02.22.2009 // Miscellaneous, Motivation, Short Stories // jcbrady
Here is a short story that is 1 page long and it’s about finding or creating abundance in your life. Download it here.
You can distribute this story to as many people as you like and you can even add your own links to it. All I ask is that you keep the document in tact, that means all words and links. Thanks and enjoy!
Wayne laughed about his father’s fascination with pennies. It always seemed so petty to pick up a penny off the ground. To his father, pennies were a symbol of prosperity and finding them would always remind him of that.
“I’m one penny wiser,” his father would say before he picked it up and took it with him.
Now that his father had passed away, Wayne often thought about him and his habit of picking up pennies. Every time he saw a penny lying on the ground he thought of his father.
This time, Wayne stood in a public restroom and wondered if his father would have picked up the penny from the dirty sink that someone had spit in. He laughed about it and shrugged it off, figuring that his father probably would have shrugged that one off too.
He drove away and began to amuse himself imagining how far his father would actually go to become one penny wiser. Would he really have picked that penny up, washed it off and taken it home? What if it was in the toilet, would it be a symbol of abundance at the bottom of a used toilet? Probably not.
At dinner that night, his meal was $9.01. Wayne didn’t have a penny and it made him think about that one in the sink. Again he laughed, at the thought of it. With a smurk, the cashier pulled a penny from her drawer and gave it to Wayne.
“Thanks”, he said.
It was no big deal, but again he imagined having that penny from the sink he found earlier that day. He laughed at the idea of how obsessive compulsive it would be to go driving back there to that public restroom and see if it was still there. How funny it would be if he actually did that.
He could have driven back to that gas station right then, but he didn’t. Would his father have gone back for it? No, his father would have picked it up out of the sink, washed it off and taken it home. His father wouldn’t be in his predicament, he joked with himself.
When Wayne arrived home his wife brought up their money situation. It was never a good thing when she talked about money. They both wanted abundance in their lives but Wayne was always behind the 8 ball when it came to money.
If his father was watching him, he’d say that Wayne was never willing to do what it took to make money. His father wouldn’t have told Wayne that, but it was true. When it came to creating prosperity, something was always too hard or too awkward. Wayne could always find an excuse not to follow through with his plans to make more money.
When Wayne thought of his father again, he knew he had to go back for the penny in the sink. It hit him like an epiphany and he wasn’t going to waste any time getting it. He ran out the door, jumped in his car, and sped off toward that gas station.
Everyone was driving too slow, all the stoplights were red, his car couldn’t accelerate fast enough. Then he laughed at himself again. A few minutes ago he was debating about going back for the penny and now he’s irritated he can’t get there fast enough. Wayne exhaled and reminded himself to relax.
When he got to the gas station he parked and went to the public restroom. He opened the door and stared at the sink, the penny was gone. Someone else had taken the penny and it had become their symbol of prosperity instead of his. After some disappointment, a wave of realization flooded over him.
Wayne decided right then and there that next time, the next penny he finds would be his symbol of prosperity. He would do whatever it took to get that penny if he was able to determine it was rightfully his. Even if it was at the bottom of a toilet, it would be his. It would be worth getting because prosperity was worth having even if it meant sacrifice.
02.18.2009 // Humor, Miscellaneous // jcbrady
If anyone ever accuses you of not being green, kindly remind them of this simple fact…
Here is a FREE screensaver to download in case anyone questions your views. Take a stand and make it known by displaying it on your computer. Be proud to be part vegetarian!
Screensavers
1024 x 768
1280 x 1024
800 x 600
1152 x 864
1680 x 1050
I’ve also got a t-shirt available at cafe press but it’s pretty steep on pricing. If enough people tell me they’d buy them I’ll have them printed and sell them for under $10. Drop me a comment and let me know.
I’m also planning on donating most (if any) of the proceeds from this little project to earth friendly charities. So now if you’re seen wearing one, you really can say you’re green. 
I'm part vegetarian T-Shirt
02.13.2009 // Design, Humor, Miscellaneous // jcbrady
Designer
“I’m depressed”
Psychiatrist
“What seems to be bothering you?”
Designer
“I hate having to upgrade my Adobe Suite. Every time they change things around, I can’t find my shortcuts and they change the interface in ways that are very disconcerting, it’s awful…”
“… I used to look forward to upgrades but now I can’t stand them. Ever since CS2 it seems it’s been all downhill and now I hate upgrading my Adobe products”
Psychiatrist
“I can prescribe something for that, would you like to try Adobetin?”
Designer
What about Adobezac or Adobezine? I heard there were bad side effects with Adobetin.
Psychiatrist
Actually, Adobetin is new and the makers have reduced some of the bad side effects that the other medications have. Lots of designers use it and have reported excellent results.
Designer
Won’t this prescription only work for a year or so and then wear off? Adobe upgrades every year and a half, so this won’t really work for me.
Psychiatrist
Some users of Adobetin have reported this, but it usually works best when coupled with other treatments.
Designer
What kind of treatments?
Psychiatrist
Group therapy and talk therapy. Sometimes it helps to talk these things out and know that there hundreds, even thousands of people that are just like you. You are not alone with your problems and it can help you to learn that you’ll just have to shut the hell up and deal with it.
Designer
Blaaaaaaahaaaaahaaaaaaaaah!
Anyone got some Adobetin? What’s your prescription for Adobe upgrades? Did you once look forward to them and now you dread them? Is this a phenomenon that happens with age, experience or both? Not effected at all? Talk to me.
