Junior Year Box Set

Then for some reason, I had to fight off twenty guys. I had a blast with that part. They hooked me up on wires, enabling me to jump and fight through the sky. I guess that was popular in Japan. What I couldn’t believe was that I made as much as four Range Sports week-long modeling gigs, working for just one day making a commercial.

At the end of the day, I met with a representative of the company. He presented me with a briefcase that held six pair of women’s sunglasses and six men’s. They were a combination of platinum and gold and were their high-end signature samples that they only made a handful of each year. It was a gift of thanks. His assistant told Caryn that the sunglasses were the equivalent in status in Japan to wearing a Rolex watch.

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I was out of it for the rest of the day. At the dojo, I couldn’t concentrate and had my head handed to me. Fritz sent me to the showers for fear I’d get hurt. After dinner, Caryn pulled me aside.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t know. This all just seems a little surreal.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Looking back to middle school, I was a nerd headed down the wrong path. I understand that I worked hard to get here and made the choice to do all this. What I don’t know is what’s next. I’ve always worked hard to become the best at anything I do. When I started playing football, I got the coaching and trained to become a top-flight quarterback. I’ve worked with tutors and studied my butt off to get good grades. When I was asked to do a movie, I took a college acting class and trained so I wouldn’t embarrass myself. As a model, I’ve worked with some of the best and learned so much from Adrienne. Probably my greatest love is baseball, and I’m getting hitting instruction from a major-league hitting coach. Heck, I’ve even gone to a hooker to learn how to be better in bed.

“I guess I’m searching for clarity. Where’s all this leading to?” I asked.

Caryn gave me a sober, thoughtful look.

“Do you know why I really took this job? It wasn’t because I was pissed at Devin and Cora. Well, that did play a role in it, but it was because of you. Devin Range admires you. He says there are only a handful of people in this world like you. Most people have dreams and plans for their future. Some even partially succeed. Devin told me you were different. He said that if you decided to do something, you’d do whatever it takes to get it done. He marveled at how intelligent you were to seek out and find the right people to help you. Devin said you surround yourself with like-minded people and build relationships to achieve your goals.

“I’ll be honest, I had doubts that a junior in high school could do everything Devin told me you’d done, so I checked you out. The reason I took this job was because of your potential. I could’ve taken a job with a large firm and worked my way up the ladder. I have my MBA from UC Berkeley. My counterparts with whom I graduated are all pulling down high incomes, but they’re just cogs in some big corporate machine.”

“Are you saying you need a raise?” I asked.

“No. In all seriousness, money isn’t what motivates me. What you pay me is more than enough to cover my expenses and allow me to take a nice vacation if I want. What I want to do is help you take that potential and turn it into something truly grand and truly lasting.

“Today was a perfect example. You made a ridiculous amount of money for a day’s work. You’re not stupid. If they want to give you that kind of money to wear their sunglasses, I’m sure you’ll do it. I also know that you’ll want to use that money to do something productive, be it your charity work or possibly buying that farm.

“I understand you feel adrift. Making a large amount of money, and the attention you get in this town, can be overwhelming. You can handle it. You mentioned you were searching for clarity. For me, that means creating a plan,” Caryn said.

That caught my attention. I hadn’t forgotten my life goals, but Uncle John had said that as I got older and things changed, I’d need to revisit them and make adjustments. Caryn and I spent the rest of the evening talking about my goals. At first, she was surprised that I had them, but she began to see how they helped me remain focused and keep my eye on the prize. Caryn explained that I needed to create a new set of goals and a plan for my business. She assured me she would help me do that.

I was discovering that hiring Caryn was a much better decision than I’d initially realized. I knew we had a lot to learn, but I felt we could do it together. After our talk, I better understood how she would fit in and help me. I didn’t exactly have clarity yet, but now felt that I saw a path to getting it.

◊◊◊ Wednesday December 9