Diatribes by Joah

Being successful means you don't shy away from a lofty goal

The Founding Fathers' goal was a nation free from Britain's tyranny. Abe Lincoln's goal was a nation united, not divided...be it over the type of economy we were to run or slavery. Joe Kennedy's goal was to put one of his son's in the White House. Dr. King's goal was to make it possible for someone like Barack Obama to become president. Kanye West's goal was to make it to the top of the hip-hop landscape, and then some.

At one point or another, each of these goals were probably viewed as too lofty if not downright laughable. A small startup collection of colonies taking down an entire empire? Are you kidding! Getting those Southerners to get rid of free labor and embrace the industrial age? You're joking, right? Putting an Irish-Catholic boy from New England in the Oval Office, good luck. A black man becoming president; not in this lifetime. Kanye being up there with Radiohead and Jay-Z and Coldplay in terms of touring and album success? Is he the opening act?

But, either through war or wisdom, connections or campaign slogans, each of these goals were reached. And if I'm being honest with myself, I must say, not all of these goals were that lofty or unimaginable.

The United States should have sought its independence far before the Stamp Act, but the Founding Fathers were a fairly conservative bunch. The Civil War was a long time coming, but the end of slavery was something American politicians were contemplating decades earlier. JFK ended up in the White House in large part because his older brother died on a pilot's mission he never should have went on. Dr. King's goal may have been realized much earlier if he and Malcolm X (and the Kennedys) hadn't been assasinated before they could put more collective energy into their work. Kanye should've gotten a deal much earlier, but Rocafella Records - the label Jay-Z built and Kanye signed to - was too busy with no-sales rappers like Memph Bleek and Freeway.

But like I said before, it takes rejection to become successful. So the Founding Fathers endured long enough to mount a military, the Civil War was waged, JFK rose to the presidency, Obama re-invented a progressive campaign and Kanye came out with 'Through the Wire'.

I'm fond of saying attitudes influence behavior and behavior influences actions and actions influence results. In route to those results, at least the successful ones, there are plenty of hurdles. They may come in the form of rejection (not getting into a certain school) or roadblock (having to wait for another election cycle) and sometimes you may have to go it alone because you have more faith or conviction in yourself and your goal than anyone else (not getting a record deal, for example)...but keep plugging away at your goal.

It may seem lofty today, but in hindsight it may seem like your accomplishment was just a long time coming

Being successful means you don't fear being rejected

Now that I'm back in Austin, I've been thinking a lot about what it takes to be successful. Most of us hear the same stories about successful people...boy goes to Ivy League school, girl practices on the balance beam for years, guy wins the lottery, pretty girl gets discovered, kid gets pushed by parents to succeed, etc. etc. We pretty much learn that money, luck and, sometimes, hard work leads us directly to results.

But that's only the half of it.

The truth of it is you can't ever succeed at anything, not sports, not a profession, and certainaly not a relationship if you don't learn about rejection. It's the untold story of success, well outside of Michael Jordan not making his high school's varsity basketball team.

But behind nearly every story of success in America is a story about rejection. Rejected by a crush and forced to go to prom with someone else, and that person becomes your high school sweetheart turned wife. Rejected by that Ivy League school and instead going to a top public university. Rejected by a prestigious fellowship or program and finding a career path that works for you, and not a resume finding your career path for you. Rejected by a music label or book publisher or art director and having to go out on your own, making due one dollar or one small gig at a time.

I know a thing or two about rejection.

My dad rejected me from his life. Too many girls to name rejected my offers for dates. The University of North Carolina put me on their waiting list. A handful of literary agents turned down my pitch for representation. My attempts at getting promoted at my last job went unrewarded. And I don't even want to mention my credit.

But through it all, I've found ways to find success. I relied more heavily on my mom and friends and made my way through school with good grades. I went to UT and fell in love with Austin. I got a book deal for Real Role Models without having to share any of my proceeds with an agent. I'm on the front end of a soon-to-be-announced startup company that is predestined for greatness (more on this soon).

