Lessons from Joe Stack and the Austin IRS Plane Attack?

"It was totally out of character…" that's what Billy Eli and other friends of Joe Stack keep saying. Nobody saw this coming except maybe Joe Stack; and he did a good job of hiding it.

The likely reaction to the attack on the Austin IRS building will be to try and learn some lessons from this incident, to try and "keep this from ever happening again." Before we spin-off on too many tangents, let's take a focused look at Joe Stack and his motivations.

Stack was a seriously disturbed human being…period. The fact that his closest friends didn't see it is not unusual, in fact it's typical. Even if you know what signs to look for, your natural tendency to see the best in those close to you would likely prevent you from believing that anyone you know could be capable of such a horrific act of violence and destruction.

Stack was also a highly intelligent person. It shouldn't be hard to believe that he could purposefully hide his deepest angst and put a cheerful face on for the public. At the same time, everything was not roses and sunshine as evidenced by his recent divorce. He attempted to murder his estranged family by burning their home to the ground. In hindsight, I am certain that Stack's ex-wife will give us a different portrait of the man than the one his friends and casual acquaintances are painting.

An intelligent, clever, deranged person is capable of incredible levels of deception. In retrospect we'll see that much of Stack's life was a deception. It's already evident from his "manifesto" that he was hiding tremendous anger, resentment and a grave sense of injustice. His writings are that of a self-absorbed paranoid; experts are calling him a narcissist.

That doesn't mean he wasn't a nice guy and it doesn't mean anyone else could have seen this coming, even or especially those closest to him.

It would be typical for those closest to the perpetrator to experience extreme feelings of guilt and self-doubt. Could anyone have prevented this tragedy? Why didn't they see the signs?

These feelings are useless and unwarranted. The family and friends who survive Stack are victims; they are not complicit in his acts. He long ago chose to act alone. In his own words he says:

"Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head."

Stack couldn't sort out his anguish for himself, much less express his feelings to others. His manifesto is a pointless, rambling diatribe that blames society, the government, corporations, politicians and churches for what he perceives as the injustices in his life. There is only one short, but significant example of what might be interpreted as introspection in his 3,000 word suicide note:

"Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn't so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer."

Sadly, Stack reached a point where he genuinely believed this to be true.

There is a clear and present danger in our attempt to understand Joe Stack and the reasons for his attack. Our society is understandably in the midst of a heightened state of sensitivity when it comes to acts of extreme violence. We want to know the reasons behind it; we want to face our enemy and if possible, avenge the suffering and deaths of the victims.

There is no enemy here, but there are plenty of people who will attempt to create one and others who will exploit our sensitivity to exalt Joe Stack to martyrdom. There are organized and institutional enemies out there both outside and within our borders. There is no reason to believe Stack is associated with any of them. His actions were that of a psychotic; not a rebel with a cause.

Commentators have already remarked on the "articulate" expression in Stack's "manifesto." What "manifesto?" (Read Stack's suicide rant here.) This is a suicide note. There are no rational arguments, only attempts to assign blame. Stack rails against the same society and system in which he was able to create what most rational people would describe as a very comfortable, even successful life. Let's not lose sight of the fact that despite his incessant complaints of persecution and mistreatment, this guy flew his own private aircraft into that Austin building.

The danger is that his arguments will resonate with some. He identifies institutions that many will see as common enemies and he is likely to strike a chord with those who feel disenfranchised, particularly given our current economic conditions and our lack of confidence in our political system.

Do not make Joe Stack the leader of the 2^nd American Revolution; he was a violent psychopath. Joe Stack was a nut. This is a sad and tragic story and each of us given should pay close attention to the pressure and stress we feel, particularly if you're experiencing financial hardship or other difficulties. Pay even closer attention to any feelings of resentment and rage you might have, however justified, if your current situation is due to conditions or circumstances beyond your control.

