The First Person Citizen Prime primed ...

We're doing BlogTalkRadio again and it’s a lot of fun. Its especially entertaining to be “on air” with my beautiful wife, Tibcat. Last night we were talking about something that stuck with me throughout the day. I said a while ago, ‘The first person Citizen Prime primed was me!” and it was brought up again last night.

Through the last few years I’ve seen a number of things happen in this area of pro-social activity. With the costumed lot, I see a lot of potential. The best part of them/us are rational, intelligent people adopting their higher selves. And that’s what I’m talking about here.

I had a conversation with a young RLSH from England a bit ago and shared the secret to making this really work for you. Here is the gist. You have to be willing to become the hero in your own life. You must always be in the heroic mindset. It doesn’t work long term if you are professing to live by a higher law and somehow … don’t. From simple things, like public intoxication (the embarrassing kind) to threatening people you disagree with. We’re all normal people and the line between hero and non hero is a moral one. If you cross over, its difficult to cross back with the same credibility you once had. And that's why, even in the costumed community, unfortunately, not everyone is ready to be called Real Life Super Hero.

For me (if I may talk in third person) I thank god for Citizen Prime. While I’ve always tried to be good to other people, nothing keeps me as focused and motivated to being the best person I can be than knowing I have to face people, look them in the eye, and tell them to find the hero inside themselves. How could I do that if I didn't think I strove for that myself.

Being labeled a Real Life Super hero doesn't mean you are stronger, better, faster or smarter than other human beings, as being a comic book super hero does. Being called an RLSH is a mandate to live as strong and as good as people should live. Its being the best you can possibly be. Its being that person than if something looked down on the human race from afar and needed a reason not to blow us all to Kingdom Come, they might see you and go, "Humans do have goodness and nobility. Maybe we'll spare them for one more day." And who knows? Could be Someone is looking down ... possibly making that decision ... and, just maybe, they're basing their judgement on you.

Stay strong and stay heroes,

The Great Generation

A friend of mine … well, a cyber friend … at least I consider him such … wrote a blog about the fantasy of American Values, or as he put it “a bunch of hooey.” I always enjoy his blogs, if not always agree. In fact, I highly encourage you to read it. It’s located at http://enemyblog.typepad.com/enemy_blog/. To understand this posting of mine, you really need to digest his. Meaning, I am taking issue with my friend’s dismissal of The Great Generation and the values that made America great. Now, before we get going, what cannot be denied is the fact that there is always something in every era that is a tragedy, crime, gross misconduct or blind ignorance. And while these tragedies remain exactly that – each time and era must be taken as a whole to assess its value.

Here’s the rub though. I think its folly to focus on the trees in lieu of the forest. The Great Generation, or that time during and after World War II is, by and large, esteemed to be the greatest time in American values. By everyone and for everything? Well, nothing is ever “by everyone” and certainly minority rights were still in serious trouble. But with civil rights having come so far since then, I hope that most people can agree that behavior and manners (for lack of a better word) can certainly learn a thing or three from our predecessors of the 40s and 50s. I have a dream of rebuilding the values of that era. You know the ones. Where men greet each other with a smile and tip of the hat instead of a grim nod or a look of challenge in their eye. A time when women lunched politely instead of beating each other up on YouTube. A time when parties were soirees and not a beer funnel and a police raid.

These are the values I see sorely lacking in society. These are values that exist and need to be fostered. And we need to dismiss the notion that we get the good with the bad, insinuating with all our freedom we must put up with fearing for our lives when we go out at night. There is the hooey. We are all free to pursue life, liberty and happiness. When we step on the rights of others, that freedom’s leash is reached. And this is the gist of the problem I see today. Too many people are “free” to intimidate, threaten, cajole, etc. That is not a freedom one should enjoy and it exists, in part, due to the lack of boundaries we see today.

