Linda
said.
"This
sounds totally unbelievable. But you said at the beginning that this
is all true." I said.
"It
is all true." Linda said. "I didn't completely believe it
either. But it is all true. And it gets better every day."
"You
said that I could leave the terrafoam system today. Did you mean
that? Can we leave now?" I asked.
"There
are two minor things we have to cover first."
"There's
always a catch." I said. I had a sinking feeling.
"No.
It is not a catch. The first thing is that you have two shares in
4GC, Inc. Your father probably purchased one for you and one for your
wife. You can use only one of these shares. Is there someone else you
would like to bring with you? Obviously you are not married. But is
there a friend or a relative you would like to give your other share
to?"
"Can
I bring Burt?"
"Who
is he?"
"My
roommate. The guy I came in with?"
"Certainly.
You can bring Burt. Can you find him now?"
"That's
easy. He is two doors down. What's the other catch?"
"You
have to agree to the core principles." Linda said.
She
pulled a sheet out of my catalog and handed it to me. It only had
about 50 words on it. The title was, "The nine core Principles
of 4GC."
"By
signing this sheet of LC," Linda said, "You agree to abide
by Eric's core principles for 4GC. The only way for the Australia
Project to work is for everyone to abide by the core principles. They
will go over these principles in detail in the orientation, but this
is the high level. Within a week you will be able to recite these
from memory. Do you agree with these principles?"
I
read down through the principles. Each one was very short:
-
Everyone is equal
-
Everything is reused
-
Nothing is anonymous
-
Nothing is owned
-
Tell the truth
-
Do no harm
-
Obey the rules
-
Live your life
-
Better and better
"That's
it?" I asked. "You must be kidding."
"That's
it. You will be surprised how all-encompassing those 27 words can
be." Linda said. "That's what the orientation will help you
with."
"Can
I ask two questions?" I asked.
"Surely."
"How
can I do anything besides living my life?"
"Well,
you are living your life now..." Linda said, "and
personally I have to tell you that it leaves a lot to be desired!
Those three words are very important. Live Your Life means that you
are able get the most out of your life, as opposed to the least.
Instead of dying in Terrafoam, or dying in some job that you hate,
you live your life in the Australia Project in freedom and
prosperity. Live Your Life means that you are in control -- again,
the emphasis on freedom of choice. You decide what you want to do,
and then you are able to do it. You reach your full potential. Live
Your Life is the idea of thinking about your life as a whole, as
something that you get to design and control. Does that make sense?"
"More
sense than you can imagine."
"What
is your other question?" she asked.
"Better
and better?"
Linda
replied, "That is a declaration of innovation. The goal is to
make things continuously better and better for everyone in the
Australia Project through constant innovation. We are constantly
looking for problems, identifying them and solving them. We are
constantly looking for and implementing new ideas. Things get better
and better every day. Terrafoam is, by contrast, 'Worse and worse.'"
"Sign
me up!" I said.
She
handed me a marker from her pocket and I signed the LC. "Now
press your thumb on the square to authenticate it," She said. A
black thumbprint appeared in the box when I lifted my finger.
"Congratulations!"
They both said in unison.
"Can
I go get Burt?"
"Yes.
If you don't mind, you can sit with us as we explain 4GC to him, and
then we will leave."
I
found Burt in Mike's room, brought him down, and in 20 minutes he had
signed on as well. He was as incredulous as I was. We went down the
elevator and as we walked through the first floor of the building,
Linda spoke to the robot that approached her. Burt and I put on
headsets and signed
said.
"This
sounds totally unbelievable. But you said at the beginning that this
is all true." I said.
"It
is all true." Linda said. "I didn't completely believe it
either. But it is all true. And it gets better every day."
"You
said that I could leave the terrafoam system today. Did you mean
that? Can we leave now?" I asked.
"There
are two minor things we have to cover first."
"There's
always a catch." I said. I had a sinking feeling.
"No.
It is not a catch. The first thing is that you have two shares in
4GC, Inc. Your father probably purchased one for you and one for your
wife. You can use only one of these shares. Is there someone else you
would like to bring with you? Obviously you are not married. But is
there a friend or a relative you would like to give your other share
to?"
"Can
I bring Burt?"
"Who
is he?"
"My
roommate. The guy I came in with?"
"Certainly.
You can bring Burt. Can you find him now?"
"That's
easy. He is two doors down. What's the other catch?"
"You
have to agree to the core principles." Linda said.
She
pulled a sheet out of my catalog and handed it to me. It only had
about 50 words on it. The title was, "The nine core Principles
of 4GC."
"By
signing this sheet of LC," Linda said, "You agree to abide
by Eric's core principles for 4GC. The only way for the Australia
Project to work is for everyone to abide by the core principles. They
will go over these principles in detail in the orientation, but this
is the high level. Within a week you will be able to recite these
from memory. Do you agree with these principles?"
I
read down through the principles. Each one was very short:
-
Everyone is equal
-
Everything is reused
-
Nothing is anonymous
-
Nothing is owned
-
Tell the truth
-
Do no harm
-
Obey the rules
-
Live your life
-
Better and better
"That's
it?" I asked. "You must be kidding."
"That's
it. You will be surprised how all-encompassing those 27 words can
be." Linda said. "That's what the orientation will help you
with."
"Can
I ask two questions?" I asked.
"Surely."
"How
can I do anything besides living my life?"
"Well,
you are living your life now..." Linda said, "and
personally I have to tell you that it leaves a lot to be desired!
Those three words are very important. Live Your Life means that you
are able get the most out of your life, as opposed to the least.
Instead of dying in Terrafoam, or dying in some job that you hate,
you live your life in the Australia Project in freedom and
prosperity. Live Your Life means that you are in control -- again,
the emphasis on freedom of choice. You decide what you want to do,
and then you are able to do it. You reach your full potential. Live
Your Life is the idea of thinking about your life as a whole, as
something that you get to design and control. Does that make sense?"
"More
sense than you can imagine."
"What
is your other question?" she asked.
"Better
and better?"
Linda
replied, "That is a declaration of innovation. The goal is to
make things continuously better and better for everyone in the
Australia Project through constant innovation. We are constantly
looking for problems, identifying them and solving them. We are
constantly looking for and implementing new ideas. Things get better
and better every day. Terrafoam is, by contrast, 'Worse and worse.'"
"Sign
me up!" I said.
She
handed me a marker from her pocket and I signed the LC. "Now
press your thumb on the square to authenticate it," She said. A
black thumbprint appeared in the box when I lifted my finger.
"Congratulations!"
They both said in unison.
"Can
I go get Burt?"
"Yes.
If you don't mind, you can sit with us as we explain 4GC to him, and
then we will leave."
I
found Burt in Mike's room, brought him down, and in 20 minutes he had
signed on as well. He was as incredulous as I was. We went down the
elevator and as we walked through the first floor of the building,
Linda spoke to the robot that approached her. Burt and I put on
headsets and signed
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