Go Ahead, Sell Your Soul

Go Ahead, Sell Your Soul When the world looks at you it sees one person; when you look at yourself you see another. Go Ahead! The odd difference between the two faces can be traced back to a time when you were still a toddler playing in the sand. You saw yourself as a daring knight, building cities in the sand and armies out of toy soldiers. The world around you saw only a young child, silly in his adolescent ways. “What army of Indians?” said Dad. “Those you see coming over the hill by the thousands. We don’t have much time!” you replied. “Alright son.” Dad said. “Just make sure you wash up before dinner, you don’t want your mother to see this mess.” “But Dad, it’s easy to see. Just look.” you whimpered. Maybe dad had forgotten about this business of adventures. In James Thurber’s book, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” he explains of Walter Mitty who, in the space of a single afternoon, is the commander of a navy hydroplane, a life-saving surgeon, an expert marksman, and an intrepid army captain. Walter Mitty isn’t crazy. He just has trouble convincing the outside world of who he is inside. Who among us never played cops and robbers, astronaut, kings and queens or cowboys? Just like the little kid you were playing in the sand, each of us has a secret life, and it’s silly to pretend our outward choices are not influenced by the people we are inside. If we insist on being mature we can tell the little kid to grow up and abandon his childish dreams. But if we were to sell our product and make two customers happy, we will speak not to a frail little child and an insecure son. We will eloquently address the needs of a chivalrous knight and an intrepid army captain. This is called “advertising.” There are two worlds: the world that we can measure with line and rule, and the world that we feel with our hearts and imagination. – Leigh Hun - Martin Create your soul