My little story takes place in February of this year. My dad wanted a Nintendo Wii for his birthday, and I wanted to buy him one. So for three weeks we searched and searched and turned up nothing (they had just been released a few months prior and were flying off the shelves faster than they were being stocked!)

One Saturday evening, my dad said we should give up for a while, to wait until they weren’t so popular anymore. I could feel his utter disappointment dripping off every word! After viewing The Secret movie on my computer just weeks beforehand, I felt it was a great opportunity to put this practice to the test (something small, but significant). So I told him, “Dad, if you want a Wii, we’ll find one for you tomorrow. I guarantee it.” After a weird look, he nodded and said, “Alright, but if we don’t, then we need to give up for a while”.

That night, I was doing some meditating. I thought back to John Assaraf’s magnet analogy. I pictured my body as a large, vibrating magnet. I pictured the Nintendo Wii box materializing out of thin air, and landing on my lap. I put the feeling of the cardboard box in the palms of my hands, the tips of my fingers. I imagined its weight on my lap. I even tried to associate it with a smell.

The following day we set out on our final attempt to find his gift. We went to six different stores, each time coming out empty handed. We stopped at a little café in one of the Target shopping centers, as my kids were getting cranky and wanted to eat. He then said he wanted to call it a day. I started to agree, but then stopped. I again visualized the box, driving home with it in my lap. I asked if we could stop at one more store. He agreed, and we set out once again. As we were walking to the car, my sister called me and asked if we had any luck. I told her, “Not yet”. She suggested going to a Best Buy across from the mall, as they were rumored to have some in stock. In the past few weeks of searching, I hadn’t thought to look there.

As we were driving, we passed by a brand new WalMart we didn’t know had been built (the Best Buy was in a city we didn’t go to often). I suddenly had a feeling that we needed to stop. I told him to pull in immediately. I ran inside, rushed to the electronics department, and, sure enough, there were two Nintendo Wiis on the shelf. I immediately flagged down the sales clerk to open the case, and she looked shocked. Then she informed me that five or six customers had come in before me asking for Wiis, and she assumed they didn’t have any and turned them away. I have never felt so blown away by that. HAD SHE TOLD THEM YES, THERE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ANY WHEN WE GOT THERE! By this point, my dad had finished parking the car and bringing my kids inside. I happily held up the Wii, and boasted a “TOLD YOU SO!!!

To some, it may seem trivial, but I was so happy to have given my dad a good birthday. The look on his face was as priceless as a small child at Christmas! To Rhonda and all those that contributed to this movie, from the bottom to the top of my being, THANK YOU!