02 Emotional Mastery MINI STORY

Okay, welcome to the mini‑story for “Emotional Mastery.” Let’s get started.

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Vanilla wanted to be rich.

Who wanted to be rich?

Vanilla, Vanilla wanted to be rich.

Who was Vanilla?

Vanilla was a beautiful, intelligent woman.

What kind of woman was Vanilla?

She was a beautiful, intelligent woman.

And what did she want?

She wanted to be rich.

She said “Show me the money.”

What did she say?

She said “Show me the money.”

Who wanted a lot of money?

Vanilla, Vanilla wanted a lot of money.

She was beautiful. She was intelligent. But, unfortunately, she was poor. So Vanilla went to Las Vegas. She went to Las Vegas to get rich.

Where did she go?

Las Vegas.

Why did she go to Las Vegas?

To get rich, of course, she went to Las Vegas to get rich.

Who went to Las Vegas to get rich?

Vanilla, Vanilla went to Las Vegas to get rich.

She walked into Caesar’s Palace.

Where did she go?

Caesar’s Palace, she walked into Caesar’s Palace.

Did she run into Caesar’s Palace or did she walk into Caesar’s Palace?

She walked, she walked calmly into Caesar’s Palace.

What is Caesar’s Palace?

It’s a casino.

Caesar’s Palace is a casino.

Did Vanilla go to a casino in Japan?

No, no, no, no, no. She didn’t go to a casino in Japan. She went to a casino in Las Vegas.

What was the casino’s name?

Caesar’s Palace, the casino’s name was Caesar’s Palace.

And where was it?

Las Vegas, it was in Las Vegas.

She walked into Caesar’s Palace with a big grin on her face.

Was Vanilla happy or sad?

She was happy. She had a big grin on her face. A big, huge smile.

Was she grinning or was she frowning?

She was grinning. She had a big smile on her face. She was grinning.

Who, who was grinning? Vanilla, Vanilla was grinning. When was she grinning?

When she walked into Caesar’s Palace, when she walked into Caesar’s Palace she was grinning.

Why?

Well, because she thought she was going to become rich.

She was grinning because she thought she was going to become rich. In fact, she knew she was going to become rich.

Why was she grinning?

Because she knew she was going to become rich.

She walked to the blackjack table.

Which table did she walk to?

The blackjack table, she walked to the blackjack table.

Did she walk to the poker table?

No, no, no, no, no, no, not the poker table. She walked to the blackjack table.

Who walked to the blackjack table?

Vanilla, Vanilla walked to the blackjack table.

What was she doing when she walked to the blackjack table?

She was grinning, of course. She was grinning when she walked to the blackjack table.

She took out money from her pocket.

How much money did she take out of her pocket?

$6,000.00.

She took $6,000.00 out of her pocket.

Where did she take it out of?

Out of her pocket, she took $6,000.00 out of her pocket.

Whose pocket?

Vanilla’s, Vanilla’s pocket, of course. Her own pocket. She took $6,000.00 out of her own pocket.

She put the money on the table. She bet all of the money on the first game.

How much money did she bet?

Well, all of it, all $6,000.00. She bet all $6,000.00.

And did she win or did she lose?

Well, Vanilla lost.

Vanilla lost all her money. She was really, really poor. She cried, “Oh no, I lost all my money.”

What about Warren Buffett?

Huh, who’s Warren Buffett?

Warren Buffett is the richest man in the world.

Does Warren Buffett play blackjack?

No.

Warren Buffett does not play blackjack.

What does he do?

He buys stocks.

He buys what?

He buys stocks. Stocks are parts of companies, like a piece of a company. So Warren Buffett buys stocks. He goes to New York and buys stocks.

So Warren Buffett went to New York at the same time that Vanilla went to Las Vegas.

When Vanilla was in Las Vegas, where was Warren Buffett?

New York, he was in New York. Warren Buffett was in New York when Vanilla was in Las Vegas.

Did Warren Buffett lose money in New York or make money?

He made money.

He made $60 billion.

How much money did Warren Buffett make?

He made $60 billion.

How much did Vanilla make?

Zero, she made no money. In fact, she lost money. Vanilla lost $6,000.00. Warren Buffett made $60 billion.

Did Vanilla grin?

Well no.

First she cried. But then she changed her physiology. She pulled back her shoulders. She put her chin up. And she grinned. She said “I will become rich.”

Did Warren Buffett grin after he made $60 billion?

