that “Deregulation, deindustrialization, financialization, and politicization have combined to tear the American societal fabric” (282). The U.S. is no longer perceived to be an example of good governance, significantly influenced by the increasing deterioration resulting from special influences and corruption. The result is that Europe now offers a larger middle class, lower inequality across classes, and a higher overall quality of life. Pew Center surveys indicate that Asians view corruption and incompetence to be endemic to democracy and therefore of little interest to them. 

What is a technocratic government? It is one “built around expert analysis and long-term planning rather than narrow-minded, short-term populist whims or private interest” (p. 286). Technocratic expertise in Washington, D.C. used to be valued and lifted up as one of America’s strengths until politicians and pundits began to demean it as the “deep state.” Khanna points to Singapore as an example of the effectiveness of technocracy. Widely admired across the world, it boasts highly educated citizens, a high quality of life, great shared wealth, and efficiency in government resulting from compassionate and highly professional civil servants. By contrast, some political scientists have declared that the U.S. government is no longer based on expertise or merit but is a political oligarchy serving the few over many. Technocracy is particularly effective when it is data-driven and when public officials are cultivated for their high expertise, compensated accordingly, and are transparent to the public. This approach to providing for the public welfare is particularly aligned with Asia’s more collectivist and deferential cultures.

The chapters that set the stage for Chapter 9 relay important historic background and contemporary context. The details in these chapters paint a picture of growing unification throughout Asia, to some degree a shared reaction to the European colonialism that dominated the region prior to the 20^thcentury. Other details characterize West Asia (Middle East) as an increasingly fractured region lining up behind either Saudi Arabia or Iran. Competing West Asian countries compete against each other and with Europe as all turn east to China, India, and other countries for trade. All this is happening while the U.S. continues to push the “America first” protectionism which has done considerable “damage to U.S. workers and exports, with Europe grabbing every opportunity to capture markets that Americans have been closed out of through reciprocal tariffs” (p. 241).

Khanna does not portray a unified “Asia” in The Future is Asian but instead highlights the vast differences across Asia as a strength. This huge area is getting stronger as various countries seek to partner with each other rather than depending on Western trade and political hegemony, creating a renaissance of sharing through rising wealth and reciprocal arrangements. Travel across Asia by Asians has exploded with rising discretionary income. Immigration and intermarriage are much more common in cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore. The new norms of interacting across what used to be formidable borders includes moving from Western atomism to Eastern holism, from humanism to scientific materialism, from freedom to harmony, and from democracy to technocracy. In his closing paragraph, Khanna notes that “Westerners prefer the phrasing ‘global rules-based order’ while Asians favor the Chinese phrase ‘community of common destiny.’ Tomorrow we will realize that they are two sides of the same coin” (p. 360)

Gerzon - The Reunited States of America

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Like many U.S. and other citizens of the world, I continue to search for ways to overcome the hyperpartisanship that has created gridlock in our government. Mark Gerzon’s The Reunited States of America (2016) takes a good stab at analyzing why we have sunk so deep into dysfunction and he proposes methods to get out of it. Furthermore, he provides examples of people who are taking action to bridge the schisms that tear us apart.

Gerzon’s analysis is very straightforward – he advocates that collaboration is central to working together with people different from ourselves in search for common ground (p. 7). The kind of collaboration he believes essential would be based on the 1776 U.S. Congressional action that embraced the phrase E Pluribus unum– out of many one – as how U.S.A. citizens and institutions should work with each other. David Burstein, the creator of Run for America, “has no patience for people who dismiss politics as too broken or too dysfunctional” and warns that those who adopt hopelessness give “more and more control to the same forces and the same people who have made it as broken as it is” (p. 118).

Gerzon provides evidence that many citizens are giving up on the two-party political system on which the U.S.A. has relied.  From 2000 to 2012 those registered as Democrats dropped from 35% to 31%, those registered as Republicans dropped from 30% to 25%, and independents rose from 34% to 42% - the result is that a plurality of citizens in the U.S.A. now identify as independent of party affiliation. Gerzon believes that the hyperpartisan atmosphere drove many citizens to reject the left and right as they now seek ways to hear each other and find common ground.

