Sunday afternoon, Alex was helping sand and paint the bench that sits in the front walkway; when offered the opportunity to join the endeavor, Michael declined, and I can't blame him. It isn't something I would want to do either, but Alex seemed to enjoy it. Later that afternoon, Michael decided to open up a lemonade stand, and when asked to become part of the enterprise, Alex chose to forgo the offer.
That lasted about 8 minutes, until Michael came storming home because he had sold out his first batch. It seems that Michael had chosen a very good location and a very good time to hawk his golden citrus beverage of a bygone era: the Memorial was ending, causing a stream of people to exit Muirfield, and Michael wisely chose to place his business where the people were. When Alex witnessed the success Michael was having, it was as if he heard a call to arms and he jumped right into the melee. They sold lemonade as fast as we could make it and had a line of people waiting when the lemonade pipeline ran dry.
As alike as they are they are, they are different people; Alex likes to accomplish things and enjoys success; he wants to see the new bench, smell his fresh cake and see a line of customers. Whereas Michael craves a specific type of success: he is most happy when he makes a vision of his reality. He doesn't want an editor for Kool Kid or Jack the Ghost Hunter; he wants to tell his stories, his way. On this day, he wanted to be a barker successfully soliciting people to his "home made" lemonade stand, and living what he envisioned is what made him happy.
What brings me joy is that they are there are becoming their own men, but are able to align and leverage their desires and skills in a common cause; speaking of which, they are already planning what they are going to do in the late Saturday and Sunday afternoons during next year's Memorial.
RAPatton (6.10.2009)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment