Thoughts of a Mad Man

Mystery of Success

Allow me to introduce you to a strange young man named James, who, even as today, at the time read too many books and thought too much about the mind and the things in the world. Let me tell you a story about him, a bit of everyday witchcraft that he discovered.





Walking to the store James spied a tree by the path, about three car-lengths away. He chose to do an experiment, and set his course straight toward the center of the tree. He planned to walk straight ahead, toward the tree - but he did not desire or intend to hit the tree. Now you may think this a queer thing to do, and in fact it is. As I told you, he is a rather strange man, even decades later.





As he moved straight past the tree, he reflected that he did not remember changing course. Nor did the tree seem to move, not by earthquake nor sorcery. He saw no elves pulling at the roots, no strange photoshop effect in the world. Yet, still he achieved this paradoxical thing - to move unceasingly straight toward a tree without ever touching it.





Now of course, this is but a trick - a cheap one. His mind played a ruse on him to provide him with success in an otherwise lunatic task. He unconsciously rearranged his footsteps until the tree no longer sat straight ahead, and deluded himself to believe that his actions played out as planned. Yet, what could be more magical? To stubbornly cling to a viciously ineffective plan and nevertheless achieve a desirable result?





In the following years he would be bewildered by failures. Times when he did all the right things, that he knew of, in pursuit of minimal goals. These failures haunted him, drove him to hate himself with a roiling passion, to suspect that his Maker had erred in his creation.





Of course, James had performed the tree experiment in reverse. He had set his intention to do all the right things, yet never believed his rewards would come. He remembers doing all the 'right' things - including rude and nasty things that should have helped. Yet, still he twisted his steps, avoided the reward he desired, but did never believe in. This is how one man can do all the best things, make all the sacrifices and never collect the trophy, while another man of less talent, discipline and devotion wins the day.





I don't know how powerful this effect is - perhaps it is the only thing that ever determines success. Perhaps discipline, determination and drive can win the day as well. What I know for true - using this principle will save me heartache and headaches aplenty.