Chapter 27
The Game of Business, and the Business of Greed...
-Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse
Tom had made his decision about family versus business; that was the easy part. Doing, however, was the real challenge. Day by day the demands of his business grew, and he could tell that the business was at another critical juncture. He brought in some capital through a private stock offering, trading away 49% of the company for a couple hundred thousand dollars.....a fraction of what it was worth. Then, he borrowed some money from the Small Business Administration for trucks and equipment. But it still wasn’t enough for the cash starved, thriving business. Sales didn’t seem to stress him, like it did others. He was a born salesman. But compounded by the daily demands of manufacturing production, park installations, personnel supervision, and inventory management, it all weighed heavier on him - particularly since he was trying to spend more time at home. If he conceded his life to the slave labor trap of small businesses and ignored his family, he’d have less stress; but that wasn’t his way. He resolved that the business would either do well enough to support them on a 60 hour work week, or not. If so, great. If not, it was time to make changes. So he hired a VP of sales, and promoted his best people to key positions of personnel manager, production manager, and controller. The business was in that in-between place between large and really big; and he knew to attract the right kind of investment, it had to be ready to be really big. Nothing else could absorb the horrifically expensive fees of public accountants, attorneys, and the venture capital sharks who settled on nothing less than 30% of everything. Tom began working with a regional development commission to purchase a 65,000 foot manufacturing plant in
“This isn’t my cooking! The chickens are scrawny and stringy, and the gravy tastes like wallpaper paste!”
Tom accepted the sour fact that to succeed, and to not be owned by the business, he was going to have to open his business up to outside influences, and that he would lose control. The special things that he and his employees had created, the very things that made it unique, would be twisted and turned, and marketed - to milk the quality and lifeblood out of his business. Quality would be prostituted into image, and the much more lucrative ‘perception of quality’ would rule.
“I’ll be ‘kicked upstairs,’ for sure,” he reflected, sadly.
“They’ll pay me as little as they can to gain control, and then move me out of the way as they send in people who can ‘take it to the next level,’ leaving the founding entrepreneur empty handed. I’d better get as much as I can from the stock sale as I can, and be ready to accept that as my payout,” he reasoned.
But even still, he didn’t over worry it all. He was tired and stressed, and wanted above all things for his family life to be happy.
“It’ll be a relief to finally get help on this,” he thought. “It’s getting too big for one person to do, and to still have a life. It’s worth the trade off. I’ll finish off the house in mountains, play golf, and spend more time with the kids. That’s not so bad. It could be a lot worse. A little bit of something big, is better than 100% of a big burden,” he concluded.
So with his resolve set, he went about courting the venture capitalist sharks that circled around the ‘big eight’ accounting firms. Having a financial background he knew what they needed, and he gave it to them. Before long, they had come to an arrangement where a recently retired VP from a large steel company was selected to run the company, and Tom would step aside and facilitate the stock sale. The man promised to bring in $150,000 of his own money for 10% of the stock; then, the remainder of the stock would be valued and sold for twice that amount. Tom agreed to 20% of the firm, and a $300,000 payout when the large sale was accomplished. The present investors would retain 10%, for their prior investment, and the remainder would result in roughly $2,000,000 in capital. That, Tom and the investors figured, would be an adequate first placement of stock; and would provide enough capital to retire the SBA loan, and provide more than adequate working capital. In a few years, once they were settled into their new manufacturing facility and making a large profit, they would go for a large IPO. That’s when the venture sharks would reel in their cash. Tom wasn’t thrilled about the deal, but he was relieved, and resigned to the prospect nonetheless. The retired VP, a silver-haired and respectable gentleman with a distinguished career of experience, joined the company and set to learning his way around.
“Thomas, I’m puzzled here. We could make a killing by using the rainforest wood in the garden furniture, planters, and even the playsets. That lumber distributor was in the other day, and he told me that he’d get it to us for a fraction of oak, maple, or even redwood. The profit margin is staggering!”
“Two problems with that Richard. One, I get second growth redwood by the railcar load for less than clear fir, and it comes four side sanded, radius edged, ready to use....no labor prep. Second growth redwood is fifty to seventy years old, and comes from the roots of the big redwoods they cut down in the early 1900’s. Secondly, if we don’t provide a market for the rainforest wood then they’ll have no incentive to keep cutting it. Its beautiful wood anyway, and can be used responsibly over time. The purplewood doesn’t exist anywhere else, and it’s all so dense and hard that’ll last forever in inlaid floors and fine furniture. That’s responsible use, not garden planters that could be concrete, plastic, cedar, or second growth redwood. Anyway, pretty soon we’ll be changing to that wood and plastic product for playsets. The second growth ‘crop’ is almost gone, and I won’t buy old growth redwood because there isn’t that much left of the 2,000 year old trees. Again, its a crime to destroy those plants.”