There is a book, The Happiness Hypothesis, that describes multiple studies where total freedom ends up being the exact opposite. Without putting you through the exercise of reading the whole book (although I highly recommend it), the studies can be summed up in the following example: Take any young child outside and say, “You are free to run anywhere you want.” Most kids, proven by research will be paralyzed by the vastness of that directive. If you say, “You can play anywhere within the front yard and back yard,” they run off happily and feeling safe as kittens. Boundaries are inherent in our psyche and when they are removed completely, shows like The Sons of Anarchy come on TV, and we can all agree – no one wants that.

So, what am I saying? I’m saying we have to have common values as a society that we can look to in our pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have to be decent men and women and we must learn how to be those things. They do not magically enter our heads. When we say things like, letting go of the past frees us to decide the future, it turns out to be nonsense, as we are the sum total of our parts. Some parts are ugly, some parts are beautiful, but they are all us. And if we fail to learn the lessons of the past, which is perhaps the good that can come out of bad situations, then we are doomed to relive them in the future.

Until next time

Stay Strong and Stay Heroes

The News is Bad For You

I'm going to put something out there and I'm not sure everyone is going to like it. Okay. Ready? Stop watching the news. There. I've said it and its a very important step to living an exciting and enlightened life.

Why stop watching the news? The simple answer is, "it's bad for you." Think about what is on the news: Murders, arson, robberies, etc.. Things you think you need to know about. Actually, you don't.

Lets walk through this together and see if you agree with me. So, you're watching the 10 o' clock news and a story comes on about a murder across town. Or better yet, lets say its in your neck of the woods. What do you do with that information? First, there is a sinking feeling that someone has lost their life. Then a moment of "I need to be careful!" Then onto the next story. So far, its really not affecting you to deeply ... or is it?

In our example, what do you do with that information? Nothing. Nor can you. If you want to know what parts of town to avoid, the news will not tell you, because it reports crimes seemingly at random. Look at spotcrime.com but even that is a pretty poor way to see where to go and not to go. So all in all the news doesn't help you in the least. Oh for the weather people out there, go to Yahoo, Google, wherever - weather reports are plentiful. Don't use that as an excuse to let them ding away at your sense of freedom and security.

Now, since the news doesn't help you, lets see how it harms you. A report in Psychology Today found out that our brains were invented before television (big news, right?) BUT, as such, our primal brains see the TV as a window not a delivery system. This means, when they are showing you a crime scene or an arson, your brain (along with the logic centers that tells you this is real and not a movie) informs you that this is a "real and present danger" to you. After all, its right outside "your" window! Really. Its true. This is how your brain works. Want proof? Talk to an old person who sits around watching the news and listen to them tell you how dangerous the world is. Or better yet, watch the news (just for this experiment, mind you) and notice the feelings you get when you see a drive by shooting. Admit it. You think, "There but for the grace of God, go I."

The pure and simple truth is, you can focus on the positive things in this life, or focus on the negative, ie, the news, but not both at the same time. The truth is, unless you are involved in a dangerous occuspation or activity (such as crime) you are not likely to be shot. Even if you are, watching a news story about someone else will not lessen your chances of being shot.

Some might say I'm advocating ignorance. On the contrary. I fully support you being aware of your surrounding, practicing safety at home and on the street, carrying a stun gun or whatever your local laws allow and generally being a very helpful and friendly citizen watch member in your community. The news cannot help you with any of these things. The news will make you scared and defensive toward your fellow men. The news is bad for you.

Now, what do you watch instead? Well, if you need to watch anything, make it entertaining or informative on a positive level. Im not advocating the avoidance of scary movies or action movies. On the contrary, for most people, these are good fun! You know those are fiction, and in fact, many studies claim they get you a good cathartic "scare" that allows your primal brain to exercise its fight or flight functions in a safe and secure environment. Or watch sit coms or ... I dunno ... go out and do something else entirely. All I know is the news is bad.

So, yea, I'm advocating not watching the news. Not only that but tell others about this if you agree. They'll agrue possibly, but in a friendly and cooperative tone, let them know why you think they might lead a happier and better life if they just watched something else.

