Decades ago, a Detroit-based guy named Rodriguez, calling himself Sugar Man, wrote songs and sang like Bob Dylan. I especially like his song I Wonder.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez never really made it in the music business. His two albums barely sold in the competitive US market.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile - unbeknownst to Rodriguez - in South Africa, near the end of apartheid, his songs became wildly popular as anthems for the freedom from government oppression both white and black people craved. <\/p>\n
The government helped by banning the songs from the radio. Then everyone had to listen to them.<\/p>\n
Word spread in South Africa that Sugar Man had died on stage after setting himself on fire.<\/p>\n
The image of that ending propelled more sales. A South African man spent huge amounts of time trying to obtain the details of the rise and fall of Sugar Man. <\/p>\n
After many months of effort, decades after the reported suicide, he found that Rodriguez was still alive and cleaning houses in Detroit. <\/p>\n
Almost no one in South Africa believed the man. <\/p>\n
Rodriguez turned out to be an unusually nice person, who still knew how to sing and play his guitar.<\/p>\n
The man talked with Rodriguez, who was astounded to learn how popular he was in South Africa. <\/p>\n
The man invited Rodriguez to come and perform. <\/p>\n
Rodriguez went and played a series of concerts to huge crowds. He was finally a star - in another land, where his songs helped usher in the start of democracy and freedom. <\/p>\n
I tell you this story, from the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, to make a simple point: we cannot always tell what positive impacts we have on others. <\/p>\n
The effects may be much delayed. The effects may never be clear. <\/p>\n
I think about the possibility of positive impacts when I write for newspapers and when I interact with others. I may not be another Sugar Man, but I may have positive effects here and there.<\/p>\n
If we keep that potential in mind, we may have greater positive impacts. <\/p>\n
The impact might be from a kind word or a good deed at the right time or from something of value we create - a child for instance. <\/p>\n
We may never know the impact we have. We may never perform in front of adoring fans. But we may be able to look back and think, I did my best, under the circumstances, to have a positive impact. <\/p>\n
John Malouff is an Associate Professor at the School of Psychology, University of New England.<\/p>\n
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Originally posted here: <\/p>\n
We may never know the impact we have | Mind Matters - Northern Beaches Review<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Decades ago, a Detroit-based guy named Rodriguez, calling himself Sugar Man, wrote songs and sang like Bob Dylan. I especially like his song I Wonder. Rodriguez never really made it in the music business. Continue reading