Desire

This was a man who had held the fate of thousands in his hands. This was a man who wined and dined with world leaders. This was a man who had accomplished mental and physical feats that most would only dream of. He had seen the world, found love, attained the highest levels of success in his chosen career and was financially able to do “whatever the hell he wanted” for the rest of his life.

This was a man who stood at the front of a classroom of students. A room full of minds thirsty for knowledge and innocent enough not to question a source so outwardly sure of itself. He lectured and they listened. They scrambled for every bit of advice. He had been so successful. He was so rich! He must have all of the answers.

Other men came in to speak each session. Some cited good luck as the source of their success. Some cited hard work. Most stated that the classroom inhabitants were smarter and more able than the speakers. All were filthy stinking rich enough to admit to something like that.

Of course the implication was that each of these men had done something extraordinary to be in such a position even without the mental capacity of these bright young minds.

“I’ll open the floor to questions.”

This was the signal to which the students responded with hands shooting upwards. Hands, attached to arms, attached to shoulders that tugged in their sockets from the jolt. Questions ranged from, “How did you get to be so great?” to “How can I be great too?”

From a corner she sat back, somewhat stunned the first time, but thoroughly amused by the third session and on. The questions stated “How do I become great?” but the subtext was clearly, “How can I get others to acknowledge my greatness?”

No one tries to gain recognition without first assuming they have something to be recognized for. Was power really about recognition? Were the people most prominently in the public eye simply the ones who needed the most validation? What undiscovered greatness existed that the world would never see because the owner desired no such thing? One had to wonder what the real motivation behind these huge successes was.

This man, who had done great things, scrambled each week for the attention, affection and approval of 19 year old students.