In Honor of the Power of Words

Just as we can learn from history—see last week’s Profit+—we can also learn from poetry. Indeed, I’m realizing now that poetry can serve as the medium for a kind of lasting activism, for it has the power to reach us in our hearts, the place where all real change begins. 

As many of you know, I’m a big creature of habit. So much so, that I’ve become incredibly predictable in my middle (not yet old) age. Hardly a day goes by where I’ll actually do something new or different. But one day last week I decided to shake things up and took time to stop by an actual, physical bookstore. I’m happy to report that the magic is still there.

After running out of bookshelf space a few years ago, I switched to reading on my iPad. This was mostly to appease my wife, who thinks I have a book addiction and was worried about the piles of books forming everywhere in our house. To be fair, the digital reading life has its advantages. Who doesn’t like being able to carry around an entire library everywhere you go? Or being able to access just about anything ever written with a few taps on the screen? But there is still something so special about the feeling of a good book in your hands. In fact, I think there’s something rather sacred about a good bookstore or library. As you browse the shelves full of books, a strange feeling will come over you, something that’s oddly both calming and energizing, something that’s uplifting. It’s like you can sense all the potential that’s there—the ideas that can change your life and the stories that can help you make sense of life, uplift your soul, and better understand what it means to be human. You cannot help but feel a sense of awe for everything that’s there. The hard work, the creativity, and the genius radiating from all those pages can cast a kind of spell upon you. 

In case you were wondering, I went to a famous independent bookstore up on Sunset called Book Soup. For those who live in the area or visit LA, stopping by Book Soup is a must. There’s even a great coffee shop next door where you can enjoy a drink or a snack and watch for celebrity bibliophiles. 

While I was perusing that day I came across the work of a phenomenal poet, Yung Pueblo (pen name for Diego Perez). I picked up his book Inward and sat down on the floor for a solid 20 minutes just completely enthralled. I bought a copy of the book of course and as I got more into at home, was delighted to discover that Diego Perez is not only an inspiring poet but also an activist and a socially conscious impact investor. Yes, I’m working on getting him on the podcast! 

With books like Inward rather than read them straight through I’ll read just a few pages at a time as a kind of spiritual practice. Some books are meant to be ready slowly and intermittently. Anyway, one morning as I was taking Yung Pueblo’s words in, I found the perfect poetic articulation of the ethos of Profit+. I wasn’t all that surprised—for I believe there’s a kind of magic that comes from listening to your life—but I was delighted. First of all, I knew instantly what I was going to write about this week—always a plus! Secondly and more importantly, it was comforting and motivating to know that there are poets out there like Yung Pueblo who are on the same page about all the things we’ve been discussing here. 

So without further ado, here’s what I pulled out of Inward as the poetic battle cry for our mission here at Profit+:

Yung Pueblo challenges us to rise above the cruel indifference we’ve been conditioned to feel:

He challenges us to be the heroes that life needs us to be, to face the truth, no matter how harsh, and answer the call to make the world a better place. 

And he reminds us that, no matter how much we may want to think of ourselves as little self-contained islands of isolated consciousness, we are truly in this together:

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