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The Un-Comfort Zone II by Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. Upstream vs. Downstream ~ Can’t i Just Tread Water? Deb asked me, “Would you like to come over to my house tonight and learn about a business opportunity?” I’d met Deb on a church trip, and had been crushing on her for weeks. She could have ended her question with, “and scrub dirty toilets?” and I would’ve been there, because all I heard was “come over to my house tonight.” When I arrived, I was greeted by her father who ushered me into the living room where a bunch of people were seated on rows of folding chairs. Deb was surrounded by several other young men, so I sat as close to her as I could. Then a man at the front of the room with a chalkboard began a presentation. He explained how I could own my own business for less than $100, and only put in a part-time effort. It sounded fabulous. I was a 19-year-old student paying my way through college by working several part-time jobs. He said if I followed their time-proven direc- tions, I would become wealthy. He made it look simple and seem like something I could easily do. My father had preached the benefits of self-employment and being your own boss for years, so I was ready to take the bait. I wrote a check to get started and handed it to Deb. It was the last time I ever saw her; shortly after, she went off to college in another state. The business turned out to be a multilevel marketing plan. Initially, I didn’t know what it meant, but I was determined to follow their directions to the letter. Over the next 22 months or so, I bought lots of sample prod- ucts, books, tapes; and went to meetings - lots of meetings. I got al l my mother ’s friends and neighbors to buy products, and I invited all of my friends to meetings - over and over again; in short order, I alienat- ed everyone I knew. Pretty soon, everything about this business felt wrong to me. It made me feel very uncomfortable. The people above me in the pyramid, however, were very persuasive, and said all I needed was to read one more book or listen to one more tape, and I’d be on my way. After spending a great deal of time and money on this business, I realized I was paddling against the current and getting nowhere. I quit. A year or so later, I made a necklace for my girlfriend. It was unique and all her friends loved it and wanted one. So I made more necklaces and sold them to her friends. Then more people saw the necklaces and wanted one. I made more. I started carrying samples with me every- where I went, and showed them to every- one. I sold more and more. Then I started making earrings as well. Before long, I got a few stores to carry my jewelry. I built a word-of-mouth business effortlessly. It felt great. I was paddling with the current and everything was going swimmingly. A few years later, after I’d started col- lecting graffiti (see my previous article: Compelled by an Idea [ WWDR , June 2009], I came across this written on a bathroom wall: Only dead fish swim with the current. Beside it, written in a different hand was: Go with the flow. I understood the latter. Go with the flow was a mantra from the Hippie Era I grew up in along with Be Cool , and Chill Out . It means, don’t get upset by adversity because there will always be bumps in the road, unex- pected occurrences, and surprises. On the other hand, the first graffito implied the second one was Wilson cont’d on page 30. 24 AUGUST 2017 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®