I share this not to boast or brag, honestly. I share this because I'm sick and tired of so many people - people I care deeply about and want to succeed in their personal and professional lives - being afraid to run full steam toward their goals, no matter how big or small, because of fear of rejection. Fear of getting turned down by a guy, turned down for a job or turned down for a small business loan.

Being successful means you don't fear being rejected. Even Michael Jordan knows that. And if you get rejected somewhere along the way to your goal(s), don't fret...just thank God you learned something important along the way, even if it's not a lesson you were quite ready for.

Austinite for good...no, great

I'm not just in Austin for good...I'm in Austin for greatness!

My move to Austin has gone about like this so far...

Jan. 15 - Last day at my job in DC.
Jan. 18 - Going away party at my place in DC.
Jan. 24-25 - Packing all my clothes, kitchen supplies, etc. and selling all of my furniture on Craigslist
Jan. 26 - Arrive in Austin via US Airways, buy a new car (first car I've owned in nearly three years)

I'll keep you posted!

My Inauguration Experience? Don't Ask

Last Friday, I rode the nice Wi-Fi-equipped DC2NY bus to, you guessed it, New York. Just a quick overnight trip to see some friends before I move to Austin. I had a seat to myself in the back, but that didn't prevent me from hearing conversations being held in the seats around me. Mostly I heard people talking about whether they were from DC or New York, where they went to school, what they did, that kind of typical DC stuff. But a lot of the talk also centered on the upcoming inauguration and how some of my fellow riders were hurrying out of DC to avoid it. They'd heard the stories of four-to-five million people swarming to our nation's capitol to see the swearing-in or parade to celebrate America's first Black president. And, from what I heard, they weren't the big-crowd types and saw the $25 bus fare as an easy way out. I was dumbfounded.

As I sat on that bus, I couldn't exactly understand why someone would want to miss out on history like this. Were there people who passed up the chance to March on Washington with Dr. King? Were there people in Chicago who refrained from making the trek to Grant Park because they feared the crowds? I mean obviousy the numbers alone indicate millions of people passed up the chance to see MLK when he said "I have a dream" and hundreds of thousands passed on hearing Barack Obama on election night, but who in their right mind would leave Washington, D.C., on the eve of one of the most monumental events in American history?

Fast-forward to Tuesday morning at around 11:50 a.m. when after being awake and in freezing temperatures for five-plus hours - which entailed running around the National Mall what seemed like twiceover and talking to about a dozen different DC Metro cops, Capitol Hill police officers, TSA agents, National Guard soldiers, and suit-wearing Secret Service types, and moving the whole of 50 feet in about two hours on our way to the Blue Gate (a section designated only for official ticketholders) - and I learned the answer the hard way.

You see, Althea and I had purple tickets. But between talking to all those officers and guards, we never got a clear answer on how we were supposed to cross the National Mall in order to access the purple gate, so instead we went to the Blue Gate. From there, we waited in the cold in a line about 100 people wide and 300 people deep trying to fit into a door about the size of a two-car garage. We waited and waited and waited until around 11:50 when a guard got on a megaphone and told us that they would grant access to any ticket holders (regardless of color of their ticket) at this and every other gate. After lifting Althea onto my shoulders twice so that she could do some reconassaince for our entire section of about 50 people within two feet of us, we realized what people at the purple gate were learning as well...we were never going to get in on time.

Minutes later, the same guard got back on the megaphone and announced they were closing the gates. As Althea and I ran to the gate to see why they weren't letting us in, we watched as hundreds and thousands of people yelled, shouted, kicked, cried and stood by in a combination of shock and disappointment as their opportunity to see history - after being given an official ticket by their respective members of Congress - was ended by a hodgepodge of government ineptitude, you know...cops, guards and TSA agents.

Scores of friends, colleagues and perfect strangers I talked to yesterday shared their stories that were all too similar to Althea's and mine. Two million people may have been counted at the National Mall, but thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, shouldn't be counted as those who saw history in the making. Not unless you're talking about the failure of the DC government and inauguration committee to more properly plan and execute the event. But that's not really history I guess, that's just same ol' same ol'. Even Anderson Cooper pointed out the lack of information, direction, cohesion (between the guards, cops and agents) and organization of the ticketed gates. As he pointed out on the air yesterday, "people were never going to get where they were supposed to."

