The Secret

January 4, 2024

When I was 16, I was president of my high school science club. The president's job was straightforward: Find some interesting sciencey things for a group of teenagers to do, and go do them. That winter, we decided it might be fun to take a tour of the nearby Johnson & Johnson factory. But I didn't know to coordinate a field trip. And I didn't learn The Secret in time to make it happen.

Even in pre-Internet days, scheduling a tour was almost as simple as it is now: All I had to do was pick up the phone and dial 411 to get the number for J&J's customer service line and then...ask. But I didn't know those steps, and the information seemed too far away. The problem was that I'd somehow bought into the idea that certain information and skills were accessible only to certain types of people. I was good at "doing school," but organizing? Business? Systems? Those were probably beyond me. It didn't even occur to me to ask Mrs. Murphy, the science club's advisor, how to make it happen.

It would take me another 10 years to grasp the life-changing truth that if someone can learn something, so can I. Knowledge doesn't play favorites: It's open to anyone who has curiosity and persistence. The Secret is that closed doors aren't actually locked, you just have to knock long, hard, and cheerfully. And so many of those doors open just at the slightest tap! If I'd had any idea of how short the distance actually was between me and the J&J outreach coordinator, our club would have learned, thanks to my efforts, all about how Band-Aids are made. Instead, it remains one of life's mysteries.

Even with technology gifting a direct link to the world's resources into most everyone's palm, it's possible that the kids in your orbit don't know—or believe—The Secret. Let 2024 be the year you make the most of it, together.

—Deb