by Ken Dickson
“Marriage is no picnic, that’s for sure. The reason I’m calling is that Ken stopped by out of the blue to ask me about some stocks.”
“He’s been raving about those stocks for weeks, acting like he’s found a pot of gold. That’s just one of his crazy ideas. I’m sorry that he wasted your time.”
“I knew that you were concerned that he might try to liquidate your portfolio last summer, and I just had to check with you to make sure that everything was okay. If you want me to freeze your assets, just give me the word and it’s done.”
“Thanks for calling. I’ll tell him to stop bothering you.”
“It’s no bother, really. Don’t you worry, now. I’m sure that he’s just curious. I’ll keep a close eye on everything and apprise you of any developments.”
“I appreciate that.”
“No problem. You have a good day now. Bye.”
Matt genuinely wanted to toss that data in the trash, but against every instinct, he kept the papers on the edge of his desk, just one hand swipe away from that end. The longer those papers sat there, the more they beckoned. Eventually, he looked toward them, thrummed his fingers restlessly on his desk, let out a long sigh and reached for them. As he studied the data, a curious feeling overtook him, and like a bass swallowing a sparkling chrome-plated spinner, he was hooked. He tracked the stocks himself for a few weeks and then, on June 13, he called me.
“Ken, do you remember those stocks that you asked me to check? I’ve never seen anything like them. I’ve got some things I want to talk to you about. Could you join me for lunch tomorrow at eleven thirty? Great. There’s a little restaurant on the ground level of the building just south of mine. You can’t miss it. I’ll meet you out front.”
***
I arrived at eleven twenty-five. Matt was already waiting out front in his slick business suit, neatly pressed white shirt and stylish tie. It occurred to me that I’d only seen him a handful of times in anything else. We shook hands as usual. Then, he placed one hand on my back and directed me toward the restaurant with the other. We sat in a booth where we wouldn’t easily be overheard, briefly studied the menus, ordered and then talked.
“That was some piece of work with those stocks, but I believe I understand what’s going on. Lately, I’ve felt incredible, like an athlete in the zone, and I’ve been more passionate than ever about investments. I think it’s the same thing that’s happened at the companies whose stocks you gave me to look at. As you mentioned, what you provided was just the tip of the iceberg. Employees of those businesses interact with banks, grocery stores, dry cleaners, fitness centers, schools, daycare facilities and more. Do you realize how much money we could make?”
“Yes, but I wanted to confirm that it wasn’t just a pipe dream. That’s why I contacted you.”
“There’s more. If you invest in Nanosys or some of the other well-known companies, you could turn a tidy profit, but if you purchase penny stocks from the lesser known companies, you would see outrageous gains. Percentage-wise, those companies can grow much faster, or be sold for outrageous sums.”
He had done his homework as I’d hoped, and as a bonus, it sounded like he may have changed, perhaps even because of that handshake. I didn’t want to talk about that just then. “I want to invest a half-million in these stocks. I don’t want to miss this opportunity. Put together a portfolio, and let’s get rolling right away.”
Matt exhaled forcefully, but didn’t admonish me. It was a big gamble, but I could tell that for once, he agreed with me.
“Why don’t we let that thought simmer for a bit? I need to ask you about something else.”
Matt had indeed changed, and I spent the time we waited for our lunch explaining it to him. When our lunch arrived, we both ate quietly as he considered what I’d shared.
Later that day, I left work early to meet with Matt and Beth, who was very uncomfortable with what was going on. That was the main reason I consulted Matt to begin with. I could have invested in those stocks myself, but Beth would never have allowed it. She trusted Matt, however, and after reviewing the data with her, he convinced her that it was a sound strategy. We then signed the contract to transfer a half-million dollars of retirement investments into mostly penny stocks. As we left, Beth looked in shock. I, on the other hand, imagined infinite doors of opportunity opening.
Chapter 12
THE RISE OF RESILIENTS
My investments performed better than expected, and by July 19, 2012, increased in value by fifty percent. Matt, who is typically very conservative and who wouldn’t be caught dead outside his stable of mutual funds, invested even more than I and cleared a cool half-million in profit. He was in high spirits as I pulled up a chair by his desk for a status report.
“If my estimates are correct, we can expect even more growth the next few quarters, in theory, of course. Past performance is—”
“No guarantee of future success.”
“Good man. You have been listening to me, after all.”
We spent the next fifteen minutes reviewing the details of each stock’s performance.
“I’m impressed,” I finally said. “When are you going to start your own mutual fund?”
“It’s funny that you should ask that. I’m seriously considering it. I even have a team investigating other potential stocks. By the way, what are your plans for your windfall?”
I took that as my opportunity to pitch Amistad and gave him a synopsis of the details.
“I know that it sounds a little crazy, but you’ve seen with your own eyes what’s going on. It’s like God or the powers that be want me to go down this path. Every time I take a step in that direction, doors open or money rains down on me. What would you do?”
“Well, first, I’d buy a vacation home in San Diego right on the beach.”
“I get that, but I’ve been through a lot to get to this point, and a beach house is the furthest thing from my mind, although Beth would certainly be keen on it.”