While in the line of thousands at the Blue Gate, I heard blame being thrown around like the Dallas Cowboys' lockerroom. The Bush Adminstration, Obama's people, cops, the FBI and others were blamed for the poorly executive gate system, but the reality of it all is that there are too many people and organizations and levels of government to blame, which probably means no one will get enough of the blame to make sure this never happens again. Which is a real shame because I'm not the only one who found out why some people chose not to take part in history at the National Mall.

Foreign Policy's Marc Lynch wrote, "I rode the metro home with a lot of people who had been turned away, including an elderly African-American woman muttering over and over to herself that it had been one of the worst experiences of her life."

It may not have been one of the worst experiences of my life, but it was by far the most disappointing. I ended up listening to the speech just a couple of hundred feet away from where Obama was speaking, but with no line of sight, in a crowd surrounding a radio like it was a fireside chat. So much for 21st Century technology eh?

The nation watches with tears of joy

So much has changed since August 28, 1963, the afternoon when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., told the nation about his dream.

In the four-and-a-half decades since the “I Have a Dream” speech, our nation has been divided by war twice over, our economy has zig-zagged like a kite in the sky, our country’s brightest minds put a man on the moon and our nation was hit both high and low with a tear-jerking mix of terrorism and disaster. America has cried aplenty over that span of years and not all of them unwanted.

Forty-five or so years later, another great orator comes to town with a vision to share. Barack Obama, a man whose own life represents an achievement of Dr. King’s dream, will take an oath making him the President of the United States of America. January 20, 2009 will give us an opportunity to reflect on the people and events who led us to this moment, Dr. King, being the most known.

And though it’s true that much has changed since that day on the National Mall, with hundreds of thousands again spanning that great lawn, so much remains the same.

In America, tears and triumph go together like black and white.

Why I'm Moving Back to Austin

No, I'm not moving to Austin for a woman.

What I was really trying to say was that I love Austin like a first love and that I'd realized that I shouldn't waste another moment if I already feel certain that my first love just may be my best.

So today, my last day working in my DC office, is a sad one because I'll be leaving behind some great friends and colleagues, but it's also a happy one because I'm headed to the place I belong.

In telling people why I'm moving back to Austin, I keep going back to one simple concept, one word rather: malleability.

Austin has it, DC does not. Nor does New York, Chicago, San Francisco or many of the other cities I consider great and would consider living in. Those cities, for decades, have been what they are today for the most part in terms of commerce and culture, while Austin of 2009 is a completely cooler, more dynamic, exciting place than it was even 10 or 20 years ago before the film industry, Lance Armstrong, SXSW and ACL Festivals and Dell were as big in the Austin area as they are today.

Even the Austinites who have opposed the rampant change and growth in the city, and are now opposing plans for a rail system, have to admit that the city offers far better entertainment and job opportunities than it did before, and that these changes have greatly benefited the city overall.

And that's just the last 10 or 20 years, I can barely imagine the next decade or two. Basically what I mean is that if you were to ask someone which city, of those I just listed, was most likely to change for the better in the next 10 to 20 years, the answer should be pretty easy because all the changes in D.C. - namely gentrification-based - aren't necessarily making the city better for the people who called Austin home 10 or even just five years ago.

Whether you look at population trends or economic and political activity, Austin has the potential for a lot more progress than almost any other city of its size in the country. The public transportation in Austin is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

San Francisco has cable cars, an on-time bus system and is very walkable. New York has the Subway and Yellow cabs galore. D.C. has the Metro. Meanwhile, the critical transportation infrastructure of inner Austin has yet to be established - the city is neither a bastion of pubic transit or walkability and the main Interstate is atrocious for several miles through the city - so in a decade or two, the entire downtown area could be 10 times more energy efficient and interesting than it is now simply by doing something to relieve the poor traffic in and out of downtown and making the city more walkable between the UT campus (to the north), Zilker Park (west), East 6th and South Congress. That entire area is no bigger than the downtown areas of other major cities, yet public transit is just about non-existent on a major scale that would truly benefit residents and employees in those areas.