02.08.2009 // Miscellaneous, Short Stories // jcbrady
This is a weird short story because it’s just a little bit strange… I felt inspired to write it so hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it. Whether or not you enjoy it, I invite you to leave a comment about it. Download a pdf
I tend to think in images and dialogue, so when I wrote this I thought of making a short film. Imagine a Sergio Leone Western meets a modern day supermarket and you have the mood. Imagine the protagonist, Ed a stalky guy with scars on his face and a black leather jacket and you have the character. Comedy meets drama, here it goes…
Change the Music
Ed walked into a grocery store and approached the nearest clerk.
“I want to talk to the manager,” he says.
“What seems to be the problem?,” says the clerk.
“I don’t like the music on the intercom,” says Ed.
Amused, the clerk calls the manager. After a moment, he shows up, a heavy set guy in his mid 40′s, short and balding. His name is Bob.
“What seems to be the problem sir?,” says Bob.
Ed nods his head to signal that he wants to talk in private. The cashier goes back to helping customers and Ed has Bob’s full attention.
“I don’t like the song that’s playing on the intercom,” Ed says through clenched teeth.
“The song?,” says Bob.
“I don’t like this music… I didn’t like the song before it either”
“What?,” Bob laughs.
Ed looks at him with a cold stare, he’s not joking around.
“I don’t… like it,” Ed says again, getting in his face.
The manager looks at Ed confused and a little startled.
“It’ll be over soon just give it a minute”
“You think that’s good enough for me?,” says Ed.
“Excuse me?,” says Bob.
“You think that’s good enough for me?,” Ed says again. And then motions down at the lump in the pocket of his leather jacket.
Bob sees that the stranger is concealing something.
The Fear shows in his eyes. Uneasy, Bob tilts his head back and looks at the speakers on the ceiling. When his head comes back down Bob meets the strangers eyes perfectly.
“Let’s go,” Ed says.
“Debbie,” Bob says. “I’m going to go back and change the music”.
“Watch it,” Ed says to Bob softly, whispering in his ear.
Ed begins to follow Bob to the back of the store, then through the doors into the back offices. There are piles of boxes and crates, it’s about 10 degrees colder and the noise of the fans is deafening.
Ed and Bob step into a small office and shut the door, it’s insulated from the sound of the refrigeration units. There’s a long rectangular window on the office door that Ed presses his face against, double checking to make sure no one has followed them.
Junk is piled everywhere in this tiny office. Bottles, loaves of bread, and papers are strewn about. It’s a mess.
Bob hunches down behind the unkept desk and starts to open the safe. While he’s doing this, Ed picks up a piece of paper from the desk and starts to read it out loud.
“October special, all Halloween candy will go on sale starting October 25…”
Suddenly curious about Ed, Bob stops messing with the safe and looks up at him.
“Would you mind showing me your gun” says Bob.
“My what?!” Ed says, menacingly.
“You’re Gun” he says.
“Get back to your god damn business”, Ed says in a stern voice.
Bob takes him seriously and goes back to fumbling with the safe. Ed continues reading the October Special.
“Candy that is still around after Halloween will go into the bargain bin…”
Ed thinks he sees some movement outside the small window and moves to investigate. It looks like someone is coming but he can’t be sure. He opens the door for a quick check around, nobody there. Ed goes back to reading the October special, pacing back and forth in the small office.
“…remaining candy will be priced at 75 percent of it’s regular value…”
Again, Ed thinks he sees some movement outside the door and this time he presses his face against the glass to see if he can get a better look. There doesn’t seem to be anyone. He keeps reading as if he’s waiting for Bob to tell him to shut the hell up.
Suddenly, Ed experiences a HARSH flash of light followed by a loud ringing in the ears. He’s just been hit over the head with a large bottle. Ed finds himself lying on the floor, looking up at Bob, the store manager. His vision is blurred and he can barely make out Bob’s figure, it all fades to black.
When Ed awakens, he’s in the hospital. Feeling like he went on a drinking binge when he already had a hangover. Ed’s situation is dreary but he’ll live. All he really needs at this point is some recovery time.
The police come into Ed’s room.
“Why we’re you in the back room with the store manager?,” one of them asks.
“We were going to change the music,” says Ed.
“Change the music, huh?”
“Yeah,” Ed says, “Then he just went all crazy and attacked me… I don’t know what came over the guy”.
“Maybe he already liked the song that was playing,” says one cop smugly.
“All we found on your person was an i-pod, so we can’t convict you for robbery,” says the other cop.
“Robbery?,” Ed says.
“Yeah, I think we all know what happened here,” says the cop.
Ed expects the cops accusations and does his best to play innocent.
“We do?, I’m confused… my head hurts, all I wanted was to have the music changed.”
The cops leave and a paramedic comes in the room.
“How ya feelin’?,” he says.
“Been better,” Ed says.
“A guy who chased our ambulance wanted me to give you this business card” he says.
“Thanks,” Ed says, “But I’ve already got an attorney”.
The End
Please leave a comment if you liked or didn’t like this wierd short story.
02.07.2009 // Miscellaneous, Motivation // jcbrady
I went out to my car this morning and discovered that it had been broken
into. My glove box was open and things were scattered about, papers
on the seats and on the floor, it was a mess.
Luckily, nothing in my car was broken. My car stereo was in tact, my ipod
was still there, I even had a wad of 100 dollar bills that were left alone.
The only thing missing were my Wayne Dyer CD’s. Even though I was a little
mad at first, I soon got over it when I realized that I had helped
distribute Wayne Dyer’s message through the world. His stuff is pure gold.
I can’t even believe you can just buy Wayne Dyer’s message in your local
bookstore for $20 a pop. You can’t put a price on his stuff, just rent “The power of Intention” or “Change your thoughts, change your life” and you’ll see what I mean.
The thieves that hit my car, got what they were looking for and I was glad
to help them out. What a great thing it was that I could do this. I helped
some people in need… I wish I could do this for my brother-in-law.
