 A mere “oops” and a playful laugh is not what you might expect when damaging a brand new vehicle, but that’s just how Dave is—as long as I’ve known him, he has never wished for a fig in winter.
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 I composed a final letter to say goodbye, dropped it in the mail, and then deleted all traces of the old and dear friend from my life. Even if I wanted to connect, it had become an unlikely task. After deleting their contact information from my phone and disconnecting from their social media accounts, trying to reach out would be a challenge. And that was just how it needed to be, for all efforts to reconcile had been rebuffed and attempts to do so only did more harm than good. It’s said that a calm sea never made a skilled sailor, but using the metaphor for this friendship found our ship unworthy of weathering the storm and it had become time to abandon ship and go our separate ways.  “I've taken you as far as I can, Jeremy. There is nothing more I can teach you.” It was a bittersweet moment. Bitter, because I knew we had reached the end of the road. And sweet, because that had been the goal all the while.  “Work for a cause David, not for applause. Remember to live your life to express, not to impress; don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.” I’ve never read Sonny Bloch’s and Grace Lichtenstein’s book Inside Real Estate, so I don’t know who this David is they reference—but I suspect the advice would have also been helpful at the communist party conference in Moscow. 
“Happiness is not a goal…it’s the byproduct of a life well lived.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
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 The Infinite Monkey Theorem suggests that any event with a probability more than zero can happen at some point, if given enough time. But as the physicist Max Tegmark reminds us, “really freak events happen only exponentially rarely.” This was one of those exponentially rare moments.  “See you tonight!” Mr. Fuller said with a smile as he passed by in the foyer. “No, I won’t be there,” I replied, without a tinge of regret. After all, FOMO (fear of missing out) hadn’t been invented yet. Neither had Facebook, Instagram, nor TikTok. Heck, even MySpace wasn’t yet a thing. 
“Not in his goals but in his transitions man is great.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
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 Did she get that name because she was so small when they found her that she could fit into a pocket? Or was it because when they found her she was in a pocket? I forgot to ask when I had the chance.  Magicians are often asked, “How’d you do that?” Many people assume it has something to do with subtle misdirection—a little smoke here or a perfectly placed mirror there—but the real answer may surprise you, and it’s a secret I stumbled upon quite by accident.  As he walks the streets, parents often pull their children close, not wanting them to get too near the strange man picking up trash on the side of the road. Others avert their eyes, preferring to avoid the man locals have come to call “Pig Pen.”  Though earning over $2,000,0000 a year at the height of his career, Harry had little left to leave for his family when he suddenly and unexpectedly died in 1981.  The day had finally arrived and Hiroshi stepped into the factory with open eyes and mind. He had traveled 10,000 miles to get to Cincinnati just for this one meeting and there was a lot riding on it, because back home in Kyoto, Japan, there were plenty of people doubting him. 
The single choice with the power to open the door to a world of possibilities.
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“My weapon is a word...I will never be afraid to speak out loud."
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They had only just reached the woods when the bombardment began, and the sudden crescendo of cascading explosions became so loud it felt like their ears were bleeding.
With nowhere to seek shelter, the three acted quickly and ran to a nearby ravine, hoping the natural cover of trees might slow the falling debris. Torrie collapsed to the ground under a giant pine tree and grabbed ahold of her dog, Martha, who was shaking uncontrollably. Together with her husband, Ilya, they closed their eyes, ready to die.  For many people, hitting a bullseye with a dart from 7 feet 9.25 inches away can be a challenge. But what if the target was 6.8 million miles away? How could such an aim even be possible? We’re about to find out.  The first time he escaped, the police brought the ten-year-old boy back to the carpet factory seeking a finder’s fee. That’s how Iqbal learned the police could not be trusted.  Insatiable curiosity left him penniless on his deathbed, yet this same curiosity and focused persistence is also what placed his revolutionary invention in over 35,000,000 automobiles worldwide.  Make Me Laugh was a television show where contestants would try not to laugh while a comedian told jokes. This was a challenge for the comedian, because their career credibility is based on their capacity for making people laugh. Yet this was also a challenge for the contestant, because they were positioned center stage in front of everyone with all eyes on them. Some contestants would laugh simply because they were nervous! If I had been given the opportunity to be on the show as a young boy, I would have won the grand prize, because as a child I had the ability to make other people feel invisible. It’s simple, really. All you have to do is ignore the people around you. This is easy when others also treat you as an invisible person—because when no one pays you any attention, it’s easy to return the favor. The true test, however, is when they try to get an emotional reaction out of you—like a comedian whose career relies on riling you up. To make others invisible under these conditions is a skill reserved for the masters. I received my masters when I was just six years old.  Neither option was ideal and Brandon Burlsworth wasn’t entirely sure what he should do. He was good—but was he good enough by Division 1 standards? |
JONAS CAIN, M.Ed.
AuthorJonas Cain is an educator, facilitator, and coach, working to engage, empower, and encourage leaders and the people they serve to experience joy. 
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