The Art of the Hustle 2 (Complete)

Chapter Forty-Four

As part of his ongoing commitment to Deon's personal development, Trevor kept regular tabs on him. While the discussions with Deon and Dr. Chang remained private, Trevor was notified every time Deon missed an appointment. The first time, Trevor let it slide. But after a week, Deon hadn't been to a single session. Not only that, he had been avoiding his tutors as well.

Trevor figured Deon's absence with Dr. Chang and his tutor had to do with work. Deon was still adjusting to the new office life and from the feedback Trevor was receiving, Deon was in over his head. Trevor didn't want to completely overwhelm Deon so he didn't bring it up with him.

"Perhaps it was a mistake throwing him into deep waters," Mckay said.

"What kinds of things do you have him doing?" Trevor asked, drinking his morning smoothie.

"All kinds of things. He's capable of working hard and he does come up with a lot of ideas, some good, some bad. But..." he paused.

"What is it?" Trevor asked.

"I think he's in a situation where he needs to run, but he's still in the crawl stage if that makes sense. He lacks basic people skills. He doesn't have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of writing such as syntax, grammar, and spelling. He types maybe ten to twenty words per minute and can't type without looking at the keyboard."

"That's not good," Trevor said.

"Unfortunately, that's just the start of it. Understanding complex programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are completely outside of his scope. Frankly, I don't trust him posting on social media. I could coach him all day long, which I don't have the time to do, but even if I did, I think it wouldn't be enough. He's drowning."

"Continue to push him until he breaks," Trevor said.

"Trevor, he's broken. He was broken when I got him. Perhaps we're going too hard on him, he's just a kid."

"Some could have said the same thing about me."

"He's not you, though."

"He's not just a kid, just as you're not just a dad, or you're not just a marketing VP. We all have potential beyond what people may or may not see in us. People have cognitive biases that set parametres on others, and sometimes we start to put those same restraints on ourselves. If I'm good at anything, it's that I don't set limits on myself. Anything is possible."

"That's a great story, but he's not ready for this. What do you want me to do with him?"

"Send him to my office. I'll handle it."

Trevor walked back to his office and a few minutes later Deon showed up.

"Hey, Trevor, you wanted to see me?" Deon asked, standing in the doorway.

"Yes, please come in and have a seat."

Deon took a seat and looked nervous as if he were about to get into trouble.

"So tell me, how's your first couple of weeks going?"

"I don't know. Okay, I guess."

"Are you making friends?"

"Not really. Nobody really talks to me."

"Are you making an effort to talk to them?"

"Not really."

"What sorts of assignments have you been working on?" Trevor asked.

"Various things... data entry, research, coming up with titles for webpages."

"Do you enjoy those things?"

"I don't know. It's alright, I guess."

"Deon, what do you want out of life?"