About

One night after bringing homeless Michael to my house to live a few days, he borrowed my truck (without permission) to purchased some cheap vodka, then he drank the whole bottle and passed out in the front seat.

I spent hours that night driving around town looking for Michael and my truck, hoping they both were intact. You can imagine my indignation when I found him. It was time for a deliberate conversation about his decisions, and I was ready to do whatever it took to find the source of this unacceptable behavior.
The next day, after he had sobered up, I took him to my office.

“Michael,” I began, “you know that I love you, and that I want to help you in every way imaginable.”

“Yes,” he said with quiet humility, staring at the blue-carpeted floor.

“Why? Why do you do this? What is the root cause of all your drinking?” I pleaded earnestly.

After a long moment of silent contemplation, he groaned, “I feel like I’m buried under the tip of an upside-down pyramid. Its massive weight is crushing my chest. I can’t breathe.”

Without sympathy I rebutted, “Wait, Michael, come on. Pyramids can’t be upside down. They would fall over. An upside-down pyramid is not sustainable.”

Looking up from the carpet, he gazed deep into my eyes for several silent seconds. Then, leaning forward, he painfully exclaimed, “That’s my point!”

My soul melted with compassion. I proceeded with more mercy as I listened and learned. What followed was a spark of inspiration toward real, personal change. We explored why Michael’s life was, as he said, “upside down.” I asked a lot of questions, seeking to understand the reason this pressure-producing pyramid existed. A beautiful diagram unfolded from our discussion and found its way onto the chalkboard.

What we discovered together over the next several, soul-searching hours was the root of his problem. As we combed through the granularity of his troubles, one immense impediment emerged. When I repeatedly asked him why he felt upside down, we discovered the invisible four-letter word—WANT. After identifying that word and why it caused him to feel upside down, we both had an aha moment.