Sam was a decent enough guy, born into a middle class family. Very intelligent, he was shy and introverted and tended to avoid much social interaction. A classic “geek” if there ever was a prototype. Growing up through the middle grades and high school, he was typically the butt of many jokes, but one person made his life a living hell.

Geoff Hamilton.

Geoff was the jock to Sam’s geek. He was the ladies man, popular, even with the teachers and principal. And he was even kind of smart. One day in the lunch room, Sam was taking his tray to the drop-off area in the cafeteria when Geoff “bumped” into him in front of the whole class. Sam was covered in macaroni and cheese, milk and stray bits of tater tots.

“You JACKASS!” screamed Sam. Geoff looked at Sam and started to say something, but Sam wouldn’t let himself be any more humiliated, so he stormed out of the cafeteria with the entire 11th and 12th grade classes laughing hysterically.

Sam decided, that was the last straw. He made an oath that one day he would get the best of Geoff and he would humiliate him in some way. In some LARGE way.

Sam graduated from high school and college with honors and went on to graduate from law school, after which he was offered a job as an associate with a local firm. He worked with companies around town, mainly doing unimportant legal work, but was recognized for the competent and steady worker he had become.

Then the day came. For years Sam had toiled and worked 70 and 80 hour weeks, sacrificing time with his wife and sons to rise through the ranks. Then finally, he was told that if he brought in some “real business” to the firm, he would get that partnership he had his eye on. Two years later, Sam managed to get his chance when he landed the fastest growing retail company in the history of the state as a client, potentially the largest client EVER for the firm. The senior partners were thrilled with his work and value he brought to the firm and now - the cherry on top!

Three months later Sam was awarded a junior partner position, a $400,000 salary, bonuses and the potential to become senior partner in a few years. He was on cloud nine. It took nearly a week before he stopped smiling. He had it all.

A couple weeks later Sam saw in the paper that his new client was opening a store a few miles away from his house. He decided to take his family to the grand opening because he thought it would be a good idea to patronize his new client’s store.

It was a great day, the store was the biggest in the city and the parking lot was crammed with new patrons. Sam walked in through the doors of the store where to his surprise, he saw Geoff. GEOFF HAMILTON! The miserable jerk that made his life a living hell way back when.

“What was that he was wearing? Oh My God!” he thought.

Sam couldn’t believe his eyes. The orange vest with the smiley buttons, the “Hello my name is GEOFF” ID badge on his lapel

“He’s a GREETER at the store! He’s the guy welcoming people to the store! Holy Cow, what a loser!” He thought. For half a second, Sam felt a little sorry for him, but that cleared up immediately when he remembered the “cafeteria incident”.

Sam’s heart began to pound. He couldn’t help himself. The anger was building up inside him again, even though it had been almost 20 years since he last seen Geoff.

Sam ambled up to his high school nemesis with his shoulders back, his head held high, squeezing his now confused wife’s hand. “Well, well, well,” Sam snickered. “If it isn’t my old friend from Edgehill High.”

A smiling Geoff turned to look at Sam and for a moment there was a quizzical look on his face, and then a look of familiarity.

“Sam! Sam Parsons! Wow, it’s been ages!” Geoff smiled back at Sam as he stuck out his hand to greet him. “Listen, I have something I’d like to say…” started Geoff

“NO!” shouted back Sam as he ignored Geoff’s extended hand. “There is something I want to say to you first!”

Geoff was taken aback, but he put down his hand and gestured for Sam to go ahead and speak.

“You made my life a living hell back in school Geoff. I hated you from the day you first started picking on me. I used my hate for you to motivate me, and it worked. I’m now a partner at Bernard and Brinkle and you see this beautiful woman? This is my wife. These kids are the jocks at their school!” both his wife and kids were in shock but now wanted to shrink down in the floor.

A crowd started to gather around the two. “I make over $400K and drive a brand new Mercedes, I have a house in the hills and guess what? You’re just a lousy greeter at Big-Mart! Ha! I guess my hard work made me the winner GEOFFREY! I KNEW that it would pay off. I lived for this moment, when I would be able to look down the bridge of my nose at you. You’re pitiful,what do you think about that?” gasped Sam.

Sam was panting, his heart almost beating out of his chest, his face crimson, almost purple. Geoff however, didn’t even seem ruffled.

“Sam, as I started to say, I owe you an apology for the way I treated you back in school.” calmly said Geoff. “That was a very long time ago.” Geoff leaned into Sam so only he could hear “You know Geoff, I always knew you were a little twit, this just proves I was right.”

Sam was still breathing hard, now more aware of the crowd around them.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Hamilton?” asked what looked to be the manager of the store.

“Yes Frank, no worries,” answered Geoff.

Geoff turned back to Sam. “I’m glad you’re doing well. You do have a lovely family. As for my profession, actually I’m not the full-time greeter here, I just make it a requirement that my executive staff work in the stores for one day each quarter. It’s my desire that everybody understand the value of every employee here at Big-Mart” said Geoff as if he was running for a political office - since a number of patrons were now gathered around the two.

“Your executive staff?” responded a now confused Sam.

“Yes, you see, I’m the Chairman of Big-Mart, as well as Bromade software, Hamilton’s Electronics and some other smaller companies. I flew in this morning with my wife Theresa. You might remember her Sam, she was Miss Florida a few years back. We just flew in from our house in Switzerland where we spend the summer with our kids” a smile of satisfaction grew on Geoff.

“I am familiar with Bernard and Brinkle, you’re the law firm we just hired, right?” questioned Geoff.

Sam swallowed hard. “This can’t be,” thought Sam. He never bothered to ask about the Chairman of Big-Mart; he’d only dealt with the Senior VP’s and General Counsel at the retail giant.

“Sam, I don’t think this conversation should go much further, but I’d like to see you in my office tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM and we’ll determine if we’re going to continue our relationship with your firm. Please enjoy the store and have a good day.”

Moral: The world would like the bully to never win. But the truth is, the bad guy wins sometimes. Sure, we’d like to think that the little guy wins each time. But truth can be cruel and the real world unkind. It’s vital to take a good look at your motivations and your intentions. What are your dreams built on? What is their big-picture purpose? If they are based on things like revenge, proving someone wrong or impressing someone, they’ll easily crumble. The greatest successes are those that come out of intrinsic motivators - born out of your own greatest passions and ideals, or the desire to be of service and make a difference. So, take a look at your dreams and goals - make sure that your motivations aren’t empty and that they don’t come with baggage.

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