Based on evidence from a number of transpartisan initiatives, Gerzon recommends that those committed to moving toward each other should follow ten principles (Conclusion, pp. 157-169):

·     Take a transpartisan vacation – stop looking at, reading, or absorbing negativity

·     Recognize and exercise your liberty to learn

·     Get involved outside your red or blue box

·     Identify and support leaders who are reuniting America

·     Join a bridge-building initiative – or start your own

·     Make sure the rules promote fairness and freedom

·     Vote for bridge-building candidates

·     Connect with other boundary-crossing citizens

·     Play by the Golden Rules

·     Hold both love and power in your hands

These principles inform a new kind of patriotism that doesn’t view citizenship as either blind loyalty or constant criticism. As Gerzon indicates, “Always praising America is not patriotism. It is idolatry. But always criticizing America is not patriotism, either. It is ingratitude” (p. 160).

Walsh - Debussy: A Painter in Sound

Posts on my blog quite often reference music, composers, and performers. I attempt to relate ideas from music to leadership, exploring how both are created, performed, and how we experience music/leadership as listeners/followers. Claude Debussy, as captured by Stephen Walsh in Debussy: A Painter in Sound (2018), is a fascinating example of an artist who, from the very start of his composing career, challenged the norms of others and thereby innovated in ways that propelled music forward in the 20^th century.

A. (Achille) Claude Debussy (1862-1918) sought to define a unique French voice in his music that would contrast with the dominant Germanic music of the late 19^th century. Wagner was particularly influential at the time which is evident in several of Debussy’s early works. However, Debussy’s desire to escape this Wagernian influence pushed him toward innovation that might not otherwise have emerged. A very gifted pianist at age 10, he learned the conventions of composition at the Paris Conservatoire, but increasingly stretched, broke, and abandoned the rules during his life as a composer. Although Debussy is often classified as an impressionist, his style is more a reflection of “melodic arabesque – of the decorative and unruly vocal or instrumental lines that seem to copy the curves and swirls of Art Nouveau design” (p. 30). However, Debussy’s “evasion of the clear outlines of classical form and harmonic grammar” (p. 47) may be the most convincing evidence that the “impressionist” label fits to a degree.

Debussy was inspired in many of his compositions by poetry, particularly that of fellow French visionaries such as Banville, Verlaine, Mallerme, and Maeterlinck. He was also influenced by the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where Asian music and theater were introduced and made a deep impression on him. Maurice Ravel, a younger contemporary, composed several pieces that Debussy would use as his inspiration (exs. Ravel’s Habanera and Debussy’s Lindaraja, Ravel’s Jeux d’eau and Debussy’s Pagodes, and Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole and Debussy’s Iberia).

Readers without musical training will find much of Walsh’s text too technical and detailed to be easily read. I am fortunate to have musical training and I play a number of the pieces described in the book, which adds much greater depth to how I now play them. A couple notable examples (with links to recordings if you care to listen):

•  Cathedrale engloutie – a cathedral emerging from the sea
•  La Soiree dans Grenade  - an enchanting garden in Granada
• Danseuses de Delphes – a sculpture of three female figures on the grand staircase of the Louvre

Debussy’s piano works are widely known and performed. Orchestrated versions of La Mer and Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune are sound paintings that are quite familiar to listeners in symphony halls but some of his larger works, the opera Pelleas and Melisande and the ballet score Jeux are less often heard. The historical context of Jeux is that it was preceded by two other very influential compositions - Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; both of these were brilliant and innovative works that might be perceived to have overshadowed Debussy. Yet, Walsh singles out Jeux as representing the pinnacle of Debussy’s compositional output.

There is no mistake that as Debussy matured he went into full rebellion against what was presumed to be the reasonable convention of the time; this rebellion was the seed of his genius. However, Walsh concluded by writing that “while he (Debussy) questioned their (his compositional predecessors) methods, he never doubted their fundamental intention, which was to create beauty and to share sensibilities, to communicate wonder at the richness of the world around us” (p. 290).

How does Debussy’s genius and innovation relate to leadership? At a time in human history when solutions to environmental, economic, medical and other problems are not readily apparent, innovation is one of the primary things that leadership will be expected to foster. Working within the conventions of previous knowledge, leadership will need to challenge currently accepted notions in ways that will bring innovation to all fields. And, as Walsh’s telling of Debussy’s creative journey attests, the path to innovation is often strewn with imperfection and misunderstanding even as it yields essential and novel breakthroughs to improve the human condition and understanding.