No, he didn’t grin, he frowned. Warren Buffett always frowns. Who frowned?

Warren Buffett frowned.

And who grinned?

Well, Vanilla grinned. She cried and then she grinned.

Next, Vanilla went to Alaska.

Why did she go to Alaska?

She went to Alaska to dig for gold.

What did she want to do? She wanted to dig for gold. Who wanted to dig for gold?

Vanilla, Vanilla wanted to dig for gold.

So she got a shovel and she started to dig. Every day she dug for gold, five days, ten days, digging for gold, digging for gold. After sixty days, her back hurt.

Why did Vanilla’s back hurt?

Because she had bad posture, of course.

Vanilla had bad posture while she was digging.

Did she have good posture or did she have bad posture?

Vanilla had bad posture while she was digging.

What kind of posture did Vanilla have?

Bad, she had bad posture.

Was her back straight or was it bent?

It was bent. Her back was bent. She had bad posture while she was digging for gold.

Where did she have bad posture?

Well, in Alaska, she had bad posture in Alaska while she was digging for gold.

When, when did she have bad posture?

While she was digging for gold.

After ninety days, Vanilla’s back hurt and she had no money. She started to cry “Oh, my back hurts. And I have no money.”

Did she cry, did she feel bad, was she depressed?

Yes, Vanilla was depressed.

How did she feel?

Depressed.

Was she super‑sad?

Yes, she was depressed.

Why was Vanilla depressed?

Because her back hurt and she had no money.

But then Vanilla changed. She changed her posture again. She smiled. She brought her shoulders back. She breathed deeply. She said “I will become rich.” So she went to Singapore.

Where did Vanilla go next?

Singapore, that’s right, of course. Singapore, she went to Singapore.

Why did she go to Singapore?

Well, it’s obvious.

She went to Singapore to start a chili business.

What kind of business did she start?

A chili business, not a cold business. Chili, c-h-i-l-i, little pepers that you eat, very spicy. She started a chili business.

Okay, so she grew chilis in her apartment. She grew chilis, hot chilis, in her apartment and sold them to restaurants.

So she grew broccoli in her apartment and she sold them to restaurants?

Not broccoli, chilis, not broccoli…chilis. She grew chilis in her apartment and she sold them to restaurants.

What did she sell?

Chilis, hot chilis, she sold hot chilis to restaurants.

In which city?

Singapore. In Singapore she sold hot chilis to restaurants.

Where did she grow the chilis?

She grew them in her apartment. She grew them in her apartment then she sold them to restaurants.

What did she sell to restaurants?

Hot chilis, she sold hot chilis to restaurants.

So, what did Vanilla want? Vanilla wanted to be rich. Where did she go first?

Las Vegas, she first went to Las Vegas. She played blackjack. She lost all her money.

Where did she go next?

Alaska.

She went to Alaska, she dug for diamonds and she got a bad painful back?

No, no, no, no, no, she didn’t dig for diamonds. She dug for gold. She went to Alaska, she dug for gold. But her posture was bad so her back hurt. No money and a painful back. And finally she went to Singapore. She grew hot chilis in her apartment and sold them to restaurants.

And she made $28 billion. She became the Queen of Hot Chilis…the Asian Queen of Hot Chilis. Vanilla became super‑rich. She got the money.

Did Vanilla become super‑rich?

Oh yes, she did.

How much money did she make? $26 billion?

Oh no.

$27 billion?

No, no, no. $28 billion, Vanilla made $28 billion. She was beautiful. She was intelligent. And finally, she was super‑rich.

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Okay, that is the end of the mini‑story for “Emotional Mastery.” How about you? Was your posture good during this lesson? Were you smiling while you listened? Were you breathing deeply…while you listened? Were you moving your body as you listened to

this story? I hope so. You should. If not, it’s okay but next time, next time be sure. Strong posture, deep breathing, big grin and moving your body as you listen to the story. And one more thing you can do. If you’re at home, if you can be loud, you can listen to the story and shout your answers.

So if I say “What was her name?” you shout “Vanilla.” You can do this in the train on the bus, too, if you want to. In San Francisco we have a lot of crazy people so if you do something like this nobody cares. So you can do that, too. But if you feel strange about shouting in public, then maybe do it at home. If you listen at home, you know, stand up, move your body and shout the answers. Loud, strong posture, don’t be shy about speaking English.  Teach yourself to be strong when you speak English.  And remember, posture, breathing, big smile, big grin and move your body as you listen to every lesson.

Okay.