“This is a business, Thomas. It’s about making money. The lumber distributor told me how much money he made on that huge deck for the Coke executive with the house on the Chattahooche river. The deck was over 5,000 square feet! The women love it, because their heels don’t make dents in the hard wood; like they do in redwood or cedar.”
“He told you about the corporate jet ride they took him on, didn’t he? Its kind of heady stuff to be taken dove hunting on a private jet with all the good ’ole boys, eh?” Tom joked.
“You should try it, Thomas. Sometimes you just don’t know how to enjoy life. Why be distainful about living luxuriously?”
“I’m not, as long as we aren’t raping someone or something to do it!“
“Whatever. On another topic, I have this typing to do and Susanne looked at me like I was an alien when I asked her to type it for me! What’s her problem?”
“Oh, Richard, she’s the controller. She’s a professional woman, with ten years experience in a South African company. She’s not a secretary by any stretch of the imagination. She was probably very offended. I’m surprised that she didn’t deck you!”
“Welll, how about Jo-Anne?”
“Again, she’s the personnel director; with 15 years experience in human resources. She’s swamped just doing payroll, quarterly tax filings, and performance evaluations; not to mention the incident with the guy coming back drunk from lunch yesterday, and then pissing on a customer’s dog when he was installing their kid’s playset! Then, she has the sales guy who stole a truck load of redwood lumber. We have to deal with that situation tonight. The bastard had a party last weekend, invited people from work; and then gloated about his ‘great new deck’ that he’d pilfered from inventory, bit by bit.”
"Ok, I understand. But who’ll type my memos?”
“You, or the secretary you hire, once we get more capital in. We’re dong fine, but small business is a lot of grunt work at first. ‘Its assholes and elbows,’ as they say so colorfully.”
Seeing his distress, Tom relented.
“Hey, don‘t worry, its just a few weeks. Then you can hire yourself a pretty young thing, o.k.? Right now, we have to keep everything moving so the stock sale stays on schedule. There‘s not much room for anything extra where we’re at; but soon we‘ll be able to set things up the way you envision them. Hey, look at the time! We have our weekly manager’s meeting. Don’t worry, this is a well oiled and efficient machine; all we have to do now is to crank up the output by adding resources where we need to. The hard part, the product design and organizational part, is already done.”
“Thomas, I’ll go to the meeting but I’m worried. This is a lot more hands-on than I expected.”
“That’s o.k., leave it to us. Next week we go to that big investing group in
"O.k.,” he said, in a worried tone of voice.
Three days later, the day before the big investor’s meeting, Richard called into the office, and talked to Thomas.
“Thomas, I’ve had a change of heart.”
“What? Change of heart? What does that mean?”
“It means that I’m not the man for you; the business is just too new, too different for me. I’m not in control of everything yet.”
“Well, you can and will be. Don’t worry, its all cool. I know small businesses are different than age old steel mills, but....”
“That’s it, Thomas. I thought I could get into the up and coming small business world, and I found that I’m too set in my ways to adapt to the dynamics of a fast paced company.”
“But you knew what this entailed; and it won’t be that hard, its just new right now. We talked about this a lot when the investors brought you to me. I thought everything was cool? Anyway, we have an investor’s presentation tomorrow. Come to that and help me out, and we can talk on the way.”
“That’s it. I can’t go with you to
“You’ll mess it up worse if you don’t show! What will I tell them? They know all about you, I’ve bragged about you for weeks, and they’ll know that you are close to the deal....working here and all. If you back out at the last minute, it’ll scare them that something’s wrong....when nothing isn’t. The whole thing will fall through!” Tom replied in a near panic.
“Ohhhh, I don’t know. It’s a lot of money that I’ll be putting in. Maybe I should be getting a bigger percentage of the pie for that much money?”
“So, that’s what it’s about. Hell, I don’t know how they came up with the numbers. Let’s get one of the investors to meet with us tonight, and we can go over that. Its not within my control.”
"O.k., how about 7:00 tonight?”