So when I say malleability, I mean Austin has the ability to be morphed and shaped (by smart individuals, good ideas and well-funded institutions) in a way that presents someone like me - with loads of energy and interests - with every reason in the world to want to live there.

You could start a business in Austin and thrive in a way that other cities don't offer. You can run for office in Austin and make things happen there in a way that would be unimaginable in places like D.C. where entrenched groups are so used to the way things have been done that they'll oppose any attempt an improvement. You can be an artist, musician or writer in Austin and become known quicker than in places like New York and Chicago where there are so many to compete with that everything comes down to who you know more than what talent you may have.

Basically what I'm saying is the reason I'm moving back to Austin is to be a bigger part of a steadily-growing movement toward real advancement - in the way people live, the way people interact within the city's confines and the way the outside world views the city - in one of America's next great cities.

Football's Do Gooders On to Bigger and Better Things

Two great stories came out of the sports world this week and they both involve football players.

Well, Tony Dungy used to be a football player, but he's spent the last 13 years as a head coach and the winningest coach in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving them on the doorstep of the Super Bowl, and then the Indianapolis Colts, where he led them to the Super Bowl title in 2006 when he became the first Black coach to do so.

But Tony Dungy was more than a football coach, he was a community leader. An adoptive parent of three, Dungy worked with several adoption agencies in the Indianapolis area along with other nonprofits including some that helped ex-offenders get back on their feet. This is what the Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and the city's U.S. Congressman Mike Pence had to say about Dungy following his retirement announcement this week:

"Coach Dungy is a true man of honor and his dedication to the Indianapolis community transcends the field."

"As a longtime Colts fan and Hoosier, I want to thank Coach Tony Dungy for not just the touchdowns and the victories, but for being an honorable, dignified and exemplary public citizen. He represents the best of professional athletics and community service."

***

In the college ranks, Florida State Seminoles football safety Myron Rolle was putting the student back into student-athlete on his way to earning a pre-med degree in 2 1/2 years and being named a recipient of this year's Rhodes Scholarship. At one point during the season, he decided to miss part of a game in order to fly to an interview for the prestigious award rarely awarded to college athletes.

He plans to travel to Oxford to pick up a Master's in Medical Anthropology. Rolle gave up high draft pick status in this year's NFL draft in order to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor.

"I want to be a neurosurgeon," Rolle told ESPN. "And I want to help impoverished nations build up their vaccination programs. I think in many poor countries, vaccination programs and mental health programs are wrongly pushed aside."

Between Coach Dungy and Myron Rolle we should all remember that you can't pigeonhole anyone.

2009: The Year Ahead in Film

Like I said in my "best of" movie post, 2008 wasn't a ground-breaking year in film outside of the major works (i.e. Dark Knight, Wall-E). There just wasn't a high volume of quality material out there and I'm blaming the writers' strike for sucking all the creativity out of the best studios.

Not to worry, the writers (directors and actors) have returned with a vengeance in '09 with a steady crop of movies that just may be must-see worthy. And no offense, but the P.Diddy-produced Notorious B.I.G. flick doesn't make the list.

Speaking of worthy flicks, I didn't get around to seeing it just yet, but it already looks like Hollywood has its first winner of the new year in Gran Torino. Not only are critics pleased with Clint Eastwood's work (unlike Pacino, he's not a shell of himself), but fans came out in droves to make it the #1 movie in America this weekend with close to $30 mil in receipts for its first full opening weekend after a couple of weeks in selected cities.

Here are some other movies that you may want to check out in the next calendar:

He’s Just Not That Into You (February release) - Like Devil Wears Prada, the book becomes a chick-flick and they even followed suit by putting one of the Entourage stars (Kevin Connolly) in the movie to help rope in guys, along with Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard, Dodgeball) and funnyman Bradley Cooper (Yes Man, Wedding Crashers). Ben Affleck co-stars as well, but the movie is led by its female ensemble starring Jennifer Aniston (How the hell was Brad Pitt just not that into her???), Scarlett Johannson, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Connelly.

