Christopher Columbus Loves You

…or for the purists, Cristobal Colon.

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(I never understood why English speakers call it Italy, or Spain, or Germany. It’s just as easy to say Italia or Espana or Deutschland, but that’s a rant for another time.)

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ADVANCE NOTICE: This will probably offend a few of you. Believe me…I have nothing but love in my heart today. And if your assumptions are challenged or delicate sensibilities are disturbed, I honestly and truly apologize…and at the same time I don’t give a crap.

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It’s Columbus Day here in the United States.

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It’s probably the most misunderstood and least popular national holiday, other than the fact that kids get off from school and many adults get a day off from work.

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So let me shed some light on it.

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Columbus was a hero.

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Yes, because of him an entire civilization got upended. There was much bloodshed, misery, victimization of a significant part of the world, etc. Guilty as charged.

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And if you want to pretend that kind of stuff wasn’t going on before Columbus set sail, feel free. We’re all entitled to our own delusions.

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And if you want to pretend it isn’t happening today, rock and roll!

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But back to the original point…Columbus was a hero.

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Whatever else you want to think of the guy, he was perhaps the greatest entrepreneur in the history of civilization.

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Think about what he did…

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* He had an idea that completely went against the thinking of the time. “Round earth? Are you kidding me?”

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* He was willing to flip around his entire life to prove his theory. Yeah, there was gold involved. There were other valuables too…spices, whatever else we learned in grade school, etc. So show me someone today who isn’t taking a chance with the expectation of getting paid.

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* He sold his vision to a team. He got a whole bunch of guys to throw down with him, knowing there was all kinds of danger waiting. Talk about someone who could motivate!

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* He attracted the top venture capitalists of the time to bankroll the enterprise. Columbus was Italian, but he got Ferdinand and Isabella to give him the ships, the supplies, the guys. He might have been the greatest salesman that ever lived.

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* He took half of the world and got it working in his system. Yeah, there was slavery and pillaging involved. But that’s just the way they rolled in the 16th and 17th centuries. There was no Amnesty International to protest, and the Catholic Church wasn’t the organization that it is today.

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* And don’t forget…he made the trip two more times after the 1492 gig. He was a hands on manager…know what I mean?

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In other words, Columbus did what so many people strive to do today: he took complete control of his destiny. He attracted the resources he needed for his vision, and he bent the world to his will.

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Now that’s something worth celebrating.

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And yes, there was suffering. There was murder. There was slavery.

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In the context of the time, it was business as usual.

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Newsflash…fifty years from now people are going to look back at the way we treat each other today and think we’re barbarians. In the rules of that future society, they will be right.

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But we haven’t evolved to that place yet.

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Do you think Columbus got up one day and said, “Hmmmmm…think I’ll destroy a race of people.”

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Or was it more like, “Hmmmm….I know there’s something big and world changing to do, and I’m gonna get rich in the process. Let’s have an adventure!”

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It was also 500 years ago. Societies have put themselves back together faster than that. They need their own heroes.

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They need to make their own opportunities.

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And they’ve gotta create partnerships with the rest of the world. Bring value. Expect value in return.

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Think that doesn’t work?

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The two biggest and richest casinos in North America are right here in Connecticut. They both sit on Indian reservations. A downtrodden people have their culture back.

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Don’t believe me? CLICK HERE

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And, oh yeah…take a look at the skin color of the guy sitting in the Oval Office.

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Stop blaming the conquering army for everything that’s gone wrong.

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Get over it.

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Don’t like what the government is doing? Go to meetings. Get elected.

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Anonymous posts on news stories ain’t gonna do it.

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Neither is whining on Facebook.

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Better than that…create your own economy.

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Make it part of your own reality.

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Make it a good one.

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Let people know what you’re doing.

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Watch how they line up to be part of it.

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It’s what Columbus did.

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We’re humans. We strive. We grow.

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We hurt others. And we learn from it.

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If you aren’t striving for more, you’re serving someone who is.

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And you don’t get to complain about that and expect things to change.

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Columbus changed the world. For better…in the long run.

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In a strange way, he loved you.

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He wanted to leave a legacy for future generations. He wanted to open up the world.

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And he did.

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Open up YOUR own world.

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Living The Adventure,
Larry Hochman

October 10, 2011 · Filed Under Uncategorized

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Your Connection To Worldwide Success

Shot at the “Atlantic Ocean” in Bristol, Connecticut. The Atlantic doesn’t go to Bristol, you say? Come find out how it does…and how you can use that knowledge to create your own worldwide success.

August 5, 2011 · Filed Under Uncategorized

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Feeling Good: Of Horse Farms and Public Housing


I was driving to the Stop and Shop plaza in Bristol, Connecticut, so of course I was traveling on Jerome Avenue.  It’s one of those streets you travel on at least two or three times a day.

Interesting street, that Jerome Avenue.  There are a bunch of nice old houses, including one salt box from the 1700′s.  The original owner was William Jerome, who I suppose they named the street for.

There are also a couple of babbling brooks running under the street. I figured out if you drop a leaf in them, it could possibly wind up in the Atlantic Ocean.  But that’s a story for another time.  :)

There’s also a low income public housing project, close to Route 6. You’ll often see shopping carts in front of it, even though there’s a sign in the supermarket parking lot that asks you not to take them.

And two houses down from the public housing complex, tucked away a bit off the street, there’s a small, well kept house with lots of acreage in the back. There’s a fenced in pasture with two horses.

Not what you’d expect near low income housing in a small New England city.

But there it is.

Change is inevitable.

Growth is a choice.

So is frustration.

So is peace.

So is joy.

So is a sense of humor.

Things grow up around us, sometimes not in the way we intend.

I’m thinking someone who created a horse farm didn’t expect the neighbors they got.

Or maybe they did. Maybe they found a little plot of land and built their dream in what others would call chaos.

They called it beauty.

You get to carve your own private tranquil space around whatever’s going on in your life.

Got stress?

Got drama?

Got too much on your plate?

Welcome to the club.

We all have stuff. It’s what we do with it, and where we choose to focus.

Don’t tell me you have too much going on. Don’t tell me circumstances are impossible.

I ain’t hearing it.

Every person who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams also spent some time staring into the abyss.

You can create your own work of art.

Your own peaceful meadow.

Even in the chaos and lack consciousness that surrounds you.

Give more.

Learn to receive more.

Stay open to miracles. They’re everywhere.

Have the courage to follow through on good ideas…yours and other people’s.

Gotta be easier than maintaining a horse farm!

Pastorally Yours,
Larry

Are you getting the NO MORE HOLDING BACK updates? Sign up with the form on the right side of this page. Big stuff coming this summer…be the first kid on your block to hear about it.  :)

May 11, 2011 · Filed Under Uncategorized

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