I do have one caveat to this advice and that's morning shows. Morning shows are great. No murders, no robberies. Just what's going on in the world. That's my two cents on the news.

The News is Bad For You

I'm going to put something out there and I'm not sure everyone is going to like it. Okay. Ready? Stop watching the news. There. I've said it and its a very important step to living an exciting and enlightened life.

Why stop watching the news? The simple answer is, "it's bad for you." Think about what is on the news: Murders, arson, robberies, etc.. Things you think you need to know about. Actually, you don't.

Lets walk through this together and see if you agree with me. So, you're watching the 10 o' clock news and a story comes on about a murder across town. Or better yet, lets say its in your neck of the woods. What do you do with that information? First, there is a sinking feeling that someone has lost their life. Then a moment of "I need to be careful!" Then onto the next story. So far, its really not affecting you to deeply ... or is it?

In our example, what do you do with that information? Nothing. Nor can you. If you want to know what parts of town to avoid, the news will not tell you, because it reports crimes seemingly at random. Look at spotcrime.com but even that is a pretty poor way to see where to go and not to go. So all in all the news doesn't help you in the least. Oh for the weather people out there, go to Yahoo, Google, wherever - weather reports are plentiful. Don't use that as an excuse to let them ding away at your sense of freedom and security.

Now, since the news doesn't help you, lets see how it harms you. A report in Psychology Today found out that our brains were invented before television (big news, right?) BUT, as such, our primal brains see the TV as a window not a delivery system. This means, when they are showing you a crime scene or an arson, your brain (along with the logic centers that tells you this is real and not a movie) informs you that this is a "real and present danger" to you. After all, its right outside "your" window! Really. Its true. This is how your brain works. Want proof? Talk to an old person who sits around watching the news and listen to them tell you how dangerous the world is. Or better yet, watch the news (just for this experiment, mind you) and notice the feelings you get when you see a drive by shooting. Admit it. You think, "There but for the grace of God, go I."

The pure and simple truth is, you can focus on the positive things in this life, or focus on the negative, ie, the news, but not both at the same time. The truth is, unless you are involved in a dangerous occuspation or activity (such as crime) you are not likely to be shot. Even if you are, watching a news story about someone else will not lessen your chances of being shot.

Some might say I'm advocating ignorance. On the contrary. I fully support you being aware of your surrounding, practicing safety at home and on the street, carrying a stun gun or whatever your local laws allow and generally being a very helpful and friendly citizen watch member in your community. The news cannot help you with any of these things. The news will make you scared and defensive toward your fellow men. The news is bad for you.

Now, what do you watch instead? Well, if you need to watch anything, make it entertaining or informative on a positive level. Im not advocating the avoidance of scary movies or action movies. On the contrary, for most people, these are good fun! You know those are fiction, and in fact, many studies claim they get you a good cathartic "scare" that allows your primal brain to exercise its fight or flight functions in a safe and secure environment. Or watch sit coms or ... I dunno ... go out and do something else entirely. All I know is the news is bad.

So, yea, I'm advocating not watching the news. Not only that but tell others about this if you agree. They'll agrue possibly, but in a friendly and cooperative tone, let them know why you think they might lead a happier and better life if they just watched something else.

I do have one caveat to this advice and that's morning shows. Morning shows are great. No murders, no robberies. Just what's going on in the world. That's my two cents on the news.

Went camping this last weekend with extended family. We all had a great time. Coming back and participating in family outtings is an eye opening experience. You are hanging out with people who know you are Citizen Prime. I say "eye opening" as the conversations (and non-conversations) ranged from "I'm going to pretend you're not doing that" to "Dude, you should put on the Prime Armor and we'll run through the campsite stunning people who don't pick up there trash!" to "I saw your Father's Day YouTube and thought it was helarious." And you start to realize you're making an impression on many levels.

On one level, the "I'm going to pretend you're not doing that" crowd finds it somewhat silly. And that's okay. I've always said, If I can get your attention, half my job is done. The other half is communicating the message, but that's for another blog.

