My Journey in Writing Page 2

One night, as I was struggling to edit some text, my children bounded into the office. They were playing treasure hunt, and wanted to know if I would create a treasure map for them. If you've never played treasure hunt, the game goes something like this. The treasure hunters are relegated to a small room (usually a bathroom or a bedroom) while the map maker devises and hides clues in the house. The last clue has the word "treasure" written on it. When the treasure hunters find the treasure, another map maker is selected and the game starts over. The number of clues can vary, but six to ten well-written clues will keep a group of kids busy for a good fifteen to twenty minutes.

I first declined, but three children and additional friends can be quite persuasive, especially when working on something that isn't going well. I took a break and created a treasure map. To create the treasure map, I grabbed a sheet of paper off of my last printout (now obsolete), tore the sheet into eight sections, and wandered around the house, looking for places that I could use as clues. I then scribbled clues on seven strips of paper and carefully placed six of the clues in out-of-the-way spots. I labeled the last piece of paper "treasure", handed them the beginning clue, and turned them loose. I expected that my well-disguised clues would buy me a good half-an-hour of work. I was wrong. After about ten minutes the group bounded into the office and asked for help.

Refusing to help would do me no good, the group would search for a few more minutes and return, looking pitiful, with each search taking less and less time, until they stayed in the office waiting for me to help. So off we went, on a treasure hunt. I was particularly proud of some of the clues, and the treasure hunt turned into a wonderful distraction. They were having trouble with a clue "I rule a kingdom of light and dark, warring against my equal, my opposite." I thought it was both enlightening and obtuse. It turned out to be more obtuse than enlightening, and it was the reason I was on a treasure hunt! With a few hints "think checkerboard" set them on the right path, the clue was discovered under the white king on the chessboard in our den. The next clue led to the treasure. I congratulated the group and finally convinced them that I was through. I headed back to the office hoping I could come up with some paragraphs that were as much fun as the treasure hunt.

Before I could sit down, my oldest came into the office and handed me the paper marked "treasure". "Did you mean to do this?" she asked. I unfolded the paper and read it. The paper I used to make the treasure map was the list of things I wanted my children to learn from sports. I had printed out a copy of the list to help me organize my consulting chapters! "Yes, I did." was my confident reply. Well, that wasn't true, but it seemed like a good parental lie. "Oh, OK" she replied, and she headed back to her friends and the treasure hunt.

I stared at the piece of paper for a long time, wishing I had really meant to use the list as the treasure. The next day I put aside the consulting book and started on Why We Play. The "treasure" still sits on my desk as a reminder of two things: family comes first, and sometimes you should give in and let your inspiration take you where it needs to take you.

What I didn't know was that my daughters had a copy of the list. They were transferring some homework between their computer and the family computer and they found my in-process documents. A hint to parents, computer-literate kids know how to navigate through the file structure on most computers, and they may not tell you they have your files... A few days after the treasure hunt my children asked me when they could have the rest of the list. They admitted they had copies of my soccer files, and they were wondering when I was going to give the list to them. When they found out that I was writing "their" book, they were very excited. From that point on, I would get subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) questions like "when can I have the list" and "when is the book going to be ready?" An infinite number of revisions later I can finally say "it's ready now."

The consulting book? It took a little while to find, but I believe that the “fix” for consulting has to start with the generation of children in school now. The real solution is to have consultants who understand the meaning of responsibility, respect, integrity, passion, determination, and commitment. These are the basic principles in Why We Play. I will write my “save consulting” book, but only when I have the passion and commitment to write it well.

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