 

The International (Feb) - So maybe you have to drag your boyfriend to the theatres to see HJNTIY...make it up to him by checking out this action thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, who play a duo trying to take down a secret organization before they get taken out, and directed by Tom Twyker, the award-winning director of Run Lola Run.

Crossing Over also comes out in February and it'll star Sean Penn, Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd in a story about the American dream and immigrants' chase toward it. I like Sean Penn a lot, but I'm not sold on this cast.

Duplicity (March) - Julia Roberts and Clive Owen share the screen once again after hitting it off in Closer. In this flick, they try to channel their best Mr. and Mrs. Smith impersonations as spies-turned-operatives. Paul Giamatti co-stars in the Tony Gilroy-directed (Michael Clayton, Bourne) film.

Once spring rolls around, the blockbusters start rolling out...

Fast and Furious, not to be confused with The Fast and The Furious (gross box office $144 mil), sees a return of the series' original cast led by Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Comes out on April 3rd.

The Soloist (April) - A movie about a deranged and homeless string musician may not seem like blockbuster material, but with Jamie Foxx playing the chords one should think again...after all, the guy did win an Oscar playing Ray Charles. And Robert Downey, Jr. parlayed his Iron Man success into this leading man role. The always impeccable Catherine Keener co-stars.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May) - Yeah, the movie all comic book fans and X-Men movie fans have been waiting years for is finally upon us. Hugh Jackman returns as Logan/Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder), Liev Schreiber (The Omen) and Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings) co-star.

Terminator Salvation (May) - In case you hadn't heard...Christian Bale is the most bad ass actor in Hollywood these days. That's why it's only fitting that he goes from playing Batman to John Connor. Who else could fill the shoes of both George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Taking of Pelham 123 - Whenever director Tony Scott and Denzel Washington team up, they make great film. Think Crimson Tide or Man on Fire. Add John Travolta and James Gandolfini and the Manhattan subway system and you have the makings of a great movie. See for yourself this June.

Transformers 2 comes out on June 26 and I'm sure director Michael Bay (Bad Boys, Transformers) and actors Shia LaBeouf, Spielberg's newest acting protege, and Megan Fox, Hollywood's new favorite eye candy, will bring in another $200-mil-plus.

Funny People (July) - Judd Apatow has had a hand in some of the most successful comedies in the last few years with Knocked Up, 40-Year-Old Virgin and last year's Pineapple Express, not to mention co-producting Anchorman and Talladega Nights. He basically picks up where he left off by putting Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman, Jonah Hill and Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, Cable Guy) all together in this flick.

Shutter Island - Martin Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio made for a great team in Departed so they're at it again, pulling Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine) and Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) into the fold for this October release about a 1950s set U.S. Marshal investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from an insane asylum and are believed to be hiding on a remote island.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (November) - Wes Anderson makes movies that you either love or hate and George Clooney and Cate Blantchett are actors that just about everybody loves...I'm guessing Anderson wins big with this film.

The Human Factor - After dropping his directorial duties for Gran Turino, Clint Eastwood is back behind the camera to shoot a story about Nelson Mandela, played by Morgan Freeman, and co-starring Matt Damon. With a December release, this could make for a second supporting actor Oscar for Freeman (Million Dollar Baby). 

And here are some movies that don't have release dates yet, but should all be theatre-ready for 2009 releases:

Traveling - A romantic drama about a widower (Aaron Eckhart) whose book about coping with loss turns him into a best-selling self-help guru. On a business trip to Seattle, he falls for a woman (Jennifer Aniston) who attends one of his seminars, only to learn that he hasn't yet truly confronted his wife's passing.

Public Enemies - Starring Christian Bale and Johnny Depp, and directed by Michael Mann (Collateral, Miami Vice), this story centers on the Feds' attempts to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

The Tree of Life - The last big role that Heath Ledger turned down led to Brad Pitt being cast alongside Sean Penn in this film about in which we trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. Much of the movie was shot between Austin and Houston.

Margaret - Anna Paquin is really becoming a leading lady and with the three Ms - Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo and Matthew Broderick - and writer Kenneth Lonergan (Gangs of New York) behind the script, this movie about a 17-year-old New York City high-school student who is guilted by the death of a woman in a traffic accident may be an award-winner.