What Do You Use To Write Your History?

“Why is it that you must always be the holiest one in the room?” Vincent Sherwood demanded from Rosalyn Patterson after everyone left their annual stockholder’s meeting at Carlson and Walberg Investment. “Must you do everything by the book?”

“You think having a conscience means I am holy?” she fired back.

“Your decisions are not coming from a place that makes sense!”

Rosalyn allowed his words to circle her brain and what just transpired in the meeting, staring at him across the long oblong wooden table from glasses that slid down to the edge of her nose. She raised her head, pushing her glasses back up, then said, “You think I am successful because I make decisions from the tip of my tongue? My decisions come from knowledge, wisdom, experience, instincts, common sense, empathy, and understanding of our world along with the mistakes and consequences of people like you!” she threw back at him.

“And where is mine coming from?”

“A place where greed lives and common sense and empathy can’t enter!”

“Making decisions with the shareholders in mind is greed?”

“The shareholders aren’t the only ones in this project Vincent! What about the common people who put the money in the shareholder’s bank account? Shouldn’t your decisions involve them too?”

“I am going to request you be removed from the board. I don’t like where your decisions come from,” he alerts her.

She nods, then informs him, “Fifty percent of the board members are females. Forty-five percent are married men with families. Their decisions can’t come from a spontaneous place Vincent. Their family’s life and living relies on it.”

Smiling as if he knew something she didn’t, he shares, “Small axes fall big trees, you didn’t forget that, did you?”

“Well,” Rosalyn said easing up out of the armchair. “Start chopping.”

One week later, Rosalyn’s neck was on the chopping block, “I like Vincent’s plan,” the majority of the board members said. “Why don’t you?”

“For his plan, he is disregarding the root. No plant can survive without its roots,” Rosalyn explains.

“What are you really saying?” Morgan Fillmore, the director questioned.

“That business was built on the backs of the people who feed the root. They provided success for you and your shareholders. You are all forgetting that every tree/business needs the support of the ones at the bottom,” Rosalyn tried to persuade.

“She is right you know,” one of the five females agreed. “The little people are important too.”

“So, what do you suggest we do? This is a five-hundred-million-dollar project,” Morgan reminds everyone.

“Without your consideration for the ones at the bottom, I am removing myself and my vote,” Rosalyn notified. “I will not go down in history for this.”

“What are you talking about?” Vincent demands.

“All of us in here are writing our history with our life decisions. Some history will be swept under the rug. Five hundred million dollars, will not be able to hide from history. Neither will the cry of poverty!”

“You can’t listen to her!” Vincent defends. “They will get over it like they got over the others!”

Silence breezed through and Vincent continued, “Our shareholders are relying on us. They have invested their resources in this project. We can’t let them down!”

“My parents were at the root of companies like this and people like you,” she points to her fellow board members. “Your decision allowed the root to die sending thousands into poverty and children hungry. If you go ahead with this project, you go without my vote,” Rosalyn informs them.

“She is only one vote,” Vincent reminds them.

Rosalyn stood up, dug into her bag, and took out a long brown envelope, then educate, “I am the only one writing my history! Not you! Not fate! Not destiny! I am!” she stated her hand on her chest. “Here is my resignation,” handing the envelope to Morgan. “I already sent a digital copy to HR and Headquarters.”

Ten days later the board ok the project. Three months later Carlson and Walberg Investment had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

Rosalyn was in her living room watching TV when she switched channels in time to hear Brianna Keilar of CNN announcing, “CEO Vincent Sherman from Carlson and Walberg Investment committed suicide two hours ago!”

“Damn!” shot from her pain. Grabbing her cell phone, she called Susan, his ex-wife. She answered after the second ring, “I heard. The rest of them are running for cover. You are right, we do write our history by our decisions!”

Fate, Destiny, Chance, Luck, Opportunity, and being at the right place, at the right time are some of the elements that aid in humans writing their history. And few of us use our common sense, understanding, empathy, knowledge, wisdom, and the lessons we learn from life and humans to write our history.

What aids you in writing your history?

If your heart could speak what would it say?

Good and bad, with the help of wisdom and balance aid in me making the right decisions, writing my history instead of the one fate and destiny had in store for me.

Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it.