No matter how bad it gets, would you burn down your own home, attempt to kill your ex-wife and step daughter and fly your plane into a building full of innocent people? If you do feel as if doing harm to others would be some kind of answer to your problems, please reach out and get help now.

You may at this very moment be experience some or most of the frustrations that Stack so emotionally expresses in what the media is calling his manifesto. The plain truth is that if you are experiencing financial or emotional challenges, whether these challenges are of your own making or due to conditions beyond your control, the solution always starts with you. You can choose to begin the process of making a better life for yourself, or you can choose to fall into a state of despair that would make you vulnerable to some degree of the insanity expressed by Stack. You can choose to attack windmills, or you can choose to take the first small step toward creating the life and success you want.

Let's be very careful that we don't allow Joe Stack to be transformed into a martyr or a hero. If he is a symbol, he should only be a symbol of our need to accept personal responsibility for creating the solutions to whatever problems we have. Let him be a symbol that we should pay close attention to the people around us and reach out to them if we think they need our help.

Most of all let him be a symbol of the fact that sometimes people simply succumb to the terrible condition of mental illness and sometimes it isn't anybody's fault.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the friends and families of those killed in this brutal incident. My sympathy extends to the friends and family of Joe Stack, particularly those who will feel that in some way they should have seen this coming.

My sympathy also extends to Joe Stack himself. It is a genuine tragedy that such an intelligent and seemingly gifted human being could not find a way to reach out for help before he caused so much violence, grief and suffering for so many.

A wasted life is always a tragedy.

"All life is precious and can never be replaced." Shaolin Temple saying




Jim Bouchard is an internationally recognized speaker and author of Think Like a Black Belt and Dynamic Components of Personal Power. Visit JimBouchard.org.

Update: Victim identified...

Why the Security Guards were right and what they did was wrong

Sometimes you do the right thing and you get kicked in the ass; sometimes you get hurt. That's the plain facts of life. Sometimes doing the right thing means breaking some rules and risking a good ass kicking.

The Seattle security guards who stood by and watched one teenage girl kick another teenage girl in the head did everything by the book. It's about time we burned some books.

It's really a simple matter of policy. That statement should cause you to feel nauseated or angry, but it's true. The policy of the Olympic Security Service in Seattle is clear: observe and report. That's the policy for most civilian security agencies, store clerks and bank tellers across the country.

There's good reason for this policy. Most civilian employees are not trained to stop a violent attack and even if they are, they are not generally afforded the same legal discretion in the use of force equal to that given law enforcement personnel. The intention is to prevent untrained people from causing injury or harm to innocent people, or themselves.

Even law enforcement officers have been under increased pressure. They're sued for excessive force even in cases where their application of force appears more than reasonable. In most cases, they're subject to administrative leave and public condemnation as they wait for their names to be cleared. If their actions are deemed justified; the news of exoneration is seldom given the same media attention as the accusation of excessive force.

I'm not defending anyone who uses excessive force whether law enforcement or anyone else. The real danger today, however, is that you can be doing exactly the right thing as measured by the standard of what any reasonable person would do and still be subject to criminal charges, lawsuits, loss of your job and damage to your reputation.

That's why the Olympic Security Guards were right. What they did, or didn't do, was wrong.

Responsibility sometimes transcends what "reasonable people" might do in the face of real danger. Still, the guards did act reasonably so let's be sure we cover all the arguments justifying their actions/inactions.

Company policy says they did the right thing. We already beat that horse, but it is reasonable to follow company policy. Is following company policy justification enough to stand by while someone else is lying defenseless on the ground as another person kicks her head? Would you have risked your job to intervene on her behalf?

How about the danger of personal injury? One report cited that the guards acted properly since they were outnumbered 3 to 1. I've been teaching self-defense for over 20 years and every time we talk about similar situations I caution people to be very careful before they get involved. Part of the reason for this caution is the risk of personal injury, particularly if you're facing overwhelming odds or you're unarmed.

Would you face an angry violent mob to protect someone you didn't know?

