Max had been disappointing the world and himself for so long that he almost missed the day things changed.

He almost didn’t get out of bed in time, he almost didn’t get to the seminar, he had almost decided to do something else. Max could never say why he did get up, did go there, did make the effort. But the thing is, he did.
It could be imagined, that Max was perhaps motivated that day by an in-sight, an intuition or even, by his history. Max’ history ran the gamut of paternal derision, the ‘woulda, shoulda, coulda’ mantra resounding down the years whenever Max failed to finish some task or see some project through to its proper conclusion, to the latter experiences of a failed marriage and a failing business. There was no such design to the day.

It could be imagined that Max was a person of little import and less impact. This would be an untruth. For, he was a dreamer, with an exuberance for ideas, for people, for life! Max often became so excited and enthusiastic, he could barely contain himself. Possibilities and opportunities seemed so exponential to Max that he could hardly keep up with one before the next came along to fully engage him. Whilst his father grouched the pronouncement, ‘pie in the sky!’ and friends fondly shook their heads, Max appeared to sail blithely on the wings of ‘Wow! What if …’ It would be an untruth to say that Max was oblivious to the prolific doubt that peopled his existence. He was completely aware. It was the doubt and the negativity that brought him down. He loved his father and he loved his friends too much to tell them how mortally they injured him. They ground him down with their faith in his failures. His nature was to share every new wonderful thing that he saw, learnt and observed. They tarnished the gold of each discovery and yet, Max remained, somehow, enthralled by and filled with, a wonder of the hugeness of what there was yet to be discovered. They did not know, but the head-shaking induced qualities which Max brought to their lives, were the very ones that they loved him for and berated him for. Max was a breath of spring air, he was sunshine.

When Max first heard about the seminar, he enthused to all his friends and family. His Dad said, ‘ABC! Another Bloody Course!! You’re wasting your money.’ None of his friends would go with him. They all knew there were more pressing matters requiring the attention of the $250.00 Max would ‘blow’ on the seminar. Max went alone. He was never afraid to go anywhere alone. He always met such amazing people!

No one took any notice of Max’ buoyancy when he returned. ‘Yeah, right!’ was the universal consensus to Max’ proclamation that he was in love, that he was going to launch a new business idea, that he was living an amazing new journey. They had heard it all before.

In later years, Max did reflect on that day and, he recalled two people who had impacted on his life back then and subsequently. He had marvelled to the seminar speaker how nearly he had missed hearing what there was to learn. The simple reply was, ‘but you didn’t miss it’. Nor had Max missed meeting Valerie that day, the mother of his twin 10 year old daughters, his business partner, his love, Valerie who each day embraced him and said, ‘You smell of sunshine’.