Perhaps one of the most famous movie quotes from my childhood was from the 1980 movie ‘The Elephant Man‘ based on the life of Joseph (John) Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th century London. At one point in the film Merrick cries out to an angry mob “I am not an animal! I am a human being! I … am … a … man!”
After all, does it really matter what we look like, how much money we make, where we pray or who we cuddle up with at night? No, because we are all just human beings.
Last night I had the pleasure of attending an event by Dave Howlett, RHB. I had met Dave a few times over the last ten years as his wife and I were B-school classmates. I had heard about his lectures before so when the opportunity arose to attend I jumped at the chance.
Dave is not Tony Robbins, Dr. Phil or some other third guy who talks about stuff. Dave promotes the philosophy of Real Human Beings. Dave just wants everyone to be a “good guy”.
This is not new idea but the recent Occupy Wall Street protests suggest it is gaining steam. Ted Coine recently asked “What ever happened to the common good”, and I echoed his sentiments in my December 2011 post.
The premise of being a good guy is pretty simply. While everyone would benefit listening to his presentation, you can literally learn the good guy rules from a t-shirt:
- Assume everyone is intelligent
- Have passion for what you do
- Get over yourself.
After I heard Dave’s good guy philosophy I thought “hey, I am a good guy, I am already doing the good guy things, I am a Real Human Being”.
So when you think about it, if you’re a good guy don’t you only want to work with and for other good guys? I would.