You can be a superstar you just can’t be one alone What you need is a star system a constellation of positive authentic influencers who support each other reinforce each other and make each other better Shawn Achor
0.0 The day aliens abducted Albert Kinney happened to be the day he was trying out for his middle school soccer team Actually it was the third and final day of tryouts and as Albert and the other seventh graders were warming up with a run around the track his mind was racing But it wasn’t because he knew that a dangerous and extraordinary mission was about to bring him to the Fŭigor Solar System Like the rest of you on Earth he didn’t know the planets in that system even existed Albert’s mind was racing because he was thinking about his soc cer career If he didn’t get on the school team in seventh grade he couldn’t possibly make the eighth grade team and if he wasn’t 1
on the eighth grade team forget about playing in high school or college or having any hope for happiness That’s the way life works for you too You think the most import ant thing in the world is that tryout or that math quiz or whatever and you don’t even see the huge tornado coming your way 1.0 Eyes on the track Albert jogged Hi Albert Freddy Mills said approaching him on his left Hey Albert said immediately turning on the heat Freddy was slow which meant Albert’s own pace must have fallen A kind of light headedness came over Albert and he won dered if he was having a panic attack It’s the final day of tryouts he thought and I’ll probably pass out during the warm-up He pushed through it though and increased his pace catching up with Trey Patterson and his pack And then Trey pointed at Albert’s yellow soccer socks and shin guards and said You got chicken legs Kinney It was a ridiculous immature joke who cared what color his socks and shin guards were and yet the guys actually laughed Trey Patterson A year ago Trey would have been running by his side not making fun of him All their lives Trey and Albert had been next door neighbors and friends Not heart-to-heart 2
friends they were too different for that But they had grown up playing soccer together and had a great connection as teammates First in Albert’s yard and then in the park down the street and then as the two strongest stars in their recreational league and finally last year as the stars of the same travel team At the begin ning of the summer though Trey left for a six week soccer camp the first camp experience that the boys didn’t share and he came back transformed A growth spurt combined with new training changed not only Trey’s body but also his mind He informed Albert that he was quitting their old travel team to play in a more serious league That wasn’t the surprise Trey had always been competitive The surprise was the condescension and contempt in his voice Trey for no good reason had turned mean And now some of the other guys impressed by Trey’s bulked-up physique were siding with him And that was messing with Albert’s mind Bawk Trey called out and the guys laughed again Not funny Freddy called from behind After five humiliating laps each pass punctuated by bawk ing from Trey the coach split the group into four teams for simultaneous scrimmages and Albert’s heart sank even more His name was called for Team C Trey and Raul and all the other skilled players were on Teams A and B Honestly Albert knew he had a better sense of the field than Trey or Raul They were both strong but Raul couldn’t kick the ball with his left foot to save his life and lately Trey hogged the ball and took risky shots for personal glory rather than seeing the passes that would pay off It’s over muttered a player on Team D Mr Perez is crazy Freddy assigned to Team C whispered Everybody knows you should be on Team A Albert 3
