The Size of Your Dreams, - [good books for high schoolers txt] 📗

$1000 between November 13 and December 13. To accomplish this, I will do the following:

1. Call all past customers who have not hired me in a while to see if they’re interested in working with me again.
2. Print out a flyer and pass it around my neighborhood to get new customers. The flyer will not only say that I mow lawns, rake leaves, shovel snow, etc., it will also say who I am and why I want the money. I will pass it out by December 3.
3. Keep my existing rate for customers willing to commit to one mow/lawn care per week, and raise my rate by $10 for one offs.
4. Call people with successful landscaping businesses until I reach someone willing to give me advice. I will have at least one conversation per work day.

“That’s a big improvement.” Mr. Griffin said. “Anything else you want to add?”

“Yeah. I appreciate you all being there for me.” Jarod took the time to look at each one of us. “I’m going to try to be a better Mastermind partner. I want to be there for you as well.”

* * *

After school, Darnell walked with me over to the printer’s.

“Have people been teasing you like crazy?” I asked.

“A bit. Derek was picking on me at lunch. You know how he is. The more people he got laughing at his jokes, the bigger jerk he became. But then Jarod heard, and he came over.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Don’t tell me he told Derek off?”

“No, he wouldn’t. They’re buds. But you know how it is with those guys. All Jarod had to do was tell me loud enough for everyone to hear how impressed he was with what I was doing and how he’s totally behind me. After that, Derek left me alone.”

I knew what Darnell meant. Derek wasn’t about to tease Jarod, so that left him little choice but to let Darnell be.

“You know,” Darnell said, “I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere near as bad as I feared. Even before Jarod came over, Derek wasn’t as brutal as usual. It’s almost like they tease you about the things you’re trying to hide, but when you just come right out and give them the ammo, they don’t know how to handle it.”

“Jarod’s right, you’ve got guts.”

“Maybe. That part hasn’t been so bad, but the hunger is getting to me.”

“What have you been doing for exercise?”

“Mainly just walking to and from school. I know I ought to do more, but between homework, dinner, and watching a bit of TV, I haven’t found the time.”

We reached the printer’s. “Are you coming in?”

“No, I’ll head on home. See you later.”

When I got home, Mom was washing dishes. “How was school?” she asked.

“Fine.”

“You still haven’t told me about your math teacher…”

“Nothing much to tell.” I picked an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and walked over to wash it. “He’s not exactly teaching us math.”

Mom made room for me at the sink. “So what is he teaching you?”

I bit into my apple on my way out of the kitchen and mumbled, “Nothing really.”

I went to my room, shut the door, and pulled out my notecard. I called it version 1.12, yet even this one was getting worn from edits. I read it off, as I’d been doing at least ten times per day, but it still didn’t feel right. I had a feeling it would only be a day or two until I replaced it with version 1.13.

If I couldn’t get my own goal in order, at least I could help others with theirs. I fired up my mac and loaded up the templates from the printer into Photoshop. I didn’t bother trying to manipulate them. I’d wait until Jarod came to go over the pricing options and choose the right size.

Instead, I looked up a couple of email addresses and sent off a message with links to the video I’d made for the girls’ swim team. Then I went onto

Craigslist to do a bit of research.

Jarod arrived early in the evening, his brow dotted with flecks of grass. He looked around my room, and old memories flashed in his eyes. “Thanks for this.” He extended a hand for a shake.

“Anytime.”

Before getting to work on his flyer, I told him about my other plan, and he quickly agreed to help. It took us just two quick phone calls to arrange everything. Once that was done, I opened Photoshop, and the two of us got to work.

* * *

“Jarod,” Mr. Griffin asked, “how did it go with the graphics yesterday?”

“Awesome. Kelvin’s the man.” Jarod patted my shoulder. “He designed a killer flyer and emailed it to the print shop last night, so I can pick up a stack on my way home. I’ll pass them out tonight.”

“Maybe you could also email the flyer to your current customers,” Christy added.

“Yeah,” Darnell joined in, “and post it on social media, and ask your friends to share it.”

“What do you think of that, Jarod?” Mr. Griffin asked.

“I’m diggin’ it.” Jarod pulled out his notecard. “I’ll add that now. I could get all of that done by tomorrow.”

“Make any phone calls yesterday?” Mr. Griffin asked.

“I actually got the biggest landscaping guy in town on the phone. He said flatly that he wasn’t interested in strengthening his competition. So no luck there.”

“I’m not so sure,” Mr. Griffin said.

“Really? How?”

“There’s a critical point that I want you all to grasp. Don’t think life happens to you. The truth is, life happens for you. Every experience you have is packed with lessons—you just need to tune in to receive them. Like a radio. Radio waves are around you at all times, but until you adjust to the right frequency, you won’t hear anything.”

