Later that night, the three went to Brian’s hotel room. Adrienne was lying on the bed listening to music while the two young men were talking at the round table.

"I still don’t know how you did it," blurted Alex.

"I’ll tell you. But let me preface this with a statement: I think most adults have given up on the struggle of life…"

"Please explain."

"Okay. You saw me win at pool, right? There are specific reasons why I won. I learned how to play pool, I practice a lot, and I play to win. When I lose, I ask myself why and how I can improve my game. The next time I practice or play, I consciously attempt to get better. After many years of this, I’ve automatized the skills of winning at pool. I play naturally, and look relaxed. In fact, I am relaxed. But I’ve exerted continual effort to master the game. And when I play, it looks easy to my beat opponents, although much effort has gone into every one of my victories," explained Brian.

"Hmm…" Alex mumbled in a pensive state of mind.

"The truth is, I have exerted continual, conscious effort in my life since I was two years of age. Yes, I worked very hard to master the basics of life, such as learning how to walk, talk, use the toilet, ride a bike, eat by myself, dress myself, etc. And I’ve worked very hard to master difficult areas of life, such as writing, thinking, developing a moral character, and being productive. Now I know that you have not given up on life, either. But I’m afraid to say this to you Alex," said Brian in a sad tone.

"Afraid to say what?"

"I believe that most adults no longer exert continuous conscious effort in their life. Worse, I think that most people have given up on life in their youth, perhaps between eight and twelve years of age. This discovery saddens me deeply, as it’s utterly unnecessary and contradictory to conscious life" continued Brian.

"Oh," replied Alex, also in a sad state.

"You’ve got to understand Alex, I don’t mean to be pessimistic. I’ve simply recalled major and minor events in my past and integrated them with everything I know. And when I look around, I see that very few people continue to exert the effort required to live a happy, prosperous, exciting life—the kind of effort that all children exerted to become functioning human beings," said Brian.

"You know, this is all very strange," said Alex.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just the other day my mom called and told me something that seems to confirm what you’re saying. She said that my cousin, who had a drinking problem and has had extensive counseling, has once again turned to heavy drinking. He sobered up for awhile, but he fell right back into his old habit. Now he has an ‘excuse’ not to be productive or achieve great things: he’s an alcoholic. But could this be a case where he has given up on the tough, competitive struggle of life and uses alcohol to escape that struggle?" Alex said with sincerity.

"Probably. Now I’m not a psychologist and I don’t know your cousin’s circumstances. But if you realize how many options a person has to escape the constant effort of life, you will be amazed. Think about it: once a person gives up on life, he or she can become a criminal, use drugs, become a priest, politician, or take some other non-productive or destructive career route. A person can ‘escape’ life through promiscuous sex, food gorging, sugar indulgences, drug and alcohol abuse, compulsive gambling, and new-age mysticism," replied Brian.

"What does this say about society?" Alex stated.

"It’s crazy!" Adrienne declared.

The young men turned their heads around, as they were surprised to hear a third voice in the conversation. They saw an attractive oriental woman lying on the bed, with her long black hair flowing on the bedspread. She was humming along with the song on the radio. Without changing her position, she added, "It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if a society has numerous ways to escape effort, it is anti-effort, which means anti-productive, which means anti-happiness, which means anti-man, which means anti-life."

"You know what Brian is saying?" asked Alex.

"Yeah," replied Adrienne, "He’s saying that many people give up on life, and society has many ways for them to do so and still survive. I’m saying that our society is anti-life."

"What do you think about what she just said, Brian?"

"She’s right," replied Brian.

"Why don’t we verify this through our own experiences. Let’s go to different parts of the world to live and take notes on our findings. If we observe, take notes, and reason carefully from our observations, we can determine if what Brian is saying is true or not. What do you think about this guys?" said Adrienne.

"It would certainly clear up a lot of questions I had growing up. What do you think about Adrienne’s idea Brian?" said Alex

"I think it’s an excellent idea," replied Brian.

"Great. Each of us can go to a different part of the world for awhile and adapt to the culture there. We can regularly post our observations and conclusions on our web sites. This will enable us to see how each other is doing and what we are finding. Sound good?" said Adrienne proudly.

"Yes," said the young men.

____________________

Brian decided to conduct his experiment in four countries throughout Europe. Adrienne chose to study people and cultures in some Asian countries. Alex decided to conduct his experiment in some countries throughout South America. They arranged to travel in the spring, which gave them enough time to prepare. They would stay in their chosen location for four months and then meet in Hawaii to discuss their findings.

Each worked diligently to prepare their web sites, get their study materials ready, and plan their journeys. When spring arrived, they left for their destinations.

Brian first arrived in Spain. Then he went to France, Italy, and England. He studied the culture, the people, and the political situations there. He recorded his findings in an objective manner in his journal, noting details and the overall picture within each country he visited. Sometimes he would scan pages of his journal onto his web site; other times he would simply type in his observed data. He was beginning to see a pattern among people and their societies that would later become clear to Brian.

Adrienne arrived in Japan. Then she went to Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. She already knew about Asian culture, and was not surprised at what she saw. Yet, even Adrienne became aware of a pattern among people in the Orient that she never before noticed. She wrote down her observations and thoughts in her diary and put some interesting notes on her web site. She waited to the end of her Asian experience to draw any final conclusions from her data.

Alex landed in Venezuela. He then went to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil. He encountered a culture shock, a way of life radically different from the luxury he had become accustomed to in North America. After overcoming this initial shock, Alex focused on his studies and diligently recorded his observations in his journal. He also posted his observations of the lives of people and their societies on his web site. At the end of the four months, Alex was glad to get back to North America, prosperity—and his lovely wife.