“Maybe you ought to get her opinion before you go off on a wild goose chase.”
“Point taken, but I’d much rather leave my mark on history by making the world a better place.”
“That’s a tall order.”
“So was going to the moon. Look how fast that happened when people put their minds to it and opened their wallets.”
“Taxpayer wallets. If I were you, I’d set a few million aside for retirement first. After that, you can do whatever the hell you want.”
“That’s a reasonable plan. I’ll be there in, what, another five weeks?” I chuckled.
The conversation turned back to starting a fund and then to attracting investors. I could see where his thoughts were headed—toward a company of his own. It occurred to me that he could play a bigger role in my venture than I thought.
As the meeting came to a close, I received a call from Merry. He was anxious to meet with me and suggested joining him at a coffee shop only four miles away. Since I was already in Tempe, I agreed.
***
Fifteen minutes later, I walked into the Extreme Bean. Merry was standing near the pastry case just to the right of the entrance.
“I’m glad that you could make it on such short notice.”
“No problem. I was in the area anyway.”
“Can I get you something?”
“I’m not a coffee drinker, but some iced tea would be nice. Unsweetened, no lemon.”
I assessed the place as he ordered tea and an iced chai latte for himself. There were a dozen people there, but it was as quiet as a library. Customers sat in an odd assortment of lounge chairs and small sofas, or at the many mismatched tables and chairs, absorbed in laptops, or reading books or newspapers. Colorful paintings and drawings hung on the walls, each with a tag indicating the artist’s name and a price.
Merry collected the drinks and nodded toward a small back room. We passed another room on our way there with a large stainless steel fram
e surrounding the entry and a heavy bank vault door hinged to it.
“That’s interesting,” I commented.
“Yeah, this used to be a bank.”
“That explains the odd building. I was wondering when I drove up why it looked unlike any coffee shop I’ve ever seen.”
He directed me to a small table with two chairs in the unoccupied back room. The table sat next to an old bookcase with several shelves of tattered books, a Monopoly game and a checkers board with black and red checkers stacked neatly next to it. I sat and took a long draw of iced tea.
“Do you remember our last meeting when you spoke of a collapse of ego and losing negative emotions?
“Sure,” I responded, stirring my tea with the straw.
“I have my own take on what’s going on with you, Jessie, Tim and Emma, but first, I want to give you a little history lesson, one that I doubt you’ve heard before.”
“I’m listening.”
“In all of human history, there have only been a handful of major behavioral transformations. For tens of thousands of years, humans were barely distinguishable from the great apes, concerned only with their immediate needs: food, water, shelter and procreation. Some 15,000 years ago, the first transformation occurred, and humans stopped wandering and banded together in tribes, which offered protection, support and a vastly improved quality of life. For the first time, humanity experienced a deep sense of community.
“Nearly 3,000 years ago, a second transformation occurred, the Feudal Age. During that time, impulsive, ruthless, ego-centric rulers corralled humanity with an iron fist and built the first empires.
“Around 2,000 years ago, the third transformation occurred: the Traditional Age, marked by the rise of powerful churches and great nations. Rules, discipline, morality and faith were the marching orders of the day, and God, or other transcendent higher powers, gave rulers additional leverage in the form of a promise of great rewards beyond death in return for lifelong devotion and service.
“A mere 400 years ago, the fourth transformation occurred with rationality ushering in the Modern Age. Science supplanted religion, and life became a race for success and wealth. Individualism, capitalism and democracy were the new centerpieces of civilization.
“Finally, barely fifty years ago, a fifth transformation occurred, and the Post-Modern Age was born with a focus on human rights and concern for the planet, along with a questioning of the money, status and wealth motives of the previous age.
“These behavioral transformations are coming closer and closer together, and even though the previous one was only a few decades ago, the next is upon us. In fact, I believe it’s taking place right before our eyes and involves you, Jessie, Tim and Emma.”
An incredible feeling overcame me, as if my mind and body were in full agreement with him.
“You are what I refer to as resilients. You all have a special cognitive ability to block destructive thoughts that, in blanket form at least, has never before existed. I’ve worked with people who have resilient qualities, but those qualities come and go and tend to involve specific events.”
“What makes us different from them?”
“You are locked into resilient mode.”
“Locked in?”
“Yes. Whereas other people I’ve worked with have temporary resilient qualities, it is a normal mindset for you. I think that the level of resilience that all of you exhibit represents the next behavioral transformation: the sixth.”
“I had no idea of these transformations. I haven’t read or heard anything about them before, but looking back, they appear so obvious.”
“What most people don’t realize is that we have two brains: the cognitive or thinking brain, and a primitive subsystem called the limbic brain. Whereas the cognitive brain manages everyday tasks that require conscious thought, the limbic brain deals primarily with emotions and drives. In addition, it has direct connections to the endocrine system, where it can stimulate the production of neurotransmitters and hormones, and the autonomic nervous system, where it can influence things like heart rate and breathing.
