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Chapters (57)
  1. Welcome to the Game
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraphs
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. Six months later . . .
  56. Acknowledgments
  57. Back Cover

That night he looked down at himself and wondered whether he’d end up alone in every sense of the word. No wife, no daughter, no future. Maybe he was the stumbling block here. Maybe his best-before date as a father had expired and he’d just been slow to realize it. Would Abby be better off with someone else? And if that came to pass, would her new parents talk sometimes about her real dad? They’d do this out of Abby’s earshot, of course. Perhaps they’d wonder why he hadn’t been able to get himself together since his wife died. And when those thoughts came, he would have to get up and find his friend, the friend who was on call at all hours in all places—the forty-proof friend.

31

31

The Limiting of Options

One of the perks of owning an internet-based company is that home can be anywhere. Why, if things are set up right, a guy could be sitting above the snow line in the Himalayas seeing his garden supply company sell a leaf blower to some dude in Vermont. He doesn’t have to lift a finger other than the one working his smartphone. Even the delivery is handled automatically, probably by another online company started up by another clever guy or gal sipping mai tais on a beach somewhere.

Chris didn’t start internet selling so that he could climb in the Himalayas or live by a beach. He’d taken redundancy before they simply took away his role. For a lot of folks, redundancy means the chance to travel, to get a little spiritual in a yoga retreat, or to learn a language, before moving on to the next job. But at Chris’s age, the word “redundancy” can be dangerously synonymous with early retirement.

He’d always had a little dream of working for himself and selling something real. Although he didn’t have a great deal of interest in living a healthy lifestyle, he’d liked the look of a certain health and fitness supplement franchise and their support had been good. Now he was starting to do well. His mentor said Chris could be quite a success. Not so long ago, growth in any business meant hiring people. Not so much now. Chris’s company could grow a whole lot more before another human was needed.