“Fine with me, but I’ll have to confirm that with
“Well let me know, I’ll be home. You guys can come here.”
"O.k., I’ll be there for sure; and I’ll contact
“Yeah, see you tonight.”
Tom dropped the phone into its cradle, and sat down heavily into his chair.
“This is all I need, a crisis in the 9th hour. Damn, I’ll be glad when this all isn’t on my shoulders.....”
Tom contacted
“Tom, let me handle this, o.k.? It’s probably just last minute jitters. It’s real common with guys like this, who get out of their element for the first time.”
“I don’t know, I think he wants more of the pie for his investment.”
“Maybe so, we’ll see. I’m just not too happy about his approach, then. Not too honorable, pulling something like this.”
“Tell me about it....”
“Do you think he can run the company?”
“Sure, no problem. He’s just used to having a secretary. That threw him off.”
“Well, when the capital comes in, that’s doable....”
“I told him the very same thing.”
"Alright, let’s get in there, ok? It’s probably much ado about nothing.”
The three men met for over two hours. It became obvious that Richard wanted a very big part of the pie for his initial investment; an unreasonable amount, that basically eliminated Thomas and the other investors to little or nothing. After a while, it became apparent that he wasn’t bargaining in good faith, and
“Richard, I don’t understand all of this last minute stuff. Why wait until a critical point to bring up these things? It could’ve all been worked out without a problem, and I wouldn’t have this extra stress for tomorrow’s meeting.”
“See that little sign up there on the wall, above my desk, Thomas?”
“Not really, what’s it say?”
“’Age and deception will beat youth and skill every time!’ Read it and weep. If you want my money, you guys are going to have to play ball on my terms. And that means me in charge, not you!”
“Richard, ugghh, I don’t understand. You’ll be in charge, as soon as I can teach you the business. I accepted that before we even looked for someone. You’ll have what you want.”
“Well, I want it all, now! Or, nothing,” he said, with an evil smirk on his face....waiting to see Tom’s reaction
“You sick fuck! Here we’re working with you in good faith, and you pull this shit out of greed. You might know a lot of things, but you’re clueless about this business. Your greed will take us all down.”
“Read it and weep, Thomas!” he reiterated. “You either play ball with me, or there’s no game! Either way, you’re out; and your buddy
“Remember this, Richard. You’re from
“You‘ve got a lot to learn about business, Thomas. I can see that. All this idealism! Its soooo entertaining. Business never changes, Thomas.....its business!”
“Well, you’ve nothing to teach me..... that I want to learn!”
Tom listened to the man’s fading laughter, as he stormed out of the house. The next day, exhausted and drained from stress and a restless night without sleep, Tom drove to
“I’d love to do the deal, Thomas; you know I like and trust you. And, your business would fit in well with my lumber interests; but where’s this Richard fellow you spoke so highly about? I thought he’d be comin in with you today?”
“Well, he didn’t understand just how small businesses worked, and wanted to add too much overhead before the company could support it.”
“Weeell, that’s wise of you Thomas. You’re absolutely right to play it as lean and close to the chest as you can, until you’re strong! Even then, you gotta watch those labor dollars. They‘ll eat you alive, ifnin you aren’t watching closely. One of the D-lites of business!” he laughed, good naturedly.
“Anyway, as for your deal here. I can help you by letting others know I’m on board, if you know what I mean, until you git yourself a full boat, that is.”
“Thanks, I really appreciate it. I’ll let you know how it all shakes out. I’ve got to be running back to
“Yeah, see you later son. And, don’t give it up, o.k.? You’ve got a great business there. You’re a smart fellar; hang in there, alrightie? You’re a great customer, I’d hate to lose ya. Good job!”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Tom drove back to
“Well, Thomas, it looks like Richard and your VP of sales got real chummy, and thought they’d run the show, cut you out of the deal, and play with us.”
“Bastards! Like it’d work, anyway. Two idiots that I was trying to help. Talk about the blind leading the blind.”
“We agree, and I wondered about you hiring the VP for Sales; but, I figured you knew something I didn’t.”
“I was just trying to have a full staff, so prospective investors wouldn’t feel that the whole business is dependant upon me; and to begin shifting off critical duties so it really wasn’t. He had a degree from Georgia Tech‘s Management School....”
“It was a good idea, but a bad apple.”
“Call me stupid!”