The final argument is that this attack may have been provoked. It's certainly not reasonable to ask someone to try and sort out the justification for such an attack to decide whether it's appropriate to intervene. Would you want to know all the circumstances before you step into a situation like this one?

No matter what the provocation, what justification is there for a group of young women, or anyone else for that matter to track down and batter someone who poses no immediate physical threat?

Maybe it's time we become a lot less reasonable. This case is not isolated; the news has been full of reports of violent attacks, particularly by young people where bystanders lived up to the name until it was too late to help the victims. A few months ago dozens of teens walked by for nearly two hours as a classmate was brutally and repeatedly raped at a high school dance. Adults have even instigated attacks by their own children on others. In one recent case a parent prevented a victim from escaping a beating at her own home by her own daughter. Are these the actions of "reasonable" people?

Here is my "unreasonable" response:

This girl was escorted by mall cops to the area patrolled by the Olympic Security guards. She told the guards what was happening and asked for their protection. If their job is to observe and report, that's when they should have reported and had real cops on the way. Also at that point the very least they could have done was to take this young woman to a safer location.

Once the fight started it would seem a reasonable person concerned about personal harm would move to safety. These guys stood inches, not feet, inches from the fight. It does look like the closest guard is telling the attacker to back off, but is that enough? Part of the reason these guards probably don't act threatened is because they aren't. Two of the guards obviously weighed more than both the victim and the assailant put together. These were skinny teenage girls, not 200 pound men.

Forget the guards for a second; what about the dozens of other people walking by on the platform? Nobody wants to get involved? Did they assume the guards would handle it? Were they also afraid of this 110 pound teenage girl?

But what if one of the guards did grab the attacker? What if in the struggle the guard injured the attacker; what if they broke her arm? What if the other kids suddenly jumped in? The problem here is that the guards would likely lose their jobs, and would probably be the target of civil litigation. In our society the person doing the right thing is not always protected by the law. Sometimes the scumbag who is injured in the act of committing a crime comes out better than the person who risked his own safety to stop the crime.

Here's what should have happened:

Screw the possible consequences. Somebody, and most likely the guards whom the victim approached for help should have grabbed that skinny punk kid and tossed her across the platform. Those actions would have at the very least saved the victim from taking some of the 16 blows I counted on the video. This fight lasted nearly as long as an official round of amateur boxing. Wasn't that enough time for someone to step in?

One expert on ABC News, Professor Harold Tarkooshian of Fordham University stated that only 5% of the population would intervene given the same circumstances. The 95% who would not act would probably have reasonable justification to "observe and report." Some would not be physically capable, that makes sense. Others would fear retribution or personal injury, perfectly reasonable. Still others would simply not want to risk the possibility of a lawsuit not knowing all the circumstances, perfectly understandable.

It does take courage to act. Courage is not the absence of fear, that's stupidity. Courage is your willingness to act in the face of fear.

If you were faced with the same circumstances, would you be in the reasonable 95% of the population, or would you be in the 5% who would have the courage to act?



Here's a video of the attack with commentary from ABC News.


Jim Bouchard is an internationally recognized speaker, media personality and author of "Think Like a Black Belt." Jim is a self-defense expert with over 25 years experience and has served as a firefighter and bodyguard and has been involved in dealing with violent attackers in both roles.

For more information on Jim Bouchard and "Think Like a Black Belt" visit JimBouchard.org.

How DO You Boost Self-Esteem?

February is National Boost Your Self-Esteem Month! For more information and tools for esteem building visit JimBouchard.org!

You cannot "gift" self-esteem. Self-esteem can only be developed the old fashioned way; you have to earn it!
The formula is simple; not always easy. Think about the times in your life when you really felt a charge of self-esteem or self-worth:

• When you complete a big goal.
• When you do something really tough and see it all the way through.
• When you face a major challenge or adversity and succeed…or survive!
• When someone else recognized you for a job well done.

