The Adventure Begins…

January 11, 2010
The Adventure Begins…

Go on a journey through time and space as two aliens convince Steve McAllister to turn his hometown of Sarasota, Florida into a marketing mecca. Filled with great information, a lot of laughs, and a story about getting back to the basics of humanity that will keep the pages turning, The McAllister Code is a must for anyone seeking purpose in their business and in life.

In the midst of a brutal hurricane season, after seeing an incomprehensible object shoot through the night sky, Steve McAllister receives a strange email stating that his latest book has been picked up for publication. The only problem is that he hasn’t written it. Setting out to unearth the mystery of the errant press release, Steve meets two aliens who charge him with a foreboding task – turn the city of Sarasota, Florida into a marketing mecca.

With a handful of guiding principles and a bevy of philosophical ideologies, the two wise-cracking extraterrestrials take Steve on a journey through time and space in order to teach him the finer points of industry and how his community can prosper in the new millennium. Filled with humor, wisdom, and intrigue, The McAllister Code is the definitive allegorical journey of one man on a quest to write his world.
Starting September 1, 2010, The McAllister Code: will be released piece by piece through this website. To follow the story, check back every Wednesday, have it delivered via email, or subscribe to the RSS feed.

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As an added BONUS, if you order The McAllister Code now, you will also get a free copy of the 38 page eBooklet “Developing Positive Habits in Social Network Marketing” by Steve McAllister!

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Prelude

September 1, 2010
Prelude

Where do I begin to tell this story? I suppose the proper answer would be ‘at the beginning.’ That is, after all, where most great stories begin. However, the question arises, when did this whole thing begin?

Was it the day I left Sarasota in pursuit of the gelatinous haze I considered destiny? Was it the day I returned four years later with empty pockets and an open mind? Was it when the press release came out stating that the book I had yet to write was the bestseller at Amazon.com? Perhaps it was the revelation that Sarasota had been infiltrated by alien life forms? Maybe it was the day I met them.

Each of these occurrences had the heavy air of the beginning of something, but compared to my current state of affairs, they seem like nothing more than a light breath. Perhaps that is the beginning of everything.

In this moment, after all that I’ve been through, I should be wiser for it. Yet I don’t feel wise, I just feel.

Right now, my brain feels like a baked potato, the eyes of the world pushing out in all directions and my life’s events oozing through its flaky whiteness like melted butter. My body feels heavy like a tweed jacket when you’ve been caught in the rain. I feel like I just want to throw it off, but my spirit doesn’t feel quite ready for the task. And my heart… my heart just feels open.

Through the fluid perception of time as we know it, all sorts of things are bound to happen. Things I dreamed of as a child have taken their spot in the absolution of the manifest at one time or another. Things that have happened in my past are still lodged in the folds of my memory. And through the stunning brilliance of what the visitors have just shown me, I see these words creating the future that awaits me.

I’ve never had an Estralarian mind meld before. It certainly gave me a new understanding of Salvador Dali. The clock on the wall has melted and is stretched from ceiling to floor in a vertical recollection of Vonnegut’s view of time in the Slaughterhouse. It’s not really like that, you know. Time takes on a much different form when you come out the other side of a mind meld.

I’ve seen people on TV who said they were abducted by aliens. I’ve always been fascinated by the consistency of the looks in their eyes. Though many have worn expressions ranging from lunacy to lucidity, there is always that hollowness of eye that seems to lend the idea that they are seeing more than they can truly express. In my current state of mind, after the rush I’ve just lived through, utilizing this archaic form of expression that is the written word seems almost futile. I could spend eternity at this keyboard trying to fully communicate all that I’ve just seen.

But that’s what the Estralarians told me to do. They told me to “write the world.”

Now, where do I begin?
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How Do You Write the World?

March 15, 2010
How Do You Write the World?

I seem to have dozed off there for a minute. I had the strangest dream. You know how when you first wake up from a strange dream, and all of the images are jumping around in your mind, flaring up like little wisps of light, color, and sound, and they all seem to be unconnected and interconnected at the same time? Okay, so maybe it’s just me.

Nevertheless, I have this sense that I’m supposed to be doing something. It’s like I have a purpose of some kind, but I’m not sure exactly what it is. The visions I was talking about, the ones in the dream, they took different forms, but they seemed to center around four key components: mind, spirit, body, and heart. How they pertain to what I’m supposed to do exactly isn’t quite apparent to me at this point, but one phrase keeps coursing through my mind… Write the World.

It seems like such an easy task, right? I mean, I’ve been writing a daily inspirational blog called Your Daily Groove over at Modern Hippie Mag for a few months now, and I’ve got my InkenSoul and Found Marbles blogs where I’ve been posting my own stuff as well as other things that I find interesting and educational. Yet, I think there is more that I need to be doing.

I have an idea for a novel that I’ve been kicking around for awhile, and I’m really itching to write another screenplay. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at writing for the stage as well. And of course, I’ve got a ton of ideas for articles and essays. However, when one sets out to Write the World, where does one start?

