Alejandro Rozitchner & Enthusiasm

It’s not often that you come across someone who is at once fiercely intelligent but also down-to-earth, confident but humble, outspoken and yet soft-spoken, philosophical but practical, gregarious but reserved, giving and yet forgiving. When you meet such a person, you feel fortunate. When you befriend such a person, you feel a sense gratitude.

Such is the feeling I have when I think about Alejandro Rozitchner. Alejandro is a philosopher, writer, blogger, teacher, motivational speaker, radio and TV personality, father, friend, husband and Porteño. In his blog, 100Volando, he has described himself as a “Nutritionist of Ideas.” In one of his many books, he describes himself not as an intellectual, but as a “basketball player of ideas.” If that’s the case, he may be something like the Manuel Ginobili of practical philosophy. He has somehow figured out a way to combine the wisdom of American self-help books with the teachings of great thinkers like Nietzsche and Freud. It’s an unusual approach, but it works.

The Argentine Post owes its existence to Alejandro’s generous spirit. One night after dinner Alejandro forced me to sit down and start a blog. He said he would not let me leave his house until I had uploaded my first post. I had little interest, but conceded that I had nothing to lose. So Alejandro grabbed his laptop, brought it to the table, and guided me to Blogger.com, where I wrote my first post. (It was something about the hideousness of eating blood sausage.)

Alejandro is a controversial figure. On occasion he inspires intense and sometimes vulgar opposition. Scan the Internet and you will find plenty of people attacking him and his work. Many of his detractors fall victim to that contagious disease that leads people to attack each other instead of each others’ ideas. But Alejandro has many great ideas and, agree with them or not, they are often valuable and insightful. His ideas force you to think about life – and life in Argentina – in new ways. He challenges you to question your assumptions and act in ways that bring more value into your life and into the world.

Alejandro is offering a 4-class course on The Development of Enthusiasm and, having taken the course myself, I can highly recommend it. The course, which is offered in Palermo, is in Spanish, so keep that in mind. As with all of Alejandro’s courses, this one will likely cover a broad sweep of subjects, all of which are relevant to the topic at hand. He teaches with passion and humor, often interacting with students in hilarious and challenging ways to stimulate debate and participation.

You can learn more about Alejandro at Bienvenidos A Mi. There you’ll find information about his books, classes and seminars, etc. He often offers classes on Nietzsche and other things at the bar El Taller in Plaza Serrano. As someone who has taken many undergraduate and graduate philosophy courses, I can say that Alejandro’s are atypical. They are fun, unique, involving and more relevant to everyday life than those you find in a typical classroom. The only admission requirement: Fluency in Spanish and a desire to be challenged.

Among other things, the Enthusiasm course will touch upon the work of:

David Allen (“Getting things done” & “Ready for everything”), Brian Eno (“Oblique strategies”), Julia Cameron (“El camino del artista”) & Tom Peters (“El proyecto 50” y “Re imagina”).

Details on the Enthusiasm Course:
Where: El Bar Taller (Serrano 1595, First Floor)
When: Aug. 28, Sept 4, 11, & 18
What Time: 8-9:30pm
Cost: 250 Pesos or $83 (No I don’t get any of this and Alejandro did not ask me to write this post.)

For more info, or to reserve a spot, write to Shona at cursos@bienvenidosami.com.ar or call 4831-1588.

Link: Bienvenidos A Mi
Link: 100 Volando (the blog)

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