“No, I’d call you optimistic. That’s o.k.. How did your meeting with the
“Well, he’s a great guy, but he has a few alternatives for his cash. He loves to fish, and is nearly a professional level angler. His damn boat cost over $200,000! I know that’s not so much for Brian, because he has cars that cost that much; but for a lumberman, that’s a big deal. Anyway, he’s getting into a wood-type product that uses recycled plastic. By making docks, and marinas out of this plastic wood, they eliminate deterioration from the salt water, and it doesn’t warp and shrink. So, that’s a big opportunity for him. And, frankly, the scales got tipped because Richard did show up - after I‘d built him up so much. I never expected him to be such a dick.”
“Well, that’s my stupid mistake. Anyway, Thomas, where do we stand?”
“Dead in the water, without the $150,000 I was expecting to come in any day! I’ve got $50,000 in orders, guys to build them, and materials on the way; but no way to pay the payroll and the material bills.....not to mention the rents and electricity bill. I was set to build a huge inventory these next two months, for the Nursery business. Everything’s in motion. So I went to the bank today to see if I could take out a short term loan like I used to, but they can’t lend me short term money anymore because all of the assets are now secured by the SBA loan. I used to be able to get a $50,000 signature loan, but with all the assets pledged, the bank woman won’t do anything.”
“Well, we can’t put anything more in, I’ve just lost a mint on a medical business that got sued for malpractice. A totally frivolous suit, no basis whatsoever, but the attorneys always seem to get theirs. Do you know how many great pediatricians are retiring, just because of insurance costs? It’s all backwards,” interjected Dr. Hartwell.
“And I can’t do anymore, because my firm is reorganizing,” responded
“I don’t even want to talk to Brian,” he added. “I think he overextended you with that International Flower show. You did better than most, but I wonder why you even get involved with people like that?”
“Well, it was a great job. If they’d paid the last $50,000 of that $400,000 bill, we wouldn’t be so pressed right now, that‘s for sure. You know what those trade show promoters always say: ‘See me after the show.’ I should’ve known better, I just didn‘t move fast enough....before the show was over.”
“What I’m trying to say, Thomas, is that you’re on your own. There’s nothing we can do.”
“If you can get a big profit on paper, I could get you more investors, Thomas. But right now....things are drying up, so people are getting choosy. I think our roaring 80’s have hit their limit.”
“That’s o.k. guys, I’ll think of something. If nothing else I can have a fire sale, and at least get our investments out.”
“Maybe that’s what you should do, Thomas....”
Tom went home, and his wife met him in the bedroom; the children were long past in bed. Tom had looked into each of their rooms, as he did every night; and was strengthened by the angelic smiles on their peaceful faces.
“Anne-Marie, I’ve got some not so good news.....” and, he told her the story.
“We’ll be o.k., even if the business tanks. It’ll be tight, but I have enough cash and assets aside that we won’t have to worry for basics. I’ll do my best to get what I can out of the business sale, but this has pulled the rug out from under all of our plans. When an investor pulls out at the last minute, it puts everyone else into a tailspin....thinking he knows something they don’t. Itsa domino effect, but we’ll be o.k.. We just have to pull together. I know you and I can weather anything, if we work at it.”
The silence in the room was deafening. Tom waited for a response, but got none. She continued reading her magazine. After a while, worried about her being so upset that she didn’t know what to say or do, he spoke up again and asked her.
“Are you o.k.? Don’t worry, it’ll be fine, like I said....”
“I’m not worried, just pissed! I’m stupid! You’re a loser, and I’m a loser for believing in you,” she said with cold vehemence.
“I should’ve divorced you when I had the chance - when you were making big money. Now I’m screwed. Don’t talk to me anymore, and sleep in the other room,” she said with detached regret.
Tom was devastated, and stumbled out of the room. His shock was mixed with disgust; and in his mind’s eye he saw betrayals stacked upon betrayals. He felt the once solid earth, cave from under his feet. He’d gone from early retirement, and the golf course, to bankruptcy and divorce court......in two days. The monetary loss, and even the business loss, he could handle; but the cold and brutal message from his wife was unbelievable. The next day he overslept. The kids went to school, his wife went to tennis lessons, and he went to the mountains.....to the lot where he was going to build his house, in Big Canoe. He sat down on the cleared lot, and looked out across the wide expanse of beautiful
“That’s why they love me, because I don’t charge an emotional toll for all that I give. I thought they loved me for being a nice person, but they love that I’m less of a taker....not a better person. They appreciate not having to put out so much for what they want......that’s it. To me, life is an adventure; but to them, it’s a game of acquisition and I’m just the ’nigger slave.’”