The best way to boost self-esteem is to take on some worthwhile, maybe even difficult challenge and see it through. Obviously self-esteem is boosted when you're successful, but you can also increase self-esteem by staying in a difficult fight whether you win or lose.

Challenge is the critical component. Does checking off some small or easy task on your list really boost your self-esteem? It may feel good to knock off some mundane task, but confidence and self-worth really comes from facing a meaningful challenge. The great thing is that these challenges are all around you:

• Take a college course or professional development seminar.
• Volunteer for a role outside your normal comfort zone.
• Set a challenging business or personal development goal and go for it.
• Learn something new; start learning a musical instrument or a new language.

The other important component in self-esteem is your perception of how other people see you. It's not always nice or easy, but it's the truth. Your self-esteem is sometimes affected by the opinions of others. I'm not encouraging you to become an egomaniac, but to a degree you've got to decide how other people's perceptions about you are going to affect your self-esteem. There's a vast difference between rationally processing other people's useful input and letting other people either build you up with false praise or knock you down with unprovoked attacks.

The most obvious boost to self-esteem originating from others is when you're recognized for a job well done or a significant contribution. But self-esteem cannot be "gifted," right? Still right! When you're recognized for your accomplishments remember that you're the one who did something worthy of that recognition. You have to train yourself to recognize and accept success.

Of course recognition for just showing up it does nothing for self-esteem! That's why we shouldn't be handing out trophies for losers! Harsh, but true! Most people (especially kids!) know when they're getting something for nothing, and that does nothing for self-esteem. It does quite the opposite; it causes you to question why you're being honored and usually results in feelings of unworthiness.

Be careful though…honorable mention is sometimes an honorable recognition! I always like to watch the last runners coming in at a marathon. These are the people who survive the race despite injuries and disabilities. I love to see someone literally dragging himself across the finish line 4 hours after the leaders. That guy deserves recognition; he could have quit! The honor is for finishing something most of us would consider impossible, not just for showing up on race day.

I just watched the 2010 "X-Games." There was a crash during the extreme snowmobile races; it looked to me like one of the racers broke his leg. I was amazed that the driver was continuing with the bottom part of his left leg flapping in the breeze! He pulled off the track where it became obvious that he didn't break his leg…he lost it! His prosthetic leg had come loose during the crash and his assistants were working frantically to get his leg back on and finish the race…and he did!

This guy earned his trophy! Instead of quitting he put his leg back on and finished. I hope he feels great about himself; he should! This racer's name is Mike Shultz. (Read more about Mike Shultz here!) Shultz earned whatever trophies he might earn the day he decided to get back on his sled with half his left leg missing!

I've had many great successes in my life. It took me a long time to learn how to recognize or accept success, even when other people were recognizing me for that success. Recognition can boost self-esteem if:

• The recognition is for genuine accomplishment.
• It comes from a credible source.
• You're receptive!

I've had many "Wayne's World" moments in my life. That's when someone offers genuine praise and I respond with my "I'm not worthy" chant. It's important to sort hollow praise from the noise, but when someone really notices when you do something remarkable, just say "thank you!" You see, the acceptance of genuine recognition is an action in itself; an important action in the self-esteem boosting process.

If recognition doesn't come, be ready to encourage yourself! Recognition is nice, but not necessary.

Here are three simple (not easy!) steps to help you boost your self-esteem:

• Find a meaningful challenge and go for it.
• Recognize the value of your success or your genuine effort.
• Accept recognition from credible sources.

Genuine self-esteem is not egotistical or selfish. It's synonymous with "confidence," an important quality of Black Belt Mindset. Knowing your own qualities and developing some surety in your ability to face challenges is an important value to yourself, but also the people around you. A more confident you is a greater resource to the important people in your life and to your community at large.

Boosting your self-esteem is a worthy goal for this month. The world needs a more confident you!

I'll post more about self-esteem throughout the month!


Want to start the process of boosting self-esteem in your life now? Get your copy of Dynamic Components of Personal POWER and your Power 101 audio program today!