“The cognitive brain filters sensory input as it sees fit, but the limbic brain receives everything unfiltered and acts upon it as it deems necessary. It can respond in an instant to an emergency, raising our heart rate, blood pressure and breathing, and flood our body with adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine or hormones to briefly make us super-human.
“Now, here’s the tricky part: it doesn’t know the difference between a real emergency and a fabricated one. It just interprets the data it receives, compares it to previous templates, and responds accordingly. Has your heart ever raced while you watched a movie?”
“Sometimes.”
“Were you in real danger?”
“No.”
“But your limbic brain thought you were based on its sensory input and dosed you with adrenaline. It felt good, didn’t it? Your mind became crisp, clear and vivid as your entire body prepared to take on the danger.”
“I never thought about it that way.”
“We love those feelings. That’s why we read books, watch movies and play video games to produce them. Since the limbic brain cannot distinguish between real emergencies and stories, if you will, we can trick it into releasing those chemicals. The problem is that if we do it too much, the limbic brain becomes very skittish and reacts to things it shouldn’t. The bad news is that once it becomes that way, it’s difficult to reset. It cannot understand language like the cognitive brain, so there is no way to calm it. Conventional talk therapy is useless. That’s the problem with disorders like PTSD. To make matters worse, if it wants to, it can shut down the cognitive brain. All hell breaks loose when that happens; it both pumps us full of emergency chemicals and inhibits our ability to rationalize our way out of the emergency. This can create an avalanche effect leading to panic attacks, anxiety disorders, even mental illness.”
I took another long draw of iced tea. “That’s very interesting, but what’s the connection to resilience?”
“I’m getting there. Have you ever trained a dog?”
“Several. I’ve even raised guide dogs for the blind.”
“What is different between a trained dog and an untrained one?”
“They are calm, peaceful, easy to manage, not a train wreck like an untrained dog. They can do unbelievable things.”
“But it’s the same dog, right?”
“I guess so. It would have been a train wreck had I not trained it.”
“Have you ever noticed those dogs whimpering or running in their sleep? What do you suppose is going on?”
“Hmm. Are they experiencing emotions freely? That’s what happens to me when I sleep. Anything goes, but when I awaken, a veil of calmness returns.”
“Just like the trained dog. That’s why I think that resilience, or the veil of calmness, as you call it, is a cognitive ability. The dog can be perfectly composed all day long but reverts back while it dreams. I’ve wondered if it’s a safety valve, if managing thoughts all day long could otherwise cause damage and that is how the mind prevents it—by blowing off imaginary steam while you sleep.”
“The trained dog analogy makes sense. They sure do act a lot differently after they’re trained. They become fearless and supremely confident. That’s how I feel. But I used to worry about everything. When I finally accepted that the things I worried about were fabrications, that they didn’t really matter, the worries ended. I became just like that trained dog, I guess—calm, confident, fearless. And do you know what? I did it myself, on purpose, but I didn’t know what I was doing at the time.”
“What?” He looked surprised.
“In 2011, I was in a psych ward in central Phoenix, overdosed on psychotropic meds. My thoughts raced a million miles an hour, and my head felt like a ticking time bomb. I needed to stop the racing thoughts. I figured out how, and shut them all down. Afterward, I was like I am now—calm and peacef
ul. It’s my default mode of operation nowadays.”
“You’re the first person I’ve met who’s accomplished that. I thought it was possible, but I’ve never met anyone who could do it intentionally.”
“I don’t recommend doing it the way I did. I would classify that as a high-risk approach. Besides, it took me a long time to integrate what happened and not view it as temporary insanity. If I were not so stubborn, I think it would have gone the other way, and I would have written it off as mental illness.”
He stirred his latte, took a sip and savored it briefly before responding.
“You were alone in your struggle without a mentor. Imagine how different it could have been if you’d had someone like me by your side explaining everything.”
“That would have saved a lot of grief. How do you know so much, anyway?”
“I’m just like you. Resilient. I became this way after a car accident nearly took my life when I was young. It’s been a mystery that I’ve tried to solve ever since.”
“That clarifies a lot.”
“Perhaps what you did explains something: why things are happening the way they are now.”
“How do you mean?”
“The five transformations I mentioned all began somewhere: as an idea, a spark that started the fire. What if you are the spark, and that’s why people around you are changing? You figured it out, and evolution took over from there, spreading it through humanity in mysterious ways that we don’t yet understand. Maybe that is how it’s always been. One person with an idea begins the transformation.”
“It certainly seems that way. How do you think it works?”
“We have a newfound ability to manage our thoughts, only it’s not done consciously. It’s automatic, like we’ve been practicing it for years and can do it without thinking about it. It’s a cognitive throttle that leads to limbic stasis by default, resulting in clear-headedness, calmness and even bliss as our normal mindset.
“Imagine an unruly classroom in which students demand attention at will. The instructor would struggle to accomplish anything. That was our old mind. Now, imagine a disciplined classroom where the teacher is clearly in charge and students speak only when given permission. That’s our new mind. That is the essence of resilience. That’s how it could be for everyone someday. Can you imagine what we could accomplish without all the crap spinning in our heads?”