He flinched at the analogy, and the brutal vernacular; but he identified with the feeling of being used for most of one’s life, for another person’s selfish benefit. He finally understood the nature of his present trap.
“Maybe if I show her how it’s not only wrong, but won’t even work, she’ll change,” he hoped.
But regardless of the outcome, he resolved to do whatever it took to keep those angelic faces of his children smiling. He never expected that some women would use the threat of removing those smiles for the sole benefit of getting what they wanted - playing with everyone’s emotions, as tools. He always underestimated the ruthlessness of the truly materially driven person. He liked things, like they were toys. But he also saw how they’d nearly come to possessing him too. So, he further resolved to de-materialize; to protect himself, and his kids, from falling victim as well.
********
“David, is that you?” Tom asked, as a man’s voice answered the phone.
“Yeah, this is me. How are you doing, Mr. Rich and famous entrepreneur? Are you calling to set up the date for our sailing trip? I know you’re paying, cuz I’m not there yet.”
“No, that’s not why I called. I just need some advice and didn’t know who was best to ask.”
“If it’s for a vacation, I can’t do that either. Eleanor and I spent our life savings on that two year backpacking trip. Hell what am I saying? You met us pitifully dirty trekkers at the bus station last year - so you know!”
“No, no, it’s not that. I’ve hit a brick wall here, and need advice from someone I can trust.”
"O.k., shoot.”
Tom explained the stock fiasco, and recounted his numerous attempts to resuscitate the cash flow of the business; before he was forced to default on payments, or incur payrolls he couldn’t meet. Time was wearing thin, and his options had evaporated. All of his friends, whom he’d helped in business, were in no position to help; and the banks all gave the same answer: ‘no clear assets to pledge, no money!’
Although he had three times the assets than what was owed on the SBA loan, no one could lend him more. Even an inventory loan request fell on deaf ears; because, inventory was included on the ‘current asset list.’ Tom was stumped, and he hoped that his old business school friend would help him evaluate his only remaining alternative.
“Anyway, the bank people referred me to a group of private investors who said they’ll loan me the money, as much as I needed....as I need it. All I have to do is sign over the business to them, and stay on until the debts are paid.”
“Well, that’s not so bad; but do you trust them?”
“I don’t know what to think. Their way of doing business is different than mine. They want to offer financing on the playsets, at high interest rates. They say sales will go way up if I offer financing to the customers. I agree that they‘re probably right, but their methods seem suspect. One of the guys told me that it was o.k. if we oversold people on the sets, and got parents into debt; because it’s for their kids, and they’ll either be shamed into paying, or we’ll repossess their playsets. I’ve always done 50% down, and the remainder on installation. Its clean, it works, and it’s for people who can afford it. I don’t think its right to get people in over their head in debt - especially on an emotional purchase like a kid’s playset. I think it’s better to sell them something in their price range, or nothing at all, rather than to emotionally blackmail them, and set them up for failure. The man said that we’ll get enough in the down payment to cover our costs, and that the interest earnings will triple the profits. He’s right, on paper, but.....”
“It creeps you out.”
“Right! How did I know you’d understand?”
“Well, Tom, here’s the thing. There is money, and there is money. Some money isn’t worth having. There can be too many strings, and the concessions you make to get it aren’t worth it. It sounds like they are mafia types. If you get into bed with them, you’ll never be allowed out. You should see the faces of people who’ve made the wrong call on exactly your kind of deal. These guys look for people who are desperate for money, and aren’t thinking of the long range consequences; or, they don’t really tell you what they are, you just get to figure it out over time, eh? I’d advise that you follow your gut. If it feels stinky, don’t go there. It’s better to shut down, then to end up a slave to that group. To put it succinctly: ‘whatever they’re proposing to do to others, you can bet that they’ll do that, and worse, to you.’”
“I didn’t want to hear it, but I think you’re right. Thanks! And I’m sorry for the call....”
“Sorry? Don’t go getting all stupid on me, Thomas. It’s just a business. You did your best, got pinned, and that’s that! It doesn’t change who you are as a person. How you deal with it, will determine that. Hold your head up high. You did great, and got punched. We were impressed, and actually a little overwhelmed at your success when we came through last year. Now we’d just spent months in third world countries, and hadn’t slept in a decent bed in eons; but even so, we could see that you did much more than most people could do; with very little to work with. The number one reason for small businesses failures is under-capitalization, you know that!”
