Elbert Hubbard wrote A Message to Garcia in 1899… another era, another world, long before Wi-Fi, iPhones, or Google Maps.

In his own words:

It was the Twenty-second of February, Eighteen Hundred Ninety-nine, Washington’s Birthday, and we were just going to press with the March Philistine. The thing leaped hot from my heart, written after a trying day, when I had been endeavoring to train some rather delinquent villagers to abjure the comatose state and get radioactive… It came to me like a flash! Yes, the boy is right, the hero is the man who does his work — who carries the message to Garcia.

When Hubbard talks about “delinquent villagers” and trying to get them to “abjure the comatose state and get radioactive,” he isn’t describing literal villagers or nuclear reactions. He’s talking about human nature — the people around him who moved through tasks half-awake, doing the minimum, waiting for someone to push them. “Get radioactive” was his theatrical plea: Wake up. Move with intention. Stop needing to be chased.

The little essay he wrote that night appeared in The Philistine, his handcrafted monthly protest journal — part satire, part social commentary, part cultural critique. Think of it as a 19th-century Substack printed on rough paper, created to provoke thought, challenge complacency, and demand more from the reader.

I plucked my copy of A Message to Garcia after a day of decluttering in my office. I’d read it maybe 10… 15 years ago and decided to give it another look. It’s only a few pages long, a quick read. But when I finished, I sat for a moment with a single thought — and that thought is why I’m writing about it today:

How is it that something written in 1899, in a world so different from ours, still describes us so accurately?

Back then, Hubbard was stunned by how few people could take a simple instruction and follow through without confusion, hesitation, or excuses. He told the story of Rowan — the man who, during the Spanish–American War, was handed a sealed message and asked to deliver it to General García hidden somewhere in the Cuban mountains.

Rowan didn’t stall.
He didn’t demand a workflow or a map.
He didn’t stop off at four bars — or in our world, grab a Stag and lime halfway through the mission.

He just went.

That was Hubbard’s point: Even in 1899, initiative was rare.

And what’s remarkable — or depressing, depending on your mood — is how little has changed.

More than 120 years later, with every productivity tool imaginable, we still find the same patterns in every office, every industry, every country:

• People who work only when watched.
• People who wait for direction instead of taking it.
• People who mistake motion for progress.
• People who are bright but unreliable.
• People who do just enough to avoid consequences.

There has always been — and will always be — a certain percentage of people who do the least, not out of malice, but because their inner stance is passive, reactive, or disconnected from purpose. Behavior hasn’t evolved as fast as technology.

Humans are still humans.
Initiative is still rare.
Follow-through is still a superpower.

Why will there always be folks doing
the bare minimum?

1. Because initiative isn’t a skill — it’s a mindset.
2. Because many were rewarded for compliance, not curiosity.
3. Because culturally, we teach rule-following more than ownership.
4. Because fear of failure feels safer than trying.
5. Because some systems unintentionally reward mediocrity.

It’s not a mystery. It’s conditioning.

So how do we improve — especially in our twin-island nation?

It will not happen through grand speeches, nor will it happen through ongoing complaints.

We will improve when we intentionally design cultures — in our homes, schools, workplaces, and in our communities — where initiative is recognized, supported, and rewarded.

A few shifts matter:

1. Teach ownership early.
Not just say to our children “do your homework,” but give them context: why it matters and how to think through problems.

2. Celebrate follow-through, not just talent.
Skill is common. Reliability is not.

3. Build psychological safety.
People take more responsibility when they’re not terrified of being wrong.

4. Model what we expect.
Leadership is not about commanding initiative; it is about demonstrating it.

5. Create systems where effort is visible and rewarded.
When people see that initiative leads somewhere, they practice more of it.

If we want more Rowans — the ones who take the message and move — we must cultivate environments where acting, solving, and thinking are the norm, not the exception.

Because more than a century after Hubbard wrote his fiery little essay, the truth still stands:

The world belongs to the ones who carry the message — without being reminded, supervised, or rescued.

And here, in a twin-island nation overflowing with talent, creativity, and grit, the raw ingredients are already present. We just need more spaces that nurture those who step forward… and more leaders willing to trust them with the message.

Strategic Reflection Prompt

Where in my life or work am I still waiting for direction when I already know the next right step — and what would shift if I simply carried the message without hesitation?

About Giselle

I’m Giselle Hudson — writer, possibility thinker, musician, Organization & People Development Sensemaker™, and MCODE Legacy Coach. I help leaders and soul-driven professionals decode the deeper patterns shaping their business, work, identities, and results especially when it look like a performance issue but it’s really misalignment in disguise.

If something in your life or business feels off and you can’t quite name it, message me. Sometimes one conversation is all it takes to see what’s really going on.