I had arrived at the airport after a long day traveling from Mexico City and headed directly to the spot where my wife, Grace, had left the car parked. She had taken me to the airport, then boarded another flight herself, on her way to a conference out of town. She left me a Voicemail regarding the exact parking spot.

Okay, I was tired, but I was sure it was a simple mistake. Perhaps it was on the next floor up. I rolled my bags upstairs and downstairs, searching through most of the aisles on that side of the garage, then on the far side. Then, I returned to C- 10 just to make sure. Nothing.

I was cool; they had treated me very well in first class on the flight from Mexico. So, I was still feeling pretty mellow, even though the temperature was in the 80s and I was wearing a suit. Then, as I examined the cars on the up-ramp, a flood of thoughts began rushing through my head.

“How could this happen? It was so simple. Just call Voicemail on your cell phone while you are standing in front of the parking space…no room for error. Oh boy, I am really tired. I’m sweating like a pig. I could have been twenty miles up the road by now. Gosh, it’s almost 7:00 p.m.…over an hour of wasted energy.

“Wait a minute. What if it’s not her fault? Could the car really be stolen? That’s impossible. They couldn’t steal my car! I’ve even got a burglar alarm in the thing. Come on, maan, this is really frustrating now. Do you mean to tell me I have to call the police and go through that whole routine? And this is Friday night. That means my whole weekend is shot. How could they steal my car?” I was angry.

At that moment, I recalled a previous conversation with God. I had promised I would never become emotionally attached to the car and that I could give it up if ever necessary.

Now, to put it all in context, this is no ordinary car. This is a big, black, beautiful piece of German engineering. It crouches like a cat on the road and purrs quietly when allowed to flirt well beyond the speed limit. A poor, barefoot little kid, brought up in the bush country of Jamaica, I sometimes marvel at how I even find myself at the steering wheel of this “thing.”

Honestly, and I don’t notice this anymore, but when I had just bought the car, other drivers would speed-up to get next to me on the highway and peer intently into the windows, just to see who was inside. I think that sometimes when they saw that it was just me, they would then peek closely into the back seat to see who I was chauffeuring. Then there would be nobody. Ha!

So, there I was, recalling my commitment to be emotionally detached from this seductive creature. As I stood there, in the middle of the up-ramp, sweating and listening to all these voices in my head, I decided to have another conversation: “Okay God, I’m sorry about getting upset. I did promise that this car would be unimportant to me. If it’s gone, that’s alright with me; everything will be fine.”

Peacefully now, I turned around and decided to go back toward the airport in search of the police. As I turned, I immediately saw my big, black cat crouching in a space, literally ten feet from me, as clearly as if someone had just focused spotlights on it…in a place I had searched at least twice before.

I was stunned. I heard myself say audibly, “Okay God, I got it. I understand.” In a few moments, I was cruising home in my cushy, air conditioned ride, uniquely aware of an amazing truth.

I find myself in a curious position, traveling around the world and inspiring audiences with the passion and energy of the human potential. Beyond believing, I KNOW that every person has the inborn power to attain greatness and success in some field of endeavor. Such success is not just emotional or spiritual; it extends to the material and financial as well.

What is so curious is that I also KNOW that when success adorns you with all the trimmings of money and social esteem, if you are whole inside, you never become attached to them emotionally; you don’t define yourself based on possessions.

He whose sense of importance is determined by material things faces the grave danger of becoming a nobody, should the possessions disappear one day.

I must confess that it’s better to have money than to be broke. Given the choice of wealth or poverty, I do not vacillate. However, I have discovered that first, there are those who own wealth and second, those who are owned by their wealth. The second can be a miserable place of tightness despite affluence. Interestingly, when we hold onto material things with a tight squeeze, they naturally seek to escape from us. Release them emotionally and they often appear within grasp, as clearly as if someone just placed them ten feet away and turned a bright spotlight on them.

What about you, my colleague? In the striving for success that often marks the path of the ambitious in western societies, you DO have the right to pursue and attain material and social prominence. But are you prepared to control it and limit its power over you? No single thing has power over you if you regard it as being ultimately unimportant and replaceable.

What do you own that has the greatest economic or social value? If you lost it, would you still be a wonderful person, content to be alive and charged with the emotional energy to pursue again?

If your importance, stature and reputation are more defined by your positions and possessions, then your success becomes a precarious, fleeting thing. On the other hand, if you are more defined by your character and relationships, then your success will have staying power. Don’t believe me? Then have a conversation with God about it. Be prepared for a strange and wonderful exchange.

Take it from me, this attitude will give you altitude.

Alvin

PS: Please look out for my personal letter, later this week when, without being bashful, I ask you to buy my new book, PERSUASION POWER. You’re gonna love it, too. May I count on your support? Thx.