When.
“When” is a word that I find myself dissecting daily.
“When” is a superpower that only humans are capable of possessing and using, and we do so regularly, always taking advantage of it without truly appreciating its extraordinary ability.
“When” allows us to remember the good times and the bad times—the highs and lows, so to speak.
“When” lets us to create an entirely new past or future: “when I invented Microsoft;” “when I gave CPR to Blake Lively after an awful surfing accident and saved her life;” “when I broke my leg,” “when I drove my car into a controlled slide to narrowly avoid a car driving in oncoming traffic with its lights off, similar to Ansel Elgort in the 2017 hit action film Baby Driver;” “when I was hit by a car playing frisbee;” etc.
“When” is a time-machine, a teleportation tool, a universe-creator.
When I was in Alberta for a business trip—immediately my mind is brought back to that trip.
When I was arrested for 1 count of conspiring to commit securities fraud and 1 count of committing securities fraud—immediately my mind is brought to that scenario, which hopefully will never happen, but probably will at some point (not an admission of guilt, but nice try, SEC).
“When” is the key to both our memory and our imagination. I find these things too closely related for my own good but, being only human, lack the power to distinguish the two entirely.
“When,” for all it’s good for, possesses the strength to distort memories entirely, essentially killing reality and replacing it with toxins.
“When” can do just as much good as it can bad.
When something happens that you’d like to remember for your reference as it was and without distortion, for God’s sake, write it down.
Until next time,
Michael J. Erickson, CEO & Co-Founder