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The Ordeal of Excellence

March 11, 2010
The Ordeal of Excellence

I immediately recognized the office of the woman the aliens called Jessica, and was glad that we didn’t have to scale the side of the building again to get there. Jessica was at her desk, snacking on a fingernail as she read over a document on her desk.

“She looks nervous,” I said.

“Nothing gets by you,” said Yewell.

“What’s her deal?”

“You might say that she’s laying it all out on the table.”

“How so?”

“See the document she’s reading?” said Iman.

“Yeah.”

“It’s a collection of her observances about her company, the ways that it has been ineffective, and the ways that it can improve.”

“It’s pretty thick.”

“She’s been here for five years,” said Yewell. “She’s had a bit of time to notice a thing or two.”

“This is her Supreme Ordeal?”

“Like we said, she’s hit the glass ceiling. She’s gotten as far up into the company as she can go by doing her job and doing it well. She hasn’t stepped on toes, and she hasn’t crossed any boundaries. This dissertation though, it calls for a quite a few changes that she fears some may not be ready for. Nevertheless, this is her way of taking her company from good to great.”

“Why is she so nervous about it?”

“Corporate America is still very much of a boy’s club. And you know how boys are.”

“We don’t like to be told what to do.”

“Exactly,” said Iman. “While the Supreme Ordeal always involves stepping out of your comfort zone, sometimes it involves trying to draw people out of theirs, and that’s not always an easy thing to do.”

“And it can sometimes have some fairly precarious repercussions,” added Yewell.

“Then why bother?” I asked. “I mean, she seems to be doing fine. She’s got an office with a view. Based on her clothes, she seems to be making some pretty good bank.”

“Because good enough is not good enough when you’re trying to be great,” Iman said. “Look at the rest of Corporate America and how they are coping with the changing market. They are making strides in green energy and recycling initiatives. They are incorporating new technologies and marketing methods.”

“But they’re also outsourcing and sending jobs overseas,” I said.

“Like we said, the outcome may not always seem heroic, but the initiative is. For Jessica, though she’s played it safe for most of her career, she’s still managed to do quite well for herself. However, she wants more for herself, her company, and her community. Getting more means taking a risk.”

“Whether or not Angeline gets the part is irrelevant,” said Yewell. “The important thing is that she got on the stage. Whether Carter makes it as a blogger doesn’t matter. What matters is that he is putting his skills and talents to use in order to help other people. It doesn’t matter if Adam gets the girl. What matters is that he asked. And whether Jessica’s company integrates these changes or not, she has outlined an astounding plan that someone, whichever company has the foresight to realize her true value, can implement in order to improve upon their operations.”

“So you’re saying that it doesn’t matter if we succeed or not, as long as we try?”

“We’re saying that that as long as you try, you are experiencing success,” said Iman. “The Supreme Ordeal, the entire Hero’s Journey, is for you, each of you. It is for you to reach your highest potential. The world will catch up in its own time. But what is important is that you make the effort and make the best of whatever result you get. What is important is that you continually dedicate yourself to excellence. That will define your success.”

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The Ordeal of Love

March 10, 2010
The Ordeal of Love

When we vanished from the confines of Carter’s computer, the smell of cigarette smoke hit me before anything else. It immediately hit me that overcoming my dependence upon them was, for me, a Supreme Ordeal I had faced some time ago. Still, whenever I smell them, those memories come back to haunt me. Fortunately, the music that wafted through the air with the smell of tobacco was enough to redirect my attention.

Iman, Yewell, and I were perched on the rail of the deck at Siesta Key Oyster Bar. From the young girl playing acoustic guitar at the microphone and all of the other people holding guitars in the audience, I gathered that it was open mic night.  As the girl finished to a round of applause, Iman nudged me and pointed to the young man who rose and took his place at the microphone.

“Remember him?” he said. Read more »

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The Ordeal of Blogging

March 9, 2010
The Ordeal of Blogging

We’ve got a few more ordeals to face?” I said. “I don’t recall the you part of the we being much part of the last one.”

“We were there in spirit,” said Yewell.

“Yeah, I’ll bet you were.”

“We’ll stick closer on the next one,” assured Iman.

“What’s the next one?”

The aliens looked at one another and smiled.

“I really hate it when you do that,” I said.

Yewell shrugged. “You’ll get over it.” Read more »

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The Ordeal of Auditioning

March 8, 2010
The Ordeal of Auditioning

“I have the strength to overcome what?” I asked.

“Whatever challenge your journey offers you,” said Iman. “Each of you has it. You’re just not all aware of it. However, by going into your Inmost Cave and realizing the strength within you, you prepare yourself for facing whatever challenges come from without.”

“Would you like us to show you?” asked Yewell.

“I suppose it couldn’t be worse than the Inmost Cave.”

“That’s exactly the point,” said Iman. Read more »

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The Inmost Cave

March 3, 2010
The Inmost Cave

We were completely engulfed in darkness. I could no longer see either of the aliens. I could not even see my hand in front of my face.

“What happened?” I called into the void.

The Inmost Cave is the heart of your darkness,” one of the aliens said, I couldn’t tell which one. The submergence into blackness was more than disorienting; it was nearly maddening. Read more »

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