“So what do you think I got from the call?” Jarod asked.

“You tell me. What are three lessons you can take away from that call?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that I was pushing off making calls because it’s not my thing, but once I did it, it wasn’t so bad.”

“That’s one. What else?”

“I was afraid that I’d get his secretary and would get the runaround, but it turned out that after hours he answered his own phone.”

“That’s two. One more.”

Jarod’s brow creased. Suddenly, a big smile drew across his face. “The largest landscaping guy in town considers me competition.”

“That’s right. In your mind, you’re just some kid with a lawnmower. But I bet this guy started out the same way, and he knows how powerful one kid with determination can become. Yesterday at this time he probably didn’t know who you were, but after one phone call, he sees you coming for him. Any other takeaways from the call?”

“I think I’ll start calling the big landscapers from other towns. They won’t feel as threatened by me, so that won’t keep them from helping.”

“Wonderful. That’s a fourth thing you’ve learned. Remember, the activated mind never lacks opportunities for improvement. What a minute ago was a worthless call you’ve now turned into life lessons you’ll never forget.”

Mr. Griffin turned towards Darnell. “Any update?”

Darnell wore a blue sweatshirt with the number 243 on the front in black tape. “I can get an extra hour a day of exercise in. Thanks to Kelvin and Jarod.”

“Oh? Kelvin strikes again?” Mr. Griffin turned toward me. “What did you do this time?”

“I found someone getting rid of an old treadmill on Craigslist. They just wanted someone to come pick it up. Since Jarod was coming over anyway, the three of us were able to haul it in the back of Jarod’s pickup.”

“Then we set it up in my living room,” Darnell said. “That way, I can get exercise even while watching TV.”

“Good thinking,” Mr. Griffin said. “How about you, Kelvin, have you thought any more about what you’d like to work on in this class?”

I dropped my eyes. “No. Not yet.”

Mr. Griffin studied me for an uncomfortably long moment. “Very well,” he finally said, though I could tell he didn’t believe me. “You’ll let us know when you’re ready. Now Darnell, make sure you add the treadmill to your card. Then read what you have to your Mastermind Group and be ready for feedback.”

* * *

Darnell’s family spent most fall weekends watching football together. The couple of times I’d joined them, there’d been no lack of nachos, soda, pizza, and a half dozen other treats at these games. While it wasn’t quite as bad as Thanksgiving, I nonetheless wondered how far back the weekend would set him.

Darnell came into class on Monday with the number 242 on his chest. While only one pound lower than the 243 he’d worn on both Thursday and Friday, it was still progress and meant he hadn’t regressed during the weekend. Still, it was already December 6, almost two weeks since he’d started, and he was only at his starting weight.

“Christy,” Mr. Griffin said, “how is the team coming together?”

“Amazing. Everyone’s times are up. We won our first meet of the season yesterday. A reporter from the town paper came and covered it, and she wants to interview Jill and myself this afternoon. Apparently, someone sent the paper’s editors the video, and they think there’s a story there.”

Christy shot me a smile. Was that just because of the success of the video, or did she suspect that I was the one who sent it to the paper’s editors?

“Are the girls warming to the coach at all?”

“They don’t like her, but they respect her and listen to her. Winning the meet certainly helped. And Dana, Jill, and I have been working to bolster team spirit. We’re coming together.”

“Wonderful. Jarod, any success with the flyer?”

“Four new clients. I’ve got a job booked every day this week. Plus, I worked my butt off over the weekend. I’m already over $500 for the month.”

“Reach any more landscapers?”

“One. He was short and to the point. He said, ‘just keep plugging away, kid. You’ll get there.’”

Mr. Griffin nodded, then began pacing back and forth in front of the class. “There’s something going on in this room that’s bothering me.”

“What’s that, Mr. Griffin?” Darnell asked.

“I’ll tell you in a minute. First, do you have an update for us, Darnell?”

“I walked on my treadmill for over four hours yesterday while watching football. I’m not getting winded as fast as I used to.”

“Good,” Mr. Griffin said, though I could tell from his pacing that he wasn’t all that engaged with what Darnell said.

Finally, I asked, “What’s bothering you, Mr. Griffin?”

“It’s you, Kelvin.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“Everything. You made a video for Christy that helped her land a fabulous coach. You made a flyer for Jarod that got him four new customers in just a few days. You got Darnell a treadmill so he can exercise while watching TV. When’s it going to end?”

“You say it like these are bad things.”

“Bad? No, none of these are bad. But I keep wondering: what is your vision? What is it you want? When are you going to give the rest of the class a chance to help you like you’re helping them?”

Mr. Griffin wasn’t going to let me hide much longer, but I could still push it “I haven’t been able to think of anything yet.”

“No? Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I tell the class if I knew what I