On another level, I find it good for your character to be a real life super hero. Its constantly standing in the face of social norms and not being afraid to stand out for the right reasons. Too many people are uncomfortable with standing up for what's right. The other day, I was talking with a work colleague of mine, who said, "Hey, good for you, dude. I just go home, sit on the couch and eat nachos after work." I said, "All evil needs to win is for good peeople to do nothing." With crime encroaching on every city, I see far too many good people doing nothing.

And finally, I'll bring another level to bear. My sister-in-law was dismissing Prime and finally I said, "You know, family takes this a little too seriously." And perhaps society in general (and even some real life super heroes out there) take this too seriously. Here's the thing. Real Life Super Heroes and Prime are about raising awareness and excitement, not taking down criminals. Police do that. True, I'm working on forming connections with the local police to do that as well, but the Superheroic persona is about opeing minds and creating fun.

So for everyone who thinks this is silly, non-conformist and too serious, I say, "When you get up from eatting nachos and start living your dreams, let me know. I'll be there for you." And, I have to admit ... some part of me wants the same in return.

Until Next Time,

Stay Strong and Stay Heroes!

Auditions!!!!

Finally! We are holding auditions this Saturday at Millcreek Recreational Center located at 2230 Evergreen Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84109 at 1:00 pm.. With so much going on over the last three months, its good to know we are still able to move forward with this heroic endevour.

For those interested in auditioning, come on down and be prepared to read from our Kid Heroes script as well as perform in a number of improvs. We're not only looking for actors with lots of theatrical and musical range but people who are capable of some physical training and minor stunt work. Age wise, we're looking for actors between the ages of 18-30-ish as the actors will be performing "Kid Hero" roles.

Some people have asked what's the difference between this program and a typical Kid Safety program. Its a good question and the answers lies in the principles of Light. Imagine you're in a dark room. What do you see? Nothing, right. Or more exactly - darkness. Now ... turn on the light. Boom! Notice how darkness has no choice but to flee to the far edges. We think this principle applies to people, as well.

More to the point, Kid Heroes infuses kids with positive values and, in turn, banishes the dark enfluences around them. It actually works for adults too, but we're focusing on the kids in this program.

Kid Heroes incorporates Helping Others, Encouraging Others, Respecting all people, Obeying the Laws of the Land, Enthusiam for Your Goals, and Speaking Up! We do talk about how to handle bullies, but we think you can make them part of the solution. Crazy, uh? Well, come see for yourself. Its the positive pychology that makes it a home run.

So if you're interested in seeing how this all works, leave a comment or, better yet, head down to the auditions. Maybe you're the hero we're looking for.

Until next time - Stay Strong and Stay Heroes!

Just an ironic thought... Rappers like 50 Cents and Ice T have been using nicknames for decades without so much as a casual mention of their real names, yet the new Real Life Super Heroes are often called into question as to why they choose names that, in reality, often have more meaning than just a cool nickname for the front of their grill.

In fact, thinking about it a little further, pilots have been using Call Signs with similar effect for many more years that represents who they are. So, where is this going? Well, I’ve thought for a long time that we should really embrace these names we find for ourselves later in life. And a reminder to find a name that fits who you want to be. Superheroes use them to announce what they are or stand for. Captain America. Dare Devil. Dr. Fate. I say we take the same care to pick a name that makes us stand up for what we want and tells the world who we are.

So, my given name is James but that’s only because my grandfather’s name was James. It represents who I am as much as Hank or Steve or Jeff. Yet, there is it. I’m James, or Jim if you will.

The real question we should all ask ourselves is, “Who do I want to be?” K, I’ll start. Although I’m often far from it, I’d like to be a good role model for people, as opposed to the other nickname using members of our society, such as Snoop Dogg or Biggy. Okay, okay … I’ll admit Snoop has come a long way since becoming a dad.

So, I say we all embrace our Call Signs as who we want to be. It’s a constant reminder to be our best selves and a constant challenge to live up to those names.

Hello. My name is Citizen Prime. What’s yours?