“Yeah, but....”
“Yeah, but, nothing! You just though that you’d beat the odds. You almost did! No fault of yours. So pick up your ass, dust it off, and start over again elsewhere, o.k.? You’re a smart guy, have at it!”
“Thanks David, I needed to hear that right now. Anne-Marie isn’t doing so well with it.”
“That’s her issue, don’t let it become yours o.k.?”
"O.k., I’ve gotta run. Thanks again.”
The next day Tom met with the two men in black suits, for the last time. They weren’t happy, but they hadn’t lost any money, so they couldn’t infer any possible debt - but even still, they tried. Then Tom saw them for exactly what they were; and he thanked his lucky stars for the friend who saved him from a terrible mistake, born of desperation. Later that afternoon, Tom met with his employees and gave them the news. He had fired the VP of Sales the day after the meeting with Richard. That had been easy, and almost enjoyable. Telling his loyal employees that their jobs were ending, was not. Surprisingly, they all hugged Tom and wished him luck! They knew that he’d always worked on their behalf, and they held no regrets or bitterness for him. He was heartened, but still sad; and said his goodbyes to them all. It was Friday, and payroll came through. He told them if they had any problem with their checks to come see him at home. A couple did, and he paid them cash out of his pocket. Other employees took tools in lieu of pay. On Monday morning, Tom took the keys of the building to the bank.
He stopped in the President’s office, and handed him the large ring of keys.
“You say you can’t do anything, well neither can I anymore. You’ve got me trapped, and my assets locked up. So I locked them up for real, so that nothing goes walking. You should be able you get your money back by selling it all, and collecting the receivables. Here’s a list of outstanding receivables.”
“But Thomas, I sent over two men to you who were interested in the business. They said that they talked to you, and that they have a way out.”
“You sell it to them then. I’m done.”
Tom returned home and got cold brutal stares from his wife, who hadn’t spoken to him in days. He packed one of the cars with his camping gear, gave the kids a big group hug; and told them that he’d be gone for a while. He spent a week, totally alone, in the mountains.
In a few months, the bank did sell Tom’s business.....intact, as a whole. His Nursery customers knew Tom pretty well, and had been so pleased with his products that they bought the business at public auction and hired Tom to run it. Backed with seemingly unlimited cash, Tom re-opened the business and ran it for over a year; turning a healthy profit every month. With the burden of all the functions off of him, and sales and manufacturing as his main emphasis, the company prospered. But Tom knew that his days of entrepreneurial bliss were over. The game was clear. Innocent naïveté had been replaced by brutal experiences, and he could clearly see that the game, like an elaborate casino, was rigged for the house. Regardless of what business he created, it would be bought out by a larger concern eventually - to the people who held the capital. Worse yet, to retain it, he’d have to sacrifice all that he held dear, and become one of them. He didn’t want either a replay of the first scenario, nor the other. He’d learned, he’d prospered, risen and fallen, and risen yet again. It was enough, and he learned that fulfillment didn’t lie in being one’s own boss; owning tons of assets, and living the fallacy of ‘financial independence.’ He made a conscious decision that life was going to continue to be a dream for him; and for his children. He resolved that life was no longer going to be a nightmare of control and possession; but rather, a journey of experiences for knowledge, adventure, and fulfillment. There, he was sure, they’d find happiness. And so it was, that he threw away everything that he had in his life, to start anew - unencumbered, in another.
“You live a charmed life, Thomas. I don’t know how you do it,” his brother commented, with a minor hint of jealousy.
“It’s because ‘stuff’ never really mattered to me. That’s why I didn‘t have the same fears of losing, cuz they’re only fun toys, not my true objective. My objective has always been to be happy. All the ’stuff’ in the world won’t make that happen. I didn’t understand the bad sides of people so much then; so I lived in a dream that saw only the best in them - out of ignorance. Now I’ll live in a dream again, out of choice. I’ll chose to see the best in people, with the hope that they’ll get over the ’stuff’ issue. Maybe you ‘see‘ people as they are, better than I do; but I’d like to see them as they can be. By giving hope, I feel hope for a better future. At first I thought the loss of my business was the worst thing in my life. Now I think it may’ve been my salvation for a happier life. How happy could I be, always worried about guarding assets like a bitter old dragon?”
“You’re a mess, Thomas.”
“Thanks.”
©
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